TAMPA, FL. - Trying to predict the Carolina Hurricanes' lineup on Tuesday is comparable to attempting to predict the winning lottery numbers.
Well, kind of.
You can get the Martinook - Staal - Fast line and the Slavin - Burns defensive pairing correct, but that won't land you the million-dollar recipe.
The entire makeup for this evening depends on the health of Sebastian Aho, who has missed the team's last three games due to an upper-body injury.
Aho, who has produced three points in three games when healthy this season, took part in this morning's skate at Amalie Arena, but that does not confirm his availability for this evening.
"We have a few guys that are close," Rod Brind'Amour said at his media availability, referencing Aho and Frederik Andersen. "I'm kind of crossing my fingers."
Andersen, who has been sidelined since last Tuesday after taking a puck to the mask in San Jose, also took part in this morning's effort. He has been considered day-to-day.
Someone who did not take part in the skate to start the day was defenseman Brett Pesce. Suffering a lower-body injury in Seattle on Thursday, Brind'Amour said that the right-handed blueliner did not make the trip and is ruled out tonight.
With all the above being considered, here are some possible options for tonight's lineup:
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Tonight's Projected Lineup... if Aho plays
Forwards
Teravainen - Aho - Necas
Noesen - Kotkaniemi - Jarvis
Martinook - Staal - Fast
Bunting - Drury - Lemieux
Defense
Slavin - Burns
Skjei - Chatfield
Orlov - DeAngelo
Goaltenders
TBD
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Tonight's Projected Lineup... if Aho does not play
Forwards
Bunting - Teravainen - Necas
Noesen - Kotkaniemi - Jarvis
Martinook - Staal - Fast
Drury - Lemieux
Defense
Slavin - Burns
Skjei - Chatfield
Orlov - DeAngelo
Coghlan
Goaltenders
TBD
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Injuries
Sebastian Aho (Upper-Body)
Frederik Andersen (Upper-Body)
Brett Pesce (Lower-Body)
Andrei Svechnikov (Knee)
Healthy Scratches
N/A
