The Carolina Hurricanes are taking their seven-game win streak on the road to The Golden State. Playing their best hockey of the season, the group is sticking around the race for the Metropolitan Division crown while strengthening their lead for second place and home ice in the first round. It'll be a good test for the Canes as they try to find more traction on the road.
San Jose Sharks
The Canes will begin their trip at The Shark Tank on Thursday, facing the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention. It took a late push to beat the Sharks when they visited the Lenovo Center in December, getting the game-winner from Jalen Chatfield with 2:39 left to win, 3-2. Luke Kunin scored twice for the Sharks, though he's since been moved to the Blue Jackets.
While it has been another trying season for the Sharks, their future is brighter than ever. This is in large part to 2024 top pick Macklin Celebrini, who is one of two rookies with 50 points this season and the current leader for the rookie Rocket with 21 goals. 19-year-old Will Smith has also emerged lately, scoring 12 points in their last ten games.
To no one's surprise, the Sharks have the worst defense and goaltending in the league. Alexandar Georgiev has struggled since being traded from Colorado mid-season, winning just five of his 22 decisions with a 3.85 GAA. On paper, this should be the easiest game of the trip, but there are no guarantees in the NHL anymore, so I'd expect to see San Jose's best.
Los Angeles Kings
After San Jose, they'll begin a weekend back-to-back with an afternoon outing against the Los Angeles Kings. They had a five-game win streak snapped on Monday by the Wild. The Kings defeated the Canes in early February, 4-2, to snap Carolina's seven-game point streak. Saturday's contest will also be the first half of a back-to-back for the Kings.
We talk about the Hurricanes being a great home team. At 23-3-4, the Kings own the best home points percentage in the league. They've earned points in 12 straight home games, going 9-0-3 since mid-January. The Canes have had good fortune in Los Angeles under Rod Brind'Amour, entering Saturday's contest on a four-game road winning streak against the Kings.
The Kings won't run you out of the building with their offense, but their defense is one of the best in the league, allowing the second-fewest goals. Darcy Kuemper is the reigning first star in the league after posting back-to-back shutouts and allowing just one goal in three starts. Quinton Byfield had a six-game goal streak snapped on Monday.
Anaheim Ducks
The final stop on the journey will take the Canes to Anaheim, completing their back-to-back on Sunday with the Ducks, who played spoiler in January during Eric Staal's jersey retirement. The Ducks prevailed in overtime, 3-2, on Cutter Gauthier's second goal of the game. The Canes trailed 2-0 early in the third period before scoring twice to scratch out a point.
Contrary to their success in Los Angeles, the Carolina Hurricanes struggle at the Honda Center. This isn't a new issue either. This has been ongoing for quite a while. Over their last 12 visits to Anaheim, the Hurricanes have won just three times (3-5-4). During some of those seasons, the Ducks were contenders, but, during their more recent trips, the Canes were seen as the better team.
After a good February, the Ducks have fallen back into their struggling ways in March. While they're hovering around .500, Anaheim is just 3-6-1 this month, maintaining their position near the bottom of the division. The Canes' visit kicks off a five-game homestand for the Ducks, with their first four opponents flying west for their annual visit.
With such a long break between games, I'm curious to see if Brind'Amour returns to Pyotr Kochetkov after his shutout on Saturday, or if Frederik Andersen takes his normal turn in the rotation. Whoever starts the first game in San Jose will likely play the second half of the back-to-back in Anaheim, too. With how well both goalies are rolling, I wouldn't be upset with either playing two of the three games.
The impending returns of Andrei Svechnikov and Dmitry Orlov are another story to watch. Orlov hasn't played since the game in Detroit at the beginning of the month, while Svechnikov was banged up at the end of the Winnipeg game. It's especially interesting for the blue line with how well Scott Morrow has played over the last four games.
This is the Hurricanes' penultimate long road trip of the season, with another four-game homestand awaiting them next week. If they can come out of this weekend with three or four of six possible points, I'd consider that a successful journey. With the postseason looming and their magic number growing smaller, this could be a statement trip for the Canes to re-establish themselves on the road.