News and notes from the crease …
Cam and Carolina try to build something
The Carolina Hurricanes won their first game of the season last night, everybody. /sets off fireworks
Maybe the most promising sign was the beleaguered goalie Cam Ward registered a shutout. With Anton Khudobin off to a pretty lousy start (after basically stealing the starting gig in 2013-14), Ward could improve his chances of being the unquestioned No. 1 with another strong performance tonight.
That’s not to say that he has an easy task at hand. The Hurricanes face a Los Angeles Kings team that’s angry (three-game losing streak) and is expected to get Anze Kopitar back. The expectation is that Jonathan Quick will be in net for Los Angeles.
Elsewhere ...
Red Wings at Sabres: Jimmy Howard will be in net for Detroit against Michal Neuvirth and the Buffalo Sabres.
Coyotes at Capitals: A battle of the backups as Devan Dubnyk’s in for Phoenix while Justin Peters minds the Washington net.
Flames at Canadiens: Jonas Hiller attempts to strengthen his grip on the Flames’ top spot while Carey Price goes for Montreal.
Ducks at Avalanche: It at least looks like John Gibson gets a third start in four games for Anaheim against Colorado’s workhorse Semyon Varlamov.
The late games are quite a toss-up right now, be warned.
Jets at Blackhawks: With back-to-back games for both teams, this is a tough one as nothing’s been confirmed. It looks like Michael Hutchinson for Winnipeg and Corey Crawford for Chicago.
Predators at Canucks: These haven’t been confirmed either, yet it would make sense if Pekka Rinne played for Nashville while Eddie Lack spells Ryan Miller for Vancouver.