Losers of two consecutive games, the Carolina Hurricanes look to bounce back in a big way against the visiting New Jersey Devils.
Information
Carolina Hurricanes (8-12-4) vs. New Jersey Devils (12-10-2)
Thursday, December 3, 2015 – 7:00 pm (EST)
Raleigh, North Carolina – PNC Arena
TV/Radio: Fox Sports Carolinas/99.9 FM The Fan, WRALSportsFan.com
Projected Lineups
Carolina Hurricanes
New Jersey Devils
Preview
The month of November wasn’t kind to the rebuilding Carolina Hurricanes, but they have a clean slate in the month of December entering Thursday’s game against the New Jersey Devils.
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The Canes went just 3-6-4 in 13 November games, falling out of the playoff picture and to the bottom of the Eastern Conference in the process. The New Jersey Devils, on the other hand, had better luck in the second month of the season.
New Jersey posted a 6-5-1 record in November, which was better than most expected from them. They find themselves above .500 at 12-10-2 for the season and are just 4 points out of a playoff spot in the East.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Devils have found offensive success thanks to break out seasons from the likes of Mike Cammalleri (23 points), Adam Henrique (19 points), Kyle Palmieri (18 points), and Lee Stempniak (18 points).
Another big key for New Jersey’s early success is the play of goalie Cory Schneider. Schneider enters Thursday with an 11-7-2 record with a 2.03 goals against average that ranks 3rd in the NHL. His .927 save percentage ranks 7th in the league.
Thanks to some great goaltending and good play from youth on the blue line, the Devils are 7th in team defense, allowing just 2.4 goals per game. This alone will make coming out of Thursday’s game with a win a very tough challenge for the Carolina Hurricanes, a club that has struggled to assemble an acceptable offense this season.
The Canes rank 28th in team offense, and their league-worst special teams hasn’t helped them. Converting on just 12.5% of their man advantages, the Hurricanes rank 30th on the powerplay, and their penalty kill ranks 28th with just a 74.5% success rate.
Goalie Cam Ward is coming off two straight disappointing outings in goal, which has forced head coach Bill Peters to roll with Eddie Lack against the Devils.
Lack has been far from good himself early on in his stint with his new club. He is just 1-4-1 on the year with a 3.28 goals against average and .874 save percentage. Neither of Carolina’s goalies have a save percentage above .900.
The performance of the Hurricanes’ offense has been the biggest problem for the club early on, but a key player has started to turn things around.
Elias Lindholm, after posting just 2 points in his first 19 games, is on a 5-game point streak, posting 1 goal and 4 assists in that span. Jeff Skinner also had a wretched start to the season, but he has started to get in scoring areas consistently as of late, and he has started to pile up even more scoring opportunities.
The Carolina Hurricanes will also get Ryan Murphy back from injury against the Devils. The young defenseman missed 7 games due to a concussion that he suffered back on November 14 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
He had 4 points in 17 games prior to his head injury and was showing great signs of improvement in his own end and with his puck control this season. He played in 2 games with the Checkers during a rehab stint this past weekend, tallying 1 goal and 2 assists in those games. He will be paired alongside Noah Hanifin on Thursday like he was prior to his injury.
Next: Canes End November with Series of Ups and Downs
Thursday night will feature an important game for both teams. The Hurricanes have really struggled over the past month, and they need to turn it around if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Devils have exceeded expectations early on, and they will look to move even closer to a playoff spot in the East.