Muller likes what he has to work with

The Hurricanes might have been the right fit for Kirk Muller to make his debut as an NHL coach.

It's not in the middle of a hockey-crazed area such as in Canada. But more telling is the makeup of the Hurricanes.

"It's a great group for me to start with," Muller said.

That's because Muller said he's confidence that there's a foundation of players with center Eric Staal and goalie Cam Ward, yet they should have a good number of solid seasons ahead of them. Then there are teenagers such as forward Jeff Skinner and defenseman Justin Faulk.

Several of those players came through in the clutch in Monday night's 5-3 victory at Montreal.

There might be some leeway for Muller to build the style he prefers. Yet there's a simply foundation.

"If you work hard, you play. If you don't, you won't," Muller said. "If the effort is there, you can live with it. We're a young team. We're still learning."

The next chance for the Hurricanes to make an impression comes Friday night at home against San Jose in the only home game in a two-week period.

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