Brind'Amour, Ladd, Commodore return to the ice

On Thursday night, the Hurricanes will return to Southeast Division play, and three of their players will make their return to the ice. Rod Brind'Amour missed one game with the flu, Mike Commodore missed 12 with a broken finger and Andrew Ladd missed four with a reassignment and a bout with the flu. With Chad LaRose and David Tanabe out with concussions and Craig Adams suspended, they will be needed.

The N&O reports that the Canes will roll with 11 forwards and seven defensemen tonight, which is a pretty common occurrence under Peter Laviolette. He's keeping mum on who the starting goaltender will be, but Johnny Crackers looked fantastic against the Leafs and got the job done against Philly, earning two wins in a row. I'm given to saying things like "You shouldn't change your horses midstream" and "Ride a goalie while he's hot". I wouldn't be surprised to see him in nets tonight. Given his struggles against his former team, however, I'd bet my paycheck that we'll see Cam Ward against the Bolts on Saturday.

The Hurricanes have won three of the four meetings between the teams so far this season. All have been good games.

Carolina's main focus will be on Olli "Cane Killa" Jokinen. He has enjoyed a ton of success against the Canes over the years and has tallied six (1/5) points against the Canes in four games this season. If this guy played for my team, I would love him. But he doesn't, and I don't.

Cory Stillman (3/2) Rod Brind'Amour (2/3)and Matt Cullen (1/4) each have five points versus the Kitties this year. Justin Williams (2/2) and Ray Whitney (1/3) each have four.

Puck drop will be at 7:30.