Washington (15-9-3) at Carolina (12-12-3), 5:00 pm EST
RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Paul Maurice's return to the
Carolina Hurricanes is not going as planned.
The Hurricanes will hope to pick up their first win under their
new coach and end a five-game home losing streak when they host
the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Carolina, which has lost seven of its last eight games, brought
back Maurice - who also coached the franchise from 1995-2003 -
after firing Peter Laviolette on Wednesday.
The Hurricanes followed up a 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins
on Thursday with a 2-1 overtime setback to the Philadelphia
Flyers two days later.
Even with its struggles, Carolina still sits in second place in
the Southeast Division. The Capitals, who are searching for
their third straight win, own a six-point edge in the standings.
Milan Jurcina netted the game-winner and rookie defenseman Karl
Alzner scored his first career goal as Washington pulled out a
2-1 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
The Capitals are starting to get healthier as Sergei Fedorov
returned against Toronto from an ankle injury. Alexander Semin
(upper back strain) and defenseman Mike Green (bruised shoulder)
have been sidelined since the middle of November.