Carolina hosts Florida after Staal's 2-goal game

Florida Panthers (26-10-4, first in the Central Division) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (26-9-3, third in the Central Division)

Raleigh, North Carolina; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Carolina hosts the Florida Panthers after Jordan Staal scored two goals in the Hurricanes' 5-2 win against the Panthers.

The Hurricanes are 26-9-3 in division play. Carolina is fifth in the league recording 8.9 points per game, averaging 3.2 goals and 5.7 assists.

The Panthers are 26-10-4 against division opponents. Florida is fifth in the NHL averaging 3.3 goals per game, led by Carter Verhaeghe with 17.

The teams square off for the second straight game.

TOP PERFORMERS: Vincent Trocheck leads the Hurricanes with 15 goals and has 31 points. Dougie Hamilton has seven assists over the last 10 games for Carolina.

Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Panthers with 28 total assists and has 42 points. Verhaeghe has six goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Florida.

LAST 10 GAMES: Hurricanes: 6-2-2, averaging 2.8 goals, five assists, 2.4 penalties and 4.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game with a .921 save percentage.

Panthers: 6-4-0, averaging three goals, 4.2 assists, four penalties and 10 penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game with a .934 save percentage.

INJURIES: Hurricanes: Teuvo Teravainen: out (concussion), Jake Gardiner: day to day (back).

Panthers: Anthony Duclair: out (upper body), Noah Juulsen: out (undisclosed).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.