Rachel Barkley
The Carolina Hurricanes welcomed back the NHL’s regular season following the Olympics with a classy (and oddly familiar) win against the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday. However, Saturday’s opponent, the Detroit Red Wings, also had a strong return to play, defeating the Ottawa Senators in overtime.
Detroit has played notably well this season and currently sits third in the Eastern Conference standings, just six points behind Carolina.
The Hurricanes are scheduled to play the Red Wings at 7:00 PM EST Saturday at Lenovo Center.
In their last match 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 own share of drama, as Shayne Gostisbehere took a cross-check to the back by Copp, which opened the path to the game-winning goal.
As the call had been missed, the goal stayed on the board, and both Gostisbehere and Sebastian Aho were given 10-minute misconducts – the first of Aho’s NHL career.
The Hurricanes won’t be able to get the January game back, but they could close out February with a perfect record and extend their 11-game point streak to 12.
In the Crease
It is uncertain which goalie the Hurricanes will run with Saturday, but there is a significant chance they could opt to put Frederik Andersen between the pipes. He has a great record versus the Red Wings in his time with the Hurricanes (4-1-1), and played very well throughout the Olympics. His goals against average this season is 3.26 with a save percentage of .871 across a 7-10-5 record, and he currently sits on a five-game point streak.
Meanwhile, for the Red Wings, the likely goalie to start is John Gibson. His save percentage this season is .905 with a goals against average of 2.57 across a 23-12-2 record.
Expected Carolina Hurricanes 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
Defense
Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere – Alexander Nikishin
Goaltenders
Frederik Andersen (likely) / Brandon Bussi
Expected Red Wings Lines
Marco Kasper – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat – Andrew Copp – Patrick Kane
Emmitt Finnie – J.T. Compher – Mason Appleton
Elmer Soderblom – Michael Rasmussen – James van Riemsdyk
Defense
Simon Edvinsson – Moritz Seider
Albert Johansson – Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Ben Chiarot – Jacob Bernard-Docker
Goaltenders
John Gibson / Cam Talbot
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 21.9% (14th)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 80.2% (12th, down one spot from the previous game)
Detroit Red Wings power play: 23.4% (9th)
Detroit Red Wings penalty kill: 79.2% (16th)
Hurricanes Game Notes
After the game versus the Red Wings, the Hurricanes will embark on a four-game western road trip, which they won’t return from until after the NHL Trade Deadline.
In Thursday’s game against the Lightning, Logan Stankoven’s line heated up, dishing out a five-point period between the three of them. It was a welcome sight, following a bit of an unlucky streak for them on the score sheet.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi remains the likely healthy scratch going into Saturday’s game.
How To Watch
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
