Just 22 hours after the puck drops at the Lenovo Center for an Easter Sunday matchup, the Carolina Hurricanes will face the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. Carolina was the first team to clinch a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, while the Senators remained in the bottom wild card.
The game is scheduled for 5:00 pm EDT.
In the Hurricanes' last game, they displayed strong play and physical dominance to defeat a hungry New York Islanders team 4–3. The Islanders, who are in third place in the Metropolitan Division, are just one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers.
In the game, Seth Jarvis unloaded a three-point game, including two goals and a shorthanded assist, and almost topped it with a hat trick during an empty net situation, although the puck failed to find the net on both of his attempts. Additionally, Sebastian Aho's shorthanded goal gave the Hurricanes sole possession of the most shorthanded goals scored across the league, passing the Calgary Flames with his 12th goal.
Meanwhile, Brandon Bussey stood strong at the net, despite long periods between shots. The Hurricanes managed the puck exceptionally well, making 81 shot attempts (40 shots on goal) while allowing only 32 (15 shots on goal).
After the game, head coach Rod Brind'Amour congratulated his group for their strong effort.
"There was a bit of confusion at the last minute, but overall, I can't say much," he told the media. "It was pretty impressive considering what was at stake. I thought our guys played how we wanted, and tonight we got what we deserved."
As for the Senators, their last game was a blowout loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Beaten 4–1, the only Senators player to find twine was Drake Batherson with less than four minutes left in the game.
in the crease
As for the Hurricanes, expect them to turn to Frederik Andersen to provide focus in the crease after Bussey takes up the pipe on Saturday. This season he has a save percentage of .871 with a goals-against average of 3.09 with a 14-13-5 record.
Meanwhile, the Senators have started Linus Ullmark in three consecutive games, but none have been back-to-back. The likely starting goalie will be former Hurricane goaltender James Reimer, who has played in both of the Senators' games against Carolina this season. His save percentage this season is .882, with a goals-against average of 2.42 with a 6-4-1 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
Shayne Gostisbehere - Alexander Nikishin
goaltender
Frederick Anderson / Brandon Bussey
Expected Ottawa Senators Lines
Fabian Zetterlund - Tim Stützle - Drake Batherson
Brady Tkachuk - Dylan Cozens - Ridley Gregg
Michael Amadio - Shane Pinto - Claude Giroux
Warren Foegele - Lars Eller - Nick Cousins
protect
Jake Sanderson - Artem Zab
Nicholas Matinpalo - Jordan Spence
Lassie Thomson - Cameron Crotty
goaltender
James Reimer/Linus Ullmark
special teams
Carolina Hurricanes Power Play: 24.5% (5th, down one spot from last game)
Carolina Hurricanes Penalty Kill: 80.8% (12th)
Ottawa Senators power play: 22.0% (12th)
Ottawa Senators Penalty Kill: 74.9% (30th)
storm game notes
On Saturday, Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov participated in practice for the first time since undergoing hip surgery midway through the season. He did not take part in the full practice, but did take shots on behalf of the team and then interacted with the media.
With the Hurricanes punching their playoff ticket, the nightly lineup may see changes to rest players and get games for others.
how to see
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
