Hurricanes vs Wild: Preview

Carolina Hurricanes vs Minnesota Wild
November 12, 2015 - 7:00 pm ET
PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC
Fox Sports Carolinas - 99.9 FM - WRALSportsFan app
SB Nation Rivals - Hockey Wilderness

Vital Statistics

*Stats from NHL.com and War on Ice

Game Notes

• After a quick trip to the Big Apple (and a big goose egg to show for it), the Canes are back in black tonight at PNC Arena, where they'll hang out for the next five games. First up are the Minnesota Wild, a team they'll face twice this season and one who swept the Canes in both games played last season. The Wild are starting out on a four-game road trip and this is their first stop.
• The Wild are currently ranked third in a beastly Central division and are a team that plays all-around solid, smart, disciplined hockey. If they have a weakness, it's their depleted roster. Zach Parise is out with a knee injury, joining Justin Fontaine and Tyler Graovac. Marcos Scandella missed their last game due to a leave of absence for personal reasons, it's unknown whether he will be back to join tonight's line-up.
• Two players to watch tonight are names Canes fans are familiar with, going all the way back to 2005-06 and the Eastern Conference Finals. Former Sabres Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville skated on the Wild's top line starting in the second period of the Wild's 5-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night, and head coach Mike Yeo may keep them together again tonight. Vanek is second in team points (6g, 6a) to Mikko Koivu (3g, 10a), scored two goals in Tuesday's win, and is a point-per-game player against the Canes (35 points in 32 games). Pominville, on the other hand, has yet to find the back of the net this season, tallying just six assists.
• The Wild held a limited practice yesterday before traveling to Raleigh. Rookie Kurtis Gabriel was called up from the Iowa Wild for his NHL debut Tuesday night but has been sent back to Iowa and the Wild are expected to make another call-up today. The most likely candidate is Christoph Bertschy, who has one prior NHL game on his resume (and no points). Devan Dubnyk, who leads the NHL in goaltending wins (9), is expected to get the start in goal tonight.
• Coming off the 3-0 shutout loss to the Rangers Tuesday night, the Canes returned home and made a roster move yesterday, sending Brock McGinn back to Charlotte. With Joakim Nordstrom and Andrej Nestrasil returning to good health, McGinn was starting to see his ice time diminish and will get the opportunity to play big minutes again with the Checkers, who are dealing with a few injuries to their forward corps.
• The team practiced yesterday and for the most part the lines and defensive pairings did not change, though indications were that Nestrasil and Noah Hanifin may re-enter tonight's lineup. Bill Peters has not named a starter in net, but coming off a loss and playing tonight against a Western Conference opponent, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Eddie Lack get the start. Lack is 2-0-1 with a 1.39 GAA in four career games against the Wild. Cam Ward is 3-0-1 with a 2.76 GAA in six career games.
• In honor of Veterans Day, the Canes will honor North Carolina veterans tonight before the National Anthem and in-game as Heroes of the Game presented by Lenovo and also as guests of the True Defenders program. The Canes are also holding a Stock the Pantry food drive benefiting local organizations. Fans providing non-perishable food donations will receive vouchers for discount tickets to an upcoming game (details).

Projected Lineups

Hurricanes (from Wednesday's practice)

Eric Staal - Victor Rask - Elias Lindholm
Nathan Gerbe -Jordan Staal - Chris Terry
Jeff Skinner - Riley Nash - Kris Versteeg
Andrej Nestrasil - Jay McClement - Joakim Nordstrom
Brad Malone

Ron Hainsey - Justin Faulk 
John-Michael Liles - Brett Pesce
Noah Hanifin - Ryan Murphy
Michal Jordan

Cam Ward
Eddie Lack

Injuries and scratches: James Wisniewski (IR - ACL)

Wild (from Tuesday's game)

Jason Zucker - Mikko Koivu - Nino Niederreiter
Jason Pominville - Mikael Granlund - Charlie Coyle
Thomas Vanek - Erik Haula - Jordan Schroeder
Chris Porter - Ryan Carter - Kurtis Gabriel*

Ryan Suter - Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin - Matt Dumba
Nate Prosser - Christian Folin

Devan Dubnyk
Darcy Kuemper

* Gabriel reassigned to Iowa, MIN to make another recall today
Injuries and scratches: Justin Fontaine (IR knee), Tyler Graovac (IR lower body), Zach Parise (IR knee), Marco Scandella (personal leave), Niklas Backstrom (healthy)

Storm Debris

• Bill Peters post-practice 11/11/15 [CH.com] and Gameday Hub [CH.com].
• Canes Reassign Brock McGinn to Charlotte [CH.com].
• Rod Brind'Amour was on with Adam and Joe yesterday and talked about the Canes power play, his thoughts on Elias Lindholm (should he have spent more time in Charlotte), and the real reason why scoring is down league-wide. It's another must listen [WRALSportsFan].
• Wild reunite old linemates [Wild.com].
• Wild leaves town feeling good after Winnipeg win [StarTribune]
• The Minnesota Wild don't play soft hockey, they play smart hockey [Hockey Wilderness].
• NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says, again, that the Hurricanes aren't leaving Raleigh [N&O].
• A disgruntled Whalers fan lashes out at Peter Karmanos (shocking I know but great entertainment value nonetheless) [CTHockeyViolence].
• The Hurricanes Kids 'N Community Foundation announces dates for its Skate with the Canes and Casino Night fundraising events. Tickets go on sale today for season ticket holders and tomorrow for the general public [CH.com].
• Finally, sometimes a picture says it all, especially when it comes to the Canes and puck luck. By the way, as of this morning the Canes are DFL in both even strength GF% and PDO.

PDO Components through 11/10. pic.twitter.com/0lajOqp7XJ

— Carolyn Wilke (@Classlicity) November 11, 2015

@PT3 If your PDO is consistently bad, then it's a personnel problem not "luck". That's when you want to break out the components.

— Carolyn Wilke (@Classlicity) November 11, 2015