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The Hurricanes come off of a successful 5-2 home stand and head back on the road tonight for the first time in more than two weeks to take on their rivals, the division-leading Washington Capitals.
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
- The Hurricanes and Capitals are playing in their fourth and final regular-season matchup tonight. Carolina holds a 2-1-0 record against Washington this year.
- The Caps traveled to Raleigh twice during the Canes’ recent homestand, splitting the two games. The Hurricanes won the December 28 matchup 6-4 behind a three-point night from Washington mayor Warren Foegele, but the Caps got their revenge six days later when they took a 4-3 decision.
- Petr Mrazek will likely get the call in net tonight, three days after whitewashing the Arizona Coyotes for his third shutout of the season. The next night, James Reimer repeated the feat in a blanking of the Los Angeles Kings, giving the Canes two goalies with three shutouts apiece in the same season for the first time in franchise history.
- On December 5, 2015, Jaccob Slavin was a healthy scratch against the New Jersey Devils. He’s played in every game since, and the alternate captain will record his 349th consecutive game tonight, tying Eric Staal for second in franchise history. It’s the seventh-longest active ironman streak in the NHL, and leaves him 70 games behind the franchise record holder, Dave Tippett, who Slavin is on pace to catch in December of next season at 419 consecutive games.
- Dougie Hamilton’s next point will do two things: it will increase the cost of the current ticket promotion celebrating his All-Star nod, and it will mark his 300th career point. Not only is he the leader from his draft class among defenseman scoring, his 299 career points more than double the total of any other blueliner from the 2011 draft class: Oscar Klefbom is second with 149, 150 points behind Doogie.
Storm Advisory
- If you didn’t see this coming, you’re not alone: the Devils “parted ways” with GM Ray Shero prior to their game last night. Huh?! [All About The Jersey]
- It’s not a good look for an ownership group that signed off on trading Taylor Hall, seemingly giving Shero room to run the rebuild, then abruptly shifted course a month later. [The Athletic ($)]
- Life comes at you fast:
Just landed. When I got on the plane, the Chiefs were down 21-0 and Ray Shero was GM of the Devils.
— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) January 13, 2020
- The First Fan seems to have enjoyed the last few weeks:
Nice home stand by our @Canes. Double Barrel Goaltending, innovative surges, JW return, stretched the wild card lead, my chance to sound the siren (lifetime 2-0 record) and a little green. Solid.
— Roy Cooper (@RoyCooperNC) January 12, 2020
- Yeah so maybe all the dirt poured on the grave of Ilya Kovalchuk’s NHL career was a bit premature. [Eyes On The Prize]
- Last season the NHL included Kendall Coyne Schofield in the fastest skater competition on All-Star weekend. This year, they’re going one further and including a full 3-on-3 women’s game. [ESPN]