On the last Saturday Night of the North Carolina State Fair, the Carolina Hurricanes will travel into Dallas to play the last game of the yearly road trip it causes. It’s the first of two anticipated meetings
between the teams, although the second one might be a little more hyped.
The Canes come into Dallas fresh off their thrilling 5-4 shootout win of Colorado but banged up. They entered the trip without Jaccob Slavin and Pyotr Kochetkov, and in the process they’ve also lost Shane Gostisbehere, K’Andre Miller, Eric Robinson, and William Carrier. If you’re keeping track that three starting defensemen, three forwards, and one goalie. All will likely be waiting for the Canes back in Raleigh but how long they will all be out is up in the air.
It’s possible then that we may see the debut of Bradly Nadeau, who has already made a name for himself with a lacrosse goal in the AHL, and was a difficult cut at the end of the preseason. With all the injuries we’ll likely see several members of the Chicago Wolves join the Hurricanes for at least a game, and due to playing two games in a row and the extra frame it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Brandon Bussi get the start between the pipes so Andersen can get some extra rest before the Canes come back.
Fortunately for the Canes, the Sebastian Aho/Nikolaj Ehlers/Seth Jarvis line is cooking. Ehlers has still yet to pot his first goal as a Cane, however his effect on the other two has been clear as Aho currently has nine points with three goals and six assists, while Jarvis has been white-hot scoring seven goals and four assists for eleven points to lead the team. Ehlers has secured an assist in each of the last two games, and Thursday was the closest he’s gotten to scoring. It feels like a matter of time.
In the Dallas the Canes will face a slumping squad. The Stars got off to a 3-0 start, but since then are 0-3-1 with their most recent loss coming in Overtime against the LA Kings Thursday. All but one of these four games have been at home, and this game will be the front end of a back-to-back as Dallas will head up to Nashville Sunday evening.
Wyatt Johnson is the leading goal scorer and tied for the lead in points, and he’s coming off a two point night against the Kings. Jake Oettinger is just 3-2 in his five starts so far, with a sub-.900 save percentage and a 3.15 GAA. It’s still early, but as competative as the Western Conference is going to be, the Canes should expect to face a team that has some urgency to keep their early season from spiraling out of control. They are already six points out of first versus the same Avalanche team the Canes just beat.
Oh and then there’s also Mikko Rantanen and Logan Stankoven.
Saturday will be the first time the two teams have met since the blockbuster trade deadline move that sent Rantanen to the Stars and saw the Canes acquire Stankoven. Both have made their marks early with their new squads, and both have signed for the long term with their new squads. Rantanen is the other one tied with Johnson for the lead in points, while Stankoven is still adjusting to the new role as center. It’s had it’s ups and downs as expected as he was weak on the faceoff dot on Thursday, but also had the last goal the Canes scored by doing what they got him for—just willing the puck in.
There will likely be questions and discussion, but ultimately Stankoven was popular in Dallas and should be expected to be warmly greeted by Stars fans. The real anticiaption is for the return match on January 6th when it’s—unlikely—Canes fans will do the same with Rantanen.
Your Saturday Night special will once again be on FanDuel Sports Nework, and it will include the earliest start time in two weeks—8 PM. Who knows what to expect as this trip wraps up,
