"The Avalanche was relaxing in the Raleigh-Durham area Thursday night. The Carolina Hurricanes weren't.

In one of those NHL scheduling quirks, the Hurricanes will be playing the second of back-to-back games tonight at the RBC Center after facing the Nashville Predators on the road Thursday then returning home during the night.

The Hurricanes, who won the Stanley Cup only four years ago, are a distant last in the Eastern Conference and also will be without their best player, center Eric Staal, tonight because he is on a personal leave endorsed by the team. Staal returned to his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario, this week after the death of his sister-in-law, Tamara Stevenson, 26."