With the club running out of road, the Hurricanes will be looking to keep their fading playoff hopes alive by returning home and sweeping both parts of a home and home with the Senators.
They accomplished the first part with a solid 5-2 win in Ottawa, led by some timely snipes and a solid performance from Cam Ward.
Ottawa will be without Erik Karlsson, who in a bit of a surprise played at home on Saturday but didn't make the trip to Raleigh. Forward Ben Sexton, a Kanata native and son of former Senators GM Randy Sexton, has been called up and is expected to suit up for his NHL debut playing alongside Max McCormick and Alex Burrows.
Speaking of debuts, Filip Gustavsson made his on Sunday for the Belleville Senators and turned aside 37 of 39 shots in a 8-2 drubbing of the Laval Rocket. I wonder if the newest goalie of the future will get any sort of look in the NHL before the season is over as they play out the string.
It is tough to get excited about a Monday night game in Carolina, when the players are just going through the motions despite some players playing for jobs and contracts. I am not saying they aren't giving an effort, but there have certainly been stretches and situations where their give a damn meter seems to be busted, something that can easily happen in their situation.
Seventy four down, eight to go. And of course, this is the first half of a back to back, as the Senators will return home to face the Islanders Tuesday night at CTC.