Hurricanes vs Coyotes: Preview

Carolina Hurricanes vs Arizona Coyotes
December 6, 2015 - 5:00 pm ET
PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC
Fox Sports Carolinas - 99.9 FM - WRALSportsFan app
SB Nation Rivals - Five For Howling

Vital Statistics

*Stats from NHL.com and War on Ice

Game Notes

• The Hurricanes still sit at the bottom of the league's rankings this morning, tied with two other teams with 22 points, but life feels a wee bit better after pulling off last night's upset against the best team in the Eastern Conference.
• No time to rest on laurels, as the Canes get right back at it today against a much-improved Arizona Coyotes. Last season the Canes went 2-0-0 against the Coyotes, winning here at PNC Arena on November 1, 2014 to give Bill Peters his first NHL win as an NHL coach, then again in a shootout in Glendale in February. The Coyotes finished behind the Canes last season, but are off to a very solid start this season and are currently third in the Pacific Division.
• Much of the Coyotes success (and excitement) can be traced to dynamic rookie forward Max Domi, who leads the team in goals (10) and points (25) and is swapping spots daily at the top of the NHL's rookie rankings. Domi has five points in his last five games, but otherwise the Coyotes have struggled a bit, losing three straight games during a five-game road trip that makes its fourth stop here tonight.
• After playing in back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday, the Coyotes didn't practice yesterday after arriving in Raleigh. Captain Shane Doan has been out with a lower body injury, and it's unknown whether he will be able to return to the lineup today. The Coyotes have not announced their starting goaltender. In Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Red Wings, goaltender Anders Lindback came in to relieve Mike Smith after Smith gave up three early goals, but Smith returned against Buffalo on Friday, where the Coyotes lost 5-2.
• After last night's win against the Canadiens, Bill Peters said he may make a few changes to the Canes lineup today, but the three players who were recalled from Charlotte Friday (Brock McGinn, Phillip Di Giuseppe, and Jaccob Slavin) will remain in the lineup. Cam Ward, coming off a 36-save performance, will start in net. In addition to Jeff Skinner, red hot last night in a two-goal effort, keep an eye on Elias Lindholm, who last season scored two goals against the Coyotes here and the shootout winner in Arizona.
• Note the early start time (5:00 pm) for tonight's game.

Projected Lineups

Hurricanes (from Saturday's game)

Brock McGinn - Eric Staal - Elias Lindholm
Jeff Skinner - Victor Rask - Phillip Di Giuseppe
Joakim Nordstrom - Jordan Staal - Andrej Nestrasil
Brad Malone - Jay McClement - Chris Terry

Ron Hainsey - Justin Faulk
John-Michael Liles - Brett Pesce
Noah Hanifin - Jaccob Slavin

Cam Ward
Eddie Lack

Injuries and scratches: James Wisniewski (IR ACL), Nathan Gerbe (ankle), Michal Jordan (healthy), Kris Versteeg (healthy), Riley Nash (healthy)

Coyotes (from Friday's game)

Max Domi - Martin Hanzal - Mikkel Boedker
Tobias Rieder - Antoine Vermette - Anthony Duclair
Jordan Martinook - Brad Richardson - Kyle Chipchura
John Scott - Boyd Gordon - Steve Downie

Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Michael Stone
Klas Dahlbeck - Zbynek Michalek
Nicklas Grossman - Stefan Elliott

Mike Smith
Anders Lindback

Injuries and Scratches: Shane Doan (lower body), Connor Murphy (healthy), Dustin Jeffrey (healthy)