Gold: Canes in the Wild
Posted February 12, 2022 12:20 p.m. EST
The Carolina Hurricanes hit the halfway mark of rescheduled games tonight against the Minnesota Wild. Originally slated for December 14, this was the final game of a 5-game tour of western Canada but was lost when the Hurricanes had a rash of positive Covid tests. You may recall that Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and a member of the team’s training staff all tested positive for Covid and had to be driven back into the United States from Vancouver.
The next game was set for the Xcel Engergy Center in St. Paul, but four more Hurricanes entered the Health and Safety protocols setting up the first Carolina postponement of the season. Six more would follow, though none because the Canes couldn’t answer the horn, and they’ve all been slotted here in the afterglow of the league’s All Star weekend in Las Vegas.
Minnesota is one of just 6 teams in the NHL with a points percentage above .700. Their 28-11-3 record is good for 3rd in Central Division in points, but overtaking the 2nd place Nashville Predators seems a formality as the Wild trail the Preds by just one point with five games in hand.
In addition to being very good, the Wild are also playing some of their best hockey right now. Ignore their 2-0 loss at Winnpeg, which snapped a 10-game point streak (9-0-1), the Wild are scorching hot, with wins over the Rangers, Bruins and Capitals in that span. They are also 6-1-0 against Eastern Conference playoff teams.
Minnesota is without defenseman Matt Dumba and forward Nick Bjugstad due to injury. In addition, forward Marcus Foligno is serving a 2-game suspension and is unavailable.
Carolina will get Jesperi Kotkaniemi back from Covid protocol and will draw into the lineup. Indications are that the odd man out tonight up front will be Steven Lorentz. Ethan Bear, coming off one of his best games of the year, will stay in the top six on the back end. Freddie Andersen, who shut out Boston Thursday night will get the nod again in net.
The fellas in the desert have Carolina as a -120 road favorite tonight. The goal total is O/U 6.
Coverage begins on 99.9 the Fan at 7:30 with Storm Watch starring Alec Campbell. Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy follow with the live play-by-play just after 8:00. Make sure to follow the Canes Corner Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. A new episode drops the #MorningAfter every Hurricanes game.
