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Hockey is finally back. After nearly five months of time off due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Hurricanes are ushering in the NHL restart with the first matchup of a five game series against the New York Rangers.
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
- This game will be played 144 days after the Canes’ last game that counted, a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on March 10.
- The Canes will be starting out in this series without a few franchise centerpieces in Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce. Hamilton has been skating in Toronto, and hasn’t been ruled out for the entirety of the series. Pesce didn’t travel to the bubble, but has been reserved a spot on the roster. We likely wouldn’t see him until late September.
- The Hurricanes and Rangers are facing off for their first ever playoff matchup.
- The Rangers swept the 2019-20 season series against the Hurricanes with a 4-0 record. The Canes have a disappointing 56-76-7-9 record against the Rangers in franchise history.
- The Rangers have quite a few familiar faces — their roster includes former Hurricanes Phil Di Guiseppe, Greg McKegg, Julien Gauthier, and former Canes prospect Adam Fox.
- The Hurricanes finished the 2019-20 season eighth in the NHL in power-play percentage (22.3%) and fourth in penalty kill (84.0%). The Canes are one of three teams in the NHL this season to be top 10 in both special teams categories.
Lines and Rosters
Rod Brind’Amour wouldn’t name a starting goalie for today, but we have a good idea of what the remainder of the roster will look like. Martin Necas tweaked something last week, but participated in a full practice yesterday and may draw in this afternoon. Here’s how the Canes lined up in Wednesday’s exhibition game, subject to change if Necas can go.
Carolina Hurricanes
Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Teuvo Teravainen
Nino Niederreiter - Vincent Trochek - Warren Foegele
Ryan Dzingel - Jordan Staal - Justin Williams
Brock McGinn - Morgan Geekie - Jordan Martinook
Jaccob Slavin - Sami Vatanen
Brady Skjei - Joel Edmundso
Jake Gardiner - Trevor van Riemsdyk
Haydn Fleury
Petr Mrazek
James Reimer
New York Rangers
The Rangers come into today’s game looking to build on what was a very positive rebuilding season. They have great goaltending, and one of the best forwards in the NHL in Artemi Panarin. Coupled with a recent history of dominance against Carolina, the Rangers are a very dangerous first round matchup. Here’s how you can expect them to look today.
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Pavel Buchnevich
Artemi Panarin - Ryan Strome - Jesper Fast
Phil Di Guiseppe - Filip Chytil - Kaapo Kakko
Brett Howden - Greg McKegg - Julien Gauthier
Brendan Smith - Jacob Trouba
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
Marc Staal - Anthony DeAngelo
Alexandar Georgiev
Henrik Lundqvist