Carolina Hurricanes at New York Islanders: Lineups and Game Discussion

The Carolina Hurricanes begin their second post-Max Pacioretty era tonight on Long Island. Given how the first era went, it’s fair to think that the Hurricanes will generally be OK, but they wouldn’t mind a bit of replacement goal scoring in his absence.

Jaccob Slavin missed yesterday’s practice, but Rod Brind’Amour indicated that there was nothing to be concerned about and Slavin would be fine to play tonight. With Pacioretty out, Derek Stepan will re-enter the lineup, and that will necessitate a bit of shuffling. The Hurricanes didn’t skate this morning, so the actual lineup is a bit of a guess, but here’s how we think it will look:

Teuvo Teravainen - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis
Andrei Svechnikov - Paul Stastny - Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - Jesper Fast
Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Derek Stepan - Stefan Noesen

Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Brady Skjei - Brett Pesce
Calvin de Haan - Jalen Chatfield

Frederik Andersen
Antti Raanta

Injuries and Scratches: Dylan Coghlan (healthy), Max Pacioretty (IR Achilles), Ondrej Kase (LTIR concussion)

The last five meetings between the Hurricanes and New York Islanders have gone back and forth splitting wins between the sides, with the Hurricanes taking the last matchup in a 3-0 shutout that was the first of consecutive Pyotr Kochetkov whitewashes in December. If the form holds, though, it’s the Islanders’ turn to win tonight.

That loss was one of just six home losses the Islanders suffered prior to the end of 2022, but since the calendar flipped over to January it’s been another story. New York has only one one of five games on home ice this month, and that slide is reflected in their playoff chances, which have gone from north of 50% on New Year’s Day per Hockeyviz to the mid-30s today. And a loss today would knock them even further south:

hockeyviz.com

Here’s how the Islanders will line up for today’s Aho Bowl:

Anders Lee - Mathew Barzal - Casey Cizikas
Anthony Beauvillier - Brock Nelson - Josh Bailey
Zach Parise - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Simon Holmstrom
Ross Johnston - Aatu Raty - Matt Martin

Parker Wotherspoon - Ryan Pulock
The Other Sebastian Aho - Noah Dobson
Alexander Romanov - Scott Mayfield

Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov

Injuries and Scratches: Dennis Cholowski (healthy), Hudson Fasching (lower body), Kyle Palmieri (IR upper body), Oliver Wahlstrom (IR lower body), Adam Pelech (IR upper body)

Tonight’s Officials
Referees: Wes McCauley #4, Marc Joannette #25
Linesmen: Michel Cormier #76, Justin Johnson #57