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Potential Trade Targets for the Hurricanes

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The Carolina Hurricanes are in the middle of a heated battle near the top of the NHL standings. As the midway point of the season passes. Carolina will look to bolster their roster in preparation for a deep playoff run. They have the assets to target some top names available on the trade market. What are the names Carolina are (or) should be targeting? Jakob Chychrun Jakob Chychrun has been rumored to a handful of teams across the NHL, one of them being Carolina. The others include Boston, Toronto, Florida, Columbus, Anaheim, and the Rangers. Chyrchrun is on a fantastic contract. Three years remain after this season with only a 4.6 million cap hit. Chyrchrun’s basic stats paint the picture that he has had a bad season. Only 8 points and a -31 in 32 games. But the underlying numbers suggest that he is still capable of being a shutdown top-pairing defenseman. Chyrchrun’s C percentage is 3.7 above the Coyotes’ team CF percentage (Via hockey-reference.com ). Chychrun also is 3.7 xGoals per...
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Game #37 Preview: Hurricanes vs Rangers

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  Hurricanes (26-8-2) vs Rangers (26-10-4) The Carolina Hurricanes face off against one of the top teams in the NHL tonight. The New York Rangers have been taking steps forward the past couple of years led by Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome, Chris Kreider, and Igor Shesterkin. They look to expand their lead in the Metro division over the Hurricanes tonight. This is a big mid-season matchup that could help one of these teams lay claim to a division title.  Previous Meeting The last game played between Carolina and New York was two years ago in the Toronto bubble. Carolina won game 3 to finish a sweep of the Rangers in the play-in round in 2020.  Vezina Caliber Goaltending Igor Shesterkin has been nothing short of incredible for the Rangers this season. He is 2nd in the league for GSAx with 21.8 ( Via MoneyPuck.com ), and he is the frontrunner at the moment for the Vezina trophy. Right behind Shesterkin is Freddie Andersen for the Hurricanes. Andersen is also near th...
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Game #36 Preview: Hurricanes @ Bruins

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  Hurricanes (25-8-2) @ Bruins (22-11-2) The Hurricanes ship up to Boston to face the surging Bruins. The Bruins are celebrating Willie O’Ree tonight, retiring his #22 jersey, and celebrating his feat of being the first black player in the NHL.  Congratulations to Willie O’Ree on his hockey career, and being a pioneer for growing diversity in hockey. Previous Meeting Carolina last played Boston in October at PNC Arena. Freddie Andersen and the Hurricanes shut out the Bruins 3-0. That was during Carolina’s nine-game win streak to open the season Tuukka Rask is back in Boston Tuukka Rask recently signed with the Bruins after taking a hiatus to begin the season. He has had a marvelous career for Boston, and he has dominated the Hurricanes for the most part in the past. Rask is expected to start for Boston tonight, and he will look to win his 2nd game of the season after holding the Flyers to two goals in a 3-2 win in his last start. The Slumping Canes? In their last seven games, ...
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Game #34 Preview: Hurricanes vs Blue Jackets

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  Hurricanes (24-7-2) vs Blue Jackets (16-17-1) The last scheduled game for the Canes was canceled because of covid concerns with the Flyers. Their next game is now tonight against the Blue Jackets. Carolina’s last games were back to back at home against two of the best teams in the NHL (Florida and Calgary). Carolina won against Calgary but lost their last game against Florida in OT. Carolina looks to gain momentum heading into February with a win tonight. They will need to do it without star defenseman Jaccob Slavin, who got covid, and he is in quarantine for the next week. Previous Meeting The last game against Columbus and Carolina was on New Year’s Day. Carolina fell behind 4-0 to Columbus but scored seven unanswered to win 7-4 in a rousing victory. They were led by the play of Andrei Svechnikov and Brady Skjei.  Carolina’s high goal differential Carolina has the highest goal differential in the NHL at +42. This level of play is not sustainable for an entire season, but i...
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Game #32 Preview: Hurricanes vs Flames

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  Hurricanes (23-7-1) vs Flames (17-9-6) The Hurricanes got five days off between their last game against Columbus. And this game versus Calgary. In the last four games Carolina has played, they have won. Meanwhile, Calgary is coming off back-back losses in Florida against the Panthers and the Lightning. Two teams seemingly going in opposite directions square off in their second matchup of the season. Previous Meeting The last game between Carolina and Calgary was in the Saddledome last month. Carolina won 2-1 in overtime in a game where Calgary dominated the majority of the game. Calgary will look to play that way again versus Carolina tonight. The Canes will need a better effort at home facing this Flames team if they want a good chance to win tonight. Aggressive Pressure is a double-edged sword for Carolina Carolina came back from 4-0 down last game against Columbus to win 7-4. But the primary reason why the Canes went down 4-0 in the first place is because of over-aggression in...
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