After battling their way back from a snowy New Jersey, the Toronto Maple Leafs return home to much nicer conditions as they get set to host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
The Leafs had originally planned to depart right from Newark after their 4-1 win over the Devils on Sunday. They were instead stuck thanks to a snow storm that dumped as much as five feet of snow in some areas and resulted in the Leafs' bus getting stuck on the highway for a few hours. The team flew home Tuesday morning, just in time for a morning skate to get ready for the game against the Hurricanes.
This is the first of four meetings between the two clubs this season. The Hurricanes took three of four from the Leafs last season, including both games in Toronto. Carolina are currently riding a four-game winning streak at the Air Canada Centre.
The Leafs will look to keep the offense alive as they busted out of their three-game losing streak for a 4-1 win over the Devils on Sunday. Colby Armstrong led the way with two goals on Sunday for his first multi-goal game of the season, and first since Mar. 20 of last season. Armstrong's linemate, Kris Versteeg, also had two points on the night with two assists.
Toronto has been forced to make some lineup changes, as centre Tim Brent is out of the lineup due to illness. Taking his place in the lineup will be Joey Crabb who was recalled by the Leafs on Tuesday morning.
In two games with the Leafs earlier this season, the 26-year old Crabb had one assist, with two penalty minutes and a plus/minus of one. In 34 games with the Toronto Marlies this season, Crabb has 11 goals and 18 points with 31 penalty minutes.
Due to the recall, Leafs head coach Ron Wilson has been forced to shuffle his lines. Nazem Kadri has been placed on the fourth line to fill in for Brent and play centre alongside Fredrik Sjostrom and Colton Orr. While Crabb will play on the left wing on the second line with Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel.
Jonas Gustavsson will make his fourth consecutive start in net. Gustavsson looked solid in net against New Jersey, stopping 29 of 30 shots for his fifth win of the season. In three career starts versus the Hurricanes, Gustavsson is 1-1-1 with a 3.25 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
Clarke MacArthur - Mikhail Grabovski - Nikolai Kulemin
Joey Crabb - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel
Kris Versteeg - John Mitchell - Colby Armstrong
Fredrik Sjostrom - Nazem Kadri - Colton Orr
Defence
Francois Beauchemin - Dion Phaneuf
Tomas Kaberle - Luke Schenn
Carl Gunnarsson - Mike Komisarek
Goalies
Jonas Gustavsson
James Reimer
The Carolina Hurricanes come to town having lost three in a row, most recently suffering a 3-2 loss to Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Carolina's three-game losing streak is their longest of the season. A large factor in their struggles as of late has been due to their lack of success on the power play. The Hurricanes went 0-for-4 on the man advantage against Washington, and their power play ranks 26th overall in the league with a success rate of just 15.5 percent. In 12 games since Nov. 26th, the Hurricanes power play has gone an anemic 4-for-41.
Hurricanes captain Eric Staal has been playing well as of late. The Thunder Bay, Ontario native has six points in as many games, and leads the team in goals with 16 and points with 34.
A pleasant surprise offensively for the Hurricanes this season has been the play of rookie Jeff Skinner, who is second on the team in points with has eight goals and 25 points in 34 games. The former Kitchener Rangers forward was drafted seventh overall in this year's draft and is tied for the lead in points by a rookie with Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks.
Cam Ward is expected to make his third consecutive start in net. In 29 starts this season, Ward has posted a record of 14-11-3 with a 2.58 goals-against and a .925 save percentage. In 13 career starts versus the Leafs, Ward is 7-6-0 with a 3.10 GAA and one shutout.
Hurricanes vs. Leafs gets underway at 7pm ET. The game can be seen on Rogers Sportsnet Ontario and FS-Carolina.
Lineup information courtesy: TSN
For up-to-the-minute Leafs news and updates 24/7, be sure to follow Ken Beckett on Twitter @KenBeckett 
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