Washington kicks off 2014 with another overtime game and another loss
Tonight's probable netminders:
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Look for updates in this story stream throughout the evening, including tonight's lines, new open threads for each period, and more.
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A look at the first day of cross group competition at the WJC.
Today was the first day of games between the two groups as they leave the round robin section of the tournament. Five games were on the schedule today.
Norway vs Germany
The first game played today was between the teams at the bottom of their respective groups. This is the first of two games that will be played between the two sides.
This was a game that appears to have happened completely in the second period of the game. The second period saw all three goals of the game scored, all from Norway. Martin Ronnild, Dadrik Svendsen and Andreas Klavestad scored the three goals, two of which came on the powerplay.
Most notable was the amount of penalty minutes that Leon Draisaitl amassed, 27 minutes. Of those 25 came from a high stick major and a game misconduct at the same time.
Final Score: 3-0 Norway
Russia vs USA
The Russia- USA game was a heated affair and resulted in the defending champions being knocked out in the quarterfinals.
The first period saw the United States ahead 3-2 with goals from Stefan Matteau, Ryan Hartman and Nic Kerdiles. Russia's two scorers were Mikhail Grigorenko and Pavel Buchnevich. 2015 draft prospect, Jack Eichel, had an assiston Stefan Matteau's goal.
Russia got ahead in the second period on the back of two powerplay goals from Buffalo Sabres prospect Nikita Zadorov. Both of his goals were assisted by Anton Slepyshev who had one of the best games of his WJC career.
The United States couldn't get back and their fate was sealed by a Pavel Buchnevich empty net goal with less than half a minute left in the period. Jon Gillies finished the game with a less than impressive 0.833 save percentage.
Final Score: 5-2 Russia
Czech Republic vs Finland
The third game of the tournament saw two Dallas Stars prospects facing off against each other.
The first period saw both sides exchange goals in the space of a minute. Dominik Simon got the first goal of the game at 16:21 only to see the lead disappear with a goal from Saku Maenalanen. Esa Lindell got an assist on the tying goal at 17:06 of the first period.
Three goals were scored in the second period, firstly by Juuso Ikonen less than two minutes into the second period. The game was leveled up by a goal from Radek Faksa, slightly disturbingly his first point of the tournament. Martin Prochazka would put the Czechs up 3-2 leaving the second period.
Things weren't to stay that way however with the Finns leveling the game only 15 seconds into the third period. Saku Maenalanen got his second goal of the game to level Finland up once against. Saku Kinnunen and Henri Ikonen would add the two goals that would give the Finns the lead and put the game beyond the Czech Republic.
Final Score: 5-3 Finland
Switzerland vs Canada
Canada topped Group A and therefore had the joy of facing off against the Swiss in the fourth game of the day.
Despite outchancing the Swiss heavily in the first period the Canadians would come out of the first period with a single goal lead. The only goal of the period was scored by Griffin Reinhart. It was his second game of the tournament following his IIHF suspension.
The second period saw Anthony Mantha get the game winning goal on an individual effort. The Swiss would get a buzzbeater goal with a second left in the second period. Nico Dunner got the goal with an assist from Mirco Mueller and Kevin Fiala.
The third period went entirely the Canadians way as they put two more shots past the Swiss goaltender Melvin Nyffeler. Curtis Lazar and Derrick Pouliot got the two goals for Canada. Griffin Reinhart would get his second point of the game with an assist on Lazar's goal.
Final Score: 4-1 Canada
Sweden vs Slovakia
Hosts Sweden would face off against Slovakia in the last game of the day. The first period saw the Swedes score two goals. One from undrafted Lucas Wallmark and the other from Carolina Hurricanes forward Elias Lindholm. Christian Djoos, Filip Forsberg and Gustav Olofsson got assists on the two goals.
In the second period the Swedes would keep on scoring with one goal from Filip Forsberg, assisted on by Andre Burakowsky and Elias Lindholm. Lucas Wallmark would get his second goal of the game with just over 7 minutes left in the second period.
The Swedes would keep the scoring up in the third period with another goal from Filip Forsberg and one from Jacob de la Rose. Lindholm would get two assists on those two goals and Burakowsky would get another assist as well. Forsberg and Lindholm would both finish the game with four points each.
Final Score: 6-0 Sweden
This means that the semi finals are as follows:
Sweden-Russia Saturday 4th Puck Drop 10.00CT
Canada-Finland Saturday 4th Puck Drop 13.30CT
Jeff Skinner nets a hat-trick as Canes top Caps
After losing five straight games, the Carolina Hurricanes have now won two overtime games in a row as they defeated the Washington Capitals, 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night at the Verizon Center.
Jeff Skinner netted his second career hat-trick, and second of this season, as he continued on his December hot streak. The winger now has 15 goals and 19 points in his last 14 games.
Anton Khudobin earned the win as he made 38 saves on 41 shots, extending his record to 3-0-0 so far this season. It was the Russian's first NHL game since October 13, 2013.
The Canes had a slow start but Khudobin held the fort early while the Caps swarmed the Carolina zone. But later in the first period, the Caps were called for too many men on the ice, then Brooks Laich came up high on Alexander Semin, to give the Canes a 5-on-3 opportunity. Skinner roofed in his first goal to make it 1-0 during the powerplay.
Just 49 seconds into the second period, Alex Ovechkin tied the score as his shot deflected off of Ron Hainsey's stick into the Carolina net.
Less than a minute later, Manny Malhotra scored short side against Washington goalie, Philipp Grubauer, and the Canes were back up by one. It looked like it was going to be a crazy period as the Capitals would score again a minute and change after that goal to tie things up again.
Just a few seconds after that goal, Ovechkin broke in alone and Justin Faulk reached around to try to stop him, but brought him down. Ovechkin was given a penalty shot but Khudobin stopped him.
Just 14 seconds after the penalty shot, Washington scored again when Steve Oleksy threw a puck toward the net that went in off of Hainsey, who had been knocked down in the crease. That gave the Caps a 3-2 lead.
Once again the Canes answered and answered quickly. On a 3-on-1 rush, Ryan Murphy put a shot on goal and Skinner knocked in the rebound to tie the game up again.
The score stayed tied 3-3 the rest of the way until Murphy and Skinner teamed up again in overtime. During a 2-on-1 break, Murphy held the puck until the last second and then made a picture perfect pass to Skinner, who chipped it in for the winner.
Next up, the Canes will take on the New York Islanders on Saturday night.
Game Notes:
The Carolina Hurricanes completed their D.C. sweep of the Washington Capitals Thursday, beating the Caps 4-3 to win their third and final game at Verizon Center this regular season.
Jeff Skinner recorded his second hat trick of the season, capping it off with the overtime game-winner, to lead the Hurricanes to a 4-3 win Thursday at Washington. Manny Malhotra also scored, and Anton Khudobin improved to 3-0 on the year with his first win since Oct. 10.
Three Observations
1. Carolina’s goaltender situation remains murky. Cam Ward is hurt (again), and in his first game back since October, Anton Khudobin was good between the pipes. For as well as Justin Peters played while serving as Carolina's de facto No. 1, he is still just 3-4-3 since Nov. 16 and has allowed 11 goals in his past three outings. While Ward’s out, the team will surely hold on to all three, but if Khudobin can maintain the early season form he showed Thursday — he still hasn't lost as a member of the Hurricanes — Peters will remain the most likely to depart.
2. John-Michael Liles’ Carolina debut was uneventful, which is good news for a defenseman who has played little in the NHL this year. Yes, the team will need Liles to be a factor moving the puck up the ice and on special teams going forward. But for his first game with the Canes, Liles skated off the ice unscathed and left most with a "OK, let's see what he does this weekend" taste in their mouth.
3. The Hurricanes took just one penalty in the game, Rob Hainsey's holding minor 1:20 into the game, and are taking the third fewest penalties in the NHL at 8.7 per game. That’s a recipe for success against the Capitals, who have scored on a quarter of their power play opportunites this year, second only to Pittsburgh by a half percent. Couple that with Skinner’s 5-on-3 goal to open the scoring, and the Canes won the special teams battle in the most practical way — by taking advantage of their big opportunities and not allowing Washington any.
Number To Know
2 — Points for Malhotra, his first multi-point game since March 14, 2011, when he had two assists against the Minnesota Wild in a 4-2 Canucks win. It was in his next game, March 16, 2011, against Colorado, that Malhotra would suffer the eye injury that threatened his career.
Plus
Jeff Skinner — Who else? The kid is absolutely killing it right now. Skinner has 16 goals in his last 16 games — including seven in his last five and five in his last two — and is currently a point-per-game player with 30 in 30 games.
Minus
Ron Hainsey— Hainsey saw a lot of Alex Ovechkin Thursday — the Caps captain finished with a goal — and also was on the ice for two more goals, one where he seemed to lose Troy Brouwer to tie the game at 2 in the second period. While it wasn't Hainsey's best night, he still helped limit Ovechkin to one point.
The Hurricanes and Islanders both won in dramatic fashion on Thursday night. Which team keeps the momentum rolling in tonight's game?
Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Islanders
January 4, 2014 - 7:00 pm ET
Nassau Coliseum - Uniondale, NY
TV - Fox Sports Carolinas
Radio - 99.9 The Fan
SB Nation Rival Blog: Lighthouse Hockey (twitter @LHHockey)
Hurricanes Record: 16-16-9 (41 pts.)
Islanders Record: 14-21-7 (35 pts.)
The Carolina Hurricanes arrive in Long Island hoping to complete their second Metro Division road sweep of the season, tonight against the New York Islanders. This is the last time the teams are scheduled to meet in Uniondale this season, and the Canes won the first match-up there on October 19th thanks to a multi-goal performance (is there any other kind?) from Jiri Tlusty. The Canes also won 1-0 in a shutout effort from Justin Peters on November 7th. They'll meet once more, in Raleigh in March, to complete the season series.
Both teams come into tonight's game celebrating dramatic overtime wins on Thursday night. Jeff Skinner sealed the deal for the Hurricanes with a game winner and a hat trick against the division rival Washington Capitals (what the heck, watch it again). Meanwhile, not to be outdone, witness the emotional crowd reaction (really, watch this) as Kyle Okposo, the day after being passed over for the Team USA Olympic roster, scored the game winner to lift the Islanders over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Islanders are ranked last in the Division and next-to-last in the Eastern Conference, but perhaps the more significant stat is that they have won three straight games (against the Wild, Bruins, and aforementioned defending Stanley Cup Champions) and five of their last seven. So they're on a legitimate roll. They are led in scoring by John Tavares (16-29-45), Okposo (16-26-42), and Frans Nielsen (15-17-32), all of whom are not shy about putting points on the board against the Hurricanes. Tomas Vanek (10-13-23) is riding a seven-game point streak, and defenseman Andy MacDonald (3-16-19) has five points in his last three games.
Since returning from injury on December 14th, Evgeni Nabokov has been solid in net, with a 4-2-2 record, 2.13 GAA, .929 save percentage, and a shutout. He is 8-2-2 with a 2.26 GAA and a shutout in 13 career games against the Canes. Kevin Poulin is 2-2-0 with a 2.27 GAA in four career games against Carolina.
Forward Josh Bailey has missed three games with a lower body injury and is questionable for tonight. Defensemen Radek Martinek (back) and Lubomir Visnovsky (concussion) are on injured reserve.
Islanders projected line-up (based on Thursday's game):
Tomas Vanek - John Tavares - Kyle Okposo
Michael Grabner - Frans Nielsen - Cal Clutterbuck
Brock Nelson - Ryan Strome - Colin McDonald
Matt Martin - Casey Cizikas - Peter Regin
Andrew MacDonald - Thomas Hickey
Calvin de Haan - Travis Hamonic
Matt Carkner - Brian Strait
Evgeni Nabokov
Kevin Poulin
The Hurricanes didn't practice yesterday, as the first order of business was getting out of DC and to Long Island with wintry weather bothering the east coast. Consequently, there are no lineup updates. Kirk Muller did address the media before leaving DC, and talked about the "interesting" first half of the season (listen here) and focus areas going into the second half (hint: special teams and staying on their discipline).
Speaking of special teams, the Canes notched another power play goal on Thursday, bringing their totals over the last six games to 6-of-25 and 24.0 percent.
To quote John Forslund on Thursday's Aftermath, Jeff Skinner is "radioactive". He now has 15 goals in 14 games, and is the only NHL player to accomplish that pace this season. He also has four assists in that same game span.
Alex Semin is on a five-game point streak and has seven points in his last seven games. Eric Staal, Manny Malhotra, and Tuomo Ruutu all have points in two straight games. Eric has a point-per-game record against the Islanders with 37 points in 36 career games.
John-Michael Liles was steady in his Hurricanes debut, logging a plus +2 with 15:45 ice time (including 3:22 on the power play) in Thursday's game.
Mike Komisarek was a healthy scratch Thursday, but with three games in four nights, he may be back in the lineup either tonight or tomorrow.
No decision has been announced in terms of a starting goaltender. Anton Khudobin was solid in his return on Thursday, making 38 of 41 saves for a .927 save percentage. He has not faced the Islanders in his career. Justin Peters has, and he's been outstanding in three games with a 2-1-0 record with an 0.86 GAA and a shutout.
Riley Nash and Cam Ward (both lower body injuries) missed the road trip and remain out of the lineup tonight. Jiri Tlusty remains on IR recovering from an appendectomy. Jay Harrison, on IR with a concussion, traveled with the team and began skating in practice on Thursday, so he may be looking at a return soon. Elias Lindholm remains on loan to Sweden for the World Junior Championships (check NHL Network starting at 9 am for coverage of the semifinals featuring Sweden versus Russia).
Projected line-ups based on Thursday's game:
Jeff Skinner - Eric Staal - Alexander Semin
Nathan Gerbe - Jordan Staal - Patrick Dwyer
Zach Boychuk - Manny Malhotra - Tuomo Ruutu
Drayson Bowman - Brett Sutter - Radek Dvorak
Andrej Sekera - Justin Faulk
Ron Hainsey - Brett Bellemore
John-Michael Liles - Ryan Murphy
Mike Komiarek
Anton Khudobin
Justin Peters
We'll have the game thread ready to roll at 6:30 pm. See you there.
Daily Washington Capitals news and notes: Previews of tonight's inter-conference matchup in the State of Hockey, the goaltending carousel continues and more.
Your savory breakfast links:
Ward is suffering through another lower-body injury.
Cam Ward's injury-plagued season continues on, as the Hurricanes goalie will miss Carolina's game on Sunday with a lower-body injury.
In fact, coach Kirk Muller told reporters on Saturday that Ward's MRI was negative and there is no timetable for his return. He also confirmed Ward had not aggravated his groin injury he suffered earlier in the season.
Anton Khudobin will get the start in net for Carolina instead of Ward.
Ward missed a month early in the season with a groin injury, the latest setback in what is now two years of lingering injury issues. He hasn't exactly been a world-beater when healthy, going just 6-7-5 with a 3.15 goals against average and a .895 save percentage in 19 games this season. You could make the case that he's the biggest reason the Hurricanes have struggled this season.
The Hurricanes will have to decide to send down either Khudobin or Justin Peters when Ward returns.
• Winter Classic : Leafs win in shootout | Old lady dancing
• The Rink of Dreams: One Mich. family created an outdoor hockey paradise
Going into a busy Saturday night in the NHL, the only Metro division team that is idle on this day is Pittsburgh, and that's fine by them as they hold a 15-point edge on everyone else. The middle continues to stay packed, seventh place Columbus is only six points behind Washington for second place and the team with the longest winning streak may surprise you.
1. Pittsburgh Penguins (30-12-1)
Pittsburgh, who has faced injuries all year, continues to fight through them. They finished this week with a 2-1 -0 mark in a three-game set against division opponents.
The Penguins dropped the Blue Jackets on the road 5-3 before losing to the Devils in a 2-1 game.
Back in Pittsburgh on Friday night, the Penguins cruised to a 5-2 home win over the Rangers, fueled by three-point nights from Chris Kunitz and Sidney Crosby.
Jussi Jokinen also notched a pair of goals to help the Penguins over New York.
The Penguins hope to get a boost in their acquisition of a new forward in light of their rash of injuries as they claimed Taylor Pyatt off waivers from the Rangers.
The 32-year old forward missed eight games in November with a concussion and after returning, was a healthy scratch for 11 of New York's 15 games since Nov. 30.
Pyatt, who is donning the number 17 jersey in PIttsburgh, played against his old team Friday night right away, and had a slow night, playing 11:44 getting off two shots, taking a penalty and finishing as a -1.
Pyatt could help the Penguins in the playoffs, too. In his most recent playoff appearance with Phoenix, he scored four goals and picked up two assists as the Coyotes marched to the Western Conference finals.
Should he suit up for the Penguins' first playoff game, it would be his 70th career playoff game. In those games, he has 24 points.
Veteran US-born defensemen Paul Martin and Brooks Orpik will both be heading to Sochi to represent their country in the Olympics.
Both players are more than 30-years old and told Penguins.com that they will relish the opportunity as a new crop of young defensemen are growing up, it could be their last Olympic look.
The Penguins will get a healthy dose of Canada this week.
They start off by hosting the Jets for a Sunday matinee with a 1:00 p.m. puck drop.
After that, they embark on a three-game Western Conference road trip with contests in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.
All puck drops for the Western Conference road games are set for 10:00 p.m.
2. Washington Capitals (20-15-6)
Led by a red-hot Nicklas Backstrom, the Capitals lost in overtime, a shootout and lost in regulation in three games this week.
Backstrom has 18 points in his past 11 games, but the week started off rough for Washington, as they dropped a six round shootout to the Sabres on the road.
In the final round, Buffalo's Steve Ott beat Philipp Grubauer for the lone goal of the mini game.
After suffering a 3-1 loss to the Senators the next day, the Capitals returned home to host Carolina who took advantage of a hat trick from Jeff Skinner to sink Washington in overtime.
The Capitals will travel to Minnesota for a Saturday night duel and then will not play until a back-to-back scenario against the Lightning and Maple Leafs on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Like Pittsburgh, the Capitals found out that one of their defensemen will represent team USA in the Olympics when it was announced that John Carlson will do so.
Carlson, 23, averages just south of 25 minutes of ice time per game and trails only Keith Yandle and Dustin Byfluglien in goals from defensemen in the past two seasons.
Carlson is a +26 in 274 career games for Washington.
3. Philadelphia Flyers (20-17-4)
The Flyers have completed four of five games on a Western Conference road trip and have a 3-1-0 to show for it.
After beating the Oilers 4-3, they picked up two wins in a back-to-back winning 4-3 over the Canucks and 4-1 over the Flames.
After a 2-1 loss to the Avalanche, they look to finish the trip strong in a Saturday night duel with the Coyotes.
The Flyers are 7-2-1 in their last ten, and are benefiting from a hot Scott Hartnell who has a six-game point streak during which time he has scored two goals and collected five assists.
The Flyers will go into Saturday night's game knowing they will be without rookie forward Michael Raffl, who suffered a concussion on Thursday night.
In 10 games playing on the Flyers' top line alongside Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek, the line has created 11 goals and generated 25 assists as Philadelphia lost only twice in regulation.
Along with Raffl, Erik Gustafsson is out with a knee injury and Matt Read is questionable.
4. New Jersey Devils (17-17-8)
The Devils fought hard and stayed with the league-leading Blackhawks on Friday night, losing 5-3.
Saturday night, the back end of the back-to-back pits them against the worst team in the league, the Buffalo Sabres.
After the trip to Buffalo, the Devils have a three-game homestand that pits them against the Flyers, Stars and Panthers.
The Devils could have gone two games over .500 with a win over Chicago- it would have been the first time they have done that this season.
After Martin Brodeur played in the loss to Chicago, Cory Schneider will start against the Sabres.
Adam Henrique has a four-game point streak, with five points over that stretch.
Ryan Carter played Friday night, marking his first appearance since Nov. 30 when he sustained a lower-body injury.
Patrik Elias, Anton Volchenkov, Damien Brunner, Peter Harrold and Adam Larsson are also injuured.
The Devils and Sabres will begin play at 7:00 p.m. Saturday.
5. New York Rangers (20-20-2)
New York had won three in a row but that streak was snapped at the hands of the Penguins on Friday as they defeated the Rangers 5-2.
Henrik Lundqvist gave up five goals on 28 shots. It marked the ninth time in his last 10 starts that he has given up three or more goals.
Three of his goals allowed came on Pittsburgh's first 10 shots of the game.
The Rangers will travel to Toronto for a Saturday night match in Toronto who is fresh off of their Winter Classic win in front of more than 100,000 fans.
New York center Derek Dorsett suffered a broken fibula Friday and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
6. Carolina Hurricanes (16-16-9)
Carolina had lost five-straight but they snapped that skid and have turned it around in dramatic fashion, defeating the Canadiens and Capitals in overtime this week.
In both of those two wins, Jeff Skinner has had three points. He has scored seven goals in his past five games.
Eric Staal has picked up his play of late, and had five points in the two wins this week.
The Hurricanes will take on the Islanders on the road in the front end of a back-to-back.
Returning to PNC Arena on Sunday, they will host the Predators.
The rest of the week features road matchups with the Sabres and Blue Jackets with a home game against the Maple Leafs in between.
Cam Ward will not play against the Islanders but could return on Sunday.
Riley Nash and Jiri Tlusty are both injured.
Another defenseman in the division will be going to Sochi, as Justin Faulk was named to the USA team.
The 21-year old Faulk has appeared in 40 games for Carolina this season, scoring 16 points and averaging well over 20 minutes of ice time per night.
7. Columbus Blue Jackets (18-19-4)
After a 5-3 home loss to the Penguins, the Blue Jackets began a four-game road trip that started with another loss as the Avalanche defeated them 5-3.
Thursday night, however, the Blue Jackets answered with a 2-0 win in Phoenix.
Foward Nathan Horton, who signed a seven-year, $37.1 million contract with Columbus, had missed the first 40 games of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
His presence was felt on Thursday as he scored the game winner on a wrist shot in the second period.
Curtis McElhinney stopped all 34 Coyotes shots, including 21 saves in the third period to earn his second shutout of the season.
Columbus wraps up their road trip with games against the Blues and Rangers before a back-to-back against the Hurricanes and Jets.
Marian Gaborik, Matt Calvert, Jared Boll and Oliver Gabriel are on injured reserve and Jack Skille is not expected to play due to injury against the Blues.
The Blue Jackets and Blues will drop the puck at 8:00 p.m. Saturday.
8. New York Islanders (14-21-7)
The Islanders carry a three-game winning streak into a Saturday matchup with the Hurricanes.
The streak, their longest of the season and longest in the division, has come against quality competition.
After knocking off the Wild and Bruins on the road, the Islanders defeated the Blackhawks 3-2 in overtime on home ice on Thursday.
Kyle Okposo scored his 16th of the season to win it in overtime for the Islanders.
Okposo, who is second on the team in scoring behind John Tavares, has 42 points in 42 games on the season, but was left off of team USA's Olympic roster.
After scoring the game winner on Thursday, the faithful at Nassau Coliseum began a "USA" chant.
Okposo said in an interview with NHL.com that it was a special moment and that he didn't prepare for the game any differently after learning he was left off of the roster.
The two point night from Okposo on Thursday extended his point streak to eight games- over which time he has six goals and seven assists.
That streak is the longest in the league currently and matches his career high.
Thomas Vanek, acquired in a trade with Buffalo in October, seems to be finding his stride. He has a seven-game point streak of his own, extended with a goal against the Blackhawks on Thursday.
Vanek said in an interview with NHL.com that the top line of himself, Taveres and Okposo is beginning to find it's stride, acknowledging that it takes time to reach that point.
After hosting the Hurricanes, the Islanders will host the Stars and then battle the Maple Leafs and Avalanche on the road.
Radek Martinek and Lubomir Visnovsky are injured and Josh Bailey has missed three-straight games with a lower-body injury and is questionable for Saturday.
Puck drop between the Islanders and Hurricanes is set for 7:00 p.m. Saturday.
Can the Isles make it four? (Please?)
However refreshing the New York Islanders' current three-game win streak is, the fastest way to stink it up would be to lose to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Not that the Isles have any sort of daylight for climbing back into the playoff picture, but their competitors and the season is only half way over, so the Canes are a team they would need to put behind them.
Carolina is at NHL-.500 (nine OT/SOL!), six points ahead of the Isles, and lodged in that bubble of listing teams that are vying for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Isles seem to have trouble with the Canes more often than not (also: These teams wear their black jerseys against one another a lot in a sartorial dunce-off), and this season has been no exception. A 1-0 Isles loss in Raleigh in November followed the 4-3 October loss which was the last time we saw Lubomir Visnovsky.
Both teams come into tonight probably feeling better than they should about themselves, each coming off a dramatic overtime victory -- the Canes beating the Capitals in D.C 4-3 earlier this week when Jeff Skinner finished an odd-man counterattack.
Hurricanes (1616-9, 6th/Metro) @ Islanders (14-21-7, 8th/Metro)
7 p.m. | MSG+ | WRHU/WRCN
Nassau [gloriously unsponsored] Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Voices in the Storm: Canes Country | Shutdown Line
Jack Capuano on Calvin de Haan, who has quietly become pretty damned useful to the Islanders for his puck movement, defensive positioning, and partnership with Travis Hamonic:
For Calvin to do what he did in the offseason to get himself prepared for training camp... it's an indication of how hard he worked. You don’t’ miss that much time and then come back, have a real good training camp with us and - when the call comes - step in and do your job. I give a ton of credit to the coaches in Bridgeport for getting him ready.
Shutdown Line on how the Canes won in D.C.:
All three of Carolina's even strength goals, including Skinner's overtime winner, were scored in transition after mistakes by the Caps and that's pretty much how they created most of their offense. The Caps did a good job of shutting down most of Carolina's breakout attempts in the neutral zone and forced them to play a much more conservative game when they had control. This resulted in them not creating much offense and the cycle game that we're used to seeing from them was basically non-existent. Instead, they were forced to play defense for 60% of the time and take advantage of any openings the Capitals gave them.
Kirk Muller, on hoping not to shorten his bench again after benching Brett Sutter and double-shifting Manny Malhotra in the third period in D.C.:
"We're in a state where if someone isn't going we can't wait," Muller said without being specific about players. "Right now it's all about winning the game that night.
"When I talked to those guys today I said, 'We need our third and fourth lines to not wait and see what the first two (lines) do every night. We need you guys to have nights where you dictate the tempo of the game. You set the tone.'"
The Canes will start Anton Khudobin in goal. Their morning skate lines, according to that News & Observer story:
Skinner-E. Staal - Semin
Gerbe - J. Staal - Dwyer
Bowman - Malhotra - Ruutu
Boychuk - Sutter - Dvorak
The Canes also now have John-Michael Liles, which is kind of crazy after all this time trying to get someone, anyone to buy Tim Gleason.
For the Isles, Matt Donovan has been recalled, but the Isles will go with the same lineup they've used during this winning spell, including Evgeni Nabokov in goal.
Last game against Chicago saw some fun offensive pressure from basically all four lines -- and Ryan Strome and Brock Nelson made a nice young combo, while Peter Regin added some class to the four line. We'll see how they match up against the Hurricanes, who have so often given the Isles troubles with multiple scoring lines of their own.
Leave your First Islanders Goal picks for tonight over this way.
Three brain farts does not a victory make.
Mistakes were made.
The New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes played a basically even and scoreless first period, then traded mistakes in the second period to direct the outcome of the game. Unfortunately, it was three key Islanders mistakes to just one Hurricanes mistake, and the Isles didn't break back through until the final minute of regulation to narrow the final score to 3-2.
The red and black southerners continue to have the Isles' number. The Isles continue to reside in the Metropolitan Division basement.
Game Sum | Event Sum | Adv. Stats (Extra Skater) | Shift Charts | PBP | TOI | Faceoffs | Recaps: NHL | Isles
The Isles had just impressively killed a Hurricanes power play, even generating some scoring opportunities of their own, when Andrew MacDonald made a mistake at 5-on-5 that became the first goal of the game.
MacDonald actually made two mistakes on the play: First, he dragged his feet to try to milk an icing out of the slow-arriving puck, which the linesman noted and promptly used as cause to waive it off. Second, he was too soft with the puck, which is why he lost it (even if it bounced along the endboards ice), allowing Patrick Dwyer to serve it up on a tee for Manny Malhotra.
Thankfully, John Tavares and Thomas Vanek exist.
Within a minute of the AMac gaffe, Tavares took an intercepted pass from the blueline into the Carolina slot, fed Vanek, who gratuitously (as he is wont to do) fed it back, making Tavares have to do some acrobatics to pot the equalizer.
Tavares didn't give up on play, clearly knowing that Vanek loves making that extra pass. Loves it.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNewsday) January 5, 2014Ah, but then the Isles played a "vacate the zone" drill. Not thankfully, Vanek was one of the guilty parties.
First MacDonald and the Thomases -- Thomas Hickey and particularly Vanek -- crossed signals, with MacDonald drifting to the boards to cover the pass (and failing), while Vanek stood at the blueline complaining about an apparent offside, allowing Jordan Staal to walk in alone on Nabokov. 2-1 Carolina.
Then Calvin de Haan's backhand scoop dump-in appeared to bounce off the linesman and go the other way just as the Isles were changing, leaving Jeff Skinner to break in all alone on the left wing. His good far-post shot was stopped by Nabokov, but Brett Sutter arrived to shovel the rebound to the opposite post and past Nabokov.
Instead of banking the rare bonus of scoring quickly after the opponent took the lead, the Isles gave it back and then some in a two-fer. The Hurricanes' two goals were 57 seconds apart, naturally.
After the Isles ended their "abandon the zone!" drill, they overcompensated for a few minutes and turned defensive zone coverage into a jump-on-the-grenade drill with all hands participating. It was no prettier, and only mildly (and luckily?) more effective.
Anyway, with under six minutes left in the second period, that was about it. The Hurricanes did well enough to kill the game from there forward, allowing some shots but never letting the Isles get close enough to threaten a comeback until the final minute.
With 24 seconds remaining, during an Isles power play, Vanek deflected a MacDonald shot from the point past Anton Khudobin to make it 3-2. Khudobin had been mostly excellent and didn't have much of a chance on the deflection. Just in case, he would make what was ultimately an unnecessary but dramatic glove save at the buzzer -- unnecessary because the play was being whistled for an Islanders hand-pass, but impressive because barring that whistle he would have saved the game with that stop.
Tough to take much from this game other than: Dumb mistakes will kill you. The Isles actually outshot the Canes 40-30, mostly via their third-period (16-9) comeback attempts.
The Isles, of course, long ago squandered their margin of error for mistakes like tonight. So...
Closed-door meeting going on for #Isles now. Garth Snow just came out of the locker room too
— Matt Saidman (@MattSaidman) January 5, 2014I don't know what could be said, what strategy nor "adjustments" could be made (fire AMac in the Sun for a few games?), other than: "HEY, DON'T DO THAT."
Anyway, Dallas is up next on Monday.
Carolina gets 38 saves by Anton Khudobin and wins third in a row
The Carolina Hurricanes won their third straight game with the help of some great goaltending by Anton Khudobin as they defeated the New York Islanders, 3-2 on Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum.
Khudobin earned his second straight win as he made 38 saves on 40 shots and pushed his season record to 4-0-0. That makes 76 saves on 81 shots in the past two contests for the Russian.
After a scoreless first period, it was another wild second stanza for Carolina.
Manny Malhotra opened the scoring at 6:57 into the period when he broke alone to the front of the net and beat Evgeni Nabokov after he took a perfect pass from the side boards from Patrick Dwyer. Malhotra has now scored a goal in the past three straight games.
John Tavares tied the game up after a bad Hurricanes turnover in their own end, but Carolina would score two more times later in the period.
At 13:12 into the period, Dwyer set up another goal when he found Jordan Staal breaking in all alone. This was the first career two assist game for Dwyer.
Less than a minute later, the Canes struck again when red-hot Jeff Skinner fired a puck on goal. The rebound popped out and Brett Sutter backhanded in the rebound to make the score 3-1.
The score stayed 3-1 until the end as the Isles took their goalie off the ice for an extra attacker. Alexander Semin took exception to an obvious slash that was uncalled, but of course the ref objected to being questioned of it and called Semin for unsportsmanlike conduct.
With the two-man advantage, Thomas Vanek would tip a shot past Khudobin to make it a one goal game with just 25 seconds left on the clock. The home team would get close again, but the Carolina goalie made another sprawling save at the buzzer to preserve the win.
The win gives the Hurricanes a 17-16-9 record and moves them to fifth place in the division, as well as one point out of a playoff spot.
The Canes will return home quickly and will next face the Nashville Predators on Sunday night.
Game Notes:
After picking up loser points in their last two games, the Predators try to get back in the win column against a surging Hurricanes team.
The Nashville Predators haven't lost in regulation in their last four contests. They travel down south to the land of the pines to take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Each are playing their second game in as many nights.
| Nashville Predators | Carolina Hurricanes | |||
| Record | 18-18-6 | 22nd | 17-16-9 | 24th |
| GF/Game | 2.40 | 24th | 2.43 | 23rd |
| GA/Game | 2.93 | 22nd | 2.86 | 19th |
| 5-on-5 Close SF/60 | 29.4 | 15th | 28.2 | 20th |
| 5-on-5 Close SA/60 | 27.5 | 10th | 31.7 | 23rd |
| Fenwick Close | 49.20 | 18th | 47.40 | 25th |
| 5-on-5 Close Save % | .906 | 27th | .916 | 24th |
| 5-on-4 GF/60 | 6.6 | 11th | 4.3 | 28th |
| # of PP's/Gm | 3.14 | 24th | 3.64 | 4th |
| 4-on-5 GA/60 | 6.7 | 21st | 6.5 | 18th |
| # of PK's/Gm | 3.14 | 9th | 3.31 | 16th |
When these teams faced off exactly a month ago, Jeff "Hockey Bieber" Skinner notched a hat trick. During the Canes' last game against the Washington Capitals, Skinner also notched a hat trick. The 21-year-old now has 19 on the year and paces his club.
As a team, Carolina has won three in a row and are just three points out of third place in the Metro. Goalie Cam Ward has been injured (again) but it's possible he could make the start tonight. The Hurricanes were in action last night against the New York Islanders, defeating them by a score of 3-2. Anton Khudobin stopped 38 shots and is now 4-0 on the year, winning each of his last two starts coming back from injury.
The good news is that the Preds have made it exciting for viewers in each of their last four games, picking up points in all of them. The bad news is that it is probably taking years off all of our lives seeing all these mounted comebacks and last second goals. Still, if you are in the camp that has succumbed to the fact that there will be no playoffs, then this is better hockey than you've seen all season. If you are in the other camp that thinks playoffs are still possible, I'm sure you've broken a few remotes and televisions by now. Chill out dude, it's only January.
Still, there were probably plenty of us that assumed the Predators' luck had run out when the Panthers made it 4-2 last night. Yet, they made it to overtime anyway. I'm not convinced this cast of characters (both on the bench and behind it) are the ones to get the Preds in the direction they need to be. But if this is the level of play they are going to play at for now, it will make me even more excited when the right players do come.
Raleigh is close to the east coast, meaning this is a 6:00 p.m. CST start. Get your tailgate on!
The Predators come to town and look to end the Canes 3 game winning streak.
Nashville Predators at Carolina Hurricanes
January 5, 2014 - 7:00 pm ET
PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC
TV - Fox Sports Carolinas
Radio - 99.9 The Fan
SB Nation Rival Blog: On the Forecheck (Twitter @Forechecker)
Hurricanes Record: 17-16-9 (43 pts.)
Predators Record: 18-18-6 (42 pts.)
The Carolina Hurricanes return to home ice tonight riding a three game win streak and looking to claw back in to a playoff spot. Jeff Skinner continued his hot streak last night with an assist on Brett Sutter's goal and will look to keep that streak going tonight. Manny Malhotra also kept his goal scoring streak alive with his third goal in three games. Jordan Staal scored the Hurricanes other goal.
Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, the captain Eric Staal left the game midway through the second last night. Staal returned from the locker room prior to the end of the second period and skated briefly during a commercial break. He returned to the locker room a short time later and sat out the rest of the game. Reports last night indicated that Eric Staal was dealing with a lower body concern. Chip Alexander provided some additional information this morning via twitter noting that Eric Staal was injured in the Capitals game and tried to play through the injury last night against the Islanders.
Both teams come in to tonight's game having played last night and having traveled. The Canes shot out to a 3-1 lead after two periods last night and held on to win 3-2 after a late power play goal from Tomas Vanek. Nashville stormed back last night against the surging Florida Panthers, erasing a third period two goal deficit to tie the game before losing in a shoot out. Both teams started games last night with 41 points in 41 games and sixth in the wild card standings. In an odd quirk of the standing the Canes found themselves only 3 points out of a playoff spot while the Predators where 8 points out.
Marek Manzanec got the start in net last night for the Predators, giving up 4 goals on 26 shots. No word yet on if Manzanec or Carter Hutton will get the start tonight. Anton Khudobin was in net for the Canes for his second straight game. Khudobin had some issues with his rebound control early, but got better and better as the game wore on en route to what should have been a first star performance stopping 38 of 40 shots. Given it was his second straight start and that the Canes are playing back to back it would not be a shock if Coach Muller went back to Justin Peters tonight. Khudobin's play last night will not make the decision an easy one for coach Muller. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
The Canes last faced the Nashville Predators on December 5th of last year in a game the Canes won 5-2. That game was notable in that it was the first career hat trick for Jeff Skinner, a feat he was able to replicate just a few nights ago. The Canes managed to chase Manzanec after four goals in the first two periods in that game, but were not able to get a puck past Hutton in the third period.
Not surprisingly there will be no morning skate for the Hurricanes. Given Eric Staal's injury the Canes are likely to recall a player prior to tonight's game. ** UPDATE ** The Canes have recalled Aaron Palushaj to take Eric Staal's spot on the roster.
As always, the game thread will start 30 minutes prior to puck drop. We look forward to seeing you there.
Jeff Skinner stuck it to the Nashville Predators again, scoring the game-winner late in the 3rd period to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 2-1 victory tonight in Raleigh. Back in December he recorded his first career NHL hat trick at the Preds' expense, and tonight he sent them to defeat.
Carter Hutton got the start tonight and coughed up a bad goal to Alexander Semin less than five minutes into the game, as Semin caught him leaning off the post and banked a shot of Hutton into the net. From there on, it was a pretty lifeless affair (both teams played last night) until the Preds tied things back up in the third period, as a Shea Weber blast on the power play led to Patric Hornqvist getting the score (it went off his skate, but was ruled OK by the NHL because it wasn't kicked).
Next up, the Predators (18-19-6) return home to face the San Jose Sharks Tuesday night. A very busy week just got off to a less-than-impressive start...
Boxscore - Game Summary - Event Summary - Fancy Stats
Roll the video highlights...
Jeff Skinner with another game winner and Anton Khudobin has yet to lose this season
For the first time this season, the Carolina Hurricanes have a four game winning streak, with the help of another Jeff Skinner game winning goal, as the Canes defeated the Nashville Predators, 2-1 in front of 13,994 Sunday night at the PNC Arena.
Anton Khudobin earned the win once again as he made 31 saves on 32 shots. "Dobby" has yet to lose a game and improved his record to 5-0-0 for the season. He is 3-0-0 since returning from injury.
The Canes went into this game without Captain Eric Staal and have been without franchise goalie, Cam Ward, (injured reserve), but they continue to work hard and play winning hockey.
The newly formed first line of Alexander Semin, Jeff Skinner, and Tuomo Ruutu accounted for all the Carolina scoring.
Just 4:28 into the first period, Semin made it 1-0 Carolina, when he banked a puck in the net off the back of Nashville goalie Carter Hutton. Ruutu and Skinner picked up assists on the play.
The score stayed 1-0 until 6:46 of the third period when the Preds took advantage of a powerplay opportunity.
Khudobon made the initial stop on a Shea Weber blast, but came out of the net to do it. The rebound came around to Patric Hornqvist, who seemed to kick the puck in the net. After a review, the goal stood and the game was tied.
Both teams were playing a tight checking hockey game and it continued through the third period. But with 3:31 left, Semin took a hit to make a play and feather the puck to Ruutu, who found Skinner alone just beyond the slot area.
Perhaps the hottest goal scorer in the league right now, made no mistake and got the puck past Hutton for the game-winner.
The Canes and Khudobin played tough the rest of the way to hold the lead and push Carolina's record to 18-16-9, good for fourth in the division. They are just one point out of a tie for second place now.
Game Notes:
The Carolina Hurricanes seized a big opportunity this weekend, winning both games of a back-to-back set on Long Island and at home against Nashville to push their win streak to four games. The Canes are now 18-16-9 with 45 points, one behind Washington for the third place in the Metropolitan Division and two behind Toronto for the Eastern Conference’s final wild card spot.
Jeff Skinner pushed his point streak to five games in Carolina’s back-to-back wins, and Anton Khudobin got both victories to keep his perfect record this season and thrust the Hurricanes back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture with 3-2 and 2-1 wins over the Islanders and Predators, respectively.
Three Observations
1. The Hurricanes continue to get help from their depth players. First it was Justin Peters holding down the fort in net with Cam Ward and Khudobin injured, and this past week they have gotten bottom six contributions from call-ups Zach Boychuk, Brett Sutter and Aaron Palushaj. That allowed Carolina to win on back-to-back nights despite playing most of Saturday’s game and all of Sunday’s without Eric Staal, giving coach Kirk Muller the option of rolling four lines despite having a lineup littered with recalled players.
2. Even without their normal center, the top line of Alexander Semin and Skinner kept producing. Sutter got his first goal with the Hurricanes when centering Skinner and Semin on Long Island, collecting a Skinner rebound for the eventual game-winning goal. Then Sunday Skinner moved to the middle and the line scored both Carolina goals in limited minutes (Skinner and Tuomo Ruutu, who joined the duo on the top line, played less than 14 minutes, while Semin played 15:41).
3. Carolina ranks last in the NHL in fighting majors with just four this season, one less than the Detroit Red Wings. It's been more than a month since Jay Harrison and Vancouver’s Tom Sestito faced off on Dec. 1, 2013. Those 16 games without a fight matches the longest stretch since the team moved to Raleigh, the last time being in late 2005. On Nov. 19, 2005, Jesse Boulerice squared off with the Rangers’ Jason Strudwick, and the Canes wouldn't have another first until Dec. 28, 2005, when Chad LaRose fought Ottawa’s Chris Kelly after LaRose boarded future teammate Patrick Eaves.
Number To Know
8 — points for Semin in his past seven games. Semin is quietly returning to his 2012-13 form after a slow start that saw him register just nine points in 20 games in October and November.
Plus
Anton Khudobin — With Ward hurt again, Khudobin has been Muller’s go-to guy in net. It's worked. Khudobin won his first start in more than two and a half months earlier in the week, then won both games on back-to-back night this weekend. He stopped 69 of 72 shots and allowed just one even-strength goal in Carolina’s two wins, improving to 5-0 on the season with a .940 save percentage and 1.99 goals-against average.
Minus
Ryan Murphy — With Jay Harrison close to returning to the lineup, Murphy might find himself back in the press box. He and John-Michael Liles— easily Carolina’s two smallest defensemen — were paired together and seemed overwhelmed at times in their own end. The worst for Murphy came at the end Sunday’s game when he took an interference penalty with Carolina on the power play, nullifying Carolina’s chance to put the game away and breathing life into the Preds, who scored on the ensuing power play to get within one goal.
For the second time in a month, Jeff Skinner was named the NHL's First Star of the week. Skinner had nine points, including six goals, to lead Carolina to four wins. Here is the release from the team.
JEFF SKINNER NAMED NHL FIRST STAR OF THE WEEK
Winger netted six goals as Carolina won four consecutive gamesRALEIGH, NC – The National Hockey League today announced that Hurricanes winger Jeff Skinner has been named the league’s First Star for the week ending Jan. 5. It marks the second time Skinner has earned the honor in less than a month, as he was also named First Star for the week ending Dec. 8.
Skinner, 21, scored six goals and earned three assists (9 points) in four games as Carolina earned victories against the Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals, New York Islanders and Nashville Predators. The Markham, Ont, native had two goals and an assist as the Hurricanes came from three goals down in the third period to beat the Canadiens on New Year’s Eve. Skinner followed that up with his second hat trick of the season, including the overtime, game-winning goal at Washington on Thursday. After earning the primary assist on Brett Sutter’s game-winner against the Islanders Saturday, Skinner had his third multi-point effort with the game-winning goal and an assist against Nashville on Sunday night. Skinner leads Carolina and ranks tied for ninth in the NHL in goals (20) and game-winning goals (4) this season despite missing 11 games due to injury.
Selected by the Hurricanes in the first round, seventh overall, of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Skinner (5’11", 200 lbs.) has totaled 84 goals and 80 assists (164 points) in 220 career NHL games. He appeared in the 2011 NHL All-Star Game, and won the Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year in 2010-11.
The biggest and brightest from the past week in fantasy hockey.
3rd Star, from the St. Louis Blues, numero 1, Brian Elliott! That sound you hear is Jaroslav Halak owners cursing under their collective breath. Yep, Elliott is back, he's playing great, and Ken Hitchcock does not give a flying fuck about your fantasy hockey team. The Blues are scoring an average of 3.46 goals-per-game (4.04 at home) this year, so a goalie would only need a middling save percentage (hello Halak) to succeed, but that didn't stop Elliott from stopping all but three of 79 shots he faced this week. He finished with a 3-0 record, a shutout, 1.00/.952 peripherals and a goddamn assist for good measure.
2nd Star, from the Montreal Canadiens, number 76, P.K. Subban, and from the. Nashville Predators, numero 20, Ryan Suter! That's right, two second stars, only because I couldn't decide which D-man had the better week. Suter scored an unlikely four goals, which equaled his entire 48-game output last season. In fact, he's also played seasons of 82 and 70 games in which he scored only four goals. Crazy. PK had "only" two goals this week, but had eight more hits than Suter. Final tallies? Subban: two goals, four assists, plus-4, two PIM, nine shots, 10 hits, eight blocks. Suter: four goals (two PPG), two assists, plus-6, four PIM, 10 shots, two hits, eight blocks.
1st Star, from the Carolina Hurricanes, number 53, Jeff Skinner! This week truly belonged to young Skinner. He had two more goals, and two more points, than any other player. We've all seen what Skinner can do in spurts when he's healthy, but this is some next-level shit he's been up to lately. 16 goals in his last 16 games! In four games this week, Skinner had six goals (3 PPG, 2 GWG) three assists, plus-6 and 17 shots. Some of his recent success has been a by-product of more time on Eric Staal's wing, but even with Staal out of the line-up yesterday, Skinner managed two points.
***
Rookie Star of the Week:Nikita Kucherov. Nathan MacKinnon(3+1=4, 9 SOG) and Antti Raanta 2-0, 1 SO, 1.50 GAA, .943 SV%) were also deserving candidates, but Kucherov did his damage in such limited TOI (12:37, 10:07, 13:05) that we're going to reward him for making a lot out of a little. He scored a goal in each of his three games and finished with ten shots on the week. Two of his goals were of the powerplay variety.
Breakout Star of the Week:Brayden Schenn. He had gone over a month without a goal before scoring one on Dec. 30 to start the week. I guess that felt pretty good as he scored two more over his next three games. The Schenn-Simmonds-Hartnell line is red hot right now, so jump on those guys if you can.
Breakdown of the Week:Carey Price. Before the week began Price had allowed more than three goals in a game only five times this season. He managed to do it three times this week, letting in five, four and four goals against Carolina, Dallas and Ottawa respectively. To be fair, he had one win and lost the other two games in OT, but peripherals of 4.23 and .880 are not what you signed up for.
Eric and Jordan Staal left off of Team Canada
The Carolina Hurricanes just announced that Tuomo Ruutu and Andrej Sekera have both been selected to represent their respective countries in the Sochi Olympics. Ruutu will be on Team Finland while Sekera joins Team Slovakia.
In other news, none of the Hurricanes were selected for Team Canada, including Eric Staal, who won Olympic gold in Vancouver in 2010, and who suffered a knee injury playing for Canada in the World Championships last year.
Check out who made Team Canada at this link. (TSN)
The Hurricanes release follows:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Jan. 7, 2014
RUUTU, SEKERA NAMED TO OLYMPIC SQUADS
Three Hurricanes will represent countries in Sochi
RALEIGH, NC – Tuomo Ruutu (Finland) and Andrej Sekera (Slovakia) were today named to the rosters for their respective countries for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. USA Hockey named Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk to its squad on Jan. 1, so three Hurricanes players will compete in the tournament, which begins Feb. 12.
Ruutu, 30, has scored four goals and added eight assists (12 points) in 38 games for the Hurricanes this season. The Vantaa, Finland, native has represented his country in 10 major international tournaments, earning medals in all 10. He won bronze with Finland at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, and scored six goals to lead Finland to the gold medal at the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship.
Andrej Sekera, 27, leads Hurricanes defensemen and ranks tied for seventh among NHL blueliners in goals (7). The Bojnice, Slovakia, native also leads Carolina defensemen and is tied for 15th among league defensemen in points (24). Sekera has represented Slovakia in a number of international tournaments, including the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2008, 2009 and 2010 IIHF World Championships.
The Hurricanes take on the Buffalo Sabres tonight at 7 p.m. at First Niagara Center (FOX Sports Carolinas, Hurricanes Radio Network). The team returns home after the game, and hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs at PNC Arena on Thursday. Individual-game tickets for all Hurricanes regular-season games are on sale at the PNC Arena Box Office and via Ticketmaster. For information on Hurricanes ticket packages, please call 1-866-NHL-CANES, or visit www.CarolinaHurricanes.com.
The Hurricanes are riding a four game winning streak, but the Sabres have won five in a row at First Niagara Center. Something has to give in Buffalo, will Skinner's hot play be a difference maker?
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Buffalo Sabres
Jan. 7, 2014- 7:00 p.m. ET
First Niagara Center- Buffalo, NY
TV- Fox Sports Carolinas
Radio- 99.9 The Fan
SB Nation Rival Blog: (Die By The Blade) Twitter: (@diebytheblade)
Hurricanes record: 18-16-9 (45 points)
Sabres record: 12-26-4 (28 points)
The Hurricanes bring a season-long four game winning streak into a road matchup with the Sabres on Tuesday.
It is Carolina’s first of three meetings with Buffalo this season, who has collected 28 points on the year- a league low.
Buffalo has found a way to win games at home recently, however. After starting the year 0-8-1 on home ice, the Sabres have steadied to win five consecutive games in First Niagara Center.
The Hurricanes have been led by NHL first star of the week, Jeff Skinner. Skinner has seven multi-goal games in his past 16 games played and is riding a five-game point streak.
Skinner became the first player since the franchise relocated to score 16 goals in 16 games. Blaine Stoughton last did so in 1981-82 for the Hartford Whalers.
"He’s scoring, but he is scoring clutch goals. That’s a difference as well. The guys that we needed to score (against the Islanders) in a grinding-type game—three games in four nights—came through for us," coach Kirk Muller said in an interview with NHL.com.
Carolina has lost only once to Buffalo in regulation in the past 10 meetings, going 7-1-2.
However, the Sabres now have Matt Moulson at their disposal after a trade with the Islanders in October. Moulson is a career point-per game player against the Hurricanes (8 goals, 12 assists in 20 games).
Tuesday will be a homecoming for Nathan Gerbe and Andrej Sekera who, before joining Carolina this season, spent multiple years in the Buffalo organization.
Gerbe, who was signed in July by Carolina as a free agent, was drafted in the fifth round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by Buffalo.
With the Hurricanes this season, Gerbe has seen time on the second line centered by Jordan Staal.
Gerbe has played 43 games for Carolina this season, tallying nine goals and 11 assists.
Andrej Sekera was drafted in the third round of the 2004 draft by Buffalo, and was acquired by the Hurricanes through a trade that sent the Sabres defensemen Jamie McBain and a second-round pick in the 2013 draft.
Sekera has played in 41 games and leads the Hurricanes in scoring by defensemen with seven goals. He also has 17 assists. He will represent Slovakia in the Olympics in Sochi.
In three career games against the Hurricanes, goaltender Jhonas Enroth is 2-1-0 with a 1.98 GAA.
However, after being named to the USA Olympic team, Ryan Miller has elevated his play. In his past five starts, he is 3-1-1 with a .951 save percentage.
Carolina’s Anton Khudobin remains undefeated on the season at 5-0-0 and has a 1.99 GAA and a .940 save percentage.
Khudobin has seen the Sabres four times, going 2-1-1 with a 1.73 GAA and a shutout.
Miller will join Carolina’s Justin Faulk on team USA this February. The 21-year old Faulk leads the Hurricanes in average time on ice per game (24:10) and blocked shots (68).
Tuomo Ruutu will represent Finland in the Olympics, as well.
Carolina will be without Eric Staal who sustained a lower-body injury against the Islanders and did not make the trip to Buffalo. Sitting out against the Predators on Sunday snapped Staal’s streak of 191 consecutive games played- seventh in franchise history.
Muller said Staal is day-to-day and will work to get ready to come back.
Cam Ward, Riley Nash and Jiri Tlusty are on injured reserve. Tlusty and Nash skated on Jan. 6.
The Sabres will be without Tyler Meyers, who was suspended three games for a high hit on Dainius Zubrus.
After the Sabres, the Hurricanes will prepare for a back-to-back that puts them against the Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Puck drop tonight is set for 7:00 p.m. We hope you will join us on our open thread that will open up at 6:30 p.m.
Check out Coach Muller post-practice audio as you prepare for tonight's matchup.
Sabres Projected Lines:
Matt Moulson- Tyler Ennis- Zemgus Girgensons
Steve Ott- Johan Larsson- Matt D'Agostini
Linus Omark- Brian Flynn- Marcus Foligno
Matt Ellis- Zenon Konopka- Ville Leino
Mark Pysyk- Christian Ehrhoff
Tyler Myers- Mike Weber
Jamie McBain- Brayden McNabb
Ryan Miller
Jhonas Enroth
Hurricanes projected lines:
Tuomo Ruutu- Jeff Skinner- Alexander Semin
Nathan Gerbe- Jordan Staal- Patrick Dwyer
Drayson Bowman- Manny Malhotra- Radek Dvorak
Zach Boychuk- Brett Sutter- Aaron Palushaj
Andrej Sekera- Justin Faulk
Ron Hainsey- Brett Bellemore
John-Michael Liles- Ryan Murphy
Anton Khudobin
Stay home and stay safe tonight, Buffalonians.
Reports coming out from the First Niagara Center indicate that due to the blizzard in WNY, tonight's game between the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes has been postponed.
There are multiple Driving Bans and States of Emergency in basically every suburb of Buffalo, and even though the Hurricanes are already in town and skated earlier today, travel conditions for both arena workers and fans have gotten much worse in the past few hours.
The replay date has not yet been announced, but we'll update this post as soon as we find out
NEWS ALERT: Tonight's game between #Sabres&@NHLCanes has been postponed due to the hazardous weather conditions in the #Buffalo area.
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) January 7, 2014MORE: A make-up date will be announced as soon as it can be confirmed. #Sabres#Hurricanes
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) January 7, 2014
