Trades give Hurricanes 'bolt of life'

"It was almost, like, a turning point in our season," defenseman Jake Gardiner said.It wasn't just that Ayres, a 42-year-old kidney transplant survivor, stopped eight of 10 shots in a 6-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena, becoming the oldest goalie to win his NHL debut and the first emergency backup to win an NHL game. So now just picking up these three guys, it's going to be good."The Hurricanes (35-22-4) are two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference and will have Trocheck and Skjei in the lineup against the Dallas Stars at PNC Arena on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, FS-SW, NHL.TV). "The fact that we came together and played like we did is obviously a good sign."Video: Hurricanes acquire Trocheck from Panthers Brind'Amour said the Hurricanes proved to themselves how they could buckle down."If we can do it with a guy coming off an emergency basis, then there's certainly no reason why you shouldn't be able to play that way every night," Brind'Amour said. The Hurricanes made the Eastern Conference Final last season and are going for it again."They definitely have the makeup to be a great playoff team," Trocheck said. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup, the Stanley Cup Playoffs logo, the Stanley Cup Final logo, Center Ice name and logo, NHL Conference logos, NHL Winter Classic name, and The Biggest Assist Happens Off The Ice are registered trademarks and NHL.TV, Vintage Hockey word mark and logo, The Game Lives Where You Do, NHL Winter Classic logo, NHL Heritage Classic name and logo, NHL Stadium Series name and logo, NHL All-Star logo, NHL Face-Off name and logo, NHL.