After they were
held goalless on Tuesday night by the Tampa Bay Lightning
, the team had mostly new combinations up front at Wednesday's practice.
The only question mark is whether Stefan Noesen will be healthy enough to play, after leaving the team's most recent game due to a lower-body injury. He practiced on Wednesday, working in place of Jesper Fast on the Staal line, but the new father (Fast) is expected to play tonight, so where Noesen potentially slots in remains to be seen.
If Noesen does play, another forward could be the team's healthy extra.
In net, either Frederik Andersen will have the opportunity to extend his near-flawless career record against Detroit, or Antti Raanta will make his first start in over three weeks.
The team did not hold a morning skate to start the day, and a starting goalie was not named pre-game, therefore we'll have to wait until the start of warmups to see who gets the nod for the Metropolitan Division leaders.
It would be unusal for Andersen to be healthy and to serve as the backup in consecutive games, plus, he is 10-0-1 all-time against Detroit.
However, Antti Raanta is ready to go after suffering an injury 23 days ago in Montreal. With
Pyotr Kochetkov being sent back to Chicago yesterday
, the veteran could play on one of the two games on this road trip for Carolina.
Carolina's lineup for tonight's 7:30 p.m. puck drop could look something like this:
Forwards:
Jarvis - Aho - Necas
Teravainen - Kotkaniemi - Puljujarvi
Martinook - Staal - Fast/Noesen
Drury - Stastny - Stepan
Defense:
Slavin - Burns
Skjei - Pesce
Gostisbehere - Chatfield
Starting Goalie:
TBD (Andersen or Raanta)
Injuries:
TBD (Noesen, if he does not play.)
Long-Term Injured Reserve:
Jake Gardiner (Upper-Body)
Ondrej Kase (Concussion Protocol)
Max Pacioretty (Lower-Body)
Andrei Svechnikov (Lower-Body)
Scratches:
Dylan Coghlan
Calvin de Haan
TBD (One forward listed above will not play.)
Worth A Click:
Canes Clinch Fifth Consecutive Playoff Berth
Mailbag: Aaron Ward
Junior Canes Teams Playing For National Championships
2022-23 Single Game Tickets
NHL Standings
March Schedule
Learn More About Season Ticket Memberships For The 2023-24 Season
