Arena: RBC Center
Time: 28 Jan 2010 at 7:00 PM ET
League: NHL – United States of America

Last 10 matches: New York 6-4-0; Carolina 6-4-0
After plumbing the depths of the NHL’s basement for most of the first four months of the season, the Hurricanes appear to be getting their act together. They’re coming off their best back-to-back performances of the season beating Boston 5-1 at home on Sunday and whipping the Rangers in New York by the same score on Wednesday.
In contrast, the Islanders have hit some bumps after playing well over the last several weeks. They were beaten 4-2 at home by New Jersey on Saturday, then got smoked by Washington at the Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday, losing 7-2 despite keeping Alex Ovechkin off the scoresheet.The Islanders have won both meetings this season by using the same script build a lead, blow the lead, win after regulation time. They wasted a 3-1 third-period lead but won 4-3 in a shootout at home on Oct. 21. New York jumped to an early 3-0 lead at the RBC Center on Nov. 13, saw Carolina tie the score and force overtime but won 4-3 on Kyle Okposo’s goal in the final minute of OT.
The Isles took a big hit on the blue line Tuesday when defenseman Jack Hillen sustained a broken jaw when he was hit by an Alex Ovechkin slap shot. He’s expected to miss 6-8 weeks. … Carolina could get defenseman Joe Corvo (leg) back for this game. Forwards Scott Walker (upper body), Erik Cole (upper body) and Tuomo Ruutu (upper body) are still out.
Okposo has been the best Islander over the last month and is 6-3-9 in his last 10 games. … Staal has been one of the NHL’s hottest scorers since getting the captain’s “C” he has 7 goals in the four games since the move, helping Carolina go 3-1-0 in that span. Highlights, live score and results will be available soon..