Scoring has been a shortcoming for the Utah Hockey Club and the Carolina Hurricanes the past couple of weeks.
Solving that will be crucial for both teams when they meet Saturday afternoon in Raleigh, N.C.
The Hurricanes, who will be in their final game prior to a two-week layoff, have lost three consecutive games for the second time this season, so they are hoping to avoid their first four-game skid of the season.
In Thursday night’s 2-1 loss at Minnesota, the Hurricanes held a 38-24 advantage in shots.
“We certainly deserved to get something out of that,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “That’s kind of the way it’s gone for us all year.”
Utah, which has a quick turnaround Sunday in Washington before it begins the break in the NHL schedule, has won two in a row since a five-game losing streak. Both of those positive results were 3-2 decisions in overtime, including Thursday night at Columbus.
“When you’re in those situations more often, you get more comfortable and more confident,” Utah forward Dylan Guenther said. “We’re going to be in a lot of those (close games) moving forward.”
Guenther has three goals, including a pair of OT winners, in two games since returning to action following about a month off because of a lower-body injury.
Still, Utah has gone seven consecutive games without scoring more than two goals in regulation.
Carolina rookie forward Jackson Blake said his team’s recent dip in scoring is frustrating, but he looks toward the Utah game as a chance to remedy some of the issues.
“We’ve got to capitalize, myself included,” Blake said. “I’ve got to find ways to put it in the net. We’ve only scored one goal in the last two games. That’s not going to win you very many hockey games. We’ve just got to find a way.”
Forward Sebastian Aho has scored four goals in the last six games for Carolina, including the lone tally in Minnesota.
Since the beginning of January, Carolina is 2-for-46 on power plays.
“Our power play stinks. I’ll just leave it at that,” Brind’Amour said. “We’ve got to find a way to score some goals. I don’t know what the answer is. We’re certainly putting up good opportunities, we’ve just got to finish.”
Lack of production on special teams has been wearing on the Hurricanes.
“One of the things we’ve just got to get dialed in is our special teams,” defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. “Our kill did a good job, but power play, we’ve got to bear down there and get some goals. A lot of times, that’s the difference in the game.”
The Hurricanes have used various lineup combinations recently, even going with 11 forwards in a recent game. Defenseman Scott Morrow was out of the lineup Thursday.
Utah is 14-10-3 in road games.
Utah won 4-1 against Carolina at home in mid-November, with Nick Bjugstad scoring two goals. The Hurricanes got a goal from Martin Necas, who now plays for the Colorado Avalanche.
Bjugstad has five goals this season, but only one in the last 19 games.
–Field Level Media
