Fresh off a devastating loss against the Dallas Stars, the Carolina Hurricanes Continue a very important road trip against the Anaheim Ducks.
Information
Carolina Hurricanes (10-14-4) vs. Anaheim Ducks (11-12-5)
Friday, December 11, 2015 – 10:00 pm (EST)
Anaheim, California – Honda Center
TV/Radio – Fox Sports Carolinas/99.9 FM The Fan, WRALSportsFan.com
Projected Lineups
Carolina Hurricanes
Anaheim Ducks
Preview
A few days after a heart-braking loss to the hands of the Dallas Stars, the Carolina Hurricanes return to action on the west coast against the Anaheim Ducks.
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After going down 5-1, the Canes pulled off their biggest comeback in 15 years, bringing the game back to a 5-5 score thanks to a pair of powerplay goals from Justin Faulk, Phil Di Giuseppe, and Jeff Skinner in the 3rd period. Jaccob Slavin got Carolina on the board in the 2nd period. Di Giuseppe and Slavin both tallied their first goals in the NHL.
That comeback was deflated by a late powerplay goal from Patrick Sharp with just 19 seconds left in regulation time.
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The Hurricanes will now look to get past that stinging loss and set their focus to the new challenge at hand, the Anaheim Ducks.
Despite early season struggles, the Ducks find themselves just 2 points out of a playoff spot in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The biggest problem for this club has been goal scoring.
Anaheim ranks dead last in the NHL in goals with just 55. With a roster full of talented offensive players like Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler, Cam Fowler and many others, this has come as a big surprise to many people.
The saving grace for the Ducks this season has been their defense and goaltending. They are 2nd in the Western Conference in team defense, allowing just 2.4 goals per game. This high level of team defense is also apparent in their league-leading 87.8% success rate on the penalty kill.
The Ducks have allowed just 1 goal per game since the beginning of December, leading to their 2-1-0 record in the new month. This will be Anaheim’s first home game since November 25. They wrapped up a 5-game road trip, in which they went 3-1-1, on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Anaheim knows their situation. They are coming back to their home crowd after a few weeks away, and they are just on the outside of a playoff spot. They will be hungry for a big win, and they won’t be taking the Canes lightly.
Carolina Hurricanes
After being pulled after allowing 4 goals on 8 shots in the 1st period against Dallas on Tuesday, Cam Ward will likely be watching the game from the bench on Friday, making way for Eddie Lack to get the net against his former division rival dating back to his 2 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks.
Lack stopped 10 of 12 shots in relief of Cam Ward against the Stars and allowed an iffy goal to Sharp that ultimately cost the team the hockey game. Getting Eddie Lack a string of consistent starts will be important for the Carolina Hurricanes going forward, as we have said in the past, but it may not happen quite yet. The Canes will also play on Saturday in Arizona, which could give Ward another go in between the pipes, unless Lack’s performance warrants another start.
The goaltending has quickly turned into this team’s biggest problem. The Canes have allowed 10 goals on 43 shots over the past 2 games, and Cam Ward enters Friday with the 2nd lowest save percentage amongst goalies with 10+ appearances at .893. If Lack plays against the Ducks, his current .863 save percentage would become the lowest amongst those qualified goalies as it will be his 10th appearance of the season.
One bright spot has been the Hurricanes’ surge offensively. The team has 13 goals over their last 3 outings. Noah Hanifin, Justin Faulk, Elias Lindholm, Andrej Nestrasil, Victor Rask, and Eric Staal all have points in consecutive games for Carolina.
Next: Eric Staal Could Fit in Perfectly with this Western Conference Team
The Carolina Hurricanes are in a battle at the bottom of the NHL. They are currently tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the least points in the standings with just 24. The Canes do have 2 fewer games played than the Jackets.
Friday’s game will be important for both teams. The Ducks continue to fight for a playoff spot and look to find their offense, and the Hurricanes are trying to fight their way out of the basement of the NHL.