Hurricanes Head West

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Boarding complete.
The Carolina Hurricanes are embarking on their longest road trip of the season, a 13-day, six-game trek that will take the team through Vancouver, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Las Vegas and Buffalo.
"I'm excited about going on the road with this group," head coach Bill Peters said after a Saturday night win in Raleigh. "I'm really looking forward to seeing us take a step."

Due in large part to this road trip, the Hurricanes play nine of their first 11 games in the month of December on the road, where the team is 5-5-2 on the season.
The road trip comes at a crucial juncture in the season, too. The Hurricanes have collected 27 points in 25 games and sit just outside of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference at 11-9-5. Twelve points are to be had on this trip, and with five of the six games against Western Conference opponents, it's not a matter of how the Canes pocket two points on a nightly basis - whether it takes 60 minutes or more - as much as it is that the team finds a way to do so with consistency.
The Hurricanes are coming off a dramatic 3-2 overtime win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night. Jeff Skinner gave the Canes a one-goal lead in the third period, but Aleksander Barkov tied it late with the extra attacker on the ice. With just two seconds remaining in 3-on-3 overtime, Noah Hanifin popped his own rebound past James Reimer, an emotionally-charged ending to a feisty, physical game.
"It was a real hard-fought game," Hanifin said. "We have a long road trip coming up, and we wanted to show some fight before we go on that."
"It's a good win. Guys came together and stuck up for one another," Skinner said. "Those always feel a little bit more satisfying. There was a little bit more emotion in the game, and everyone was a little bit more invested physically and emotionally."

Despite the length and miles covered on this road trip, the schedule isn't too grueling. The Canes land in Vancouver on Sunday afternoon and will practice on Monday, time enough to become acclimated in the Pacific Northwest before facing off with the Canucks on Tuesday. One of the team's 18 back-to-back sets is on tap for this trip, when the Canes play in Anaheim next Monday followed by the team's first-ever trip to Vegas on Tuesday. After the second cross-country flight in just over a week next Wednesday, the Hurricanes will practice on Thursday in Buffalo, readjusting their bodies to the East Coast before squaring off with the Sabres on Friday.
At long last, the Canes then return to Raleigh, where the Columbus Blue Jackets await for what figures to be an important Metropolitan Division match-up on Saturday night at PNC Arena.
The Hurricanes are toting two extra healthy skaters on this trip. And, don't be surprised to see the team utilize both of its goaltenders in some fashion, especially with back-to-back games in Anaheim and Vegas next week, not to mention the road-then-home back-to-back that caps this trip.
As always, Hurricanes.com will have you covered throughout this two-week road trip. We'll have your usual gameday content, in addition to written updates from practice days and travel days. TV's Mike Maniscalco and I will be delivering two road editions of
CanesCast
, beginning Monday in Vancouver and followed a week later with a gameday special from Anaheim.
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Next stop: Vancouver.