Hurricanes vs. Flames: Rosters and Projected Lines

Are you going to let three games dictate an 82-game season? Bill Peters hopes not. Get ready for tonight’s game with great insight and pragmatic intensity from his interview with Adam & Joe yesterday on WRALSportsFan.

Peters didn’t tinker with Tuesday’s top three forward lines today in preparation for tonight’s game. Viktor Stalberg will return on the fourth line in exchange for Marin Frk. On defense, Klas Dahlbeck will return to the lineup over Jakub Nakladal. Eddie Lack will get his second start of the season in net. His stat line against Calgary is solid: 4-2-0 with a 1.99 GAA in six career appearances and one shutout.

Here’s how the Hurricanes lined up at the morning skate:

Jeff Skinner - Victor Rask - Lee Stempniak
Joakim Nordstrom - Jordan Staal - Phil di Giuseppe
Sebastian Aho - Elias Lindholm - Teuvo Teravainen
Bryan Bickell - Jay McClement - Viktor Stalberg

Ron Hainsey - Justin Faulk
Jaccob Slavin - Brett Pesce
Noah Hanifin - Klas Dahlbeck

Eddie Lack
Cam Ward

Injuries and Scratches: Andrej Nestrasil (healthy), Martin Frk (healthy), Jakub Nakladal (healthy), Ryan Murphy (IR lower-body)

The Flames held an optional practice this morning. Solid play by Alex Chiasson in the first four games has bumped Kris Versteeg off the top line. Brian Elliott is confirmed to start in net; he’s 6-5-0 with a 2.77 GAA in 13 career games against the Canes. Here’s their expected lineup based on yesterday’s practice:

Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Alex Chiasson
Micheal Ferland - Sam Bennett - Troy Brouwer
Lance Bouma - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik
Matthew Tkachuk - Matt Stajan - Kris Versteeg

Mark Giordano - TJ Brodie
Dougie Hamilton - Jyrki Jokipakka
Brett Kulak - Deryk Engelland

Brian Elliott
Chad Johnson

Injuries and Scratches: Nicklas Grossmann, Freddie Hamilton, Dennis Wideman

Random back story: Eddie Lack and Brian Elliott last faced each other in the now infamous Canes fathers’ weekend #shitlessnervous game in St. Louis on Jan. 9. Lack prevailed in a 4-1 win. That has to be a good omen heading into tonight’s game.

Visit rival site Matchsticks & Gasoline for their preview of tonight’s matchup.