Dispatches from the Road: Pittsburgh to Boston

PITTSBURGH - The Carolina Hurricanes were scheduled to fly to Boston following their game in Pittsburgh on Thursday night.
A "bomb cyclone" - the real-life, winter-weather equivalent of the Hurricanes, essentially - had other ideas. With blizzard-like conditions, the storm dropped over 13 inches of snow in Boston on Thursday, leaving the Hurricanes looking for alternative travel plans.
The team ended up staying the night in Pittsburgh and practicing at the Penguins' facility in Cranberry Township before jet setting for Boston on Friday afternoon.
"A real good skate. I liked the plan we came up with. We didn't want to risk not being able to get out and sitting on the plane on the tarmac," head coach Bill Peters said. "Everyone had a good night's sleep. Lots of jump here today, and we'll carry it forward into Boston."

Even with the on-the-fly schedule adjustment, the Hurricanes, who were slated to practice on Friday at Boston University, are able to remain in the familiar practice-play-practice-play routine.
"That's what it's all about. You notice it when you take time off, you're not quite where you were," Peters said. "This effort last night was real close to how we played prior to the Christmas break, and that's the type of game we want to roll out each and every night."
That effort on Thursday was a
4-0 shutout of Pittsburgh
in a building where the Penguins were well over .500 on the season at 12-6-1 coming into the game. Putting forth one of their best second periods of the season, the Hurricanes grabbed a lead and built on it while suffocating the Penguins' offense at the other end of the ice. Sebastian Aho netted two goals in the third period to seal the Canes' first victory of the New Year, and Cam Ward made 21 saves on 21 shots in his first shutout of the season and first of his career in 32 games against the Pens.

"I thought we got the game going real fast in the second," Peters said. "I thought the first period was real even both ways. There wasn't a lot going on. I didn't think we executed as well as we could have. From that point on, I thought our execution was very high-level."
With the win, the Hurricanes, who currently occupy the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, created a smidge of separation below the cut line - and with how congested the Metropolitan Division has been this season, those were a vital two points the Canes packed away to begin this stretch of four straight on the road.
The Hurricanes are likely to regain the services of Marcus Kruger on Saturday night in Boston. Kruger, who has missed the team's last four games with a lower-body injury suffered in practice before the end of 2017, continued to skate with the team in Pittsburgh and "felt good," according to Peters.
"He's a guy who just knows how to play. He can play against any line. I've got a lot of confidence in that line when they're out there," Peters said. "We missed him when he was gone, but guys did a good job with the next man up mentality and filling in. It'd be nice to get him back, also."
Lee Stempniak (upper body) also continued to be a full participant in practice as he nears a return from two separate injuries that have kept him sidelined for the entire first half of the season. Lucas Wallmark (lower body) did not practice and remains day-to-day with a lower-body concern. Aleksi Saarela, recalled on Wednesday from Charlotte, did not skate and is likely to be reassigned pending Kruger's status.
Next stop: snowy, frigid Boston.