Sunday, Nov. 01, 2009

San Jose Sharks (9-4-1) at Carolina Hurricanes (2-7-3), 1:30 p.m.

Two teams heading in opposite directions will meet this afternoon in Raleigh, as the hapless Carolina Hurricanes welcome the streaking San Jose Sharks for a battle at RBC Center.

The Hurricanes have lost eight in a row and last tasted victory over three weeks ago when they pounded Florida at home on October 9. Today, Carolina will try to avoid tying the franchise record of nine consecutive losses, a mark set during the 1982-83 campaign when the club was still located in Hartford.

Carolina's most recent setback came in lopsided fashion Saturday afternoon at Philadelphia. David Laliberte notched a goal and an assist in his NHL debut as the Flyers pounded the Hurricanes, 6-1, at Wachovia Center.

Brandon Sutter scored the only goal for Carolina, which has lost eight straight for the first time since January 8-22, 2003. The 2-7-3 start is the worst for the Hurricanes since relocating to Raleigh prior to the 1997-98 campaign.

"I thought we had a pretty good start to the game," Sutter said. "Obviously, six goals against isn't going to win you many games. Hopefully, we can turn it around."

Michael Leighton allowed six goals on 28 shots to take the loss. Cam Ward is expected to get the start in net this afternoon.

Carolina fell to 0-5-2 on the road with Saturday's loss, but the Hurricanes do have a respectable 2-2-1 mark at RBC this season.

The Hurricanes will have forward Tuomo Ruutu back today, as he has served the final test of a three-game suspension for last week's hit on Colorado's Darcy Tucker. Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason, however, is questionable with an upper-body injury.

The Sharks, meanwhile, have won four in a row and six of their last seven games. They earned a solid win over the surprising Colorado Avalanche on Friday night, handing Colorado just its second regulation loss of the season.

Ryane Clowe potted his first goal of the season and collected an assist on Dany Heatley's game-winning tally in the third period, as the Sharks cooled off the visiting Avalanche, 3-1, at HP Pavilion.

Jamie McGinn also lit the lamp, while Patrick Marleau picked up two helpers for the Sharks, while Evgeni Nabokov earned the victory with a 24-save performance. Marleau has recorded a point in seven straight games and has five goals and eight assists during that run.

San Jose is 5-4-0 as the guest this year and is kicking off a three-game road trip today. The Sharks will also visit Columbus and Detroit during the swing.

Carolina earned a shootout victory in San Jose last year in the only meeting between the clubs during the 2008-09 campaign. The Hurricanes have taken two straight and three of four in the series overall and the Sharks have been defeated in their last three trips to Raleigh.