To give credit where it is due again @ice_chip on Twitter (Chip Alexander from Raleigh News & Observer) is the best source for daily updates on the Canes constantly changing lineup and injury situation this days.

Tonight we get Alexander Semin's return to Washington. Thursday we see Brandon Sutter vs. Jordan Staal in Raleigh. Reunion week is here.

Tonight has the potential to be the most interesting given the negativity around Alexander Semin's departure from Washington and Troy Brouwer's comments this week to stir up the fire a bit.

The vast majority of the good that has happened for the Canes so far in 2013 has been on the road. Tonight has the potential to bring more. The Brouwer situation has the potential to further pull the team together. Canes teammates have already stepped out to defend Semin as a good teammate in Raleigh in the Twittosphere. Compound that with a feel-good win in Washington tonight, a Semin goal and guys like Larose (who will be on Semin's line) giving it to Brouwer all night verbally and ideally physical and that #28 Canes jersey and the Canes locker room starts to feel more and more like home and a family (reference Joe Corvo Tweets too) versus a place to play hockey for a year. A win also helps leave the Caps where they are right now which is trying to pull together some semblance of continuity and a streak. Better to leave them still asking questions and struggling 1 game deeper in the NHL season.

Partly due to the injury issues and partly just shuffling to try to find some sparks, Kirk Muller has been tinkering with lines and pairings.

Larose plays with EStaal and Semin. He needs to fill the Tlusty role of helping get and keep the puck and then going to places where goals happen once it is safely on the playmakers'/scorers' sticks.

Jokinen moves up to play with JStaal and Dwyer. He desperately needs a spark and to contribute more. He gets a chance to play with better finishing ability for linemates. Here is hoping it gets his game going.

Tlusty gets a very different assignment moving down to the 3rd line to play with 2 kids (Nash and just-recalled Dalpe). This is 100% not about being a demotion for Tlusty. He has been phenomenal on EStaal's line. It is all about trying to find something that works for a 3rd line. Tlusty has developed into a "glue piece" as a forward that makes linemates better, plays defense and just generally makes good decisions at both ends of the ice. He gets the job of being the defensive glue to read, react and maybe occasionally cover up for the inexperienced linemates. He also gets the task of trying to get offense from a 3rd line. Both Dalpe and Nash have some offensive ability so the potential is there.

Muller is trying for a trifecta here. Hope is that EStaal/Semin are good enough that they can keep it going with whoever is on their left wing as long as they bring something to complement them. JStaal gets the best the team can offer for an offensive replacement until Skinner returns and Jokinen gets a new look to get him going. And hope is that Jiri Tlusty can work some magic with 2 decent kids and finally offer a productive 3rd line.

Here's hoping it works!

After 2 horrible outings and a night off last week, he finished the week with a "gut it out" kind of win vs. the Islanders that was much heavier on production than it was on quality points. Here is hoping that he can find the confidence on the road again just like he did not long ago in a solid week vs. Toronto and Ottawa.

Canes also see the makeshift D continue. Gragnani steps in to play with Murphy. On the road, it is much harder to hide a 3rd pairing, so these guys need to be at least decent. Coming off easily his best game of the season, Sanguinetti takes another shot with Jay Harrison. They struggled mightily to start the season, but just maybe Sanguinetti is settling in, adjusting to the NHL pace and ready to take a step forward.

Bunches of story lines for the night. My wish list includes:
--A Semin goal early.
--Chad Larose yapping at Brouwer at the end of every shift. Someone dropping the gloves with him would also a be good team-wise, but that has to be situational and is not required. Even better if it is someone more core player and less in the business of dropping the gloves...Think EStaal, JStaal, or Corvo...guys wearing letters standing up for teammates.)
--A more routine Ward performance to build confidence.

--But really at the end of the day it comes down to this -- GET 2 points on the road and everything else fades into the background.

For a quick heads up when I post a blog follow me on Twitter at CarolinaMatt63.

Go Canes!

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