Game Day Canes vs Blue Jackets

Coming off a big win on Sunday, the Canes line-up is likely to stay intact. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets continue to be challenged by injuries.

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
March 10, 2015 - 7:00 pm ET
PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC
TV - Fox Sports Carolinas
Radio - 99.9 FM The Fan
SB Nation Rival Blog - The Cannon

Fancy Stats

Stats via NHL.com and War on Ice

Game Notes

• For the second straight game, the Carolina Hurricanes are battling an opponent for position in league standings. The Columbus Blue Jackets are a point ahead of the Canes in the Metro division with one more game played and a win tonight by the Canes would move them up in the division and into 25th place overall.
• This is the third of four meetings this season between the teams. The Canes won both prior games (home and away) back in November, one of those games decided in overtime by none other than yesterday's hat trick star, Elias Lindholm.
• The NHL basement achieved a milestone Sunday evening when the Sabres became the first team to be officially eliminated from playoff contention, and with back-to-back losses to the Canes and the Red Wings, the Oilers were officially eliminated last night. For those keeping track of such things, the Canes' elimination (aka 'tragic') number is 18, the calculation being the maximum number of points the Canes can be awarded (93 as of this writing), minus the number of points attained by the bubble team (76 by Boston), plus one (18). A combination of 18 points lost by the Canes or gained by the team in the last wild card spot will finish them off mathematically. HFBoards has a thread that keeps track of magic and tragic numbers across the league with daily status updates in its first post.
• After coming back from a three-goal deficit in Sunday's 7-4 win against the Oilers, head coach Bill Peters didn't see much that needed tinkering at yesterday's practice, so the forward lines and defensive pairings didn't change. Peters did mention in post-game audio that he would continue to move players around for evaluation, so there may be a few tweaks at today's morning skate.
• Jack Hillen's upper body injury has been confirmed as a concussion, and he'll be out for the foreseeable future as he progresses through the protocol.
• The Blue Jackets are starting a two-game road trip after a 4-0 home loss to Avalanche on Saturday. As has been the story line for the whole season, injuries are creating a questionable line-up for tonight. More information will be available after the morning skate. The Blue Jackets have already lost 420 man-games to injury this season, a franchise record.
• At yesterday's practice, Jared Boll left practice after being hit by a puck, Fedor Tyutin missed due to illness, and Alexander Wennberg was "banged up" and did not skate. All are traveling to Raleigh but their status for tonight is unknown. Luke Adam has been recalled on an emergency basis if a forward is needed.
• Defensemen Ryan Murray and Kevin Connauton have previously been out of the line-up recovering from injuries but have returned to practice. Neither has been ruled out for tonight's game.
• As of the trade deadline, the Blue Jackets have a defenseman on their roster by the name of Justin Falk. FALK. F.A.L.K.
• The Canes will face Sergei Bobrovsky for the first time this season. Bobrovsky was injured when the teams faced each other in November, and returned to action a week ago after recovering from a groin injury. He played for two periods in Saturday's game in relief of Curtis McElhinney.

Projected line-ups

Hurricanes (from Monday's practice)

Injuries and Scratches: Jack Hillen (concussion), Chris Terry, Brett Bellemore

Injuries and Scratches: Boone Jenner (IR back), Jeremy Morin (IR heart), Ryan Murray (IR ankle), Jack Skille (IR shoulder), Matt Calvert (IR concussion), Kevin Connauton (lower body), David Clarkson (torn oblique), Brian Gibbons