RSS Hurricanes Team Notes

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes @ Capitals – Preview and Game Thread

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 11: Jalen Chatfield #5 of the Carolina Hurricanes and Connor McMichael #24 of the Washington Capitals compete for the puck during the second period of the game at Capital One Arena on December 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Metropolitan Division leading Carolina Hurricanes (33-15-3) return to action today and will do battle with the Washington Capitals (26-22-7) at the Capital One Arena.

Game time is 5 P.M.

The Hurricanes are one of the hottest teams in the league with a 7-1-2 record in their last 10 games.

Stat wise, Andrei Svechnikov has had the best month in his NHL career. He has 10 goals and 9 assists so far in the month of January surpassing his previous goal high of eight and point total of 17.

https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/preview-january-31-at-washington

He also has seven goals in his last six games.

Shayne Gostibehere has 35 points in 36 games played this season.

The team did not have a morning skate today but yesterday skated the lines as follows:

Svechnikov – Aho – Jarvis

Blake – Stankoven – Hall

Ehlers – Staal – Martinook

Carrier – Jankowski – Kotkaniemi

Slavin – Chatfield

Miller – Walker

Nikishin – Gostisbehere

Since Bussi played in the last game, Fred Andersen most likely will be in net tonight.

The Caps won their last outing ( 4-3 over Detroit) but they are 3-6-1 in their last 10 and have had a rough road trip.

https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/caps-return-home-host-hurricanes

According to the Daily Faceoff, their lines should look like the following:

Ovechkin – Strome – Beauvillier

Protas – Sourdif – Wilson

McMichael – Dowd – Leonard

Duhaime – Lapierre – Frank

Fehervary – Carlson

Chychrun – VanRiemsdyk

Sandin – Chisholm

Star goalie Logan Thompson was held out of the last game with an injury, so stay tuned for the starting netminder for the Caps tonight. Thompson was listed as day-to-day.

The game will be broadcast by the Fan Duel Sports Network with their usual suspects doing the play-by-play and color.

Once again, game time is 5 P.M.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...2/hurricanes-capitals-preview-and-game-thread

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Canes Blow 3-0 Lead, Fall in Overtime to Caps

WASHINGTON, D.C. - JANUARY 31: Goaltender Frederik Andersen #31 of the Carolina Hurricanes turns away a shot from Anthony Beauvillier #72 of the Washington Capitals in the second period on January 31, 2026 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Carolina Hurricanes were the talk of the league with their historic comeback victory on Thursday night. And much of the pregame buzz centered on that win over Utah two nights ago.

The task for this team was to harness that momentum against an opponent desperate for a win, fighting for their playoff lives.

And for half of the game, it seemed as though the Hurricanes would be able to handle the Capitals.

But after Carolina built a 3-0 lead, the team sat back, had some defensive miscues, and allowed Washington to score four straight goals to earn the overtime victory.

This is a game that infuriates head coach Rod Brind’Amour, and his postgame comments reflect that:

From the opening puck drop to the end, I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a 60-minute game where we were that bad. They dominated us from start to finish.

---

Just two and a half minutes into the game, Taylor Hall takes a penalty. This was not the ideal start for Carolina, but the penalty was killed with just one shot allowed.

The Canes did not find their rhythm until about halfway through the first period. At the 13:27 mark, Mark Jankowski scored the first goal of the game. William Carrier took a hit in the corner to disrupt the clearing attempt that was kept in by Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Kotkaniemi got the puck back to Carrier, and he used his strength against the defender to settle the puck and get it to Jankowski alone in the slot.

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A few minutes later, a heads-up pass by Frederik Andersen puts the puck near the opposite blue line. Sebastian Aho’s relentless pursuit causes the Capitals’ defender to fan on the outlet pass, and Aho picks it up and buries it for the 2-0 lead.

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Carolina ended the first with a 2-0 lead despite a 19-12 shot advantage by Washington. For much of the period, Andersen was the Canes’ best player.

The Hurricanes had a better start to the second. About four minutes into the period, Jordan Staal created a turnover in the neutral zone and put the Canes on the attack. Jordan Martinook pulled up at the half boards and hit Shayne Gostisbehere with a cross-zone pass. As he was streaking down the wing, a double screen by the Washington defenders allowed his wrister to find the back of the net for a 3-0 lead.

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Just three and a half minutes later, Washington tallied their first goal of the game. The Canes won the faceoff, but failed to clear the puck. Hendrix Lapierre was left alone in front of Andersen and poked home a second chance opportunity to make it 3-1.

The action got sloppy in the middle part of the second, starting with a questionable interference call on Hall.

The Capitals’ man-advantage did not last long as a Hurricanes shorthanded rush forced Ryan Leonard to interfere with Aho, and the teams were four-on-four.

Just 30 seconds later, Logan Stankoven drew an interference penalty that led to a four-on-three for 28 seconds and then a five-on-three for just over a minute.

Unfortunately, the Carolina power play was a bit slow to develop, and with blocks and wide shots, could not get a shot on goal during these prime opportunities.

Soon after these failed power plays, another failed clear led to another Washington goal that cut the lead to 3-2.

Hall took his third penalty of the night on a delay of game call with 1:33 left in the second, and the Capitals rode that momentum into the third.

A Sean Walker penalty just two minutes into the third allowed Washington to stay on the attack. The Hurricanes killed all four Capitals power plays in the game, but the offensive zone time helped to keep the ice tiled in their favor in the third.

An unfortunate sequence of events led to the game-tying goal with about seven minutes left in the game. Tom Wilson’s elbow took a run at Stankoven’s head, cutting his cheek on the play. The dirty play and no call, interference or otherwise, made Stankoven mad and caused him to chase the play at the other end, looking for bodies. That led to the game-tying goal from Jakob Chychrun alone in the high slot.

Andersen kept the Hurricanes in the game, and the team secured a point by advancing to overtime. The Hurricanes did not produce much in the extra frame, and the Capitals scored just 1:42 into overtime.

The Hurricanes return home to Raleigh for a game versus Los Angeles tomorrow at 3:00 PM at the Lenovo Center.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...me-to-washington-capitals-nhl-january-31-2026

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes blow 2-0 lead but beat Kings 3-2 in Overtime

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 01: Alexander Nikishin #21 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates with teammates after a goal during the third period against the Los Angeles Kings at Lenovo Center on February 01, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Cato Cataldo/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

It’s become more apparent than ever that we’ve hit the time of year where the Canes can feel a little more secure in their positioning for the playoffs, and they underestimate the opponent that is fighting for their playoff lives. It was a problem against Washington on Saturday and it reared its head again against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday. Carolina dominated play in a chippy game, had a 2-0 lead and almost immediately surrendered it despite being the better team. Despite that, however, they were able to win it in overtime as the march to the Olympic Break continues.

The first period reflected two teams that had played the night before. After giving up 19 shots to the Washington Capitals in the first on Saturday, the Hurricanes gave up just four to the Kings. Most of the play in the period was in the neutral zone, with little offensive zone time for either team. The period did start spicy, though, as Jordan Martinook was called for boarding Mikey Anderson just 30 seconds in. The Penalty Kill unit though easily dispatched of the two minutes, but the Kings tried to get even with a scrum started by Jeff Malott cross-checking Alexander Nikishin.

The scrum didn’t result in any penalties, but shortly after Jackson Blake was slashed by Kevin Fiala to give the Canes their first Power Play chance. Carolina took full advantage—Jordan Staal won the faceoff back to Shayne Gostisbehere, who passed across ice to a red-hot Andrei Svechnikov. Svechnikov did not hesitate to shoot it with the Kings still trying to get set, and the puck found Jordan Stall for his second straight home goal via a deflected shot.

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There was one scary moment when Adrian Kempe went down with what looked like a slash from Sebastian Aho’s stick. He had to be helped off the ice, but fortunately it was to the team bench and he didn’t miss a shift. Anderson also came back from the locker pretty quickly after the boarding penalty, but didn’t return after the first.

The second period was scoreless but it wasn’t boring. The Kings decided they needed to avenge the hit on Anderson, and Corey Perry tried to engage Martinook in a fight on the opening faceoff. It appeared he declined the fight, but that didn’t stop Perry. It resulted in an extra minor to Perry, and later on in the period Joel Edmundson just pushed over Jackson Blake as he went in on goal. Neither penalty resulted in a converted Power Play goal, and while the Canes dominated play in that period—outshooting the Kings 14-4—the period ended with another scrum involving Martinook and the score still 1-0 Carolina.

The third period opened with more 4-on-4 play and urgency from the Kings as they are in a dogfight for position in the West and needed every point. Despite that, Carolina was able to tilt the ice in their favor and after several misses, they were able to finally finish. Chaos in front of the net led to a few more shots on Anton Forsberg, eventually the puck squirted right in front of Alexander Nikishin who snapped it by Forsberg to give Carolina a 2-0 lead.

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With the way the Canes had played, 2-0 seemed insurmountable—however as has plagued the team in recent days, they also seemed to think 2-0 was insurmountable. Right off the faceoff the Kings attacked in front of their bench, forcing a Jesperi Kotkaniemi turnover. It created a quick 4-0n-2 for the Kings that they were able to convert with a goal by Samuel Helenius just 24 seconds after Nikishin’s goal. LA continued to push, and before they could even pull the goalie, Quinton Byfield cashed in on a pass from a skating Adrian Kempe to knot the goal at two. Carolina was able to hold on the rest of the period despite some scary moments, and force overtime.

It was the second overtime in a row for both teams, but once the puck dropped Carolina controlled the action. LA had one chance at the puck early on, but Carolina controlled it and never gave it up. Eventually Carolina was able to cash in. It started as Shayne Gostisbehere learned from Will Carrier’s mistake earlier in the season, and despite getting held, saw the puck was going out of the zone and skated across the blue line. Sebastian Aho was able to secure it, then he asked the official about the missed call. Play continued as Aho went unencumbered into the zone and snapped a shot past Forsberg to give the Canes the 3-2 win.

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Brandon Bussi only had to make eleven saves on thirteen shots, as the Canes played the type of game that Rod Brind’Amour had been hoping for after the disappointment the night before. Forsberg made 30 saves in the overtime loss.

Carolina has just two games remaining before the Olympic Break—at home Tuesday against Ottawa and then up in New York against the Rangers on Thursday.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...-blow-2-0-lead-but-beat-kings-3-2-in-overtime

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Kings at Hurricanes: Preview, How to Watch, Game Thread

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 22: Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes handles the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks at Lenovo Center on January 22, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

As fun as Thursday Night was for the Canes, yesterday was equally frustrating as once again the Canes give up a 3-0 lead to a team on the road. This time it was to the Washington Capitals as they couldn’t match the desperation of a team fighting for its playoff life. There’s little time to wallow in it, though, as the Canes get right back to it in snowy Raleigh against the LA Kings.

The quick turnaround for Carolina shouldn’t result it line changes—there won’t be a morning skate and the only change should be Brandon Bussi in net instead of Freddie Andersen. Both teams are coming off playing Saturday, with the Kings beating Philly in Overtime. Today is just one of three games on the schedule, because you know, when it’s the first Sunday free of meaningful NFL football this season and before the Olympic Break you of course just schedule three games. Clearly the league wants to put the Stadium Series game in Tampa Center Stage, but not making a day long celebration out of it seems like a missed opportunity.

The trip back to Raleigh last night had to be a tough one as Rod Brind’Amour gave perhaps his harshest criticism of the team in his post game availability. He was right in that even though Carolina had a 3-0 lead, Washington had played with a desperation to where they were getting a ton of shots off. With only three games left before the team gets a three week break, you have to imagine Brind’Amour wants to see that tightened up in order to have some good vibes to carry over.

The assignment today won’t be much easier, as LA is another team fighting for their playoff lives. They come in today outside of the playoff line, but just two points back of the second Wild Card, as well as two points back of third in the Pacific. Just like Utah and Washington, LA will be looking to get every point they can, especially since they get a couple days off before their last back-to-back Pacific clashes.

In the middle of last month it appeared the Kings were out of it, a four game losing streak had them dropping down in the standings, but since then they’ve righted the ship and have benefited from the fact that the Pacific is just a mess. They’ve had a good road trip where they’ve won three of four, and the only loss was against the red hot Buffalo Sabres.

The player that the Canes have to be ready for is Adrian Kempe. He has points in six straight games, including a three point performance yesterday against Philly. He’s their leading point producer, goal scorer, assist maker, and has the looks of someone fit for Hollywood. He’ll be suiting up for Sweden next week for the Olympics, and he’s going to try and carry this squad on his back till then.

In net expect to see yet another former Hurricane in Anton Forsberg. He’s won three of his last four, with the only loss coming after regulation. He backstopped the Kings to a win against Detroit earlier in the week, and his last performance with a save percentage under .900 was against Edmonton on January 10th.

If you’re going to Lenovo today, it goes without saying to be careful. While the Raleigh area didn’t get as much snow as expected, it’s still going to take a while for all of this to disappear. Also be patient with everyone working around the arena as they had to do some work to get there and will be standing out in near zero wind chills to get you inside.

If you’re going to stay cozy inside instead, here’s how you can catch the action:

Time: 3 PM

TV: FanDuel Sports Network in the Carolinas. Mike Maniscalco will handle play-by-play alongside Tripp Tracy doing color. Hanna Yates and Shane Willis will provide off-ice reports. **Note there is no pregame or postgame today. If you live outside the Carolinas the game has been picked up by the NHL Network. If you don’t have access to the network, you’ll likely want to take advantage of streaming services like Fubo that has it and cancel quickly.

Streaming: FanDuel Sports Network App for fans in the Carolinas. Outside of the area, you’re unlikely to be able to use the ESPN app today as NHL Network games typically get blacked out.

Radio: The pregame on 99.9 The Fan starts at 2:30. At 3PM the Hurricanes Radio Network (consisting of 99.9, 730 The Game in Charlotte, ESPN New Bern 107.5/1490, and ESPN Greenville 107.5/1570) picks up the FDSN feed. You can also stream the call on the Hurricanes app.

Odds: Hurricanes -184 Moneyline, Puckline Hurricanes -1.5 at +134/Kings +152 Moneyline, Puckline +1.5 at -164, O/U 5.5 (-118 Over/-104 Under)

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/caroli...t-hurricanes-preview-how-to-watch-game-thread

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Bussi Does it Again – Hurricanes 4, Senators 3

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 03: Jordan Staal #11 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates a goal with the bench during the third period of the game against the Ottawa Senators at the Lenovo Center on February 03, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Carolina Hurricanes won a tight battle with the Ottawa Senators, 4-3 on Tuesday night at the Lenovo Center.

Goaltender, Brandon Bussi earned the win and continued with his magical season by improving his overall record this season to 22-3-1.

While Bussi allowed three goals on the 25 shots he faced, many of his saves were off “high-danger” chances. The goaltender has now won six games in a row and his record is 15-1-0 on home ice.

After falling behind 1-0 early in the first period, Sebastian Aho was credited with his 20th goal of the season when his shot bounced in the net after Seth Jarvis crashed the net. The puck hit a Senator, so Aho got the credit for the score.

Aho now has 10 straight years of 20 goal seasons.

In the second period, Jarvis got on the scoreboard twice within a three minute time frame.

First, he blasted in a one-timer off a nice pass by Andrei Svechnikov during a powerplay chance.

Shortly after, he took a pass from Aho and made a pretty move to beat goalie, James Reimer to give the Canes a 3-1 lead. It was the 25th goal of the season for Jarvis.

The Senators took control of the game for awhile, especially in the third period. They tied the score and were looking to take the lead back, but Jordan Staal had other ideas.

During what looked like a bad line change by Ottawa, the Captain had a couple of steps on the opposition and roofed a perfect shot past Reimer which would eventually be the game-winner.

Nikolaj Ehlers made a beautiful pass to spring him.

The Hurricanes now have earned points in nine straight games. They are 7-1-2 in their last 10 and have an eight point lead over second place Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division, (76-68).

Staal also led the team with six hits. William Carrier was next with five.

The Hurricanes have one more game before the Olympic break which will be in New York against the Rangers on Thursday night.

Game Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/GS020890.HTM

Event Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/ES020890.HTM

Interviews – https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/xdq1...qt5z7jiu95pukhuf08g5a065&e=1&st=mi83chc1&dl=0

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...0/bussi-does-it-again-hurricanes-4-senators-3

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Senators @ Hurricanes – Preview and Game Thread

RALEIGH, NC - FEBRUARY 01: Goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) of the Carolina Hurricanes congratulates teammates after the NHL game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Carolina Hurricanes on February 1, 2026 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Katherine Gawlik/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Carolina Hurricanes (34-15-6) are back in action as they take on the Ottawa Senators (27-21-8) tonight at the Lenovo Center.

This will be the last home game before the Olympic break for Carolina, so come and see your team or wait until their next home game which will be on February 26th against the Lightning.

The Canes are riding an eight game point streak. They are 6-1-3 in their last 10 games.

The Sens have won four games in a row since their 4-1 loss to Carolina on January 24th. They are 6-2-2 in their last 10.

Brandon Bussi was in the starter’s crease at the morning skate and will get the start tonight. Bussi has a 21-3-1 record and he sets a new NHL record for fewest number of games needed for every win he gets.

The lines for the Hurricanes at the skate were the same as in recent games.

Svechnikov – Ah0 – Jarvis

Hall- Stankoven – Blake

Ehlers – Staal – Martinook

Kotkaniemi – Jankowski – Carrier

Slavin – Chatfield

Walker – Miller

Nikishin – Gostisbehere

For more information about the game, check out the game preview put out by the team.

https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/preview-february-3-vs-ottawa

For more information about the Senators, check out their feed.

Check out the head-to-head stats before your #Sens take on the Canes tonight #GoSensGo | @betwaycanada pic.twitter.com/50WHWzMF0T

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) February 3, 2026

Game time is 7 P.M. and it will be broadcast by the FanDuel Sports network.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-11-carolina-hurricanes-open-game-threads/52840/__trashed

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes @ Rangers – Preview and Game Thread

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 29: Braden Schneider #4 of the New York Rangers follows a loose puck in the overtime period of a game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on December 29, 2025 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

The Carolina Hurricanes (35-15-6) are visiting “The City That Never Sleeps” and will do battle with the New York Rangers (22-28-6) Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

This is the last game for Carolina before the long Olympic break. They will not be back in action until February 26.

The club was involved in some drama yesterday as they were reportedly in the mix to acquire Artemi Panarin from the Rangers via trade.

Late Tuesday night it was rumored that the Hurricanes and Panarin were close to inking a deal, but that all turned sour on Wednesday.

NHL “insiders” were reporting all kinds of nonsense during the day, leading up until the deadline at 3 P.M.

Panarin wanted to live in a “no tax” state, he wanted a minimum of $50 million on a contract extension, he wanted to play for a Cup contender, yadda yadda yadda and it turned out that none of that was true as he was traded to and then signed with the Los Angeles Kings.

The most amusing thing? Afterward, it was reported that was where he wanted to go all along, there was no other place.

So he went to a high tax state, signed for $22 million instead of $50, and is not necessarily playing for a Cup contender. Funny stuff.

Back to tonight’s game!

The Hurricanes have earned points in 14 of their last 15 games. They are comfortably eight points ahead of their closest competition in their Division. They are riding a red hot goalie.

Speaking of the red hot goalie, Brandon Bussi will be back between the pipes tonight. (Now confirmed) Bussi is 22-3-1 so far this season and has looked good while accumulating that record.

Fred Andersen will rest up for his gig in the Olympics.

I would look for the same lines that Carolina has utilized in recent games:

Svechnikov – Aho – Jarvis

Hall- Stankoven – Blake

Ehlers – Staal – Martinook

Kotkaniemi – Jankowski – Carrier

Slavin – Chatfield

Walker – Miller

Nikishin – Gostisbehere

The Rangers are a mess and currently sit in last place in the Conference. Keep an eye on Vincent Trocheck. Should the Canes try to pick him up when trading commences?

The game will be broadcast by the FanDuel Sports Network and we will have the normal crew working the game.

Puck drop – 7 P.M.

UPDATES

You may want to check out –

Talking with Tulsky

The #Canes GM is chatting Bussi’s success, offseason additions, and what’s ahead for the team on the latest episode of the Storm Report.

https://t.co/VGkYcmVzPy pic.twitter.com/pA0FMA2WJB

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 5, 2026

Also –

The #Canes play their final game before the break tonight against the Rangers at MSG.

Rod Brind’Amour’s group will look to stay hot, with a chance to extend its already season-best point streak to 10 games.

Brandon Bussi was the first goalie off the ice this morning.

Business… pic.twitter.com/QmpQkTMANU

— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) February 5, 2026

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/caroli...59/hurricanes-rangers-preview-and-game-thread

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

“Just Win, Baby” – Hurricanes 2, Rangers 0

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 5: Brandon Bussi #32 and K'andre Miller #19 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrate after the game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on February 5, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

The Carolina Hurricanes earned another two points as they shutdown and shutout the New York Rangers, 2-0 on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Canes have now notched points in 10 straight games (8-0-2) and have points in 14 of their last 15 games played.

A big part of that is because of goalie Brandon Bussi who has won his last seven starts. Bussi, put up his second career NHL shutout and improved his record to an unbelievable, 23-3-1.

The netminder earned the shutout in front of many friends and family and got to celebrate with them after the game.

A night Bus will never forget pic.twitter.com/hCx9JOUSns

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 6, 2026

The Hurricanes front office has been working on getting this goalie signed to an extension but have yet to seal the deal.

Carolina pretty much dominated the game, although they had a tough time solving New York goalie, Jonathan Quick, who made 41 saves on the 42 shots he faced.

Best way to start the break pic.twitter.com/IWLtRtYoWK

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 6, 2026

Andrei Svechnikov continued his sterling play as he opened the scoring six minutes and change into the opening period.

While the Canes peppered Quick with shot after shot, they would not light the lamp again until late in the game when Nikolaj Ehlers hustled to a loose puck and fed Jordan Staal in front of an empty night to close things out.

The Rangers will stay in last place with their 50 points and will look for answers during the Olympic break.

The Canes wanted to finish this stretch on a positive note with a win and succeeded with their quest.

As was mentioned earlier on Thursday, Seth Jarvis was named to the Canadian Olympic team. More on that later.

We will be active here at Canes Country over the break so please continue to check in.

Al will be working on an Olympic preview and I will have some trade ideas to shoot down as well as other info.

Game Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/GS020906.HTM

Event Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/ES020906.HTM

Interviews –

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...ps/52870/just-win-baby-hurricanes-2-rangers-0

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Your 2026 Olympics Men’s Hockey guide

MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 08: U.S. Olympians Jack Eichel, Jacob Slavin, Matt Boldy and Zach Werenski attend the Team USA Welcome Experience at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics on February 08, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Just because we have a nearly three week break in NHL hockey doesn’t mean you won’t be able to see your Carolina Hurricanes play. The Olympics, after all, are the reason we have this break in the first place.

For the first time since the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia, the NHL is sending their players over to the Winter Olympics to compete in the men’s hockey tournament. Unfortunately because Russia is being Russia, the IOC isn’t allowing them to compete in this version of the games so players like Alex Ovechkin won’t be there. Still, if you enjoyed the Four Nations last year, you’re going to get that on steroids.

So here’s your guide in both the micro and the macro. Keep this page handy for reference over the next couple of weeks, and thanks to the IIHF and NHL for the information.

How the Olympic Tournamnet Works​

There are twelve teams that will compete for a medal in this tournament, and are divided into three pools.

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C
Canada	Finland	USA
Switzerland	Sweden	Germany
Czechia	Slovakia	Latvia
France	Italy	Denmark

Each country will only play the teams in their pool in the preliminaries. So if you’re hoping for a USA/Canada match this week you’re out of luck.

There is overtime in Olympic hockey, unlike other international sports, and in group play the standings are determined using a 3/2/1/0 system. A regulation win gets you three points, a win in overtime or a shootout gets you two points, a loss in overtime or a shootout gets you one point, and a regulation loss doesn’t earn you any points. Overtime in the preliminary rounds is the same as the NHL, but the shootout is best of five instead of best of three. One exciting part—after you’ve chosen your five and it’s still a tie, you can reuse skaters over and over again until the tie is broken.

After the preliminaries, each group winner gets an automatic pass to the Quarterfinals, and then the team with the highest points after that fills out that fourth slot. The other eight teams are seeded based on points and other tiebreakers into a “Qualification Round.” Those winners are bracketed with the teams with the bye, and we go from there. Thus, every country is guaranteed to play at least four matches—three Pool Play and at least one playoff.

Once you hit the quarters it’s a regular tournament, with the losers of the semifinals facing off for the Bronze Medal and the winners going for the Gold.

Which Hurricanes are competing?​

In case you need a reminder, here’s who Carolina sent over to Italy to compete:

• Jaccob Slavin — United States
• Sebastian Aho — Finland (Alternate Captain)
• Seth Jarvis — Canada
• Nikolaj Ehlers — Denmark
• Frederik Andersen — Denmark

When are they playing?​

The full schedule is outlined here, but if all you want to do is watch the Hurricanes play, this is when you should tune in:

• Wednesday, February 11 10:40 AM — Slovakia vs. Finland (Peacock, USA network)
• Thursday, February 12 10:40 AM — Czechia vs. Canada (Peacock, USA network)
• Thursday, February 12 3:10 PM — Latvia vs. USA (Peacock, USA Network)
• Thursday, February 12, 3:10 PM — Germany vs. Denmark (Peacock)
• Friday, February 13 6:10 AM — Finland vs. Sweden (Peacock, USA Network)
• Friday, February 13 3:10 PM — Canada vs. Switzerland (Peacock)
• Saturday, February 14 10:40 AM — Finland vs. Italy (Peacock, USA Network)
• Saturday, February 14 3:10 PM — USA vs. Denmark (Peacock, USA Network)
• Sunday, February 15 10:40 AM — Canada vs. France (Peacock, USA Network)
• Sunday, February 15 1:10 PM — Denmark vs. Latvia (Peacock, CNBC)
• Sunday, February 15, 3:10 PM — USA vs. Germany (Peacock, USA Network.

From there, the “Qualification Playoff” occurs all on Tuesday, February 17th. If any of the four teams are in that round the time they play will be announced. Then the quarterfinals start on Wednesday, February 18th. The Semifinals will be on Friday, February 20th.

The Medals will be determined on Saturday, February 21st at 2:40 PM for the Bronze, and the Gold will be played at 8:10 AM Sunday, February 22nd on NBC. A lot of folks are expecting a USA/Canada Final, but the brackets will determine if that is possible.

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There’s your primer. Once things get going they get going at warp speed, and even if a country ends up eliminated from the tournament the earliest it would happen won’t be until next Tuesday. We’ll see how many Hurricanes we get to root for as the tournament progresses.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/general/52879/your-2026-olympics-mens-hockey-guide

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Olympic Update—How Hurricanes are doing and when they are playing next

Feb 14, 2026; Milan, Italy; Jaccob Slavin of United States and Brady Tkachuk of United States greet spectators at the end of the match against Denmark in men's ice hockey group C play during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Once the hockey players arrived in Italy, the action moved on in a fast an furious manner. Since Wednesday, nations have been playing each other in their round robin groups to establish seeding this week. With the United States winning 5-1 over Germany on Sunday, all of the seeding has now been set and we have a schedule for the rest of the Olympics.

So when can we watch our Hurricanes in action and how have they been doing so far?

Schedule Going Forward​

Even if a team doesn’t have a Hurricane on it, at this point each game will at least affect a team that does, so having the full schedule should be useful.

Canada, the United States, and a surprising Slovakia—in that seeding order—won their groups and earned the automatic bye to the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Through tiebreakers—mostly because of their insane win on Saturday—Finland ended up as the best runner-up to earn the fourth seed and the final bye.

From there the teams were seeded to determine the four Qualifying matchups that will be played on Tuesday. Those matches are:

• (6) Germany vs. (11) France — 6:10 AM ET
• (5) Switzerland vs (12) Italy — 6:10 AM ET
• (8) Czechia vs. (9) Denmark — 10:40 AM ET
• (7) Sweden vs. (10) Latvia — 3:10 PM ET

The losers of each of those matches are done, the winners move on to face the bye teams in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. That schedule:

• (3) Slovakia vs. Germany/France Winner — 6:10 AM ET
• (1) Canada vs. Czechia/Denmark Winner — 10:40 AM ET
• (4) Finland vs. Switzerland/Italy Winner — 12:10 PM ET
• (2) United States vs. Sweden/Latvia Winner — 3:10 PM ET

The four winners will face off on Friday. The first semifinal will be at 10:40 ET and the second will be played at 3:10 ET. Note this is not a pure bracket. Rather there’s always a benefit to being the higher seed after the “qualification” round. The highest seed in the semifinal will play the lowest seed, then the other two will play.

The losers of the semifinals will play for the Bronze Medal at 2:40 ET Saturday. The Gold Medal match will see the winners face off bright and early Sunday on the east coast and before the sun is up the further west you go at 8:10 AM ET.

The competition for the United States is about to ramp up as they may have gotten the worst draw, through the quirks of the tiebreakers. Whereas Slovakia, Finland, and Canada will likely face teams with just a few NHLers on it, the United States is staring down the barrel of facing Sweden in the quarters. The extra day off should help.

The only way the United States and Canada will meet is in a medal round due to them going 1-2. It was likely the dream for both NBC and the CBC to get another final between the two, we’ll see if it materializes.

Hurricanes in the Olympics​

Sebastian Aho​

The Olympics got off to a rough start for Aho and the Finns as they were stunned by Slovakia on Wednesday. Finland recovered though as they got a day off after the opener and then faced arch rival Sweden on Friday, and immediately reversed their fortunes with a 4-1 win. By the time they took the ice on Saturday against host country Italy, they knew that they couldn’t win the group but they could get the other bye by putting up a lot of goals.

Is 11 a lot?

Aho scored his first—and much later his second—career Olympic goals in the match, as his first goal was also Finland’s first thanks to a sick feed by…well we don’t need to say who. His second came in the third as the Fins were pouring it on and that result was enough to get the Fins the fourth seed. With three full days off the Fins will have plenty of time to relax, practice, and get their timing together to try and pull off a medal round surprise.

Nikolaj Ehlers & Frederik Andersen​

The team from Denmark had a rough time in pool play. Andersen backstopped the Danes in their opening match against Germany, which ultimately became a 3-1 loss. Hurricane fans had a familiar feeling when the first goal was scored by Leon Draisaitl just :23 into the match. Andersen settled down, though, and Denmark was able to knot the score thanks to an assist by Ehlers. However Tim Stutzle took over in the second, and while Andersen didn’t surrender any other goals in the third, Denmark started 0-1.

The second match was against the US, and while Andersen sat, Ehlers did play. The game went as expected, although Ehlers did pick up an assist on Denmark’s final goal in the 6-3 loss. On Sunday, looking to establish momentum going into the qualifiers, Denmark was able to find its game against Latvia. Andersen stepped back between the pipes and held Latvia to just two goals, and Ehlers scored what would be the game-winner 16:28 into the first, thus becoming the second Hurricane to score a goal in this tournament.

There was also a great moment between teammates as the US played Denmark on Saturday.

Ehlers said after the game that Slavin asked him if he was OK. https://t.co/n80NTgKX5l

— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) February 14, 2026

Jaccob Slavin​

If you’ve watched any coverage of the Olympics on NBC you’d be hard-pressed to know there are any other players on the team besides the Tkachuk brothers and Hughes brothers. Maybe you’d have heard about Austin Matthews since he scored some goals. On one level it’s tough to blame them because their actions at the 4 Nations last year broke through into pop culture and it’s going to be the people that the non-regular NHL wathers will know. That’s been the MO for all of NBC’s Olympics coverage—find the stars the US audience will know and focus coverage around them.

Adding to the fact that Slavin is a defenseman instead of a forward, and he’s just not going to stand out in the prelimnary rounds when the US is just throttling people. Still, Slavin did get credit for an assist on the first goal in the win over Denmark, and as the competition ramps up he’s likely going to get more of the spotlight like he did last year. He’s likely going to be used against the top lines, responsible for shutting them down. If the US and Canada end up in a rematch for a medal, expect him to get a ton of focus.

Seth Jarvis​

Seth Jarvis’ Olympics can probably be best summed up with “Happy to be here.”

As the last person to get an invite for Team Canada, it’s not surprising he’s been the first person to be a healthy scratch when coach Jon Cooper has to sit a defenseman, forward, and goalie for each game. Sure enough in the first matchup Jarvis was in the stands, but Cooper gave Jarvis fans a treat for the next two by sitting Brad Marchand and elevating Jarvis into his spot. Cooper still isn’t using him a lot—he’s only managed less than 20 TOI in the two games—but the experience could be valuable. Jarvis hadn’t scored, but he’s at least been making some news off the ice thanks to his friends.

Fans in Canada and across Caniac Nation are now familiar with Jarvis and his friends, and thanks to Air Canada they are in Italy to watch their friend play. They were seen on the world feed early in the match against France, and sure enough they were able to catch up with Seth after the game.

Reunited and it feels so good!

Seth Jarvis caught up with his friends after tonight's game! #MilanoCortina2026 #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/NeQSRsgXbi

— NHL (@NHL) February 15, 2026

We’ll see how much more time Jarvis gets in this Olympics as Cooper has already indicated that Marchand will play in their quarterfinal game.While Cooper didn’t say who would sit, it feels likely that it will be Jarvis unless he’s impressed Cooper enough in his limited outings. Canada does have an embarrassment of riches to play with, so for Canes fans if Jarvis gets the experience of practicing and playing with this talent but limited game play to where he’ll come back healthy, it’s not the worst thing.

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For Canes fans, the next game to watch involving players will be Tuesday at 10:40 AM ET. The Denmark/Czechia game should easily be the best match of the four as the team led by David Pastrnak and Martin Necas goes against Ehlers and the rest of the Danes. From there we should start seeing true best-on-best. Either way there’s a really good chance at least one Hurricane will be playing for a gold medal.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/genera...anes-are-doing-and-when-they-are-playing-next

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Olympics Final Four Set: Hurricanes set to face each other

Feb 18, 2026; Milan, Italy; Sebastian Aho of Finland celebrates scoring their first goal against Switzerland in a men's ice hockey quarterfinal during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

When you take a step back, you understand why the NHL missed the last two Olympics. The league generally doesn’t get much of a ratings bump for interrupting their season for three weeks so the competition can play out, the risk of injury is high and has reared its head a couple times this time around, and it creates headaches in the form of a condensed schedule before and after the event in order to squeeze it in.

Then you have days like Thursday and you wonder why on Earth they took this away from us after 2014.

We now have Semifinals set for Friday, but it took three games going to the 3-on-3 overtime for thrilling finishes to get there. The teams left standing were the top four seeds going on. Every game featured at least some regular NHL players, and the drama was just ramped up to a substantial level.

So where does this leave the teams that have players we are rooting for, how are they doing, and what happens from here? Let’s update it.

Friday’s Semifinal Schedule​

Here’s hoping you either found a way to take some time off or your phone’s data plan is all set so you can watch while away from home. The schedule for Friday is as follows:

• Sebastian Aho and Finland takes on Seth Jarvis and Canada at 10:40 AM ET
• Slovakia will face Jaccob Slavin and the United States at 3:10 PM ET

The two teams that lose will not get any rest as the Bronze Medal match will be Saturday at 2:40 PM ET. The winners will face off for the Gold Medal bright and early on the east coast at 8:10 AM ET

So if you are doing the math, you’re realizing that at a minimum two members of the Hurricanes will come back to Raleigh with a medal of some color. There’s also a not-to-small chance that each of them will come back with one medal of each color.

How they got here and how they are doing​

Nikolaj Ehlers & Frederik Andersen​

The Danes just had a tough draw in facing Czechia. Andersen gave up a total of three goals, including one to his former teammate Martin Necas, and you can really argue that none of the goals were his fault. He also held the fort down while Denmark attempted their comeback, drawing it to 3-2 by the end of the second period. Unfortunately the Danes couldn’t get that last goal to tie it up and Denmark was eliminated on Tuesday. There’s no word on when these two will be back in Raleigh, but they’ll at least get a chance to catch their breath before the season restarts.

Seth Jarvis​

Even though Brad Marchand returned to the Team Canada lineup on Wednesday, Seth Jarvis remained while Sam Bennett was one of the healthy extras for Team Canada. That said, the lines released had Jarvis as the 13th forward, meaning he likely wasn’t looking at a lot of time. That changed once Sidney Crosby suffered a lower body injury and was ruled out for the rest of the game.

Thanks to the Olympic rule that allows teams to dress an extra forward and defenseman, Cooper was able to juggle things around to still have four complete lines—but the upshot was that Jarvis was on the ice a lot more. He rewarded Cooper with strong play, drawing a penalty and then assisting on the game-tying goal late in the third period. Canada went on to win against Czechia via a Mitch Marner goal in the thrilling 3-on-3 overtime.

The eyes now turn to Crosby and how healthy he is. Should he not be ready to play Friday, Jarvis will stay in and Bennett will likely be elevated into the lineup. If he’s healthy, it may be tough for Cooper to move on from Jarvis now as the analytics support him being on the ice and his play in the third helped Canada pull out a win.

Plus don’t we all want to see this

It's time pic.twitter.com/dvDJ5e0gP2

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 18, 2026

Sebastian Aho​

While Canada was coming from behind against Czechia, Finland was also facing a significant deficit of their own. Switzerland—where former Hurricane Nino Niederreiter played—held a 2-0 lead over Finland. Finland would turn on the offense in the second period, but all it earned them was a scoreless period and the desperation started to hit.

Late in the third, though, Sebastian Aho turned the tide.

With about six minutes left, Aho pulled off one of his best moves, making a little fake before snapping a shot past Swiss goalie Leonardo Genoni. It was a beautiful shot that seemed to open up the floodgates for the Finns. With Juuse Saros pulled, Miro Heiskanen scored a goal with the extra skater to tie it. Then in 3-on-3 overtime, Artturi Lehkonen ended it lifting Finland to the win and guaranteeing that the Finns will play for a medal. With that, Aho and the Finns face the tall task of going up against Canada, and Aho will likely face his teammate in Jarvis. It should be fun to watch.

Jaccob Slavin​

Now that the competition for the United States has ramped up and defense matters a lot more, Jaccob Slavin is once again showing the hockey world what Carolina fans have known for years—he is one of the most elite defenders in the world.

The United States defeated Sweden 2-1 in the third overtime game of the Quarterfinals, but the only reason it got to overtime is because when Sweden had the extra skater, Slavin was not on the ice. Why? Slavin had just skated a shift about a minute prior to the game-tying goal with 1:31 left, but Sweden took time to set up before entering the zone and one would have thought that US coach Mike Sullivan would have had a chance to put in the guy who just a few minutes priod had done this:

Jaccob Slavin did Jaccob Slavin things pic.twitter.com/TX3ENeb9FG

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 19, 2026

No harm was done though as Quinn Hughes ended the game in overtime, and the US is set to face surprising Slovakia on Friday. Slovakia was the only team to win their game easily on Tuesday, and a team that has beaten Germany and Finland won’t be intimidated to go up against the US squad.

One thing is for sure—Slavin will face a teammate this weekend. When and who will be determined as the games are played, but Canes fans have every reason to tune into every game remaining of this tournament.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/general/52905/olympics-final-four-set-hurricanes-set-to-face-each-other