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Hurricanes at Panthers: Game Preview, Notes, Statistics, How to Watch

The Canes have a seven-game point streak on the line as the team visits south Florida.

By Cody Hagan
Carolina Hurricanes v Florida Panthers Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

Carolina Hurricanes (30-27-13) vs Florida Panthers (31-29-11)
Tuesday, March 21st, 2017 - 7:30 pm ET
BB&T Center – Sunrise, FL
FOX Sports Carolinas, 99.9 The Fan - WRALSportsFan Web and App
SB Nation Rival Blog: Litter Box Cats

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 Cam Ward Steve Mason
Category Cam Ward Steve Mason
Record 26-22-12 32-20-5
ES Save % .910 .919
GAA 2.69 2.66

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 head south in an attempt to get back in the win column and keep a seven-game point streak alive. The team has gone 4-0-3 during those seven games but is coming off an overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.
  • Tonight is the third and final meeting between the Canes and Cats for this season. The Hurricanes won on November 27th and the Panthers won in Florida 3-2 in a shootout on February 28th.
  • Jeff Skinner has taken sole possession of 4th all time (since the team moved to Raleigh) in goals scored with 169 tallies. He passed his former linemate Erik Cole with his goal on Sunday. He is just five goals shy of Rod Brind’Amour and has a good chance to surpass him this season at the rate he is scoring.
  • Another first round pick, Elias Lindholm, has truly come to life in the past month. Scoring points in a career best seven straight contests, Lindholm is finally starting to look worthy of a top-five pick on the offensive production side.
  • Sebastian Aho continues to rank 3rd in the league for rookies with 20 goals scored. He was nipping at Skinner’s heels for a while but it appears Skinner has decided he has to show Aho how it is done for a little while. Aho does have assists in three straight games.
  • In the second game of a four-game road stretch and with 12 games in 21 days, the Canes are not holding practices instead choosing to take off days off. This should hopefully conserve some legs as the team faces an extremely difficult grind to the finish.
  • After Eddie Lack won two games for the Canes last week and looked very good, it will be interesting to see if Bill Peters will go back to him. The alternative is to play Cam Ward, and while he looked good against Philadelphia, he still lost the game. Goaltending tryouts continue for the Canes.
  • The Panthers hold the top ranked penalty kill now at 86.3%. This title was held by the Hurricanes for the vast majority of the season until the trade deadline when Ron Hainsey and Viktor Stalberg were traded away. With both teams being in the bottom portion of the league with their power plays, specials teams could be a deciding factor for whoever can come through.
  • With these two teams tied at 73 points, both are gasping for air in the playoff race as there is a major logjam trying to squeeze in to one position currently held by the Toronto Maple Leafs. A regulation loss for either team could be the final dagger in the bleeding heart that is their playoff hopes.
  • With the significance of this game expect both teams to be physical and come out fast. The Hurricanes must shut down Jaromir Jagr and Vincent Trocheck and the Canes desperately need Skinner, Lindholm, and Aho to continue to put up points if they want to win.
  • For those Caniacs in eastern NC, the Cool Bars tour will be in Greenville tonight. Stop by for your chance to meet Stormy, the Storm Squad, and a chance to win raffle prizes.