Game Day Preview: Carolina Hurricanes vs St. Louis Blues
Carolina Hurricanes (16-14-7) vs St. Louis Blues (18-7-3)
The Carolina Hurricanes go into St. Louis tonight to take on the Blues. The Hurricanes are coming off of a 3-1 loss to the Devils on Tuesday night and need to get back on the right track. The Blues are well rested, coming off of a Monday night win over the Blackhawks in the Winter Classic game. The Canes have cooled off as of late. After playing a stretch of seven games with a record of 5-1-1, they have lost their last two games in a row. The Hurricanes will use the game against the Blues to jumpstart their second half of the season.
Game Day By the Numbers
| Hurricanes | Blues | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 16-14-7 | 20-13-5 |
| Last Result | 3-1 L vs NJD | 4-1 W vs CHI |
| Last 10 | 5-4-1 | 5-4-1 |
| FO% | 51.3% | 51.2% |
| ES CF% | 51.79% | 51.59% |
| GF/GP | 2.51 | 2.82 |
| PP% (Goals) | 18.7% (20) | 20.8% (25) |
| SH% (Goals) | 89.0% (5) | 86.4% (0) |
Who’s Hot
Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen continue to make this category. The two are hot right now with Lee Stempniak on the wing. Aho is riding a four-game point streak and has scored in the last two games. Teravainen is on a five-game point streak and is taking the next step in his progression. Look for the Finnish duo to have a good game against the St. Louis Blues and continue their point streaks.
Who’s Not
Jeff Skinner and Rask, still. Nothing more needs to be said, however, something else has cooled off recently as well. The Hurricanes penalty kill started off the season very hot. It is still the best penalty kill in the league but is now sub-90%. The Hurricanes biggest strength is their ability to shut other team’s power plays down. The Canes need to refocus and continue to dominate the penalty kill. We wrote a piece on Rask’s struggles yesterday.
Storylines
The Hurricanes picked up forward Ty Rattie off of waivers from the Blues yesterday. Immediately Bill Peters is plugging him in with Skinner and Rask on the top line. Rattie is a good player, but he is unproven at the NHL level. Putting him with Skinner and Rask could jump-start Skinner and Rask, and give Rattie a chance to prove himself.
Faulk is back in the lineup after being out with a lower-body injury. The Hurricanes have missed his offensive contributions, however, where he will help the most is in the transition game.
Lindholm is skating but he is still out with an upper-body injury. He is getting closer to a return and is on the trip with the team.
Lineup
Hurricanes  |
||
|---|---|---|
| Forwards | ||
| Skinner | Rask | Rattie |
| McGinn | Staal | Ryan |
| Aho | Teravainen | Stempniak |
| Nordstrom | McClement | Stalberg |
| Defense | ||
| Slavin/Pesce | ||
| Faulk/Hainsey | ||
| Hanifin/Murphy | ||
| Goalies | ||
| Ward | ||
| Leighton |
How To Watch
PNC Arena: Puck Drop at 7:00 pm ET
Watch: Fox Sports Carolinas / Fox Sports Go app
Listen: 99.9 FM The Fan / WRALsportsfan.com
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