What - Game 53 (30-17-5)
When - 9:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 16
Where - Mullett Arena; Tempe, AZ
How to Watch - NHL Network, Bally Sports South, Scripps Sports
The Carolina Hurricanes are in the desert this weekend with a rematch against the Arizona Coyotes (23-25-4) first on the agenda.
The Canes are coming off of a 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, a game in which they weren't bad, but also were a bit too loose in the neutral zone in.
The Hurricanes will also look to get a little more out of their top line of Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen who were all held without a shot on Tuesday.
I expect Spencer Martin to start in goal tonight as the Hurricanes will also play tomorrow in Vegas.
The Coyotes are losers of their last seven including most recently, a 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
The 'Yotes also lost starting netminder Connor Ingram to injury on Wednesday and he is expected to miss 7-10 days.
Things haven't gone well yet again for the Desert Dogs this season, but there's enough scoring talent up front to catch a team by surprise, so it will key to not get caught looking ahead to Saturday.
Streaks
- None
Milestone Watch
- Brett Pesce will play in career game 600 tonight.
- Jesperi Kotkaniemi played in his 200th game as a Carolina Hurricane against Dallas on Tuesday.
- Jaccob Slavin (257) is one point shy of tying Justin Faulk (258) for the most points by a defenseman in franchise history.
Game Notes
- Carolina is 1-0-0 against Arizona this season with a 3-1 win over the 'Yotes on Jan. 27.
- In their last 18 games, the Hurricanes are 14-2-2 against the Coyotes.
- Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas are all point-per-game players against the Coyotes.
Key Matchups
Starting Goalies
- Spencer Martin: 4-8-1; 0.889 Sv%; 3.52 GAA
- Karel Vejmelka: 6-12-2; 0.900 Sv%; 3.36 GAA
Leading Scorers
- Goals - Sebastian Aho (19) / Clayton Keller (21)
- Points - Sebastian Aho (57) / Clayton Keller (49)
Power Play
- Carolina - 27.5% (2nd)
- Arizona - 21.9% (14th)
Penalty Kill
- Carolina - 84.3% (4th)
- Arizona - 79.4% (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 - Brett Pesce
Jalen Chatfield - Dmitry Orlov
Spencer Martin
Pyotr Kochetkov
Injuries and Scratches: Brendan Lemieux, Tony DeAngelo, Antti Raanta (LBI), Frederik Andersen (blood-clotting issue)
Coyotes Projected Lineup
Clayton Keller - Jack McBain - Nick Schmaltz
Matias Maccelli - Nick Bjugstad - Lawson Crouse
Logan Cooley - Barrett Hayton - Dylan Guenther
Jason Zucker - Alex Kerfoot - Michael Carcone
JJ Moser - Sean Durzi
Travis Dermott - Matt Dumba
Juuso Valimaki - Michael Kesselring
Karel Vejmelka
Matt Villalta
Injuries and Scratches: Josh Brown, Adam Ruzicka, Travis Boyd (pectoral), Connor Ingram (undisclosed), Liam O'Brien (UBI), Troy Stecher (LBI)
Recent Articles