Carolina seeks win against B’s after road loss in St. Louis

Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network
Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Carolina Hurricanes return home to host the Boston Bruins on Monday after hitting a bump on the road during their recent trip to St. Louis over the weekend.

The Hurricanes suffered a 4-2 loss to the Blues on Saturday as part of a back-to-back set that saw them finish their recent home stand with a 4-0-1 record after beating the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in a shootout the night before.

“We knew it was going to be a tough one – we had a battle last night,” Hurricanes head coach Kirk Muller said following the loss to the Blues.

“Coming in we had to shorten our bench with a couple of injuries. You know, playing a big power team like St. Louis, we knew we had our hands full. We didn’t start off well, but we hung in there, battled back and unfortunately that third goal was a big blow for us.”

Captain Eric Staal continued to hold the hot hand for the Hurricanes as he tallied singles during the team’s recent games against the Ducks and Blues.

Against St. Louis, it was Staal and Nathan Gerbe who scored the Hurricanes’ first shorthanded goals of the season 57 seconds apart, but it was not enough to keep the NHL’s top goal scorer, Alexander Steen, and the Blues from pulling out the win during the final period of play.

“We got on a bad change and that was the difference,” Staal said afterwards.

Facing the Bruins for the first time this season, the Hurricanes have shown recent success against them, winning five of the last seven games against one of the Eastern Conference’s formidable power teams.

The early-week matchup against the B’s should be an energetic one as both teams have earned valuable points during their last six games, sporting identical 4-1-1 records, and with the Hurricanes seeking to keep their current unbeaten streak in regulation play at home going.