RALEIGH, N.C. - Brandon Bussi operated in the traditional starter's crease this morning ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes' matchup against the Ottawa Senators at Lenovo Center.
Should the crease tradition hold true this evening, Bussi would be seeking his sixth consecutive victory after helping his club knock off Los Angeles two days ago. The first-year netminder also got the nod when Carolina and Ottawa faced off in Ontario on Jan. 24, recording 36 saves in a 4-1 victory for the Canes.
In front of him, no changes are expected to the group of skaters that led the Canes to a season-high eighth straight game with a point on Sunday (6-0-2). Sebastian Aho will aim to score for the third contest in a row after netting the dagger in overtime two days ago, while Shayne Gostisbehere and Jordan Staal will also seek to stay hot and push their respective point streaks to four games.
Tonight's Projected Lineup...
Forwards
Svechnikov - Aho - Jarvis
Hall - Stankoven - Blake
Ehlers - Staal - Martinook
Carrier - Jankowski - Kotkaniemi
Defense
Slavin - Chatfield
Miller - Walker
Gostisbehere - Nikishin
Starting Goaltender
Bussi
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Injuries
Pyotr Kochetkov (Hip Surgery | "Likely Out For The Year" as of Dec. 29)
Eric Robinson (Upper-Body Injury | Out "For An Extended Period Of Time" as of Jan. 21)
Scratches
Mike Reilly
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PP1: Aho, Ehlers (Staal), Jarvis, and Svechnikov with Gostisbehere
PP2: Blake, Hall, Jankowski, and Stankoven with Nikishin
Jordan Staal has been taking the faceoffs with the first power play unit. If he wins it, he'll stay on the ice. When the puck comes out of the zone, he jumps off, and Nikolaj Ehlers jumps on.
