Hurricanes face league-leading Avalanche. Can they stop MacKinnon and end their losing streak at home?
What - Game 41 (24-13-3)
When - 7 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 3
Where - Lenovo Center; Raleigh, NC
How to Watch - FanDuel Sports Network South, Altitude
The Carolina Hurricanes have a tall task in front of them as they host the league leading Colorado Avalanche tonight at Lenovo Center.
The Canes are coming off of a 7-5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday and they've now lost twice in a row.
The team has struggled to defend as of late, with multiple turnovers and poor reads leading to a plethora of goals against and if that continues, tonight might get really ugly.
The Avalanche enter tonight's contest on a nine-game winning streak and in fact, have only lost twice in regulation all season.
Leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon paces all players and the Avs also sport the best overall team save percentage as well.
It's going to be quite a challenge.
Streaks
- Joel Nystrom (2a) has points in back-to-back games.
Milestone Watch
- Sebastian Aho is one goal away from 300 career goals.
Game Notes
- Carolina is 1-0-0 against Colorado, having won 5-4 in a shootout Oct. 23 in Denver.
- Brent Burns, Martin Necas and Jack Drury are all playing back at Lenovo Center for the first time since departing from Carolina.
- Nikolaj Ehlers (14g, 29pts in 29gp) is a point-per-game player for his career against the Avs.
Key Matchups
Projected Starting Goalies
- Frederik Andersen: 5-9-2; 0.865 Sv%; 3.38 GAA
- Scott Wedgewood: 17-1-4; 0.919 Sv%; 2.13 GAA
Leading Scorers
- Goals - Seth Jarvis (19) / Nathan MacKinnon (34)
- Points - Sebastian Aho (40) / Nathan MacKinnon (70)
Power Play
- Carolina - 19% (17th)
- Colorado - 15.9% (29th)
Penalty Kill
- Carolina - 79.6% (18th)
- Colorado - 85.7% (1st)
Hurricanes Projected Lineup
Nikolaj Ehlers - Sebastian Aho - Andrei Svechnikov
Eric Robinson - Logan Stankoven - Jackson Blake
William Carrier - Jordan Staal - Jordan Martinook
Taylor Hall - Mark Jankowski - Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Shayne Gostisbehere - Sean Walker
K'Andre Miller - Jalen Chatfield
Alexander Nikishin - Joel Nystrom
Frederik Andersen
Brandon Bussi
Injuries and Scratches: Seth Jarvis (UBI), Jaccob Slavin (UBI)
Avalanche Projected Lineup
Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Martin Necas
Artturi Lehkonen - Brock Nelson - Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton - Jack Drury - Victor Olofsson
Zakhar Bardakov - Parker Kelly - Taylor Makar
Devon Toews - Cale Makar
Josh Manson - Brent Burns
Samuel Girard - Sam Malinski
Scott Wedgewood
Trent Miner
Injuries and Scratches: Mackenzie Blackwood (undisclosed), Gavin Brindley (UBI), Joel Kiviranta (LBI), Logan O'Connor (hip)
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