Rachel Barkley
Friday night, the Carolina Hurricanes will face the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final time this season in Scotiabank Arena. The season series is currently split between the two, with November 9th’s game ending in a 5-4 win for Carolina and December 4th’s ending in a 5-1 win for Toronto.
The game is scheduled for 7:00 PM EDT, but will be unavailable on ESPN+ due to NHLN’s exclusive national coverage. Local stations will still broadcast the game as usual.
Wednesday, the Hurricanes had one of their most entertaining games of the season as they played their biggest divisional rival this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins. The game concluded with a 6-5 win in overtime thanks to a goal from Sean Walker – his first overtime game-winner – and an incredible showing from Logan Stankoven’s line. You can read all about it here, it was an incredible game.
Meanwhile, the biggest news to come out of Leafs Land lately is the injury to Auston Matthews and the subsequent surgery he underwent to repair his knee. Since then, players and agents have been at war with the head of the Department of Player Safety, George Parros, who has defended the five-game suspension of Radko Gudas. It’s been quite the drama to watch.
With that being said, Matthews’ injury has seemed to put a fire in the bellies of the Leafs’, who broke their seven-game losing streak the night of their captain’s departure, and have collected three points in the three games since.
In the Crease
For the Hurricanes, they will likely continue their tandem, meaning that the likely goalie to start will be Brandon Bussi. So far this season, his save percentage is .895, with a goals against average of 2.45 across a 25-6-1 record.
As for the Leafs, they have leaned heavily on Joseph Woll. In the past five games, Anthony Stolarz has only started one. With a two-day break between games going into their matchup with the Hurricanes, Woll will likely be their man. This season, he has a save percentage of .905, with a goals against average of 3.08 across a 14-12-5 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
Brandon Bussi / Frederik Andersen
Expected Toronto Maple Leafs Lines
Matias Maccelli – John Tavares – William Nylander
Matthew Knies – Max Domi – Easton Cowan
Dakota Joshua – Bo Groulx – Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz – Jacob Quillan – Calle Jarnkrok
Defense
Morgan Rielly – Philippe Myers
Jake McCabe – Brandon Carlo
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Troy Stecher
Goaltenders
Joseph Woll / Anthony Stolarz
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 22.2% (12th, moved up two spots from previous game)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 79.3% (15th)
Toronto Maple Leafs power play: 19.4% (20th)
Toronto Maple Leafs penalty kill: 83.0% (4th)
Hurricanes Game Notes
The Hurricanes’ game versus the Leafs will be the first of a three-game road trip, which will see them take the trip to Pittsburgh for another game with the Penguins, then hop back over the border for a match with the Montreal Canadiens. Afterwards, they will have their final three-day break between games for the final time of the regular season.
Carolina had a rare day off from practice Thursday ahead of their flight to Toronto. As such, there was no update on the status of Shayne Gostisbehere, who could remain out for the seventh game straight since sustaining a lower-body injury on March 6th.
It is unclear when Jesperi Kotkaniemi may have his chance to return to the lineup. Since the end of the Olympic break, he has only participated in a single game, March 4th’s versus the Vancouver Canucks.
How To Watch
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: NHLN
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
