home at last!
The Carolina Hurricanes will begin a two-game homestand, starting with a matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. We better get used to watching them, too – this will be the first of three games against the Penguins this month, two of which will be on the same strange road trip for them.
The Penguins will be without some notable players in the tilt. They recently lost Justin Brazeau to an upper-body injury, while Evgeni Malkin is serving his five-game suspension for a hit to the head of Buffalo Sabers captain Rasmus Dahlin.
Additionally, Sidney Crosby is indeed alive – and may join the Penguins on their road trip (though questionable for Tuesday night's game).
While the Hurricanes are currently leading the Eastern Conference, the Penguins are only eight points behind Carolina in the Metropolitan Division standings. The upcoming weeks will be a test for the Hurricanes, as five of the 11 remaining games in March will be against divisional rivals, and 10 will be against conference rivals.
Tuesday's game is scheduled for 7:00 pm EDT.
The previous road trip proved to be hit and miss for Carolina, as they only managed to win two of four games and lost defenseman Shayne Gostisbeer, a key component of their power play.
finally they found it
In their return to Raleigh, the Hurricanes have (officially) added a new component to the team in the form of Nicolas Deslauriers – a grinder and enforcer. ...You know, he might help solve some problems against the influx of rivals in the coming weeks!
Deslauriers was cheerful when meeting with the press on Monday and seemed excited to be traded to the Hurricanes.
"My background is from signing here about four years ago, so it's kind of a reunion," he said after practice.
“Obviously, I got here pretty early – I was almost the first guy here – but, you know, I got to have a meeting with Rod and all the coaching staff.”
A father of four children, he also praised the family aspect of the Hurricanes organization.
“You just understand that it's all about us; it's all about family. [Brind’Amour]The first question was 'How's my family doing', 'If they're coming down'...It's an easy transition for me, and we'll bring the family here at some point.'
what's happening on the net
After some struggles with the puck during the road trip, Brandon Busey was seen working hard while practicing stickhandling during practice on Monday. That being said, Frederik Andersen had the starter's crease and thus, the same is expected to be the case against the Penguins. Anderson has a save percentage of .873 this season, with a 9-11-5 record and a goals-against average of 3.16.
As for the Penguins, they have recently worked with a similar alternative tandem. If this pattern continues against the Hurricanes, Stuart Skinner will be in net. His save percentage this season is .890, including a goals-against average of 2.74 in a 19-13-7 record.
Expected Carolina Hurricane Lines
Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall - Logan Stankoven - Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers - Jordan Staal - Jordan Martinook
William Carrier - Mark Jankowski - Eric Robinson
protect
Jacob Slavin - Jalen Chatfield
K'Andre Miller - Shawn Walker
Mike Reilly - Alexander Nikishin
goaltender
Frederick Anderson / Brandon Bussey
expected penguin lines
Igor Chinakhov - Ricard Raquel - Brian Rust
Anthony Mantha - Tommy Novak - Ville Koivunen
Elmer Soderblom - Ben Kindel - Avery Hayes
Connor Dewar - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari
protect
Parker Wotherspoon - Eric Carlson
Ryan Shea - Kris Letang
Samuel Girard - Ilya Solovyov
goaltender
Stuart Skinner / Artur Silo
special teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 22.5% (11th, up one spot from last game)
Carolina Hurricanes Penalty Kill: 79.4% (14th)
Pittsburgh Penguins Power Play: 25.3% (6th)
Pittsburgh Penguins Penalty Kill: 84.4% (2nd)
storm game notes
After practice on Monday, Brind'Amour was unable to provide an update on Gostisbehere, saying he did not yet know the severity of the injury.
Brind'Amour also said he was unsure when Deslauriers could get into the lineup, though he described it as a good problem to have.
The Hurricanes are 4-2-0 since returning from the Olympic break.
how to see
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
