Carolina Hurricanes (20-25-10) at Colorado Avalanche (27-25-3)

Friday, Feb 10, 2012, 9:00 PM EST | Pepsi Center | Denver, CO

Tonight's Starting Goaltenders:

A rather interesting press release made its way into the Canes Country mailbox this afternoon. The Charlotte Checkers announced that they will no longer use "Rock N Roll (Part 2)" as their celebration anthem after Checkers goals "due to the circumstances surrounding former performing artist Gary Glitter". I'm not going to bother going into those circumstances because they're well-known and rather lewd, but feel free to Google if you'd like.

Now, for the moment, the Hurricanes still have "RNRP2" in their rotation, although it isn't regularly played - usually only after a goal in a blowout. So, with that in mind, three questions:

1. Did the Checkers make the right call in dumping "RNRP2"?
2. What should be the replacement song? (Note that anyone suggesting Satriani's "Crowd Chant", which is played at so many arenas that it might as well be called "Rock N Roll Part 3", will be tarred and feathered.)
3. Should the Canes follow suit in taking "RNRP2" off their playlist?

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The Carolina Hurricanes couldn't high-tail it out of California fast enough after a questionable non-call led to a deflating 3-2 overtime defeat by the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night. From the sun to the snow, they arrived in Denver in the wee hours of Thursday morning and now prepare to face the Colorado Avalanche tonight at 9:00 pm (ET) at the Pepsi Center. This is the only meeting between the two teams this season. The Hurricanes won the solo meeting last season, a 2-1 win in overtime on December 3, 2010 at the RBC Center.

Game notes for tonight follow, along with a few noteworthy news nuggets.

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The Carolina Hurricanes fell victim to what some are calling "the blown call of the year," losing in overtime to the Anaheim Ducks after a non-call led to Corey Perry's game-winning goal. Tuomo Ruutu and Eric Staal scored for the Hurricanes, and Cam Ward made 31 saves in the overtime loss.

The Canes have taken home at least a point in seven of eight games and now sit at 20-25-10 for 50 points, last in the Eastern Conference.

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Carolina Hurricanes (20-25-9) at Anaheim Ducks (20-24-8)

Wednesday, Feb 8, 2012, 10:00 PM EST | Honda Center | Anaheim, CA

Tonight's Starting Goaltenders:

The circus is in town, which means no ice at the RBC Center, so the Carolina Hurricanes have headed to the left coast for a late night match-up at 10:00 pm tonight against the Anaheim Ducks in the first game of a three-game road trip. This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season. The Canes won the only meeting of the 2010-11 season, 4-2, on December 18 in Raleigh.

The Ducks (20-24-8, 48 points) were a much-improved 9-2-1 in January but lost 2 games to start February before an eight-round shootout win against the Calgary Flames on Monday. Fans will see a familiar face behind the bench in Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau, who joined the Ducks in November after losing his job with the division rival Washington Capitals.

The Hurricanes (20-25-9, 49 points) haven't played since Saturday, when they toughed it out in a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Chad LaRose will be returning to the line-up tonight after missing two games due to illness. He's expected to join a line with Tim Brent and Anthony Stewart, who was placed on waivers Monday and cleared yesterday.

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On Sunday I had the pleasure of attending the annual Carolina Hurricanes Skate with the Canes.

Skate with the Canes is a fundraiser for the Kids 'N Community Foundation, with proceeds benefitting many local organizations through KNC grants. 27 organizations were recipients of grants in fall of 2011, and Sunday's event was expected to raise around $45,000 which will fund several grants this year. The event is in its 14th year and was a sell-out.

Skate with the Canes is structured around three main player interaction events, with participants and players divided into three groups rotating through each event. This year my family was in the "Blue Line" group, following is a recap of how our group divided our time.

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TSN's Bob McKenzie tweeted this morning that the Carolina Hurricanes will put forward Anthony Stewart on waivers Monday at noon. Stewart, who was signed this offseason, is in the first year of a two-year deal that pays him $800,000 this season and $1 million next year. He has six goals and seven assists in 50 games, playing mostly on the team's fourth line.

The Canes also reassigned Riley Nash to Charlotte today, so if Stewart is claimed — teams will have until noon Tuesday to make claims on him — Carolina will have just 11 forwards on the roster. If Stewart is not claimed, Carolina can assign him to Charlotte of the AHL or keep him on the NHL roster.