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It’s gameday again for the Carolina Hurricanes, who are in Toronto for a heavyweight battle with the Maple Leafs Thursday night.
The Canes had some good news Wednesday, as both Brendan Smith and Tony DeAngelo practiced with the team. Both have been out since mid February, but Smith said he has been medically cleared to return and Rod Brind’Amour said DeAngelo is a possibility to return for Thursday night’s game against Toronto.
On the other side of the ice, Toronto will be missing its top playmaker in Auston Matthews, who is suspended for the contest. There’s still plenty of talent to go around on that Toronto roster, but missing Matthews will be a tall task for the Leafs.
Another interesting storyline for Thursday will be the return of Frederik Andersen to Toronto with fans in the building. Andersen spent the last five seasons with the Maple Leafs.
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
- Sebastian Aho enters Thursday’s game on a five-game point streak and a three-game goal streak.
- Thursday night will be Steven Lorentz’s 100th NHL game, all coming with the Canes.
- The Canes are 1-0-1 against the Leafs this season. All time, Carolina has a 67-42-11-6 mark against the Maple Leafs and a 34-22-5-3 mark in Toronto.
- The Hurricanes/Whalers are 4-7-0-1 on St. Patrick’s Day. The last time the Canes played on March 17 was 2018, a 4-2 loss to the Flyers. Carolina hasn’t won on St. Patrick’s Day since 2012 against Wild. So much for luck, eh.
- Sebastian Aho is closing in on some bragging rights. With 172 NHL goals, all with the Hurricanes, Aho is just two goals away from tying his head coach’s mark of 174 with the Canes, good for fourth in team history.
- Thursday’s trip to Ontario is the Canes’ last trip to Canada of the season. So far, Carolina is 5-2-1 while north of the border and 10-3-1 overall against Canadian teams.
- The game Thursday against Toronto will be the first game of Carolina’s 11th back-to-back of the season. So far, the Canes are 7-2-1 in the first game.
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