Carolina Hurricanes 2021-2022 Blog

  Hurricanes (15-4-1) @ Stars (10-7-2) The Hurricanes come off a hard-fought loss at home to Washington to face the surging Dallas Stars. Who have won six of their last seven games. Led by the play of Jake Oettinger in the net, this is a Dallas team finding their stride heading into the month of December. Previous Meeting The last game between Dallas and Carolina was last season in the final stretch of the season. Carolina beat Dallas 5-1. Carolina was led by the play of Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Staal, both of whom had 3 points in the blowout win of Dallas. Covid outbreak in Carolina affecting the lineup This last week, the Hurricanes have had a covid outbreak through their team. Brett Pesce and Tony DeAngelo both are out for some time with covid. This means Carolina will be heavily reliant on Maxime Lajoie and Jalen Chatfield to step up in their place. Ethan Bear is still out with covid until at least December 2nd. Tonight will be a big challenge for the Canes without three of the

  Hurricanes (14-3-1) @ Flyers (8-6-4) The Hurricanes finish off their six-game road trip in Philadelphia with an afternoon showdown against the stumbling Flyers. Carolina comes off of a frustrating loss in Seattle Wednesday night, they look to bounce back and build a lead in the competitive Metropolitan division. Philadelphia, on the other hand, is looking to regain its footing. They have struggled recently, and they are currently 1 point behind the last playoff spot in the eastern conference. This is a very important game for both teams. Previous Meeting The last game between Carolina and Philly was on November 12th in Raleigh. Philadelphia handed Carolina their 2nd loss of the season by scoring two goals in the third to win 2-1. Carolina lost that game largely in part to Carter Hart, but also due to a lack of a strong effort in the third  period. Carolina will need to simplify against Carter Hart today if they want to get pucks past him, and they will need a full 60-minute performan

  Hurricanes (14-2-0) @ Sharks (8-8-1) The Hurricanes travel north from LA to San Jose to take on the Sharks after sneaking out a win against the Kings in their last game. They will need a better performance if they want to take down this San Jose team.  Previous Meeting The last game between Carolina and San Jose was in Raleigh in the 2019-20 season. Carolina won in a shootout and the final score was 3-2.  James Reimer’s resurgence  Former Carolina goaltender James Reimer is having a spectacular start to his season. Posting only a 4-3-1 record, but he has a .938 save percentage and a 1.98 GAA. James is near the top of the league in both categories. Carolina’s great goaltending Frederik Andersen, Anti Raanta, and the one game from Alex Lyon have given Carolina high-quality goaltending so far this season. The three have saved 14.7 goals above expected ( via MoneyPuck.com ).  Projected Lines *Not confirmed for tonight, only projections* Svechnikov-Aho-Jarvis Teravainen-Trocheck-Necas Nie

  Hurricanes (12-2-0) @ Ducks (10-4-3) The Hurricanes are coming off a dominating performance in Vegas last game. They head west to Anaheim to take on one of the most surprising teams in the league and the Ducks, who are led by the resurgence of Ryan Getzlaf. And the breakout of young star Troy Terry.  Previous Meeting The last game played between Carolina and Anaheim was in the 2019-20 season. Anaheim won in overtime 2-1. Anaheim was led by the stellar goaltending of now-retired Ryan Miller, who stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced in that game. Troy Terry’s Breakout Anaheim’s Troy Terry has taken a big step towards becoming one of the premier attackers in the NHL. He is on a 15-game point streak, scoring 21 points in the first 17 games. The underlying numbers support this level of play as well. Terry is 11th in the NHL in On-Ice Expected Goals percentage at 66.7%. Meaning two-thirds of the expected goals when he is on the ice is in favor of Anaheim ( Via MoneyPuck.com ). Terry has pla

  Hurricanes (11-2-0) @ Golden Knights (9-6-0) The Hurricanes start a six-game road trip tonight in Vegas against one of the hottest teams in the NHL. This is the first game of 5 straight on the west coast for Carolina. Vegas just got back their captain Mark Stone from injury. He will be a difference-maker tonight for the Knights. Previous Meeting The last game played between Carolina and Vegas was a barnburner in the 2019-20 season. Carolina came back from two goals down in the third to force overtime, eventually ending in a shootout win for Carolina. It’s hot in Vegas The Golden Knights have strung off 8 wins in their last 10 games. The scariest part about this streak is that they have done most of it without Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty, as Pacioretty is yet to come back from injury, and Stone just returned last game against Vancouver. Vegas has gone on this hot streak without two top-line forwards. Their offense has scored 37 goals in these 10 games. It is safe to say that the Kni

  Hurricanes (10-2-0) vs Blues (8-2-2) Carolina took a tough loss last night against Carter Hart and the Flyers. A game in which they outplayed Philadelphia for the first two periods, then collapsed in the third period to lose 2-1. A 60-minute effort is needed tonight against a quality Blues team that has started the season well. A win would be a big boost before Carolina goes on a 5-game west-coast road trip. Previous Meeting The last game played between Carolina and St. Louis was in February of the 2019-2020 season. St. Louis dominated the game at home to defeat Carolina 6-3. St. Louis’ center depth led by Ryan O’Reilly and Brayden Schenn led the way in that game. Depth down the middle is a strength for both Carolina and St. Louis. This will be the deciding factor once again. Justin Faulk’s return to PNC Justin Faulk returns to Raleigh for the first time since he was traded in the 2019 offseason to St. Louis. The former Hurricane played 559 games in the red and black. He was a big pa

  Hurricanes (10-1-0) vs Flyers (6-3-2) Carolina stormed back against the Lightning to win 2-1 in overtime last game. Now they return to PNC for two games before starting a 5-game west coast road trip. They will face the Flyers, who have been up and down to start this season. This matchup is important for both metropolitan teams. As the two are battling for a better position in the best division in the NHL. Previous Meeting The previous game between Philadelphia and Carolina was back in the 19-20 shortened season. Carolina lost this game 4-1, and it was one of the last few games played by Carolina before the season was delayed by Covid. Goaltending bounce-back in Philly The Flyers' goaltending is what cost them a lot of games last season. This season they have turned that negative into a strength. Carter Hart and Martin Jones(!) have held down the net for the Flyers. Carter Hart has saved 6.1 Goals Above Expected in 8 starts, and Martin Jones has saved 4.9 Goals Above Expected in 3

  Hurricanes (9-1-0) @ Lightning (6-3-2) The Hurricanes look to bounce back after a bad performance against Florida last game, in which they suffered their first loss of the season. They take on the two-time defending Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, the team that outed them in the 2nd round of the playoffs last season. Previous Meeting The last meaningful game between Carolina and Tampa Bay was game 5 of last season’s 2nd round. Tampa Bay ended Carolina’s season by defeating them 2-0. Ross Colton scored the dagger goal in the 3rd period to help Tampa move onto the Semifinals.  No Kucherov? No Problem The Lightning have gone 4-2-2 since superstar Nikita Kucherov suffered an injury to take him out for extended time. They played the entire regular season last year without Kucherov, and they went an impressive 36-17-3. This team is at another level with Kucherov in the lineup without question, but Tampa Bay is a veteran team that knows how to win without their best player.  Hurricanes sh