There has been a lot of thoughts and discussions bandied about regarding the Carolina Hurricanes as of late. Very few figured they would be in a position like this with a few short months remaining in the 2015-16 regular season. It's all in a holding pattern right now, but one in which just a couple of losses make the direction to take that much clearer.
The big questions right now are these, and they will be covered in subsequent blogs as we move through the month of love (aka February):
If the Canes continue to overachieve and compete for a playoff spot, does the previously-thought-to-be-inevitable asset trade-off go as planned? If the sell-off goes ahead, what does that say to the young players who've worked hard to help the club get to where they are?
Does Carolina buck convention and maybe add a piece in an effort to make a run?
Do the Hurricanes remain idle and potentially lose pending unrestricted free agent pieces like Eric Staal, Cam Ward, Kris Versteeg, and John-Michael Liles for nothing in the offseason?
Is re-signing some of those pending free agents now in the plans?
What could make these questions somewhat easier to answer is how Carolina fares on a three-game road trip - the first tilt of which takes place tonight in Calgary. A loss tonight could potentially put the Canes back to 14th in the East depending on what happens on Thursday. But a win keeps them a point out of the final wild card spot and within two points of third place in the Metro division.
Here are the Canes-centric standings with a new column added.
"GIH Pts" (Game-In-Hand Points) are the projected points a team would have if they played the same amount of games as the Hurricanes, based on the team's points-per-game average.
Carolina has made a few adjustments to their lineup ahead of tonight's action against the Flames. Brett Pesce has been placed on the injured reserve list with a nagging lower body concern. Ryan Murphy has been recalled to take Pesce's roster spot and will see action tonight paired with Jaccob Slavin.
Phil Di Giuseppe is back with the big club after spending the All-Star break in Charlotte. Cam Ward has been activated off of IR and will be available tonight, but Eddie Lack is expected to get the nod in net. Daniel Altshuller was returned to Charlotte last week.
Probable lines for the Canes:
Versteeg - E Staal - Di Giuseppe
Nordstrom - J Staal - Nestrasil
Skinner - Rask - Lindholm
Terry - McClement - Nash
Scratches: Nathan Gerbe (healthy), Brad Malone (healthy)
Liles - Faulk
Hanifin - Hainsey
Slavin - Murphy
Scratches: Michal Jordan (healthy), Brett Pesce (IR - LBI), James Wisniewski (IR - torn ACL)
Thanks for reading, and enjoy the action this evening.
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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