Game #36 Preview: Hurricanes @ Bruins

 

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, Carolina has trended downward in their 5v5 play. Steadily declining from a 5-game rolling average xGoals percentage of 59.7% to 50.8% (Via MoneyPuck.com). Carolina is 5-1-1 in these seven games, but this level of play will not be sustainable for the rest of the season if they want to contend for the Cup. 


Projected Lines

Teravainen-Aho-Jarvis
Svechnikov-Trocheck-Niedereitter
Lorentz-Staal-Fast

Martinook-Kotkaniemi-Stepan

Slavin-DeAngelo
Skjei-Pesce

Smith-Cole

Andersen
LaFontaine

Covid: Necas
Scratches: Bear
Injuries: Raanta


What the Analytics Predict
MoneyPuck.com gives Carolina a 41.6% chance of winning tonight


Players to Watch

Freddie Andersen has been a rock all season long for Carolina. He will need to play well for Carolina against this hot Bruins team if they want to win tonight.


Brad Marchand, snubbed from the “all-star” game has only gotten better with age. His point-scoring pace per season has steadily increased year by year. He is a superstar and will be the biggest threat to Carolina, who just got Jaccob Slavin back from covid.

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