Gameday: Red Wings vs. Hurricanes

What happens if Stormy sees his shadow?
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 Detroit Red Wings. 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.
In the tail end of a back-to-back, the Hurricanes' morning skate at 10:30 a.m. on Friday will be optional, and that's where we'll be to bring you the latest.
Last updated: 6:35 p.m.

CANES LINES: WARM-UPS
6:35 p.m.
Scott Darling gets the nod in net in the back-to-back situation for Carolina. Otherwise, it's the same lineup we saw on Thursday night against Montreal.
Aho-Staal-Teravainen
McGinn-Rask-Williams
Skinner-Ryan-Stempniak
Nordstrom-Kruger-Lindholm
Slavin-Pesce
Fleury-Faulk
Hanifin-van Riemsdyk
Darling
Ward
The puck drops at PNC Arena in 30 minutes!
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF NORTH CAROLINA TOOLS TO VICTORY
5:15 p.m.
TV's Mike Maniscalco sets the table for this Friday night match-up with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina three Tools to Victory.

IN THE ROOM: FLEURY
3:05 p.m.
Rookie defenseman Haydn Fleury was one of the handful who participated in the Hurricanes' optional morning skate, and he spoke afterwards.

OPTIONAL MORNING SKATE NOTES & PETERS QUOTES
11:55 a.m.
Just a handful of players were on the ice at PNC Arena this morning for the Hurricanes' optional skate: Trevor van Riemsdyk, Haydn Fleury, Klas Dahlbeck, Josh Jooris and Phil Di Giuseppe. The Canes are likely to ice the same lineup, meaning the latter three players will again be healthy extras. Scott Darling took shots in net, and Jorge Alves also saw some time in the crease.
Head coach Bill Peters didn't tip his hand as to who the starting goaltender would be.
"We're going to make that decision final here in a little bit," he said, coyly.
The Hurricanes put forth a rather complete 60-minute effort on Thursday night in a 2-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens. They'll be searching for more of the same tonight, perhaps with a few tweaks that the head coach would like to see.
"We can be better in the second period. We were just talking about it. In the first we didn't give up much, and I thought we clamped down in the third similar to [the game against] Ottawa," Peters said. "In the second we turned some pucks over at the O-zone blue line. Similar type of effort needed, but a little bit better execution with the puck."
Thursday's win moved the Hurricanes closer to wild card position in the Eastern Conference, though the team remains just on the outside of the cut line due to tiebreaking scenarios. A win tonight would be four in a row and three-for-three to begin this season-long, eight-game homestand.
"It's always tight. That's what I see," Peters said of the standings. "It's very tight, and it's going to remain tight. I know the games that are big. Every game is a big game, you know that, but divisional games and the games we haven't played against Philly and New Jersey, those eight games are huge. We'll just keep plugging away."

CANES GO FOR FOUR STRAIGHT
12:00 a.m.
Coming off a 2-0 shutout win over the Montreal Canadiens, the Carolina Hurricanes will attempt to win their fourth straight game when they host the Detroit Red Wings on Friday.
The two teams just met for the first time this season not even two weeks ago, with the Hurricanes scoring a 3-1 win in their first game back from the five-day bye. Elias Lindholm scored two power-play goals and Cam Ward made 23 saves.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and the Hurricanes have snagged four of four available points in the first two games of their season-long, eight-game homestand. On Thursday, the Hurricanes swept the season series against Montreal for the fist time since the 1994-95 season. Brett Pesce and Brock McGinn provided the offense, while Ward's 27 saves earned him his first career shutout against Montreal.
"He was unbelievable. He was the best player on the ice, by far," Pesce said of his netminder. "If it wasn't for him, it could have been a different story."
"I'm having fun with it," Ward said. "Mike Bales has been real good for me. Scott Darling has been great for me. We're supporting one another and trying to help this team win."
Since this back-to-back required no travel, the Hurricanes could opt to turn back to Ward in net. The veteran has logged four wins in his last five starts. Scott Darling is also waiting in the wings, eager to prove his keep after winning just one of his four January appearances.
Detroit was in Raleigh already on Thursday, waiting on the Hurricanes. The Red Wings came back from the All-Star break with a 2-1 shootout win over the San Jose Sharks at home on Wednesday.
"It's crunch time. All you have to do is look at the standings," Ward said. "We've preached that this is our playoffs. We've got a lot of games here at home. You want to build some momentum and get some fans into the building and reward them with some wins."
CANESPR NOTES: Justin Williams and Victor Rask have each recorded a point in three straight games (1g, 3a). … The Hurricanes are 12-6-1 in back-to-back games this year, which includes an 8-2-0 mark in the front halves of the set.
CLICKS AND CLIPPINGS
Articles
Videos
Gameday Links
- Buy Tickets - Hurricanes Homegrown Series - FANuary: Concessions & Parking Discount - First Goal Contest presented by Kayem