The Global Series is finally upon us! At noon Eastern today, the Carolina Hurricanes will square off against the Seattle Kraken at Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki, Finland as two of the NHL’s most Finn-forward teams take their season series international.
For Sebastian Aho, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jusso Valimaki, the series represents a cherished chance to play in their home country and share their national culture with their teammates.
The Hurricanes have played in Helsinki before, opening the 2010-11 season
with a pair of wins over the Minnesota Wild. If they sweep Seattle Thursday and Saturday, they’ll be the first NHL team to reach four wins outside North America.
According to Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News, Carolina’s lineup will be the same as it has been for the most part lately, but one change from the win over Chicago last Saturday is that Valimaki will draw in for Alexander Nikishin.
The Canes have a pair of considerable point streaks they’ll look to continue in star forwards Jackson Blake (nine games) and Logan Stankoven (seven games).
The Kraken enter with some confidence, as they’re off to a better start than expected by most prognosticators. They currently sit two points out of the Western Conference playoff picture with a game in hand thanks to their 9-6-1 record.
Seattle has notoriously not had a high-profile offensive engine on their roster, but they’re doing a better job of getting things done by committee in the absence of one so far this year. The Kraken have eight players with at least 10 points through the team’s 16 games, though they’re led by promising young center Berkly Catton. The No. 8 overall pick from the 2024 NHL Draft has 14 points on 5 goals and 9 assists.
The current leader among their Finnish contingent, former New York Rangers winger Kaapo Kakko seems to be figuring things out in the PNW. He’s got 13 points (3 goals, 10 assists) through 16 appearances.
Phillip Grubauer and Joey Daccord have split the crease pretty evenly to similar effect. The Canes will likely see both of them in Helsinki. Grubauer owns a .890 save percentage in 10 appearances while Daccord is rocking a .881 in 9 games played.
One important note, while both of these games are of course neutral site contests, the Kraken will be the designated home team today, while it will be Carolina on Saturday, meaning Seattle will have last change in this game.
If you did not make the voyage to Helsinki to see the games in person, here’s how to check out the action:
Time: 12:00 PM Eastern
Location: Veikkaus Arena — Helsinki, FIN
TV: This game will be broadcast locally on Hurricanes Hockey Network. Mike Maniscalco will have play-by-play with Tripp Tracy on color commentary— You can catch HHN on Spectrum, DirectTV, and Fubo. For those living outside the Hurricanes’ regional TV viewing area, the game will air on NHL Network.
Streaming Video: Hurricanes Hockey Network on Prime Video in the Hurricanes Footprint.
Radio: 99.9, 730 The Game in Charlotte, ESPN New Bern 107.5/1490, and ESPN Greenville 107.5/1570 will pick up the Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy TV simulcast.
Lines: (Per FanDuel) Hurricanes -300, -1.5 (-122) /Predators +240, +1.5 (+100). O/U 6.5 -110/-110
