Behind Enemy Lines: Carolina Hurricanes Game 1 Pre-Game Report

The Carolina Hurricanes had one final practice on Wednesday before to shipping up to Boston. Carolina will look to take home-ice advantage away from the Bruins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. With Charlie McAvoy out of the lineup for the Boston Bruins, Thursday’s game is the perfect opportunity to strike first.

Projected lineup for the Carolina Hurricanes:

Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teravainen

Nino Niederreiter — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

Warren Foegele — Lucas Wallmark — Brock McGinn

Jordan Martinook — Greg McKegg — Micheal Ferland

Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

Haydn Fleury — Calvin de Haan

Petr Mrazek

Curtis McElhinney

The biggest question heading into Game 1 is who the starting goalie might be. The only clue head coach Rod Brind’Amour would give is that his last name starts with an M. With Carolina not having a morning skate, the official announcement may not come until Carolina takes the ice for warmups.

Rod Brind’Amour knows his team cannot be satisfied just getting to Eastern Conference Final. The Hurricanes have taken a step in the right direction getting back on the map, but that is not the teams’ ultimate goal. The players continue to buy into the system Rod Brind’Amour put in place which has helped them succeed thus far. If the Hurricanes continue to embrace the moment they have a good chance of winning this series against Boston.

Injuries

Both Petr Mrazek and Micheal Ferland returned to practice this week for the Hurricanes. Both players are a game-time decision for Game 1.

Carolina Hurricanes Playoff Scoring Leaders

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