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 .