Following their 5-4 shootout win over the Colorado Avalanche, the Carolina Hurricanes head to Texas for their last stop of the trip. They look to close it out with a win before they return to the Lenovo Center on Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights. Before that, though, they will have to take on the Dallas Stars on Saturday night (Oct. 25). Who will come out in the Texas Standoff?
Hurricanes vs. Stars Preview
The Hurricanes head into their final stop of their six-game, 12-day road trip against the Stars in the Lone Star State. The visitors are 4-1-0 on the road trip and look to close it out with a win. The home side, however, is on a 0-3-1 run after starting the season with three straight wins. Two teams going in opposite directions, how will this showdown conclude? Here is where you can watch or listen to Saturday night’s game:
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network South (Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy)
Listen: 99.9 The Fan
Puck Drop: 8:00 p.m. Eastern
The Hurricanes are coming into the game against the Stars with some momentum following their win on Thursday against the Avalanche, as Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho are carrying seven-game point streaks. Both guys got a goal in the win and hope to stretch their streak to eight games. Frederik Andersen had the most saves in one game in his career, stopping 44 of 48 shots, and went three for three in the shootout. However, the team is going through some injury woes, as they lost William Carrier (lower-body) and Eric Robinson (upper-body) during the game. K’Andre Miller (lower-body) participated in warmups but was a late scratch, which led to the debut of Joel Nystrom.
Related: Hurricanes’ Short & Long-Term Call-up Options in Midst of Injury Woes
Some reinforcements are coming as the Hurricanes called up Bradly Nadeau from the Chicago Wolves on Friday evening (Oct. 24). As of right now, there has been no word on whether they will call up a seventh defenseman since the team is still without Jaccob Slavin and Shayne Gostisbehere. There have been no updates on return dates for either. So fans should not be surprised if one is made before Saturday night’s game. It’s never a good time to have a slew of injuries, but if there had to be a time, it’s in October and not right before or during the playoffs.
When it comes to who could be in the net for the Hurricanes, it would be surprising to see Andersen back in the net following a night where he stopped 44 of 48 shots and went through 65-plus minutes of hockey. The Hurricanes have stated before the road trip that they don’t want to overwork the Danish netminder. That being said, fans could probably see Brandon Bussi in the crease for the third time during the road trip. After the first two starts in his NHL career, he is 2-0-0 with a 1.97 goals-against average (GAA) and a .911 save percentage (SV%). Could he go three for three to start his career?
While the Hurricanes are surging, the Stars are falling off the wagon and being left on the dirt trails. After starting with three wins, they’ve lost four straight games, their most recent in overtime against the Los Angeles Kings. However, their star players are shining: Wyatt Johnson, Mikko Rantanen, and Roope Hintz are all contributing eight points each. Jason Robertson (seven points) and Thomas Harley (six points) are also making notable contributions. There has been some decent production from the rest of the team.
While the Stars are a decent 5-on-5 team, special teams is where things could be interesting. The Stars are fourth on the power play (31.8%), but are 30th on the penalty kill (65.2%). Compared to the Hurricanes’ 31st-ranked power play (7.7%) and sixth-ranked penalty kill (88.9%), the home team will have to hope to take advantage on the power play. The reason is that, in terms of 5-on-5 play, the edge goes to the Hurricanes.
Related: Hurricanes Defeat the Avalanche 5-4 in a Shootout Following an Instant Classic
The Hurricanes are second in the NHL in goals for per game (4.00), while also being 10th in goals allowed per game (2.71). Regarding the Stars, they’re 15th in goals for (3.00), but are 27th in goals allowed (3.71) per game. It’ll come down to goaltending if this is mainly an even-strength battle between the two sides. Jake Oettinger, in six games, has a 3-2-1 record with a 3.15 GAA and a .894 SV%. While the team defense hasn’t been there enough for him this season, he also needs to make the saves he needs to make if the Stars hope for a deep playoff run.
If the Hurricanes, even with their depleted blue line, can do what they did against the Avalanche and dig deep with everyone pulling their weight, they have a chance to end the road trip with a win. It’ll be a tough matchup as they take on a Stars team desperate to get back in the win column. It’ll be a showdown Saturday night in the heart of Texas. Can the Hurricanes close out the road trip 5-1-0?
