Ugliness in Carolina these days. The 'Canes have now lost more games in a row than any other team postlockout, and the most since a couple teams did worse in the 2003-04 season. Their marquee star, Eric Staal, is out with an injury. So is Cam Ward. They're tight against the salary cap.

And no one wants to see a white-helmeted Manny Legace starting all your games and Bryan Rodney, he of ECHL fame, taking a regular turn on the blueline in overtime.

More on long, long losing streaks at Globe on Hockey and Behind The Net.