Which was more impressive Thursday night, Sam Gagner's eight-point game for the Edmonton Oilers or the Canes finishing off a season sweep of the Boston Bruins?

Gagner's big night grabbed most of the NHL headlines and had the Twitterverse ablaze. But the Canes beat the Bruins 3-0 for the first regular-season series sweep in franchise history, and did it against a team that's the defending Stanley Cup champions.

"It's a credit to the guys. When we play like that we're capable of beating very good teams," goaltender Cam Ward said after the shutout. "It's no secret. They're once again Stanley Cup contenders and to beat them four times is a huge compliment to our team.

"But we need to play every team like they're the Boston Bruins, because they seem to bring out the best in us."

The Canes have recalled forward Drayson Bowman from the Charlotte Checkers (AHL).

Hurricanes forward Chad LaRose is day-to-day due to illness. Coach Kirk Muller said LaRose, who missed practice Wednesday, was slowed by flu-like symptoms.

Bowman, 22, has skated in 13 NHL games for Carolina this season, registering two goals and three assists. He has totaled 11 goals and 11 assists in 34 AHL games with Charlotte in 2011-12, and is second among Checkers forwards in plus/minus (plus-3). 

The Canes' Chad LaRose missed practice today with flu-like symptoms, coach Kirk Muller said, but should be ready for Thursday's road game against the Boston Bruins.

Muller also said defenseman Jaroslav Spacek, who has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury, could return to the lineup. If Spacek can play Thursday, that would make Derek Joslin a healthy scratch.

The Canes will be seeking to complete the first season sweep of the Bruins in franchise history. Carolina beat Boston twice in October, early in the season, then topped the Bruins 4-2 at the RBC Center on Jan. 14.

"I think the big part of our focus is we've got to play our game," Muller said. "Boston is a team that can play physical and they play hard in their barn. We can't get caught up in that kind of stuff."

For a long time Tuesday night, the Carolina Hurricanes couldn’t find a way to get the puck past a 21-year-old goalie who was playing for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers last week.

The Canes finally found a way to beat unheralded Kevin Poulin, only to be beaten by a player everyone in the NHL knows all too well: All-Star forward John Tavares.

After the Canes rallied for a pair of goals in the third period to tie the score, Tavares ripped a shot past Canes goalie Cam Ward with 12:24 left in regulation and the Islanders won 5-2 at the RBC Center. See 122 photos from the game.

Tavares had two goals and two assists, scoring an empty netter in the final minute.

The Canes have reassigned forward Jerome Samson to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL.

Samson, 24, was recalled to Carolina for the first time this season Jan. 10. He played in three games with the Hurricanes before suffering an upper-body injury against the Boston Bruins that sidelined him for five games.

Samson scored his first NHL goal on Jan. 10 against Philadelphia, and now has one goal and four assists in 33 career NHL games with Carolina.

Canes defenseman Tim Gleason called constant trade speculation a "nightmare" after signing a contract extension Monday that put it to an end.

Tuomo Ruutu? The forward now has moved closer to the center of the trade storm. Ruutu said today he has had no contract negotiations with Canes management, but said he's not affected or burdened by the trade rumors floating about the NHL.

"I've heard rumors I'm going to every team in the NHL," a smiling Ruutu said after the morning skate at the RBC Center. "I must be really playing well.

"You hear rumors but I think everybody is different. We're all human. Some guys take it more seriously, some take it less seriously. Everybody has their own way of dealing with it. I hear about stuff but there's nothing I can really do, so ..."

Justin Faulk always thought he had a heavy shot, which is understandable. He does.

The Canes' rookie defenseman also was aware of the shooting prowess of Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins. But he was even more impressed when seeing the "Chara Cannon" first-hand during the Skills Competition at the 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend in Ottawa.

"Shooting 108, 109 miles an hour is ridiculous," Faulk said today, smiling. "He can really let it fly."

Forget all the trade speculation about Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Tim Gleason. He's staying put.

The Canes announced today they have re-signed Gleason to a four-year contract extension that will pay him $3.5 million in 2012-13, $4.5 million in 2013-14 and 2014-15, and $3.5 million in 2015-16.

General manager Jim Rutherford today called Gleason one of the Canes' "core players" and said he made an exception for him -- re-signing a player during a season.

"This was a first for me," Rutherford said. "This is an exception to everything I've done in the past. But there were so many (trade) rumors out there about Tim."

The Canes have recalled cener Riley Nash from the Charlotte Checkers (AHL).

This marks the second career NHL recall for Nash, 22, who recorded one assist and averaged 10:46 of ice time in two games for the Hurricanes in December. Nash has scored six goals and earned 12 assists (18 points) in 41 games for the Checkers this season.

It's back to work for the Canes today. Time to prepare for the final push.

But with just 31 games remaining and 10 points out of playoff position, how much of a push can the Canes make?

"It's hard to say," general manager Jim Rutherford says. "There's so much parity and you don't know how injuries will affect teams, or which teams will fall off. All we can do is keep the work ethic we've had and win as many games as we can."