RALEIGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi's streak of 276 consecutive games played will come to an end when the Pens play the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. Scuderi left the game Saturday against Toronto with a lower-body injury, the result of a first-period hit and did not return.

"Rob has returned to Pittsburgh today and he will be re-evaluated by our doctors this afternoon," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "We will know more in the next 24 hours."

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Rehabbing an injury never is an enjoyable process for a professional athlete. Carolina Hurricanes forward Tuomo Ruutu has been waging that battle for quite a while.

Two hip surgeries in the past calendar year were bad enough. Then came a leg injury in the preseason that kept him out of the lineup until a game Sunday against the Phoenix Coyotes, in which he logged 10:28 of ice time.

"Every time you come off an injury, at least from my point of view, the other guys are always going left and right," Ruutu said. "The game speed is so different from practice or if you're skating by yourself. But once you get that first hit and that first shot, you stop thinking about it and start playing."

RALEIGH, N.C. -- After a much-needed rest following a Tuesday night matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in which he allowed five goals on 37 shots, Cam Ward appears ready to return to the Hurricanes crease in time to face one of the NHL's top teams.

Despite Carolina coach Kirk Muller not holding a formal pre-game skate, Ward took to the ice Friday to face a few shots in anticipation of team's game against the Los Angeles Kings. Ward has faced 75 shots in his two appearances this season, posting a 0-1-1 record with a 3.90 goals-against average and .893 save percentage. So he will likely be busy against the Kings, especially considering the Hurricanes allow an average of 31.2 shots per game.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- While the Detroit Red Wings already have played a game -- a 2-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday -- the Carolina Hurricanes will be among the final teams to begin the regular season when the puck drops Friday here at PNC Arena.

The Hurricanes will have plenty to prove, coming off a 13th-place finish in the Eastern Conference last season. Carolina coach Kirk Muller said his team is itching to start after a week-long layoff since the final preseason game.

"These guys are programmed to practice one or two days, then play a game," Muller said. "Once the season started [for other teams] and they were watching games, you could see them getting a little anxious. It's nice that it's finally here and they're mentally prepared for a big season."

Here are the projected lineups for the game Friday between the Red Wings and Hurricanes:

The Carolina Hurricanes' first on-ice session of training camp featured two important newcomers.

Former Boston Bruins goaltender Anton Khudobin and ex-Buffalo Sabres defenseman Andrej Sekera were out on the ice with the morning group.

Both players will play key roles in Carolina. Khudobin will provide insurance for goaltender Cam Ward, who missed more than half of last season with a sprained MCL. Although he has just 21 games of NHL experience, Khudobin's numbers have been eye-popping: a 2.03 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. Ward is known for carrying a heavy workload, but the Hurricanes would like to rely on a backup who can shoulder enough games to take the heat off the starter.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The New York Rangers will have a chance to clinch a Stanley Cup Playoff berth Thursday night when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes. One thing they will need is a bigger offensive push than they gave in Tuesday's 3-2 loss against the Florida Panthers.

"We need to forecheck better and establish a net presence," said Rick Nash, who leads the Rangers with 19 goals. "We got a lot of shots (against Florida), but they were from the outside -- no traffic. The goalies in this League are world-class and you've got to be able to put some bodies in front of them."

The Rangers will clinch a playoff spot with any combination of two points gained in their final two games, or a loss by the Winnipeg Jets to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. Against Carolina, New York hopes to add some diversity to its offensive game and remove any doubt about the postseason.

"[We want to] get to the dirty areas, maybe spread the offensive zone out and use the points a little bit," defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. "We talked about trying to use our D, and if we don't get the puck on net, at least draw the forwards out and maybe get a quick 2-on-1 in front of the net or something like that. Just try to be a little more creative in the offensive zone."

For Carolina, Alexander Semin will miss the final two games of the season with a concussion.

Here are the projected lineups for the Rangers and the Hurricanes:

RALEIGH, N.C. -- For the first three Staal brothers, NHL success came quickly. First Eric, followed by Jordan, then Marc.

That was not the end of the family pipeline, however.

A fourth Staal, Jared, will make his NHL debut Thursday night, skating with Eric and Jordan for the Carolina Hurricanes. Marc is in town, too, with the New York Rangers, but he won't be able to round out the on-ice family photo, as he recovers from an eye injury.

Jared's route to the NHL has been nothing like those of his older brothers. Eric, Jordan and Marc were first-round draft picks, jumping straight to the NHL out of juniors. They cast long shadows on their youngest brother -- but not so long that the NHL dream ever went away.

"Obviously I have a different path than my three older brothers," Jared Staal said. "They're all exceptional players who deserved to be in the NHL at a young age. I guess mine is more conventional compared to most hockey players."

RALEIGH, N.C. -- For the New York Islanders, Tuesday could be a big night.

After missing out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs five straight seasons, the Islanders have a shot at clinching a berth in the Eastern Conference. If New York beats the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Winnipeg Jets lose to the Washington Capitals, the Islanders are in.

If there are any jitters among the team, they didn't show after the morning skate.

"It's an exciting week for us," Islanders captain Mark Streit said. "We've been playing pretty well, and the mindset has been to take it game by game. Whatever happens with Winnipeg happens. But it's getting closer. We'll concentrate on the game and how we want to play as a team."

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Forward Jeff Skinner will return to the Carolina Hurricanes lineup when they play the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

Skinner sat out Thursday night's game against the Winnipeg Jets. He was on the receiving end of an open-ice hit from the Ottawa Senators' Jared Cowen on Tuesday night. Skinner did not return during the game and was returned here for observation.

Upon returning home, team doctors determined he did not suffer a concussion.

"I respect the decision the doctor made," Skinner said. "I agree you have to be safe and cautious."

The Hurricanes have reminded the 20-year-old forward to be aware of vulnerable places on the ice, particularly in light of his knack for drawing contact.

"Maybe I shouldn't have been cutting across [the neutral zone] there," Skinner said. "I saw the guy, but I didn't think he would step up there, but he did. I don't think there's a point in dwelling on it. It's done, so you move forward."

Here are the likely lineups for Saturday's game:

RALEIGH, N.C. - Boston Bruins rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton will sit out for the second game in a row, but not because he's falling short of expectations.

Boston coach Claude Julien wants to give Hamilton a breather, just to make sure he is rested and ready for the stretch run.

"The rest is the only reason he's been sitting out. It's certainly not because of his play," said Julien, who had a lengthy discussion with Hamilton at the end of the morning skate. "One thing we've done as an organization is developed our young guys properly, and I think he's progressed very well this year. We want him to get some rest. With fatigue, you get bad habits. We don't want that to creep into his game."

Bruins center Patrice Bergeron practiced with the Bruins, but he remains out of the lineup following a concussion.

"As long as he's feeling good, he gets a chance to practice with us," Julien said. "He's cleared for contact, but light contact so far. He still needs final clearance from the doctors, and hopefully sooner than later."

Here are the likely lineups for this game between the Bruins and Hurricanes:

HURRICANES

Jiri Tlusty - Eric Staal - Alex Semin

Jeff Skinner - Jordan Staal - Chad LaRose

Tuomo Ruutu - Riley Nash - Patrick Dwyer

Nicolas Blanchard - Tim Wallace - Kevin Westgarth

Tim Gleason - Justin Faulk

Jay Harrision - Joe Corvo

Bobby Sanguinetti - Jamie McBain

Justin Peters

Dan Ellis

Injuries: Tim Brent, Drayson Bowman, Joni Pitkanen, Cam Ward

Scratches: Marc-Andre Bergeron

BRUINS

Daniel Paille - David Krejci - Nathan Horton

Milan Lucic - Gregory Campbell - Jaromir Jagr

Jordan Caron - Chris Kelly -Tyler Seguin

Kaspars Daugavins - Rich Peverly - Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara - Johnny Boychuck

Dennis Seidenberg - Matt Bartkowski

Adam McQuaid - Andrew Ference

Tuukka Rask

Anton Khudobin

Injuries: Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand

Scratches: Jay Pandolfo, Wade Redden, Aaron Johnson