Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour firmly told reporters that forward Mikko Rantanen was very much part of his plans for the season.

The Carolina Hurricanes won their first road game since Jan. 28 as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 Tuesday night.The Canes got goals from both Jordan Martinook and Jordan Staal and then mostly shut it down in front of Frederik Andersen who stopped 24 shots in net.

Brind'Amour's connection to "The Flower" is among his most cherished memories. The coach's parents were from Buckingham, Quebec, about 10 miles from Lafleur's birthplace of Thurso, their son born in Ottawa and still a baby when the family moved to British Columbia.

The NHL trade deadline is Friday afternoon, and scuttlebutt around the league has centered on Rantanen and whether the Canes will re-sign him, trade him, or keep him and try to agree on a new contract.

With the NHL’s Eastern Conference tightening up, the Hurricanes went into Sunday’s game just six points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings, who held the second wild-card playoff spot.

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings will be seeing more of Carolina than any other team down the stretch with three of their final 22 games against the Hurricanes, including tonight at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network). That means they’ll be seeing a lot of rubber, and they’ll need to block a lot of shots.

We know, however, that Carolina can get creative with their contracts. As a major fan of Rod Brind’Amour, I always worry that if the Hurricanes can’t get over the hump in the next couple years, they will move on from him. Do you get the sense that ...

Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes right wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) and Calgary Flames defenseman Joel Hanley (44) fight during the third period at Lenovo Center. (James Guillory-Imagn

The Hurricanes have yet to re-sign Mikko Rantanen after landing him from the Avalanche in January. Will he be moved at the NHL trade deadline?

The Carolina Hurricanes host the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, and the game airs on WRAL. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET Thursday at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh. The Hurricanes (36-22-4) are second in the Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division,

Elmer Soderblom scored, and Alex Lyon made 28 saves for the Red Wings (30-25-6), who lost their third straight game and fifth in seven (2-4-1). It was their first game since a 5-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series in Columbus on Saturday.