Carolina Hurricanes Look for Offensive Revival as They Battle the Colorado Avalanche

The Carolina Hurricanes continue on their season-long seven game road trip on Wednesday night as they take on the Colorado Avalanche.

After three days off, the Carolina Hurricanes return to action and seek a big victory in Denver against the Avalanche.

Information

Carolina Hurricanes vs Colorado Avalanche

October 21, 2015 – 10:00 pm (EST)

Pepsi Center – Denver, Colorado

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Carolinas/99.9 FM The Fan, WRALSportsFan.com

Projected Lineups

Carolina Hurricanes

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Colorado Avalanche

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Source: LeftWingLock.com

Preview

Coming off of a tough loss to the hands of the Washington Capitals on Saturday, the well-rested Carolina Hurricanes will look to get back in the column against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.

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This is game three of a seven-game road trip for the Hurricanes, and this one will be a tough one for the club. This is an important game for Carolina.

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Looking back through the years, the annual October road trip ultimately has decided the fate of the Carolina Hurricanes’ season, and this will likely apply to this season as well. The team is off to a 1-1-0 start to the trip, and picking up a 2nd win on this trip will build confidence and send the team to the West Coast on Friday and Saturday with high spirits.

The Canes sent Brett Pesce back down to the Charlotte Checkers and recalled big blue liner Rasmus Rissanen over the past few days. Rissanen will serve as a 7th defenseman and will likely stick around with the club for the remainder of the road trip, potentially drawing into the lineup at some point if there’s an injury or spree of poor performances.

Good news for Carolina on Tuesday was the return of forward Riley Nash to full-contact practice. He has been nursing a shoulder injury since the team’s home opener on October 10. He was originally said to be out 10-14 days.

If Nash doesn’t play tonight, expect him to be in the lineup on Friday and Saturday as the club heads to California to take on the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks.

Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina Hurricanes /

Carolina Hurricanes

Brock McGinn will remain in a top-line role alongside Eric Staal and Kris Versteeg. The lineup tonight is identical to what was iced against the Caps, assuming that Riley Nahs sits out once again.

As of Tuesday night, no goalie has been confirmed for the Carolina Hurricanes. Ward played a great game against the Capitals in a losing effort, despite allowing 4 goals. He was stellar through the opening two periods, but he go no support from his teammates. Expect Ward to get the nod in net and be rewarded from a valiant effort on Saturday.

The Avs are coming off of a 2-1 loss to the LA Kings on Sunday. The team is off to a 2-3-0 start to the season with great starts from Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Francois Beauchemin, all of whom are at or over a point per game pace so far.

Matt Duchene has been incredibly quiet early on, tallying just 1 point in his first 5 games of the season.

Semyon Varlamov is the confirmed starter for Colorado on Wednesday. Backup Reto Berra started both of the team’s weekend games, allowing just 2 goals in two games and shutting out the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.

The Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes split two games last season, with each team winning on their home ice. The Avs overcame a 3-1 first period deficit on November 22 to beat Carolina in Denver, and the Canes won a game in overtime in Raleigh.

The Hurricanes will kick off a 3 games in 4 nights stretch that will extend through Saturday on Wednesday. Picking up a big win agains Colorado will go a long way in building confidence for this young squad as they continue on this tedious road trip.

Next: Lindholm Off to Quiet but Solid Start in 2015-2016