Rachel Barkley
Just eight days removed from their last meeting, the Carolina Hurricanes will once again face the Pittsburgh Penguins in Lenovo Center.
The game is scheduled for 7:00 PM EDT.
What do the Hurricanes and Penguins’ previous games have in common? Both contained beatings in more ways than one.
For Carolina, Nicolas Deslauriers dropped the mitts with Mathieu Olivier at center ice to spark some life into a Hurricanes team that struggled to get to their game throughout the first half of the match. However, they were knocked down to the sound of a 5-1 loss courtesy of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
As for Pittsburgh, Connor Clifton got into a dust-up with Jack Drury Monday night, before absolutely thrashing the Colorado Avalanche 7-2 in Evgeni Malkin’s return from his five-game suspension. Sheesh.
At this time, it is unclear whether Sidney Crosby will play. He has practiced with the extra forwards recently, per PHN, but has spent the Penguins’ entire trip high above the ice in the press box. …It feels like the calm before the storm.
In the Crease
Since Brandon Bussi took the start in Columbus Tuesday, it is all but certain that Frederik Andersen will play against the Penguins. In their last game against Pittsburgh, he held out in regulation, overtime, and the shootout to get the Hurricanes the win. This season, his save percentage is .873, with a goals against average of 3.14 across an 11-11-5 record.
Meanwhile, the Penguins have also employed the old alternating tandem strategy in net, which has seemed to do well for them. As Arturs Silovs had the crease in their last game, Stuart Skinner will likely get a rematch with the Hurricanes after carrying his team to overtime with some very notable saves in their last meeting with Carolina. His save percentage this season is .891, with a goals against average of 2.78 across a 20-13-8 record.
Expected 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 Pittsburgh Penguins Lines
Anthony Mantha – Rickard Rakell – Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin
Ville Koivunen – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau
Elmer Soderblom – Connor Dewar – Noel Acciari
Defense
Parker Wotherspoon – Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea – Kris Letang
Ilya Solovyov – Connor Clifton
Goaltenders
Stuart Skinner / Arturs Silovs
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 21.9% (14th, moved down two spots from previous game)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 79.4% (15th, moved down two spots from previous game)
Pittsburgh Penguins power play: 25.1% (3rd)
Pittsburgh Penguins penalty kill: 84.5% (1st)
Hurricanes Game Notes
Shayne Gostisbehere is expected to remain out for the sixth game in a row after sustaining a lower-body injury on March 6th.
In the last game, Eric Robinson was scratched to bring Deslauriers into the mix. It is anticipated that Robinson will return for Wednesday’s game.
The Hurricanes are currently on a two-game fighting streak. Considering the playoff energy between the two Metropolitan Division rivals, it would not be a shocker to see that number extended.
How To Watch
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
