Gold: Canes heading for (empty) Ottawa

By Adam Gold, radio host for 99.9 The Fan

The Carolina Hurricanes will play three games in the next four nights as they close out the portion of the schedule prior to the NHL All Star Break. Tonight, Carolina will visit frigid Ottawa to meet the Senators who are currently 7th in the Atlantic Division with just 29 points in 36 games (13-20-3) on the season.

But, before you take your Sharpie and add two points to the Hurricanes gaudy record (28-9-2), understand two things about tonight’s match up. First is that the Senators are playing pretty well of late. Ottawa is 4-2-1 in their last 7 games and coming off a 5-0 shutout of the Sabres.

Second, the Sens fall into that category of teams that have given the Hurricanes fits this year. Those teams that are sub-NHL .500 have somehow managed to take their pound of flesh from the Canes so far. Carolina’s record against current NHL playoff teams is a pretty stellar 14-2-1, 17-3-2 if you extend that to include all teams who are at least playing .500 hockey.

But, against those below water, the Canes have “struggled” to a 12-6-0 mark. Included among those is the 3-2 home loss to Ottawa in December. A game in which the Hurricanes trailed 2-0 midway through the 3rd period until goals by Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov evened the score at 2-2. Unfortunately, 19 seconds later, Josh Norris stuffed home a rebound of a Drake Batherson shot off a 2-on-1 break and Ottawa went on to a 3-2 win at PNC Arena.

Two things will be different about tonight, however. Batherson, one of the Senators bright young stars, will not be in the line up. He was injured on a questionable (to put it mildly) play by Buffalo goaltender Aaron Dell and will be out of the line up for a few weeks with a lower body injury. The play didn’t draw a penalty, but Dell was suspended for three games by the league’s department of player safety. More importantly, it means that Batherson will miss the league’s All Star Game as the 23-year old, Ft. Wayner, Indiana native had 13 goals and 34 points in 31 games so far this year.

The Sens are still a team with speed and talent, however. Brady Tkachuk is one of the bright young stars in the game. He was the 4th pick – immediately after Andrei Svechnikov and Jesperi Kotkaniemi – in the 2018 draft and has 27 points (12g, 15a) in 33 games. Norris has 18 goals on the year. Thomas Chabot is one of the best young defensemen in the league, and there’s talent on the rise in Tim Stutzle (3rd pick in 2020 draft) and Alex Formenton. Chabot is the oldest of that crew at age 25.

The other element that will be challenging for Carolina tonight is one that will actually NOT be present. Due to health and safety regulations in Ontario tonight's game will be played without fans in attendance. This is the first time this season that the Canes will play in such an environment.

Jordan Martinook did not make the trip as border-crossing rules leave him still inside the 10-day window after a positive Covid test, so he’ll be out of the line up again. Expect him back for the weekend back-to-back games with the Devils and Sharks at PNC Arena. Other than that it appears that Carolina is a fully operational unit.

I wouldn’t expect any changes to the line up after the 4-3 overtime win over Vegas on Tuesday.

Andrei Svechnikov has 2 points in five consecutive games (2g, 8a) and has 5 goals and 10 assists in his last 10 outings. His hot streak has raised his offensive production to 36 points in 36 games played this year, second on the team.

Sebastian Aho’s second goal of the game was the overtime winner against the Golden Knights and continued his scorching season. Aho has 11 goals and 26 points in his last 18 games and has posted 15 games this year in which he’s registered at least 2 points.

Tony DeAngelo has points in 5 straight games (1g, 8a) and has 33 points in 32 games played on the season.

Vincent Trocheck has 3 goals and 9 points in his last 9 games.

Coverage of the Canes and Sens begins at 6:30 with Storm Watch starring Alec Campbell. Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy follow with the live call of the game just after 7. Don’t forget to follow the Canes Corner Podcast wherever you get you podcasts. A new episode drops the #MorningAfter every Hurricanes game.