Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour shared the updates when he met with the media at 10:45 a.m. this morning.
For Raanta, it is his first start in 12 days. His lone outing post All-Star break was in a 4-3 defeat against the Ottawa Senators on February 8. The 32-year-old Finn stopped 27 of 31, but ultimately his team's comeback bid of a three-goal third was too little, too late. In 12 games this season Raanta is 6-3-1 with a 2.39 goals against average and a .909 save percentage.
As far as Vincent Trocheck goes, Brind'Amour said that he was "hopeful" that his second line center could go today. #16 left Friday night's win after just one period due to an upper-body injury and did not practice Saturday.
If he is not able to play, the door comes open for Derek Stepan, who was Friday's healthy extra. Jesperi Kotkaniemi would be then expected to jump up and center the team's second line, as he did after Trocheck departed with his injury, and Stepan would center the team's fourth line.
On defense, one of either Brendan Smith, Ethan Bear or Ian Cole will be a healthy scratch. All three are listed on the below third pair because Brind'Amour has rotated who the healthy extra is on a game-to-game basis.
Should Trocheck play, the expected lineup for today's 1 p.m. puck drop is the following:
Forwards:
Svechnikov - Aho - Teravainen
Lorentz - Trocheck - Necas
Niederreiter - Staal - Fast
Martinook - Kotkaniemi - Jarvis
Defensemen:
Slavin - DeAngelo
Skjei - Pesce
Smith - Cole - Bear
Starting Goalie:
Raanta
Game-Time Decision:
Vincent Trocheck
Scratches:
TBD
Note: Lineup subject to change prior to opening faceoff
Worth A Click:
Preview: Canes at Penguins
Hurricanes February Schedule
