Faulk, Semin likely to return for Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk will return to the lineup Tuesday after missing the past nine games with a second-degree sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

Faulk is Carolina's leader in ice time, skating 23:23 per night. Carolina sent defenseman Brett Bellemore to Charlotte of the American Hockey League to open a roster spot.

Forward Alexander Semin also is expected to return to face the Pittsburgh Penguins, after missing two games with a lower-body injury.

Here are the projected lineups for the game between the Penguins and Hurricanes:

PENGUINS

Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - Jarome Iginla

Brenden Morrow - Jussi Jokinen - Pascal Dupuis

Matt Cooke - Brandon Sutter - Beau Bennett

Tyler Kennedy - Craig Adams - Tanner Glass

Mark Eaton - Brooks Orpik

Matt Niskanen - Douglas Murray

Deryk Engelland - Robert Bortuzzo

Marc-Andre Fleury

Tomas Vokoun

Scratched: Simon Despres, Joe Vitale, Dustin Jeffrey

Injured: Sidney Crosby (jaw), James Neal (concussion), Kris Letang (lower body), Paul Martin (hand)

HURRICANES

Jiri Tlusty - Eric Staal - Alexander Semin

Jeff Skinner - Jordan Staal - Zac Dalpe

Drayson Bowman - Riley Nash - Patrick Dwyer

Tuomo Ruutu - Tim Brent - Chad LaRose

Tim Gleason - Joe Corvo

Jay Harrison - Jamie McBain

Marc-Andre Bergeron - Justin Faulk

Dan Ellis

Justin Peters

Scratched: Kevin Westgarth, Bobby Sanguinetti

Injured: Cam Ward (knee), Joni Pitkanen (heel)