The Carolina Hurricanes face the Florida Panthers in a matchup between two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes have an 8-3-1 record and have the second-best record in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers have a 7-5-1 record and after a strong win to cap off the road trip, look to start the homestand on the right foot. Both teams are looking to improve in their divisions and the Eastern Conference and the upcoming game should be a great one as a result.
The Hurricanes have looked great this season with their offense stepping up and scoring 3.08 goals per game including 17 goals in the last five games. Sebastian Aho, Martin Necas, and Andrei Svechnikov have scored 22 goals and 24 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also stepped up. Seth Jarvis, Stefan Noesen, and Teuvo Teravainen have combined for five goals and 12 assists while defensemen Brent Burns and Brady Skjei have added four goals and 11 assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has been great but the defense has carried the Hurricanes, allowing only 2.83 goals per game. Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce have combined for 2.4 defensive point shares and 29 blocked shots to lead the top two pairings but the rest of the unit has also been great with Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns combining for 1.1 defensive point shares to add depth to the unit. The hope is that starting goaltender Frederik Andersen improves in the net as he has a .891 save percentage and a 2.72 goals-against average on 201 shots