Carolina Hurricanes Look to Kick Off Road Trip with Win Over Detroit Red Wings
By Brett Finger
A tough opening week leads the winless Carolina Hurricanes into a rough 7-game road trip that kicks off in Hockey Town against the Detroit Red Wings.
The Carolina Hurricanes look to turn around yet another tough October with a big road win against the Red Wings.
Information
Carolina Hurricanes (0-3-0) vs. Detroit Red Wings (3-0-0)
October 16, 2015 – 7:30 pm (EST)
Detroit, Michigan
TV/Radio: Fox Sports South East/99.9 FM The Fan, WRALSportsFan.com
Lineups
Carolina Hurricanes
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Detroit Red Wings
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Preview
Friday could be a night of firsts for a couple players on the Carolina Hurricanes as they take on Detroit in game 1 of a 7-game road trip.
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Brock McGinn and Brett Pesce could both make their NHL debuts in Hockey Town, and they will be placed in roles to succeed right out of the gate.
McGinn, 21, joined Eric Staal and Kris Versteeg on the team’s top forward line in practice on Thursday, which means he will likely stay there for the start of Friday’s game, which means that the coaching staff is putting a lot of trust in the young forward who is just over one season into his professional hockey career.
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He tallied 2 goals in 2 games for the Charlotte Checkers prior to being called up earlier this week.
Brett Pesce, a rookie defenseman just a few months removed from his final games at the collegiate level with the University of New Hampshire, rotated in with the defense on Thursday in Raleigh. It is unlikely that he will play in Detroit, but he could crack the lineup on Saturday in Washington.
The Carolina Hurricanes carry a 14-game October losing streak into Friday’s road matchup, a streak dating back to October 19, 2013. The club will look to put an end to this winless month and get their first win of the season.
Just under a week ago in Raleigh, the Hurricanes played two stellar periods against this same Red Wings team, outshooting them 34-8 and outscoring them 2-1 through 40 minutes, but the bottom fell out in period three and Detroit was able to mount a comeback and win by a final score of 4-3.
That was a heart breaking loss for this young team, but they will look to avenge that blown opportunity with a good outing to ring in the weekend.
Cam Ward is the confirmed starter for Carolina on Friday. He also got the net in the 4-3 loss last Saturday against Detroit. He allowed 4 goals on 19 shots.
Riley Nash (upper-body) and Joakim Nordstrom (lower-body) both will not be in the lineup for the Hurricanes in Detroit. Nash is still 1-2 weeks away from returning from a shoulder injury that he suffered against Detroit last week, and Nordstrom is expected to miss the next two games with his lower-body concern.
Carolina Hurricanes
As beat up as Carolina is, the Detroit Red Wings are much worse off, but they haven’t been playing like it.
Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, and Darren Helm will all be out of the lineup due to injury on Friday, and Luke Glendening is listed as questionable.
Despite their injury issues, the Red Wings and their new head coach Jeff Blashill have come out flying in the 2015-2016 season with a 3-0-0 start, with wins over the Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Detroit has 4 players at or over a point per game through 3 games – Henrik Zetterberg (7), Justin Abdelkader (5), Dylan Larkin (4) and Kyle Quincey (3). Carolina’s only player in that category thus far is Justin Faulk who has tallied 1 goal and 2 assists in 3 games.
Jimmy Howard has gotten off to a flaming hot start in net for the Wings this season, and he is expected to get the net on Friday.
The American goalie has allowed just 1 goal in 2 starts, sporting a .977 save percentage and 0.5 goals against average with his 2-0-0 record.
Friday night should feature an exciting matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and Detroit Red Wings. The Canes will look for their first October win in nearly 2 years, and the red-hot Wings will look to remain undefeated.