On Friday night, the Carolina Hurricanes face the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final time this season at Scotiabank Arena. The season series is currently split between the two, with the November 9 game ending with Carolina's 5–4 victory and the December 4 game ending with Toronto's 5–1 victory.
The game is scheduled for 7:00 pm EDT, but will not be available on ESPN+ due to NHLN's exclusive national coverage. Local stations will still broadcast the game as usual.
On Wednesday, the Hurricanes had one of their most entertaining games of the season as they played their biggest divisional rival this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins. The game ended with a 6–5 victory in overtime thanks to a goal from Sean Walker – his first overtime game-winner – and an incredible performance from Logan Stankoven's line. You can read all about it here, it was an incredible game.
Meanwhile, the biggest news coming out of Leafs land recently is Auston Matthews' injury and subsequent surgery to repair his knee. Since then, players and agents have been at war with the head of the player safety department, George Parros, who has defended Radko Gudas' five-game suspension. It was quite dramatic to watch.
That being said, Matthews' injury has lit a fire in the belly of the Leafs, who snapped a seven-game losing streak on the night of their captain's departure and have collected three points in three games since.
in the crease
As for the Hurricanes, they will likely continue their streak, meaning the likely starter will be goaltender Brandon Bussey. So far this season, he has a save percentage of .895 with a goals-against average of 2.45 with a 25-6-1 record.
As far as the Leafs are concerned, they have been relying heavily on Josef Woll. Over the past five games, Anthony Stolarz has made only one start. With a two-day break between games before the matchup with the Hurricanes, Vol will likely be their man. This season, he has a save percentage of .905 with a goals-against average of 3.08 in a 14-12-5 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
Brandon Bussey/Frederick Anderson
Expected Toronto Maple Leafs Lines
Mattias McSally - John Tavares - William Nylander
Matthew Neese - Max Domi - Easton Cowan
Dakota Joshua - Bo Groulx - Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz - Jacob Quillen - Calle Jarnkrok
protect
Morgan Reilly - Philip Myers
Jake McCabe - Brandon Carlo
Oliver Ekman-Larsen - Troy Stecher
goaltender
Joseph Voll / Anthony Carpenter
special teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 22.2% (12th, up two spots from last game)
Carolina Hurricanes Penalty Kill: 79.3% (15th)
Toronto Maple Leafs power play: 19.4% (20th)
Toronto Maple Leafs Penalty Kill: 83.0% (4th)
storm game notes
The Hurricanes' game versus the Leafs will be the first of a three-game road trip, in which they will travel to Pittsburgh for another game with the Penguins, then return to the border for a matchup with the Montreal Canadiens. After this, they will get a final three-day break between games for the final time of the regular season.
Carolina got a rare day off from practice on Thursday before flying to Toronto. Thus far, there was no update on the status of Shayne Gostisbeer, who may miss his seventh consecutive game since suffering a lower body injury on March 6.
It's unclear when Jesperi Kotkaniemi might get a chance to return to the lineup. Since the end of the Olympic break, he has appeared in only one game, March 4 vs. the Vancouver Canucks.
how to see
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: NHLN
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
