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The Carolina Hurricanes looking to build on a sloppy 6-5 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets last night. This game will likely feature the number three goalies for both teams. That means Alex Nedeljkovic should be making his first start of the season for the Canes. This is Ned’s first start since last season when he had a four-game stretch in late February and early March.
The last game was the first game since opening night that they had all of their skaters back out on the ice, tonight will be the first time they can build on that momentum. Speaking of new rosters, it certainly seems like it didn't take Patrick Laine long to fit in with his new teammates. He had two goals last night with his new team.
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 refereeing will be very interesting in this game. The league admitted that the Canes were erroneously awarded a goal and the only repercussion was losing power-play time, lets see how this plays out tonight.
- What’s weird about all of this is they created a challenge system to prevent bad calls from changing the game. But when you introduce a punishment like a delay of game penalty for getting it wrong and you STILL get it wrong, how do you fix this, and how do all NHL officiating inconsistencies get fixed?
- Dougie Hamilton has had a relatively quiet start to the season, mainly because he has just one goal. However, he has eight points in nine games and is buzzing. The Canes should keep looking to him in the offensive zone because he has been making an impact.
- Patrick Laine’s 2.14 G/60 ranks ninth of all players who have played four or more games. His play certainly reminds one of Alex Ovechkin and his clap bombs from the office on the power play.
Reading Assignments:
- Canes come out ahead in offensive battle in Columbus
- They said it: Brind’Amour, Staal, Pesce and Dzingel on win in Columbus
- Despite not being in an active rebuild, the Carolina Hurricanes prospect pool ranks fifth in the NHL. [$The Athletic]
Peter Chiarelli signing Mikko Koskinen to a three-year contract extension for no discernable reason and then getting fired two days later remains a pretty funny chain of events.
— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) February 7, 2021
- Laine on officiating: “It's the biggest joke I’ve ever seen” [Sportsnet]
- Pierre-Luc Dubois practices with his new team for the first time. [NHL]
The first #Canes defenseman to score a goal this season: Brett Pesce.
— Michael Smith (@MSmithCanes) February 7, 2021
Nice work down low by Jordan Martinook to hound the puck and move it up to the point. pic.twitter.com/enMAsbPwZc
- NHL announces changes for 27 games in the East Division following multiple COVID breakouts. [NBC Sports]
- The Super Bowl happened last night