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The Hurricanes ride a four game winning streak and seven wins out of their last eight games into a tough cross-conference matchup against the St. Louis Blues. With the Islanders and Rangers both idle tonight, a Canes win would move them into a playoff spot as 2018 begins.
Vital Statistics
| Category | Hurricanes | Bruins |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Hurricanes | Bruins |
| Record | 8-6 | 11-5 |
| Goals/Game | 2.79 | 3.31 |
| Goals Against/Game | 2.71 | 2.06 |
| Shots/Game | 30.9 | 34.3 |
| Faceoff % | 49.1% | 53.3% |
| Power Play % (Rank) | 10.0% (14) | 31.9% (1) |
| Penalty Kill % (Rank) | 70.8% (14) | 85.7% (4) |
| ES Corsi For % | 55.61% | 51.66% |
| ES PDO | 101.2% | 101.0 |
| PIM/Game | 8:38 | 6:30 |
Goaltender #1
| Category | Petr Mrazek | Tuukka Rask |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Petr Mrazek | Tuukka Rask |
| Record | 5-5 | 11-5 |
| Save % | .894 | .939 |
| GAA | 2.73 | 1.96 |
Goaltender #2
| Category | Curtis McElhinney | Jaroslav Halak |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Curtis McElhinney | Jaroslav Halak |
| Record | 3-1 | 0-0 |
| Save % | .943 | N/A |
| GAA | 1.70 | N/A |
Game Notes
- The Hurricanes trail all-time with a 29-40-1 record against the Blues, including a 12-20-6-1 record in St. Louis.
- Tonight marks the second matchup of the two game series between the teams, the Hurricanes lost on home ice in regulation by a score of 2-1 in October.
- The Canes have earned a point in six of the last seven games played in St. Louis while posting a record of 4-1-2.
- Jeff Skinner has been hot against the Blues in his NHL career, earning 12 points (9g, 3a) and four multi-point nights in 11 career games against St. Louis. Furthermore, Skinner has tallied nine goals in the last nine matchups between these two sides.
- After last night’s victory, the Hurricanes have picked up six straight wins at home and seven out of eight overall.
- North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper was as excited about the win last night as anyone.
Hard hitting, puck battling @NHLCanes beat Pittsburgh and win again! Exciting team. Go see ‘em fans!
— Roy Cooper (@RoyCooperNC) December 30, 2017
Lines and Rosters
Carolina Hurricanes
As a result of the back-to-back set, the Hurricanes did not take a morning skate today. However, after a win last night it’s safe to assume that Bill Peters comes out with the same line combinations. The only difference we should see tonight is in net, with Darling drawing in after Ward’s start last night. Here’s what you can expect:
Sebastian Aho - Jordan Staal - Teuvo Teravainen
Jeff Skinner - Victor Rask - Elias Lindholm
Brock McGinn - Derek Ryan - Justin Williams
Joakim Nordstrom - Josh Jooris - Phil di Giuseppe
Jaccob Slavin - Brett Pesce
Klas Dahlbeck - Justin Faulk
Noah Hanifin - Trevor van Riemsdyk
Cam Ward
Scott Darling
St. Louis Blues
The Blues took a regulation loss from Stars last night in Dallas, so the teams should ideally be on a level playing field tonight in Scottrade Center. It’s interesting to note that starting goalie Jake Allen exited the game last night after a blow to the head. He cleared the concussion protocol and reentered the game. Regardless of Allen’s condition, we can expect Hutton tonight in net on the second half of their back-to-back.
Ivan Barbashev - Brayden Schenn - Vladamir Tarasenko
Alex Steen - Paul Stastny - Tage Thompson
Vladamir Sobotka - Patrik Berglund - Dmitrij Jaskin
Scottie Upshall - Kyle Brodziak - Chris Thorburn
Joel Edmunson - Alex Pietrangelo
Carl Gunnarsson - Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn - Robert Bortuzzo
Carter Hutton
Jake Allen