Decision Day in D.C.

Decision Day in D.C. ....

The Carolina Hurricanes have prepared for their biggest game to date. A regulation win by the Canes will give them their fourth division title in their 10-year history.

Today's game day prep was a bit different. The Hurricanes convened in their downtown hotel for a meeting due to the fact that the ice was not available at the Verizon Center. The circus was in town over the weekend which included an evening performance on Sunday night.

Because of that, the ice will not be ready to be skated on until game time. This has not been seen as a big deal for head coach Peter Laviolette, who opted to keep the team at the hotel rather than drag everyone through a practice at the Caps practice rink in the Virginia suburbs.

Most importantly a meeting with a game plan set which will include new players. Justin Williams and Ray Whitney will both play tonight. That should give the Hurricanes a terrific offensive boost, along with the insertion of veteran players who have "been there ... done that" under pressure. Both players have returned with just one practice under their belts, both come in under the conditions of what could be a very physical game and also the coach has to figure out a way to integrate these players without disrupting the chemistry of what has been one of the best teams in all of hockey since the all-star break. Big decisions!

The Core...

The top nine forwards will not be altered. Laviolette does not want to change what has brought the Canes to this point. So Staal, Cole and Samsonov are intact and the same can be said for the Letowski and Aucoin lines. Williams and Whitney will play at full strength with Jeff Hamilton as their center. You can also look for Eric Staal to be double-shifted with 13 and 11.

As far as the power play, Whitney will see time on the first unit, Williams on the second. How much will they play ? That is unknown. Much of this will be determined on how the game goes and  the comfort levels of both players.

Toughness?

Wade Brookbank and Tim Conboy will not be part of this one tonight. The logical question is, have the Canes altered their "hard to play against" mindset. The coach is not worried about this. He does expect a physical game. As far as enforcer Don Brashear, running around, he expects the team's will stick to hockey. He rather go for the offensive options and the potential to out man Washington in a "skill "game. The Canes will be intense, but the conditions will assimilate playoff hockey where four lines of depth become more of a premium. His logic is sound.

On Defense...

Bret Hedican (torso) will be a game time decision. All seven defensemen will take the pre game warm-up and then Bret will have to make a big decision. He can't have any margin of error with his condition because this is game where the Canes can't go down to five defensemen. Six will dress, so it's either Hedican at full strength of Dennis Seidenberg.

Etc...

Forward Joe Jensen will reassigned to Albany later today.

Enjoy this one will be great !