Carolina Hurricanes: Three Storylines to Follow Going into Opening Night

The Carolina Hurricanes play the Red Wings to open up the season

The last time these two teams met, it not only ended the regular season prematurely, but the Carolina Hurricanes and the Detroit Red Wings got physical. Here are three storylines to follow for tonight’s game.

Tonight the Canes finally take to the ice and play an actual regular-season game for the first time in over ten months. Their opponent, the Detroit Red Wings, have had to wait just as long. Exactly as long to be precise considering the last time either team played a regular-season game, it was against each other.

This game carries a bit more story to it than just that, however. So let’s dive into the three biggest headlines of the first game of the 2020-2021 season.

The Season Starts Anew

This is a brand new season. For the Carolina Hurricanes, it’s a chance to build upon two successful years and go even further in the playoffs. That said, on the other end of the ice is a team that is yearning to bury a disgraceful season that only saw them win 17 of 71 games. That’s less than one in four games.

While it might be easy to convince yourself that the Canes should be able to move in and out of the ice cleaning it like an EBUG in Detroit, this is a team that doesn’t like to take a loss lying down (something that we will get into later in the article). So look to see the Red Wings try to avoid being the worst team in the league once again.

Carolina is trying to replicate a fast and hard start to the season that they saw last year. To be completely honest that win streak that began the 2019-2020 season might have been the only thing that saved their season and gave them the will to fight and get points even after the defense was decimated.

Jesper Fast, Carolina Hurricane

One of the newest players that will get a chance to help this team start off on the right skate is Jesper Fast who got signed as a UFA this offseason and is basically filling the large legendary hole left by Justin Williams who rode into the sunset and into retirement.

Fast is considered a locker room guy, but that doesn’t mean he can’t score goals. had it not been for the prematurely shortened season, he might have matched his career-high of 13 goals or surpassed it. Either way, he is a 30 point player who just might have a breakout year under the coaching of Rod Brind’Amour.

That starts for him tonight. Can the former Ranger find new life alongside Brady Skjei? Tonight is the night to start a career year, especially against a team destined for the bottom of the league once again.

‘Cuz Baby Now We Got Bad Blood

More from Cardiac Cane

• 2023 Southeast Rookie Showcase: Takeaways from the Canes’ Strong Showing in Florida
• Week Two Coverage Of College Hockey In NC
• Derek Stepan Ends His On Ice Career As A Hurricane
• The Southeast Rookie Showcase Will Be a Good Look at Carolina’s Future
• Noesen Ready To Provide Depth For Canes

Remember when I said that the Detroit Red Wings don’t like losing and didn’t take their last regulation loss very well? That’s because they didn’t. In fact, things got very physical behind BOTH nets as the Red Wings decided to let their frustration out with their fists instead of with talent.

Jordan Staal, Vincent Trocheck, and even Haydn Fleury had to respond in kind. When you get a kid as kind and loving as Fleury to come and get physical with you, you absolutely messed up and are in no way in the right.

Don’t expect the last ten months to have cooled everything down. Forgive and forget is easy when you are the winning team, but if Carolina picks up right where they left off in terms of scoring, expect the Red Wings to pick up where they left off physically.

So tune into tonight’s game, get yourself something cold to drink (or warm), have the snacks within arm’s length, and get ready to experience Carolina Hurricanes Hockey once again. Remember that this will be a 7:30 PM ET start tonight so give yourself plenty of time to prepare mentally and physically.

Question for CC Readers: Which of these storylines do you think will affect the final score tonight?