The Carolina Hurricanes are in the middle of their basement tour where they are playing five teams in a row who are not in playoff position. I originally thought, hey, this would be a good opportunity for the team to finish out strong and see some young guys get playing time.
Well, the Canes had other plans.
There was some excitement coming into the game. First, they were coming off of a win against the Islanders. Second, NHL rookie and AHL goal-scoring leader Valentin Zykov was recalled to the Hurricanes. There was also news that he had taken Derek Ryan’s spot on the power play, which was a much-welcomed change.