Petr Mrazek will start in goal for the Carolina Hurricanes versus the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 on Thursday night, head coach Rod Brind'Amour confirmed to reporters.

Alex Nedeljkovic had started Carolina's eight previous playoff games so far, posting a .920 save percentage and 2.18 goals against average.

"Ned's been great, that's not really the issue," Brind'Amour said, according to the Raleigh News & Observer's Chip Alexander. "We're going to need everybody as fresh as possible to get a victory."

Mrazek missed much of the regular season due to injury but was reliable when healthy. The 29-year-old had a .923 save percentage in 12 appearances.

The Hurricanes are in desperate need of a win after dropping the opening two games of the series to the defending champions.

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