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Hurricanes put strong home record on line vs. Bruins (Dec 23, 2016)
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes will try again to add to their recent home-ice success to wrap up competition prior to Christmas.
The opponent will be the Boston Bruins on Friday night at PNC Arena.
Both teams churned out 3-1 road victories Thursday night. The Hurricanes won at Buffalo, while the Bruins prevailed at Florida.
"I expect us to be good (Friday) and then go into the Christmas break," Carolina coach bill Peters said Thursday. "The start is important for us each and every night."
Boston hasn't won consecutive games this month since three in a row across the first five days. That included a 2-1 home victory in a shootout with the Hurricanes.
After the three-game streak, they've gone 3-4-2 without winning consecutive games so defeating Florida was reason for optimism.
"It's good to get back and get some confidence," Boston defenseman Torey Krug
It has been a strange week for the Hurricanes, who had a game postponed. Now, they hope their new-found depth helps them through the back end of the week.
"We're a deep team," Peters said. "It gives the coach some options and guys know where they fit."
The Bruins have more line combinations to consider as well.
They welcomed back center Frank Vatrano, who had been out all season with an injury, to action Thursday night and he scored in his first game back. That's the kind of spark the team has been looking for and he'll be aiming to build on that.
"It's something I've been waiting for all year and ready to get my legs back underneath me," Vatrano said. "... It's obviously good to get your confidence right away, especially getting a goal."
This is the first scheduled game at PNC Arena since a long delay and subsequent postponement of Monday night's Detroit-Carolina game because of a problem with the ice. That became an extended layoff for the Hurricanes, who had four nights in a row without a game.
The ice issue was resolved later that night, according to team officials. There was never any suggestion that Friday's game would be affected and the machinery responsible for the problem has been repaired or replaced.
The Hurricanes have a nine-game points streak at home.
"We're playing very well at home," Carolina defenseman Ron Hainsey said. "It's a huge game. We have to win (Friday) to feel good before a few days off."
By mid-week, the Hurricanes brought back goalie Eddie Lack, who had been out with a concussion. It's unlikely he'll play in the Boston game, but he was primarily a backup anyway before the practice injury a few weeks ago. All indications are that the Hurricanes will stick with goalie Cam Ward for the final pre-holiday game.
With Lack coming off injury reserve, the team sent goaltender Michael Leighton back to Charlotte of the American Hockey League.
Carolina forward Lee Stempniak played 19 games for Boston at the end of last season before signing with the Hurricanes as a free agent during the offseason.
Three former Hurricanes are with the Bruins with defenseman John-Michael Liles, forward Riley Nash and goalie Anton Khudobin no longer on the home team in Raleigh.
