For the first time in a thousand days, or 17, if we want to get technical, the Carolina Hurricanes will play in front of the home crowd at the Lenovo Center. On Tuesday, the Canes welcome the Vegas Golden Knights to town, meeting for the second time in as many weeks. The group went 4-2-0 on their six-game journey with the State Fair in town, doing so as the injuries piled up.
The Canes got good news on Monday after practice, with Rod Brind'Amour updating the media that Shayne Gostisbehere and Pyotr Kochetkov are very close to returning, with a chance of possibly seeing Gostisbehere tonight. It's uncertain if that will be the case, but it's a positive step for the team, especially with the number of bodies out of the lineup.
On the Other Side: Vegas Golden Knights
8 days ago: The Canes were in Vegas last Monday, making the fourth stop on their trip. Jack Eichel started the scoring, getting a bounce off K'Andre Miller's stick. Pavel Dorofeyev added to it shortly after. Sebastian Aho broke the shutout in the second, earning Nikolaj Ehlers his first point, but Ivan Barbashev and William Karlsson put it away in the third, handing Carolina its first loss, 4-1.
Since we last spoke to Vegas, the Golden Knights had a sizeable break before hitting the road for a trip through Florida and North Carolina. They met both Florida teams in a back-to-back over the weekend, getting shut out by the Panthers on Saturday for their first regulation loss and falling 2-1 in overtime to the Lightning on Sunday.
The Golden Knights are going through a slight injury predicament of their own. Neither Mark Stone nor Noah Hanifin made the trip with the team, and Adin Hill, who left the meeting in Vegas in the first period with a lower-body injury, is considered week-to-week and hasn't played since then, marking three valuable weapons out of the lineup on Tuesday.
Regardless, this is still a very dangerous team, as evidenced by the performance they put together when the Canes came to town. Jack Eichel remains the league's leader in points (16), and Mitch Marner has continued to show why he's such a dangerous playmaker. It's a great challenge for the Canes to come home to.
Golden Knights to Watch
Tomas Hertl: There was a brief moment this summer when we thought that Hertl was heading to Raleigh, bringing to an end the long search for a new second-line center. It turned out that the rumors weren't everything we thought they were. Hertl has put together a solid start to the season, posting seven points in nine games, including an assist eight days ago against the Canes.
Akira Schmid: Without Adin Hill on the trip and with Carl Lindblom as the second option in the net, it's a safe bet that Schmid will be in the starter's crease in Raleigh tonight. Schmid was excellent in relief last Monday, stopping 22 of 23 shots and picking up the win. He's been very good in limited action in the regular season against Carolina. The Canes hope it's more reminiscent of the 2023 playoffs.
Hurricanes to Watch
Sebastian Aho: The top line has been rolling over the last week, anchored by the season-opening point streak of Aho. Sitting at eight games right now, he's four games away from tying the franchise record, which he set seven years ago. This current run is already tied for the third-longest in franchise history. He scored the lone goal in the loss to Vegas last week.
Bradly Nadeau: All signs point to Nadeau being in the lineup for his second game of the season after playing on Saturday as well. If this is the case, this will be Nadeau's first time dressing in the regular season at the Lenovo Center, with his previous four games all coming on the road. While the Caniacs saw what he could do during the preseason, they'll really get to see him in action tonight.