Let's get right to the lineup shuffle ahead of the Hurricanes and Maple Leafs doing battle on Thursday night:
-- On Wednesday, Cam Ward was placed on injured reserve after being diagnosed with a concussion. Ward had not played since last Friday's 3-2 OT loss to Vancouver but practiced with the team on Tuesday; after which, Ward complained of dizziness and was put through the NHL's concussion protocol.
-- GM Ron Francis wasn't sure what precisely caused Ward's injury. Pittsburgh's Phil Kessel's sent a jarring shot to Ward's head that knocked his mask off on January 12th. Ward also suffered a run-in with a Vancouver player in the last Friday's tilt against the Canucks.
-- Daniel Altshuller has been recalled to serve as backup to Eddie Lack, who is now the de-facto starting goaltender. The 21-year old has been impressive in AHL (11 games; 1.71 GGA, .941 SP) and ECHL (14, 1.58, .941) action this year.
-- Lack is expected to start in Toronto and may start Friday night at home against the Rangers as well. The Canes have four games in six nights starting with tonight's matchup, but have eight days off surrounding the All-Star weekend to follow. When asked about the current goalie situation, Bill Peters told reporters on Wednesday that "we'll play the guy who gives us the best chance to win."
-- Phil Di Guiseppe will be back in the lineup and will play with Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask against the Maple Leafs. Di Guiseppe missed six games due to a concussion and was recalled on Tuesday from a brief conditioning stint in Charlotte.
-- Brett Pesce is also expected back for the Toronto game after gutting through a lower body concern last week. Pesce sat out games last week against Vancouver and Pittsburgh after playing on January 14th in Carolina's 4-1 win in St. Louis.
-- Brad Malone was lively during practice on Tuesday, notching up his physical presense according to Michael Smith (Canes website producer). With Di Guiseppe and Nathan Gerbe back on the active roster, lineup space for forwards has become tight. The Hurricanes could use a dependable physical edge to help establish their offensive forecheck and puck possession game, and Malone, when on his game, can bring that dimension to the fourth line. But Riley Nash and Chris Terry remain on the roster (as of now) as well.
Likely lineup for Carolina against the Leafs tonight:
Versteeg - E Staal - Lindholm Nordstrom - J Staal - Nestrasil Skinner - Rask - Di Guiseppe Gerbe - McClement - Nash
Hainsey - Faulk Liles - Pesce Hanifin - Slavin
Lack Altshuller
Scratches: Brad Malone (healthy), Chris Terry (healthy), Michael Jordan (healthy), Cam Ward (IR - concussion), James Wisniewski (IR - torn ACL)
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The Eastern Conference playoff race has changed in the eyes of Canes fans as the club was idle the past three days. The short break allowed teams to catch up a bit in games played - although everyone except Buffalo, Columbus, Montreal, and New Jersey still has games in hand.
Buffalo at Colorado was not complete at the original time of this post. Will update!
Carolina has a lot of work to do to remain among the tightly packed competitors for the two wild card spots. Earning two points in Toronto, followed by a win at home against the Rangers on Friday, would only help matters. As mentioned, the Hurricanes will take on Calgary and Chicago next week before enjoying an eight-day break before their February schedule begins.
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Did the Canes get a reality check against the Penguins this past Sunday? Or was their 5-0 loss more a result of playing three games in a 68 hour span?
Carolina got behind 2-0 in the game's first ten minutes but managed to keep that deficit from growing through most of the second period. Kris Versteeg took two penalties in the middle frame - the second of which spawned a Sidney Crosby tally with 37 seconds left - putting the Canes in a three-goal hole to start the third.
The Hurricanes couldn't muster much of a comeback and ended up giving up another two goals before the final buzzer sounded. Carolina was outshot 32-22 and lost the shot-attempt battle 50-44, but held a 40-22 advantage in the faceoff circle.
It was clear the Hurricanes were playing hard despite their relative lack of rest. But they were unable to establish a consistent offensive or neutral zone forecheck to generate opportunities to occupy the puck, resulting in plenty of chances for Pittsburgh. Allowing that talented a team so much room to operate will nearly always result in a bad day at the office.
It's not unreasonable to say Carolina has played beyond their expectations this season. Some may believe the Penguins showed the Canes they are still a ways from being a true contender. And while it's not an excuse and no one from the Hurricanes would use it as such, it's hard to argue playing nine games in 15 days, with no consecutive home games in that stretch, isn't going to take a toll on a team.
The Canes went 4-2-3 in those nine games, earning 11 of a possible 18 points. After their best game of the year against the Blues, Carolina has lost two in a row. They have an opportunity to correct that trend tonight in Toronto. They'll need to in order to remain in the hunt for a playoff spot.
But the Hurricanes are in the hunt. That says a lot about this team, no matter what their expectations may have been.