Carolina Hurricanes Look for Big Win in Noah Hanifin’s Homecoming

Feb 26, 2016; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defensemen Noah Hanifin (5) skates with the puck past Boston Bruins forward Zac Rinaldo (36) at PNC Arena. The Boston Bruins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 26, 2016; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defensemen Noah Hanifin (5) skates with the puck past Boston Bruins forward Zac Rinaldo (36) at PNC Arena. The Boston Bruins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

The Carolina Hurricanes travel to Boston today looking to pick up a difficult but crucial road win against an Atlantic Division leading Bruins team.

Despite capitalizing on 5 of 6 possible points since the NHL trade deadline, the Hurricanes still find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture, sitting 4 points out of the final wildcard spot in the East.

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Longtime franchise captain Eric Staal as well as key contributors in Kris Versteeg and John-Michael Liles were all traded leading up to the deadline hour on February 29th. Additionally, the Hurricanes are playing without defensive anchor Justin Faulk and the big bodied Andrej Nestrasil due to injury.

Game Information

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Boston Bruins

Thursday, March 10, 2016, 7:00 PM (EST)

TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

Fox Sports Carolinas/99.9 The Fan

Season Records

Carolina Hurricanes – 30-26-11 – 71 Points – 6th in Metropolitan – 10th in East – 4 Points out of last Wild Card spot

Boston Bruins – 38-23-7 – 83 points – Tied 1st in Atlantic – Tied 3rd in East – Tied for first seed in Atlantic Division

Leading Scorers

Carolina Hurricanes – Jeff Skinner (25 goals), Victor Rask (24 assists), Jeff Skinner (41 points)

Boston Bruins – Brad Marchand (34 goals), David Krejci (36 assists), Patrice Bergeron (60 points)

Team/Game Notes

  • Since the trade deadline, the Hurricanes have impressed with a 2-1-1 record despite their key personnel losses
  • Since the Eric Staal trade, Jeff Skinner has picked up 4 goals and 6 points in just 4 games.  His leadership on offensive has been a huge part of the Hurricanes competitive play since losing their captain
  • Patrice Bergeron comes into tonights game with 5 goals in his last 5 games and a total of 7 points. The Hurricanes will most likely be slotting Jaccob Slavin’s pairing against that lethal top line made up of Marchand — Bergeron — Stempniak.
  • Tonight marks Noah Hanifin’s first NHL game in his hometown of Boston. He mentioned after practice yesterday that he will be drawing some 50 family and friends to the Garden to watch his homecoming. It will be an emotional night for the 19-year-old, look for him to play an energized and driven game on the backend
  • When these two teams met at PNC in late February, Hanifin posted Carolina’s only goal of the contest on a shot from the point
  • Tonight marks the first meeting between the Hurricanes and familiar face John-Michael Liles since he was traded at the deadline. He was in a Hurricanes uniform just 11 days ago.
  • Big bodied Brendan Woods will play his second NHL game of the season tonight after getting into a fight in his first at the PNC Arena on Tuesday.  Woods will need to bring that hard physical game against an always tough Bruins lineup
  • Tuukka Rask has a 7-3-1 all-time record against the Hurricanes, he will most likely get the nod tonight. When these teams met in February, Rask made 39 saves and earned first star honors.
  • Cam Ward will get the start tonight for the Canes, he allowed 3 goals on 21 shots in the prior meeting with the Bruins this season.  The Hurricanes will need him to be stronger tonight in order to steal 2 big points from an Eastern Conference leader.
  • The Bruins come into tonight’s contest hot, picking up 4 out of 4 possible points against a pair Stanley Cup contending Florida teams earlier this week.
  • The Hurricanes and Bruins face off once more this season, again in TD Garden on April 5
  • The Detroit Red Wings, holder of the last Wild Card spot, face off tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. A loss from them would allow the Hurricanes to pull closer towards the last playoff seed

Next: Carolina Hurricanes: The Future is Looking Very Bright

The Hurricanes look to improve on their 2-1-1 record since the trade deadline, and a win tonight would help build the young teams confidence and bring them closer to a playoff berth as they race down the 15 game stretch to the end of the season.

Schedule