HURRICANES Back-to-Back Washington Capitals Then at New York Islanders

 

CAROLINA HURRICANES vs. WASHINGTON CAPITALS

Friday, Jan. 20, 7 p.m. ET

RBC Center * Raleigh, NC

Hurricanes: 16-24-8 (40 pts.)

Capitals: 25-18-2 (52 pts.)

CAROLINA HURRICANES at NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Saturday, Jan. 21, 7 p.m. ET

Nassau Coliseum * Uniondale, NY

Islanders: 17-21-6 (40 pts.)

* All statistics through NHL games of Jan. 18

 

TV: FOX Sports Carolinas HD

RADIO: Hurricanes Radio Network: WCMC 99.9 FM The Fan (Raleigh – flagship); WWNB 1490AM/105.7FM (New Bern, NC); WAVQ 1400 (Jacksonville, NC); WMFD 630AM (Wilmington, NC)

INTERNET: www.CarolinaHurricanes.com

 

AUDIO CLIP OF THE DAY

Please find below a link to an .mp3 file of Hurricanes head coach Kirk Muller as he spoke to the media at Raleigh Center Ice on Thursday following the team’s practice. Click here to listen.

 

BACK-TO-BACK GAMES

Carolina hosts the Washington Capitals on Friday at the RBC Center for the fourth of six meetings between the teams this season (7 p.m. ET, FOX Sports Carolinas HD, Hurricanes Radio Network). The Capitals won the first three meetings, earning a 4-3 overtime win in Washington on Oct. 8, a 5-1 win on Nov. 4 in Raleigh and a 2-1 win at Verizon Center on Jan. 15. The teams conclude the six-game season series with two games following the All-Star break (Feb. 20 at CAR; March 6 at WSH).

 

The Hurricanes visit the New York Islanders on Saturday at Nassau Coliseum for the second of four meetings between the teams in 2011-12 (7 p.m. ET, FOX Sports Carolinas HD, Hurricanes Radio Network). The Islanders won the first meeting, 4-3, in a shootout on Jan. 3 at the RBC Center. The teams meet again on January 31 at the RBC Center and conclude the season series on Feb. 18 on Long Island.

 

HURRICANES STREAKS

Jussi Jokinen has points in two straight games (1g, 1a)

 

HURRICANES MILESTONES WITHIN REACH

Jussi Jokinen is two assists shy of 100 Hurricanes assists

Tim Gleason is three assists shy of 100 NHL assists

Alexei Ponikarovsky is four points shy of 300 NHL points

 

HURRICANES MILESTONES AND FIRSTS RECENTLY ACHIEVED

Alexei Ponikarovsky played in his 600th NHL game, Jan. 14 vs. BOS

Jussi Jokinen played in his 500th NHL game, Jan. 14 vs. BOS

 

CAROLINA NOTES

– Back-to-Back Games: Carolina begins its 10th of 16 sets of back-to-back games in 2011-12 on Friday against Washington. The Hurricanes are 8-8-2 thus far this season in back-to-back games, including a 5-3-1 mark in the front halves, and a 3-5-1 record in the back halves of those sets. The Hurricanes played 21 sets of back-to-back games in 2010-11, and went 21-15-6 in those contests.

– Against the Southeast Division: Carolina is 2-8-2 thus far this season against Southeast Division opponents. The Hurricanes posted a 12-8-4 record against divisional opponents in 2010-11. Since the division was created prior to the 1998-99 season, the Hurricanes have posted a record of 148-102-46-4 in 300 games against the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg franchise.

– Keeping their Discipline: The Hurricanes rank fourth in the NHL in fewest penalty minutes per game (9.6), through games of Jan. 18. The Canes have totaled fewer than 10 minutes in penalties 25 times this season (48 games).

– Drawing Up Success: The Hurricanes have won 54.0 percent of their face offs (363 of 664) in the last 11 games and rank tied for ninth in the NHL in face off win percentage (50.6%) this season, through games of Jan. 18. The Canes ranked 29th among the NHL’s 30 teams in that category (44.6%) last season. Jussi Jokinen is tied for 13th in the NHL in face off win percentage (55.6%), through games of Jan. 18.

– Shorthanded Leaders: Carolina ranks second in the NHL with seven shorthanded goals this season (through games of Jan. 18). The Hurricanes scored seven shorthanded goals in 82 games in 2010-11. Brandon Sutter ranks tied for third in the NHL with three shorthanded goals, while Patrick Dwyer is tied for sixth with two shorthanded tallies (through games of Jan. 18).

– Shot Blockers: The Hurricanes rank fourth in the NHL with 720 blocked shots, an average of 15.0 per game (through games of Jan. 18). Bryan Allen is ninth in the NHL with 102 blocked shots (through games of Jan. 18).

 

ICE TIME LEADERS

Captain Eric Staal ranks eighth among NHL forwards in ice time per game (21:28), through games of Jan. 18. Staal has skated 20-plus minutes 37 times this season. Justin Faulk leads all rookie defenseman in ice time per game (22:19), through games of Jan. 18. Faulk has logged over 20 minutes in each of the team’s last 29 games.

 

BACK IN BLACK

The Hurricanes will wear their black jerseys for the 12th time in the 2011-12 season on Jan. 20 against the Washington Capitals. Carolina is 4-5-2 this season when wearing its third jersey. The Hurricanes unveiled their alternate uniform in 2008-09, and have gone 32-17-5 all-time when wearing the third jersey.

 

BROADCAST NOTES

– FOX Sports Carolinas continues its coverage of the Hurricanes’ 2011-12 season on Friday when the team hosts the Washington Capitals and again on Saturday when the team visits the New York Islanders. As always, John Forslund will have the play-by-play call and former professional goaltender Tripp Tracy will provide color analysis. Bob Harwood hosts the Hurricanes Live pregame show, and reports from rinkside during the game.

– Fans can tune into the Hurricanes Radio Network’s flagship station, 99.9 FM The Fan as Hall of Fame broadcaster Chuck Kaiton calls every Canes game. Capitol Broadcasting’s Mike Maniscalco hosts Stormfront and Aftermath surrounding all broadcasts.

 

CANESPR.COM

The Hurricanes Media Relations Department created CanesPR.com to provide local, visiting and national media with a variety of convenient resources to cover team. Please visit CanesPR.com for team media guides, practice and media availability information, game notes, audio of player and coach interviews, media clips and more.

 

CAROLINA AT HOME: 11-11-3

CAROLINA ON THE ROAD: 5-13-5

CAROLINA ON THE POWER PLAY: 28-of-186 (15.1%)

CAROLINA SHORTHANDED: 117-of-150 (78.0%)

 

INJURIES

Goaltender, Brian Boucher, injured reserve, lower body, missed 20 games

Defenseman, Joni Pitkanen, injured reserve, concussion/knee, missed 19 games

Forward, Chad LaRose, day-to-day, upper body, missed 5 games

Defenseman, Jaroslav Spacek, day-to-day, upper body, missed 3 games

Forward, Jerome Samson, day-to-day, upper body, missed 2 games

2011-12 MAN GAMES LOST: 101

 

UPCOMING PRACTICE SCHEDULE

DATE	DAY	LOCATION	TIME
Jan. 20	Friday	RBC Center	10:30 a.m.
Jan. 21	Saturday	Nassau Coliseum	11:30 a.m.
Jan. 22	Sunday	Raleigh Center Ice	11:00 a.m.
Jan. 23	Monday	RBC Center	10:30 a.m.
Jan. 24	Tueday	None	-

* All times are local… Times and locations subject to change

 

HURRICANES vs. CAPITALS SERIES NOTES

– Carolina trails all-time 50-70-20-1 (141), including 27-32-11-1 (71) at home and 23-38-9 (70) on the road.

– The teams meet six times this season; at CAR, Nov. 4 (5-1 loss), Jan. 20, Feb. 20; at WSH, Oct. 8 (4-3 OT loss), Jan. 15 (2-1 loss), March 6.

– The Hurricanes went 1-4-1 against the Capitals in 2010-11, including a shootout win and a shootout loss at the Verizon Center.

– Carolina has not gone winless in the season series with Washington since the 1997-98 series, when the Canes posted a 0-4-0 record against the Caps.

– Six of the last 15 games between the clubs have gone to overtime (three were decided by the shootout) with Carolina posting a 3-0-3 record during those games.

– Cam Ward is 14-10-4 with a 2.61 GAA and three shutouts in 29 career games against WSH. Brian Boucher is 8-5-3, 2.49 and two shutouts in 17 career games. Justin Peters is 1-1-0 with a 2.93 GAA in two games against the Capitals.

– WSH career point-per-game players vs. CAR: Niklas Backstrom – 31 points (10g, 21a) in 27 games; Alex Ovechkin – 59 points (21g, 38a) in 44 games; Alexander Semin – 45 points (27g, 18a) in 38 games; Dmitry Orlov – one goal in one game.

– Michal Neuvirth is 3-1-0 with a 2.23 GAA and one shutout in four career appearance against Carolina. Tomas Vokoun is 13-10-5 with a 2.74 GAA and two shutouts in 30 games.

 

HURRICANES vs. ISLANDERS SERIES NOTES

– Carolina leads all-time 58-41-13-2 (114), including 30-20-7-1 (58) at home and 28-21-6-1 (56) on the road.

– The teams meet four times in 2011-12: at CAR: Jan. 3 (4-3 SO loss) and Jan. 31; at NYI: Jan. 21 and Feb. 18.

– The Hurricanes won all four meetings between the teams in 2010-11, out-scoring the Islanders 18-8 in those games.

– The Canes have gone 17-3-4 in the teams’ last 24 meetings (dating back to 1/6/06, and have not suffered a regulation loss to the Isles in the last 13 meetings (10-0-3 since 10/25/08).

– CAR career point-per-game players vs. NYI: Jeff Skinner – four points (2g, 2a) in four games; Eric Staal – 29 points (19g, 10a) in 28 games; Brandon Sutter – nine points (3g, 6a) in nine games.

– Cam Ward is 14-2-2, with a 2.24 GAA and one shutout in 19 career games against NYI. Brian Boucher is 5-6-0 with a 2.77 GAA in 11 games against the Islanders. Justin Peters is 1-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA in one appearance.

– NYI career point-per-game players vs. CAR: Michael Grabner – five points (3g, 2a) in five games

– Rick DiPietro is 5-12-1 with a 3.62 GAA in 19 career appearances against Carolina. Al Montoya is 0-1-1, 2.93 GAA in two games. Evgeni Nabokov is 7-1-1 with a 2.16 GAA and one shutout in 10 games against the Canes.

– Islanders assistant coach Doug Weight was a member of Carolina’s 2006 Stanley Cup championship team.