It’s been a long time since the Carolina Hurricanes have hit the ice for game action, but after 4 days off, the club will take on the Dallas Stars on home ice.
Information
Carolina Hurricanes vs Dallas Stars
November 6, 2015 – 7:00 pm (EST)
Raleigh, North Carolina – PNC Arena
TV/Radio: Fox Sports Carolinas/99.9 FM The Fan, WRALSportsFan.com
Projected Lineups
Carolina Hurricanes
Dallas Stars
Preview
The Carolina Hurricanes have not taken the ice for a game since Sunday, but they will get back at it on Friday as they take on the high-flying Dallas Stars of the Western Conference.
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Winners of three of their last four games, the Canes have struck a rhythm. Veteran forward Kris Versteeg has even gone as far as to say that the club has started to find their identity over the past couple weeks.
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A three game win streak came to an end on Sunday, however. A 4-3 home ice loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning brought back some questions, and the apparent lack of effort was discouraging for the club and played a big role in the loss.
It’s a fresh start for Carolina now. The team will play eight of their next ten games on home ice, but even though the club found success on the road trip in October, they are just 1-3-0 at the PNC Arena. That will need to change in the next few weeks if they want to make November a good month.
The defensive pairings will remain the same as they have been for a vast majority of the past few weeks, but the forward units have seen some changes.
Eric Staal and Jordan Staal practiced on the same line on Thursday, meaning they’ll likely get the nod for first line duties on Friday. Elias Lindholm was the third forward on that line.
Jeff Skinner, who should be getting much more ice time than he has been getting, will see third-line duties alongside Riley Nash and Chris Terry. He will also man the wing on the second powerplay unit.
The powerplay has been a glaring issue for Carolina early on. The team enters Friday’s action with just an 11.6% success rate on the man advantage; that is good for 26th in the NHL.
On the other hand, the Dallas Stars have taken the league by storm with their offense in the opening month.
Dallas, currently the 2nd ranked team in the league, has capitalized on 29.4% of their man advantages. The only team with a better powerplay conversion rate is the Boston Bruins. The Carolina Hurricanes and their 17th ranked penalty kill will have their handful and will need to stay disciplined throughout the night in order to stay out of disadvantageous situations.
Stars forwards Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are tied atop the NHL in total points this season. They have 20 points in 13 games. They are elite skill players playing at an elite level, which is something that can’t be said about the likes of several slumping stars on the Canes.
Friday will be game one of a back-to-back set for the Hurricanes. No starter has been confirmed as of Thursday night, but expect Cam Ward and Eddie Lack to split starts over the next two games unless Friday’s starter plays well enough to earn two starts in as many days.
It will be an interesting matchup for the Canes and Stars to kick off the weekend. Carolina will need to come out and prove that these past four days were useful in helping them iron out some key issues. They will be taking on some very elite talent tonight.