The State Fair road trip rolls on as the Carolina Hurricanes will pay a visit to the Colorado Avalanche for a game that is highly anticipated for a number of reasons.
From a player perspective, it will mark the first time the Hurricanes have seen Martin Necas and Jack Drury since the blockbuster Mikko Rantanen trade, as well as Brent Burns for the first time since he signed with the Avalanche in free agency.
It’s also an early-season showdown between two of the very best teams in the league. The Hurricanes
are 5-1-0 after falling in Vegas on Monday night, while Colorado owns a 5-0-2 record to put them atop the Central Division.
And last but not least, the uniform matchup has caused quite a stir. Colorado is debuting its Quebec Nordique throwback jersey, and the teams were able to coordinate the Hurricanes wearing their white Hartford Whalers look for a full-on nostalgia bomb. The two teams will also wear the uniforms for the return meeting in Raleigh in January.
Colorado’s lines, per Daily Faceoff, are as follows:
Forwards
Arrturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton – Jack Drury – Victor Olofsson
Parker Kelly – Zakhar Bardakov – Gavin Brindley
Defensemen
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Josh Manson – Brent Burns
Ilya Solovyov – Sam Malinski
Goalies
Scott Wedgewood
Trent Miner
The Avs are without starting goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood as well as puck-moving defenseman Samuel Girard due to injuries.
Necas leads the team with 11 points and 6 assists, while MacKinnon’s 6 goals pace the club. Wedgewood has made every start in Blackwood’s absence, and he’s been phenomenal, posting a .927 save percentage and 1.84 goals against average.
Their last time out, the Avalanche fell short in overtime against the Utah Mammoth on the road.
As for Carolina, the Hurricanes will be without defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Jaccob Slavin once again, both of whom are not currently on the road trip, which will finally come to a close against Dallas on Saturday.
Carolina is a modest underdog to pull out the win tonight.
