Carolina @ Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 23, 2018 ) Florida 1, Carolina 4

The Carolina Hurricanes hit a speed bump last time out despite recording 44 shots on net and look to resume their climb toward a playoff position in the Eastern Conference when they visit the surging Florida Panthers on Thursday. The Hurricanes suffered a 2-1 loss at home against the New York Rangers on Tuesday after winning six of their previous seven games, remaining one point out for the final wild-card spot.

“Tough loss because we played well enough, played a good 60 minutes and couldn’t score,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters. “I thought it was our best game we’ve probably played in seven or eight and it just didn’t work out. You come with that mindset and play that hard and I think we’ll be where we want to be at the end of the year.” The Hurricanes have earned points in six of the last seven meetings (5-1-1) after recording a 4-1 victory Nov. 23 against the Panthers, who are nine points out of a playoff spot despite going 9-4-0 in their last 13 outings. Florida notched its third straight victory Tuesday as red-hot captain Aleksander Barkov registered three more points and James Reimer made 32 saves in a 4-2 victory against Buffalo at home. “We feel good about the way we’ve been playing and the recipe for success that’s been working for us,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner told reporters Tuesday. “Now you have to scoreboard watch and worry about other teams. It’s fun plugging away and winning games and getting on a roll.”

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Carolina), FS Florida

ABOUT THE HURRICANES (31-23-6): Veteran center Jordan Staal (11 points, 29 games) is hoping to return on the two-game trip, which concludes in Dallas on Saturday, after sitting out since just before Christmas with a concussion. Sebastian Aho has recorded 16 of his team-high 67 points in the last 13 games and fellow forward Teuvo Teravainen is second on the team with 52 despite being held off the scoresheet in the past two contests. Goalie Curtis McElhinney is 4-1-0 with a .942 save percentage in February after turning aside 24 shots Tuesday.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (26-24-8): Barkov recorded four goals and three assists the last two games and tops the team with 60 points - four better than fellow forward Jonathan Huberdeau, who scored twice Tuesday. Mike Hoffman leads Florida with 26 goals and needs one point to reach 50 for the fourth straight season while defenseman Keith Yandle notched three assists in the past three games. James Reimer stopped 101-of-108 shots in winning the last three games while veteran No. 1 goalie Roberto Luongo has returned from bereavement leave.

OVERTIME

1. Florida D Mike Matheson (lower body) left the last game and is questionable for Thursday’s contest.

2. Carolina RW Nino Niederreiter has eight goals and five assists with a plus-4 rating in 14 games since being acquired from Minnesota.

3. The Panthers placed F Michael Haley on waivers Tuesday and he was claimed by San Jose on Wednesday.

PREDICTION: Hurricanes 4, Panthers 3