Game Day Canes at Red Wings

Carolina Hurricanes at Detroit Red Wings
April 7, 2015 - 7:30 pm ET
Joe Louis Arena - Detroit, MI
TV - Fox Sports Carolinas
Radio - 99.9 FM The Fan
SB Nation Rival Blog - Winging It In Motown

Fancy Stats

	Hurricanes	Red Wings
Record	29-39-11	41-25-13
Points	69	95
Division Rank	8th Metro	4th Atlantic
Conference Rank	14th EC	8th EC
Streak	Lost 1	Lost 1
Power Play %	19.0%	24.0%
Penalty Kill %	85.0%	80.8%
Goals/Game	2.25	2.82
Goals Against/Game	2.70	2.60
Shots/Game	30.8	29.7
Shots Against/Game	27.3	28.2
ES Goals For %	43.4%	51.0%
ES Corsi For %	52.2%	53.7%
ES PDO	97.2	99.8
PIM/Game	6.7	9.0
Goaltender	Ward	Howard
Record	21-23-5	22-13-10
ES Save Percentage	.912	.920
GAA	2.46	2.42
Goaltender	Khudobin	Mrazek
Record	8-16-6	15-9-2
ES Save Percentage	.901	.927
GAA	2.71	2.48

Stats via NHL.com and War on Ice

Game Notes

• Congratulations to the Duke Blue Devils on their impressive FIFTH NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. I believe that's a sufficient recap of last night's games by teams representing the Triangle.
• The Red Wings are trying to clinch a playoff berth, and the Canes will factor heavily into their postseason plans, as the teams will face each other in two of their last three games, tonight in Detroit for the Red Wings home finale, and on Saturday in Raleigh for the Canes home finale.
• Three Eastern Conference teams are tied at 95 points (Pittsburgh, Boston, and Detroit) and Ottawa lurks behind with 93 points. A Red Wings win tonight over the Canes, coupled with a regulation loss by Ottawa, and the Wings will make their 24th consecutive postseason appearance. The Wings haven't made things easy on themselves, with one of the worst NHL records (3-5-2) in their last ten games, slumping performances from star players (Henrik Zetterberg has one goal in his last 27 games), and now the loss of another key component with Justin Abdelkader suffering a hand injury in a game played on Saturday and questionable for the next few games. They enter tonight's game off a 2-1 home loss to the Capitals on Sunday.
• As for their opponent, the Canes are fresh off a 4-3 loss to the team with the worst record in the league and with an 11-24-4 road record, a 4-9-2 record on the second games of a back-to-back set, a prior loss to the Red Wings this season (3-1 in Raleigh on December 7), and with one win at the Joe (4/11/14) since the franchise located to Raleigh.
• There will be no morning skate for the Canes with the back-to-back games and travel, so updates to the line-up will be made available later in today. On a side note, Riley Nash and Rasmus Rissanen are with the team and skating in no-contact gear, not quite ready to return to the line-up. Unfortunately, Jack Hillen has not been able to join the team and according to last night's broadcast, he has returned to his off-season home in Minnesota to continue his recovery.
• Head coach Bill Peters faced his former team back in December, but this will be his first trip back to the city where he served as an assistant for three years. Andrej Nestrasil was drafted by the Red Wings in 2009 and made his NHL debut there before being claimed off waivers by the Canes earlier this season. Tonight will also mark his first return to Detroit against his former team.
• The Red Wings have recalled Landon Ferraro from the Grand Rapids Griffins and he will be available for tonight's game. Pavel Datsyuk did not practice this morning after aggravating an ankle injury in Sunday's game; he is a game-time decision but is expected to play. Dan Cleary skated in his spot at practice and will likely be the healthy extra if Datsyuk is in the line-up. Former Hurricane Erik Cole, acquired by the Red Wings from the Stars at the trade deadline, is currently out of the line-up with concussion-like symptoms.
• Jimmy Howard will get the start in net tonight for the Red Wings. He is 2-2-0 with a 1.99 GAA in four career games against the Canes.

Projected line-ups

Hurricanes (from Monday's game)

Injuries and Scratches: Jack Hillen (concussion), Rasmus Rissanen (MCL), Riley Nash (upper body), Ryan Murphy

Red Wings (from today's practice):