Rachel Barkley
Home at last!
The Carolina Hurricanes will open a two-game homestand, starting with a match against the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night. We’d better get used to seeing them, too – it will be the first of three games against the Penguins this month, two of which will be on the same wacky road trip for them.
The Penguins will be without some notable players in the tilt. They recently lost Justin Brazeau to an upper-body injury, while Evgeni Malkin is in the midst of serving his five-game suspension after slashing Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin upside the head.
Additionally, Sidney Crosby is in fact alive – and may join the Penguins on their road trip (though doubtful for Tuesday night’s game).
While the Hurricanes currently lead the Eastern Conference, the Penguins are merely eight points behind Carolina in the Metropolitan Division standings. The upcoming weeks will be a test for the Hurricanes, as five of the 11 games remaining in March will be against divisional rivals, and 10 will be against conference rivals.
Tuesday’s game is scheduled for 7:00 PM EDT.
The previous road trip for Carolina proved to be hit and miss, as they only managed to win two of four games and lost defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, a key component of their power play.
They Finally Got Him
In their return to Raleigh, the Hurricanes have (officially) added a new component to the team in Nicolas Deslauriers – a grinder and enforcer. …You know, he may help solve some problems against the influx of rivals in the coming weeks!
Deslauriers was notably cheery when meeting the press Monday and seemed excited to have been traded to the Hurricanes.
“I kind of have a background of almost signing here four years ago, so it’s kind of a reunion,” he said after practice.
“Obviously, I got here way too early – I was almost the first one here – but, you know, got a meeting with Rod and all the coaching staff.”
A father of four, he also praised the family aspect of the Hurricanes organization.
“You can just sense that it’s all about us; it’s all about the family. [Brind’Amour]’s first question was ‘how is my family doing’, ‘if they’re coming down’…It’s an easier transition for me, and we’ll get the family down here at one point.”
What’s Happening in Net
After some struggles with the puck over the road trip, Brandon Bussi appeared to be hard at work as he took stickhandling drills during practice Monday. With that being said, Frederik Andersen had the starter’s crease and as such, is expected to have the same against the Penguins. Andersen’s save percentage this season is .873, with a goals against average of 3.16 across a 9-11-5 record.
As for the Penguins, they’ve recently rolled with a similar alternating tandem. If that pattern continues versus the Hurricanes, then Stuart Skinner would be in net. His save percentage this season is .890, with a goals against average of 2.74 across a 19-13-7 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
Mike Reilly – Alexander Nikishin
Goaltenders
Frederik Andersen / Brandon Bussi
Expected Penguins Lines
Egor Chinakhov – Rickard Rakell – Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha – Tommy Novak – Ville Koivunen
Elmer Soderblom – Ben Kindel – Avery Hayes
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari
Defense
Parker Wotherspoon – Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea – Kris Letang
Samuel Girard – Ilya Solovyov
Goaltenders
Stuart Skinner / Arturs Silovs
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 22.5% (11th, up one spot from the previous game)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 79.4% (14th)
Pittsburgh Penguins power play: 25.3% (6th)
Pittsburgh Penguins penalty kill: 84.4% (2nd)
Hurricanes Game Notes
After practice Monday, Brind’Amour was unable to provide an update on Gostisbehere, saying that he did not yet know the severity of the injury.
Brind’Amour also said he was unsure when Deslauriers could draw into the lineup, though he cited it as a good problem.
The Hurricanes are 4-2-0 since their return from the Olympic break.
How To Watch
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
