The Carolina Hurricanes look to get back on the saddle tonight and rebound from their tough 4-1 loss at home to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. A quick trip up to Montreal awaits the team – can they notch a second win in two weeks over the Canadiens?
It was another disappointing loss for the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night, with the Canes’ normally-excellent defense having one of its worst outings of the season. Dougie Hamilton had a particularly brutal game, scoring on his own goalie and being on the ice for all four Toronto goals. He’ll be determined to bounce back, as will the entire team. The Canes lost Micheal Ferland again, the team’s leading scorer returning from his concussion only to sit the last two periods after not feeling well. He skated yesterday however, so could be good to go again tonight.
One man who won’t be back is Jordan Staal, who has been retrospectively placed on IR due to a concussion of his own. Luckily for the Carolina Hurricanes, they have some exciting scoring options in Charlotte to call upon. Enter Janne Kuokkanen:
The #Canes have recalled Janne Kuokkanen from @CheckersHockey and placed Jordan Staal on injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 5th
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) December 12, 2018
More Info » https://t.co/FQwO2k1HCG pic.twitter.com/4GSrwyja4Q
The 20 year old Finnish forward, who played four games with the Canes at the beginning of last season, currently leads the Charlotte Checkers in scoring this season with 27 points in 26 games. He figures to play in the top six tonight and will hopefully be given an opportunity to impact the team’s woeful powerplay. Check out what Checkers Head Coach Mike Vellucci had to say about Kuokkanen:
“He is on the top power play for a reason. is a guy the puck follows. It doesn’t hurt that he’s one of the smartest guys on the ice.”
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Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens will come into the game looking for revenge on the Canes, after our boys won a tight 2-1 contest on November 27. The Habs are fresh off having seven goals put past them by the Minnesota Wild, and are ripe for the taking. Captain Shea Weber has been in impressive form since returning to the team in that 2-1 loss to the Canes, putting up five points in seven games and giving the whole team an edge. The Habs have won four of their six games since that loss, have Max Domi leading the charge with 31 points, but have goaltending issues of their own with Carey Price sporting a lowly .904% save percentage.
Expect a feisty game, some push back from the Carolina Hurricanes, and excitement in Canes Nation every time Janne Kuokkanen touches the puck. The Canes will win this one.
Prediction: Hurricanes 3-2 Canadiens
Question for CC readers:
What impact will Janne Kuokkanen have on the team?