Leafs, Hurricanes in dubious battle

The two worst teams in the NHL will square off on Friday night in Carolina when the Hurricanes host the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Fans of the Maple Leafs may chafe at the description. The Leafs have points in each of their last five games (1-0-4) and are at this very moment arguably playing more inspired hockey than some more talented NHL clubs (See: Bruins, Boston).

But the numbers don’t lie. Toronto and Carolina have just seven points, with Minnesota next at the bottom of the NHL standings with 10 points.

Carolina’s distinction is inarguable. The Hurricanes have fallen in 10 consecutive games, managing just three points for overtime losses during that span.

They are the lowest scoring team in the league, with just 28 goals.

“I’ve seen enough to where I’m as disappointed as I’ve ever been in a team,” general manager Jim Rutherford told the team’s website. “I still know that there’s enough here to make that turn, but when you watch what we’ve all watched here in the last week, it makes you wonder if it’s going to turn.”

A big question surrounding the Maple Leafs is how the goaltending chores will be handled in a weekend that includes a Hockey Night in Canada game on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 7 p.m. ET).

Jonas (The Monster) Gustavsson has shown little tentativeness in his first six NHL assignments, with a .901 save percentage and 2.99 average.

The most charitable description of netminder Vesa Toskala(notes) is that’s he still a work in progress after off-season hip surgery. Toskala made 35 saves in his last start against Montreal on Saturday, but allowed a truly awful second-period goal that deflated his club for a stretch.

Gustavsson played well in a 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday but was overshadowed by Antero Niittymaki(notes) of the Lightning.

Toronto was unable to capitalize on their offensive chances, many of them set up by Phil Kessel(notes) in his first game in a Maple Leafs uniform.

The Leafs said after Thursday’s practice that Jeff Finger(notes) will return to the lineup on defence, with Garnet Exelby(notes) taking a spot on the sidelines.

Carolina (2-9-3) appears to be paying the price for barely changing a veteran-heavy lineup. While the lineup took them to the Eastern Conference final in May, many of the players are off to slow starts.

The Hurricanes were locked in a scoreless battle for 45 minutes on Wednesday with Florida before the Panthers poured in three goals in the final period in a 3-0 result.

It was Carolina’s first game without team iron man and offensive leader Eric Staal(notes). The centre, who had missed just one game in his first four seasons, will be out several games with a vague injury the team is concealing.

Cam Ward(notes) finished with 22 saves against Florida. While Ward hasn’t been stellar, the team around him has been worse, potentially putting a serious dent in his hopes of making the Canadian Olympic squad.

The Hurricanes will get an infusion of youth on Friday after calling up from the minors former Canadian junior team member Zach Boychuk(notes), who has yet to play in the NHL.