HURRICANES (2-0-0) at SENATORS (0-2-1)

TV:  TSN; Fox Sports-Carolina.

Season Series: This is the first of four meetings between the teams. Carolina went 2-1-1 against Ottawa last season, winning games on Jan. 10 and March 4 before suffering a shootout loss on April 1.

Big Story: The Hurricanes return to North America after a successful tour of Europe that saw them win back-to-back games against the Minnesota Wild in Helsinki, Finland. After earning a 4-3 victory last Thursday, Carolina made it two in a row behind the goaltending of Cam Ward in a 2-1 shootout win on Friday.

"I might have been a little bit overhyped in the first game (on Thursday), but from the drop of the puck (on Friday) I felt really calm and really relaxed and it showed out there," said Ward, who made 41 saves in his second win of the season.

Team Scope:

Hurricanes: Cam Ward wasn't the only player on Carolina's roster who shined in Finland. Rookie forward Jeff Skinner scored the team's lone goal in the shootout on Friday and also set up its first goal, which was scored by Tuomo Ruutu.

"This was my second game, and a great way to finish that off," the 18-year-old Skinner said. "First, I was looking to shoot, but the puck was rolling on me and I tried to settle it down. It sort of opened up for me then."

Senators: This will be Ottawa's fourth game of the 2010-11 season, but the Sens are still in search of their first win after earning just one of a possible six points. After dropping their home opener against Buffalo 2-1 last Friday, the Senators then suffered a 5-1 loss at Toronto on Saturday before dropping a 3-2 overtime decision in Washington on Monday.

"No one wants to be losing that many games in a row and I think it's been overanalyzed to a point," forward Nick Foligno said. "We're not worried in this locker room, we're not panicking. We know we're a good hockey team and we showed that against Washington."

Who's Hot: Jussi Jokinen has a goal and two assists in Carolina's first two games, while Brandon Sutter has two goals. Ward is boasting a 1.92 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage … For Ottawa, Jarkko Ruutu has a goal and an assist, while Chris Neil has two assists.

Injury Report: Hurricanes forward Sergei Samsonov will be a game-time decision. Samsonov injured his neck during an exhibition game against Atlanta on Sept. 25 and did not travel with the team to Europe … Sens captain Daniel Alfredsson will return to the lineup despite leaving Monday's game with a lower-body injury. Filip Kuba (broken leg) is out.

Stat Pack: Carolina left Finland with two wins and four points. Last season, the Hurricanes didn't earn their third victory until Nov. 15, when they beat Minnesota in a shootout.

Puck Drop: "We looked like a team, we looked hungry and we played together. We moved the puck better and we did all the things we need to do ...  For whatever reason, we didn't come to play in the first two games. That's a lesson, that if we're not ready to play, we're not going to beat anyone. There are no easy games and we've got to get that into our heads." -- Sens centre Mike Fisher