(SportsNetwork.com) - Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said he is used to his team being involved in low-scoring games, but that doesn't mean he is going to accept it.
The Hurricanes try to break out of their scoring slump and secure a third straight win on Tuesday night as they visit the Nashville Predators.
Carolina has not scored more than two goals in eight straight games, yet comes in having recorded back-to-back 2-1 wins over Philadelphia and Boston. The Hurricanes needed a shootout to top the Bruins on Sunday, with Eric Staal getting the lone tally of the tiebreaker.
After each team failed to convert in the first two rounds of the shootout, Staal raced up the slot and beat Tuukka Rask with wrister short side. Anton Khudobin stayed with Patrice Bergeron and shut the door to seal the win.
"Act confident, skate confident and just snap it in," Staal said of his approach in the shootout.
Patrick Dwyer scored in regulation and Khudobin stopped 19 shots for the Hurricanes, who are on their first winning streak since taking four in a row from Nov. 1-7.
Still, they have been held to a pair of goals or fewer in 16 of their last 17 games and Peters is waiting for things to open up.
"I think once we get into a situation where ... we get three one night and four the next, I think we're going to break the seal and be fine," said the Carolina coach. "In the meantime, let's make sure we're winning these games however we have to do it. Right now it looks like it's 2-1."
That was the score that the Hurricanes used to beat the Predators on Dec. 2 in the first of two meetings this season. Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask had the goals and Cam Ward posted 32 saves.
Ward, tonight's likely starter for the 'Canes, improved to 2-4-1 with a 2.70 goals against average and .916 save percentage in seven career meetings with the Predators.
Carolina beat Nashville for the fourth straight time, but is just 2-7-0 all- time on the road in this series.
Pekka Rinne made 23 saves and Mike Ribeiro had the lone goal in the earlier meeting with the Hurricanes. Rinne figures to start tonight and is 3-1-0 in his career versus Carolina with a 1.73 GAA and .932 save percentage.
Ribeiro is second on the Predators with 35 points, picking up three assists in Sunday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Carter Hutton made 30 saves, but surrendered the tying goal with 2:17 left in regulation and two markers in the shootout on three opportunities.
Mattias Ekholm, Seth Jones and Craig Smith lit the lamp for the Predators, who were coming off a wild 7-6 overtime win in Los Angeles on Saturday. They fell to 6-2-1 in their past nine games.
"We've had a tough last couple minutes the last couple games, but it's nothing we can't fix and move on from," Smith said. "You can see why Anaheim's one of the best teams. They know how to play their systems well."
Filip Forsberg added an assist for his 37th point of the season, tying Alexander Radulov (2006-07) for the franchise's single-season rookie record.
Forward James Neal missed a second straight game with a lower-body injury and is questionable for this game. He is second on Nashville with 13 goals.
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