RALEIGH, NC. - A little lineup drama on Opening Night, anyone?
Since Dmitry Orlov and Tony DeAngelo were brought into the fold in July, the question has been how the Canes would handle having seven every-night NHL defensemen.
And after three months of waiting, what's another few hours?
Rod Brind'Amour wouldn't reveal his hand following Wednesday's morning skate as to whether he'd go with the standard 12 forwards and six defensemen, or the 11-7 setup that we saw for the team's preseason finale on Friday against Nashville.
"We're going to have everyone take warmups and then go from there," the head coach said coyly.
If there's a forward that sits, Brendan Lemieux could be the odd man out. He was the lone skater to not play in the aforementioned exhibition finale against the Predators. If there's a defenseman that sits, it could be Jalen Chatfield. Chatfield rotated in with Jaccob Slavin, Brent Burns, and Orlov in the win on Friday, operating as the seventh blueliner.
Regardless of whether the team goes with 12-6 or 11-7, Frederik Andersen is expected to be the last line of defense for the group.
The 34-year-old went 22-11-1 in 34 games played last year and dazzled in the postseason with a .927 save percentage.
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Tonight's Projected Lineup
Forwards
Bunting - Aho - Jarvis
Teravainen - Kotkaniemi - Necas
Martinook - Staal - Fast
Lemieux* - Drury - Noesen
Defense
Slavin - Burns
Skjei - Pesce
Orlov - DeAngelo
Chatfield*
Goaltenders
Andersen
Raanta
(one of the skaters denoted with an asterisk will not play)
