The Carolina Hurricanes face the Pittsburgh Penguins in a matchup between two of the best teams in the Metropolitan Division. The Hurricanes have a 20-6-6 record and with a six-game winning streak and nine wins in their last 10 games, they have leaped into first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins have a 19 9 4 record and with eight wins in their last 10 games, boast the third-best record in the division. Both teams are looking to remain at the top of the division and the Eastern Conference and the upcoming game should be a great one as a result.
The Hurricanes are having a remarkable season despite their offense struggling and scoring only 2.94 goals per game. Martin Necas and Andrei Svechnikov have scored 30 goals and 29 assists while defenseman Brent Burns has added four goals and 18 assists from the point but the rest of the offense has struggled. Only five skaters have seven goals or more while only seven skaters have nine goals or more and opposing defenses can limit the top-heavy offense as a result.
The offense has struggled but the defense is one of the best in the NHL, allowing only 2.56 goals per game with only nine goals in the last six games. Brady Skjei and Jaccob Slavin have combined for 4.9 defensive point shares and 79 blocked shots while Brett Pesce and Brent Burns have combined for 4.8 defensive point shares to give the Hurricanes multiple great defensive pairings. Moreover, goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov has been great t his year with a .928 save percentage and a 1.94 goals-against average on 389 shots.