The Carolina Hurricanes had scored just four total goals in three outings against Chris Mason and the Winnipeg Jets this season, but it took the Canes less than 10 minutes to notch two goals against their Southeast division foe Monday. Those two goals were enough as Carolina held off the Jets to win 2-1 in their final game before the All-Star break. Jeff Skinner and Tim Brent scored, while Cam Ward continued his hot play by stopping 29 shots. He is 8-3-3 since Dec. 23.

The Hurricanes improved to 18-24-9 and their 45 points leapfrogged them into a tie for 11th in the Eastern Conference — as well as eight points out of eighth place and nine out of the division lead — with a league-high 51 games played.

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On Friday night, after the Hurricanes' 3-0 shutout of Washington, I talked to Zac Dalpe (click to listen) about his back-and-forth season between Charlotte and Raleigh, and the conversation ended with the following exchange (off the mic):

Me: "I'm heading to Charlotte next Friday. Hopefully I won't see you there."

Dalpe: "Yeah (laughs), me too."

Well...looks like I may see a familiar face when I head to the Queen City on Friday after all.

The Canes on Tuesday reassigned Dalpe to the Charlotte Checkers, who play three times during the NHL All-Star break beginning tonight in Norfolk and continuing with a back-to-back set Thursday and Friday against Rockford at Time Warner Cable Arena.

But don't panic. The Canes did this last year too, sending Zach Boychuk to Charlotte during the All-Star break to keep him fresh. I'd be stunned if Dalpe wasn't on the shuttle back to Raleigh next weekend. In all honesty, Justin Faulk likely would have been reassigned too had he not been selected to participate in All-Star weekend in Ottawa.

The release from the team is after the jump.

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One strong period was all the Hurricanes needed Monday night as they welcomed the Winnipeg Jets to the RBC Center for the final game before the All-Star break. The Canes beat Jets goaltender Chris Mason on two of their first four shots, and those markers held up as the Canes won 2-1 on the strength of goals by Jeff Skinner and Tim Brent in front of 16,045 on Teacher Appreciation Night.

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The Carolina Hurricanes, (17-24-9) will play their final game before the All Star Break tonight as they take on division rival, the Winnipeg Jets, (22-20-6) tonight at the RBC.

The Hurricanes are coming off a tough, 2-1 overtime loss against the Islanders on Saturday night. The Jets also lost Saturday night, 4-3 in a shootout to Florida.

Expect the lines to be the same as against the Islanders:

• Tlusty, Staal, Ruutu
• Dwyer, Sutter, Nodl
• Jokinen, Skinner, Dalpe
• Stewart, Brent, LaRose
• Gleason, Allen
• Harrison, Faulk
• McBain, Joslin

Cam Ward will be facing Chris Mason in net. Mason has three wins against Carolina in all three meetings between the teams so far this season.

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Here are a few Hurricanes related items that might be of interest:

First up is an article from the Shutdown Line regarding Zac Dalpe and ice time.

Zac Dalpe in the top-six | Statistical Analysis
Does Dalpe need more ice time to be successful?

Peter from the Raleigh Examiner has a recent article about Keven Weekes being a mentor for young black hockey players.

From Willie O’Ree to Kevin Weekes – hockey pays it forward in Carolina - Raleigh Carolina Hurricanes | Examiner.com
Former Boston Bruin Willie O'Ree's legacy of becoming the first black hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL) reaches it’s 54-year milestone.

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John Tavares scored both goals for the home team and the New York Islanders defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime Saturday night by a score of 2-1.

The Islanders outshot the Canes 40-33 and had 23 shots in the second period alone, but it was another evenly fought, back-and-forth game for the Hurricanes.

Jeff Skinner opened the scoring 8:43 into the first period when he shoveled a loose puck past Evgeni Nabokov. Bryan Allen shot the puck at the net and Zac Dalpe had a nice screen on the play.

But Tavares tied things up 7:46 into the second, then beat Cam Ward for the game winner with just 1:02 left in OT.

Ward had a solid night with his 38 saves on 40 shots, but Nabokov played very well at the other end of the rink as well with 32 saves on 33 shots.

The Canes will next play the Jets at the RBC on Monday night before going on the All Star break.

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Carolina Hurricanes (17-24-8) at New York Islanders (18-21-6)

Saturday, Jan 21, 2012, 7:00 PM EST | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | Uniondale, NY

Tonight's Starting Goaltenders:

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	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Hurricanes - Cam Ward	42	2434	17	17		119	2.93	1275	1156	.907	2

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