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The Carolina Hurricanes return to PNC Arena tonight to take on the undefeated Dallas Stars in the first of eight match-ups between the clubs this season. The Stars enter the contest as the last undefeated team in the NHL and the Canes will look to put an end to that tonight.
After a gritty 1-0 overtime victory against Tampa Bay on Thursday, the Hurricanes could get some reinforcements soon as Teuvo Teravainen, Jordan Martinook and Warren Foegele are all off the COVID protocol list. However, Rod Brind’Amour said that while they’re cleared to practice, their status for games hasn’t been determined and it’s not clear if they’ll play tonight. Jaccob Slavin and Jesper Fast remain on the list and will not play tonight.
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
- Both Dallas and Carolina have had their schedules tweaked due to COVID-19. With so few games played it is still hard to know what both of these teams will truly look like. Many people have picked Dallas and Carolina to finish 2nd/3rd in the Central Division so these two games could loom large in the standings.
- With back-to-back games against Dallas Rod Brind’ Amour will likely get both goalies in to the action. Despite Petr Mrazek’s dominating shutout of the Lightning on Thursday it would not surprise anyone to see James Reimer take the crease tonight.
- As mentioned above, Jordan Martinook, Teuvo Teravainen, and Warren Foegele have all come off the COVID protocol list and they practiced at PNC Arena on Friday, but their status for tonight’s game hasn’t been determined yet.
- The Hurricanes’ penalty kill currently ranks second in the league at 91.7% while Dallas is right behind them in fourth place at 89.5%. Through four games Dallas’ powerplay is converting an astonishing 52.6% meaning special teams could play a major role in the outcome of the game.
- Dallas has outscored its opponents 19-6 throughout their four games. Joe Pavelski leads the Stars with four goals and nine points while Denis Gurianov is second on the team with seven points. They’ve also had 12 different players score goals already this year. Needless to say, the Hurricanes defense is up against a tall task especially without Jaccob Slavin.