The Carolina Hurricanes return to the Lenovo Center on Thursday night (Nov. 6) as they host the Minnesota Wild, following their 3-0 shutout win over the New York Rangers. It’s the first of two meetings, with the return trip to St. Paul being on Nov. 19. Can the Hurricanes carry the momentum from their win on Tuesday to defeat the Wild on Thursday?
Hurricanes vs. Wild Preview
The Hurricanes are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games, with them being 3-3-0 in their last six. The Wild, on the other hand, are 3-4-3 in their last 10 games but are riding a two-game winning streak after defeating the Nashville Predators in overtime and the Vancouver Canucks in regulation. Rod Brind’Amour’s side will look to break another winning streak at the loudest house in the NHL. Here is where you can watch or listen to Thursday night’s game:
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network South (Mike Maniscalco & Tripp Tracy)
Listen: 99.9 The Fan
Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. Eastern
Nikolaj Ehlers, on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, scored his first goal for the Hurricanes in his 12th game with the team. The goal put him tied for ninth on the team in points (five) with Mike Reilly. The hope is that he starts to get rolling after finally getting the first one in and the pressure off his back. Following the game, Ehlers expressed his thoughts on scoring his first goal, “I’ve been waiting for that one for quite a while now. It definitely feels nice to get it today.”
Ehlers led the Hurricanes in shots on goal against the Rangers (six) while being moved down to the second line with Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake. Blake and Stankoven are third (eight) and fourth (seven) on the team in points, something that is not being talked about enough. They’ve been sneaky good for the team 12 games into the season.
Related: Hurricanes Take Bite Out of the Rangers in a 3-0 Shutout Win
Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho tallied their 12th points of the season. Jarvis tallied the empty net goal (eighth goal of 2025-26) to make it 3-0 against the Rangers, all but icing the game for the Hurricanes to claim their eighth win of the season. Aho tallied his eighth assist on the Ehlers goal that came on the Hurricanes’ first power play of the game. As it stands, both guys are the only point-per-game players for the Hurricanes heading into the game against the Wild.
News out of practice on Wednesday showed that K’Andre Miller was with the team, in a regular practice sweater. There is a good chance he could draw back into the lineup for the first time since the Vegas Golden Knights game back on Oct. 20. He’s missed the last six games, and getting him back would be a boost for the Hurricanes’ blue line. The team has had to reach into their defensive depth so far this season, going all the way to their 10th on the depth chart. Adding him back could make things easier for defense coach Tim Gleason, who’s had to scramble his pairings along with Brind’Amour for most of the season.
The 8-4-0 Hurricanes take on the 5-6-3 Wild, who look to keep their winning streak alive. As it has been recently, Brind’Amour’s side is hoping to keep this a 5-on-5 game, as they have the advantage when it comes to even strength. When it comes to goals-for per game and goals against, the Hurricanes are fourth (3.58) and sixth (2.67), respectively, within the NHL. Regarding the Wild, they’re 22nd (2.79) in goals for and 29th (3.64) in goals against per game. What the Wild have a slight advantage in is special teams.
The Wild are third in the NHL on the power play (31.5%) but 30th on the penalty kill (66.7%). It’ll be interesting to see which special teams system can force the other to make a mistake. Compared to the Hurricanes, who are 31st on the power play (11.4%) and eighth on the penalty kill (83.7%), which power play can make a bigger impact in the game? It’s essentially best on best between the top 10 power play and penalty kill compared to a bottom-five power play and penalty kill.
Related: Hurricanes’ Alexander Nikishin’s Early-Season Production Is Being Overlooked
It comes as no surprise that Kirill Kaprizov (18 points) and Matt Boldy (13 points) are two guys to watch for the Wild, with their starts to 2025-26. However, they both have a minus-5 rating in 14 games. While they are racking up the points, alongside Marco Rossi (12 points) and Marcus Johansson, they’ve been scored on a lot when on the ice.
If the Hurricanes can control the tempo, especially with matchups with first change on faceoffs, they have a shot to contain the Wild. As in the last few games, the Hurricanes will need to score early and force their opponents to make mistakes. While they did score on the power play against the Rangers (1-for-3), they’ll need to rely on being a better 5-on-5 team to secure another win to snap the Wild’s winning streak. Furthermore, they will need to limit their penalties, especially to a team that’s scoring at over a 30% clip to begin the season. Can the Hurricanes win at home once again and break another winning streak this week?
