Carolina Hurricanes vs Boston Bruins: Game Preview, How to Watch, Travel Advisory, Ticket Exchange

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Boston Bruins
Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017 - 5:00 pm ET
PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC
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Game Notes

• The Carolina Hurricanes return to PNC Arena to begin a four-game home stand, all against division and conference opponents. If ever there was a time to start making a move up the standings, now would be it.
• Tonight’s matchup completes the regular season series between the Canes and Boston Bruins. It’s a rubber match with both teams sporting a 1-0-1 record, though how they got there was a bit unexpected. On Dec. 1 the Canes found themselves dominating the Bruins in a well-played road game, but a late deflection off the skates of Teuvo Teravainen tied things up for the Bruins and they ended up taking that game 2-1 in a shootout. Then at home on Dec. 23 at PNC Arena, a late Canes surge negated a strong performance by the Bruins, capped off with an overtime game-winner from Teravainen in a bit of poetic justice.
• The Canes are catching the Bruins on the back half of back-to-back games. They dominated in a 4-0 win against Florida last night. Brad Marchand, who leads the Bruins with 34 points (12g, 22a) scored both short-handed and on the power play, David Backes scored in his first game back after recovering from a concussion, and former Hurricane Riley Nash scored the final goal. Tuukka Rask pitched a 25-save shutout, his fifth of the season and his 35th in his NHL career.
• The Bruins arrived in Raleigh around 1:00 am and won’t practice this morning. Head coach Claude Julien has not named a starting netminder, and team media suggests rookie Zane McIntyre could get his third career start today. McIntyre has a 10-0-0 record and 1.41 GAA and .951 save percentage with the Bruins’ AHL affiliate Providence Bruins but has not won an NHL game in two prior starts. Former Hurricane John-Michael Liles may be ready to return to the lineup after missing 20 games with a concussion.
• The Bruins have scored six power play goals in their last eight games and barely rank behind the Canes on the penalty kill at 87.7%.
• The Hurricanes return home after splitting games against two Western Conference opponents, and needing to start picking up ground against their Eastern Conference opponents if they want to make a push for the post-season. Six points and three other teams separate them from the last wild card spot, currently held by the Philadelphia Flyers.
• The Hurricanes held a quick practice yesterday at PNC Arena, and other than a comment from head coach Bill Peters that he expected Matt Tennyson to return on defense in exchange for Ryan Murphy, there were no other lineup changes indicated. Elias Lindholm practiced again in a no-contact jersey and will remain out of the lineup. Cam Ward is expected to start in net.
• Congratulations to Victor Rask who is scheduled to play in his 200th career NHL game today. Rask and Jeff Skinner have points in the last two games. Boston native Noah Hanifin has four points (2g, 2a) and a shootout game-winner against his hometown team.
• The Hurricanes Homegrown series continues today, showcasing area talents during the game and in the arena. Originally scheduled to perform live during intermission, The Love Language band will not be in attendance due to the inclement weather. Everything else is a go: limited edition t-shirts from Runaway (The Eye main location), beer flights from Appalachian Mountain Brewery and Bold Rock Cider (Section 129), smoked beef brisket with caramelized onions and Cheerwine BBQ sauce (Section 109), and art poster by local artist George Hage (Section 108).
• Program note: Tonight’s game will be broadcast on FOX Sports Southeast, check [here] for the alternative channel lineup from your provider.

Rosters and Projected Lineups

Hurricanes Projected Lineup (from Saturday’s practice)

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

Jaccob Slavin - Brett Pesce
Justin Faulk - Ron Hainsey
Noah Hanifin - Matt Tennyson

Cam Ward
Michael Leighton

Injuries and Scratches: Bryan Bickell (IR multiple sclerosis), Elias Lindholm (IR upper-body), Eddie Lack (IR concussion), Andrej Nestrasil (healthy), Klas Dahlbeck (healthy), Ryan Murphy (healthy)

Bruins Projected Lineup (from Saturday’s game)

Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Ryan Spooner - David Krejci - David Backes
Frank Vatrano - Austin Czarnik - Jimmy Hayes
Anton Blidh - Dominic Moore - Riley Nash

Zdeno Chara - Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug - Adam McQuaid
Kevan Miller - Colin Miller

Tuukka Rask
Zane McIntyre

Injuries and Scratches: Matt Beleskey (knee), John-Michael Liles (concussion)

The Latest on the Weather

Now for some real talk. After the snow and sleet storm ended Saturday, with varying accumulations across the Triangle, overnight temperatures dipped down into the low tens with single digit wind chill. Today sun and ground temperatures will cause some melting during the day and quick freezing into ice as the sun sets. A high of around 26 degrees is expected at 4:00 pm (wind chill 14 degrees), dropping to 19 degrees at 8:00 pm as the game ends. Highways and main roads continue to be cleared, but bridges, ramps, overpasses and secondary roads are all subject to icy conditions. The area is under a State of Emergency.

Tonight's game will be played as scheduled, and the Canes will be offering a ticket exchange for those who are unable to make it to the arena (see below for details). If you plan to attend the game in person, please use caution and do not put yourself or others in harm's way.

We will do our best to pass along any weather-related updates here in the comments or on twitter (@CanesCntrySBN, @bdleblanc, @jbkellner).

Hurricanes-Bruins to be Played as Scheduled

RALEIGH, NC - The National Hockey League confirmed Sunday that the game between the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins on Sunday at 5 p.m. will be played as scheduled. Both teams and the NHL officials are in Raleigh.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper declared a State of Emergency in conjunction with the winter storm that passed through the state on Saturday. Fans uncomfortable traveling to PNC Arena for today's game may exchange their unused tickets for any remaining regular-season Hurricanes home game, with the exception of Jan. 20. All exchanges must be handled at the PNC Arena Box Office, regardless of where the tickets were purchased.