What - Game 40 (22-13-4)
When - 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 6
Where - PNC Arena; Raleigh, NC
How to Watch - Bally Sports South
The Carolina Hurricanes will host the St. Louis Blues (19-17-1) tonight at PNC Arena.
The Hurricanes, who are already a bit shorthanded, will also be playing on the second half of a back-to-back, so fatigue will definitely be a concern.
Martin Necas (UBI) and Stefan Noesen (LBI) remain game-time decisions, but if at least one can go, the Hurricanes should be able to run a normal lineup.
If not, it's back to 11/7, although Carolina would prefer not to do that as Tony DeAngelo played just 3:53 last night.
On the bright side, rookie Vasily Ponomarev certainly made a splash in his debut, having an assist on the game-tying goal and scoring one of his own.
He'll look to keep momentum rolling against St. Louis.
Carolina has been red hot since exiting the holiday break and have won their last five games, having scored 5+ goals in four of those.
The duo of Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov have been unstoppable and Brent Burns is starting to round back into form offensively.
The offense may have to keep up that pace too as Antti Raanta is projected to start in net tonight.
St. Louis has been a very hot and cold team this season, so there's no telling how they'll show out in Raleigh.
They've had abysmal special teams this season and have had some stretches of good goaltending, but fairly inconsistently.
Streaks
- Sebastian Aho (3g, 13a) and Andrei Svechnikov (7g, 7a) have points in six straight games.
- Svechnikov has also posted a single-season, franchise record of six straight multi-point games.
- Brent Burns (2g, 2a) has points in back-to-back games.
Milestone Watch
- None within reach
Game Notes
- Carolina has a 34-43-5-5 all-time record against St. Louis.
- Last season, the Canes swept the season series with a 6-4 and 4-1 win.
- The two teams will meet for the final time April 12.
Key Matchups
Starting Goalies
- Antti Raanta: 7-5-1; 0.855 Sv%; 3.56 GAA
- Jordan Binnington: 12-11-1; 0.902 Sv%; 3.14 GAA
Leading Scorers
- Goals - Sebastian Aho (15) / Robert Thomas (16)
- Points - Sebastian Aho (46) / Robert Thomas (41)
Power Play
- Carolina - 28.2% (9th)
- St. Louis - 11.1% (31st)
Penalty Kill
- Carolina - 82.7% (9th)
- St. Louis - 79.6% (19th)
Hurricanes Projected Lineup
Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Teuvo Teravainen
Michael Bunting - Jack Drury - Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - Seth Jarvis
Brendan Lemieux - Vasily Ponomarev
Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Brady Skjei - Brett Pesce
Dmitry Orlov - Jalen Chatfield
Tony DeAngelo*
Antti Raanta
Pyotr Kochetkov
Injuries and Scratches: Stefan Noesen (illness)*, Martin Necas (UBI)*, Jesper Fast (UBI), Frederik Andersen (blood-clotting issue)
*The Canes did not hold a morning skate today. Noesen and Necas remain game-time decisions.
Blues Projected Lineup
Pavel Buchnevich - Robert Thomas - Jordan Kyrou
Brandon Saad - Brayden Schenn - Jake Neighbours
Alexey Toropchenko - Kevin Hayes - Kasperi Kapanen
Nathan Walker - Oskar Sundqvist - Jakub Vrana
Nick Leddy - Colton Parayko
Torey Krug - Matthew Kessel
Marco Scandella - Scott Perunovich
Jordan Binnington
Joel Hofer
Injuries and Scratches: Sammy Blais, Tyler Tucker, Justin Faulk (LBI)
Recent Articles