Hurricanes Acquire Williams From Flyers

Desperate to fix a struggling offense, the Carolina Hurricanes acquired right wing Justin Williams from the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Danny Markov on Tuesday.

The Hurricanes rank last in the NHL with 87 goals and hope Williams will help. He has six goals and 20 assists this season.

“Obviously there’s not the right mix right now,” Carolina President and General Manager Jim Rutherford said. “And we have to do something to change that.”

The Flyers were forced into the trade by a rash of injuries to defensemen. Philadelphia was already in the market for a top-four defenseman before losing three in less than a week.

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Boston Bruin captain Joe Thornton could return to playing Thursday night after his cheekbone was broken in a fight with New York Ranger forward Eric Lindros. Thornton, Boston’s leading scorer, did not travel to New York for Tuesday night’s game with the Rangers and was listed as day to day.... Bruin forward Doug Doull was suspended for one game by the NHL on Tuesday for charging an opponent. He was given a game misconduct and major penalty for charging Petr Nedved during the second period of Boston’s 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday night.