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Hurricanes look for offensive punch against struggling Coyotes

Nov 21, 2008 - 11:34 AM Phoenix (8-8-1) at Carolina (10-7-2), 7:00 pm EST

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- The Carolina Hurricanes look to generate sparks on the offensive end when they put their two-game winning streak on the line against the Phoenix Coyotes on Friday.

Carolina has scored two goals or less in each of its last seven games and has won just three of those contests. The Hurricanes snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.

Two days later, Sergei Samsonov and Ray Whitney scored 3 1/2 minutes apart in the third period and Carolina recorded a season-high 48 shots in its 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

Cam Ward made 28 saves to anchor the defensive unit, which has consistently bailed out the struggling offense.

"We got to continue to play with emotion and desperation we've played the last couple of games," Ward told the Raleigh Chronicle. "I'm happy for the guys, we've worked really hard, and we threw everything at their net. A good defense is a good offense."

Mired in a three-game losing skid, the Coyotes have failed to convert on the offensive end as well. They have posted three or less goals in 11 of 17 games this season.

Captain Shane Doan has been an exception lately, recording six goals and 14 points over his last 11 contests.

Doan scored in Phoenix's 3-2 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, and assisted on another in its 3-2 shortcoming against the Dallas Stars three days prior.

Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov has started 10 consecutive games and has yielded nine goals in the last three. In the previous seven contests, he surrendered 12.