Carolina Hurricanes Take on Pittsburgh Penguins in Game with Big Playoff Implications

Coming off of a four day layoff, the Carolina Hurricanes take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in a game with big playoff implications.

The Carolina Hurricanes broke even on a three game road trip to Canada last week, and after having four days off the club will hit the ice for an important weekend homestand in Raleigh.

More from Cardiac Cane – Carolina Hurricanes Top Trade Targets

Over the next two days the Canes will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders, teams which hold the highly coveted 2nd wild card spot in the East and 3rd place spot in the Metropolitan Division respectively. The weekend ahead will play a big role in what to expect from this organization, not only going into the trade deadline, but also for the rest of the 2015-2016 season.

Before we get there, though, let’s take a look at the most immediate task at hand. A pivotal Friday night matchup against the star-studded Penguins.

Game Information

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Friday, February 12, 2016, 7:00 pm (EST)

PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina

Fox Sports Carolinas/99.9 FM The Fan

Season Records

Carolina Hurricanes – 24-21-9 – 57 points – 7th in Metropolitan – 11th in East – 4 points out of 2nd Wild Card spot

Pittsburgh Penguins – 27-19-7 – 61 points – 4th in Metropolitan – 8th in East – 3 points out of 3rd in the Metropolitan Division

Team Records – Last 10-20-30 Games with Points %

Carolina Hurricanes – 5-3-2 (60%) – 11-5-4 (65%) – 16-9-5 (62%)

Pittsburgh Penguins – 7-3-0 (70%) – 11-5-4 (65%) – 14-11-5 (55%)

Team/Game Notes

• After failing to meet lofty expectation for much of the first half of the season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have turned things around over their last ten games. They’re winners in 7 of those games, and they’ve thrown themselves into a playoff spot in the process. The offense has been a big part of their comeback as they’ve netted 3.4 goals per game over their last 10 outings, including four 5+ goal games.
• Sidney Crosby has been playing like the world-class player that he truly is over his last 12 games. He has posted an outrageous 22 points over that span after tallying just 31 points in his first 40 games. His 11-game point streak came to an end on Wednesday in Pittsburgh’s 3-0 loss to the New York Rangers.
• The Penguins didn’t struggle to get scoring chances in their aforementioned shutout loss to the Rangers. They outshot New York 34-22 on home ice, but they couldn’t find an answer for Henrik Lundqvist, who played a fabulous game in net. Kris Letang and Phil Kessel combined for 12 shots in the loss.
• Thursday’s practice brought some troubling news for the Hurricanes blue line. All-Star defenseman Justin Faulk left practice early after a collision with forward Brad Malone and did not return. Head coach Bill Peters had no update after practice on the severity of the injury. Faulk did leave the ice under his own power, for what it’s worth. Ron Hainsey didn’t practice at all on Thursday, but Peters indicated that it was nothing serious and that he will likely be good to go for this weekend’s slate of games. Brett Pesce skated once again in practice for Carolina. He has been on IR since late January with a lower-body injury, and it appears that he is getting very close to returning to the lineup.
• The Pens aren’t faring well on the injury front. Headlining a lengthy list of injured players is Evgeni Malkin, accompanied by forwards Nick Bonino, Eric Fehr, Beau Bennett, and defenseman David Warsofsky, all of whom are expected to be out of the lineup on Friday.
• Jeff Skinner netted an early deflection goal in Carolina’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday afternoon. The goal extended his point streak to 5 games. He has 2 goals and 4 assists during his streak.
• While one Staal is in the middle of a lot of trade talks, the other one is in the middle of a massive tear. Jordan Staal, who had an assist on Skinner’s Sunday afternoon goal, has 16 points and is a +14 over his last 14 outings.
• The Hurricanes entered the 2016 NHL All-Star break with a strong 7-2-1 record over their last 10 games. Things have quickly gone a little bit south with a 1-1-1 record on the Canadian road swing to kick off the month of February. All is not lost for the club, however, and they are still in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Friday’s night matchup is the beginning of an 8-point swing for the Canes over the next two days. This weekend will be huge for the Hurricanes as they look to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Next: The Next 10 Games will Determine the Future of the Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes have the edge in the season series against the Penguins so far, posting a 2-1-0 record in three games. The club will look to keep up their dominance on Friday in Raleigh.