Daily Primer Nov. 5: Hurricanes aim to end skid

Little has gone right for the Carolina Hurricanes in recent weeks, but they're hoping a five-game homestand can reverse their fortunes.

Carolina (4-7-3), winless in five straight, returns to PNC Arena on Tuesday night to face the Philadelphia Flyers (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CSN-PH), who have had their own share of problems this season, but are coming off a 1-0 victory against the New Jersey Devils that saw them allow only 14 shots on goal.

The Hurricanes will also face the New York Islanders, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche and Anaheim Ducks on the homestand. Carolina is 1-3-3 on home ice this season.

"Home is a place where you need to execute and you need to be good," Hurricanes defenseman Jay Harrison told the team's website. "Your home record is very indicative of where you are in this League and it's something that we've consciously identified as an area that needs improvement. We want to take pride in the way we play at home."

Here's a look at the action scheduled for Tuesday:

Dallas Stars at Boston Bruins – Tyler Seguin makes his return to Boston after being traded by the Bruins, along with Rich Peverley and Ryan Button, to the Stars on July 4 in exchange for Loui Eriksson, Joe Morrow, Reilly Smith, and Matt Fraser. Seguin has fared well thus far in Dallas; he has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 14 games. Eriksson is hopeful he'll be able to play against his former team Tuesday. He's missed the past five games since a headshot from Buffalo Sabres forward John Scott on Oct. 23.

New York Islanders at Washington Capitals – The Islanders begin a four-game road trip after impressive victories against the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins on Friday and Saturday, respectively. New York boasts two of the top 10 scorers in the League, and neither are named John Tavares; Kyle Okposo has 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) and Frans Nielsen has 16 (eight goals, eight assists) in 14 games. The Capitals (7-7-0) have also won back-to-back games despite the absence of captain Alex Ovechkin, who was out with an upper-body injury. Ovechkin practiced Monday and is expected to be a game-time decision.

Ottawa Senators at Columbus Blue Jackets – The reeling Senators enter Tuesday without a victory in their past five games (0-3-2), and now they'll be without No. 1 goalie Craig Anderson, who suffered a neck injury during a 4-3 shootout loss to Dallas on Sunday. That puts increased pressure on 22-year-old Robin Lehner, who will be backed up by Nathan Lawson after the latter was called up from Binghamton of the American Hockey League on Monday. Columbus' skid reached three after back-to-back losses against the Pittsburgh Penguins over the weekend. They were outscored 7-2 in the two games.

St. Louis Blues at Montreal Canadiens – St. Louis suffered a 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, its first regulation loss in seven games. The Blues are led by forward Alexander Steen, who has 12 goals and 18 points in 12 games, and former Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak, who has a 2.35 goals-against average in 10 games. Montreal has failed to pick up a point in its past two games. The Canadiens suffered 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Friday before a 4-1 setback against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.

Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers – Something has to give in this one. Each team enters Tuesday with a five-game losing streak and is in dire need of a victory. The first step for Edmonton (3-10-2) as it begins a four-game road trip would be to score a goal; the Oilers have been shut out in back-to-back games and allowed nine goals along the way. Florida suffered a 3-2 shootout loss to the Capitals on Saturday despite a solid performance by veteran goalie Scott Clemmensen, who stopped 21 of 23 shots.

Philadelphia Flyers at Carolina Hurricanes – Philadelphia will be aiming to build off a 1-0 win against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, when they allowed 14 shots on goal at Prudential Center. The Flyers could have Vincent Lecavalier back in the lineup; the veteran forward skated Monday with a special cage to protect some swelling that remains on the left side of his face following a brawl with the Washington Capitals on Thursday. Carolina has lost five in a row, but begin a five-game homestand Tuesday.

Calgary Flames at Minnesota Wild – Flames goalie Reto Berra is expected to receive another start after making 42 saves to win his first NHL start, a 3-2 overtime victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday to open a four-game road trip. Minnesota won for the fifth time in six games Sunday, when they blanked the New Jersey Devils, 4-0, at Xcel Energy Center. Josh Harding stopped all 19 shots he faced for the shutout and forward Nino Niedereiter had three assists.

Vancouver Canucks at Phoenix Coyotes – Vancouver begins a four-game road trip, but that shouldn't bother Canucks, who are 6-2-1 away from Rogers Arena. A lot of their success can be attributed to the play of the top line; Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler have combined for 14 goals and 18 assists since being put together by coach John Tortorella 10 games ago. Phoenix earned its fourth straight victory Saturday, when it recorded an impressive 3-2 shootout win against the San Jose Sharks. Radim Vrbata has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 15 games for the Coyotes.

Buffalo Sabres at San Jose Sharks – Already off to the worst start in franchise history, the Sabres (2-13-1) now head to the West Coast for three games, beginning with a visit to San Jose. With 26 goals in 16 games, the Sabres know they're going to have to find ways to generate offense against a Sharks' team that has outscored its opponents by a 53-27 margin through its first 14 games. San Jose is 5-0-1 at home, but has dropped its past two games at SAP Center – an overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings, followed by a shootout defeat against Phoenix.