,b> CAROLINA HURRICANES (15-13-5-3, 38 pts.)
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NEW YORK ISLANDERS (13-16-5-0, 31 pts.)
Saturday, December 28 at 7 p.m. at Nassau Coliseum

GAME NIGHT

The defending Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes travel to New York to take on the Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum. Carolina is currently in their eighth set of 19 back-to-back games. The Hurricanes fell to the Thrashers 5-3 at RBC Center on Dec. 27. The loss marked the first ever to the Thrashers. Carolina has lost just 10 times in regulation in its last 31 games.
Carolina captain Ron Francis assisted on Jeff O’Neill’s power play goal in the first period and now has 15 points (6g, 9a) in his last 14 games. Francis is currently on a six-game point streak. With his assist against the Dallas Stars, Francis became the second player in NHL history after Wayne Gretzky to tally 1,200 career assists. Second-year forward Erik Cole has 15 points (9g, 6a) in the last 18 games.

PRACTICE TIMES

Dec. 28	Saturday	Nassau Coliseum	11:30 a.m.
Dec. 29	Sunday	RecZone	11:45 a.m.
Dec. 30	Monday	RBC Center	TBA
Dec. 31	Tuesday	RBC Center	10:30 a.m.
Jan. 1	Wednesday	RBC Center	TBA

ON THE AIR
Television: None
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
Carolina remains two points behind Southeast Division leading Tampa Bay after falling to the Atlanta Thrashers 5-3 on Friday. The Hurricanes are currently in the eighth of 19 sets of back-to-back games this season. Carolina is 8-7-0-0 in back-to-back games with a 5-3-0-0 record in the front half and a 3-4-0-0 record in the back half of back-to-back games.

CAROLINA AT HOME: 8-5-5-2
CAROLINA ON THE ROAD: 7-8-0-1
CAROLINA ON THE POWER PLAY: 37-of-201 (18.4%)
CAROLINA SHORTHANDED: 162-of-191 (84.8%)

CAROLINA INJURY UPDATE
Bret Hedican missed the game vs. Atlanta (12/27) due to a concussion. He is day-to-day.

CAROLINA / NEW YORK NOTES
The Hurricanes and the Islanders meet for the second of four games this season. The Hurricanes defeated New York 4-1 on Oct. 22 behind a 36-save performance by netminder Kevin Weekes. Sami Kapanen ended his scoring drought, netting two goals against the Islanders. Kevyn Adams and Rod Brind’Amour also added goals for Carolina.
The Islanders won last season’s series 3-1-0, including two overtime wins against the Hurricanes. Carolina’s lone win against the Islanders came on April 8 at Nassau Coliseum, 2-1. All three of the Islanders wins against Carolina came in October, as New York defeated Carolina 4-0 in Raleigh on Oct. 17, and topped the Hurricanes in overtime 3-2 on Oct. 26 in Raleigh and 2-1 on Oct. 18 at Nassau Coliseum. Rod Brind’Amour and Josef Vasicek each had a pair of goals in the season series. The Hurricanes lead the all-time regular season series with the Islanders with a record of 37-33-9-2. Carolina is 20-15-5-1 all-time at home against New York and 17-18-4-1 on the road.

ISLANDERS NOTES
The Islanders defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 on Monday, Dec. 23 at Nassau Coliseum to head into the holiday break. The Islanders overcame an early one-goal deficit to earn the win. New York is 5-3-2 this month and is 2-1-1 in their last four games. A victory in one of the Islanders two remaining games this month will ensure the team’s first winning December since 1993.

SCORING LEADERS AND GOALTENDERS

HURRICANES
	GP	G	A	TP
92 O'Neill	36	12	17	29
17 Brind'Amour	36	11	17	28
10 Francis	36	14	14	28
26 Cole	36	11	10	21
Goalies	GP	GAA	W-L-T	SV%
1 Irbe	15	2.91	5-8-1	.891
80 Weekes	23	2.10	10-7-4	.923
ISLANDERS
	GP	G	A	TP
79 Yashin	34	8	22	30
37 Parrish	33	12	9	21
17 Bates	31	6	15	21
Goalies	GP	GAA	W-L-T	SV%
30 Snow	12	2.52	2-5-1	.895
35 Osgood	25	3.10	10-10-4	.883
39 DiPietro	2	2.02	1-1-0	.920