Pittsburgh Penguins (14-6-4-32) at Carolina Hurricanes (12-11-2-26)
Kennedy, Zigomanis out: I’ve been told within the past 10 minutes that Center Mike Zigomanis who was listed as probable this morning is officially out for tonight’s game.
About the Hurricanes: The Hurricanes went 7-9-0 in November which lead to a coaching change on Wednesday. Former Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice will be back behind the bench after coaching the Toronto Maple Leafs for two seasons. Maurice coached the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes for 8 seasons, including reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2002. This could be a tough game for the Penguins playing back-to-back games and the Hurricanes will be playing their first game in front of their new coach.
Official lineup unclear: Penguins did not have a morning skate today so it is unknown what lines head coach Michel Therrien will go with. Word is we could see Crosby and Malkin playing together earlier than usual if the Penguins don’t get on the board early. I’m hearing Therrien may want to see how Staal plays with Satan or Sykora with Kennedy out of the lineup, if he decides to play Crosby and Malkin together at sometime during the game.