RALEIGH, NC. - The Carolina Hurricanes will turn back to Frederik Andersen between the pipes on Sunday as they host the Calgary Flames at PNC Arena.
Andersen played his first game in over four months on Thursday, earning a win over the Montreal Canadiens in his return from a blood-clotting issue that he was diagnosed with in November.
Stopping 24 out of 25, "Zilla" looked just fine and now the team appears to be trying to get him back into a rhythm.
With just 19 games to go in the regular season, Andersen is expected to be an important part of the team's success through the remainder of the campaign and into postseason play.
In front of him, Jack Drury will miss today's game due to a lower-body injury.
Number 18 missed a significant chunk of yesterday's first period after taking a heavy hit from John Marino of New Jersey, but he did return following. It will be his first missed game of the season.
Taking the spot at forward will be Brendan Lemieux. The first-year Hurricane will play in his 300th NHL game.
Lastly, Jake Guentzel (upper-body injury) will not make his team debut today. Rod Brind'Amour said pre-game that he doesn't think the trade deadline acquisition is far away from playing, but "it won't be within the next day or two."
Today's Projected Lineup...
Forwards
Svechnikov - Aho - Teravainen
Noesen - Kuznetsov - Necas
Martinook - Staal - Jarvis
Lemieux - Kotkaniemi - Fast
Defense
Slavin - Burns
Skjei - Pesce
Orlov - Chatfield
Goaltenders
Andersen
Martin
Injuries
Jack Drury (Lower-Body Injury)
Jake Guentzel (Upper-Body Injury)
Healthy Scratches
Tony DeAngelo
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PP1: Aho, Kuznetsov, Jarvis, and Svechnikov with Burns
PP2: Drury (Kotkaniemi?), Necas, Noesen, and Teravainen with Skjei
