RALEIGH, N.C. -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Mark McNeill will make his NHL debut against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday at PNC Arena (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN1, CSN-CH).

McNeill, selected No. 18 in the 2011 NHL Draft, was recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Monday. He has nine goals and 10 assists in 29 AHL games.

"It's going to be a dream come true," McNeill, 22, said. "It's something you dream about as a kid and that day is finally here. I think it's going to help if I go out there and throw the body around early and get the nerves out of the way."

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Forward David Jones will replace the injured Micheal Ferland on the Calgary Flames' top line when they play the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; SN, FS-CR).

Ferland left Calgary's 4-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday with an upper-body injury. Flames coach Bob Hartley has used a rotation at right wing on a line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, but he believes Jones is currently the best fit.

"Jones is a great up-and-down player," Hartley said. "He drives hard to the net and gets in there on the forecheck. The player who plays right wing with them, his job is to open up some room and be a net presence.

"I felt that he was skating very well. We need speed around those two guys. We need a guy who can make things happen."

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes will play as scheduled Friday night (7 p.m. ET, MSG2, FS-CR), despite a winter storm expected to dump freezing rain across the region. The Rangers arrived in Raleigh on Thursday, ahead of the storm.

Recently-signed forward Daniel Paille took part in the Rangers' optional morning skate on Friday, along with Chris Kreider, who missed the team's Thursday practice with neck spasms. The Rangers believe Kreider, who skated on his own on Thursday, injured his neck in a collision with Radim Vrbata in New York's 3-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

Paille, a veteran of 570 games with the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins, had played 31 games this season with Rockford of the American Hockey League before signing with the Rangers on Thursday.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes will likely have forward Nathan Gerbe back in the lineup when they face the Vancouver Canucks at PNC Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET; SNP, FS-CR).

Gerbe has missed the past 25 games with a lower-body injury. Forwards Brock McGinn and Phil Di Giuseppe, the latter of whom has recovered from a concussion, were sent to Charlotte of the American Hockey League.

Each team will be playing the second half of a back-to-back set.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes each find themselves on a 5-2-2 roll coming into their game Tuesday at PNC Arena (7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, ROOT, FS-CR).

Neither team, however, is currently in Stanley Cup Playoff position, a reality that doesn't sit well with the Penguins.

"It's maybe a little weird to think that, at the halfway point, you're fighting for your playoff life," Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said. "But that's the situation for a lot of teams. Finding that desperation and understanding is important, and hopefully something that's going to help us here."

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Defenseman Seth Jones will make his Columbus Blue Jackets debut against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, FS-CR).

"Everything happens for a reason," said Jones, who stayed off the ice during the Blue Jackets' optional morning skate. "It's a new opportunity and a new chapter in my young [three-season NHL] career. I'm very happy with what's happened."

Jones, acquired from the Nashville Predators for center Ryan Johansen on Wednesday, will be paired with Ryan Murray. He will have to adjust to the zone defensive coverage favored by the Blue Jackets after playing in the Predators' man-to-man scheme.

"[Murray] has been talking with me the past couple days about communicating," Jones said. "I told him to direct me and push me where you need me to go."

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Eddie Lack will make his second straight start in goal for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Nashville Predators on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FSN-TN, FS-CR).

Lack made 30 saves in Carolina's 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals on New Year's Eve, lifting his record to 4-0-1 in the past five games.

"Eddie's been good," coach Bill Peters said. "His process is better, he's bigger, he's playing a little further out, I think. He's feeling good about himself. So we will go back to Eddie and see how he does here tonight."

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Goalie Cam Ward will make his third straight start for the Carolina Hurricanes and is tasked with slowing down the streaking Washington Capitals.

The Capitals won their fifth in a row Sunday, defeating the New York Rangers 7-3 at Madison Square Garden. Washington trailed 3-1 after the first period before scoring six unanswered goals. With the win, the Capitals have an eight-point lead over the Rangers in the Metropolitan Division.

Washington is 12-1-1 in its past 14 games with the NHL's second-ranked power play at 26.2 percent. But the Hurricanes are playing well recently too. Ranked 29th on the power play in early December, they have climbed to 18th, scoring 10 times in eight games with the man-advantage. With a 3-1-1 mark in the past five games, the Hurricanes are determined to set the offensive tone against the Capitals.

"We're going to try and have the puck and make them defend," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "We're not going to defend, defend, defend, chip it in and let them come at us. We're going to try and make them play in their defensive zone and play a puck possession game ourselves. I think it's going to be a high-level game with a lot of pace."

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Roberto Luongo will start in goal for the Florida Panthers as they seek their third straight win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FS-F, FS-CR).

The Panthers relied on a 25-save performance from Al Montoya in a 5-1 win at the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. Florida has won eight of its past 11 games.

The Hurricanes are coming off a 2-1-1 road trip that continued a positive goal-scoring trend. Carolina has 23 goals in the past five games. Jeff Skinner has nine goals in his past six games, including hat tricks in two of the past three games.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- In the midst of a three-game losing streak, the Carolina Hurricanes have called up three players from Charlotte of the American Hockey League, all of whom will be in the lineup against the Montreal Canadiens at PNC Arena on Saturday ( 7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, SN, FS-CR).

Forward Phillip Di Giuseppe will make his NHL debut. Di Giuseppe was selected in the second round (38th) of the 2012 NHL Draft. He has six goals and eight assists for Charlotte. Forward Brock McGinn and defenseman Jacob Slavin each made their NHL debut earlier in the season. McGinn had two goals and an assist in 12 games; Slavin had one assist in six games.