Rachel Barkley
Saturday, the Carolina Hurricanes will continue their trek west to face the Utah Mammoth – their final Western Conference matchup of the regular season.
The game is scheduled for 5:00 PM EDT.
In the Hurricanes’ last game against the Chicago Blackhawks, they enlisted the help of four players from the Chicago Wolves in Josiah Slavin, Skyler Brind’Amour, Bradly Nadeau, and Charles-Alexis Legault.
Not only did the Hurricanes defeat the Blackhawks with only half of their usual roster, but they did so in style as they achieved over half a dozen milestones in the 7-2 win. You can read all about it here!
Meanwhile, in the Mammoth’s previous game, they handed the Nashville Predators a setback in their mad dash for a wild card spot with a 4-1 win. Not only did they cause a little havoc for their central division rivals, but paired with the Anaheim Ducks’ thrashing of the San Jose Sharks, the Mammoth were able to clinch a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history.
Due to both teams’ current status as playoff-bound teams, their lineups remain murky down the stretch, as practices shift toward optionality and final gameday choices only come into focus moments before puck drop.
In the Crease
For the Hurricanes, the starting goalie is likely to be Brandon Bussi, due to the alternating tandem. Bussi previously faced them in January during the Hurricanes’ historic comeback during Whalers night, which saw a two-goal deficit erased as they scored three goals in the final two minutes to win the game in regulation – making them only the third team in NHL history to accomplish the feat. Bussi’s save percentage this season is .890, with a goals against average of 2.52 across a 30-6-1 record.
As for the Mammoth, Karel Vejmelka has taken 75 percent of the starts for Utah this season, including the last four straight. For that reason, I believe that the Mammoth will likely turn to Vítek Vanecek for the start against Carolina. His save percentage this season is .885, with a goals against average of 2.87 across a 5-11-3 record.
Expected Carolina Hurricanes Lines
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Bradly Nadeau
William Carrier – Mark Jankowski – Nicolas Deslauriers
Josiah Slavin – Skyler Brind’Amour – Eric Robinson
Defense
K’Andre Miller – Shayne Gostisbehere
Alexander Nikishin – Sean Walker
Mike Reilly – Charles-Alexis Legault
Goaltenders
Brandon Bussi / Frederik Andersen
Expected Utah Mammoth Lines
Clayton Keller – Nick Schmaltz – Lawson Crouse
Kailer Yamamoto – Logan Cooley – Dylan Guenther
JJ Peterka – Alex Kerfoot – Michael Carcone
Liam O’Brien – Kevin Stenlund – Brandon Tanev
Defense
Mikhail Sergachev – MacKenzie Weegar
Nate Schmidt – John Marino
Ian Cole – Sean Durzi
Goaltenders
Karel Vejmelka / Vitek Vanecek
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 24.6% (6th, down one spot from previous game)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 80.6% (11th, up one spot from previous game)
Utah Mammoth power play: 19.8% (20th)
Utah Mammoth penalty kill: 78.4% (18th)
Hurricanes Game Notes
This season, it appears that the Hurricanes are out of the running for the Presidents’ Trophy this season. Following the Colorado Avalanche’s 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames Thursday night, the best of the west clinched the trophy as they acquired their 114th point in the standings. Considering the curse that seems to follow the trophy, this is a good thing for Carolina.
Head coach Rod Brind’Amour spoke with the media in the last game regarding the status of players who were left off the lineup against the Blackhawks. He said that a few of them were ‘nicked up’, but that they could go if needed.
How To Watch
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
