The Carolina Hurricanes are gaining strength. Goaltender Frederik Andersen is back after having surgery in November.

The veteran netminder suffered a knee injury on Oct. 26 in Seattle and underwent surgery in November. Returning to practice with the team earlier this month, he's now good to go and will play his 500th NHL game this evening. A major milestone for a backstop, Andersen will become just the 84th in NHL history to reach the mark.

The 35-year-old netminder will play in his first game since Oct. 26.

Having snapped a losing skid in their last outing, the last-place Chicago Blackhawks will strive to build off that victory over a top-tier team when they play host to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday.

The Chicago Blackhawks had Mikko Rantanen momentarily in the blockbuster 3-team trade with the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes, but only to retain $4.625 million on his contract. There's still a chance Chicago gets to take a real stab at him in the off-season though.

Bertuzzi has a knack for scoring goals from close to the net. Now, on a line with Connor Bedard, that unique skill is paying off more often.

It was Aho's fourth OT winner of the season (the Canes have four overtime victories and Necas has also assisted on every one as well) and the 15th of his career. Since he entered the league in 2017-18, only Leon Draisaitl (17) has more overtime game-winning goals.

Ryan Henkel ([email protected]) is the Site Editor and Reporter for the Carolina Hurricanes team site with The Hockey News. A resident of Raleigh, NC, Henkel has spent the last four years covering the Canes and in his spare time, likes to cook. You can follow him @RyanHenkel_ on Twitter.

Ryan Henkel ([email protected]) is the Site Editor and Reporter for the Carolina Hurricanes team site with The Hockey News. A resident of Raleigh, NC, Henkel has spent the last four years covering the Canes and in his spare time, likes to cook. You can follow him @RyanHenkel_ on Twitter.

Carolina Hurricanes netminder Frederik Andersen will make his first start since returning from injury in New Jersey on Monday, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

CHICAGO (AP) — Sebastian Aho scored 59 seconds into overtime, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Monday night. Seth Jarvis, Jordan Staal and Jesperi Kotkaniemi also scored for Carolina in its second straight win. Staal picked up his 700th career point in game No. 1,300.

CHICAGO -- Sebastian Aho scored 59 seconds into overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 4-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Monday.