Gameday: Stars vs. Hurricanes

"All my rowdy friends are here on Monday night!"
This is the gameday hub, where you can find all the latest news and information you need to know for tonight's game between the Dallas Stars 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 a scheduled off day on Sunday, the Hurricanes will be back on the ice at PNC Arena at 10:30 a.m. on Monday for their morning skate.
Last updated: 6:30 p.m.

BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF NORTH CAROLINA TOOLS TO VICTORY
6:30 p.m.
TV's Mike Maniscalco sets the table for tonight's cross-conference match-up wtih the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina three Tools to Victory.

IN THE ROOM: JEFF SKINNER & BROCK McGINN
12:35 p.m.
Following the morning skate, we spoke with Canes' leading goal scorer Jeff Skinner and Brock McGinn, who has scored four goals in his last three games.

IN THE ROOM: BILL PETERS
11:50 a.m.
Head coach Bill Peters met with the media after the Canes' morning skate. Defenseman Justin Faulk was among the topics of discussion, since he left the skate earlier. Peters said his status remains unchanged, though.
"I expect him to play," he said. "A little bit of maintenance and he'll get some treatment, but I expect him to play."
Here's more from the Canes' bench boss.
On the last meeting against Dallas: "We didn't start very well on the road. Our starts have been real good here recently. I thought we started on time both in Columbus and our most recent game against Chicago. Those are the types of starts we like."
On the play of Brock McGinn: "When he plays physical and is on the body, he gets rewarded for that. He's been very physical recently, he's been around the net and scoring goals around the net. We're going to use him on the [power play] and put him at the net. He's fearless there. We need to be in the goaltender's eyes, and he's a guy who will do it."
On McGinn's old-school mentality: "He's not going to miss an opportunity to play. He's an old-school gamer. ... He wants to play. He doesn't want to give up his opportunity. He's on a line that's playing really well right now. He's killing penalties for us. He's on the power play tonight. Why wouldn't you want to do that and be in the lineup? I expect him to be real good."
On the recall of Phil Di Giuseppe: "He's been real good. He's done everything we've asked. He's really worked on his game and became a penalty killer down there. ... I don't want him up here and not playing, so we'll see how that unfolds moving forward."
On the status of Lee Stempniak, who returned from his conditioning stint: "He did pick up an injury on the first shift down there, so it's going to be a while again."

CANES LINES: MORNING SKATE
10:30 a.m.
THe Hurricanes will utilize the same exact lineup as they did against Chicago on Saturday, it appears.
Aho-Staal-Teravainen
McGinn-Ryan-Williams
Skinner-Rask-Lindholm
Nordstrom-Kruger-Jooris
Slavin-Pesce
Fleury-Faulk
Hanifin-van Riemsdyk
Darling
Ward
Phil Di Giuseppe and Klas Dahlbeck appear to be the healthy extras. We'll go inside the room as soon as the skate ends.
CANES CAN EXTEND POINT STREAK VS. STARS
12:00 a.m.
The Carolina Hurricanes bring a four-game point streak into their second and final meeting of the season against the Dallas Stars.
The Hurricanes have captured six of a possible eight points in their last four games (2-0-2), dating back to Nov. 4 in Arizona. The Canes now have the opportunity to extend their season-long point streak to five games when they face off with the Stars for the second time in just over three weeks.
The two teams first met this season on Oct. 21 in Dallas, the concluding site of the Hurricanes' four-game State Fair road trip. The Stars jumped out to an early lead, taking a 2-0 advantage into the first intermission and leading by three goals, 4-1, heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation. The Canes would end up mounting a furious comeback to get within a goal at 4-3, but they couldn't find the game-tying tally.
"I think we've got to learn the lesson that you can't dig that deep of a hole. You've got to be ready to start. We need more guys ready to start from the drop of the first puck," head coach Bill Peters said after that game. "I didn't think there was an emotional engagement to the game."
Fast forward three weeks, and the Hurricanes got the exact start they were looking for against the Chicago Blackhawks at home. Brock McGinn extended his goal-scoring streak to three games to open the scoring, and Jeff Skinner's team-leading eighth goal of the season extended the Canes' lead to 2-0 before the midway point of the first period. The Canes held a 3-1 advantage as the puck dropped in the third period, but they settled for a point in a 4-3 overtime loss.
"It's tough," Derek Ryan said. "You've got to be able to close those ones out. I thought they got a couple of bounces, but at the same time we have to make sure we're locking it up defensively, and we didn't do that."
The Canes swapped forwards with Charlotte on Sunday evening, assigning Patrick Brown and recalling Phil Di Giuseppe, who ranks fourth in Checkers scoring with 12 points (4g, 8a) in 14 games. Di Giuseppe has played 77 games and tallied 24 points (8g, 16a) with the Hurricanes in his career.
CANESPR NOTES: During this four-game point streak, McGinn (4g), Justin Williams (1g, 3a) and Ryan (1g, 3a) lead the team with four points each. … The Canes have out-shot their opponents in 13 of their 15 games this season.
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