With their road trip now split after two games, it's time for the Carolina Hurricanes to start anew. The injuries are starting to pile up, but there are no excuses in the NHL. You play with the group you have, and the expectation is to win every night. Moving into their third stop out of five, the Canes need to get a new win streak started before, arguably, the toughest test of their journey on Thursday.
The Canes were handed a bit of a stunner on Sunday night, losing to the Calgary Flames. Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored his second goal in as many games to get it started, but Calgary scored twice 69 seconds apart late in the second to take the lead. Jalen Chatfield got the Canes even before the second break, but Yegor Sharangovich scored with under five minutes left to steal the win for Calgary.
The Canucks visited Raleigh 12 days ago, allowing the Canes to get back on track at home. The Canes sprinted out to an early 3-0 lead, thanks to two power-play goals from Andrei Svechnikov. Mark Jankowski scored early in the second period, and Logan Stankoven did the rest. He scored a natural hat trick at three different strengths, leading the Canes to a 7-2 victory.
Behind Enemy Lines: Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks are returning home after a six-game road trip. Raleigh was the first stop on their journey, and it didn't get any better from there. The Canucks dropped all six games, putting them right back at the bottom of the division, the conference, and the league. They scored two goals or fewer in each game, managing just one of a possible 12 points with an overtime loss to the Panthers.
The long road trip meant that the Canucks haven't played a ton of hockey in Vancouver. Tonight marks just their fourth game on home ice, going 1-2-0 before their trip. While their offense went cold after a scorching start, their defense still hasn't gotten going. They're allowing 4.50 goals per game, and their penalty kill is the only unit in the league killing under 60 percent of their chances.
The silver linings for Vancouver are still very present. Elias Pettersson is still playing at a point-per-game pace, leading the team with ten points. Also, Leevi Merilainen has been very solid in the net. He's made six appearances this season, including four starts, and has only allowed 12 goals. He made his NHL debut with the Senators in Raleigh in 2023 in a 3-2 overtime win for Carolina.
Injury Report
Carolina: The Canes were dealt another clubbing blow with Mark Jankowski's lower-body injury. He has been sent back to Raleigh to have it looked at, likely eliminating him from the remainder of the road trip. Jankowski joins Jordan Staal and Taylor Hall on the shelf. The good news? We might be on "Return Watch" for Seth Jarvis.
Vancouver: The Canucks are in a slightly better spot than they were when they journeyed to Raleigh. Filip Chytil made his season debut on Thursday in Florida. He has two points in two games since returning. Marco Rossi missed the final game of their trip on Saturday with an illness, so he'll be one to watch ahead of Tuesday's contest.
Players to Watch
Jake DeBrusk: Vancouver scored twice in Raleigh 12 days ago. DeBrusk scored both of them at points when the game was well out of reach, but they were quick responses to Carolina goals. He has just one goal and two points since scoring his first two goals of the season. Maybe he just really likes playing Carolina and is waiting for tonight to get hot again.
Jonathan Lekkerimäki: When they played in Raleigh, I was very impressed by Lekkerimäki. He always seemed to be in the middle of the play, recording an assist on one of DeBrusk's goals. The 22-year-old Swede is carving out a nice role on this team, scoring as many points (6) in ten games this season as he did in 24 games two years ago and doubling his output last season.
Sebastian Aho & Logan Stankoven: A lot has been made about the Canes losing their center depth with Staal and Jankowski on the shelf. Naturally, this will put an added layer of emphasis on the two guys at the top of the lineup tonight. Aho and Stankoven need to provide that stability on the top two lines, especially against a team that they are better than on paper.
Aho has fallen back to earth a little over the last two games, losing his point streak in Winnipeg before adding an assist in Calgary. The top line needs to find its touch again after dominating throughout the team's winning streak. Stankoven had a hat trick against the Canucks in Raleigh, but he hasn't done a lot since. He'll continue to play a lot more, but that means he needs to be impactful every shift.
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