The Carolina Hurricanes welcomed the post-Olympics NHL regular season with a resounding (and oddly familiar) win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. However, Saturday's opponent, the Detroit Red Wings, also made a strong comeback in the game and defeated the Ottawa Senators in overtime.
Detroit has played remarkably well this season and currently sits in third place in the Eastern Conference standings, just six points behind Carolina.
The Hurricanes are scheduled to play the Red Wings on Saturday at 7:00 pm EST at Lenovo Center.
In their last matchup against each other, the Red Wings came out on top in overtime on the night of Sergei Federov's jersey retirement thanks to Andrew Copp. However, it came with its share of drama, as Shayne Gostisbeer took a cross-check from behind by Coop, which opened the way for the game-winning goal.
Since the call was missed, the goal remained on the board and Gostisbehere and Sebastian Aho were both given 10-minute misconducts – the first in Aho's NHL career.
The Hurricanes won't be able to get a January game back, but they can finish February with a perfect record and extend their 11-game point streak to 12.
in the crease
It's uncertain which goaltender the Hurricanes will run with on Saturday, but there is a significant possibility they may opt to keep Frederik Andersen between the pipes. He has an excellent record against the Red Wings in his time with the Hurricanes (4-1-1) and has played very well throughout the Olympics. He has a 3.26 goals-against average this season and a 7-10-5 record with a save percentage of .871, and he is currently sitting on a five-game point streak.
Meanwhile, for the Red Wings, the likely starting goalie is John Gibson. His save percentage this season is .905, with a goals-against average of 2.57 with a 23-12-2 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 (probability) / Brandon Bussey
expected red wing lines
Marco Casper - Dylan Larkin - Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat - Andrew Copp - Patrick Kane
Emmitt Finney - JT Comper - Mason Appleton
Elmer Soderblom - Michael Rasmussen - James van Riemsdyk
protect
Simon Edvinsson - Moritz Seider
Albert Johansson - Axel Sandin-Pellica
Ben Chiarot - Jacob Bernard-Docker
goaltender
John Gibson/Cam Talbot
special teams
Carolina Hurricanes Power Play: 21.9% (14th)
Carolina Hurricanes Penalty Kill: 80.2% (12th, down one spot from last game)
Detroit Red Wings Power Play: 23.4% (9th)
Detroit Red Wings Penalty Kill: 79.2% (16th)
storm game notes
Following the game versus the Red Wings, the Hurricanes will embark on a four-game western road trip from which they will not return until after the NHL trade deadline.
In Thursday's game against the Lightning, Logan Stankoven's line went hot, scoring five points between the three of them. After some unfortunate positions for them on the score sheet, it was a welcome sight.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi remains the probable healthy player for Saturday's game.
how to see
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
