Hurricanes at Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings turned the page after a rough season-opening trip to the Sunshine State and aim for their fifth straight victory when the Carolina Hurricanes pay a visit on Tuesday. The Red Wings gave up 10 goals in losses at Tampa Bay and Florida before clamping down defensively while allowing just five in four sharp victories, including a 3-0 shutout of San Jose on Saturday.
“Our D-corps has played much better as individuals, so as a group we’ve played better because of that,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill told reporters after wins on back-to-back nights Friday and Saturday. "... The whole crew was really good. That’s what we need.” Carolina, which won twice in Detroit last October, looks to snap the Red Wings’ streak and finish a challenging six-game road trip to open the season with a second victory. The Hurricanes are struggling in their own end, allowing 20 goals on 138 shots for an .855 save percentage - last in the league. “We knew we had a lot of skill,” Carolina coach Bill Peters told reporters. “Now we have to make sure our work ethic is where it was last year. We had a very hard-working team last year. We’ve got to get back to that.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Carolina, FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (1-2-2): Left wing Jeff Skinner, who shares the team lead in points with six, missed Monday’s practice with an undisclosed injury and is considered day-to-day. Carolina has notched six of its 16 goals on the power play – two from center Victor Rask, who had an assist in Saturday’s 6-3 loss at Philadelphia to extend his point streak to five games. Eddie Lack split the last two games in net, playing three of five overall, while veteran Cam Ward gave up eight goals in two appearances and owns a 4-7-1 career record versus the Red Wings.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (4-2-0): Blashill has especially praised the work of defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, who has pair of assists and a plus-4 rating in the last two games. Rookie Ryan Sproul also joined the blue line the last two games and helped set up a goal in each with seven shots on goal, taking the place of Xavier Ouellet. Forwards Thomas Vanek and Gustav Nyquist (seven points apiece) are off to strong starts while the Red Wings are looking for more offense from Dylan Larkin and captain Henrik Zetterberg, who have for no goals and four assists combined.
OVERTIME
1. Carolina D Justin Faulk has posted five points in as many games, but owns a rough minus-5 rating.
2. Detroit LW Justin Abdelkader (lower-body) missed Monday’s practice after sitting out Saturday’s game, but could return for the Carolina contest.
3. Carolina LW Teuvo Teravainen, a major acquisition in the offseason, owns two goals on just five shots in the early going.