Projected Lineup: January 6 vs. St. Louis

RALEIGH, NC. – The Carolina Hurricanes could have Stefan Noesen (illness) back in the lineup on Saturday as they take on the St. Louis Blues.

Away from the team since Wednesday, the power forward has been under the weather and did not play in last night’s win over Washington.  If he can play, Rod Brind’Amour said that the team will more than likely go back to the traditional setup of 12 forwards and six defensemen.

Going back to 12-6 would mean that Tony DeAngelo would be the healthy extra, just one day after being the seventh man on the blue line.  If Noesen can’t go, the team would roll 11-7 for a second consecutive evening.

Vasily Ponomarev, who made his NHL debut last night and recorded multiple points, is expected to play once again.

“I don’t think he’ll change much.  He’s a pretty fearless kid,” Rod Brind’Amour said pre-game on what he thinks he’ll see from the 21-year-old in just his second career game.  “I don’t think the moment was too big for him.  I’m not going to expect two points every night, but I think he looks like he belongs.”

Unfortunately, Jesper Fast and Martin Necas (upper-body injuries), will not dress.

Behind the 18 skaters, Antti Raanta will be between the pipes for the group.

Brind’Amour confirmed on Thursday that he would split his goaltenders for the back-to-back set and Pyotr Kochetkov earned the win last night in Washington.

Raanta’s most recent start came last Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens, earning the win after stopping 18 of 21. In 32 starts at PNC Arena over the last three seasons, the veteran is 26-3-3 with a 2.34 goals against average and six shutouts.

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Tonight’s Projected Lineup…

Forwards

Svechnikov – Aho – Teravainen

Bunting – Drury – Kotkaniemi

Martinook – Staal – Jarvis

Lemieux – Ponomarev – Noesen*

Defense

Slavin – Burns

Skjei – Pesce

Orlov – Chatfield

DeAngelo*

Goaltenders

Raanta

Kochetkov

Injuries

Frederik Andersen (Blood Clotting Issue)

Jesper Fast (Upper-Body Injury)

Martin Necas (Upper-Body Injury)

Stefan Noesen (Illness)

Healthy Scratches

TBD or N/A

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PP1: Aho, Bunting, Jarvis, and Svechnikov with Burns

PP2: Drury, Necas, Noesen, and Teravainen with Skjei

(As of January 2)