Hurricanes look for offensive punch against struggling Coyotes.
Phoenix (8-8-1) at Carolina (10-7-2), 7:00 pm EST
RALEIGH, North Carolina – The Carolina Hurricanes look to generate sparks on the offensive end when they put their two-game winning streak on the line against the Phoenix Coyotes on Friday.
Carolina has scored two goals or less in each of its last seven games and has won just three of those contests. The Hurricanes snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.
Two days later, Sergei Samsonov and Ray Whitney scored 3 1/2 minutes apart in the third period and Carolina recorded a season-high 48 shots in its 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
Cam Ward made 28 saves to anchor the defensive unit, which has consistently bailed out the struggling offense.
We got to continue to play with emotion and desperation weve played the last couple of games, Ward told the Raleigh Chronicle. Im happy for the guys, weve worked really hard, and we threw everything at their net. A good defense is a good offense.
Mired in a three-game losing skid, the Coyotes have failed to convert on the offensive end as well. They have posted three or less goals in 11 of 17 games this season.
Captain Shane Doan has been an exception lately, recording six goals and 14 points over his last 11 contests.
Doan scored in Phoenixs 3-2 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, and assisted on another in its 3-2 shortcoming against the Dallas Stars three days prior.
Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov has started 10 consecutive games and has yielded nine goals in the last three. In the previous seven contests, he surrendered 12.
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Bruins hope for more success against Panthers.
Florida (7-10-1) at Boston (12-3-4), 7:00 pm EST
BOSTON The top-ranked defense in the NHL has become the Boston Bruins second-best weapon during a recent winning stretch.
Winners of 10 of their last 12, the rolling Bruins hope to continue their success when they host the Florida Panthers on Friday.
Boston, which has yielded just 45 goals, has been clicking on the offensive end lately, posting 31 goals over the last eight games. Such prowess was evident in its 7-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.
When things are going well, you want to take advantage of it, but at the same time, its just a matter of our team staying focused and not taking anything for granted, Bruins coach Claude Julien told the Boston Globe. The worst thing you could do is take anything for granted, think you can just go out there and just play okay and pull out some wins.
The Bruins were able to pull out the gritty victory by netting five unanswered goals after trailing, 4-2, in the first period.
Sometimes there are going to be some ugly wins but youve got to know that every game, youve got to come ready and prepared to do the job, Julien told the Globe after the win. And when you are, you can bounce back from situations like (Wednesday) where we had a tough start but because the guys were determined and focused we got ourselves back in the game.
Center Marc Savard had a goal and three assists against Buffalo and has nine points during his four-game points streak.
Florida dropped a 3-1 decision to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday and fell to 3-2-0 in its last five contests following a six-game losing skid.
Goaltender Tomas Vokoun made 16 saves in his third straight start and rookie Michael Frolik – the 10th overall pick in 2006 – scored his first career goal.
The Panthers have done a valiant job killing penalties in their last six contests, yielding only one goal over their last 24 shorthanded situations.
