:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70578464/1137361360.0.jpg)
After an embarrassing game last night on national television, the Carolina Hurricanes will return home tonight to take on their divisional rival the Pittsburgh Penguins in their second match-up of the season.
The Penguins are in the exact opposite position entering tonight than Carolina is coming off a 5-1 throttling of the Lightning last night. Tristan Jarry stopped 20 shots and five different skaters notched a goal for the Pens. Pittsburgh has now won three in a row and trail the Hurricanes by just three points in the Metro Division although Carolina still has two game in hand.
In their first contest of the year Carolina came out on top 4-3 on February 20th. You may remember the Canes scored twice in the opening nine seconds of a period when Jordan Staal and then Jesper Fast scored early in the 2nd and 3rd periods respectively.
After their unusual night last night in Washington the Hurricanes will look to right the ship and stretch their lead in the Metro Division in front of what will surely be a very rowdy crowd at PNC Arena.
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
- Jaccob Slavin missed the final few minutes of last nights game but after the game Rod Brind’Amour said Slavin was fine. Likely he was resting his top defenseman as he will be tasked with shutting down Sidney Crosby tonight.
- Last night was only the second time this season the Hurricanes were shut out. The last time that happened was on January 13th against Columbus (6-0). Carolina responded by defeating Vancouver 4-1 two days later and went on to win seven of their next eight games.
- Both the Hurricanes (2nd) and Penguins (4th) rank in the top five in the NHL in goals against average . Both teams are also top five in the league with their penalty kill units.
- Sidney Crosby continues to pace the Penguins with a 1.18 points per game average tallying 52 points in 44 games played. Kris Letang is tied for the fifth-most points by a defenseman in the NHL at 49.
- With both Tristan Jarry and Freddie Andersen playing last night we could be looking at a Casey DeSmith vs Antti Raanta match-up in goal
- Remarkably, this will be the Penguins first trip to Raleigh since March 19th, 2019. The teams only played once during the 2020-21 season due to the season being shortened and that game was in Pittsburgh.
Storm Advisory
- The Hurricanes now know their Stadium Series opponent for next year where the theme will clearly be the color red:
#Canes vs. Caps.
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) March 3, 2022
Carter-Finley Stadium.
2.18.23. pic.twitter.com/lSFDliTJ6L
- Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov has support of ‘brothers’ during Russia-Ukraine crisis. [N&O]
- The impact of hockey’s Russian backlash, and what’s next for everyone. [ESPN]
- 16 Stats: Carolina’s perfect PK, Josh Morrissey’s redemption, and no calls for Auston Matthews. [The Athletic $]
- Alex Stalock is heading back to San Jose after the Sharks made a trade for the veteran goaltender. [ESPN]
- EA will be removing both Russia and Belarus from NHL 22 over the coming weeks. [Polygon]
Loading comments...