Carolina Hurricanes Look to Build On Huge Win Over Chicago

The Carolina Hurricanes took down the Chicago Blackhawks by a whopping 5-2 margin last night at the PNC Arena thanks in no small part to a hat-trick by Sebastian Aho. As a result, the Carolina Hurricanes remain the top-ranked team in the NHL, and the Chicago Blackhawks have been mathematically eliminated from the 2020-21 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This article is going to be a bit of a mash-up between our standard “keys to beating [insert whichever team you’d like here]” and “takeaways from [ditto]” seeing as how the Carolina Hurricanes are on the tail end of a back to back against Chicago tonight.

Last night’s game was definitely a fun watch, especially if you’re particularly a fan of goalscoring.

The Canes’ offensive chemistry was on display all night, and their defensive chemistry shone through as well. Alex Nedeljkovic had another incredibly solid game, but the highlight of last night’s lopsided tilt would have to be Sebastian Aho’s hat-trick.

Aho’s trio of goals last night signaled his 22nd, 23rd, and 24th markers of the season, pulling him squarely in the lead for most goals (and points) on the Carolina Hurricanes’ roster (24g, 31a, 55pts in 52gp).

Tonight’s game should be fairly straightforward, although Chicago may have a bit more of an edge seeing as how they’ve officially been eliminated from playoff contention at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Petr Mrazek returns to the starter’s crease tonight for the Canes; Collin Delia does the same for Chicago after filling in for Malcolm Subban after the latter was pulled upon letting up his 4th goal against last night.

Brady Skjei is a game-time decision as he was “a little banged up” from last night’s game, according to head coach Rod Brind’amour.

If I were a wagering man, I’d be willing to bet that we’ll see more of the same from both of these teams tonight, but with a bit of an edge from both. Chicago, for reasons already mentioned, but the Carolina Hurricanes can clinch 2nd place or higher in the Discover Central Division tonight with a win over Chicago in any fashion.

The Carolina Hurricanes play the Chicago Blackhawks just one more time after tonight before playing the Nashville Predators twice more in the coming weeks to finish out their regular season.