Game Day: Canes at Preds

Carolina Hurricanes at Nashville Predators
January 6, 2015 - 8:00 pm ET
Bridgestone Arena - Nashville, TN
TV - Fox Sports South --- NOTE Broadcast Channel Change
Radio - 99.9 FM The Fan
SB Nation Rival Blog - On The Forecheck

Fancy Stats

	Hurricanes	Predators
Record	12-23-4	25-9-4
Points	28	54
Division Rank	8th Metro	1st Central
Conference Rank	16th EC	2nd WC
Streak	Won 2	OT 2
Power Play %	16.7%	15.1%
Penalty Kill %	85.8%	81.5%
Goals/Game	1.92	2.95
Goals Against/Game	2.54	2.24
Shots/Game	29.3	32.5
Shots Against/Game	27.8	28.7
ES Goals For %	40.5%	61.8%
ES Corsi For %	51.0%	52.4%
ES PDO	96.8	102.5
PIM/Game	7.7	8.1
Goaltender	Ward	Rinne
Record	10-15-2	25-6-2
ES Save Percentage	.917	.937
GAA	2.34	2.00
Goaltender	Khudobin	Hutton
Record	2-8-2	0-3-2
ES Save Percentage	.905	.913
GAA	2.55	2.75

Stats via NHL.com and War on Ice

Game Notes

• As improbable as two straight wins might sound for the 29th-ranked Hurricanes, even rarer is the notion that the Canes actually won their latest game in a shootout, against one of the elite goalies in the NHL, and that fourth-liner Brad Malone, pointless through the 2014 portion of the season, now has points in two straight games. Yet that is where the Canes find themselves to start the new year.
• Eric Staal technically ended a four-game point streak and three-game goal streak on Sunday, but the captain netted the lone goal in the shootout to give the Canes the 2-1 win over the Bruins. He is one goal away from 300 career NHL goals.
• For the first time in what seems like forever, every Canes player on the roster was healthy and able to skate at yesterday's practice, including Andrej Nestrasil and John-Michael Liles. Once those two players are able to be activated from injured reserve, roster moves will be required as the Canes already have 23 players healthy. For now, head coach Bill Peters said post-practice that everyone who played Sunday deserved the chance to stay in the line-up, so there are no anticipated changes going into tonight's game, though a starter in net has not been named. A case can be made for either Cam Ward or Anton Khudobin, both putting up strong performances over the weekend.
• Jeff Skinner has gone without a point in his last six games, but Nashville might just be the opponent he needs to get back on the score sheet. Skinner has 10 points (5g, 5a) in six career games against the Predators, including a hat trick when the two teams met in Nashville last season, and a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win here in Raleigh on December 2nd. Victor Rask scored the other goal in that victory, but has not logged a point since.
• The Canes are hosting their fathers on the trip to Nashville.
• Generating any success in Smashville as an opposing team is not an easy task this season. With a 14-2-1 home record, the Predators have the fewest home losses of any team in the NHL and are lauding their fans as the "seventh man" contributing to what is currently one of the best in-arena experiences in the league. The Canes defeated the Preds in their sole meeting in Nashville last season, the first time they had done so since 2002.
• The Preds come into tonight's game off a back-to-back series in California where they took three out of four points against the L.A. Kings and Anaheim Ducks, both in extra innings. They are tied with Chicago with 54 points but have a game in hand, second behind Anaheim in the Western Conference, and lead the league in percentage of points captured per game played at 71.1%.
• Filip Forsberg leads the Predators in scoring with 37 points (14g, 23a). Mike Ribeiro is second with 35 points (9g, 26a).
• The Predators didn't practice yesterday, so line-ups are posted as the team skated against their opponents on Sunday. Pekka Rinne is expected to start in goal.

Projected line-ups

Hurricanes depth chart (from Monday's practice)

Injuries and Scratches: Andrej Nestrasil (IR upper body), John-Michael Liles (IR illness), Alexander Semin (healthy), Zach Boychuk (healthy), Michal Jordan (healthy)

Predators depth chart (from Sunday's game)

Injuries and Scratches: James Neal (lower body), Taylor Beck (illness), Matt Cullen (upper body), Victor Bartley (healthy)