The defending champions raise their banner before facing a revitalized, healthy Panthers squad. Witness a heavyweight clash of recent title winners as the NHL season sparks to life.
What - Game 1
When - 5 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 29
Where - Lenovo Center; Raleigh, NC
How to Watch - ESPN
The Carolina Hurricanes will raise their championship banner and open up the 2026-27 NHL season tonight when the team takes on the Florida Panthers.
The game, which is the first on the league's slate this year, will pit the winners of the last three Stanley Cups against one another in what should be an exciting matchup.
The Hurricanes look nearly identical to the the team that hoisted Lord Stanley just three months ago, with almost every player returning outside of Frederik Andersen and Alexander Nikishin.
The team looks like they haven't missed a beat and so we'll see how ready they are once the puck is dropped.
Florida on the other hand is going to look a lot different than how they ended the year last season.
The Panthers were one of the most injured teams in the league and so they're going to be getting back some significant pieces such as Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk to go along with new additions in Brady Tkachuk and Jacob Markstrom.
Many people are expecting Florida to once again compete for crown, and this opening matchup should see how they stack up now back to full health.
Streaks
- N/A
Milestone Watch
- Jordan Staal is one point shy of 500 points as a Carolina Hurricane and two goals shy of 200 goals as a Carolina Hurricane.
- Logan Stankoven will skate in his 100th game as a Carolina Hurricane. He's also five points away from 100 career NHL points.
- Jordan Martinook is three points shy of 200 as a Carolina Hurricane and four games shy of 800 career games played.
Game Notes
- Carolina and Florida have played one another 147 times in the regular season, with the Canes holding a 75-50-11-11 all-time record.
- Sebastian Aho (14g, 35pts in 35gp) is a point-per-game player against the Panthers.
- Hurricanes connections to Florida include defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere having been born there (Pembroke Pines), goalie Brandon Bussi having been with the organization before being claimed off of waivers, defenseman Mike Reilly playing in two games with Florida in 2023 and assistant coach Jeff Daniels having played in 10 games with the Panthers back in 1994.
- Panthers connections to Carolina include defenseman Gustav Forsling having spent one year with the organization's AHL affiliate in 2019-20 before being claimed off of waivers, forward Eetu Luostarinen being drafted by the team in 2017 before being traded to Florida in 2020 as part of the Vincent Trocheck package, assistant coach Tuomo Ruutu played in 378 games with the Hurricanes from 2008-2014 and head coach Paul Maurice coached the Whalers/Hurricanes from 1995-2003 and again from 2008-2011.
Key Matchups
Projected Starting Goalies
- Brandon Bussi: 31-6-2; 0.894 Sv%; 2.47 GAA
- Jacob Markstrom: 23-19-1; 0.883 Sv%; 3.07 GAA
Leading Scorers
- Goals - Andrei Svechnikov (31) / Sam Reinhart (29)
- Points - Sebastian Aho (80) / Sam Reinhart (61)
Power Play
- Carolina - 24.9% (4th)
- Florida - 19.5% (19th)
Penalty Kill
- Carolina - 80.5% (11th)
- Florida - 81% (9th)
Hurricanes Projected Lineup
Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Eric Robinson
Taylor Hall - Logan Stankoven - Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers - Jordan Staal - Jordan Martinook
Nicolas Deslauriers - Mark Jankowski - William Carrier
Jaccob Slavin - Jalen Chatfield
K'Andre Miller - Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere - Charles Alexis Legault
Brandon Bussi
Pyotr Kochetkov
Injuries and Scratches: Mike Reilly, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Cayden Primeau, Seth Jarvis (IR, shoulder)
Panthers Projected Lineup
Brady Tkachuk - Aleksander Barkov - Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe - Sam Bennett - Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen - Anton Lundell - Sandis Vilmanis
Boko Imama - Lars Eller - Garnet Hathaway
Gustav Forsling - Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola - Seth Jones
Dmitry Kulikov - Radko Gudas
Jacob Markstrom
Akira Schmid
Injuries and Scratches: Uvis Balinskis, Brad Marchand (IR, LBI)
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