DETROIT - Erik Cole has been a part of some powerful lines. There was the BBC Line of the 2002 playoffs, with Bates Battaglia and Rod Brind'Amour. There was the combination with Cory Stillman and Eric Staal that was productive in 2006.

From the looks of the Carolina Hurricanes' past two games, he may be part of another. Cole scored twice in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, giving him three goals and an assist in the two games he has played with Ray Whitney and Matt Cullen.

"It's a little different than when I'm playing with Eric and Cory," Cole said. "I don't need to be out in front pushing back the [defense]. It's more they handle the puck in traffic and make little plays at the line to me driving with speed.

"I don't think I was playing near as well as I'm playing now when I was with Eric and Cory. I think maybe I was holding those guys back a little bit."

Cole scored only four goals in Carolina's first 29 games.

UNHAPPY TRAVELS: Maybe if the Red Wings had played Saturday night as well, the Hurricanes wouldn't have minded. But when they arrived in Detroit early Sunday morning, they weren't in a particularly good mood.

Coming off Saturday's 5-1 win at Montreal, not only did the Canes have to play a Detroit team that hadn't played since Friday, but also the game began at 5 p.m. Eastern.

"Every time these come up we try to get the time change, but by league rules they can schedule it at that time," Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said. " ... This whole week of scheduling is not a very good schedule. We'll just have to live with it."

The puck dropped Sunday 19 1/2 hours after Saturday's game ended; the Hurricanes spent more than four of those hours traveling and didn't arrive at their Detroit hotel until after 1:30 a.m.

HOMECOMING: The last and only other time Hurricanes forward Chad LaRose played at Joe Louis Arena, he was seven years old.

"As a mini-mite," LaRose said. "I had a penalty shot and I missed. I cried all the way home."

LaRose, who grew up in Fraser, a half-hour from Detroit, and played junior hockey in Plymouth, twice went to training camp with the Red Wings as a junior player but never received a contract offer. He signed with Carolina as a free agent in 2003.

For Whitney, it was his first visit to Detroit since the Red Wings bought out his contract in August 2005. He played one season in Detroit and had 14 goals and 29 assists in 67 games.

LaRose procured 60 tickets for Sunday's game and Michigan native Tim Gleason 10 (he had as many as 80 guests), but Whitney didn't need any.

"I have some good friends from there from the year I was there plus the lockout," Whitney said. "I don't think I was there long enough to have made any mark or impression on the people of Detroit."