The Carolina Hurricanes have activated forward Jeff Skinner from the injured reserve list for today's 5 p.m. game against the Washington Capitals.

Despite missing 16 games since suffering a concussion Dec. 7, Skinner is still the team's second-leading goal scorer, according to a news release from the Canes.

But the Canes are not lacking punch on offense lately, scoring three goals in the third period last night to beat the 2011 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins 4-2.

NBCUniversal announced today that their ratings-challenged 24-hour cable sports channel Versus will be renamed NBC Sports Network.

The Hollywood Reporter quotes NBC Sports Group chairman Mark Lazarus as saying the switch is more than just a name change for the channel. "It's a complete repositioning of the brand," he said. "We want anyone who comes into contact with any of our assets to immediately connect with the NBC Sports brand promise."

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the changes will include NBC's on-air style and presentation, which emphasizes storytelling and profiles of athletes. They say the goal of the rebranding is to increase the channel's popularity so that they can charge higher per-subscriber fees.

Versus airs a lot of NHL hockey and is a big part of NBC's Olympics coverage. Versus broadcast the 2010 NHL All-Star game, which was hosted by Raleigh.

The change will take place on January 2. 

The NHL All-Star weekend generated an estimated $11.4 million in direct spending in Raleigh and Wake County, according to figures released by the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau this morning.

The figure represents new money coming into the local economy, not money spent by locals during the Jan. 28-Jan 30 festivities.

The bureau also says the weekend produced $49 million in "media value" for the area.

That figure was calculated by Meltwater News, a monitoring and analytics firm based in San Francisco.

Meltwater used readership data from Nielsen to come up with the number.

The All-Star weekend brought an estimated 18,900 visitors from outside of the Triangle to the area and generated 10,551 hotel room nights.
 

The National Hockey League, as part of its multi-faceted sustainability initiative NHL Green, will partner with the Carolina Hurricanes, the City of Raleigh, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Rock & Wrap It Up! and N.C. State University to help ensure this weekend's festivities will be conducted in an environmentally friendly manner.

Players from the Capital City Crew and the Raleigh Youth Hockey
Association will get to learn from two ice hockey icons Saturday when
Willie O'Ree and Tony McKegney visit for a Hockey Is For Everyone
clinic coordinated by the National Hockey League and the Carolina
Hurricanes.

The clinic takes place 4-6 p.m. at the Cary Ice House,
which is located at 1410 Buck Jones Road. Only invited players will be
on the ice, but spectators are welcome. Admission will be free.

O'Ree and McKegney
serve as ambassadors for the NHL's Hockey Is For Everyone Initiative.
In 1958, O'Ree became the first black player in the NHL, and in 1988,
McKegney became the first black player to score 40 goals in a season.

The Carolina Hurricanes played hard and for the most part played well Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Canes banged and hounded the puck. Ray Whitney scored twice and Cam
Ward twice made spectacular saves to deny the Penguins a goal. Carolina
gamely rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the score and force overtime.

But the Hurricanes couldn't finish it off against the Stanley Cup
champions. The Penguins took a 3-2 shootout victory at the RBC Center
on Chris Kunitz' goal.

The Canes fall to the Nashville Predators 4-2 in preseason opener at the RBC Center on Friday, Sept. 18, 2009.

First Look: See staff photojournalist Chris Seward's raw edit of 94 images from the preseason hockey game between the Hurricanes and the Nashville ... more

See photos from the 2009 Friesen's 5K Run With the Canes. Photos by staff photojournalist John Rottet.

Canes prospects get a chance to shine as the conditioning camp at the RecZone in Raleigh begins on Tuesday, July, 15, 2009.