Carolina Hurricanes vs. Minnesota Wild: Lineups and Game Discussion

The Canes may not be trading their hockey sticks in for lightsabers, but it will be Star Wars Night in PNC Arena when Carolina hits the ice Saturday night to take on the Minnesota Wild.

The Hurricanes are coming off an exhilarating home win over the San Jose Sharks, which ended in a shootout thanks to the heroics of Petr Mrazek. Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov had the lone goal of the shootout, clinching two points for the Canes.

Carolina got the best of Minnesota in the first matchup of the teams this season, as Svechnikov scored the game winner in overtime for the Canes. Svechnikov, the Canes’ point leader with 31, has at least one point in 11 of his last 13 games, and he will look to continue on that great form against the Wild Saturday.

The Hurricanes will be without forwards Martin Necas and Erik Haula, as both players are dealing with lower-body injuries. Necas practiced yesterday and seems likely to return to the lineup at some point during the Canes’ upcoming road trip.

Here’s how Rod Brind’Amour’s squad will line up Saturday night in PNC:

Nino Niederreiter - Sebastian Aho - Teuvo Teravainen
Andrei Svechnikov - Jordan Staal - Warren Foegele
Ryan Dzingel - Lucas Wallmark - Jordan Martinook
Brock McGinn - Clark Bishop - Brian Gibbons

Jaccob Slavin - Dougie Hamilton
Joel Edmundson - Brett Pesce
Jake Gardiner - Haydn Fleury

Petr Mrazek
James Reimer

Injuries and Scratches: Erik Haula (knee), Martin Necas (lower body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (healthy)

Hurricanes legend Eric Staal and the Minnesota Wild roll into Raleigh as hot as can be. The Wild has won five straight games, and is coming off a 5-4 win over the Lightning in Tampa. Adding on to that, Minnesota is on an 11-game point streak, the second longest in franchise history.

Zach Parise and Jason Zucker have been Minnesota’s most prolific goal scorers this year. Parise leads the squad with 12, while Zucker is one behind with 11. Zucker’s 21 points lead the team, while Staal follows close with 20 points thanks to 12 assists.

The Wild is wrapping up a three-game road trip that has kept them in the southern part of the United States, and Minnesota has come away with two wins in the first two games. The Wild will be looking to continue that run Saturday in PNC. Here is how head coach Bruce Boudreau’s squad will likely line up:

Jason Zucker - Eric Staal - Mats Zuccarello
Zach Parise - Victor Rask - Kevin Fiala
Jordan Greenway - Joel Eriksson Ek - Luke Kunin
Ryan Donato - Ryan Hartman - Marcus Foligno

Ryan Suter - Matt Dumba
Carson Soucy - Jonas Brodin
Nick Seeler - Brad Hunt

Alex Stalock
Devan Dubnyk

Injuries and Scratches: Mikko Koivu (lower body), Greg Pateryn (lower body), Jared Spurgeon (upper body)