Canes defenseman Derek Joslin will play his first game of the season today against the Dallas Stars, replacing Jamie McBain in the lineup, coach Paul Maurice said.
Joslin has been a healthy scratch in the first 13 games, but Maurice said he did not think there would be any significant rust factor.
"He's done it before," Maurice said. "It's not something he's not used to.
"We're expecting a pretty physical game here, a lot of dumped pucks and a lot of traffic in front of our net. Those are all things he can excel at, so it's a good game for him to get in."
McBain was a healthy scratch the first three games of the season as the Canes played rookie Justin Faulk. He has three assists in 10 games, averaging 20:24 in ice time, and a minus-5 rating.
McBain had a minus-3 game against the Philadelphia Flyers, and was minus-4 Friday in the 5-1 loss to the Washington Capitals. He did play reasonably well in the win over Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
Maurice said Cam Ward would start in goal today and was expecting a bounce-back game from him after the loss to Washington. Ward allowed the five goals on 32 shots but Maurice absolved Ward of much of the blame as the Caps hurt the Canes off odd-man rushes.
"I don't know when I went through them that there were any I didn't like on him," Maurice said of the Caps' goals. "It was a tough night for the hockey club."
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at