The Carolina Hurricanes face the Tampa Bay Lightning in a matchup of two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes have a 6-2-1 record and with back-to-back wins boast the third-best record in the Metropolitan Division. The Lightning have a 6-4 record and have leaped into third place in the Atlantic Division behind a three-game winning streak. Both teams are looking to continue to improve in the Eastern Conference and start the new month on the right foot and the upcoming game should be a great one as a result.
The Hurricanes are having a great season with their offense stepping up and scoring 3.11 goals per game. Martin Necas, Andrei Svechnikov, and Sebastian Aho have scored 17 goals and 16 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also stepped up. Stefan Noesen, Jordan Martinook, and Seth Jarvis have combined for five goals and seven assists while defensemen Brent Burns and Brady Skjei have added three goals and nine assists from the point to overwhelm the opposing defenses.
The offense has looked great but the defense has carried the Hurricanes, allowing only 2.78 goals per game including only five goals in the last two games. Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei have combined for 2.1 defensive point shares, 20 blocked shots, and 19 hits to lead the top two pairings but the rest of the unit has also stepped up with Brent Burns, Jaccob Slavin, and the rest of the unit creating turnove rs in all three zones and limiting passing lanes for opponents. The hope is that starting goaltender Frederik Andersen can improve in the net as he has a .896 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average on 154 shots.