Hurricanes look to tie Sabres for 8th

Published: 18^th Mar 11 2:37 am

nickmarek
nickmarek

RANT It!

Cam Ward looks to continue his hot play against the Islanders - Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI

The Carolina Hurricanes (32-29-10) have lost 5 out of its last 6 games and currently hold possession of 9th place in the Eastern Conference. Tonight at 7PM EST, the Canes are taking on the New York Islanders (27-33-11) at the RBC Center in Raleigh.

This is a big game for the Hurricanes because the spread between the 7th and 12th place teams in the East is only 8 points. If the Hurricanes wish to get back in the playoff picture, the players need to find their offensive production. Over the past five games, the team has taken 179 shots on goal but only scored 7 goals. The Canes did not practice today, but instead, had a meeting to discuss how they could break the offensive struggles. Before Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canes did not score a power play goal since Staal’s tip-in against the Florida Panthers on March 1. In an attempt to find some chemistry, the Hurricanes recently called up prospect Drayson Bowman.

The good news for the Caniacs is that the Canes have won both games against the Islanders this season and its stars have produced both times. Eric Staal scored 3 goals and tallied 5 points while Cam Ward stonewalled New York, stopping 54 of 58 shots. With a victory, the Canes will move into an 8th place tie with the Buffalo Sabres.

A quick injury update – Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro is expected to be available to play tonight. It will be DiPietro’s first game back since he was put on the IR after fighting Pittsburgh goalie Brent Johnson on February 2nd. For the Canes, they may have lost Jamie McBain for the rest of the regular season with an upper body injury.