What - Game 51 (29-16-5)
When - 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 10
Where - PNC Arena; Raleigh, NC
How to Watch - Bally Sports South, MSGSN
The Carolina Hurricanes will faceoff against the New Jersey Devils (25-21-3) tonight at PNC Arena.
The Canes are coming off of a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche and the offense has been firing as of late.
Adding to that firepower will be the anticipated return of Andrei Svechnikov who has missed the last six games with an oblique injury.
"If we want to be the team we want to be, we have to have our best players," said Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "You can get by, but you certainly aren't going to have any success unless your top guys are going. He needs to be in there and needs to be playing the way he was. We need him in there."
Brett Pesce, who missed last game due to illness, will be a game-time decision.
Brind'Amour also stated that netminder Antti Raanta will miss at least a few weeks after sustaining a lower-body injury against Colorado.
New Jersey is coming off of a 5-3 loss to the Calgary Flames, but they did get All-Star center Jack Hughes back in their lineup.
The Devils have a strong offense but there is still plenty of concern with that lineup in terms of the backend.
Streaks
- Seth Jarvis (1g, 6a) has points in six straight games.
- Brent Burns (4a) has points in three straight games.
- Sebastian Aho (1g, 1a) and Teuvo Teravainen (5a) have points in back-to-back games.
Milestone Watch
- Martin Necas scored his first career hat trick against the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 8.
- Seth Jarvis played in his 200th career game also against Colorado.
- Teuvo Teravainen had a career-high four-assist game against Colorado.
Game Notes
- The Canes and Devils are meeting for the second time this season. Carolina won the first game 3-2 on Jan. 25.
- The two teams will meet for the final time this regular season on March 9.
- Tonight is also Whalers Night. The team will be wearing the white Whalers jersey for the game.
Key Matchups
Starting Goalies
- Pyotr Kochetkov : 12-8-3; 0.898 Sv%; 2.61 GAA
- Vitek Vanecek: 17-9-2; 0.887 Sv%; 3.26 GAA
Leading Scorers
- Goals - Sebastian Aho (18) / Tyler Toffoli (21)
- Points - Sebastian Aho (56) / Jesper Bratt (55)
Power Play
- Carolina - 28% (2nd)
- New Jersey - 24.8% (8th)
Penalty Kill
- Carolina - 83.9% (4th)
- New Jersey - 79.2% (18th)
Hurricanes Projected Lineup
Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Teuvo Teravainen
Michael Bunting - Jack Drury - Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - Seth Jarvis
Stefan Noesen - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Jesper Fast
Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Brady Skjei - Dmitry Orlov
Tony DeAngelo - Jalen Chatfield
Pyotr Kochetkov
Spencer Martin
Injuries and Scratches: Brendan Lemieux, Brett Pesce* (illness), Antti Raanta (LBI), Frederik Andersen (blood-clotting issue)
Devils Projected Lineup
Ondrej Palat - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier - Erik Haula - Dawson Mercer
Tyler Toffoli - Jack Hughes - Alexander Holtz
Curtis Lazar - Tomas Nosek - Nathan Bastian
Kevin Bahl - Simon Nemec
Luke Hughes - John Marino
Santeri Hatakka - Colin Miller
Vitek Vanecek
Nico Daws
Injuries and Scratches: Brendan Smith, Nick DeSimone, Chris Tierney, Max Willman, Dougie Hamilton (pectoral), Jonas Siegenthaler (foot)