The Pittsburgh Penguins are coming off a 5-4 shootout victory over Columbus on Wednesday, but they will have four players sidelined here at Carolina Friday night. The Penguins were already without defenseman Kris Letang and got hit with injuries to right winger Bryan Rust, defenseman Chad Ruhwedel and goaltender Matt Murray in Wednesday's win.

The Pens have had a disappointing season, particularly on the road and they're just 4-10 in their last 14 road games, including 0-4 in their last four road games vs. a team with a winning home record. The Carolina Hurricanes are a solid 9-4-2 home at PNC Arena on the season, winning each of their last five.

The Pens and the Canes enter this contest tied in points, but Carolina has played two fewer games and so it sits one spot ahead of the seventh-place Penguins in the Metropolitan Division.

This is the first of four meetings this season, with the first three meetings coming within a four-week span. The Pens have owned the series in recent seasons winning seven straight matchups, but the Canes will smell blood here and I think they'll get the job done in front of the home fans in Raleigh.

My NHL Game of the Week is a 10* play on Carolina Hurricanes.