Gameday: Canucks vs. Hurricanes

If you can play, you can play.
This is the gameday hub, where you can find all the latest news and information you need to know for today's You Can Play Night match-up featuring the Vancouver Canucks 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.
We'll be rinkside, as always, as the Hurricanes morning skate, which gets underway at 10:30 a.m. at PNC Arena.
Last updated: 5:25 p.m.

BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF NORTH CAROLINA TOOLS TO VICTORY
5:25 p.m.
TV's Mike Maniscalco sets the table for tonight's match-up with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina three Tools to Victory.

IN THE ROOM: LEE STEMPNIAK
5:00 p.m.
Lee Stempniak offers his thoughts on tonight's game.

IN THE ROOM: BILL PETERS
12:45 p.m.
Head coach Bill Peters spoke with the media for a few minutes following his team's morning skate at PNC Arena. Some highlights follow, and the full availability can be seen below.
On facing a team that played last night: "No matter if we're playing a team on a back-to-back or not on a back-to-back, our starts need to be better, so we'll focus on that."
On the Canucks: "They're a talented group. You look at some of their pieces, and they're a very talented group. They're very capable. … Again, we're going to concentrate on our game. We have to play the way we're designed to play. If we do that, I like our chances."
On Darling starting in net: "I think he's dialed in. I thought he was great in preparation this week. It's important that we play in front of him properly and are very structured. If we do that, I think we're going to get the result we like."

KRUGER, JOORIS ASSIGNED TO CHARLOTTE
12:35 p.m.
Forwards Marcus Kruger and Josh Jooris cleared waivers at noon today, and the Hurricanes assigned them both to the Charlotte Checkers, who are in action at home tonight against Springfield.
The Hurricanes are now carrying 21 players on their active roster, which frees up some wiggle room should the team look to make additional roster moves in the near future.
The Hurricanes are expected to dress the lineup listed below tonight against Vancouver.
CANES LINES: MORNING SKATE
10:35 a.m.
Considering the group present in Raleigh, it's not a surprise to see the forward lines and defensive pairs unchanged from Tuesday. Scott Darling will get the start in net.
Aho-Staal-Teravainen
McGinn-Rask-Williams
Skinner-Lindholm-Di Giuseppe
Nordstrom-Ryan-Stempniak
Slavin-Pesce
Dahlbeck-Faulk
Hanifin-van Riemsdyk
Darling
Ward
We'll go inside the room after the skate.

CANES LOOK TO GET BACK IN WIN COLUMN AGAINST CANUCKS
12:00 a.m.
Three games remain in the Carolina Hurricanes' season-long, eight-game homestand, and Friday night's cross-conference match-up with the Vancouver Canucks begin another back-to-back set for the Canes.
The Hurricanes are 2-2-1 on the homestand thus far. After winning the first two games coming off the All-Star break, the Canes have since gone winless in their last three games (0-2-1).
In a critical Metropolitan Division tilt on Tuesday, the Hurricanes were able to snag a point in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. It was a closely contested match for nearly 65 minutes before Jordan Weal scored the game-winning goal for the Flyers in the waning seconds of 3-on-3 overtime.
"Really good game. High-end game," head coach Bill Peters said after practice on Thursday. "Both teams I thought were dialed in. There wasn't a lot of space. There were scoring chances, but there were more scoring opportunities that we could do more with. … We have to make sure we execute and take advantage."
The Vancouver Canucks come into tonight's game having lost three in a row. They've been outscored 12-5 in that stretch, which includes a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night. The Canucks are 21-27-6 through 54 games this season.
The Hurricanes and Canucks first met this season on Dec. 5 in Vancouver, the first stop on what was a two-week, six-game road swing for the Canes. Carolina was shut out 3-0, falling to 0-7-3 in their last 10 visits to Vancouver.
Forwards Marcus Kruger and Josh Jooris were placed on waivers on Thursday and can be assigned to Charlotte of the American Hockey League should they clear on Friday.
"We're going to try to dress the lineup that we think is going to be able to compete and be dangerous offensively every night," Peters said.
Scott Darling, in search of his first win since Jan. 11, will get the start in net for the Hurricanes.
CANESPR NOTES: Jaccob Slavin is expected to play in his 200th career NHL game tonight. … Justin Faulk has recorded five points (2g, 3a) in his last three games against Vancouver, including his most recent three-point game (Dec. 13, 2016), in which he registered a goal and two assists.
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