Game Day: Canes vs. Isles

Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders
February 17, 2015 - 7:00 pm ET
PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC
TV - Fox Sports Carolinas
Radio - 99.9 FM The Fan
SB Nation Rival Blog - Lighthouse Hockey

Fancy Stats

	Hurricanes	Islanders
Record	20-28-7	37-19-1
Points	47	75
Division Rank	8th Metro	1st Metro
Conference Rank	15th EC	3rd EC
Streak	Won 1	Lost 1
Power Play %	17.9%	18.8%
Penalty Kill %	87.8%	73.9%
Goals/Game	2.22	3.10
Goals Against/Game	2.64	2.82
Shots/Game	29.9	33.7
Shots Against/Game	27.9	22.7
ES Goals For %	42.2%	53.8%
ES Corsi For %	51.2%	53.7%
ES PDO	97.1	99.7
PIM/Game	7.3	8.9
Goaltender	Ward	Halak
Record	14-19-4	31-12-0
ES Save Percentage	.912	.921
GAA	2.43	2.48
Goaltender	Khudobin	Johnson
Record	6-9-3	6-7-0
ES Save Percentage	.903	.888
GAA	2.69	3.33

Stats via NHL.com and War on Ice

Game Notes

• The Hurricanes and Islanders faced their first challenge for tonight's game as they made their way to the Triangle last night in the midst of icy weather conditions. The Canes were in Ottawa and won convincingly over the Senators by a 6-3 score. The Metro Division-leading Islanders were at home in Long Island and watched a two-goal lead evaporate in the third period as they took a very emotional 6-5 loss at the hands (skates) of the Rangers, snapping a four-game winning streak.
• Tonight's game is the third of four meetings between the two teams this season; the Isles won both games in a home-and-home back-to-back series to open the season in early October.
• Neither team is skating this morning, so there will be no confirmed line-up changes until later this afternoon.
• For the Canes, few if any changes will be made to a line-up that won last night in Ottawa, with 10 players finding the score sheet including Michal Jordan, who logged his first career NHL goal. Prior to the game Bill Peters indicated it would be a priority for Victor Rask to return after sitting out as a healthy scratch, so if he sticks to that plan expect Riley Nash to be the player he replaces. Starting goaltender may be a toss-up though Peters appears to be leaning toward Cam Ward getting the back-to-back starts.
• Jeff Skinner has goals in three straight games, and Andrej Nestrasil (coming off a three-point night) has goals in two straight and in three of the last four games.
• For the Isles, head coach Jack Capuano hasn't made a lot of roster changes to a team on a winning streak, but with last night's loss, there's a good chance Calvin de Haan (facial injury) returns to the line-up, and Michael Grabner (upper body injury) is possible to return tonight as well. Chad Johnson may start in net after Jaroslav Halak was given a hard workout last night and gave up six goals on 42 shots.
• Captain John Tavares leads the team in scoring with 56 points (27g, 29a), and is ranked seventh in the NHL in points. Career to date he has 27 points (14g, 13a) in 20 games against the Canes.
• Ryan Strome has five points in his last four games, including two goals against the Rangers last night, and is a point-per-game player against the Canes with five points in five games.
• Ironically, it's Public Safety Night as tonight's arena promotion. If you have tickets to the game, first and foremost, stay safe and don't take any unnecessary risks (attending a hockey game isn't a necessary risk). Temperatures in Raleigh will hover around the freezing mark all day, and sunshine will cause the ice to start melting, which will create black ice conditions as the roads refreeze, especially on secondary and untreated roads. We'll pass along any game and weather-related updates as they become available.
• Update: Th

Projected line-ups

Injuries and Scratches: Ryan Murphy (IR lower body), Alexander Semin, Victor Rask, John-Michael Liles

Islanders (from Monday's game):

Injuries and Scratches: Michael Grabner (upper body), Kyle Okposo (upper body), Eric Boulton (lower body), Calvin de Haan (facial cut), Matt Donovan