The Carolina Hurricanes' season continues on the road. This evening, the Canes will be in Pittsburgh to take on the Metro Division Penguins. After their first victory of the season against the New Jersey Devils, Carolina looks to stay on the winning side of things against the 3-2 Penguins. After the game, the Canes will head to St. Louis for a match against the Blues tomorrow night.
Head coach, Rod Brind'Amour likely plays two goaltenders this weekend and odds are that Pyotr Kochetkov will be in the crease this evening after recording his first win on Tuesday with a 24-save performance. That would leave Frederik Andersen to face the Blues on Saturday.
Jordan Staal will return to the city that drafted him 2nd overall in the 2006 NHL Draft. The Canes will face Michael Bunting after Bunting was part of the return for Jake Guentzel at last year's trade deadline blockbuster trade by Don Waddell.
The hosts have won their last two games, having played on Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres. That game was won by the Penguins in OT by a score of 6-5. Pittsburgh is 1-1 at home this year with that win and an opening night loss to the New York Rangers by a score of 6-0.
The same old players are still in Pittsburgh as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang have played two decades together. Malkin is off to a hot start with 9 points in 5 games, while Crosby has 6 points but just 1 goal. Rickard Rakell leads the way in goals with 3. Erik Karlsson leads the blue line with 4 points, while Letang has 2 goals.
Some newer faces to Pittsburgh to score goals this season are Kevin Hayes, Anthony Beauvillier, and former Carolina folk hero, Jesse Puljujarvi.
In goal, the Penguins have shared the duty between Tristan Jarry and Joel Blomqvist. Blomqvist has had the better start with 2 victories and a 2.86 GAA. I would expect to see Jarry back in between the pipes this evening.
Keep an eye out on rookie, Jackson Blake to see how he responds after scoring his first NHL goal last game. The youngster's stock is rising quickly with Brind'Amour and the staff.