Hurricanes ride balanced attack, aim for 4th straight win vs. Kraken

The Carolina Hurricanes sense they're gradually getting back into a winning groove following a rough stretch.

They're aiming for their fourth consecutive victory when the Seattle Kraken visit for Saturday night's game in Raleigh, N.C.

Despite some glitches, the Hurricanes have stayed focused on highlighting their strengths.

"We stuck with what we know is winning hockey," Hurricanes winger Mark Jankowski said.

Carolina's three-game winning streak comes after a 2-6-0 rut, and the variety of contributors has been strong for Carolina this week. The Hurricanes have six players with double-digit goals this season, yet only one of those players scored in Thursday night's 5-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks.

"It's tough to find fault in that game," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said.

Logan Stankoven has a three-game goal streak for Carolina as part of a career-best four-game point streak.

Two of Taylor Hall's four multi-point games have come during the past three outings for the Hurricanes. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has 31 points in 32 games this season.

"It has been all the guys," Brind'Amour said. "That has really been, I think, the difference."

Defenseman Jalen Chatfield's first goal of the season marked the Hurricanes' go-ahead goal Thursday.

"I wasn't too worried about it," Chatfield said. "I was just playing hockey. I had a lot of chances this year, and I know to just keep firing the puck and hopefully good things will happen."

The Kraken had been on a run as well until falling 3-2 in overtime to visiting Minnesota on Thursday night. That halted a four-game winning streak, but Seattle has still won eight of its last 10 games.

The matchup with the Hurricanes will be Seattle's second consecutive game against a team with one of the top four point totals in the NHL.

"I don't believe in measuring stick games," Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. "I feel like we're a good enough team to beat anybody in the league. So I just measure us as opposed to the opponent."

The Kraken scrambled from a two-goal deficit to force overtime Thursday night, so there was some solace in collecting one point.

"It's a huge point for us," Lambert said. "Again, the disappointment for me is that the game started slow for us."

The Kraken will start a five-game road trip. It begins on a fairly quick turnaround, given the cross-country travel needed after Thursday night's game.

Seattle winger Jordan Eberle is expected to be on the trip, Lambert said, after missing the Wild game. That marked the first time he was out of the lineup this season. Eberle leads the Kraken with 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists).

"I'm hoping it's more of a day-to-day thing," Lambert said. "Certainly, that's a hole for us to have our captain out. We'll see where we go from here."

Although Carolina's Frederik Andersen ended a personal nine-game losing streak as the winning goalie Thursday night, it's expected that the Hurricanes will have rookie Brandon Bussi (15-2-1) back in net Saturday night.

With 11 goals in the past two games, it matches the Hurricanes' highest-scoring two-game stretch of the season.

The Carolina Hurricanes sense they're gradually getting back into a winning groove following a rough stretch.

They're aiming for their fourth consecutive victory when the Seattle Kraken visit for Saturday night's game in Raleigh, N.C.

Despite some glitches, the Hurricanes have stayed focused on highlighting their strengths.

"We stuck with what we know is winning hockey," Hurricanes winger Mark Jankowski said.

Carolina's three-game winning streak comes after a 2-6-0 rut, and the variety of contributors has been strong for Carolina this week. The Hurricanes have six players with double-digit goals this season, yet only one of those players scored in Thursday night's 5-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks.

"It's tough to find fault in that game," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said.

Logan Stankoven has a three-game goal streak for Carolina as part of a career-best four-game point streak.

Two of Taylor Hall's four multi-point games have come during the past three outings for the Hurricanes. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has 31 points in 32 games this season.

"It has been all the guys," Brind'Amour said. "That has really been, I think, the difference."

Defenseman Jalen Chatfield's first goal of the season marked the Hurricanes' go-ahead goal Thursday.

"I wasn't too worried about it," Chatfield said. "I was just playing hockey. I had a lot of chances this year, and I know to just keep firing the puck and hopefully good things will happen."

The Kraken had been on a run as well until falling 3-2 in overtime to visiting Minnesota on Thursday night. That halted a four-game winning streak, but Seattle has still won eight of its last 10 games.

The matchup with the Hurricanes will be Seattle's second consecutive game against a team with one of the top four point totals in the NHL.

"I don't believe in measuring stick games," Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. "I feel like we're a good enough team to beat anybody in the league. So I just measure us as opposed to the opponent."

The Kraken scrambled from a two-goal deficit to force overtime Thursday night, so there was some solace in collecting one point.

"It's a huge point for us," Lambert said. "Again, the disappointment for me is that the game started slow for us."

The Kraken will start a five-game road trip. It begins on a fairly quick turnaround, given the cross-country travel needed after Thursday night's game.

Seattle winger Jordan Eberle is expected to be on the trip, Lambert said, after missing the Wild game. That marked the first time he was out of the lineup this season. Eberle leads the Kraken with 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists).

"I'm hoping it's more of a day-to-day thing," Lambert said. "Certainly, that's a hole for us to have our captain out. We'll see where we go from here."

Although Carolina's Frederik Andersen ended a personal nine-game losing streak as the winning goalie Thursday night, it's expected that the Hurricanes will have rookie Brandon Bussi (15-2-1) back in net Saturday night.

With 11 goals in the past two games, it matches the Hurricanes' highest-scoring two-game stretch of the season.