San Jose Sharks at Carolina Hurricanes: Game Preview and Storm Advisory

The Carolina Hurricanes are looking to win a fourth straight win against the visiting San Jose Sharks. The Canes enter the game with a small two-point lead over the New Jersey Devils for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division, but still have a game in hand.

The San Jose Sharks have largely struggled this season, sitting second to last in the Pacific Division. The bright spot for the Sharks this season has been the resurgence of Norris Trophy winning defenseman, Erik Karlsson. One other player to watch is forward Timo Meier who is a top rental target for the trade deadline.

Game Notes

• Defenseman Erik Karlsson leads all defensemen in goals with 15 and points with 64. The next closest defenseman, Rasmus Dahlin, has 55 points. It's the most points he has had since the 2015-2016 season when he had 82 points.
• With a shorthanded goal against the Dallas Stars, Sebastian Aho is now tied for second in the league in shorthanded goals. The Canes also rank second in the league in shorthanded goals with eight. Only the Philadelphia Flyers have more.
• Sebastian Aho also became the sixth person in franchise history to score 200 goals. His 585 games are the third-fewest any player needed to accomplish the feat.
• With 31 goals from defensemen, the Carolina Hurricanes have the most goals from defensemen of any team in the league, one more than the second-place Florida Panthers.

Storm Advisory:

• The Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals released their jerseys for the Stadium Series game at Carter-Finley Stadium. [ESPN]

• Three fights in 15 seconds between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Minnesota Wild. [Sports Illustrated]

• Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere is out 4-6 weeks for the Arizona Coyotes. The defenseman was a target for teams ahead of the trade deadline. [NHL]

• Vancouver Canucks sign Andrei Kuzmenko to a two-year contract extension. [NHL]
• Frank Vatrano scores a hat-trick to stun the Colorado Avalanche. [TSN]