GAME DAY: Red Wings take on formidable, but shorthanded, Hurricanes (7:00 p.m. ET, BSDET)

At this point, it’s still not for certain whether Thursday’s game between the Detroit Red Wings and Carolina Hurricanes will even take place.

The Hurricanes — like so many teams around the league — are in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak. @Jordan Staal, @Sebastian Aho, @Andrei Svechnikov, @Seth Jarvis, @Ian Cole, and @Steven Lorentz have all been placed in the National Hockey League’s COVID-19 protocols and will be unavailable for Thursday’s contest.

To offset their losses, the Hurricanes recalled forwards @Jack Drury, @Andrew Poturalski, and @Stefan Noesen on Thursday from the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League. Drury will likely make his NHL debut against Detroit.

The Hurricanes are currently in the midst of testing all their players and support staff for the virus. If all the tests come back negative, it’ll be game on in Carolina; if not, the status of the game might be in doubt.

Detroit will be without forwards @Robby Fabbri and @Michael Rasmussen on Thursday, with both players also currently in COVID-19 protocol. Rasmussen scored the winning goal in Detroit’s 2–1 victory over the New York Islanders two nights ago.

At their strongest, the Hurricanes are one of the top teams in the NHL. Their 17–9–1 record and .722 points percentage currently lead the entire league.

This will be the first of three meetings between Carolina and Detroit this season. They’ll play again in Detroit on Mar. 1 before returning to Carolina on Apr. 14 for the rubber match.

With Fabbri and Rasmussen unavailable, expect the Red Wings to use these combinations tonight:

@Tyler Bertuzzi – @Dylan Larkin – @Lucas Raymond
@Filip Zadina – @Pius Suter – @Vladislav Namestnikov
@Sam Gagner – @Joe Veleno – @Adam Erne
@Givani Smith – @Carter Rowney – @Taro Hirose

@Jordan Oesterle – @Moritz Seider
@Nick Leddy – @Filip Hronek
Danny DeKeyser – @Daniel Renouf

@Alex Nedeljkovic (8–6–3, .915 SV%) was outstanding in Detroit’s 2–1 win over the Islanders on Tuesday. He’ll need to be even sharper against his former team, against whom he’ll likely start.

The Hurricanes currently have six players in COVID protocol. Here’s what their lineup could look like on Thursday:

@Nino Niederreiter – @Jesperi Kotkaniemi – @Teuvo Teravainen
@Jack Drury – @Vincent Trocheck – @Martin Necas
@Stefan Noesen – @Jordan Martinook – @Jesper Fast
@Derek Stepan – @Andrew Poturalski

@Jaccob Slavin – @Brett Pesce
@Brady Skjei – @Ethan Bear
@Brendan Smith – @Tony DeAngelo

@Frederik Andersen (14–5–0, .930 SV%) has been one of the NHL’s best goaltenders this season. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get the start on Thursday.

Detroit: @Lucas Raymond (10 goals, 25 points); @Dylan Larkin (11 goals, 23 points); @Moritz Seider (three goals, 20 points); @Tyler Bertuzzi (nine goals, 18 points); @Filip Hronek (three goals, 15 points).

Carolina: @Sebastian Aho (15 goals, 32 points); @Andrei Svechnikov (nine goals, 21 points); @Teuvo Teravainen (six goals, 20 points); @Tony DeAngelo (four goals, 19 points); @Vincent Trocheck (six goals, 18 points).

Detroit: Welcome back to Carolina, @Alex Nedeljkovic! The 25-year-old goaltender was a finalist for the Calder Trophy in his only full season with the Hurricanes last year, posting a 15–5–3 record and a .932 save percentage in 23 games. Nedeljkovic spent seven seasons in the Hurricanes organization after being drafted by the club in the second round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft; the Hurricanes traded him to Detroit this past July in exchange for the pending UFA rights to @Jonathan Bernier and a 2021 third-round pick.

Carolina: While the Hurricanes may have come out on the wrong side of the Nedeljkovic trade, they look to have pulled off a major coup by acquiring @Ethan Bear from the Edmonton Oilers in the offseason. The 24-year-old defenceman has been a positive two-way presence in Carolina and has six points in his first 20 contests with his new team.

Thursday’s Red Wings game will be broadcast on Bally Sports Detroit starting at 7:00 p.m. ET. It’ll be sent over the airwaves on WXVT-FM 97.1 “The Ticket” in the Detroit area, as well as on the Red Wings’ official website.

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