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Boychuk, claimed by the Canes on waivers from Nashville, cleared waivers Saturday and was reassigned by the Canes to the Checkers.

Boychuk, 23, appeared in Carolina’s opener on Jan. 19 against the Florida Panthers and was then a healthy extra for four games before being placed on waivers and subsequently claimed by Pittsburgh on Jan. 31. He played in seven games for the Pens before being acquired on waivers by the Predators on March 5.

Boychuk had 16 goals and 16 assists for the Checkers during the NHL work stoppage.

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The Staal brothers had the visors on Friday for the Canes' practice at Raleigh Center Ice. The decision to use them came after brother Marc Staal of the New York Rangers was hit by a puck in the right eye March 5 in New York.

Marc Staal, who does not use a visor, is sidelined indefinitely but should return this season. He, too, plans to use a visor when he returns.

"It's a decision that's been brewing for a little while," Eric Staal said. "At this point I just feel like the risk (of injury) isn't worth it right now, because of the injuries I've seen to other people in this organization, family.

"Sometimes you feel like you're invincible, but as many guys have seen, you're not. Unfortunately injuries can happen. It's just being smarter. As we've seen in the past when anybody has had an eye injury, they put (a visor) on. So why am I going to wait until that happens to me? Why not put one on now?"

The three Staal brother were able to visit during the Canes' trip to New York early this week for a game against the Rangers. But Eric said the talk didn't turn to the three agreeing to wear visors. It came more after Eric and Jordan talked.

"I wasn't like we talked long. We kind of looked at each other like 'We're got to start wearing one,'" Jordan Staal said. "It was just one of those moments like, 'That's it.'

"It's time and hopefully we'll give it a good, hard shot to keep it on."

Eric Staal has worn a visor when playing for Canada in the 2010 Olympics. The youngest brother, forward Jared Staal of the Charlotte Checkers, wears one as mandated by the AHL.

"I had no problem at all," Eric Staal said of using a visor in the Olympics. "It's something I can wear. It's just a matter of doing it and I'm at that point."

The Canes' next game is Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets. Both Staal should have the new look going.

Nash, 23, is in his third full professional season and registered three goals, three assists (6 points) and a plus-2 rating in 16 games with the Hurricanes since begin recalled from Charlotte on Feb. 18.

Prior to his recall, he had appeared in 50 games with the Checkers, totaling 11 goals and 24 assists (35 points). He still ranks tied for second among Charlotte skaters in assists (24), fourth in points (35) and third in plus/minus (+11).

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Ellis said he suffered a cut on the left leg just below the kneecap that required 17 stitches. He said he kicked himself with his right leg while trying to make a play and was fortunate in the laceration just missed his MCL and a vein.

Rutherford said with Ellis out, the Canes likely would look to recall goalie John Muse from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL.

The Canes have been without No. 1 goalie Cam Ward, who suffered a sprained left knee March 3 against Florida.

Defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti, who sustained an upper-body injury Thursday, is "day to day," Rutherford said. Rutherford said Sanguinetti, who did not return to the game, reaggravated a previous injury.

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After the Canes' 4-1 loss Thursday the New Jersey Devils, Muller had some strong comments about his team.

"I'm not so much concerned about scoring as how we play. I'm disappointed tonight," Muller said. "It's time we don't piggyback off some of the guys who have been playing well all year. We need more effort from some guys. ...

"I think it's unfair for some guys who are pushing every night. I think it's slowly catching up to us. We're not going to accept it. Everyone has to come ready to start pulling their weight here.

"This is adversity for us. Now let's see how we handle it."

Martin Brodeur was back in goal for the Devils. He also had the first goal for the Devils, which says a lot about how the game went for the Devils and the Canes.

The Canes are a team that seems to be losing games and losing its way. They now are winless in their past five games.

Brodeur, making his first start since Feb. 21, was credited with a power-play goal for the Devils (14-11-6) in the first period after the Canes' Jordan Staal banked a pass off the boards, down the ice and into an empty Carolina net. The unusual score came on a delayed penalty against the Devils, as Canes goalie Dan Ellis had vacated the net.

Adam Henrique and Peter Harrold scored for the Devils in the second period as New Jersey took a 3-0 lead, and Andrei Loktionov had a late goal in the third.

The Canes got a power-play goal from Jeff Skinner in the third to trim the lead to 3-1 but Carolina couldn't mount a comeback. Skinner scored his 10th of the season and first in six games on a knuckling shot from the right wing that Brodeur couldn't track.

Ellis left the game in the final minute and was bleeding. Muller had not update on Ellis' injury, or the one to defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti, after the game.

Brodeur, 40, had been out for 24 days because of back pain and numbness in his left arm. After weathering a busy first period -- the Canes had 11 shots -- he settled in and was hardly tested in earning career victory No. 665.

The Hurricanes (15-13-2) had forward Tuomo Ruutu in the lineup for the first time this season. Ruutu, who underwent hip surgery in December, was used mostly on the fourth line but did get in four hits in his 14:20 of ice time.

The Canes came out with jump to start the game, only to have Brodeur's power-play goal give the Devils a 1-0 lead about four minutes into the first.

After the Canes' Alex Semin was called for cross-checking at 3:33, the Devils had the the game's first power play. But the Canes' Pat Dwyer then a shorthanded chance, drawing a hooking penalty on Marek Zidlicky as he drove the net. Brodeur knocked the puck into the right corner, where it was played by Jordan Staal.

Staal's pass from the Canes' offensive zone bounced off the side boards and perfectly angled into a net vacated by Dan Ellis for an own goal.

Brodeur was credited with the goal as the last Devils player to touch the puck. It was his second career regular-season goal and he became the first NHL goalie to score a power-play goal since Evgeni Nabokov in 2002 according to Elias Sports Bureau.

The Devils then surged to a 3-0 lead in the second on goals by Adam Henrique and Peter Harrold as the Canes offense stalled. Both goals came on hard work in front of Ellis.

Brodeur's goal was a stunner -- both for the Canes and the PNC Arena crowd.

The Canes scored a similar goal on Dec. 26, 2011, last season against the Devils at PNC Arena. Cam Ward was credited with an empty net goal when Ilya Kovalchuk sent a pass sailing the length of the ice and into the New Jersey net when the Devils pulled the goalie for an extra attacker.

The Canes outshot the Devils 11-4 in the first. After the Brodeur goal, the Canes fired shot after shot at Brodeur in a torrid sequence but could not score.

The Devils shut down the Canes in the second period, limiting them to three shots. The Canes could not maneuver through the neutral zone and could not maintain possession long enough in the offensive zone to put any heat on Brodeur.

Defenseman Brett Bellemore, recalled Wednesday from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, made his NHL debut for the Hurricanes and may be needed. Defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti left in the third period with an upper-body injury.

The Canes today claimed the forward, a former first-round draft pick, on waivers from the Nashville Predators, bringing him back into the Hurricanes' organization.

It has been some season for Boychuk, 22. He played the season-opener for the Canes, then was a healthy scratch before being placed on waivers Jan. 30. He was claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 31 and played seven games for the Pens, but was acquired March 5 on waivers by the Preds.

Boychuk had one goal and earned one assist in five games with the Predators.

Boychuk began the hockey season with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) and earned 32 points in 37 games. He ranks third in goals and fifth in points among Checkers skaters despite not having played a game with the team since Jan. 11.

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Ruutu, who underwent hip surgery in December, will start on the fourth line to "get his feet wet," Muller said.

"He's excited and he's ready to go," Muller said. "I told him, 'When you feel comfortable let me know.'" He felt comfortable enough this morning and said 'I'm ready.'

"He's excited. The players are excited for him. We'll be a better team with him in the lineup. And the way this year has been, heaving one more healthy body is huge."

Asked how much Ruutu would be used in the game, Muller smiled and said, "He's going to play 30 minutes."

Muller noted with the Canes' schedule and an extended break after tonight's game that this game might be the "right opportunity" for Ruutu to give it a go.

"We'll start him off slowly and kind of monitor it as the game goes on," Muller said.

Ruutu was taken off injured reserve later Thursday. The Canes placed defenseman Joe Corvo on injured reserve.

At the skate, the lines had Eric Staal centering Jiri Tlusty and Alex Semin, Jordan Staal at center with Jeff Skinner and Pat Dwyer, and Riley Nash centering Drayson Bowman and Jussi Jokinen. Tim Brent will have Ruutu and Adam Hall on the wings, leaving Kevin Westgarth and Tim Wallace as scratches.

Dan Ellis will be making his third straight start in net. Martin Brodeur is set to return from an injured back and start for the Devils.

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Bellemore, who has good size at 6-4 and 210 pounds, is in his fourth professional season and will be making his NHL debut. He was a sixth-round pick by the Canes in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Bellemore leads the Checkers in plus-minus (plus-12) and penalty minutes (85) in 62 games this season.

In one other personnel move Wednesday, the Canes placed forward Chad LaRose on injured reserve. LaRose has missed the past nine games with a concussion.

Faulk suffered a second-degree sprain of a medial collateral ligament Tuesday in the game against the Florida Panthers. Faulk made a pass behind the Carolina net and was bumped along the boards by Panthers forward Jack Skille.

The Canes earlier lost goalie Cam Ward to a knee injury, which also was suffered against Florida on March 3 -- and, oddly enough, in a play that involved Faulk and Skille. Ward suffered a third-degree MCL sprain when his left leg was pinned against the post by a sliding Skille and then Faulk tumbled into him.

The Canes already were playing without defenseman Joe Corvo, who will be out another week with a lower-body injury.

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But did.

The Florida Panthers, rested and ready, took a 4-1 victory over the Hurricanes on Tuesday at PNC Arena.

Tomas Fleischmann, Marcel Goc and Shawn Matthias scored third-period goals -- Goc and Matthias on the power play -- for the Panthers (8-16-6). Jerred Smithson added a late empty-netter.

Jacob Markstrom got the job done in net for Florida until Jordan Staal scored with 2:33 left in the third.

The Panthers came into the game off six straight losses, last in the Southeast Division, their season in tatters because of a slew of injuries. The Canes had lost their last three, but picked up a point in a 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Rangers in New York to reclaim the Southeast lead.

The Canes looked a little sluggish, relying too much on goalie Dan Ellis, and lost defensemen Bobby Sanguinetti, Justin Faulk and Tim Gleason to injuries in the first two periods of a scoreless game. Sanguinetti and Gleason, who both were cut, returned to the game but Faulk did not after sustaining a lower-body injury.

In the tird, Fleischmann benefited from a steal by Tomas Kopecky, who picked off a Sanguinetti pass. The Panthers’ score came with 12:21 left in regulation.

The Panthers broke it open after a slashing penalty against Jamie McBain and then delay of game penalty against Jay Harrison for flipping the puck over the glass. Goc tipped the puck past Ellis on the 5-on-3 power play, and Matthias followed with a 5-on-4 goal.

The Hurricanes had offensive chances. Kevin Westgarth had an open net in the first but his attempt found the iron. Early in the second, Drayson Bowman had a breakaway but couldn't control a rolling puck.

Markstrom took it from there for the Panthers, whose last victory came March 3 against the Winnipeg Jets.

The Panthers had a 28-22 shooting edge after two periods, giving Ellis a lot of work. But Ellis, starting for the second straight night, made all the stops until Fleischmann's goal.

Sanguinetti suffered a cut to his face in the first period, Faulk left nine minutes into the second and Gleason was cut by a high stick from Scottie Upshall later in the second.

Sanguinetti, cut above the upper lip after tumbling into the boards with Upshall, was stitched up and returned by the end of the first. Gleason took stitches and returned in the second but there was no immediate report on Faulk.

Upshall received a double-minor for the high stick but the Canes' power play continued to struggle and could not convert. Carolina is 29th in the NHL on the power play.

Both teams had 17 shots and mustered enough decent scoring chances to stress Ellis of the Canes and Jacob Markstrom of the Panthers.

Ellis, starting for the second straight game, made a good save on a Fleischmann shot, off a rebound, in the first minute. Later in the period, he stopped a shorthanded try by Jack Skille and then shots in front of the crease from Tomas Kopecky and Peter Mueller.

Markstrom turned back a shot by an onrushing Eric Staal from the slot a little more than a minute into the game, Staal tumbling over the goalie and into the net. A few minutes later, Westgarth was looking at an open net but banged a shot off the iron.

Forward Tim Wallace was a healthy scratch for the Canes.

Muller said that Ellis, who started Monday in New York against the Rangers, would be in net again tonight against the Florida Panthers at PNC Arena. Ellis stopped 35 of 36 shots in the Canes' 2-1 shootout loss to the Rangers.

In one other lineup note, Muller said forward Tuomo Ruutu remains "day to day" and would not play tonight.

On going with Ellis, Muller said, "I thought he played really well last night. With our schedule, it's one game at a time but just going on a hunch. He looked like he felt good last night, afterwards. He was confident in net.

"We've got tonight and then the next game (Thursday against New Jersey), then we have a big break. I thought he's got the energy for us to go back with him tonight."

Ruutu skated Tuesday morning but Muller said his return to the lineup will be "when he's ready."

"Hopefully he gives us a good three or four days in a row and we can get him ready to go," Muller said.

Muller said he may stick with the lineup he used Monday in New York, although noting he may make a change after the pregame warmup.

Defenseman Joe Corvo, who has a lower-body injury, likely will be out another week, Muller said.

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While losing goalie Cam Ward to a knee injury was a very bad break for the Canes, a season-long problem has been the power play. It's bad and has been bad most of the season. And with the manpower available, it's also baffling.

The Canes are 29th in the NHL at 13 percent, ahead of only Buffalo. They're 16th in power-play opportunities with 100 in 27 games but have scored just 13 times. Carolina has three power-play scores in the past 14 games, going 3-for-44.

Canes coach Kirk Muller believes his players are overthinking -- hesitant at times, a half-beat slow, forcing passes. And captain Eric Staal agrees.

"That's what happens every time you are where we are in the power-play stats -- you start looking at it, you start pressing and you start thinking too much," Staal said. "It almost starts to get in your head, like when you're not scoring goals or creating offense five on five, you start letting it get in your head. The same is true of the power play.

"We've just got to take it game by game and forget everything else and go out there and work as hard as you can, execute, hopefully get a bounce or a break. Slowly build some confidence and get it humming at the right time."

Staal didn't say exactly when the "right time" was, but one guess is, well, now.

Staal said that in the Canes' 2006 Cup run, they were humming along at about 30 percent on the power play in the playoffs. It was a huge weapon.

"Extremely effective," Staal said. "It's just simplified, like everything in the playoffs, so we need to get to that. We've got some time to get there but we can't get frustrated and overthink it because that doesn't do anything."

Muller continues to tweak, looking at different power-play combinations. At Tampa Bay on Saturday, he sent out a first power-play unit of Eric Staal, Jiri Tlusty and Jussi Jokinen, with Joni Pitkanen and Justin Faulk at the points. Jordan Staal worked with Alex Semin and Jeff Skinner as the forwards on the second unit.

The Canes did not have a shot on two power plays. Then again, the Canes did not have a power play until the third period and trailed Tampa 4-0 by then. The Lightning killed off both penalties easily.

What's needed most to improve the power play?

"Just more urgency," Muller said. "We've played pretty well five on five and we have pretty much the same makeup as last year (and) added skill. You can't let it get into your head and get flatfooted.

"It's not rocket science. But our urgency and our tempo are the two areas that have to get higher. And execution."

Muller noted that in the 3-2 loss to Washington on Thursday the Canes seemed able to put 10 passes together five on five. He said they couldn't make two good passes once on the power play, going 0-4 in a one-goal loss where one power-play goal could have deflated the Caps' comeback from a 2-0 first-period deficit.

"Really it's just working and we need to get back to that," Muller said.

The Canes take a two-game losing streak into tonight's game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Dan Ellis is expected to start in goal for the Canes and Henrik Lundqvist for the Rangers, who have lost three straight and reached the danger point in their season.

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"Yep, it's me. The new guy in the room," Ruutu said.

It almost seems that way. Ruutu hasn't played a hockey game for the Canes since April 7, 2012, last season, in the finale at Florida. Undergoing hip surgery in December -- to repair a labral tear, he said -- the forward has spent the past three months rehabbing and was medically cleared this week to return to practice.

Ruutu was at the morning skate Thursday, then at practice Friday, saying he was "a little bit nervous -- excited, but nervous." He went with the Canes to Tampa Bay for Saturday's game against the Lightning, and Canes coach Kirk Muller didn't completely rule out Ruutu and injured defenseman Joni Pitkanen playing on the two-game road trip to Tampa and New York.

"They're close," he said.

Ruutu was working with the fourth line Friday, which is where he might get his start when he does play. But the bigger question is where he will fit into the lineup when Ruutu starts playing like, well, Ruutu.

"It has been a lot of time he's been off, and getting back in this time of year, I think the key is just to get his feet wet ... so he feels comfortable," Muller said. "Then just kind of assess it after wherever that first game is, and start adding to it. I think it's a comfort zone for him, too, mentally to go, 'Hey, I don't want to jump in on a certain line and not be able to (play well) when the team is going well.' It's step by step."

After the Canes traded for Jordan Staal last June, Muller said he might take a look at having Eric and Jordan Staal play together on a line with Alex Semin. The second line could have Jeff Skinner and Ruutu as the wingers with Jussi Jokinen at center.

Muller has said the Ruutu surgery ended any thoughts of a Staal-Staal-Semin line, and he's not about to break up the Jiri Tlusty-Eric Staal-Semin line now. But there would be a Skinner-Jordan Staal-Ruutu line.

"We need to see where (Ruutu) is at," Muller said. "If he comes back and he's playing at the level he's capable of, initially (the second line) is where you have him penciled in.

"Then you go and see the chemistry for all six. There's a few scenarios you look at. But I don't think you do it until you see how he fits in with Jordan and Skinner, and you don't have to disrupt Eric's line, which is going so well. I'd rather just experiment with the second (line)."

Ruutu, 30, said he didn't think he was significantly ahead of schedule on his return, noting getting back to practice and being 100 percent healthy are not the same.

"To be honest, from the beginning the game plan the doctors were talking about was four to six months," Ruutu said. "It's still early. I need to get some practice and see how it goes. I go day by day."

As for where he will be used in the lineup, Ruutu said, "First of all I need to get healthy, then get back to game speed. Then I'll be ready to go. Wherever I play I'm fine with it."

Ruutu is just happy to be back with the guys on the ice, back in the room.

"I love this game so much," he said. "When I come here I'm like in a different world."

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What makes the pickup unusual is that the transaction comes with the Canes in Tampa to play the Lightning tonight. Hall was able to pack up his gear in the home locker room and walk down the hall to the visitors' room, and could be competing against his former teammates tonight.

Hall, 32, has appeared in 20 games for the Lightning this season, registering four assists. Listed at 6-2 and 212 pounds, he ranks first among Lightning skaters in face-off winning percentage (56.4%) and tied for third on the team in penalty minutes (23). He led the Bolts in hits (152) and face-off percentage (55 percent) last year.

Originally selected by the Nashville Predators in the second round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Hall has 65 goals, 82 assists (147 points) and 259 penalty minutes in 585 career NHL games with Nashville, the New York Rangers, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay.

Hall has appeared in 49 career Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Predators, Wild, Penguins and Lightning, totaling seven goals, six assists (13 points) and 25 penalty minutes.

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After Ruutu underwent hip surgery in December, it was believed he might need until the end of April to recover. General manager Jim Rutherford said then that Ruutu likely would miss the regular season but could return for the playoffs.

But Rutherford said this week that March 15 was the date doctors will decide if Ruutu can be cleared to return to practice. And Canes coach Kirk Muller said Sunday that once he's back in practices it may not take long for him to be ready to play.

"Hopefully by next week we get the green light from him," Muller said. "I think it will start off as team practices, then physical contact. He's a guy who has kept himself in pretty good shape. I think once it starts, as far as practices, I don't think he's too far off.

"If he feels good, you could see him being ready to get in the lineup. I don't know how long it will take but I don't think it will take too long."

Ruutu did some early skating Sunday before the Canes' closed practice for the team's full season-ticket holders. Also skating was defenseman Joni Pitkanen, who remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Jiri Tlusty scored twice and had an assist for the Canes (14-9-1). Alex Semin had a goal and two assists, and Eric Staal two assists as the Hurricanes' big line continued to pile up points. Not to be forgotten: Dan Ellis had a big part in the win with 31 saves in net.

Bu everyone was talking about Terry's goal, his moment, after his NHL debut.

"It was a pretty special moment," Terry said. "The first shift was nice. Big crowd and lot of excitement. I got my legs under me and was fortunate enough to find the back of the net.

"It was kind of a blur for me after I scored. I didn't know what to do. But it was definitely an exciting moment."

The Canes led 2-1 after the first on a power-play goal by Semin and then even-strength goal from Jay Harrison, then scored three times in the second.

Tlusty made it 3-1 at 4:42 of the second, scoring off the rush on a perfect pass from Semin, then Terry struck.

Terry whacked the puck away from defenseman Adam Larsson in front of the net, took a shot, then stuffed the puck past fallen goalie Johan Hedberg at 11:09. Terry was recalled Friday from the Charlotte Checkers (AHL).

Terry became the first Canes player to score in his NHL debut since Brad Fast on April 4, 2004, against Florida.

Jeff Skinner made it 5-1 late in the second. After a shot off the post, Skinner and the Canes kept the puck in the zone and Skinner reached out to tip the puck past Hedberg for his ninth of the season.

Hedberg was lifted for Jeff Frazee after the second and the Devils made a big push early in the third. Ilya Kovalchuk, who scored a shorthanded goal in the first, scored 22 second into the final period and Patrik Elias then scored on a top to pull New Jersey within 5-3 at 4:21 of the third.

Canes coach Kirk Muller used his timeout at that point.

"We've got a lot of young guys and we're playing a team that just came off the Stanley Cup finals (last season)," Muller said. "They came after us with a playoff mentality and we just said, 'Hey, this is a learning experience again.' We said, 'Settle down, let's go back to playing our game and increase the tempo.'

"After that I thought we calmed down and got playing again and pulled it off for a big win."

With a little less than seven minutes left in regulation, Ellis made a lunging stop of a shot by former Hurricanes forward Tom Kostopoulos.

Semin and Jay Harrison scored goals 28 seconds apart for the Canes in the first period. but Kovalchuk answered with a shorthanded goal for the Devils.

Semin scored a power-play goal at 12:16 of the first after a pass from Joe Corvo long the left boards. Semin made a quick deke and knocked a backhander past Hedberg for his seventh of the season.

Just 28 seconds later it was 2-0, Canes. On a rush into the Devils zone, Jordan Staal put a shot on net that Hedberg stopped, the puck bouncing into the slot. Jeff Skinner got a piece of the puck with a skate and an onrushing Harrison rammed it in for his fourth goal of the season.

The Canes soon were on the power play again after Patrik Elias high-sticked Semin at center ice. The Canes' Justin Faulk was open on a backdoor play but fanned on the puck, then later had a shot from the point blocked by Kovalchuk.

Kovalchuk was off on a breakaway and ripped a shot by Dan Ellis' glove for the shorthanded score -- the Devils' league-best seventh of the season and Kovalchuk's third shorty of the season.

Faulk ended a rough first period by taking a tripping penalty at 17:01 but the Canes were able to kill it off.

It's the first time since March 2000 that neither the Canes' Cam Ward nor the Devils' Martin Brodeur have been in goal for a Carolina-New Jersey game.

Ellis had 11 saves in the opening period and 22 stops through two periods.

There's all the ups and downs, the side-to-side movement, the squatting and ... well, you get the idea. It's tough. Just ask Dan Ellis.

"With the forwards or D, you can manage the workload a little bit and maybe miss a few shifts here and there," Ellis said today. "With a goalie that's impossible. You've got to play the 60 minutes and you don't know if it's going to be a high-shot game or low-shot game.

"There's so much that's out of your control and when you're not feeling well, when you don't have energy to make your pushes and stay on your feet. ... When you're a half-second slow in the NHL, that's not good for a goalie."

Ellis will start tonight against the New Jersey Devils after serving as the backup the past two games as he continued to recover from the flu. He was to have started the game last Sunday in Florida but fell ill a few hours before game time.

Cam Ward started against the Panthers, only to suffer a serious sprain of his left knee midway through the second period. Ellis, sick as he was, gutted it out and finished the game, stopping 19 of 21 shots in a 3-2 win.

"I felt like puking most of that game," Ellis said. "The flu, once it zaps your energy and once it causes nauseousness, it's not a good combination. But that was a situation where you know you have to play, and it was only half a game."

Justin Peters has started the past two games -- the 4-3 win over Buffalo and a 4-2 loss Thursday to Montreal. Now, it's Ellis' turn again.

"Ellis has played really well for us this year," Canes coach Kirk Muller said today. "Peters has been up before and so the guys are familiar with him. Both have the personalities that the guys want to play hard for and do well for. Ellis has the chance to get in tonight and I think the guys are ready to play for him again."

The Canes beat the Devils 4-2 on Dec. 12 in Newark with Ward facing off against Martin Brodeur. With Brodeur still out with a back problem, Johan Hedberg will start for the Devils -- the first time since March 21, 2000 that neither Ward nor Brodeur were in net for the game.

Centers Riley Nash and Tim Brent will return to the Canes' lineup -- Nash missing the Montreal game with an illness and Brent coming off injured reserve on Friday. Nash will center the third line with Pat Dwyer and Chris Terry, who was recalled Friday from the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) and will be making his NHL debut.

"He's been scoring, he's been producing. He deserves a shot," Muller said of Terry.

Having Nash and Brent back allows Muller to use Jussi Jokinen on the right side of Jordan Staal's line opposite Jeff Skinner. The fourth line will have Brent centering Drayson Bowman and Tim Wallace.

Muller said defenseman Joni Pitkanen did some skating on his own Saturday before the morning skate and his status remains "day to day." Winger Chad LaRose continues to be sidelined with a concussion.

Terry, 23, leads all Checkers skaters this season with 22 goals and 46 points, and is tied for the team lead with 24 assists while playing in 55 of the team’s 58 games.

Terry led Charlotte in assists (43) and points (59) in 2011-12, and has scored 89 goals and earned 127 assists (216 points) in 290 career AHL regular-season games with Albany and Charlotte.

It's the 10th season the Hurricanes have hosted Military Appreciation Night to thank servicemen and women for their contributions, as well as raising awareness about the branches of the military.

For the first time, the Hurricanes will wear special jerseys honoring the military during pregame warm-ups, which begin at 6:30 p.m. The camouflage jerseys will be auctioned off, with the proceeds being split between the Kids 'N Community Foundation and the USO of North Carolina.

The sweaters worn by Tim Gleason and Jay Harrison will be auctioned off during the game at the Kids 'N Community Foundation in-game auction located outside of section 129. The auction will end during the 2nd intermission, and the winner of each jersey will receive a meet-and-greet with the players following the game.

Before the game there will be a display of military equipment on PNC Arena’s south plaza, including a variety of vehicles from branches of the military. Inside PNC Arena, some branches of the military will have tables set up on the main concourse.

The color guard will be presented the XVIII (18th) Airborne Corps Color Guard from Fort Bragg with soldiers from the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade. The national anthem will be performed by The Guardsmen, an ensemble comprised of members of the 440th Army Band. During the game, various active, reserve and retired members of the military will be recognized.

The evening also will include a ceremonial puck drop and a swearing-in ceremony for the U.S. Army.

Ruutu has not played this season after undergoing hip surgery in December. It initially was believed he would not be able to return until late-April.

"March 15 is a critical date in terms of him getting (medical) clearance," Rutherford said.

In looking at the Canes, who lead the Southeast Division, Rutherford said he likes the group of forwards. Riley Nash has played well as the third-line center after being called up from the Charlotte Checkers (AHL), allowing Jussi Jokinen to shift to the wing, although Nash missed Thursday's game with the flu.

Alex Semin has a one-year, $7 million contract with the Hurricanes and has exceeded expectations, Rutherford said. He said there would be no contract negotiations with Semin until after the season.

"We hope that he's here a long period of time," Rutherford said. "We did not think of this as a passing thing. We said when we signed him that we liked him and wanted to see how he fit the team. We have been very pleased and hope to re-sign him."

The NHL trade deadline is April 3 and Rutherford said the Canes could look to upgrade its defense. "But that's like every other team in the league," he said.

Rutherford believes Dan Ellis and Justin Peters are capable of handling the goaltending until Cam Ward recovers from a sprained knee. Rutherford said the Canes might look to sign a goaltender but only to add depth at the position.