Fly the W
Winless in five straight and needing to salvage a four-game road trip with a win, the Hurricanes held on to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-3, on Thursday. The game-winning goal belonged to Calvin de Haan, who tallied his first as a Hurricane in the second period to give his team a commanding 4-0 lead at the time.
"It wasn't pretty at times, but it's also nice to play with a lead. To have that four-goal cushion is something we haven't really had all year," he said. "We grinded it out and ended up getting two points. That's all that matters, especially on the road."
Scott Darling made 35 saves on 38 shots against his former team to earn his first victory of the season.
"Right now, I just want wins," he said. "It's been a long 6-7 weeks with the injury, then two losses and sharing the net. It feels good to get the first one."
While the win didn't put the road trip over the top for the Hurricanes - they earned three of a possible eight points - it did at least give the team something to build off of as they head back home for six games over a 14-day stretch.
"The trip didn't go our way," Darling said. "Three out of eight points, but it's better than one out of eight."
Building Blocks
The Canes' longest home game of the season begins tonight and ends with a pair of games surrounding Thanksgiving. That's a quality opportunity for the team to make hay after slipping a bit in the last 10 games.
PROJECTED LINEUP
The Canes, who are 7-7-2 on the season, own a 3-3-1 record at home. Coming to town in the next two weeks include two divisional opponents, three Eastern Conference opponents and a familiar Blackhawks crew.
The Last Meeting
The Hurricanes dominated the last meeting between these two teams, which happened less than three weeks ago in Detroit. The 3-1 win was driven by the Canes' special teams, as the power play chipped in twice, and the penalty kill sealed the deal with an empty-netter in the game's final minute. Petr Mrazek made 20 saves on 21 shots against his former team.
The Opposition
The Canes catch the Red Wings on the second half of a back-to-back. On Friday night, Andreas Athanasiou tied the game late in the third period, and Dylan Larkin scored with six seconds left in overtime to lift the Wings over the Rangers, 3-2. The victory pushed the Wings to 5-1-0 in their last six games and 6-8-2 on the season.
ADVANCE AUTO PARTS KEYS TO THE GAME
