If it wasn't for bad luck, the Hurricanes would be the world leaders in having no luck at all.

It might not be the absolute worst-case scenario, but for the Carolina Hurricanes, losing Jordan Staal for the rest of 2014 is near the top of that list.

The team announced Thursday that Staal, who has played every game for the club since his 2012 trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins, will miss the first 3-4 months of the 2014-15 season following surgery Friday to repair his broken right fibula. On that timetable, the Canes can expect him to return sometime after Christmas, and fortunately a broken bone typically has a set healing time that won't require additional time on the sidelines; once the bone is healed, which typically takes about two months, Staal will be able to resume skating.

But when he finally does return to the lineup, questions will abound. How will the team have weathered his absence? More to the point, what will the Hurricanes look like when he returns?

Good luck, Bill Peters. Your challenge just got that much more difficult.

By the way, since this matters in more ways than one now: 90 shopping days remain until Christmas.

The release from the team is below.

JORDAN STAAL TO UNDERGO SURGERY ON RIGHT LEG

Center suffered a fractured fibula during Tuesday’s game in Buffalo

RALEIGH, NC – Ron Francis, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced center Jordan Staal will undergo surgery on Friday to repair a fractured fibula in his right leg. The procedure will be performed by Dr. Kevin Logel and Dr. Marty Isbell at Raleigh Orthopaedic and recovery time is estimated at three to four months.

Staal, 26, was injured during the third period of Carolina’s exhibition game at Buffalo on Tuesday, when he got tangled up with Sabres defenseman Josh Gorges. The Thunder Bay, Ont., native did not miss a single game during his first two seasons with the Hurricanes in 2012-13 and 2013-14, totaling 71 points (25g, 46a) in 130 games.

Today's New York Rangers notes.

Happy Friday, folks. We've got some more hockey to watch today, as the Rangers preseason campaign rolls into Chicago. Thursday wasn't the most excited day in terms of Rangers news, especially after the whirlwind that was Wednesday. Any who, let's get to those morning notes.

Going to be a lot of items in today's notes again surrounding Derek Stepan, and what the Rangers will do in his absence. Who might get the promotion to play on the top line? How about Dominic Moore. [Blueshirt Banter]

And ahead of the Rangers-Blackhawks showdown on Friday, New York released what its lines should look like, giving another glimpse into how the team is experimenting and tinkering to fill Stepan's spot, as well as some more information from Alain Vigneault. [Blueshirt Banter] [Ranger Rants] [Daily News] [Newsday]

One thing we learned from that released lineup is Anthony Duclair will continue to get opportunities alongside Derick Brassard and Rick Nash, as the organization continues to show its trust and interest in the 19-year-old. [NY Post]

Another player who may see more minutes and in that sense benefit from Stepan's absence? That'd be the rookie and recently signed Kevin Hayes. [NY Post]

If you're following some of the other injury news around the league, you may have seen Jordan Staal of the Hurricanes broke his leg, and is going to require surgery that will keep him out 3-4 months. So it kind of goes without saying, and Stepan knows it: The Rangers top center dodged a major bullet. [Ranger Rants]

Today’s Number To Know looks at how one player’s New York State Of Mind includes lots of time in the penalty box.

Number To Know

2 — The number of times in 72 career NHL games Brett Bellemore has received more than one penalty in a game. It was certainly out of character for Bellemore to take a mind-numbing four penalties in Wednesday’s preseason win over the Islanders.

Bellemore was called for all four infractions in the last nine minutes second period: three minors (tripping, interference and elbowing) followed by a fighting major. Bellemore has received multiple penalties in an NHL game just twice:

• In a 4-2 loss to the Rangers on March 8, 2014, Bellemore was called for a matching roughing minor — along with New York’s Chris Kreider— in the third period that led to a 4-on-4 Rangers goal that tied the score at 2. He was then was called for delay of game at 16:02 just 32 seconds after teammate Ron Hainsey received the same minor. New York notched the game-winner on the 5-on-3, and later added an empty netter.
• The Hurricanes blanked the Islanders 1-0 on Nov. 8, 2013, and Bellemore was again part of matching roughing calls, this time with Kyle Okposo of the Isles in the second period. His other infraction came earlier in that frame when he fought New York’s Matt Martin— the same player he matched up with Wednesday — and earned a five-minute major.

There's certainly no love lost between Bellemore and Martin. According to hockeyfights.com, the two have been frequent combatants throughout their careers: as mentioned above, they have fought twice in the NHL, plus once in the AHL in 2009-10, and twice in the OHL (once each in 2007-08 and 2008-09).

Training camp roster now at 36 players, including Chad LaRose

The Carolina Hurricanes reduced their training camp roster to 36 players on Saturday morning by assigning nine players to the Charlotte Checkers and adding Chad LaRose.  LaRose, who has signed an AHL contract with the Checkers, had been off the roster up to this point because of an injury.

Dennis Robertson, Keegan Lowe, Trevor Carrick, and Daniel Altshuller were sent directly to Charlotte.  Jared Staal, Ben Holmstrom, Justin Shugg, and Greg Nemisz, were put on waivers, then will go to Charlotte.  Kyle Hagel was released and will also join his teammates in the Queen City.

The Checkers officially start their training camp on September 29th.

Guys still in town fighting for jobs include:  Brock McGinn, Patrick Brown, Phillip Di Giuseppe, Brendan Woods, Carter Sandlak, Rasmus Rissanen, Zach Boychuk, Chris Terry, Victor Rask, Danny Biega, Michal Jordan, Brody Sutter, and Haydn Fleury.

Rask's name has been spoken by the coaching staff more than anyone else of the bunch, up to this point.

Drew MacIntyre is still here as well and will help out the goalies in the coming preseason games.

The Canes annual Red/White scrimmage was Friday night and by all accounts the Caniac Carnival was well attended and was another huge success.  McGinn was the only goal scorer in the actual scrimmage action as he beat Cam Ward high and tight on an inside angle.

There was plenty of scoring in the ensuing shootout as Alexander Semin, Eric Staal, and Nathan Gerbe helped to give the red team the eventual 5-4 win.

The Canes will have Sunday off and will return to the ice on Monday to prepare for a busy week of preseason hockey as they have games Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday nights.

Card maker places Sergey Tolchinsky with elite company

Trading card companies are in the business to make money and usually select the players who they feel give them the best chance to sell their cards, especially specialty jersey and signature cards.

Apparently, the executives at "In The Game" have high aspirations for Hurricanes prospect, Sergey Tolchinsky because they matched up the speedy winger with two Russian legends, Pavel Bure and Alex Ovechkin for their 2013 Past, Present, and Future card.

Will Tolchinsky eventually be an unknown on this card?  Time will tell.

Many thanks to Jim for sending me the info on this card.  If anyone else has suggestions for our new "Card of the Week" feature, please email the info to canescountry@gmail.com

The link to the auction for this card follows:

Bure, Ovechkin, Tolchinsky - Past, Present, and Future

Hurricanes defensive prospect Josh Wesley, the son of former defenseman Glen Wesley, showed off some skills in the Plymouth Whalers’ second game of the Ontario Hockey league season.

The Carolina Hurricanes season opener may still be a dozen days away, but there is certainly regular season hockey going on elsewhere.

The first of two Carolina fourth-round picks this summer, Plymouth Whalers defenseman Josh Wesley, looks to already be in midseason form. Less than a week removed from being reassigned to the Ontario Hockey League from Canes training camp, Wesley is off to a fast start for the Whalers, notching goals in both of Plymouth’s first two games of the season.

Wesley notched the Whalers’ first goal of the season Friday in a 5-0 win over London, a power play goal that proved the game-winner. But Wesley even outdid that Saturday night, scoring a third-period, go-ahead goal that is the early frontrunner for OHL goal of the year in the Whalers’ eventual 5-4 overtime loss to high-powered Erie — led by next year’s favorite to go first overall in the NHL draft, Connor McDavid  The goal, also on scored on the power play, is one to remember.

Wesley, the son of Hurricanes great Glen Wesley, is clearly out to prove he's his own man. Nepotism? More like Nope-otism.

With Fan Fest in the rear view, a recap, a podcast about the Lightning, and the Praise family rallies during trying times. Your Monday morning reads are here.

• Carolina Hurricanes fans running Canes Weekly Podcast had there (ta-da!) weekly podcast, focused on the Tampa Bay Lightning this week with our own Clark Brooks as the guest [Canes Weekly Podcast]
• Alexis Boucher has a complete first-hand recap of the events from Saturday at Tampa Bay Lightning fan fest. [Lightning Shout!]
• In case you're wondering and missed it in the off season, we've got the complete Tampa Bay Lightning schedule here. [Raw Charge]
• New York Islanders fans have had it rough while watching games in the undersized, ancient Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. At Barclays Center, they'll just have the annoyance of a center-ice scoreboard that isn't at center ice. [imgur]
• Kansas City saw NHL action on Saturday, and the crowd was pretty good... [kansascity.com]
• ...here's the visual proof. [imgur]
• Former Lightning defenseman Brian Lee has been released from his professional try out with the Nashville Predators. [Facebook]
• The Minnesota Wild's Zach Parise's family is facing trying times at the moment, but the family unites and goes on while his father, J.P. Parise, battles illness. [StarTribune.com]

Three big questions facing the Carolina Hurricanes

SB Nation is revealing our huge NHL Season Preview later this morning, (SB Nation 2014-15 Season Preview) and in conjunction with this, we have three questions to answer which were posed in the Hurricanes preview.  I'll do my best to answer them below:

1.  Can this team stay relatively healthy all season?

Well that question, which was asked before the Jordan Staal injury, has kind of answered itself already.  But even if I did not know about the Staal injury, I would have had to answer "no".  Several players of this team have had a tough time staying healthy in recent seasons and there is no reason to expect that to change now.

Cam Ward has been struggling with injuries the past two seasons.  Eric Staal has already had surgery over the offseason.  Jiri Tlusty has also been fighting various injuries much of his career.

Having said this, all teams face injury problems off and on during the course of an NHL season, so this problem is not for the Hurricanes alone.

The good organizations use their depth to fight their way through them and continue to win, the not so good organizations fall by the wayside.  We will see how the Canes adjust to the injuries this season.

2.  Will one or more of the youngsters step up and be a consistent scorer?

I will answer "yes" to this question.  At least one of them should step up.

Elias Lindholm is primed to be a consistent contributor this season.  Not only does he have the skill, but he will also have ample opportunity and will be playing with some top end talent as well.  Now with J. Staal out for a long period of time, he will have even more opportunity.

I also look for Ryan Murphy to play more of an important role this year.  Coach Peters has already stated that he is looking to take advantage of the defenseman's skill on the powerplay.  As the coach said, the blueliner has been successful at all other levels, he should be for the Canes as well.

I look for Murphy to continue to improve and contribute more on the score sheet this season, especially with the man advantage.

3.  Will Cam Ward and Anton Khudobin turn out to be a well working tandem and push each other to consistent maximum performance, or do they both need to play the majority of games and will fail to play at their best because of that?

It can be tough when a team has two, "number one" goalies who expect and think that they deserve to play the majority of games.  Some goalies need to play several games in a row to keep at their best.  They do not play well with spot duty because they never get into a groove.

Looking at past history, Khudobin seems to be a bit more flexible in this area, perhaps because he has experience being a backup goalie.  He seems to play about the same, if he plays one game a week, or many games in a row.

Ward on the other hand seems to need more work to play at his best.  He complained about such last year, that he never got in enough action to get back into a groove.

In a perfect world for the Hurricanes, Ward would be back on top of his game of old and win the starting job, while Khudobin could fill in as needed, with little to no fall back in net.  But so far this early preseason, that has not been the case.

Coach Peters said earlier that he wished to have a "stud" to rely on in goal, someone who could play the majority of games and it seemed he preferred not to want to split the duty evenly.

If Khudobin wins the number one job again this year, will Ward be an effective back up?  We will see.

As much as fans would love to see both goalies excel and post .925 save percentages, it's unlikely to happen.  I will answer this question "to be determined".

The NCAA made the right decision.

Former Boston University forward Brendan Collier has been cleared by the NCAA to begin playing immediately at Northeastern. The Carolina Hurricanes prospect was cut by the Terriers last March and decided to transfer to the Beanpot rival of his former school in June.

Collier, selected in the seventh round o the 2012 NHL Draft by Carolina, took to Twitter to unveil the good news. A former standout at Massachusetts high school hockey power Malden Catholic, Collier could be a boost to NU's offense and will certainly add depth up front.

Nothing like a waiver approval to start your Monday off and being able to play right away as a husky!! #NeverStayDownpic.twitter.com/d0tAF95tGH

— Brendan Collier (@Brendosogood7) September 29, 2014

--

Jeff Cox covers college, junior and high school hockey, NCAA recruiting and NHL Draft prospects. Follow him on Twitter @JeffCoxSports.

Today’s Number To Know looks at Carolina’s recent first-round picks and where they played after being drafted.

Number To Know

3 — Number of Carolina’s last six first-round draft picks who played in the NHL in the season right after they were drafted. With a decision coming on 2014 first-round Haydn Fleury, here's a look at each player’s first year after being taken in Round 1 by Carolina:

2007: Brandon Sutter— Returned to Red Deer (WHL) for 2007-08 season, then joined the Hurricanes’ affiliate in Albany (AHL) for the final seven games of the regular season and one round of the playoffs. Earned his way on to the Carolina roster the following year after some time in Albany.

2008: Zach Boychuk— Earned a two-game stint with the Hurricanes to start the 2008-09 campaign, but then was returned to Lethbridge (WHL) for the balance of the season. Later joined Albany (AHL) for the team’s final two regular season games. Boychuk has been up and down with Carolina, but may finally be on the cusp of earning a full-time job this year.

2009: Philippe Paradis— Was returned to Shawinigan (QMJHL) for the 2009-10 season and never played in the Hurricanes system — he was traded to Toronto for Jiri Tlusty less than six months after he was picked 27th overall. He has since been traded two more times since and is currently in the Lightning system. He has not played an NHL game.

2010: Jeff Skinner— Earned a spot on Carolina’s roster coming out of camp and went on to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie with 31 goals, 33 assists and 64 points.

2011: Ryan Murphy— Was returned to Kitchener (OHL) and played the entire 2011-12 season there. He has played parts of the last two seasons with Carolina and is again battling for a roster spot on the 2014-15 squad.

2013: Elias Lindholm— Carolina didn't have a first-round pick in 2012 (traded to Pittsburgh as part of the Jordan Staal trade), but last year’s top selection made his way to the NHL. Lindholm logged 58 games with Carolina — he had brief stops in Charlotte (AHL) and at the World Junior Championships with Sweden — and will play a big role in the Hurricanes’ plans this season.

Following a six-day break in the preseason schedule, the Canes head out today for another set of back-to-back games and another round of roster evaluations. Eric Staal, Alex Semin, and Haydn Fleury are all scheduled to be in tonight's line-up against the Blues.

Carolina Hurricanes at St. Louis Blues
September 30, 2014 - 8:00 pm ET
Scottrade Center - St. Louis, MO
Radio - 99.9 FM The Fan
SB Nation Rival Blog - St. Louis Game Time

Since last Wednesday's win against the Islanders, the Hurricanes have held a Caniac Carnival fan festival and scrimmage, added a familiar face to training camp, and trimmed the roster to 36. Head coach Bill Peters intends to finalize the Opening Night line-up by Friday night's home game against the Sabres, but there are still several decisions to be made. Those should begin to reveal themselves after the back-to-back games in St. Louis tonight and in Columbus tomorrow night. After another uptempo practice on Monday, the line-ups for the next two games have not yet been set, but here is what we know.

• Eric Staal and Alexander Semin should both see their first preseason appearance tonight. For the time being, Staal and Semin have been reunited with Jiri Tlusty, and that will likely be the top line going into the regular season.
• The "two hole" spot is still up for grabs in Jordan Staal's absence and the competition is still too close to call. Jay McClement, who won't play tonight, will be called upon to center the first penalty kill unit, and may move up into some 3C responsibilities. He centered Nathan Gerbe and Zach Boychuk in yesterday's practice. Meanwhile Riley Nash continued to center Jeff Skinner and Elias Lindholm, while Victor Rask centered Brock McGinn and Chris Terry.
• Rookie defenseman Haydn Fleury is expected to be in tonight's line-up. All twelve defensemen still in camp will see ice time over the next two games. Peters intends to switch some to their off sides to see how they fare against what is expected to be strong forechecking from both St. Louis and Columbus.
• There has been no announcement as to who will be in net, although the expectation is that both Anton Khudobin and Cam Ward will start over the next two games.
• The aforementioned familiar face, Chad LaRose, who joined camp on a tryout over the weekend, isn't expected to see any game action until possibly Sunday's preseason finale against Washington.
• The game group will practice at PNC Arena today at 10:30, and the non-game group will practice at 11:30, so line-ups should be forthcoming. The team will fly out to St. Louis mid-afternoon.

UPDATE 10:45 AM: Here's tonight's line-up (per twitter):

#Canes game-group forwards: Tlusty-E. Staal-Semin Skinner-Nash-Lindholm McGinn-Rask-Terry Malone-Sutter-Brown

— Michael Smith (@MSmithCanes) September 30, 2014

#Canes game-group D pairs: Sekera-Faulk Harrison-Murphy Fleury-Biega

— Michael Smith (@MSmithCanes) September 30, 2014

Cam Ward in the #Canes starter's crease. Drew MacIntyre opposite.

— Michael Smith (@MSmithCanes) September 30, 2014

The St. Louis Blues are 0-4 in their preseason, dropping two games to the Blue Jackets and two to the Dallas Stars. Their line-up for tonight:

• Forwards: David Backes, Patrik Berglund, Robby Fabbri, Dmitrij Jaskin, Jori Lehtera, Joakim Lindstrom, Peter Mueller, T.J. Oshie, Magnus Paajarvi, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko
• Defense: Jay Bouwmeester, Barret Jackman, Petteri Lindbohm, Alex Pietrangelo, Nate Prosser, Kevin Shattenkirk
• Goalies: Brian Elliott, Jake Allen

There is no video stream for tonight's game but both teams are offering radio broadcasts through their local affiliates.

News Links:

• Bill Peters audio from Monday's practice [CH.com].
• Canes top four centers are still to be determined [N&O]. One player trying to make the case to stay on the roster is Victor Rask [N&O].
• The Canes are holding a fan scavenger hunt for a chance to win tickets to Opening Night [CH.com].
• The latest Cheaters Never Win podcast deals with the loss of Jordan Staal and speculates on fantasy drafts with NHL.com's Pete Jensen [Section 328].
• The Raleigh Sports Council held their annual We Love the Canes luncheon yesterday at PNC Arena and presented the Kids 'N Community Foundation with a $20,000 check [twitter].
• Jaden Schwartz on signing his two-year, $4.7million contract with the Blues on Saturday [In The Slot].
• The Blues are sticking with their reliable defensive pairing of Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Pietrangelo [In The Slot].

The Blues reach out of the Western Conference for their next home matchup against a rebuilding Carolina team.

It was the best of time, it was the worst of times - the Blues and Hurricanes are currently studies in contrast. The Canes are trying to rebound from a season in which they finished second to last in the Metropolitan Division with 83 points. Unfortunately forward Jordan Staal, who the Canes were wanting to lean on, shattered his fibula last Tuesday on a hit by Josh Georges, who said in an interview later that he "heard [Staal] scream." That's never a good sign. Unfortunately for Carolina it's knocking one of their most skilled centers out for three to four months.

The Blues are getting reinforcements back in the form of Jaden Schwartz who will be, don't forget, sporting number 17 to honor his sister Mandi. Unfortunately he won't be in tonight since he's still knocking off the rust. He'll be in Thursday night against the Wild(s). Here're today's practice lines for the thus-far winless Blues from the Post-Dispatch:

Forwards:

Patrik Berglund-David Backes-T.J. Oshie

Alexander Steen-Paul Stastny-Joakim Lindstrom

Robby Fabbri-Jori Lehtera-Vladimir Tarasenko

Steve Ott-Jaden Schwartz-Maxim Lapierre

Peter Mueller-Dmitrij Jaskin-Magnus Paajarvi

Chris Porter-Colin Fraser-Ryan Reaves/Paul Bissonnette

Defensemen

Jay Bouwmeester-Kevin Shattenkirk

Petteri Lindbohm-Alex Pietrangelo

Barret Jackman-Ian Cole

Chris Butler-Jordan Leopold

Nate Prosser-Ryan Whitney

Carl Gunnarsson

Goalie

Brian Elliott

Jake Allen

Matt Climie

And tonight's gameday lineup from the team's website:

Forwards: David Backes, Patrik Berglund, Robby Fabbri, Dmitrij Jaskin, Jori Lehtera, Joakim Lindstrom, Peter Mueller,T.J. Oshie, Magnus Paajarvi, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko

Defense: Jay Bouwmeester, Barret Jackman, Petteri Lindbohm, Alex Pietrangelo, Nate Prosser, Kevin Shattenkirk

Goalies: Brian Elliott, Jake Allen

It's looking more and more like a real line-up every day.

The Blues reach out of the Western Conference for their next home matchup against a rebuilding Carolina team.

It was the best of time, it was the worst of times - the Blues and Hurricanes are currently studies in contrast. The Canes are trying to rebound from a season in which they finished second to last in the Metropolitan Division with 83 points. Unfortunately forward Jordan Staal, who the Canes were wanting to lean on, shattered his fibula last Tuesday on a hit by Josh Georges, who said in an interview later that he "heard [Staal] scream." That's never a good sign. Unfortunately for Carolina it's knocking one of their most skilled centers out for three to four months.

The Blues are getting reinforcements back in the form of Jaden Schwartz who will be, don't forget, sporting number 17 to honor his sister Mandi. Unfortunately he won't be in tonight since he's still knocking off the rust. He'll be in Thursday night against the Wild(s). Here're today's practice lines for the thus-far winless Blues from the Post-Dispatch:

Forwards:

Patrik Berglund-David Backes-T.J. Oshie

Alexander Steen-Paul Stastny-Joakim Lindstrom

Robby Fabbri-Jori Lehtera-Vladimir Tarasenko

Steve Ott-Jaden Schwartz-Maxim Lapierre

Peter Mueller-Dmitrij Jaskin-Magnus Paajarvi

Chris Porter-Colin Fraser-Ryan Reaves/Paul Bissonnette

Defensemen

Jay Bouwmeester-Kevin Shattenkirk

Petteri Lindbohm-Alex Pietrangelo

Barret Jackman-Ian Cole

Chris Butler-Jordan Leopold

Nate Prosser-Ryan Whitney

Carl Gunnarsson

Goalie

Brian Elliott

Jake Allen

Matt Climie

And tonight's gameday lineup from the team's website:

Forwards: David Backes, Patrik Berglund, Robby Fabbri, Dmitrij Jaskin, Jori Lehtera, Joakim Lindstrom, Peter Mueller,T.J. Oshie, Magnus Paajarvi, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko

Defense: Jay Bouwmeester, Barret Jackman, Petteri Lindbohm, Alex Pietrangelo, Nate Prosser, Kevin Shattenkirk

Goalies: Brian Elliott, Jake Allen

It's looking more and more like a real line-up every day.

Today’s Number To Know looks at the battle for Carolina’s No. 1 spot in goal and how Tuesday’s game could shape it.

Number To Know

.950 — Cam Ward’s career regular season save percentage vs. the St. Louis Blues, the team he will face in Tuesday’s preseason game. Ward has had great success against the Blues in his career, going 5-1-1 with a 1.54 goals-against average and two shutouts in seven outings. The only team Ward has comparable numbers against? The Chicago Blackhawks. Ward is 3-0-2 with a .965 save percentage, 1.17 goals-against average and two shutouts against the Hawks in his career.

Ward last faced the Blues on March 15, 2012, when he registered a 40-save shutout. A similar performance may be needed by the former Conn Smythe winner Tuesday — Ward is expected to play the full game — if he is going to make a race out of his battle with Anton Khudobin for the Hurricanes’ No. 1 goaltending job.

Canes go 0-5 on the powerplay in loss

The St. Louis Blues won their first preseason game this year and defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-1 on Tuesday night in St. Louis.  Carolina's preseason record dropped to 1-3.

Ryan Murphy scored the only goal for the Hurricanes as he scored off of a clean faceoff win by Riley Nash.  The goal tied the game at the time in the second period, but the Blues would score twice more to seal the win.

Carolina had trouble generating much offense all night long and even struggled on the powerplay, 0-5.  After a quick start, the team is now 5-20 while with the man advantage this preseason and has only scored two goals in four games at even strength.

Cam Ward went the distance and made 26 saves on 29 shots.  According to reports from the game on Twitter, he was sharp in this game.

Brian Elliott was the winning goalie for the Blues.

Things don't get easier for the Canes as they next travel to Columbus for another game tomorrow night.

Game Notes:

• Jay Harrison led the way with 24:19 of ice time.  Next was Murphy with 22:38.
• Victor Rask once again led the team with a winning faceoff percentage of 60%, (3-5).  Eric Staal was low man at 37%, (7-19).
• Alexander Semin had a team high four shots on goal with Jeff Skinner and Staal next with three each.  The Canes were outshot 29-20, including 14-6 in the opening period.
• Justin Faulk had a game high three blocked shots.

The Blues won a hockey game. Another team in blue in the State of Missouri won a baseball game. And other stuff. But you came here for the Galaxy Quest video, right? No? Oh, okay. Well, click some shit.

If you like country music that doesn't suck out loud like most of the shit on modern country radio, go see Old Crow Medicine Show if they're around. The frontman has more energy than a fucking superball.

Oh also . . . IT'S FUCKING OCTOBER SO KNOCK IT OFF WITH THAT FUCKING HASHTAG PLEASE. THANK YOU.

And now, clickables!

BLUES NEWS:

• The Blues played against the Hurricanes in a hockey contest yesterday. It didn't count for shit, but unlike the prior four games that didn't count for shit, the Blues actually won it! 3-1 was the final. [In The Slot / Lou Korac]
• Richard (rminton618) gives his thoughts on line projections . . . and while some of them may be a bit off, they're food for thought and something Ken Hitchcock could probably do sometime this season because FUCK LINE CONTINUITY, MAN. [SLGT]
• So if the Cardinals get swept by the Dodgers and the Blues come sputtering out of the gate this year, we get to blame Sports Illustrated thanks to the COVER JINX. (Actually, this cover of T.J. Oshie and Adam Wainwright is one of three regional covers and the Dodgers/Kings are featured in one, so fuck that noise.) [Twitter / @SINow]

HOCKEY NEWS:

• Games? There were seven. None counted. [NHL.com 09/30/14]
  
• Games? There will be five. None will count. [NHL.com 10/01/14]
• Hockey Night in Canada was previously run by CBC. Now, Rogers owns the rights, and one decision they've made is to cut back on the awesome montages Tim Thompson puts together for them. To reminisce, here's a Top 10 of what he's produced before. (S/T to CrossCheckRaise) [Eyes on the Prize]
• This GIF pretty much illustrates what it means to be a lower-tier Conference III fan. Go Predators! (S/T to Drew Settles) [i.chzbgr.com]
• EPIX took over 24/7 and plans some overhaul and expansion of the coverage of the program. Good news, if it works. [Puck Daddy]
• We've seen hockey teams as soccer shirts before. But now, someone went and made full kits for all 30 teams. [Icethetics]
• Can helmet cameras improve NHL referee performance? Well, something has to at some point, so why not try, I say. [Puck Daddy]
• Jack Eichel will be the second pick of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft behind Connor McDavid, and Jack may very well be the next face of American hockey. You should probably get to know a bit about him. [SB Nation / Longform]
• Hockey-themed corn mazes. Yep, they're back. [Puck Daddy]
• Cody Eakin signed a two-year RFA deal with the Stars, pretty much assuring he'll be eligible for opening night roster selection for that loaded squad. [Defending Big D]

OTHER SHIT:

• I'm not a Royals fan. But my wife is. And I wanted the Cespedes/Lester trade to fall flat on the Athletics' fucking faces. So hey, good for the Royals. No, really. [SB Nation]
• Michael Phelps got his second DUI in ten years . . . and he really earned this one, going 84 in a 45. Holy shit, man. Call a fucking cab. [Deadspin]

VIDEO:

Sci-Fi Week continues with a Galaxy Quest clip . . . this one, when they launch for the first time. Might be the best scene in the movie:

"Never Give Up. Never Surrender."

One more day to send links, sci-fi videos and other shit:

• gtdonutking AT gmail DOT com
• @KingDonutI

And Beyond Checkerdome Episode 54 should be posted sometime later this week. We had a guest! It was fun!

I'll also have a new video theme for next week for you in tomorrow's links . . . so stay tuned for that as well.

And one more thing . . . you'll get your St. Louis Game Time October wallpaper tomorrow . . . so definitely stay tuned for that!

With October upon us, today’s Number To Know looks at how one player usually spends his autumn.

Number To Know

3 — Career regular season games played by Anton Khudobin in the months of October, November and December despite him playing in five NHL campaigns previously. Khudobin played all three of those in October of last season for the Hurricanes, going 2-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .929 save percentage, before being injured. In 2012-13, he was thwarted by the lockout, and the previous three years he didn't play until the calendar had flipped.

The Jackets continue in their loaded exhibition schedule by welcoming the Hurricanes to Nationwide.

Carolina Hurricanes at Columbus Blue Jackets
Wednesday, October 1, 2014 - 7:00 EDT
Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
Opponents' Blog: Canes Country
TV: Streamed via Team Website

The one silver lining to all of the injuries and contract issues? This team will be battle-tested in terms of having gotten the chance to see the guys play. A lot.

Tonight continues the slate, with the team's second go-round with the Hurricanes. Columbus will ice a much more "NHL-ready" lineup tonight, and there are some interesting lines to consider:

Likewise, I find these D pairings intriguing, because with Ryan Murray still not technically practicing, this *could* be the opening night defensive lineup:

No surprises in goal:

This Jackets lineup is interesting, in that there are a lot of things that we *could* see when the season opens for real next Thursday night. For guys like Dano, Hjalmarsson, Wennberg, and Chaput, the injuries and absences give them a little extra time to show their wares before the final roster decisions are made.

The Hurricanes, on the other hand, are having their own bouts with the injury bug and will be sending a lineup that is very light on big names. Both the Staals are absent (with Jordan being done for at least three months with a broken leg) as is Jeff Skinner. Their defense is a little more NHL-like, and they're sending both NHL goal-tenders. That said, those forwards. Woof.

This is another one that the team is graciously streaming on its website, for those of you looking to watch at home. It will also be on ESPN 1460 AM on the radio as well.

Enjoy!

The Jackets continue in their loaded exhibition schedule by welcoming the Hurricanes to Nationwide.

Carolina Hurricanes at Columbus Blue Jackets
Wednesday, October 1, 2014 - 7:00 EDT
Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
Opponents' Blog: Canes Country
TV: Streamed via Team Website

The one silver lining to all of the injuries and contract issues? This team will be battle-tested in terms of having gotten the chance to see the guys play. A lot.

Tonight continues the slate, with the team's second go-round with the Hurricanes. Columbus will ice a much more "NHL-ready" lineup tonight, and there are some interesting lines to consider:

Likewise, I find these D pairings intriguing, because with Ryan Murray still not technically practicing, this *could* be the opening night defensive lineup:

No surprises in goal:

This Jackets lineup is interesting, in that there are a lot of things that we *could* see when the season opens for real next Thursday night. For guys like Dano, Hjalmarsson, Wennberg, and Chaput, the injuries and absences give them a little extra time to show their wares before the final roster decisions are made.

The Hurricanes, on the other hand, are having their own bouts with the injury bug and will be sending a lineup that is very light on big names. Both the Staals are absent (with Jordan being done for at least three months with a broken leg) as is Jeff Skinner. Their defense is a little more NHL-like, and they're sending both NHL goal-tenders. That said, those forwards. Woof.

This is another one that the team is graciously streaming on its website, for those of you looking to watch at home. It will also be on ESPN 1460 AM on the radio as well.

Enjoy!

Victor Rask scores twice in Carolina loss

The Columbus Blue Jackets exploded for four goals in the third period to take over a close game and defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, 6-3 in preseason action in Columbus on Wednesday night.   The loss gives the Canes a 1-4 record this preseason with their final home exhibition game coming up on Friday night against the Sabres at the PNC

Victor Rask had a big game for the visitors and scored two goals and added an assist in this contest.

After the Jackets took a 1-0 lead in the first period, the Hurricanes, who were fielding a roster of mostly youngsters, scored twice to take a 2-1 lead in the second.  The home team would tie it up later in the second period though, before their third period scoring spree.

After the Jackets scored twice early in the third, Rask would score his second of the game to make the score, 4-3 during a powerplay.  The Canes are now 6 for 24 with the man advantage in this preseason.

The Jackets closed things our with two more goals, one of them an empty-netter.   Anton Khudobin went the distance and stopped 26 of 31 shots.

The Hurricanes were outshot 32-26 for the game.

Coach Peters said after the game that there would be some cuts either tonight or tomorrow and the team would soon be down to one group and a more manageable number.

Game Notes:

• Gleason, Bellemore, and Sutter finished the night at -3.
• Rask, Jordan, and Gerbe had +1.   Jordan had a two point night and scored the other goal.  Gerbe had two assists.
• Rask, who has led the team all preseason in faceoff percentage, was 50% this game, (11-22).  Jay McClement won 67% in this one,  (10-15).
• John-Michael Liles led the team with four shots on goal.
• Rasmus Rissanen had a team high four hits and two blocked shots.
• Stat sheet
• Peters post game interview