What - Game 58 (36-15-6) When - 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 26 Where - Lenovo Center; Raleigh, NC How to Watch - FanDuel Sports Network South, The Spot Sebastian Aho on Olympic experience -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NHL hockey is back on in Raleigh as the Carolina Hurricanes return to action as they host the Tampa Bay Lightning. The two titans of the East will go head-to-head for the second time this season as both look to stake their claim as the best team in the conference. Carolina enters tonight's contest on a 10-game points streak and wins in their last three games, while Tampa Bay are winners of six in a row and nine of their last 10. The Hurricanes will also be looking to shake off the rust from a long layoff while the Lightning have the benefit of having played already last night. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STREAKS * Jordan Staal (4g, 1a) has points in five straight games. * Andrei Svechnikov (1g, 2a) has points in three straight games. * Nikolaj Ehlers (2a) has points in back-to-back games. MILESTONE WATCH * Taylor Hall is four goals away from 300 career goals. * Jordan Staal is four assists away from 300 assists as a Carolina Hurricane. * Jalen Chatfield is five games away from 300 games played as a Hurricane. GAME NOTES * Carolina is 0-1-0 against Tampa Bay this season, having lost 6-4 Dec. 20. * The Lightning had a trio of Olympians that played alongside the Hurricanes' Olympians. Brandon Hagel played for Team Canada, Jake Guentzel played for Team USA and Oliver Bjorkstrand played for Team Denmark. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KEY MATCHUPS PROJECTED STARTING GOALIES * Brandon Bussi: 23-3-1; 0.908 Sv%; 2.16 GAA * Jonas Johansson: 10-7-1; 0.890 Sv%; 2.91 GAA LEADING SCORERS * Goals - Seth Jarvis (25) / Nikita Kucherov (29) * Points - Sebastian Aho (57) / Nikita Kucherov (91) POWER PLAY * Carolina - 21.6% (14th) * Tampa Bay - 22.4% (12th) PENALTY KILL * Carolina - 80.6% (11th) * Tampa Bay - 83.9% (4th) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HURRICANES PROJECTED LINEUP Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis Taylor Hall - Logan Stankoven - Jackson Blake Nikolaj Ehlers - Jordan Staal - Jordan Martinook William Carrier - Mark Jankowski - Eric Robinson Jaccob Slavin - Jalen Chatfield K'Andre Miller - Sean Walker Shayne Gostisbehere - Alexander Nikishin Brandon Bussi Frederik Andersen Injuries and Scratches: Mike Reilly, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Pyotr Kochetkov (hip) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LIGHTNING PROJECTED LINEUP Gage Concalves - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov Brandon Hagel - Dominic James - Jake Guentzel Zemgus Girgensons - Yanni Gourde - Pontus Holmberg Scott Sabourin - Oliver Bjorkstrand J.J. Moser - Darren Raddysh Charle-Edouard D'Astous - Victor Hedman Ryan McDonagh - Erik Cernak Emil Lilleberg Jonas Johannsson Andrei Vasilevskiy Injuries and Scratches: Declan Carlile, Maxwell Crozier (abdomen), Nick Paul (undisclosed), Anthony Cirelli (undisclosed) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stay updated with the most interesting Carolina Hurricanes stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwmeDfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] to never miss a story.
