Gameday: Sabres vs. Hurricanes

Merry Christmas! [Christmas tree emoji] [Santa emoji] [Present emoji]
This is the gameday hub, where you can find all the latest news and information you need to know for tonight's Social Media Night match-up between the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes. Make Hurricanes.com a regular stop throughout the day, as we update this hub with notes, videos, photos and more as puck drop draws near.
After an off day on Friday, the Hurricanes will be on the ice at PNC Arena at 10:30 a.m. for their morning skate, and we'll be rinkside to bring you the latest.
Last updated: 5:10 p.m.

BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF NORTH CAROLINA TOOLS TO VICTORY
5:10 p.m.
TV's Mike Maniscalco delivers tonight's Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina three Tools to Victory.

IN THE ROOM: SLAVIN & AHO
4:45 p.m.
Hear from defenseman Jaccob Slavin and forward Sebastian Aho after today's morning skate.

IN THE ROOM: PETERS
11:50 a.m.
Head coach Bill Peters met with the media in Raleigh after his team's morning skate at PNC Arena. Here are some highlights from his availability.
On tonight's game: "We'll get ready to play and play well. They played real well last night. They were good in their building against us last time out, too."
On the last meeting between these two teams, a wild 5-4 OT win for the Canes: "It was a real tight game through 40. Once the game got opened up a little bit, it stayed that way right until the end of the game. Once you're behind, you have to start chasing it a little bit, and that's what they did to open up. All of a sudden they got paid off just off the faceoff wins, and they're dangerous."
On the chance to get two points before the three-day Christmas break: "It's huge. We like where we're going. We're 4-1-0 in our last five, and Cam is on a roll. Cam's going to start here tonight, and we want to end on a positive note. The only way to do that is to get two points."
On not changing the lineup after Thursday's win in Nashville: "You've got to play well. We didn't make any lineup changes here from our previous game just because it was a winning lineup, and everyone found a way to contribute. We left the lineup the same."

CANES LINES: MORNING SKATE
10:35 a.m.
Following a 4-1 win in Nashville, it looks as though the Hurricanes will ice the exact same lineup tonight against Buffalo.
Aho-Staal-Teravainen
Skinner-Rask-Lindholm
McGinn-Ryan-Williams
Nordstrom-Kruger-Di Giuseppe
Slavin-Pesce
Dahlbeck-Faulk
Hanifin-van Riemsdyk
Ward
Darling
We'll go inside the room after the skate.

CANES HOST SABRES BEFORE HOLIDAY BREAK
12:00 a.m.
After playing nine of their first 11 games in December on the road, the Carolina Hurricanes will play three of their last four games of the 2017 calendar year at home.
That stretch begins tonight when the Hurricanes host the Buffalo Sabres in their final game before the three-day holiday break. It's an opportunity for the Canes, who have won four of their last five games, to sweep the three-game season series against the Sabres for the second season in a row.
The two teams met just a week ago in Buffalo, a game that featured a wild, six-goal third period and resulted in a 5-4 overtime victory for the Canes.
In each of their games against Buffalo this season, the Hurricanes have faced a Sabres club that was in action on the night prior. A week ago, the Sabres dropped a 2-1 decision in Philadelphia before returning home. On Friday, the Sabres topped the Flyers 4-2 at home before heading to Raleigh.
Meanwhile, Carolina is coming off a commanding 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday. It look just 6:29 in the first period for the Canes to grab a four-goal lead, one they would not relent for the balance of the contest.
"Anything that happens positive early in the game gives you a little more juice and wiggle room," head coach Bill Peters said. "It's a tough league to win in when you're chasing the game."
"It was huge to respond the way that we did. Obviously things didn't go well in Toronto, and we were embarrassed because of it," said Cam Ward, who made 28 saves on 29 shots to improve to 6-0-1 in his last eight appearances in net. "It was important that we got off to a good start, and I think you couldn't have gotten off to a better start with the way it went in the first period."
CANESPR NOTES: The Hurricanes are 11-4-2 in their last 17 games against Buffalo and 8-2-2 in their last 12 games against the Sabres in Raleigh. … Justin Faulk (67g, 133a) became the third defenseman in franchise history to reach the 200-point plateau with an assist on Thursday in Nashville. Faulk is also the second defenseman from the 2010 NHL Draft class to tally 200 career points (Cam Fowler: 227).
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