RALEIGH, N.C. - "Everybody is available."
That's all Carolina Hurricanes Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour had to say regarding his lineup when he met with the media on Thursday morning at Lenovo Center.
Of course, in reference to the question of who starts in net for his group tonight, Brind'Amour and Goaltending Coach Paul Schonfelder have a decision to make between going back to Game 4 winner Brandon Bussi or their workhorse through the first 15 games this postseason, Frederik Andersen.
Bussi "met the moment" on Tuesday in Las Vegas, making 18 saves and becoming just the third goaltender in league history to both make his first start in the Stanley Cup Final and win.
As for the other half of the equation, Andersen should be rested and ready to go after not dressing for the latest contest. A surprise at the time, Brind'Amour justified it post-game by saying that the staff felt Andersen needed a break, and in order to do so, they kept him out of the pads completely.
Andersen was not on the ice at morning skate to start the day, but the head coach told reporters that he was on the ice before the team. Pyotr Kochetkov worked opposite Bussi, who operated in the usual starter's crease.
In front of whoever is in net, Jordan Staal, whose five goals are tied for the fifth-most through the first four games of a Stanley Cup Final, is expected to be between Nikolaj Ehlers and Seth Jarvis. Sebastian Aho centered Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Martinook to start the day.
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Tonight's Projected Lineup...
Forwards
Ehlers - Staal - Jarvis
Hall - Stankoven - Blake
Svechnikov - Aho - Martinook
Carrier - Jankowski - Robinson
Defense
Slavin - Chatfield
Miller - Walker
Gostisbehere - Nikishin
Starting Goaltender
TBD
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Injuries
N/A
Scratches
Nicolas Deslauriers
Jesperi Kotkaniemi
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 to start most power plays. 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 with the first unit. If he wins it for the second unit, Mark Jankowski jumps on when Staal goes off.
