Building on a W
Monday's victory in the Motor City helped the Canes stall a three-game losing skid, and they did so with the two elements of their game that were struggling the most: power play and penalty kill. The Canes scored two power-play goals, with Justin Faulk and Micheal Ferland finding the back of the net, and sealed the victory with two penalty kills in the game's final six minutes and a shorthanded, empty-net tally.
"They earned the win. They did things right," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "There was no doubt who the better team was, and that's the way we have to play."
The Hurricanes will now need to carry that special teams momentum forward into Friday's cross-conference match-up with the Sharks.
"It's nice just to get it going. It's been a pretty sore spot throughout the year so far," Faulk said. "We just need to keep it going. We're obviously happy it was that way tonight, but we're not satisfied, knowing that one game is not enough. We need to turn around and do it again Friday."
Roy Recalled
The Hurricanes swapped forwards with Charlotte this week, reassigning Clark Bishop to their top farm club while recalling Nicolas Roy, who tallied five goals in his first six games with the Checkers this season.
PROJECTED LINEUP
"We wanted to give him a shot. He's a big body who can play. He's a right-hand center," Brind'Amour said. "I felt like he had a real good training camp. He deserved the chance."
"It was my goal when I got sent down. I told myself that I want to be here. I want to be a Carolina Hurricane," Roy said. "That's why I did hard work there and tried to be better. Feeling good there and got the call-up."
Like Bishop did and Martin Necas before him, Roy will center a line with Valentin Zykov and Brock McGinn.
"Last year I was a little bit more nervous. I'm still nervous, but the first game is a different feeling. You don't know what to expect," said Roy, who made his NHL debut in the Canes' final game of the 2017-18 season. "I played with Z last year when I came up too."
Darling Activated
Scott Darling was activated from injured reserve and completed a one-game conditioning assignment with the Checkers, stopping 25 of 26 shots in Utica in a 3-1 win on Wednesday.
"I think it's encouraging that he got through it and felt good about his game," Brind'Amour said. "He can get back up here and get ready to go."
Darling wasn't back at practice with the Hurricanes on Thursday, and Brind'Amour didn't commit to when the 29-year-old would make his season debut in the crease.
"Obviously soon, but I'm not sure," he said. "We'll get him up, get him in the groove of everything and then make our decision."
The Opposition
The Sharks won their third straight game on Tuesday, defeating the Predators 5-4 in Nashville. San Jose and Carolina share the exact same record through nine games: 5-3-1 and 11 points.
"They've got a very, very good team," Brind'Amour said. "It's going to be a big test."
ADVANCE AUTO PARTS KEYS TO THE GAME
