The Carolina Hurricanes face the Chicago Blackhawks in a matchup between two teams off to strong starts to the season. The Hurricanes have a 9-5-1 record which is one of the best in the Metropolitan Division. The Blackhawks have a 6-5-3 record and after a recent win, are right in the middle of the Central Division. The Hurricanes are looking to make up ground in the Metropolitan Division while the Blackhawks look to improve in the Central Division to start the season and the upcoming game should be a great one as a result.
The Hurricanes are off to a great start to the season with their offense stepping up and scoring 3.00 goals per game. Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and Martin Necas have scored 25 goals and 28 assists to lead the top two lines but the entire offense has stepped up. Jordan Martinook, Seth Jarvis, and Stefan Noesen have combined for eight goals and 11 assists while defensemen Brent Burns and Brady Skjei have added five goals and 12 assists from the point to overwhelm opposing defenses.
The offense has looked great but the defense has carried the Hurricanes, allowing only 2.87 goals per game. Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce have combined for 2.8 defensive point shares and 34 blocked shots while Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns have combined for 1.4 defensive point shares to give the Hurricanes two great defensive pairings. In addition, goaltender Antti Raanta has stepped up in the net with a .911 sav e percentage and a 2.47 goals-against average on 168 shots.