Saturday, the Carolina Hurricanes (31-15-5) will once again play on a ceremony night. The Ottawa Senators (23-20-7), who are hosting the Hurricanes, will induct their former head coach, Jacques Martin, into the ‘Ring of Honour’ before the 7:00 PM EST game.
Both teams dropped their latest games: the Hurricanes earned just one point after a 4-3 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Senators took a 5-3 beating from the Nashville Predators, which included a hat-trick by Nashville’s Steven Stamkos.
One of the Senators’ biggest concerns as of late has been in the crease. Starter Linus Ullmark has been out since late December, and the next man up, Leevi Merilainen, was loaned to the Belleville Senators (AHL) after a tough stretch of games. In the wake of it all, former Hurricanes goalie James Reimer was signed to a professional tryout contract. The 37-year-old netminder has a 1-1-1 record after starting three straight games on the road.
It is unknown whether he will start for the fourth time in a row, or if they will call upon the glove of Hunter Shepard, who has played just 35 minutes this season, where he recorded a loss against the Detroit Red Wings in early January.
Additionally, they will miss bottom-line forward David Perron – a former Stanley Cup champion – who missed the last game following the announcement that he would undergo surgery to repair a sports hernia. Stephen Halliday has filled his spot decently as he recorded his first career NHL goal against the Predators on Thursday.
For goaltender stats, Brandon Bussi is the expected starter versus the Senators. In Monday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, Bussi became the first goaltender in NHL history to win 18 of his first 22 games (18-3-1). His goals against average is 2.20 with a .904 save percentage, and he has the second-best high-danger save percentage with .870.
Considering the current state of the Senators, who dwell in the basement of the Atlantic Division, Reimer has done very well in net. With a .889 save percentage and having averaged just 3.02 goals against, he has performed great in his short time with the Senators. With the Senators opening a back-to-back set over the weekend, it is probable for Reimer to start against the Eastern Conference Hurricanes Saturday, and Shepard to face the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday.
Expected Carolina Hurricanes Lines
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook
Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Mark Jankowski – William Carrier
Defense
Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Alexander Nikishin – Joel Nystrom
Goaltenders
Brandon Bussi / Frederik Andersen
Expected Senators Lines
Fabian Zetterlund – Tim Stützle – Drake Batherson
Brady Tkachuk – Dylan Cozens – Ridly Greig
Michael Amadio – Shane Pinto – Claude Giroux
Nick Cousins – Lars Eller – Stephen Halliday
Defense
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot – Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven – Jordan Spence
Goaltenders
James Reimer / Hunter Shepard
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 21.2% (13th, dropped one spot from the previous game)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 79.7% (16th)
Ottawa Senators power play: 23.5% (8th)
Ottawa Senators penalty kill: 71.7% (31st)
Hurricanes Game Notes
Eric Robinson (upper-body injury) and Shayne Gostisbehere (lower-body injury) are both expected to miss the game.
Charles-Alexis Legault (hand injury) and Noah Philp (concussion) both skated in practice Friday in yellow non-contact sweaters. Legault was given a timeline of three to four months to recover from a surgery to repair multiple extensor tendons after he suffered a skate cut to his right hand in a fight. Despite the injury, Legault continued to skate and practice single-handed stickhandling shortly after surgery, but Friday was his first official practice with the team.
How To Watch
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
