Hot Hurricanes intent on dousing cold Flames
The Eastern Conference-leading Carolina Hurricanes will look to complete the Western Canada sweep when they visit the Calgary Flames on Saturday night.
The Hurricanes arrive in Calgary riding a two-game winning streak that consists of a 6-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday and a 6-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.
"Obviously, back-to-backs are tough, traveling and getting to bed late, but no excuses," said Carolina forward Jackson Blake, who scored twice in Edmonton. "We've just got to have the same mindset we had (Friday) and just finish this road trip on a big win."
To say the Hurricanes are on a roll would be an understatement. They have only one regulation-time loss in the past 15 games (12-1-2) and have 12 goals in the past two outings.
Their ability to control the game was on full display in Edmonton, a clash in which they outshot the high-octane Oilers 32-16.
"I don't think there was a guy that took a shift off," Carolina defenseman Jalen Chatfield said. "We knew ... we had to play together and we needed everybody. Ghost went down early, so as a whole team, we had to step up and fill in for that."
The only drawback was the loss of defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who left the game after the first period due to a lower-body injury. He has missed 17 games due to four different injuries this season.
"It's obviously not good," coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "He's kind of been dealing with stuff, I feel like, all year. Just when he kind of gets rolling he keeps getting nicked up."
The Flames not only hit the ice having lost four straight games and sitting next-to-last in the NHL standings, but they stripped down their roster further before Friday's trade deadline.
Calgary dealt top-line center Nazem Kadri to the Colorado Avalanche for forward Victor Olofsson, conditional first- and second-round draft choices and a prospect. To help fill the need at center, the Flames also sent a draft pick to the Anaheim Ducks for Ryan Strome.
Earlier in the week, the club traded key defenseman MacKenzie Weegar to the Utah Mammoth for a package that included veteran depth defenseman Olli Maatta, a trio of second-round draft picks and a prospect.
"It's about getting this organization back to where we want to be consistently," Flames general manager Craig Conroy said. "That's all we've ever wanted to do. It's frustrating, because I hate losing games, but again, it's a learning process."
Calgary will finish a three-game homestand in which it has been outscored 10-2 in two losses, the latest a 4-1 defeat to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.
The Flames have only three wins in their past 13 games (3-7-3) and will incorporate more youth, with the hope that Strome will join a shrinking leadership group that provides much-needed guidance.
"It's an opportunity to play but also to spread my knowledge and help guys out," Strome told the Flames' website. "I've always drawn on the guys that helped me when I was young, and I know what an impact it's made on me in my career in my life, and I've tried to do that every stop along the way.