CAROLINA HURRICANES (8-4-4-3, 23 pts.)
at
BOSTON BRUINS (11-3-3-1, 26 pts.)
Thursday, November 21 at 7:00 p.m. at FleetCenter

GAME NIGHT

The defending Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes finally hit the road to take on the Boston Bruins at FleetCenter on Thursday night. It is the first game of a three-game road trip that will take Carolina to three Original Six cities as the Hurricanes play at Montreal on Saturday and at the New York Rangers on Monday. The Hurricanes wrapped up a franchise-record nine-game homestand on Tuesday night, playing to a 4-4 draw with Ottawa. The Hurricanes completed the homestand with a record of 4-0-3-2, and have earned at least one point in each of their last 11 games (5-0-4-2). Carolina has lost in regulation just once in its last 14 games (7-1-4-2), all but three of which have come against teams that participated in the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Hurricanes netminder Kevin Weekes is 7-2-4 in his last 13 games with a goals against average of 1.71 (23g, 806 min.) and a save percentage of .943 (23G, 407 SA). Hurricanes defenseman David Tanabe played in his 200th career NHL game on Tuesday against Ottawa. Forward Erik Cole played in his 100th game, tallying a goal and two assists in the game.

PRACTICE TIMES

Nov. 21	Thursday	FleetCenter	11:30 a.m.
Nov. 22	Friday	Bell Centre	2:15 p.m.
Nov. 23	Saturday	Bell Centre	11:30 a.m.
Nov. 24	Sunday	Chelsea Piers	2:30 p.m.
Nov. 25	Monday	Madison Square Garden	11:30 a.m.
Nov. 26	Tuesday	RBC Centre	TBA

ON THE AIR
Television: Fox Sports Net (NC & SC)
Radio: WKIX 102.3 FM (Goldsboro); WKXU 101.1 FM (Raleigh); WDTF 570-AM (Raleigh); WMFD 630-AM (Wilmington); WDLZ 98.3-FM (Murfreesboro); WSJS 600-AM (Winston-Salem); WRUP 97.9-FM (New Bern/Morehead City); WSTK 910-AM (Jacksonville); WNMX 106.1 (Charlotte); WCNC 1240-AM (Elizabeth City); WZBO 1260-AM (Edenton)
Internet: www.nhl.com

CAROLINA NOTES
Captain Ron Francis tallied his 1,100th point with the franchise with his goal against Ottawa. He is now one goal shy of tying Pat Verbeek for 23rd on the NHL’s all-time goals scored chart. With a Tampa Bay loss and Carolina’s tie with Ottawa, the Hurricanes gained a point on the division-leading Lightning. Winger Erik Cole scored Carolina’s second short-handed goal of the season and the first of his career against the Senators. The Hurricanes remain among the elite in the league in penalty kills. Carolina has been successful in 93-of-107 (86.9%) shorthanded situations this season and was ranked seventh in the NHL through games of Nov. 19.

CAROLINA AT HOME: 6-2-4-2
CAROLINA ON THE ROAD: 2-2-0-1
CAROLINA ON THE POWER PLAY: 18-of-122 (14.8%)
CAROLINA SHORTHANDED: 93-of-107 (86.9%)

CAROLINA INJURY UPDATE
Josef Vasicek missed the game vs. Ottawa (11/19) due to back spasms. He is day-to-day. Sami Kapanen missed the game vs. Ottawa (11/19) due to a groin injury. He is day-to-day.

CAROLINA / BOSTON NOTES
The Hurricanes and the Bruins meet for the first of four matchups this season. The two teams split the regular season series last year 2-2-0, with each team winning both of its road games. Carolina defeated Boston at FleetCenter 6-2 on Feb. 28 and 2-0 on March 30. Boston defeated Carolina 6-3 on Jan. 2 and 3-2 on March 26 in Raleigh. Ron Francis was the leading scorer in the 2002-03 season series with seven points (2g, 5a), including his 500th career NHL goal on Jan. 2 in Raleigh. The Hurricanes are 53-79-14-0 all-time against the Bruins, including a 31-34-7-0 record at home and a 22-45-7-0 record in Boston.

BRUINS NOTES
The Bruins 26 points is best in the Eastern Conference, and tied for second in the NHL behind Dallas with 28. Boston has lost just one game at home this season and is on a four-game winning streak at FleetCenter. The Bruins currently boast the third best power-play percentage in the league at home. Boston is 10-of-39 (25.6%) with the man advantage at FleetCenter. Center Joe Thornton is tied for fifth in the league in scoring with 23 points (10g, 13a) through games of Nov. 19. Rookie Ivan Huml ranks among the top rookies in the NHL. He is tied for third in power-play assists (3), tied for second in assists (7), tied for third in shots (31) and second in plus/minus (7), through games of Nov. 19.

SCORING LEADERS AND GOALTENDERS

HURRICANES
	GP	G	A	TP
17 Brind'Amour	19	9	8	17
92 O'Neill	19	5	11	16
10 Francis	19	7	5	12
26 Cole	19	3	6	9
21 Tanabe	17	2	7	9
Goalies	GP	GAA	W-L-T	SV%
1 Irbe	3	4.35	0-3-0	.833
80 Weekes	17	1.87	8-4-4	.937
BRUINS
	GP	G	A	TP
19 Thornton	18	10	13	23
27 Murray	18	7	11	18
16 Stumpel	18	5	11	16
12 Rolston	18	8	6	14
11 Axelsson	17	6	6	12
Goalies	GP	GAA	W-L-T	SV%
31 Shields	10	2.34	6-2-2	.917
47 Grahame	7	2.02	3-2-1	.929
70 Thomas	2	2.50	2-0-0	.928