All Aboard
The Hurricanes are hot, and seemingly nothing is slowing them down.
That's a credit to the team's approach to each and every game.
"We're rolling, but we've got to keep the foot on the pedal. No steps back," said Warren Foegele, who scored the game-winning goal against the Rangers on Friday. "We need each win, and I think everyone in this room knows that."
PROJECTED LINEUP
The Canes are 8-2-1 on the road since the start of the new year, a stretch that includes a current four-game road winning streak and a current six-game road point streak.
Then & Now
When the Hurricanes last squared off with the Devils, they were shut out, 2-0, and fell to 3-8-1 in the month of December.
It was a frustrating loss that encapsulated a frustrating period for the Hurricanes in which nothing seemed to be going their way. Execution and finish were lacking, and so was confidence.
Since then, the team has scored a league-high 70 goals to assemble a 13-4-1 record and surge within a point of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
What's been the difference? Ask and they'll tell you: The team hasn't really changed much, but they're continuing to work hard for their chances, and they're getting pucks to go in the net.
"The resiliency of the group has pretty much been there all year," head coach Brind'Amour said Friday night. "These guys, from day one, have bought into what we're trying to do. It's playing for each other. … It's given us a chance every night."
The Last Meeting
Rookie goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood stopped all 37 shots he saw in his third career start to earn his first career shutout, as the Devils blanked the Canes, 2-0. Pavel Zacha's shorthanded goal in the second period was all the offense the Devils needed. Prior to the Devils adding an empty-net goal with 33 seconds left to seal the victory, Teuvo Teravainen appeared to have scored the game-tying goal, but it was immediately waved off (and upheld upon review) due to goaltender interference.
"I thought it was soft, extremely soft. Trying to screen the goaltender. I think it's a very, very soft call," Justin Williams said after the game. "For that to be called no goal, certainly at that point in time, I wholeheartedly disagree with the call."
The Opposition
Today's matinee is the second half of a back-to-back for the Devils, who dropped a 3-1 decision to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday afternoon and are 2-3-1 since returning from the bye week and All-Star Weekend. Though New Jersey ranks 15th in the Eastern Conference, they own a 13-9-5 record at home.
ADVANCE AUTO PARTS KEYS TO THE GAME
