Carolina Hurricanes at St. Louis Blues Rosters and Projected Lineups: Rattie In, Faulk Activated from IR

From doghouse to penthouse... within a span of three days former St. Louis Blues forward Ty Rattie has gone from Winter Classic healthy scratch to waivers to a line with the Carolina Hurricanes’ top two scoring forwards.

Here’s a good read from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch with a few comments from Rattie’s former teammates and head coach...

“If he’s in that lineup tomorrow,” defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said, “we’re going to be dealing with a pretty angry guy with something to prove. Good for him for hopefully getting a chance now to move on and make a name for himself.”

... And audio from Rattie himself following today’s practice with his new team.

#FaulkYeah

If the morning skate is any indication, Justin Faulk appears to be ready to return to the lineup tonight after missing four games with a lower body injury. Faulk practiced in line rushes today, paired with Ron Hainsey, but the Canes have not made a formal announcement regarding his status (check back here for updates). Faulk is currently on the injured reserve list so he’ll need to be reactivated in order to be eligible to play tonight, which means another player will have to be moved off the roster to maintain the 23-man limit. The most likely candidate is Elias Lindholm, who also skated this morning but in a no-contact jersey and apart from formal line rushes.

UPDATE 3:30 PM: As expected, Justin Faulk has been activated from injured reserve, and Elias Lindholm has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 30 (press release follows below).

With Ty Rattie joining the forward lines on the right wing alongside Victor Rask and Jeff Skinner, Andrej Nestrasil appears to be the healthy forward scratch, along with Klas Dahlbeck and Matt Tennyson on defense if Faulk returns.

Congratulations to Michael Leighton who, in addition to returning to the lineup to back up Cam Ward, has been selected to represent the Charlotte Checkers at the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic, This marks Leighton’s fifth AHL All-Star selection and second consecutive appearance.

Canes Projected Lineup

Jeff Skinner - Victor Rask - Ty Rattie
Sebastian Aho - Teuvo Teravainen - Lee Stempniak
Brock McGinn - Jordan Staal - Derek Ryan
Joakim Nordstrom - Jay McClement - Viktor Stalberg

Jaccob Slavin - Brett Pesce
Ron Hainsey - Justin Faulk
Noah Hanifin - Ryan Murphy

Cam Ward
Michael Leighton

Injuries and Scratches: Bryan Bickell (IR multiple sclerosis), Elias Lindholm (lower-body), Andrej Nestrasil (healthy), Justin Faulk (IR lower-body), Klas Dahlbeck (healthy), Matt Tennyson (healthy), Eddie Lack (IR concussion)

It sounds as though the Blues caught Winter Classic fever, literally. Head coach Ken Hitchcock kept most of his players home this morning due to widespread illness so there were only a few on the ice for today’s optional morning skate.

Nail Yakupov missed the Winter Classic due to illness but was back on the ice Wednesday. Jaden Schwartz missed practice yesterday with the same illness but skated this morning. Both are reported as game-time decisions. Defenseman Carl Gunnarsson is day-to-day with a lower body injury; Brad Hunt is expected to take his place. Jake Allen gets the start in net tonight with a 3-0-0 record and 1.69 GAA against the Hurricanes.

Blues Projected Lineup

Alexander Steen -- Paul Stastny -- David Perron
Jaden Schwartz -- Jori Lehtera -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Robby Fabbri -- Patrik Berglund -- Dmitrij Jaskin
Scottie Upshall -- Kyle Brodziak -- Ryan Reaves

Joel Edmundson -- Alex Pietrangelo
Brad Hunt -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Jay Bouwmeester -- Colton Parayko

Jake Allen
Carter Hutton

Injuries and Scratches: Nail Yakupov (illness), Robert Bortuzzo (lower body), Carl Gunnarsson (lower body)

Hurricanes Activate Faulk from Injured Reserve

RALEIGH, NC - Ron Francis, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has activated defenseman Justin Faulkfrom injured reserve. In addition, forward Elias Lindholm was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Dec. 30, with an upper-body injury.

Faulk, 24, currently ranks tied for seventh among NHL defensemen in goals (7) and is sixth among all Hurricanes skaters in points (16) this season. The South St. Paul, MN, native is second on the team in average ice time per game (23:06). Selected by the Hurricanes in the second round, 37th overall, at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Faulk has totaled 171 points (56g, 115a) and 150 penalty minutes in 356 career NHL games.