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The Canes starting their play-off battle

Carolina playing their first out of five away games

Buffalo did not end their pre-Olympic period well as they had four defeats in a row, but now they have a chance to improve on that with three home games in a row. They are the last and the weakest team in the league this season and they will have a hard time avoiding the last place so only thing they can do until the end is improve their general impression and perhaps increase their tally of points.

They didn't have too many players at the Olympics but their coach Ted Nolan was there as the Latvian national team coach, while their goalie Miller didn't wear himself out as he only played for one game defending the US goal. Young Latvian player Girgensons was also at the Olympics as Nolan invited him to the team.

- I think it's another great experience for him that will mean a lot in the final part of the season. I think he learned a lot there, we've done great on the ice and the team had many experienced players so he could grow as a player - said Nolan about his young protegee Girgensons.

They're not bad with special line-ups, a somewhat mediocre team in this respect, but it's no use when their five-on-five game is a constant disappointment. Their attack is by far the worst in the league, they score way below two goals per game and that's very bad, especially for NHL, but they have numerous injuries this season to blame for that. This season, they didn't have a good experience against Carolina and they conceded five goals in the away game against them and lost.
A very good piece of news for them is that their injured players are coming back - forward Moulson, and Myers and McCormick, which will mean a lot for the team and help them do better than in the pre-Olympic period. 

Carolina Hurricanes cannot be too happy with what they've done before the break. Even though they've won last six out of nine games, they still haven't reached the play-off spot. They are the tenth-placed team and are three points away from the play-offs. Taking into consideration that they played a game less than their competition, that's not a huge difference, but they will need a win on this away game to boost their confidence. After that game, they have four other difficult away games and they will need to bring as many points to Raleigh as possible.

- Considering the current standings and considering the small margin between the teams, we are aware that we will have to do something extra on this away tour. This will be a huge test for us - said the Canes' forward Jordan Staal.

- We all have to get moving. Our goal is to reach the play-offs and to achieve that, we all have to be at a very high level - said their coach Kirk Muller. 

Only one player will be doubtful for today's game and that is defender John-Michael Liles. 

This game was supposed to be played on January 7th, but it was postponed due to a snow storm. Back then we predicted Canes would win, and now we can repeat that. The teams did have a break, but the circumstances haven't really changed much. Buffalo are still by far the worst team of the league, while the Canes are a few points short of the playoff and every win means a lot to them. Now they are starting a five game tour that could define their fate, and a good start is always important. They could not dream of a better opponent, and the motivation alone seems reason enough to give Canes a bigger advantage.