With a little breather mid-week, the Carolina Hurricanes return to the Lenovo Center on Friday night to begin another back-to-back. The Canes had a back-to-back to start the week, too, losing both contests. They dropped a controversial 4-3 decision to Detroit in overtime on Monday night before being shut out for the first time this season, 3-0, by Joel Hofer and the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
Tuesday's loss to the Blues finished a stretch of eight games in 13 days to begin January. Only one other team played that many games during that time. With a few days to regroup and practice, the Canes should be ready to begin this twin bill because you know the team in town tonight is more than ready to go.
On the Other Side: Florida Panthers
Last meeting: The Canes hosted the Panthers in their final game before Christmas. The home team looked great through 40 minutes, holding a 2-0 lead on goals by Eric Robinson and Andrei Svechnikov. However, the Canes looked lost in the third, allowing five goals to blow another multi-goal lead in a 5-2 loss, their second to the Panthers in less than a week.
As they were when these two met in December, the Panthers remain stuck in the logjam that is the Eastern Conference Wild Card race. They are 7th in the division at the moment, but only three points separate them from the cut-off line. They've been doing it without some important bodies in the lineup, going 4-4-1 since Christmas.
Matthew Tkachuk still hasn't made his season debut, although he's on the road trip with the Panthers, making it likely that he'll return soon. Brad Marchand has also missed the last few games. Seth Jones has joined the injured list in 2026, too. The Panthers are doing everything they can to remain afloat, hoping that these returns will spark a second-half surge to the top of the division.
Tonight marks the first half of a back-to-back for the Panthers as well. They'll be in Washington, D.C., tomorrow night to conclude a six-game road trip. They're 2-2-0 during the first four stops. Assuming the Panthers are still without some of their top scorers for tonight's contest, they won't take any prisoners. We've seen that twice already.
Panthers to Watch
Sam Reinhart: After a scorching December (20 points in 15 games), Reinhart has gotten off to a slow start in 2026. He has just two goals in six games, though he broke a four-game scoreless stretch on Monday in Buffalo. Reinhart was a menace against the Canes last month, combining for a goal and four assists in the two meetings.
Sam Bennett: While the competition for Team Canada was fierce, seeing Bennett left off the Olympic roster was easily the biggest surprise. The reigning Conn Smythe winner has proven he can be valuable in big moments. He'll likely be at the top of the list to be an injury replacement, but he was more than deserving to be on the team. I fear he'll use that to punish teams even more now.
Hurricanes to Watch
Sebastian Aho: If I'm going to focus on Florida's most impactful players, I should do the same for the Hurricanes. Along with being the Canes' leading scorer, Aho has been one of their most notable against the Cats this season. He struck twice in Sunrise before losing in a shootout, and he added an assist in Raleigh. He'll need to be game-changing to help the Canes avoid the season sweep.
Andrei Svechnikov: Like Aho, Svechnikov has found the scoresheet in both meetings with Florida. He assisted on both of Aho's goals on December 19, and he scored on a breakaway to make it 2-0 before Christmas. Since his four-assist game against the Stars, Svechnikov hasn't recorded a point. The Canes need that to change tonight.