2/20 Game Thread- Canes @ Pittsburgh: 1:00PM Puck Drop

[Anybodyhome]

Last Time Out: Despite allowing two goals to Nashville with the extra attacker on Friday night, the Carolina Hurricanes were the better team in a 5-3 victory over Nashville on Friday. Andrei Svechnikov paved the way with a three point performance, bringing his recent tear to 21 points in his last 14 games. Frederik Andersen made 28 stops along the way for Carolina, earning his 26th win of the year.

We Meet Again: The Canes are 48 games into their 82-game season and have yet to take on the Penguins, despite being in the same division. This means that the two sides will get together four times in the final 34 games, each with valuable points on the line for playoff positioning. Pittsburgh has made quite a nice year for themselves, especially given that both superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have missed time due to injuries. On top of those two being out for extended periods of time, several other key pieces missed time due to COVID-19.

Trocheck TBD: After departing Friday night's victory with an upper-body injury after one period of play, Vincent Trocheck's status remains up in the air for today's battle. A Pittsburgh native, the right-handed center was being evaluated yesterday morning as the team practiced at Wake Competition Center and following the skate Rod Brind'Amour said that he was unsure if Trocheck would be traveling with the team on the trip. The head coach is expected to speak with the media at 10:45 a.m. to share more info.

Next Man Up: When Trocheck came out the lineup Friday, Jesperi Kotkaniemi was offered perhaps his biggest opportunity as a member of the Canes, sliding up to center Steven Lorentz and Martin Necas on the second line. "KK" would go on to lead all Carolina forwards in ice time and received some strong compliments post-game from his head coach. Brind'Amour said that he thought 21-year-old did well in the spot and kept him in that same position at Saturday's practice. Derek Stepan slid into the fourth line, centering Seth Jarvis and Jordan Martinook.

Skjeisy Baby: After opening the scoring against Nashville Friday, Brady Skjei became the first defenseman to record six goals since the turn of the calendar year.

700 For Nino: Nino Niederreiter is expected to play in his 700th National Hockey League game today. It will be his 202nd as a Hurricane. The former first round pick has totaled 348 points in the league and is currently on pace for a career-high 28 goals this season.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Milestone Watch:  Antti Raanta is one win shy of 100 in his NHL career. Derek Stepan is one point shy of 500 for his NHL career.

What Are We Wearing?: The team will be wearing their white sweaters today.

 

Edited February 20, 2022 by Anybodyhome

[Harbingers]

Dunno why we are going Raanta today when we got Philly tomorrow and then a few days off. 

[Anybodyhome]

Conceding a game for first place.

Anderson was very slow during the late minutes of the Nashville game. Maybe he's gassed.

[Harbingers]

14 minutes ago, Anybodyhome said:

Conceding a game for first place.

Anderson was very slow during the late minutes of the Nashville game. Maybe he's gassed.

Could be. 

[Harbingers]

Surprised they actually called a cross check there. 

[Harbingers]

Oh fug that was brutal right there. Point blank to the neck. 

[Harbingers]

Raanta also looking like a real goalie today. 

[zacka77ack]

Come oh, Aho....

everyone knows youre going backhand, forehand, 5 hole on a breakaway. Do something else....

[Stumpy]

KK lighting up the scoreboard first

Yes, Perry is looking like a steal...

[zacka77ack]

3 minutes ago, Stumpy said:

KK lighting up the scoreboard first

Yes, Perry is looking like a steal...

I saw something that said he has more goals than anyone on the Canadiens.

[Stumpy]

2 minutes ago, zacka77ack said:

I saw something that said he has more goals than anyone on the Canadiens.

And that's before you convert from metric to standard goals!

[Anybodyhome]

Who's wearing Raanta's uni?

[Stumpy]

3 minutes ago, Anybodyhome said:

Who's wearing Raanta's uni?

Waddell borrowed the TARDIS and brought back Cam Ward circa 06/07.

Shhhh... don't tell anybody! Don't want to get in trouble for skirting the salary cap

[Anybodyhome]

That's probably game. Raanta will probably give up 2-3 in the third because Carolina can't keep the puck out of the D zone.