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First place in the Metropolitan Division is up for grabs in Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon, as the Canes and Penguins come into a matinee meeting both sitting at 70 points (though the Canes have three games in hand).
If it feels like it’s been awhile since you’ve seen the Pens, that’s because it has been. With Sunday’s matchup the first of the year between the division foes, this is the first time the Hurricanes and Penguins are meeting since March of 2020.
It’s also the first game of a very odd back-to-back for the Canes, who will follow up a Sunday afternoon tilt in Pittsburgh with a rare Monday afternoon appearance in Philadelphia.
For the Canes, Pittsburgh native Vincent Trocheck is a question mark for the road trip, with Rod Brind’Amour saying Saturday he was “hopeful” Trocheck would be able to go without knowing any real update.
Vital Statistics
| Category | Hurricanes | Bruins |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Hurricanes | Bruins |
| Record | 54-20-8 | 51-26-5 |
| Goals/Game | 3.38 | 3.08 |
| Goals Against/Game | 2.44 | 2.66 |
| Shots/Game | 34.12 | 36.12 |
| Face Off Win % | 53.9% | 54.2% |
| Power Play % (Rank) | 22.0% (13th) | 21.2% (15th) |
| Penalty Kill % (Rank) | 88.0% (1st) | 81.3% (9th) |
| ES Corsi For % | 43.86% | 56.14% |
| ES PDO | 113.44 | 86.56 |
| PIM/Game | 12:00 | 22:00 |
Goaltender #1
| Category | Frederik Andersen | Linus Ullmark |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Frederik Andersen | Linus Ullmark |
| Record | 35-14-3 | 26-10-2 |
| Save % | .922 | .917 |
| GAA | 2.17 | 2.45 |
Goaltender #2
| Category | Antti Raanta | Jeremy Swayman |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Antti Raanta | Jeremy Swayman |
| Record | 15-5-4 | 23-14-3 |
| Save % | .912 | .914 |
| GAA | 2.45 | 2.41 |
Game Notes
- The Canes and Penguins are meeting for the first time since March 8, 2020. That game, the penultimate for Carolina before the 2020 season was shut down, was a 6-2 Canes win featuring goals from Morgan Geekie (x2), Jaccob Slavin, Jake Gardiner and Justin Williams (x2). Times have certainly changed.
- Carolina is 65-68-11-7 all time against the Penguins, and 29-36-6-4 in Pittsburgh.
- Sunday will be Nino Niederreiter’s 700th NHL game.
- Antti Raanta is one win away from 100 in his NHL career. He’ll likely have the opportunity to get that at some point in the next two days.
- Derek Stepan is sitting at 499 NHL points, a number he’s been at for the last four games.
Lineups
Carolina Hurricanes
Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Teuvo Teravainen
Steven Lorentz - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Martin Necas
Nino Niederreiter - Jordan Staal - Jesper Fast
Jordan Martinook - Derek Stepan - Seth Jarvis
Jaccob Slavin - Tony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei - Brett Pesce
Ian Cole - Brendan Smith
Antti Raanta
Frederik Andersen
Injuries and Scratches: Ethan Bear (healthy), Vincent Trocheck (upper body, game-time decision)
Pittsburgh Penguins
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen - Evgeni Malkin - Jeff Carter
Brock McGinn - Evan Rodrigues - Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Aston-Reese - Brian Boyle - Dominik Simon
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - John Marino
Mike Matheson - Chad Ruhwedel
Tristan Jarry
Casey DeSmith
Injuries and Scratches: Mark Friedman (healthy), Radim Zohorna (healthy), Jason Zuker (core), Teddy Blueger (jaw), Louis Domingue (lower body), Drew O’Connor (upper body)
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