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Saturday, 22 January 2011 10:00

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

A preview of the Hurricanes.

When and where: 7 p.m., Consol Energy Center.

TV: FSN Pittsburgh, Fox Sports Carolina.

Record: 23-18-6, 52 points. The Hurrcianes are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and fourth place in the Southeast Division.

Leading Scorer: Eric Staal, 47 points (22 goals, 25 assists).

Last Game: 4-1 home win against the Rangers, Thursday. Chad LaRose and Jeff Skinner (right) each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes.

Last Game against the Penguins: 5-4 road shootout loss, Nov. 19. Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists for the Penguins.

Hurricanes Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Skinner. He has points in seven of his last eight games.

Ex-Penguins on the Hurricanes: Tom Barrasso, assistant coach; Ron Francis, associate head coach/director of player personnel; Jim Rutherford, general manager/president.

Ex-Hurricanes on the Penguins: Craig Adams, RW.

Useless Whalers/Hurricanes Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Former Penguins forward Dave Tippett holds the Whalers/Hurricanes franchise record for career shorthanded goals with 11.

Best Whalers/Hurricanes Video We Could Find: During a barnstorming tour against NHL and WHA teams in 1977, the Soviet Union's national team faced the New England Whalers. The Whalers took the ice to their theme song, "The Brass Bonanza:"

(The Soviet Union collapsed roughly 15 years later. Coincidence?)

Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (21-11-2, 2.26 GAA, .922 SV%) for the Penguins and Cam Ward (20-14-5, 2.67 GAA, .921 SV%) for the Hurricanes.

Injuries: For the Penguins, forwards Sidney Crosby (concussion) and Evgeni Malkin (knee) are out. Forwards Mike Comrie (hip), Eric Godard (nose) and defenseman Alex Grant (wrist) are on injured reserve. For the Hurricanes, they are reporting no injuries.

Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins' pimary lines in practice yesterday were:

Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy
Chris Kunitz - Mark Letestu - Pascal Dupuis
Mike Rupp - Maxime Talbot - Chris Conner
Craig Adams - Dustin Jeffrey - Arron Asham

Their primary defensive pairings against the Devils Thursday were:

Brooks Orpik - Kris Letang
Paul Martin - Zbynek Michalek
Alex Goligoski - Ben Lovejoy

-The Hurricanes' primary lines and defensive pairings against the Rangers Thursday were:

Sergei Samsonov - Eric Staal - Erik Cole
Jeff Skinner - Tuomo Ruutu - Chad LaRose
Jussi Jokinen - Brent Sutter - Patrick Dwyer
Jiri Tlusty - Ryan Carter - Troy Bodie

Tim Gleason - Joe Corvo
Joni Pitkanen - Andrew McBain
Jay Harrison - Ian White

Notes:

-Has anyone seen Talbot's goal-scoring ability recently?

-Malkin is also dealing with a sinus infection.

-Fleury left practice yesterday early after taking a shot off the left wrist (PG+).

-Talbot has 49 career goals, 49 career assists and 98 career points.

-Dan Bylsma has 94 career wins. One more and he will tie Scotty Bowman for third place in franchise history.

-We are placing "The Staals are brothers" count at 8 1/2.

-The Penguins will be wearing their "dreaded" blue throwback jerseys.

-Our live blog begins at approximately 6 p.m. Please tune in.

(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Comments (4)

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written by nctarheel, January 22, 2011 - 10:04 AM

The blue jerseys are 5-1 this season, with the only loss coming lat time out against Ottawa. Here's hoping for a win despite missing Sid and Geno.

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written by Huckster, January 22, 2011 - 10:15 AM

Pens should be fine tonight as long as Carolina doesn't play the trap...god forbid.

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written by Bones, January 22, 2011 - 11:19 AM

Are they ever going to wear this year's Winter Classic jerseys again?

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written by Wintermute, January 22, 2011 - 03:23 PM

Bones, aren't those supposed to be the new third jerseys next year, replacing the baby-blues in the rotation?

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