Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders
September 26, 2015 - 5:00 pm ET
Scotiabank Centre - Halifax, NS
TV - Not Available
Radio - WRALSportsFan.com website and mobile app
SB Nation Rival Blog - Lighthouse Hockey
Game Notes
- The big news for the Hurricanes coming into tonight's game is the second round of training camp roster cuts that were announced yesterday. After an 0-2 preseason start and a rigorous practice on Wednesday, 16 players were sent back to their respective affiliate organizations. 33 players now remain on the active roster, and all are expected to see game action in at least one of the two weekend games.
- Based on the coach's notes coming out of yesterday's practice, several players are expected to play in both games, including Jeff Skinner, Kris Versteeg, Riley Nash, Chris Terry, and Ryan Murphy. Eddie Lack and Drew MacIntyre are expected to split duties in net tonight, with Cam Ward getting the start tomorrow night.
- The team arrived in Halifax yesterday and will skate this morning. According to head coach Bill Peters, today's practice focus (as was yesterday's) will be on special teams.
- This is only the third preseason game for the Canes. The Islanders are already five games into their preseason with a 2-3-0 record. They played not one but two games last night, losing 5-2 to the Flyers in Philadelphia and losing 4-2 to the Devils in Newark. Both rosters for their split-squad event were heavy-laden with prospects (the Isles are still carrying 48 players as of this morning). While tonight's roster has not yet been published (will update when it becomes available), it's expected to be a more experienced line-up, featuring the likes of John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, Anders Lee, Travis Hamonic, and Jaroslav Halak, all of whom sat out last night.
- Regardless of the score at the end of regulation, tonight's game will feature another mandatory 3-on-3 overtime period as scheduled by the NHL to give the teams practice time with the new format. As a reminder, if the score is not tied at the end of regulation, the game will be awarded to the winner in regulation and the teams will play an overtime period for exhibition purposes only. If the game is tied, overtime will proceed with the five-minute sudden death period, followed by a shootout if necessary.
- Note the earlier start time. There's no planned television broadcast coverage for this one, so sit back and enjoy the dulcet tones of Chuck Kaiton on the WRALSportsFan app on your Saturday evening.
Lineups
Hurricanes
Eric Staal - Victor Rask - Elias Lindholm
Kris Versteeg - Riley Nash - Jeff Skinner
Brad Malone - Jay McClement - Chris Terry
Brendan Woods - Derek Ryan - Joakim Nordstrom
Ron Hainsey - Justin Faulk
Noah Hanifin - Ryan Murphy
Haydn Fleury - Michal Jordan
Eddie Lack
Drew MacIntyre
Islanders
Anders Lee – John Tavares – Ryan Strome
Brock Nelson – Frans Nielsen – Josh Bailey
Anthony Beauvillier – Louis Leblanc – Kyle Okposo
Justin Vaive – Mathew Barzal – Eric Boulton
Thomas Hickey – Travis Hamonic
Brian Strait – Scott Mayfield
Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock
Thomas Greiss
Stephon Williams