The Carolina Hurricanes (29-15-4) have made the late-night flight up north to face their divisional rival, the New Jersey Devils, in the second half of their back-to-back. The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM EST, just 24 hours after the Hurricanes’ last game.
Friday, the Hurricanes faced the Florida Panthers in a shocking 9-1 win, in which Nikolaj Ehlers achieved his first hat-trick with the team, and every Hurricanes forward had a point on the scoresheet.
However, the dilemma facing Carolina going into Saturday’s matchup is rest. The Hurricanes, who will finish their second set of back-to-backs in just one week, will take on a two-day-rested Devils team.
New Jersey won their last game against the Seattle Kraken in overtime, and the game before, they won 5-3 against the Minnesota Wild. However, this comes after a four-game set of losses, which started with Carolina’s 3-1 win on January 4th.
The Hurricanes have won their last three outings with the Devils in the regular season, and they will face each other once more after this game.
Per Rod Brind’Amour, Frederik Andersen will take the crease against the New Jersey Devils. He has noticeably struggled this season, with career lows in goals against average (3.37) and save percentage (.863) across a 6-10-3 record. However, after breaking his nine-game losing streak on January 8th, Andersen has shown a significant increase in confidence and proficiency on the ice.
Meanwhile, Jacob Markstrom is expected to start for New Jersey. His numbers have not been much better than Andersen’s, with a save percentage of .879 and a goals against average of 3.34. This season, he has a 12-10-1 record.
Expected Carolina Hurricanes Lines
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook
Eric Robinson – Mark Jankowski – Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Defense
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Joel Nystrom – Jalen Chatfield
Mike Reilly – Alexander Nikishin
Goaltenders
Frederik Andersen / Brandon Bussi
Expected New Jersey Devils Lines
Timo Meier – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt
Ondrej Palat – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer
Arseny Gritsyuk – Cody Glass – Connor Brown
Paul Cotter – Luke Glendening – Evgenii Dadonov
Defense
Luke Hughes – Brett Pesce
Jonas Siegenthaler – Johnathan Kovacevic
Brenden Dillon – Dougie Hamilton
Goaltenders
Jacob Markstrom / Jake Allen
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 21.6% (13th, up six spots from the previous game)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 79.6% (17th, up one spot from the previous game)
New Jersey Devils power play: 20.7% (15th)
New Jersey Devils penalty kill: 76.7% (27th)
Hurricanes Game Notes
Due to Jaccob Slavin’s injury protocol, he has not played back-to-back games. He is expected to rest while recent Chicago Wolves call-up Joel Nystrom draws in.
The statuses of Shayne Gostisbehere and William Carrier remain unknown after missing Friday’s tilt against the Panthers due to injury.
How to Watch
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
