Devils begin, end eventful few days

Canes have 3 straight wins since Feb. 9

RALEIGH -- So much has changed since the Carolina Hurricanes' first visit to the New Jersey Devils' new arena, it's difficult to comprehend.

Their captain was lost for the season. Two key players have been traded. The long-coveted offensive-minded defenseman has arrived. Another key player has returned, for a third time, from the concussion he suffered two months ago. The flu bug bit again, and hard.

And through all that, the Canes have won three in a row for only the second time this season, three straight since that first visit to the Prudential Center ended in a disheartening 6-1 loss a mere nine days ago.

"Mayhem," Hurricanes defenseman Glen Wesley said. "Obviously, things happen for a reason. We knew Cory [Stillman] and Mike [Commodore] were going to be unrestricted [free agents] and unfortunately it's part of the business.

"Guys have stepped up their games and through injuries and sickness and everything else that has happened, guys have shown a lot of character. That's what it's going to take down the stretch here in order for us to make that next step and make the playoffs."

The loss to the Devils was one of the low points of Carolina's season, and two days later general manager Jim Rutherford pulled the trigger on the trade that sent Stillman and Commodore to the Ottawa Senators for puck-moving defenseman Joe Corvo and forward Patrick Eaves.

Corvo has two assists in his first two games with the Hurricanes, although he was one of three players given the day off Sunday because of the flu that knocked Corvo and Tim Gleason out of Thursday's win. Gleason and Scott Walker also sat out Sunday's practice.

Eaves has yet to make his Carolina debut because of a shoulder injury, and that's unlikely to change this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Carolina captain Rod Brind'Amour is out for the season with a knee injury, which prompted Matt Cullen to return to the lineup Saturday, perhaps a day or two early from the concussion-related vision problems that caused him to miss seven games.

Nevertheless, the Canes have their first three-game winning streak since October. That has a lot to do with the contributions of Sergei Samsonov, who has 13 points in 17 games since the Canes claimed him on waivers, Trevor Letowski, who had a goal and an assist Saturday in Carolina's first full game without Brind'Amour, and Andrew Ladd, who has seven points in the past five games.

"With sickness and guys going down -- obviously the captain is a huge part of our team -- when something like that happens, collectively everyone brings it up just a little notch," Hurricanes center Eric Staal said. "That's been the difference in winning games."

But the Canes have also benefitted from the play of AHL call-ups like Keith Aucoin, Ryan Bayda, Casey Borer and Tim Conboy, who have provided a much-needed dose of the energy the Canes were lacking in the listless loss to the Devils.

"I think we've responded well to the situation," Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said. "There's been a lot of not adverse situations, but changes in the lineup, for whatever reason.

"I can't give enough credit to the guys who have come up from Albany and the staff down there for getting them ready, because not only have they come up and played some minutes, they've been an integral part of the lineup."