About the Hurricanes - 12-03-11
A preview of the Hurricanes.
When and where: 7 p.m. RBC Center.
TV: Root Sports, Fox Sports Carolina.
Record: 8-15-4, 20 points. The Hurricanes are in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and last place in the Southeast Division.
Leading Scorer: Jeff Skinner, 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists).
Last Game: 5-3 home loss to the Rangers Thursday. Eric Staal (right) had two assists for the Hurricanes .
Last Game against the Penguins: 5-3 home win, Nov. 12. Jordan Staal had two goals for the Penguins.
Hurricanes Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Eric Staal. He has 30 points in 28 career games against the Penguins.
Ex-Penguins on the Hurricanes: Tom Barrasso, assistant coach; Tim Brent, C; Ron Francis, director of player development; Alexei Ponikarovsky, LW; Jim Rutherford general manager/president.
Ex-Hurricanes on the Penguins: Craig Adams, RW.
Useless Hurricanes/Whalers Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Former Penguins forward Dave Tippett holds the Hurricanes/Whalers franchise record for career shorthanded goals with 11.
Best Hurricanes Video We Could Find: Craig Adams, then of the Hurricanes, in a wild fight with Arron Asham, then of the Islanders, during the 2006-07 season:
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Probable goaltenders: Brent Johnson (1-3-2, 2.97 GAA, .892 SV%) for the Penguins and Cam Ward (8-12-3, 3.14 GAA; .902 SV%) for the Hurricanes.
Injuries: For the Penguins, defensemen Kris Letang (head) and Zbynek Michalek are out. Defensemen Ben Lovejoy (left wrist), Brian Strait (elbow), center Dustin Jeffrey (knee) and left winger Steve MacIntyre (undisclosed) are on injured reserve. For the Hurricanes, defenseman Jay Harrison ("upper-body") is day to day.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins' primary lines at today's morning skate were:
Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Pascal Dupuis
Steve Sullivan - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy
Arron Asham - Joe Vitale - Craig Adams
Matt Niskanen - Brooks Orpik
Paul Martin - Deryk Engelland
Simon Despres - Robert Bortuzzo
The Hurricanes' potential lines and defensive pairings against the Rangers Thursday were:
Jeff Skinner - Eric Staal - Tuomo Ruutu
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Jussi Jokinen - Chad LaRose
Jiri Tlusty - Brandon Sutter - Patrick Dwyer
Andreas Nodl - Tim Brent - Anthony Stewart
Tim Gleason - Justin Faulk
Tomas Kaberle - Bryan Allen
Joni Pitkanen - Derek Joslin
Notes:
-The Staals are brothers.
-Johnson has appeared in 299 career games.
-Dupuis has 297 career points.
-Asham has 197 career points.
-Orpik has 97 career points.
-Richard Park has 97 career goals.
-Martin has 195 career points.
Our live blog begins at approximately 6:45 p.m. Please tune in.
(Photo: Dave Sandford/Getty Images)