Carolina Hurricanes vs. New Jersey Devils: Game Preview and Storm Advisory

The Hurricanes return home tonight following a 2-2 road trip that dropped them out of a playoff spot. They will face a struggling New Jersey Devils team tonight in the first of two games at home this weekend.

Game Notes

• The Hurricanes and Devils are meeting for the second of four matchups this season. The Hurricanes will travel to Prudential Center twice in March to round out the season series.
• The Devils picked up the first game in the season series with a 5-3 win on November 2nd in Raleigh. Erik Haula led the charge for the Hurricanes with a goal and an assist, while Warren Foegele and Teuvo Teravainen also picked up goals. James Reimer made 21 saves in the loss.
• Petr Mrazek owns an impressive 5-2 record against New Jersey with an aggregate .922 Save Percentage and a 2.03 Goals Allowed Average.
• Sebastian Aho picked up a goal in Tuesday night’s loss in Dallas, extending his goal streak to six games and his point streak to seven games. His goal streak is the longest of his career, and is tied with three others for the longest goal streak in team history. His 31 goals on the season is a career best for him, surpassing his 30 goal high water mark in just 56 games.
• Andrei Svechnikov recorded an assist in Dallas to extend his point streak to five games. He’s now recorded 52 points (22g, 30a) in 56 games, and has earned at least a point in 26 of the Hurricanes 32 wins this season.

We Interrupt This Preview For A Special Announcement

Hey y’all, Brian here. One of the things I’ve wanted to do for a long time and never got around to actually doing is having a watch party where we can all hang out, watch a Canes road game, drink the beverage of your choice and, most importantly, put faces to the screen names you see every day on Canes Country.

I’m happy to announce that, better late than never, we’ll be doing just that. Next Saturday, February 22, join us at Buffalo Brothers on Lake Boone Trail to watch the Canes take on the Maple Leafs. It’s totally informal - just drop by for a little while, put on a name tag, grab a drink and watch some hockey. Buff Bros will have drink specials: $3.50 pints of Storm Brew (or $6 for a two-pint pitcher), $4 Blue Moon pints and craft beer cans or bottles, and $5 glasses of Crown Royal.

All we ask is that you let us know, preferably by Tuesday, that you’re planning to come by heading over to Eventbrite. There’s no cover charge or anything; this is totally free and we’re only doing this so we can give Buffalo Brothers a headcount of how many to expect. It’s not an ironclad reservation or RSVP.

If you have any questions, shoot us an email at sbncanescountry at gmail dot com. We hope to see you next Saturday!

Storm Advisory

• This is pretty awesome.

• Scotty McCreery made an appearance on Sports Channel 8 to defend his appearance in a Golden Knights jersey last weekend.

• Could the Sabres be a trade partner in the Canes’ search for a defenseman? [Die By the Blade]
• Zdeno Chara was fined $5,000 for his cross check on Brendan Gallagher earlier this week.

• Speaking of suspensions:

• The Ducks and Flames honored Jay Bouwmeester before their game last night.

• If you haven’t had a chance to take the survey, here’s the link again: