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The Hurricanes take on the Penguins on the second half of a back-to-back set in a game with heavy playoff implications for both teams. A Hurricanes win would tip the season series in Carolina’s favor, and a regulation win would propel them to a tie for the 3rd Metropolitan playoff spot. However, a loss would give Columbus or Montreal the opportunity to gain valuable ground.
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
- Tonight’s game is the fourth and final matchup between the two teams this season. The Hurricanes lead the season series with a record of 2-1-0 (PIT 1-1-1).
- The Penguins picked up a shutout win in Carolina in December. The Hurricanes returned the favor in February with a shutout win in enemy territory of their own, and picked up a shootout win in Raleigh a few weeks ago.
- A Hurricanes win in any fashion would ensure them the head-to-head tiebreaker between the teams if it came to that. If the Penguins win in regulation, the head-to-head tiebreaker would be deadlocked.
- The Penguins currently sit in the third Metropolitan Division playoff spot with 95 points, while the Hurricanes are close behind with 93 and one more ROW win. A win in regulation would leapfrog the Hurricanes over the Penguins today into the top three in the Metro.
- With Kiss playing in PPG Paints Arena last night, the Hurricanes had nowhere to air out their gear last night when they arrived in Pittsburgh. It ended up in enemy territory over night.
There was a concert in the building last night. They used the visiting lockerroom so we put Carolina’s gear in our room to dry. It will get packed up and moved over to the visiting lockerroom shortly. pic.twitter.com/r4TMSNQTAq
— Dana Heinze (@RealDanaHeinze) March 31, 2019
Projected Lineups
After a successful effort yesterday afternoon, it’s safe to assume we’ll be seeing the same lines and pairings. With Mrazek playing yesterday against his former team, Curtis McElhinney, who shut the Penguins out in this arena in February, is the confirmed starter for today’s matchup.
Hurricanes
Nino Niederreiter - Sebastian Aho - Justin Williams
Andrei Svechnikov - Jordan Staal - Teuvo Teravainen
Micheal Ferland - Lucas Wallmark - Jordan Martinook
Warren Foegele - Greg McKegg - Brock McGinn
Jaccob Slavin - Dougie Hamilton
Brett Pesce - Justin Faulk
Calvin de Haan - Trevor van Riemsdyk
Curtis McElhinney
Petr Mrazek
Injuries and scratches: Saku Mananlanen (healthy)
Penguins
The Penguins are still short up the middle with Evgeni Malkin out nursing an upper-body injury. It’s likely that we’ll be seeing Matt Murray tonight, who last played Friday night against Nashville in a Penguins loss.
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Jared McCann - Teddy Blueger - Phil Kessel
Dominik Simon - Nick Bjugstad - Patric Hornqvist
Adam Johnson - Matt Cullen - Garrett Wilson
Olli Maatta - Brian Dumoulin
Jack Johnson - Justin Schultz
Marcus Pettersson - Erik Gudbranson
Matt Murray
Casey DeSmith