The bottom two teams in the Eastern Conference will meet
tonight in Raleigh, as the free-falling Carolina Hurricanes welcome the
Toronto Maple Leafs for tonight's battle at RBC Center.
The Hurricanes are in the midst of the franchise's longest-ever losing streak,
dropping 10 straight contests since getting their last victory in a 7-2
thrashing of Florida on October 9. The Panthers exacted revenge for that loss
on Wednesday night, as they blanked visiting Carolina at BankAtlantic Center.
Tomas Vokoun made 32 saves, including 21 in the opening period, to post his
second consecutive shutout and lead Florida to the 3-0 decision. The loss
pushed Carolina past the 1982-83 Hartford Whalers team that originally set the
club record with nine consecutive setbacks.
"We couldn't find any holes," said Carolina forward Jussi Jokinen. "We had a
lot of good chances but we couldn't score."
Cam Ward stopped 22 shots for the Hurricanes, who have matched their worst
start ever with just seven points through their first 14 games. The 1992-93
and 1994-94 Hartford clubs also managed just seven points in the opening 14
contests.
To make matters worse, Carolina was playing its first game without top forward
Eric Staal, who is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Last
year, Staal led the club with 40 goals and was second on the team with 75
points.
Carolina's only two wins have come at home, but the club still has a sub-par
2-3-1 record as the host this year. Beginning with tonight's test, the 'Canes
are playing four of their next five games in Raleigh.
Toronto comes into tonight with just one win in its first 13 games of the
season and is tied with the Hurricanes for last place in the East with just
seven points on the year.
The Maple Leafs have lost four straight, but have notched a point for an OT
loss in each setback during the skid. Toronto has recorded a point in five
straight games (1-0-4) dating back to their only victory of the year on
October 26 in Anaheim.
Toronto was dealt a 2-1 loss Tuesday against visiting Tampa Bay as Ryan Malone
scored the game-winning goal 2:21 into overtime to lift the Lightning. Antero
Niittymaki also stopped 40-of-41 shots to secure the win for Tampa.
The contest marked the debut of Toronto forward Phil Kessel, who was acquired
from Boston prior to the season with the knowledge that he would miss several
weeks due to shoulder surgery. Kessel was medically cleared to play earlier
Tuesday after being absent for the first 12 games of the year. He registered a
career-high 10 shots on goal, but went without a point while logging nearly 24
minutes of ice time.
"I shot the puck fairly well, but (Niittymaki) make some nice saves,
especially on some one-timers," said Kessel.
Jonas Gustavsson allowed two goals on 32 shots in defeat for Toronto, which is
off to its worst start after 13 games (1-7-5) since a 2-10-1 beginning in
1990-91.
Toronto is 1-3-3 as the guest club this year and has lost three straight on
the road. The Leafs will return home next for a two-game homestand against
Detroit and Minnesota.
Tonight's test marks the first of four meetings between Toronto and the
Hurricanes this year. Carolina took three of the four encounters in 2008-09
and has won six of eight overall in the series. The Leafs have been defeated
in five of their last eight trips to RBC.
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