Game Preview: Hurricanes Head West to take on the Avalance
By Glenn Brewer
The Carolina Hurricanes head on the road for a short, two-game road trip. This evening begins the first half of the trip with a visit to the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche.
This will be the first of two meetings with the Avalanche in the next week. Colorado will visit PNC Arena on November 17th.
On Monday, the Hurricanes will finish up the road trip with a visit to Chicago to take on the rebuilding Blackhawks.
Breakdown by the Numbers
The Avalanche have avoided the Stanley Cup hangover with a 7-4-1 start, despite losing their captain, Gabriel Landeskog, for an extended period of time.
The Avalanche have a new goalie in Alexandar Georgiev, acquired from the New York Rangers over the summer.
Georgiev has played well in his first chance at being a starting keeper. He has a 2.66 GAA and a .924 save percentage in nine games played. He is responsible for all seven team victories.
Leading the way in points for the Avalanche is none other than star forward, Nathan MacKinnon. MacKinnon has just three goals but has been the playmaker with 18 helpers.
MacKinnon will be a threat throughout the game with his speed and skill.
Thankfully, the Hurricanes just saw Connor McDavid, so they have been prepared for this elite talent.
After a hot playoffs, Valeri Nichushkin leads the team in goals with 7.
Newcomer, Evan Rodrigues, has put up 5 goals and provided solid play from the center position, especially on the penalty kill.
If MacKinnon is not scary enough, the Hurricanes will have to deal with the most skilled defenseman in the NHL in Cale Makar.
Similar to MacKinnon, Makar has had a slow start in the goal department with just one goal thus far. He has 13 assists to make up for his lack of goal production.
The Hurricanes will need to stay out of the box as the Avalanche have the best power play percentage in the league at 40.54%.
Outlook for the Game
The game will be a strong challenge for the Hurricanes, but not one that will be out of reach.
The Hurricanes have faced some strong competition of late with the likes of the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers.
The one concern is that the injuries are starting to pile up as the Hurricanes will be without Frederik Andersen and Teuvo Teravainen.
Loaded with fire power, the offense will be able to keep up with the wide open play of the Avalanche.
The defensive lineup should stay the same, but Derek Stepan will enter the lineup due to the injuries.
Jack Drury should have an expanded role this evening in the absence of Teravainen. He has played well and more importantly steady in both zones since being called up.
Some late night hockey for the Caniacs this evening as puck drop will be at 9 PM EST.