Homecoming
With a dramatic 3-1 win in Colorado on Thursday night, the Hurricanes captured nine points on a five-game road trip for the first time in franchise history.
Sebastian Aho paced the Canes during that five-game stretch with seven points (5g, 2a). Dougie Hamilton recorded six points (2g, 4a), while Teuvo Teravainen polished off a six-pack of assists.
"All in all, a pretty great trip," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said after Thursday's victory.
The Hurricanes are now 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and 12-6-2 on the road this season.
"We're building something: The way to play and understand how we have to play as a team to be successful," Brind'Amour said. "That's important."
Haula Back?
Erik Haula has missed the Hurricanes' last 15 games with tendonitis in his surgically repaired knee, but he joined the team mid-road trip in Calgary and has been skating in practice since Monday.
PROJECTED LINEUP
The Canes reassigned forward Brian Gibbons to Charlotte on Friday morning, potentially signaling Haula's return - barring another recall or opting to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen, of course.
"We're day-to-day on that," Brind'Amour said about Haula's status earlier in the week. "Hopefully just keep improving his health and conditioning."
The Last Meeting
The Hurricanes and Panthers last met on Nov. 23 at PNC Arena. After Florida scored two early goals, the Canes answered back with four unanswered
en route to a 4-2 win
.
Dougie Hamilton scored what proved to be the game-winning goal and added an assist on the night, while Teuvo Teravainen recorded a trio of assists.
"Kudos to us for sticking with it. We didn't get down on ourselves," said Brett Pesce, who scored the Canes' first goal of the game. "We did a good job sticking to our game plan."
