RALEIGH, N.C. -- Already struggling to overcome injuries, the Florida Panthers will see at least one new face in the lineup Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Eric Selleck will make his NHL debut, adding some toughness to Florida's roster in the absence of George Parros. Selleck has 16 points and 181 penalty minutes in 60 games with San Antonio of the American Hockey League this season.
"I don't know how many shifts I'm going to get, so the early ones count," Selleck said. "We've got a game plan, so I'll just try to keep it simple and stick to my role."
Selleck's role is no mystery to either team -- and that simplifies his approach.
"I know who they have, and they know why I'm here," he said. "I've got a few guys on the radar. It's going to be fun to see how it plays out."
The Panthers reportedly will be without forward Shawn Matthias, who is fighting an illness and will be replaced in the lineup by Quinton Howden.
Here are the projected lineups for Florida and Carolina:
PANTHERS
Tomas Fleischmann - Marcel Goc - Tomas Kopecky
Drew Shore - Jonathan Huberdeau - Peter Mueller
Scottie Upshall - Mike Santorelli - Jack Skille
Eric Selleck - Quinton Howden - Jerred Smithson
Scratched: Alex Kovalev, George Parros
Injuries: Shawn Matthias (illness), Kris Versteeg (knee), Stephen Weiss (wrist), Jose Theodore (groin), Scottie Upshall (lower body), Dmitry Kulikov (wrist), Mike Weaver (lower body), Michael Caruso (wrist), Sean Bergenheim (undisclosed).
HURRICANES
Jiri Tlusty - Eric Staal - Alexander Semin
Drayson Bowman - Jordan Staal - Patrick Dwyer
Jeff Skinner - Riley Nash - Jussi Jokinen
Kevin Westgarth - Adam Hall - Tim Wallace
Tim Gleason - Bobby Sanguinetti
Scratched: Tim Brent
Injuries: Tuomo Ruutu (hip), Chad LaRose (concussion), Joe Corvo (lower body), Cam Ward (knee)
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