Hello? This thing on? Hurricanes hockey is back! For the first time since ending their 2020 playoff run in the bubble with a game five loss to the Boston Bruins, the Hurricanes will begin the 56-game sprint known as the 2021 regular season in Detroit tonight.
In a bit of an ironic twist, the Canes will begin this regular season where they ended last year’s before the NHL hit pause at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a 5-2 Hurricanes win at Little Caesar’s Arena.
Tonight will begin a season like no other, let’s break down the matchup:
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
- Tonight’s game will be the the first of eight matchups between the Hurricanes and Red Wings this season. As part of the NHL’s new shuffled alignment for the short season, each team will only play in division, with the Hurricanes facing the seven teams in the new Central Division eight times apiece.
- The Hurricanes went 3-0 against the Red Wings last season with the aforementioned 5-2 win to close out the regular season, a 7-3 win in Raleigh on Nov. 1, 2019 and 2-0 win in Detroit on Nov. 24, 2019.
- It’s likely we’ll see Petr Mrazek against his former team in net to kick things off, but we’ll get an official announcement on a starting goalie and lines out of the Hurricanes’ morning skate later. Mrazek went 2-0 against Detroit last year with a .912 save percentage and 2.50 goals against average in two starts last season.
- The Red Wings are obviously coming off an abysmal season, finishing dead last in the 2019-20 regular season, and not much is expected of them this year. But this isn’t a team the Canes are taking lightly, with Detroit featuring some young weapons such as Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha. More than anything, they’re ready to drop the puck after a long layoff and unusual training camp.
- Jaccob Slavin on tonight’s game: “I think they’ve done a pretty good job in the offseason with some of the moves they’ve made. Obviously they’re a young team with a lot of skill. They’ve got a lot of good weapons on the team. I think you’re looking for a team that’s just going to be competitive. We’ve just got to out-work them and out-compete them. I think at the end of the night, it’s just going to be the team who competes better and executes to the best of their ability with it being the first game everyone’s played in a while. It’s all about compete.”
Storm Advisory
- Our staff predictions for the 2021 NHL season
- Canes’ goalie platoon a benefit in unconventional season
- A look at the Canes’ leadership group for this season:
No one better than these 3 pic.twitter.com/DLUcYJW2dG
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) January 13, 2021
- Get to know the Hurricanes’ taxi squad, which will be with the team in Detroit:
Alex Nedeljkovic has cleared waivers and will be assigned to the #Canes taxi squad, which also includes Bean, Geekie, Lorentz, McCormick and Ryan. All six players (third goalie required) are traveling with the team on this trip.
— Michael Smith (@MSmithCanes) January 13, 2021
- With the Canes Sharing an AHL affiliate with Nashville this year, here are the players the Predatros’ organization will be sending to Chicago:
To @Chicago_Wolves:
— On The Future (@OnTheFutureOTF) January 13, 2021
Harper
Jeannot
Malone
McCarron
Novak
Pitlick
Richard
Tomasino
Wilkins
Davies
Harpur
Lewington
Kaskisuo#Preds #MILHockey