What - Game 59 (33-21-4)
When - 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 26
Where - Lenovo Center; Raleigh, NC
How to Watch - FanDuel Sports Network South
The Carolina Hurricanes, or should I say Hartford Whalers, will be taking on the Buffalo Sabres tonight in the first game back in Raleigh since the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
The Canes have struggled out of the break, losing 6-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday and then 4-0 to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
On the other hand, the Sabres have won each of their last two games out of the break, smashing the New York Rangers 8-2 on Saturday and then overcoming a multi-goal deficit for a 3-2 against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
Carolina is desperately needing to find some stable offense as both the 5v5 and power play scoring has been very suspect.
The Hurricanes need their top players to step up and start playing like the high-end talents they are.
Tonight will be a good test for that.
Streaks
- None
Milestone Watch
- Jordan Martinook will play in his 700th career game tonight.
- Jack Roslovic is one goal shy of 100 career goals.
- Shayne Gostisbehere is two points shy of 400 career points.
- Mikko Rantanen is four assists shy of 400 career assists.
- Jordan Staal is five goals away from 300 career goals.
Game Notes
- Carolina is 0-1-0 against Buffalo this season having lost 4-2 on Jan. 15.
- Taylor Hall played 37 games with the Sabres in 2020-21.
- Sebastian Aho (15g, 28pts, 20gp), Mikko Rantanen (8g, 21pts, 15gp) and Andrei Svechnikov (2g, 13pts, 12gp) are point-per-game players against Buffalo for their careers.
Key Matchups
Projected Starting Goalies
- Pyotr Kochetkov: 20-11-3; 0.903 Sv%; 2.55 GAA
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: 20-16-4; 0.895 Sv%; 2.97 GAA
Leading Scorers
- Goals - Mikko Rantanen (26) / Tage Thompson (28)
- Points - Mikko Rantanen (67) / Tage Thompson (51)
Power Play
- Carolina - 19.4% (24th)
- Buffalo - 16.7% (27th)
Penalty Kill
- Carolina - 84.3% (2nd)
- Buffalo - 77.5% (20th)
Hurricanes Projected Lineup
Seth Jarvis - Sebastian Aho - Mikko Rantanen
Taylor Hall - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Jackson Blake
Andrei Svechnikov - Jordan Staal - Jordan Martinook
Eric Robinson - Tyson Jost - Jack Roslovic
Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burn
Dmitry Orlov - Jalen Chatfield
Shayne Gostisbehere - Sean Walker
Pyotr Kochetkov
Frederik Andersen
Injuries and Scratches: Riley Stillman, William Carrier (LBI), Jesper Fast (neck)
Sabres Projected Lineup
JJ Peterka - Jiri Kulich - Tage Thompson
Jason Zucker - Ryan McLeod - Alex Tuch
Jordan Greenway - Dylan Cozens - Jack Quinn
Zach Benson - Peyton Krebs - Beck Malenstyn
Bowen Byram - Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power - Matias Samuelsson
Dennis Gilbert - Henri Jokiharju
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
James Reimer
Injuries and Scratches: Jacob Bryson, Sam Lafferty
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