Canes set goal on first road win of season

RALEIGH -- There's only one way for the Carolina Hurricanes to end all the talk and snarky remarks about their winless road record.

Simply put, win one. Go on the road, win, and put it behind them.

The Hurricanes will have four chances this week, beginning tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena. After playing the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Canes will go to New Jersey, Washington and Ottawa.

But first things first. Carolina remains the only NHL team without a road victory. After going 19-16-6 on the road last season, the Hurricanes are 0-10-3, breaking the franchise record for most road games without a win to begin a season.

"Obviously, that's important for us, a big goal for us, to win that first one," forward Jussi Jokinen said Sunday.

Has losing on the road become a mental thing?

"Maybe," Jokinen said. "Obviously when you lose that many in a row it starts to become mental.

"We'd like to get that out of the way [tonight] and not have to think about that anymore. What better place would there be to start to win on the road than against the best team last year, the team that won the Cup?"

The Canes' collective mindset is more of a positive one after their 5-3 win Saturday over the Vancouver Canucks at the RBC Center. Carolina had lost five straight games in regulation, but Erik Cole's hat trick and a solid team effort enabled the Hurricanes to win and be in an upbeat mood in Sunday's practice.

Forwards Ray Whitney and Chad LaRose and defenseman Niclas Wallin sat out the workout. Whitney, who had a goal and two assists against the Canucks, and LaRose are expected to play tonight, but Canes coach Paul Maurice said he was not sure about Wallin.

The Hurricanes on Sunday called up defenseman Jay Harrison from Albany of the AHL and reassigned defenseman Bryan Rodney to the River Rats. But Maurice said if Wallin is unable to go tonight, Rodney could again be recalled.

Jokinen was scratched from the Canucks game with an injury but will return tonight.

"I felt I was ready to play [against Vancouver], but it might have been a smart decision to hold me out," Jokinen said. "I feel much better and will be 100 percent."

Cam Ward also is feeling much better and closer to 100 percent. The goaltender has missed the last 12 games after suffering the deep leg laceration Nov. 7 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but Maurice said the plan still was for Ward to start Wednesday at New Jersey.

Manny Legace, the winner against the Canucks, will be in goal tonight against the Pens, with Michael Leighton the backup. Then, it should be Ward on Wednesday against the Devils.

"It will allow us to get another real good workday in and then have a recovery day in practice and then be ready for [New] Jersey," Maurice said. "If we get to Tuesday and [Ward] gets through practice and he still doesn't feel right, then we'll just push it back."

The Hurricanes have scored just 21 goals in 13 road games and have been shut out three times. Carolina lost shootouts against the New York Islanders (Oct. 21) and Montreal Canadiens (Nov. 17), and lost in overtime against the Minnesota Wild (Oct. 24).

"We've had some games that kind of slipped away," winger Sergei Samsonov said. "But we can pick up some points on the road [this week]. We're playing four good teams, but we have the chance to get something positive out of it."

The Penguins (20-9-0) lead the Atlantic Division, and the Devils are second. The Capitals are well ahead in the Southeast Division, and the Senators are contending in the Northeast. That's some road trip.

"I think we played very poorly at the start of the year on the road," Maurice said. "But I think some of our best hockey has been on the road. I think we've been very close.

"We were a darn good road team last year because we played pretty much the same game, home and on the road, and I've really felt comfortable on the road with the way our team is playing. We've performed well on the road; we just haven't won games."