Nick Bonino primary

PENGUINS (36-14-8) at HURRICANES (24-23-8)
7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, SNO, ROOT, FS-CR, NHL.TV

Penguins team scope

Pittsburgh Penguins center Nick Bonino did not participate in the morning skate and likely will not play. Coach Mike Sullivan said Bonino traveled with the team but did not feel well Tuesday morning. "He's a penalty-killer, he's a good two-way centerman, he plays on one of the power-play units," Sullivan said. "So we're going to have to use different people to fill those roles. It will be an opportunity for other guys to step up." Matt Cullen will take Bonino's spot centering the third line. The Penguins have lost their past two games, including a 5-2 home loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. "Defensively if we fix some things, and make sure we're not making as many mistakes, everything will take care of itself," Sidney Crosby said. "We've had a number of really good scoring chances. Those will come." The Penguins are 4-1-2 in their past seven road games, including a 7-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh on Jan. 20.

Hurricanes team scope

All four lines and three defensive pairings will be different when the Hurricanes try to end a four-game losing streak in which they've been outscored 16-3. "We want to get some guys going obviously," coach Bill Peters said. "(Victor) Rask has a real good opportunity with his two wingers. We need Phil (Di Giuseppe) to provide some speed, so he will be able to do that where he's playing. We have to find a way to generate some offense on a consistent basis." Rask, who had 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in the first 30 games of the season, has no points in the past 13. The Hurricanes have come out of their break with consecutive losses to the Colorado Avalanche (2-1 in overtime) on Thursday and the Toronto Maple Leafs (4-0) on Sunday, and have dropped into last place in the Metropolitan Division. "It's not a good feeling when you lose ever," Jeff Skinner said. "But we've still got a lot of hockey left. Tonight's a good opportunity to get off to a good start hopefully and play a good game."

Penguins projected lineup

Chris Kunitz -- Sidney Crosby -- Jake Guentzel
Carl Hagelin -- Evgeni Malkin -- Phil Kessel
Scott Wilson -- Matt Cullen -- Patric Hornqvist
Tom Kuhnhackl -- Carter Rowney -- Eric Fehr
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Ian Cole -- Chad Ruhwedel
Steve Oleksy -- Trevor Daley
Matt Murray
Marc-Andre Fleury
Scratched:Nick Bonino (illness)
Injured:Conor Sheary (upper body), Bryan Rust (upper body), Justin Schultz (concussion), Olli Maatta (hand)

Hurricanes projected lineup
Status report

Hagelin will play in his 400th NHL game. ...Tennyson will dress after he was a healthy scratch in seven of the past eight games.

Who's hot

Crosby has 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in his past 20 games. Kessel has six goals in his past nine games. ... Aho has six points (five goals, one assist) in his past seven games.