Gameday: Avalanche vs. Hurricanes

Live from Raleigh, it's Saturday night!
This is the gameday hub, where you can find all the latest news and information you need to know for tonight's cross-conference match-up between the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes. Make Hurricanes.com a regular stop throughout the day, as we update this hub with notes, videos, photos and more as puck drop draws near.
PNC Arena will be occupied by college basketball during the day, and the Hurricanes will not hold a morning skate. We'll chat with the head coach later in the evening to get the latest lineup information.
Last updated: 7:35 p.m.

CANES LINES: WARM-UPS
7:35 p.m.
The Hurricanes will dress the same group of 18 skaters tonight, but there's a slight adjustment in the forward lines with Victor Rask and Derek Ryan swapping center spots.
Aho-Staal-Teravainen
McGinn-Ryan-Williams
Skinner-Lindholm-Di Giuseppe
Nordstrom-Rask-Stempniak
Slavin-Pesce
Fleury-Faulk
Hanifin-van Riemsdyk
Ward
Darling
The puck drops in Raleigh in 30 minutes!
WARD STARTS IN NET, FLEURY DRAWS IN
6:10 p.m.
Cam Ward will get the start in net for the Hurricanes on the second half of this back-to-back set, according to head coach Bill Peters. The only other lineup change the Canes could make is on the back-end, and they're making it: Haydn Fleury will replace Klas Dahlbeck in the lineup with Dahlbeck "not quite 100 percent," per Peters.
Here's more from the Canes' bench boss.
On Scott Darling's play in the 4-1 win over Vancouver: "He was very solid last night. In control, big, square, not a lot of rebounds, handled the puck well. Really good effot by him. Not surprised because I know he's put the work in. He's in a real good spot, and I expect him to have a strong finish."
On the state of the team: "We're fresh. I like where we're at. I like our last few games. I like the fact that we scored some goals, and not only scored some goals but had some grade-A chances."
On the starts of games: "Our starts are important. It's important that each line goes out and establishes themselves. It sets the tone for the evening."
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF NORTH CAROLINA TOOLS TO VICTORY
5:45 p.m.
TV's Mike Maniscalco gets us ready for tonight's cross-conference tilt with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina three Tools to Victory.

CANES HOST AVS IN SECOND HALF OF BACK-TO-BACK
2:00 a.m.
After defeating the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 on Friday night, the Carolina Hurricanes will play host to the Colorado Avalanche in the second half of the team's 11th back-to-back set of the season.
For the second weekend in a row, in the midst of a season-long, eight-game homestand, the Hurricanes are playing games at home on consecutive nights. Last weekend, the Canes shut out the Montreal Canadiens 2-0 before falling 4-1 to the Detroit Red Wings. This weekend, the Canes are coming off a 4-1 win over the Canucks, and on Saturday night, the Canes again face a team that's in town rested and waiting, just as Detroit was last Friday.
A three-goal first period propelled the Hurricanes to victory on Friday. Brett Pesce scored just 14 seconds into the game, while Phil Di Giuseppe and Sebastian Aho added goals later in the period.
"You can't ask for a better start than that, less than 20 seconds in scoring a goal, getting on the board and getting going," said Justin Williams, who scored a goal in the third period to make it a 4-1 game. "We had lost three in a row, so we need to get traction somewhere. That was a good start."
"For the guys, it's a good way to start the game," said Scott Darling, who made 21 saves on 22 shots in his first win since Jan. 11. "Get some momentum going and get a little excitement on the bench. It's a great way to start the game."
The Avalanche were winners of 10 straight games until mid-January. They've since gone 2-3-1 and are looking to rebound after losing 6-1 in St. Louis on Thursday.
"Every game is huge," Darling said. "The standings are so tight that you can't give any points right now. Two were huge tonight."
The Hurricanes fell 5-3 to the Avalanche in Denver on Nov. 2 in the first meeting between these two teams this season.
"The game means nothing tonight if you don't win tomorrow. You've got to follow up stuff, and we need to string some wins together."
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