Insider

For the Hurricanes to have any prayer of making the postseason, they need to play a tight defensive system....

G.M. Jim Rutherford did a nice job of remaking the defense into a bigger, meaner and more skilled unit by obtaining solid blueliners Bob Boughner, Danny Markov and Glen Wesley....

The pressure is on coach Paul Maurice. Making the playoffs is important to his job security, but Maurice also needs to give ice time to young F's Eric Staal, Josef Vasicek and Jaroslav Svoboda.