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The Hurricanes kick off the season series against the Minnesota Wild this afternoon as they look to build on a modest two game winning streak, in an afternoon matinee that is the midpoint of their three-game road swing.
Vital Statistics
| Category | Hurricanes | Blue Jackets |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Hurricanes | Blue Jackets |
| Record | 21-7-3 | 13-13-7 |
| Goals/Game | 3.23 | 2.54 |
| Goals Against/Game | 2.48 | 3.12 |
| Shots/Game | 31.52 | 28.70 |
| Face Off Win % | 54.4% | 46.2% |
| Power Play % (Rank) | 30.6% (1st) | 14.8% (26th) |
| Penalty Kill % (Rank) | 82.9% (9th) | 74.0% (26th) |
| ES Corsi For % | 53.04% | 46.16% |
| ES PDO | 100.96 | 99.42 |
| PIM/Game | 07:21 | 06:43 |
Goaltender #1
| Category | James Reimer | Joonas Korpisalo |
|---|---|---|
| Category | James Reimer | Joonas Korpisalo |
| Record | 12-4-1 | 8-10-5 |
| Save % | 0.909 | .900 |
| GAA | 2.68 | 2.98 |
Goaltender #2
| Category | Alex Nedeljkovic | Elvis Merzlikins |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Alex Nedeljkovic | Elvis Merzlikins |
| Record | 7-2-2 | 5-3-2 |
| Save % | .930 | .912 |
| GAA | 1.96 | 2.91 |
Game Notes
- Tonight’s matchup is the first of two between the Hurricanes and Wild this season. The Wild will be in Carolina to round out the series on December 7th.
- The Hurricanes swept the season series last year, posting a 2-0-0 record (Wild: 0-1-1).
- Sebastian Aho has been traditionally hot against the Wild, picking up eight points (2g, 6a) in six career games against Minnesota.
- Jordan Martinook was activated in the Hurricanes lineup after missing 15 games with a core muscle injury that required surgery. Here’s a snippet with him from yesterday’s practice.
- With Martinook’s reactivation, the Hurricanes have placed Brian Gibbons on waivers. If he’s unclaimed, he will return to Charlotte today. (Update: he was indeed unclaimed, so he has been sent to the Checkers.)
- Today is Nino Niederreiter’s first trip back to Minnesota since the trade last February that brought him to the Hurricanes in exchange for Victor Rask. Niederreiter spent five seasons with the Wild, making the playoffs every year.
Lines And Rosters
Here is how the Canes should line-up in Minnesota:
Ryan Dzingel - Jordan Staal - Warren Foegele
Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Teuvo Teravainen
Nino Niederreiter - Lucas Wallmark - Martin Necas
Brock McGinn - Erik Haula - Jordan Martinook
Jaccob Slavin - Dougie Hamilton
Joel Edmundson - Brett Pesce
Jake Gardiner - Haydn Fleury
James Reimer
Petr Mrazek
Injuries and Scratches: Trevor van Riemsdyk (healthy)
The Wild have had a slow start this season, sitting at the bottom of the Central Division standings and 26th and 24th in Goals For and Goals Against, respectively. Here’s how they’ll line up today.
Jason Zucker - Eric Staal - Mats Zuccarello
Zach Parise - Mikko Koivu - Kevin Fiala
Jordan Greenway - Joel Eriksson Ek - Luke Kunin
Ryan Donato - Victor Rask - Ryan Hartman
Ryan Suter - Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin - Matt Dumba
Carson Soucy - Brad Hunt
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock