Quick hits from the morning skate: Canes-Blue Jackets

The Carolina Hurricanes called up forwards Derek Ryan and Sergey Tolchinsky from the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) for their game Thursday against the New York Rangers.

Both played well -- Tolchinsky picking up a point in his NHL debut — in the 4-3 victory, then were sent back to the Checkers and helped them win Friday night against the Texas Stars as Tolchinsky scored off a Ryan pass.

Short two forwards for Saturday’s game against Columbus, the Canes again made callups from Charlotte — this time, Brendan Woods and Brody Sutter.

Ryan is 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds and Tolchinsky listed at 5-8 and 170. Woods is 6-4 and 210 and Sutter 6-5, 203.

Could it be the Canes are expecting more of a heavy, physical game against the Blue Jackets?

“Columbus is a big team,” Canes coach Bill Peters said.

Sutter will center the line, with Woods and Patrick Brown on the wings. Brown, 6-1 and 210 pounds, was recalled March 25 and scored his first NHL goal against the Rangers.

“It’s been a very successful line in the American League and we’ll give it a chance to be successful up here,” Peters said.

The other lines will have Jordan Staal at center with Joakim Nordstrom and Elias Lindholm, Victor Rask with Jeff Skinner and Chris Terry, and Jay McClement with Nathan Gerbe and Brad Malone. Riley Nash, who has missed the past three games with an upper-body injury, was at the skate in a yellow-no-contact jersey.

Forward Phil Di Giuseppe will miss his fifth game with an upper-body injury, but Peters said he did not think Di Giuseppe had suffered another concussion. Di Giuseppe was out six games after a concussion Jan. 2 against Nashville.

Michal Jordan will be the defensive extra against Columbus.

-- Eddie Lack had one of his best games of the season March 24 at Columbus, stopping 42 of 44 shots in a 3-2 victory, and gets another shot Saturday against the Blue Jackets.

“He’s battling down the stretch and worked real hard,” Peters said, noting Lack came in Friday for some extra work with goaltending coach David Marcoux. “He got himself ready. I want our team to play well in front of him and him to just continue what he’s been doing. He’s been real good here for a long time.”

Lack is 12-12-6 with a 2.70 goals-against average and .904 save percentage after posting an 18-13-4 record, 2.45 GAA and .921 save percentage last season with the Vancouver Canucks.

“It really hasn’t gone as I planned it, in my head,” Lack said Saturday. “I’ve been up and down, and I never had that in my career before. It’s something to work on for next year.”

-- Peters said his NCAA brackets had Michigan State winning the NCAA basketball title.

“That was out of loyalty to Roddy and respect for Tom Izzo,” Peters said.

Canes assistant Rod Brind’Amour played college hockey at Michigan State and Izzo is the Spartans’ longtime basketball coach.

That pick didn’t work out so well for Peters, but he said he’ll be pulling for North Carolina — the “local team” — to win Saturday against Syracuse.

“For sure, always,” he said, smiling. “Pulling for the local team here, too.”

-- The Blue Jackets (30-39-8) have lost four straight and five of six, with the victory coming in shootout March 22 against the Flyers. Columbus has scored 11 goals in the six games, going 1-17 on the power play. …

Carolina has won its three games against Columbus this season. … With 16 goals, Justin Faulk has tied Anton Babchuk for most goals by a defenseman in a season since the Hurricanes’ relocation from Hartford in 1997.

This story was originally published April 2, 2016 at 1:16 PM with the headline "Quick hits from the morning skate: Canes-Blue Jackets."