Carolina Hurricanes at Nashville Predators: Preview and Game Night Hub

The Hurricanes will look to keep playoff pace tonight as they take on another one of the Western Conference’s best in Nashville.

Game Notes

• Tonight’s game is the second and final between the two teams this season. The Canes won the first matchup in PNC Arena on January 13th by a score of 6-3 in a game in which Sebastian Aho earned a hat trick.
• The Canes have won five consecutive games against the Predators and are 9-2-1 in their last 12 games in the series.
• The Hurricanes have registered a record of 21-7-2 for 44 points over their last 30 contests. That’s tied for the most wins and second-most points by any team in the NHL since December 31st. They lead the NHL with 109 goals in those 30 games.
• Dougie Hamilton tallied an assist on the team’s loan goal vs. Winnipeg on March 8th and has recorded 19 points (9g, 10a) in his last 29 games after recording 10 points in his first 38.

Stalking the Standings

The Hurricanes did little to help themselves last night, taking an 8-1 beating from the Winnipeg Jets in front of a healthy Friday night crowd in Raleigh. The Capitals picked up a win to further the gap between themselves and Carolina, but the Canadiens took a similar routing at the hands of the Ducks which gives the Canes a little bit of breathing room in the Wild Card race.

• Metro 1: Washington Capitals: 68 GP, 87 points, 105 pt pace, 36 ROW
• Metro 2: New York Islanders: 67 GP, 85 points, 104 pt pace, 35 ROW
• Metro 3: Pittsburgh Penguins: 67 GP, 81 points, 99 pt pace, 35 ROW
• WC 1: Carolina Hurricanes: 67 GP, 79 points, 97 pt pace, 35 ROW
• WC 2: Montreal Canadiens: 69 GP, 79 points, 94 pt pace, 34 ROW
• 9th: Columbus Blue Jackets: 67 GP, 77 points, 94 pt pace, 36 ROW
• 10th: Philadelphia Flyers: 67 GP, 72 points, 88 pt pace, 30 ROW

Tonight’s Rooting Guide

• Avalanche over the Sabres
• No overtime in the Penguins vs. Blue Jackets game
• Flyers over Islanders

Hurricanes Projected Lineup

Micheal Ferland continues to fight through an upper body injury that saw him exit Friday’s game against the Jets in the third period after a hit from Dmitry Kulikov. He did not travel with the team to Nashville, and Warren Foegele will take his place in the lineup. Petr Mrazek is confirmed as the starting goaltender.

Nino Niederreiter - Sebastian Aho - Justin Williams
Warren Foegele - Jordan Staal - Teuvo Teravainen
Andrei Svechnikov - Lucas Wallmark - Jordan Martinook
Brock McGinn - Greg McKegg - Saku Maenalanen

Jaccob Slavin - Dougie Hamilton
Brett Pesce - Justin Faulk
Calvin de Haan - Trevor van Riemsdyk

Petr Mrazek
Curtis McElhinney

Injuries and Scratches: Micheal Ferland (upper body)

Predators projected lineup

The Predators last played on Tuesday night in a win against the Minnesota Wild. Since that game, Filip Forsberg has not participated in a full team practice, though he did take part in the optional skate this morning. Juuse Saros was the first goalie off the ice at practice, though head coach Peter Laviolette has not officially announced tonight’s starter.

Mikael Granlund - Ryan Johansen - Viktor Arvidsson
Calle Jarnkrok - Colton Sissons - Craig Smith
Rocco Grimaldi - Nick Bonino - Wayne Simmonds
Brian Boyle - Kyle Turris - Frederick Gaudreau

Roman Josi - Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm - P.K. Subban
Matt Irwin - Yannick Weber

Juuse Saros
Pekka Rinne

Injuries and Scratches: Matt Donovan (healthy), Filip Forsberg (upper body), Dan Hamhuis (lower body), Zac Rinaldo (shoulder), Miikka Salomaki (healthy), Austin Watson (suspension)