Hurricanes work on Thanksgiving to prepare for Leafs

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes are going to have to work for their rewards.

They at least received that message when their coach called for a Thanksgiving skate on the heels of a miserable performance.

They figure to need an upgrade for Friday night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at PNC Arena.

"We're going to have to bounce back," Carolina coach Bill Peters said, referring to a 6-1 home loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday night. "We're in a pretty good spot (with recent performances), but didn't see this coming."

Peters said a holiday workout was in order in large part because he said the team needed to skate after such a ragged outing.

The Maple Leafs probably aren't feeling that great either coming off a 2-1 shootout loss Wednesday night at Florida.

But Toronto (14-8-1) is one of the Eastern Conference's top teams, and the Hurricanes (9-7-4) have ground to make up.

"It doesn't really matter how you (lose) it," Carolina center Jordan Staal said. "We'll have to learn from it and have a big rebound game the next game."

To Peters, the situation was pretty basic.

"We're not going to win a whole bunch of games, if any, if we're not the hardest-working team," Peters said.

Last month in Toronto, the Hurricanes displayed that work ethic by racking up a season-best goals total in a 6-3 victory.

More than one-quarter of the way through the season, Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen said there's often a shift in how games shake out and that Toronto has to be ready for that.

"I think every team gets better and better defensively," Andersen said.

Toronto scored a goal with 6:02 remaining in the Florida game to forge the tie. That means it was a rather tough night for the Maple Leafs at the offensive end because they're one of only two teams in the NHL to reach the 80-goal mark for the season.

Yet the Maple Leafs, who've lost two games in a row after a six-game winning streak, have produced only two goals in the last 129 1/2 minutes.

"I thought we competed and competed at a high level," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said of the Florida game. "I thought we had lots opportunities."

Babcock has numerous options when it comes to line combinations, so there could be some tinkering.

"We'll figure out what works here over time," Babcock said of line combinations.

The makeup of this season's team is different for the Maple Leafs, who should be capable of adjusting.

"You see these different combinations and you see how these things work," Toronto left winger James van Riemsdyk said. "We have a lot of depth. You have some different things you can try to try to spark things up."

Friday's matchup brings Toronto defenseman Ron Hainsey back to Raleigh, where he played 4 1/2 seasons with the Hurricanes before a trade last winter.

It also unites van Riemsdyk and younger brother Trevor van Riemsdyk, a Hurricanes defenseman.

This game is the middle game of three outings in four nights for Toronto, which returns home to face the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.