PREGAME: PETERS
12:45 p.m.
Following the Canes' morning skate, head coach Bill Peters spoke with the media.
On the Canes' first game after the holiday break: "Expect the unexpected. Get everybody into the game. You look around the league last night, and it was like the start of the year. The scores were high. … Lots of goals, lots of defensive mistakes, lots of guys caught changing. We'll be no different coming off of a break. It's tough. You've got to be mentally strong. You've got to get all four lines and all three sets of D going, and we will. We'll play everybody."
On Ryan Murphy's opportunity to see consistent playing time: "He played well down [in Charlotte] and played better as it went. … I talked to Ulfie, he really liked his finish. Now it's time to do it at this level."
On the Canes' road record (5-8-6) compared to their home record (10-3-1): "I think we've been good on the road, too. We spit some leads earlier in the year. We had some big leads that we let get away. We've gotten better as a team as the season has gone along, no matter if we're on the road or at home. I think we're just playing a better brand of hockey."
On what he noticed in Pittsburgh's game in New Jersey last night: "Speed. Relentless. Puck possession."
CANES PROJECTED LINEUP
6:00 a.m.
We shouldn't see anything too surprising in regards to the Hurricanes lineup tonight, barring anything unforeseen between now and puck drop. The only alteration from a game ago will be Ryan Murphy drawing into the lineup in place of an injured Justin Faulk.
McGinn-Staal-Lindholm
Skinner-Rask-Ryan
Aho-Teravainen-Stempniak
Nordstrom-McClement-Stalberg
Slavin-Pesce
Hanifin-Tennyson
Hainsey-Murphy
Ward
Lack
CANES HEAD TO PITTSBURGH FOLLOWING HOLIDAY BREAK
6:00 a.m.
Refreshed and recharged from a three-day holiday break, the Carolina Hurricanes will be back in action on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh against the Penguins.
Following three consecutive off days, the Hurricanes returned to the ice on Tuesday at PNC Arena to get a skate in before departing for Pittsburgh for their first of four meetings this season against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
"Guys had some nicks, bumps and bruises. I liked the jump we had today in practice. Some guys had a little extra pep in their step," head coach Bill Peters said. "You've got to manage the schedule. It is what it is."
The Hurricanes carried a three-game winning streak into the holiday break, with home-and-home wins against Buffalo and a 3-2 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins on Friday.
"I thought we generated more offense on a consistent basis. I thought we had all four lines going," Peters said. "Everyone was kind of in a role, in good spots that made sense for everybody."
Roles aren't going to change much heading into tonight's match-up in Pittsburgh, though the Hurricanes will sport a bit of a different look on defense, as it was announced on Tuesday that Justin Faulk is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. In his stead, Ryan Murphy will draw back into the lineup for the first time in well over a month.
"He's got a similar skillset in a puck-moving D, and he's a power play guy," Peters said. "This is a great opportunity. Watched the NFL last night, and they're talking about injuries providing people with opportunities. Quarterback in Dallas took advantage of an opportunity due to an injury, and now a similar situation only a different sport."
Murphy, a right shot like Faulk, will slot in with Ron Hainsey, while the other two defensive pairs remain consistent. Peters said he also plans to give Murphy some time on the power play.
Pittsburgh was thrown into game action immediately following the holiday break and bested the New Jersey Devils 5-2. The Pens, surging with seemingly the rest of the Metropolitan Division, are now 10-1-2 in the month of December.
"It's a funny game. The timing's not quite there, and you've come off it a little bit," Peters said of the first game following the holiday break. "We're not used to having time off in this league, and all of a sudden you get a little bit of time off. Guys do a great job looking after themselves and getting ready to play, but it's just different."
CANESPR NOTES: Elias Lindholm tallied his second multi-assist game of the year against Boston on Friday. The Canes are 7-0-0 this season when Lindholm records an assist. … The Canes have scored five shorthanded goals and are 4-1-0 this season in games when doing so.
CLICKS AND CLIPPINGS
Articles
Videos
Gameday Links
- First Goal Contest presented by Kayem
- In-Game Twitter
