Gameday: Islanders vs. Hurricanes

Who do you fight for?
This is the gameday hub, where you can find all the latest news and information you need to know for tonight's divisional showdown featuring the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes. Make Hurricanes.com a regular stop throughout the day, as we update this hub with notes, videos, photos and more as puck drop draws near.
In the latter half of a back-to-back with travel and an early-evening 5 p.m. puck drop, the Hurricanes will not hold a morning skate. We'll be chatting with head coach Bill Peters mid-afternoon and passing along any and all gameday updates prior.
Last updated: 4:40 p.m.

BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF NORTH CAROLINA TOOLS TO VICTORY
4:40 p.m.
TV's Mike Maniscalco sets the table for tonight's Hockey Fights Cancer match-up with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina three Tools to Victory.

CANES LINES: WARM-UPS
4:35 p.m.
The Hurricanes will make a couple of changes to their lineup heading into tonight's contest. Victor Rask and Haydn Fleury will watch a game from up above, while Josh Jooris and Klas Dahlbeck draw into the lineup. Here's how the lines shook out in warm-ups.
Aho-Staal-Teravainen
McGinn-Ryan-Williams
Skinner-Lindholm-Di Giuseppe
Nordstrom-Kruger-Jooris
Slavin-Pesce
Hanifin-Faulk
Dahlbeck-van Riemsdyk
Ward
Darling
Puck drop is in 30 minutes!
LINEUP NOTES & PETERS QUOTES
3:15 p.m.
As expected in the second half of a back-to-back with travel, Cam Ward will get the start in net this evening for the Hurricanes, according to head coach Bill Peters.
"He's been real good here recently, and I expect him to be good again," Peters said.
Peters did not commit to any further lineup changes, saying that everyone would warm up, including forward Josh Jooris, who sat out Saturday's game with a lower-body concern.
"Jooris is going to warm-up, and we're going to go from there," Peters said. "He skated a little bit this morning and got treatment after."
Here's more from the head coach.
On the pre-scout vs. New York: "It's all fresh in your mind for sure. ... They're a handful, for sure, and they've got all four lines going."
On the Canes' confidence: "Confidence has been good. We've played some good hockey; we just haven't always done it with all four lines for 60 minutes. We're still striving for better consistency throughout the lineup and contributions from everybody."
On a back-to-back with travel: "It's fair. They were in Tampa. They traveled, we traveled. Now you've got to wrap your head around it. You've got to play the game hard and simple, get your legs underneath you and go."
On Hockey Fights Cancer: "It's big. The NHL has done a good job with that program for a long time, raising a lot of money and awareness. Any time you can help fight that disease, you have to do it."
CANES FACE ISLANDERS AGAIN TO OPEN FOUR-GAME HOMESTAND
2:00 a.m.
The Carolina Hurricanes will open a four-game homestand against a familiar opponent, the New York Islanders.
The Hurricanes and Islanders just met on Thursday in Brooklyn, a slow-starting match that quickly turned into the back-and-forth contest we've been accustomed of seeing between these two teams as of late. The Hurricanes trailed 3-1 after the first period, led 4-3 after two and ultimately dropped a 6-4 decision.
"I don't think we were overly thrilled with our game in Long Island," head coach Bill Peters said. "Now we have to get home, get a little bit of rest and come back and play the right way against that team. They've got a good team."
"I like playing games, yeah. 5:00 is a little earlier than our normal times, but I'm excited to try to get some revenge on them," Justin Williams said. "The Metro is really, really jammed. We need to start getting ourselves on the other side of the line, pushing forward and seeing if we can get better. This is a good step, and now we need to get something positive rolling in our direction."
Both teams were in action on Saturday night. The Islanders fended off a push by the Tampa Bay Lightning to leave Florida with two points in a 5-3 win. In Buffalo, the Hurricanes again saw a one-goal lead disappear in the third period, but this time they were able to regroup and score a late goal to claim a 3-1 victory.
Williams broke a scoreless tie in the second period on Saturday night in Buffalo, but Evander Kane tied the game a few minutes past the midway point of the third. With less than five minutes left in to play in regulation, Sebastian Aho turned a fortuitous bounce into the game-winning goal, his third tally in as many games.
"He's made plays. He's one of our playmakers," Williams said. "It's good to see him going. I think the good thing was when he was going through that slump, he wasn't hanging his head or dropping his shoulders. He was still trying to be the guy, and that's big, especially from a young player."
Joakim Nordstrom added an empty-net tally in the final minute to seal the victory, and Scott Darling bounced back with a 24-save win, his effort highlighted by a desperation diving stop on Kyle Okposo in the first period.
"I just shut my eyes and dove over there," Darling said. "I was happy it hit me."
The Hurricanes' homestand also will include visits from the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Nashville Predators during Thanksgiving week.
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