Franzen finally ready for Canes debut

With just 18 games remaining in the regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes are finally getting one of their top forwards back in winger Johan Franzen. The timing of the return could not be any better, with the Canes losing four of their last five games, including a trip to California that saw the team get shut out by both the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks.

Franzen has not appeared a game this season after suffering a high ankle sprain during a pre-season game for the Hurricanes on February 20.

"It was frustrating for sure after all the excitement about the beginning of the EHE," Franzen said Thursday. "I can't wait to get out there and play my game." Franzen continued on to give a few more generic hockey responses during the post-practice media scrum.

The 35-year-old Swede traveled with the team during the California leg of its most recent road trip. However, head coach Lindy Ruff made the decision to hold Franzen out of the lineup.

"It's easy to look back at those two shutout losses and say that we should have put him in the lineup," Ruff said after the loss in Anaheim on Tuesday. "Ankle sprains can be a nuisance and we'd rather keep him out a couple extra games than lose him for the playoffs because we rushed him."

Franzen is expected to make his season debut tonight as the Hurricanes return home to face the Edmonton Oilers. His return comes at the expense of fellow Swedish winger Carl Hagelin, who was injured Tuesday's game and will be out for up to two weeks with an upper body injury.

Like the Hurricanes, the Oilers come into tonight's game having lost four of their last five games, themselves. They are currently tied for 8th in the tightly-contested Gretzky Conference. The Hurricanes have fallen to 5th in the Lemieux Conference.

Tonight's expected starters -
Alex Stalock (CAR), Ondrej Pavelec (EDM)