The Carolina Hurricanes are still searching for their first win of the 2015-2016 regular season, but in order for that to happen against the Panthers on Tuesday, a handful of players will need to standout for the boys in red.
The Carolina Hurricanes had a rough opening weekend to start the season. Disappointing one-goal losses to the Nashville Predators and Detroit Red Wings on Thursday and Saturday set up a must-win scenario for the Canes on Tuesday.
The Hurricanes went winless against Florida just a season ago, scoring just 1 goal against the Cats in 3 games. Things will have to change up front if they want to leave Raleigh with their first win of the season.
A couple of Hurricanes players will be making their season debuts, and they will be big parts of the matchup. Eddie Lack will get his first start with the Canes, and Brad Malone will make his season debut on the fourth line for Carolina.
Let’s take a look at some big payers to watch for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Eddie Lack
The Canes need a big opening performance from Lack. After a successful 2-0-0 preseason, he will look to come in and take the starting job from long-time backstop Cam Ward.
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Ward is coming off of a rough game against the Red Wings, one in which he allowed 4 goals on 19 shots. Lack has the chance to gain trust from his teammates and the coaching staff against Florida.
A good performance could also give him the chance to start Friday’s game in Detroit.
Lack is coming off of two consecutive 41-game seasons, and he will look to turn into an everyday starter in the National Hockey League.
Tuesday night marks the beginning of the Eddie Lack era in Raleigh, and hopefully it is a prudent night for him and the Canes.
Victor Rask
Canes center Victor Rask went down with a late injury on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings, but he came back on Monday and practiced with the team, showing no ill effects from the apparent upper-body injury.
Rask will be thrown right back into the thick of things against the Panthers. He will center the Canes first line alongside Eric Staal and Kris Versteeg, and they will likely go against Florida’s top defensive pairing of Aaron Ekblad and Brian Campbell for a lot of the game, and that will be a tough task for the three offensively gifted players.
The young Swede has had two very good games to start the season, so it will be important for him to come out and and have another strong effort in game 3 of the regular season.
Victor Rask is a very important of this Hurricanes offense, and he will be relied on heavily to provide some offense against the Panthers.
Noah Hanifin
Young defenseman Noah Hanifin will continue to be a big player to watch throughout his rookie campaign in the NHL, and he will need to show up in a big way once again against Florida.
Carolina Hurricanes
He will be on the third defensive pairing with Ryan Murphy. That pairing has shown plenty of potential over the past two games after some very good performances against the Preds and Red Wings.
With James Wisniewski‘s injury still leaving a very bitter taste in the mouths of everyone around the Carolina Hurricanes organization, a hero will need to rise up and claim a bigger role on the blue line. Expect that player to be young Hanifin as he enters just his third NHL game.
He has been the 2nd best defenseman on the team through two games behind Justin Faulk, and another solid performance on Tuesday will give him and the team more confidence as they are just a few days away from jetting out to Detroit to kick off their annual North Carolina State Fair road trip.