Despite a short-handed squad as the resting of regulars takes full effect, the Carolian Hurricanes opened their season-ending trip with a dominant performance against the Chicago Blackhawks. Logan Stankoven and Mark Jankowski scored a pair of goals, the defense added two of its own, and Frederik Andersen was outstanding in a 7-2 win over Chicago.
The team welcomed four Chicago Wolves into the lineup on Thursday, and while none of them found the scoresheet, all four were very impressive. They played a big part in the Canes' penalty kill, going a perfect 4-for-4 against the Blackhawks' power play. If the resting continues tonight, we'll wait to see which players joined the team in Utah and who stayed in Chicago for their big weekend.
On the Other Side: Utah Mammoth
Last meeting: The Mammoth visited for Whalers Night in late January. Utah's fourth line combined for three goals, putting Utah up 4-2 in the third. With less than 2:00 left, the Canes did something incredible. Andrei Svechnikov and Shayne Gostisbehere scored their second goals of the game, and Jordan Staal scored the winner with under 30 seconds to complete an incredible 5-4 comeback.
The Mammoth became the fourth team in the Western Conference to punch their ticket to the postseason on Thursday night. Unfortunately, the three others are also in their division, meaning that Utah will start the postseason on the road as a Wild Card team. They'll be matched up against the Pacific Division champs, which means either Edmonton, Vegas, or Anaheim.
Utah has been on a heater over the last two weeks, helping to secure its postseason spot. They enter Saturday's clash as the winners of five straight games, scoring 29 goals over that span. Clayton Keller continues to lead the team in scoring with 83 points, while Dylan Guenther paces the Mammoth with 39 goals. They're in the Top 10 in goals per game.
Where Utah's game has seemingly blossomed is defensively. They're fourth in goals against, with netminder Karel Vejmelka tied with Tampa's Andrei Vasilevskiy for the league lead in wins with 37. We've seen in the past how he can take over a game. One area the Canes can try to exploit is their special teams, which both rank in the bottom half of the league.
Mammoth to Watch
Nick Schmaltz: Two of the hottest players in the league call Utah home. Over his last 11 games, Schmaltz is playing at over a point per game clip. He has 13 points during this stretch, including goals in four of his last five. Schmaltz is one of two players, along with Guenther, over the 30-goal mark, reaching it for the first time in his career.
Logan Cooley: While an injury wiped him out for a considerable amount of time, Cooley has returned from it and performed at an incredible pace. He has reached 20 goals for the third straight season and has 11 points during his current six-game point streak. Cooley has four multi-point efforts during this time, including a pair of assists in their postseason-clinching win on Thursday.
Hurricanes to Watch
After the way the lineup looked on Thursday, and without the Hurricanes practicing on Friday, I have no clue what to expect from the team tonight in terms of manpower. I can't imagine that they'll rest the same players for the final four games of the season, so we should see a few of the regulars back in the lineup against the Mammoth.
However, there's also the distinct possibility that none of that is the case, and we see a group similar to the crew from Chicago. If that's the case, I won't be too mad about it. Obviously, whatever they did worked well against a lowly Blackhawks squad. I would imagine that the goalie rotation continues, giving Brandon Bussi a shot at his 31st win after being named the Team MVP on Wednesday.