The Carolina Hurricanes face a second consecutive stiff test from an Atlantic Division foe on Saturday night, as the Detroit Red Wings make their way into the Lenovo Center for a 7:00 pm puck drop.
After defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in thrilling fashion in their first game back from the Olympic break on Thursday, the Hurricanes get another possible playoff preview tonight.
After floundering for years under former Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman, the Yzerplan has finally started to pay
dividends this season for Detroit, which brings a 34-19-6 record to Saturday’s contest.
That’s good enough to have the Red Wings sitting in third place in an extremely competitive Atlantic Division race. Detroit could very feasibly finish anywhere from second in the division to the second wild card spot.
The Wings are led in points by Lucas Raymond with 62. Raymond, who was a sparse bright spot for Team Sweden in Milan, has racked up 19 goals and 43 assists in 57 games.
Alex DeBrincat paces Detroit with 30 goals, while captain Dylan Larkin is right on his heels with 28.
On the back end, the Wings are led by German star Moritz Seider, who has taken a massive leap forward at both ends of the rink this season. His excellent defensive play and strong offensive production (39 points) have put him squarely in the race for the Norris Trophy.
Goalie John Gibson has gone 23-12-2 in the first season of his career outside of Anaheim.
For Carolina’s part, this game presents an opportunity to run their point streak to 12 games. Thursday’s win shortened the runway, but it didn’t give the Canes any more cushion in the Metropolitan, as the Pittsburgh Penguins picked up a win as well.
The Pens have another prime opportunity for two points Saturday as they visit the flailing New York Rangers for a matinee at Madison Square Garden.
Carolina’s Olympians shined in their first game back on Thursday, as Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and Nikolaj Ehlers all found the back of the net against Tampa.
With Andrei Svechnikov’s game at a high water mark, and the second line of Jackson Blake, Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven looking sharp on Thursday, it feels like Rod Brind’Amour’s forward group is finally rounding into peak form.
Brandon Bussi had the net on Thursday, so we could see Frederik Andersen between the pipes for the Canes tonight. It’s more than understandable given the long layoff and the opponent, but Bussi did not have his best game in Carolina’s win over the Bolts.
FanDuel Sports Network will have you covered for the game starting with the pre-game show at 6:30 leading up to puck drop at 7:00;
