Game Day Canes vs. Blues

Carolina Hurricanes vs. St. Louis Blues
January 30, 2015 - 7:00 pm ET
PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC
TV - Fox Sports South --- NOTE Broadcast Change
Radio - 99.9 FM The Fan
SB Nation Rival Blog - St. Louis Game Time

Fancy Stats

	Hurricanes	Blues
Record	17-25-5	30-13-4
Points	39	64
Division Rank	8th Metro	2nd Central
Conference Rank	15th EC	3rd WC
Streak	Won 3	Won 3
Power Play %	16.9%	24.5%
Penalty Kill %	87.3%	81.0%
Goals/Game	2.11	3.15
Goals Against/Game	2.51	2.40
Shots/Game	29.5	31.4
Shots Against/Game	27.8	27.3
ES Goals For %	43.2%	57.2%
ES Corsi For %	51.1%	51.2%
ES PDO	97.5	101.4
PIM/Game	7.8	11.1
Goaltender	Ward	Elliott
Record	11-17-3	14-5-2
ES Save Percentage	.910	.943
GAA	2.45	1.95
Goaltender	Khudobin	Allen
Record	6-8-2	13-5-2
ES Save Percentage	.920	.908
GAA	2.30	2.65

Stats via NHL.com and War on Ice

Game Notes

• The Hurricanes are a very respectable 7-2-1 in the month of January, with their one overtime loss coming in a 5-4 shootout loss to tonight's opponent, the St. Louis Blues, on January 10th.
• The Canes have won three straight, and head coach Bill Peters is staying with same line-up that won those last three games because why not, things are obviously working, with the latest outcome a 4-2 win Tuesday to topple the Tampa Bay Lightning from the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
• The only question mark coming out of Tuesday's game was Jiri Tlusty, who was slammed into the boards during the game and didn't practice Wednesday. He returned to practice yesterday and though still not at 100 percent, is expected to be in tonight's game.
• Anton Khudobin, who gets the start in net again tonight, has won his last six consecutive starts. During those six games he has a 1.44 GAA and a .946 save percentage.
• To quote Tripp Tracy, leaders win with leadership. Eric and Jordan Staal have four points apiece in their last two games.
• The Blues are pretty respectable in January as well, with an 8-1-1 record. Though ranked second in the league with 3.15 goals/game, they've been averaging closer to 4.5 goals per game over the last stretch of 10 games.
• The Blues were in action last night, their first game since the All-Star break. After holding a ceremonial puck drop to honor a former NHL player who recently announced his retirement (didn't see a lot of details about it but I think it was this guy), the Blues scored four second period goals to lead the Nashville Predators 4-3 going into the third period, only to give up a late goal that forced overtime. The Blues were able to prevail in the shootout for a 5-4 win. T.J. Oshie had a goal in regulation and also scored in the shootout, and All-Star Kevin Shattenkirk celebrated his 26th birthday by scoring the shootout winner.
• Marcel Goc played in his first game as a Blues player last night, after being acquired in a trade with the Penguins for Maxim Lapierre. He played almost 13 minutes and won 13 of 18 face-offs centering the fourth line.
• Forwards Patrik Berglund and Jori Lehtera sustained upper body injuries in last night's game and afterwards head coach Ken Hitchcock said that neither will play tonight. Joakim Lindstrom was a healthy scratch and will may draw into the line-up, but it hasn't been determined if the Blues will call up another forward or dress seven defensemen. Jake Allen is expected to start in net. With a very late arrival in Raleigh, any other line-up changes likely won't be known until closer to game time.
• Don't forget to look for assistant coach Kirk Muller behind the bench for the Blues in his first return to Raleigh since being fired by the Canes back in May.
• Congratulations to our colleagues at St. Louis Game Time on 20 years of covering the Blues through their fan-run newspaper.

Projected line-ups

Hurricanes (from Thursday's practice)

Injuries and Scratches:, Alexander Semin (healthy), Andrej Nestrasil (healthy), John-Michael Liles (healthy)

Blues (from Thursday's game)

Injuries and Scratches: Chris Porter (ankle), Joakim Lindstrom (healthy), Chris Butler (healthy)

Programming note: Another reminder that tonight's game is on Fox Sports South. Check here for channel listings for your provider.