Game Preview: Hurricanes at Kings

The Carolina Hurricanes showed resiliency on opening night, fighting off a slow start and mental lapses in the third to secure a 5-3 victory versus an up-and-coming Ottawa team.

Now, the Canes embark on their annual State Fair road trip. This six-game trip is the longest opening road swing since October 2016.

There will be a mixed bag of opponents on this road trip, ranging from the runners-up of the Western Conference regular season in Colorado to an Anaheim team that finished last in the NHL.

Needless to say, this six-game stretch is important. And Carolina must do it without Andrei Svechnikov, who will not travel with the team out west.

Wednesday night, head coach Rod Brind’Amour iced 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Jalen Chatfield was the odd man out, playing just 4:39 against the Senators.

This is what Brind’Amour had to say about the situation:

Everyone has things that aren’t perfect. At any job. And you’ve got to handle it right. We know whether it’s Chatty, or whoever it is, we know that on our team, should he be playing? Could he be playing? Yes. Could he be playing higher minutes? Yes. But we’re blessed right now to have an abundance of good defensemen.

Until Svechnikov is back, there may be game-time decisions on the 12-6 or 11-7 lineups.

Los Angeles hosted Colorado to open its season on Wednesday night.

The Avalanche took a 3-0 lead less than four minutes into the second period. Three minutes later, Carl Grundstrom got the Kings on the board. The second period continued at 3-1 until rookie and former second overall pick Quinton Byfield made it 3-2 with just five seconds left in the period. before the Kings cut it to 3-2.

Colorado scored less than five minutes into the third, and an empty netter sealed the victory for the Avalanche.

Kings goalie Cam Talbot allowed four goals on 36 shots.

Forward Anze Kopitar and defenseman Drew Doughty continue to lead the Kings. These two players logged the most minutes for LA on Wednesday, with Kopitar tallying an assist.

Expect Talbot to be between the pipes again as the Kings are without Viktor Arvidsson.

Here’s how to check out the action tonight:

• Time: 10:30 PM ET
• Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
• TV: Bally Sports South with Mike Maniscalco, play-by-play; Tripp Tracy, color analyst; Hanna Yates, in-game reporter; Shane Willis, analyst.
• Radio: 99.9 The Fan
• Streaming: Bally Sports Plus
• Line: Carolina -1.5