Gameday: Hurricanes at Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. - There's snow time like the present.
This is the gameday hub, where you can find all the latest news and information you need to know for tonight's match-up between the Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild. Make Hurricanes.com a regular stop throughout the day, as we update this hub with notes, photos and more as puck drop draws near.
After traveling to Minnesota on Monday, the Hurricanes will hold an 11:30 a.m. morning skate at Xcel Energy Center, and we'll be rinkside to bring you the latest.
Last updated: 6:00 p.m.

BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF NORTH CAROLINA TOOLS TO VICTORY
6:00 p.m.
TV's Mike Maniscalco details tonight's Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina three Tools to Victory.
1. Bring the Intensity
The last four games the Hurricanes have brought a playoff level of intensity to the ice. That needs to continue against a typically physical Wild team tonight.
2. Contain Staal's Line
Former Hurricanes captain Eric Staal is anchoring a line with Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker, and it has been torching opponents. Finding a way to handle this line on the road will be tough. Look for a lot of Jordan Staal up from and Jaccob Slavin on the blue against this trio.
3. Tips, Deflections & Greasy Goals
Carolina has done a solid job the last four games getting to the places needed to to redirect pucks. They'll have to do more of that tonight.
IN THE ROOM: BILL PETERS
3:15 p.m.
Head coach Bill Peters spoke with TV's Mike Maniscalco and me after the morning skate. Here are the highlights of our chat, and the full availability can be seen below.
On the team's mindset: "I think the guys are dialed in. The efforts have been real good and consistent throughout the lineup, so nothing really needs to change there. The guys know it's time to be desperate, and each and every shift counts."
On the status of Joakim Nordstrom, who skated with the team today: "It's scary. Every time you get hit like that you think how bad is it? The vision is obviously important. For him, he had the pressure build-up and also some blurriness. It was very close to being a much more dangerous situation. He dodged a bullet there, and I think he'll be cleared and ready to go for Thursday."
On Eric Staal: "He's playing well. That line is playing well. They're good at home. He's a passionate hockey player who loves the game. It's good to see him having the type of year he is. Now we've just got to make sure we have him somewhat under wraps here tonight."

CANES LINES: MORNING SKATE
12:30 p.m.
Here's how the Hurricanes will line up tonight in Minnesota.
McGinn-Staal-Williams
Aho-Lindholm-Teravainen
Skinner-Rask-Di Giuseppe
Wallmark-Ryan-Stempniak
Slavin-Faulk
Hanifin-Pesce
Fleury-van Riemsdyk
Ward
Darling
We'll head inside the room after the skate.

CANES HEAD TO SNOWY MINNESOTA
12:00 a.m.
The Carolina Hurricanes will play their final two road games in Western Conference cities this week, beginning with Tuesday night in Minnesota and wrapping up on Thursday in Chicago.
Tuesday's match marks the first meeting between the Hurricanes and Wild since the first game of the 2017-18 regular season, a dramatic 5-4 shootout win for the Canes.
It was a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams trade leads. At one point, the Wild led 3-1, but the Hurricanes scored three straight goals to take a 4-3 lead in the waning minutes of regulation. Then, with just 0.3 seconds left on the clock, Minnesota scored to force extra hockey in a 4-4 tie. A shootout was required to settle a winner, and it was Jaccob Slavin's patented backhand move and Scott Darling's three saves that sealed the 5-4 victory for the Canes in front of a raucous crowd at PNC Arena on Opening Night.
A lot has happened and plenty has changed since then, as the Hurricanes and Wild each have just 16 games left in the regular season. The Hurricanes sit two points out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, while Minnesota occupies third place in the Central Division. The Wild won five straight games to end February and then stumbled out of the gate in March but rebounded with a 4-1 victory over Detroit on Sunday. The Hurricanes, who landed back-to-back wins against divisional opponents to begin March, will be looking to get back in the win column after suffering a hard-fought 3-2 loss to Winnipeg on Sunday.
"It's playoff-style hockey right now," Jordan Staal said after Sunday's game. "I thought we've been digging in, working hard and battling hard. We came up short tonight, but the effort and chances were there. It just didn't quite go our way."
With Florida's surge in the standings and Columbus currently sitting in playoff position, the Hurricanes have two teams to supplant if they want to get back over the cut line in the East.
"You're always trying to get to the next level. We've done a better job as of late, and we want continue keep getting better," Jeff Skinner said. "The games are getting tighter. There's less and less room out there as you get down the stretch. You need to match that intensity and exceed it to keep climbing. That's what we're going to try to do."
"We're right there," Staal said. "We've got to string together a streak and it's got to be now."
CANESPR NOTES: Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho, who rank one and two respectively in team scoring, have combined for 21 points in their last 12 games (10g, 11a). Teravainen is riding a four-game point streak (4g, 1a). … This season, the Canes are 16-1-3 overall and 6-0-1 in their last seven games when leading after two periods.
CLICKS AND CLIPPINGS
Articles
Audio
Videos
Gameday Links
- First Goal Contest presented by Kayem