- Florida Panthers coach Pete DeBoer is all too familiar with the desperate mindset of teams in the midst of long losing streaks, so he won't allow his players to take the slumping Carolina Hurricanes lightly Wednesday night.
The Panthers ended their second four-game losing streak of the season with confidence-boosting road wins over the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues, while their Southeast Division rival remains mired in a nine-game winless stretch. The Hurricanes' last victory was over the Panthers, 7-2, on Oct. 9.
"I told them today I have no doubt we're going to see Carolina's best game,'' DeBoer said after practice Tuesday. "I would almost rather see a team coming in here on a nine-game winning streak than on a nine-game losing streak.
"I really believe that we're going to see a game seven Stanley Cup final out of Carolina and we better be prepared for that. I've been on the other end of that losing streak and the desperation level of your players is through the roof.''
Similar to the Panthers, the Hurricanes - who reached the Eastern Conference finals last season - have been hit hard by injuries, losing defenseman Joni Pitkanen and Tim Gleason, along with wing Erik Cole for long stretches.
Last year at this time the Panthers were in the midst of a six-game winless skein with injuries to Nathan Horton, Cory Stillman and Bryan McCabe. Now, they're dealing with the absences of David Booth (concussion), Radek Dvorak (knee) and center Dominic Moore (nose).
"It feels like ground hog day,'' DeBoer said. "It's identical, starting with injuries to key players … in the first 10 games.
"That forced us to play a team game, getting back to relying on work ethic. The same thing happened this past weekend. Hopefully, it's a lesson learned.''
While the Panthers broke out of their scoring slump with 10 goals in their two-game weekend sweep – thanks in part to red-hot center Steven Reinprecht's hat trick, the Hurricanes are tied for last in the league with 28 goals and 50 goals against.
"You get a lucky goal and all of a sudden you get your confidence going in the right place,'' Reinprecht said. "We were looking for that road trip to turn things around so hopefully we got a little momentum going.''
Injury updates
Dvorak (knee) skated by himself for the second straight day and could return as soon as this weekend. Moore didn't skate and will most likely miss his third straight game since undergoing nasal surgery last Thursday. …
Goaltender Tomas Vokoun, who is coming off a shutout of the Blues, will be in the nets against the Hurricanes, but DeBoer said there's a good chance that backup Scott Clemmensen (2-0) will play against the Capitals Saturday in the second game of the home and home series.
The Panthers ended their second four-game losing streak of the season with confidence-boosting road wins over the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues, while their Southeast Division rival remains mired in a nine-game winless stretch. The Hurricanes' last victory was over the Panthers, 7-2, on Oct. 9.
"I told them today I have no doubt we're going to see Carolina's best game,'' DeBoer said after practice Tuesday. "I would almost rather see a team coming in here on a nine-game winning streak than on a nine-game losing streak.
"I really believe that we're going to see a game seven Stanley Cup final out of Carolina and we better be prepared for that. I've been on the other end of that losing streak and the desperation level of your players is through the roof.''
Similar to the Panthers, the Hurricanes - who reached the Eastern Conference finals last season - have been hit hard by injuries, losing defenseman Joni Pitkanen and Tim Gleason, along with wing Erik Cole for long stretches.
Last year at this time the Panthers were in the midst of a six-game winless skein with injuries to Nathan Horton, Cory Stillman and Bryan McCabe. Now, they're dealing with the absences of David Booth (concussion), Radek Dvorak (knee) and center Dominic Moore (nose).
"It feels like ground hog day,'' DeBoer said. "It's identical, starting with injuries to key players … in the first 10 games.
"That forced us to play a team game, getting back to relying on work ethic. The same thing happened this past weekend. Hopefully, it's a lesson learned.''
While the Panthers broke out of their scoring slump with 10 goals in their two-game weekend sweep – thanks in part to red-hot center Steven Reinprecht's hat trick, the Hurricanes are tied for last in the league with 28 goals and 50 goals against.
"You get a lucky goal and all of a sudden you get your confidence going in the right place,'' Reinprecht said. "We were looking for that road trip to turn things around so hopefully we got a little momentum going.''
Injury updates
Dvorak (knee) skated by himself for the second straight day and could return as soon as this weekend. Moore didn't skate and will most likely miss his third straight game since undergoing nasal surgery last Thursday. …
Goaltender Tomas Vokoun, who is coming off a shutout of the Blues, will be in the nets against the Hurricanes, but DeBoer said there's a good chance that backup Scott Clemmensen (2-0) will play against the Capitals Saturday in the second game of the home and home series.
