good luck guys, probably will just sit back and watch--
from slam!
"The 'Canes will be without winger Jeff O'Neill, suspended for the game for his hit from behind on Canadiens defenceman Sheldon Souray five minutes into Carolina's 2-0 win in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal.
The Habs announced after their morning skate defenceman Patrice Brisebois will not play for the second-straight game because of back spasms.
Souray, meanwhile, will be a game-time decision.
His left shoulder popped out when he was hit by O'Neill, but he said he had seen a lot of improvement over the last two days.
"It's feeling a lot better than yesterday. I'd make it 50-50," he said when asked of his chances of playing tonight. "This is the time of year when it's a matter of will. If I feel comfortable and the coaches feel comfortable, I'd like to play."
Rookie Jaroslav Svoboda, 21, is expected to take O'Neill's place on the Hurricanes top line with Ron Francis and Sami Kapanen.
Forward Craig MacDonald, a 25-year-old native of Antigonish, NS, will dress in O'Neill's place. He played three games in the first-round victory over the New Jersey Devils
refs are: MCGeough & Walkom
& from TSN--
Michel Therrien will leave Shaun Van Allen and Arron Asham out of the lineup and insert Sergei Berezin and Jan Bulis to bulk up the team's speed and scoring. Therrien will likely line up Juneau, Perreault, and Audette on the first line, Bulis, Gilmour and Petrov on the second, Kilger, Koivu and Berezin on the third and Odjick, Lindsay, and Dackell on the fourth.