News Hurricanes Team Notes

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Three in a Row – Hurricanes 5, Ducks 2

After a slow first period, the Carolina Hurricanes sharpened up their game and went on the defeat the Anaheim Ducks, 5-2 on Thursday night at the Lenovo Center.

It was the third straight win for Carolina while the Ducks have now lost eight in a row.

The home team got off to a bit of a slow start and fell behind 1-0 in the first but they turned things around in the second.

They outshot the Ducks 19-3 in that period and put three goals up on the board.

First, Mark Jankowski got things started when he took the puck to the net.

Shortly after, Granlund scored from in close but that would be it for Anaheim.

Two minutes after that score, Taylor Hall made a perfect feed to an open Logan Stankoven to tie things up again. That made three goals in the last three games for Stankoven.

Jalen Chatfield blasted in a shot to give the Canes a 3-2 lead going into the second intermission. It was Chatfield’s 300th NHL game.

The Canes continued to shut down the opposition in the third as the Ducks could only manage another four shots in that period.

Carolina goaltender, Fred Andersen did what he needed to do and stopped the shots he saw to earn his first win since early November. The win put an end to a nine game losing streak for Andersen.

Midway through the third, Jackson Blake made a pretty backhander off an Alexander Nikishin shot to put the home team up by two.

Taylor Hall notched an empty-netter to close out the scoring.

In all, the Canes outshot the Ducks, 35-13.

Carolina dominated the faceoff circle winning 64%.

The Hurricanes will take Friday off and will prepare to take on the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.

Game Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/GS020688.HTM

Event Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/ES020688.HTM

Interviews – https://canespr.com/2026/01/06/january-6-postgame-notes-stats-video-audio/

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...aps/52670/three-in-a-row-hurricanes-5-ducks-3

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes Host Kraken: Preview, How to Watch, Game Thread

We’re at that time of year where many sports collide on the calendar, and today is no different.

Thanks to the Carolina Panthers having a Hurricanes-like resurgence, they will open up the NFL playoffs today at 4:30. If you’re a fan of any of the three Triangle University teams, your school is in action as well. Then, of course, the main reason you’re reading is the fact that the Carolina Hurricanes have their last home game before a back-to-back road jaunt at the start of next week.

Last weekend this confluence didn’t exactly go well. Of all the teams mentioned, only the college team in Durham won their game—and frankly that contest was closer than it should have been. If you’re a fan of UNC—like this author which I have not hidden, by the way—then you have the real fun that you have the Panthers at 4:30, UNC at 6, and the Canes at 7.

It’s both fun and exhausting, and it’s why we are fans, right?

The funny part is that the Hurricanes game has a lot of intrigue to it. Speaking of a week ago, fans were concerned at just how rough the team looked in yet again surrendering a multiple-goal lead to Colorado, while staring at a back-to-back and not knowing how their prized find Brandon Bussi would react to his first bad outing. Since then he and the team have responded with three straight wins—a pretty dominant win to the sinking Devils, an inspired home win to Dallas that was just all sorts of fun including the return of Seth Jarvis, and Freddie Andersen’s first win in two months against Anaheim. All of a sudden the Canes are riding high again, in first place in the entire East and four points up on the Islanders in the Metro.

Then news dropped on Friday morning that would point to a reminder of how remarkable it is that this team has achieved what it had already.

The #Canes have reassigned defenseman Joel Nystrom to the @Chicago_Wolves.

Details » https://t.co/4jHVwzjFTE pic.twitter.com/DbcdvR9a5B

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) January 9, 2026

Nystrom has done outstanding work since coming up to the main roster. While not scoring a goal he does have eight assists, and is +4 in 33 games played. Not too bad for someone who figured to spend the whole season with the Chicago Wolves. He heads to the Wolves averaging 15:37/game on the ice, showing he wasn’t just playing sheltered time while up in Raleigh. At minimum he’ll be back to Raleigh sooner than later, and there’s little doubt he showcased himself as a chip in case the Canes want to include him in a deal—more on that in a bit.

But the reason Nystrom is back in Chicago? Jaccob Slavin is set to make his return to the lineup tonight. Slavin has been snake-bitten to say the least. He didn’t appear in training camp due to an injury. That injury flared up to the point where he only played in the first two games to open the season, then sat out two months before finally rejoining the team in mid-December. His last appearance was in the carnage in Florida which also took out Jarvis. Rod Brind’Amour would go on to say his injury was completely different this time around, which is as much as we got, and thus we’ve been patiently waiting for him to rejoin the team.

Morning skate in fact confirms that Slavin will be back in the lineup tonight. Here’s what you can expect the pairings to look like:

Defensive pairs:Slavin-ChatfieldMiller-WalkerGostisbehere-Nikishin

— Ryan Henkel (@ryanhenkel.bsky.social) 2026-01-10T15:28:45.062Z

A third pairing of Nikishin and Gostisbehere? Let’s just take a second and admire the potential there. Also—Bussi is in net tonight looking to continue his good play after two straight wins on Sunday and Tuesday.

On the subject of trades—while the Canes didn’t take the ice on Friday, they made more news as Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman reported the Hurricanes are listening to offers for Jesperi Kotkaniemi. While this news likely sent Montreal Canadien fans into hysterical fits of laughter, it shouldn’t really be much of a surprise to Hurricane fans at this point. Tom Edwards talks about the potential for his move here—you should subscribe by the way as there are few that are as well-versed on the CBA and cap implications as he—but honestly if you’ve listened to Brind’Amour speak plus seen the lineups, it seems clear at this point the two sides just realize it may be time to move on from each other. Usually reporting like this doesn’t get out unless something is close, because once that dam breaks it’s tough to put the water back in.

Oh yeah there’s actually a hockey game tonight! Tonight the NHL’s newest team the Seattle Kraken come to town for the only time in 2025-26. Not too long ago this game would be an afterthought, but the Kraken have started charging up the standings to where if the playoffs began today, they’d be the three in the Pacific. It speaks to just how rough everyone in that division is playing right now that at 48 points, they are not only in third but are just two points out of tying Vegas and Edmonton for first. Meanwhile you look at the other Western Division and…yeah.

That said Seattle is on a tear. After a three game losing streak a month ago, they have taken points in ten straight, going 8-0-2 and rocketing into playoff contention when it looked like they may ben floundering for more draft picks. They are doing this despite only having two players hit double digits in goals—Carolina has six including Jordan Staal—and their leading point producer is Jordan Eberle at 28. Sebastian Aho has 43. The problem for the Kraken is that Eberle has been listed as day-to-day. He’s on the road trip but it’s unknown if he’ll be out on the ice tonight. If he doesn’t, here are the lines to expect:

McCann- Beniers – Kakko
Tolvanen – Stephenson – Gaudreau
Catton – Wright – Winterton
Kartye – Meyers – Melanson

Dunn – Larsson
Lindgren – Fleury
Evans – Oleksiak

Daccord

There have been two reasons for this run. One has been some pretty solid goaltending from the tandem of Joey Daccord and Phillipp Grubauer. both have save percentages above .900, and Grubauer is at .925. The team as a whole is 26th in goals for, but are 11th in goals allowed. The second has been a red hot Power Play where they’ve been clicking at a near 35% during that stretch. Needless to say, it’ll be nice to have Slavin back for this.

The first crack in the Seattle run may have happened in their last game, though. Seattle had a two goal lead against the Minnesota Wild in the third period. The game was in Seattle, but Minnesota came back on Grubauer to tie it up and then win it in Overtime. Now the Kraken begin a five game road trip that had them flying cross-country to start here before three in the Northeast Corridor and then finishing up against Utah. The hope of course is that the Canes can catch them on jet lag and continue what Minnesota started.

Lastly a visit by Seattle means former Hurricanes play-by-play man John Forslund will be in the arena calling the action, and you can bet there will be all smiles in the press box as the two crews catch up with each other before puck drop, and there’s little doubt Forslund will joing all of us in congratulating Mike Maniscalco in being named North Carolina’s Sportscaster of the Year.

Got all that? So if you aren’t going to be inside Lenovo Center tonight, here’s how you can catch the action:

Time: 7 PM

TV: FanDuel Sports Network. Mike Maniscalco will handle play-by-play alongside Tripp Tracy doing color. Hanna Yates and Shane Willis will provide off-ice reports as well as host pregame starting at 6:30 and postgame that will run for about 30 minutes after the conclusion.

Streaming: FanDuel Sports Network App for fans in the Carolinas. Outside of the area, the ESPN app has you covered for tonight as the game will not be on the NHL Network.

Radio: The pregame on 99.9 The Fan starts at 6:30. At 7PM 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 -295 Moneyline, Puckline Hurricanes -1.5 at -114/Kraken +240 Moneyline, Puckline +1.5 at -106, O/U 6.5 (+110 Over/-134 Under)

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

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes storm back, defeat Kraken 3-2

William Carrier had the game winning goal, Jaccob Slavin had an assist in his first game back since a new injury in Florida, Jordan Staal had two assists, and the Carolina Hurricanes came back to defeat the Seattle Kraken 3-2, handing Seattle their first game without a point since December 18th.

The win was Carolina’s fourth straight since a three game losing streak, all in regulation, and leads to a big game Monday as the top two teams in the east—Detroit and the Canes—will face off.

The Hurricanes got the jump on the Kraken thanks to a laser by a red hot Logan Stankoven. The Hurricanes dominated play early and had the Kraken doing what they could to get the puck of the zone. K’Andre Miller would take one of those clearing attempts and keep it into the zone, skate to the next to draw the recovering defense, and passed it to Stankoven who slapped it past Joey Daccord for the 1-0 lead.

View Link

However after that the Kraken steadied their game and while the Canes would dominate the period in shots, the Kraken would make them lower danger and wait for their chance. It came late in the first as Matty Beniers skated in open ice and put on a great deke past Slavin—notable just because it just doesn’t happen that often—and go in all alone to put it past Brandon Bussi and knot the score. The Kraken would get a late Power Play chance that went empty, and while the Canes led 10-4 in shots they would be tied after one.

The second period saw plenty of action in terms of the Canes once again leading in shots 11-4, and the Canes having a Power Play. However the extra man effort went empty, and after two the score was still tied 1-1.

The third period is when things picked up. Before the first stoppage, Seattle had started to put some pressure on, and it forced Bussi to try to clear the puck himself. While Bussi has been great at many things, one of them hasn’t been his puck handling. Sure enough, his attempt went right into the stick of Ryan Winteron, who passed it back to a wide open Berkly Catton. Catton got it past the recovering Bussi and the Kraken took 2-1 lead.

Seattle would clamp down and for a short period of time it seemed like the game would be played at their style. But after a few minutes the Canes started to dictate play and the Kraken played a little too passive. Unlike earlier in the game when it felt the Canes’ shots weren’t particularly high danger, the pressure put on by Carolina was intense. Sure enough, the My Two Dads line rewarded the hard work by getting a gritty goal to tie the game. It started with a good pass near the net by Seth Jarvis over to Jordan Staal. While Staal worked the puck, Jordan Martinook parked near the net. Staal saw him for a pass and Martinook potted it to make it 2-2.

View Link

The Canes continued to play hard, not content with going to overtime, while it seemed like Seattle was hoping to just continue their point streak. Soon enough, the Staal line was again on the ice, and Jarvis again initiated the play by intercepting the puck on a Kraken clear attempt. He led the charge and passed it off to Staal, and he and Slavin would pass it back to each other before Slavin pushed it towards the net in a goal that was initially ruled his, but later changed to Carrier as the replays showed the shot bounced off his foot.

View Link

Seattle would take their time out as they took a long time to decide if Will Carrier interfered with Daccord, but the replays showed Ryan Lindgren shoving Carrier in the paint, colliding with Daccord. Had the officials called interference on the ice it’s possible it wouldn’t have been overturned. Instead it was a good goal, and the Kraken decided they didn’t want to risk being down a man for two minutes, especially misisng their timeout. The goal stood, and then the Canes really didn’t give Seattle any other good looks for the rest of the period.

For only the fourth time this season the Canes put out everyone on the ice they thought they would at the start of the season, and the time on ice reflected that as five of the six defensemen charted over 18 minutes in TOI, led by the K’Andre Miller and Sean Walker pairing with 22 and 21 minutes, respectively.

The Canes now head back out on the road for a tough back-to-back with Detroit and St. Louis before facing off against the Florida Panthers for the final time in the regular season at home. Those games start a seven game in thirteen day stretch with four of them on the road. In short, it’s the right time for the team to be at full health for one of the first times this season.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...52689/hurricanes-storm-back-defeat-kraken-3-2

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes @ Red Wings – Preview and Open Thread

Two winning streaks collide tonight as the Carolina Hurricanes (28-14-3) visit the Detroit Red Wings (27-15-4) for a game at Little Caesars Arena. Game time is 7 P.M. Eastern.

The Canes have a four game winning streak while the Wings have won three straight.

Carolina is 6-4-0 in their last 10 games while Detroit is 7-2-1.

Both teams lead their respective Divisions and are battling for first place in the Eastern Conference.

Walt Ruff is reporting from the morning skate.

The #Canes will try to move their win streak to five tonight in Detroit.

Frederik Andersen was in the starter's crease at morning skate. The team will need both him and Brandon Bussi over the next 36 hours, when the back-to-back continues in St. Louis.

Andersen is 13-1-1 in 15… pic.twitter.com/Ihz2IVAyWr

— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) January 12, 2026

Fred Andersen was in the starter’s crease.

The lines should look like the following:

Svechnikov – Aho- Ehlers

Jarvis – Staal – Martinook

Hall – Stankoven – Blake

Robinson – Jankowski – Carrier(Kotkaniemi)

Slavin – Chatfield

Walker – Miller

Gostisbehere – Nikishin

This is the first game of a back-to-back for Carolina who will then face another back-to-back after a couple of days off.

Detroit will be retiring the number 91 of Sergei Fedorov tonight.

It is interesting that they are choosing a game against the Hurricanes to have this ceremony. I remember when Peter Karmanos, (original owner of the Hurricanes) got Fedorov to sign an offer sheet (1998) with some almost absurd numbers which Detroit owner, Mike Illitch had to match in order to keep his superstar.

It caused a bit of acrimony between the clubs at the time.

The Daily Faceoff has the Detroit lines as follows:

Finnie – Larkin – Kasper

Debrincat – Copp – Kane

Van Riemsdyk – Compher – Raymond

Soderblam – Rasmussen – Appleton

Edvinsson – Seider

Chiarot – Sandin – Pellikka

Johansson – Bernard – Docker

Look for John Gibson to be in net.

https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/detroit-red-wings/line-combinations

The broadcast will be as usual, on the FanDuel Sports Network.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1.../hurricanes-red-wings-preview-and-open-thread

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Special Teams Shine – Red Wings 4, Hurricanes 3 OT

The Carolina Hurricanes fell behind 3-0, then scored three times in the third to tie the game before losing in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 on Monday night in Detroit.

The Canes scored twice on the powerplay and one time shorthanded as they took advantage of their opportunities in this one.

After a nice ceremony for Sergei Fedorov before the game, the home team jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first.

The Red Wings then made it 3-0 in the second period and it looked like the Hurricanes might be done but apparently they did not feel that way.

Jackson Blake got things started with a nicely placed shot off a pretty pass by Taylor Hall to get the Canes on the board.

About three minutes later, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis teamed up for another shortie this season. Jarvis made a beautiful shot off his partner’s pass to make it, 3-2.

Near the end of the game, the Canes had a 5-on-3 powerplay and Shayne Gostisbehere blasted in a shot to tie the game.

The contest eventually went to overtime where both teams struggled to get anything going until Andrew Copp knocked Gostisbehere to the ice so that he was wide open in front of Andersen.

Copp got the pass and snuck the puck past the Carolina goalie for the game-winner.

Both Gostisbehere and Aho complained to the refs after the goal but were only able to pick up 10 minute misconducts for their trouble.

The Hurricanes outshot the Wings 34-18 for the game.

There is no rest for the weary as they fly to St. Louis to continue their back-to-back on Tuesday.

Game Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/GS020717.HTM

Event Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/ES020717.HTM

Interviews-

AUDIO/VIDEO: Seth Jarvis, Shayne Gostisbehere and Rod Brind'Amour addressed the media following the Hurricanes' 4-3 overtime loss at Detroit on Monday night:https://t.co/kUWorODcHB

— Hurricanes PR (@CanesPR) January 13, 2026

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...ecial-teams-shine-red-wings-4-hurricanes-3-ot

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Blues 3, Hurricanes 0

The Carolina Hurricanes were shut out by the St. Louis Blues, 3-0 on Tuesday night. The loss snapped a five game point streak for Carolina and it was the first time this season they were shut out.

Joel Hofer earned the shutout, his fourth of the season.

After a scoreless first period, the Blues scored all three of their goals in the second.

The Canes caught up from three goals down the previous night in Detroit, but there would be no such come back this time.

Jaccob Slavin missed this game because they are “easing” him back into play, condensed schedule or not.

Brandon Bussi took the loss and had his record drop to 16-3-1.

The Canes will take Wednesday off and then will prepare for another game at home against the Florida Panthers on Friday night.

Game Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/GS020730.HTM

Event Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/ES020730.HTM

Team Recap – https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/car-vs-stl/2026/01/13/2025020730

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-11-carolina-hurricanes-game-recaps/52711/blues-3-hurricanes-0

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes @ Blues – Preview and Open Thread

After a tough overtime loss to Detroit last night, the Carolina Hurricanes (28-14-4) take on the St. Louis Blues (17-21-8) tonight at the Enterprise Arena.

The Canes have a five game point streak going and they are 6-3-1 after their last 10 games.

The Blues have lost three in a row and they are 4-6-0 in their last 10.

According to the Blues website, the lines should be as follows:

Otto Stenberg – Brayden Schenn – Jimmy Snuggerud
Jake Neighbours – Dalibor Dvorsky – Jordan Kyrou
Pavel Buchnevich – Nick Bjugstad – Jonatan Berggren
Alexey Toropchenko – Oskar Sundqvist – Nathan Walker

Cam Fowler – Colton Parayko
Tyler Tucker – Justin Faulk
Logan Mailloux – Matthew Kessel

For those of you hoping to see Jordan Binnington tonight, it looks like you will have to wait. The projected starter in net is Joel Hofer.

It also looks like Robert Thomas is out. Thomas leads the team with 33 points in 42 games.

Jim Montgomery provided injury updates on Philip Broberg, Robert Thomas and Nick Bjugstad ahead of Tuesday's game. https://t.co/WU6CcQ4e90 #stlblues

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 13, 2026

William Carrier was out for Carolina last night. He is questionable for tonight.

Svechnikov – Aho- Ehlers

Jarvis – Staal – Martinook

Hall – Stankoven – Blake

Robinson – Jankowski – Carrier(Kotkaniemi)

Slavin – Chatfield

Walker – Miller

Brandon Bussi should be back between the pipes tonight.

He is sporting an amazing 16-2-1 record and has taken over the number one spot in Carolina.

NOTE: Game time is 7:30 Eastern and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+/Hulu.

Check out the Hurricanes preview here – https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/preview-january-13-at-st-louis

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...2706/hurricanes-blues-preview-and-open-thread

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Game Preview and Thread: Carolina Hurricanes vs Florida Panthers

The Hurricanes (28-15-4) are back in action tonight at 7 PM to take on the Florida Panthers (24-18-3) at home, looking to snap a two game losing skid.

On Tuesday, the Canes were shutout against the Blues after giving up all three goals in the second period for their second straight loss. Tonight will not only be a chance to get back in the win column, but also give Carolina their first victory over the Panthers this season.

In the two losses against the Panthers this season, the Canes gave up multi-goal leads in both. Carolina was outscored by Florida 8-2 in the third period of those games.

Despite the struggles that Carolina has had with the Panthers this season, the back-to-back reigning Stanley Cup champions currently sit at 7th in a tough Atlantic Division with 51 points and are banged up heading into tonight’s tilt.

Florida will be without their leading scorer, Brad Marchand, who is still listed as day-to-day after leaving the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 6 early. Defenseman Seth Jones, who has 24 points in 40 games this season, is still on injured reserve and won’t play tonight.

In addition to Marchand and Jones, the Panthers will still be without star winger Matthew Tkachuk, who has been out all season due to injury.

For those actually suiting up tonight for Florida, watch out for Sam Reinhart who has 45 points in as many games, including 24 goals on the year so far.

The Panthers are currently on a two game winning streak and 5-4-1 in their last 10.

In the crease, Sergei Bobrovsky will get the nod for Florida. Bobrovsky hasn’t been as strong between the pipes this season as years past, posting a 2.90 GAA and .881 save percentage.

As for the Canes, it looks like Brandon Bussi would be the most likely option in net. Bussi currently holds a 2.31 GAA and .902 save percentage to go along with his fantastic 16-3-1 record.

Shayne Gostisbehere and William Carrier will be game time decisions tonight.

It will be up to the Canes to get over the hump against a beatable, yet at the same time seemingly unbeatable, Florida Panthers team.

Here’s how to catch tonight’s game:

Time: 7 PM

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

Streaming: FanDuel Sports Network App/ESPN

Radio: 99.9 The Fan

Odds: Hurricanes -175 Moneyline, Hurricanes -1.5 at +136

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/caroli...hread-carolina-hurricanes-vs-florida-panthers

 

[JJ]

Man the Canes are really going through it right now huh? Two game losing skid after that brutal back-to-back. That OT loss in Detroit still has me heated - Copp literally knocked Gostisbehere on his butt and then scored on the play??? And Aho and Ghost get misconducts for complaining about it? WHAT ARE THE REFS EVEN WATCHING?!

Credit where it's due though - coming back from 3-0 down in the third was gutsy as hell. That shorthanded goal from Jarvis off the Aho feed was absolutely filthy. Special teams keeping them in games when they need it most.

But getting shutout by St. Louis the very next night? Oof. Back-to-backs are brutal and you could tell they had nothing left in the tank. Joel Hofer picking THAT game to stand on his head with his 4th shutout of the year. Just Canes luck.

Now they gotta deal with Florida tonight. Look, the Panthers are banged up - no Marchand, no Jones, no Tkachuk - but Carolina is 0-2 against them this season and blew multi-goal leads in BOTH games. Outscored 8-2 in third periods against Florida?? That's absolutely unacceptable for a team that wants to compete for a Cup.

Bussi's been incredible this year (16-3-1 is ridiculous) so hopefully he's fresh enough after that Blues stinker. And Bobrovsky's numbers are way down this season so maybe the offense can finally get going.

Time to stop the bleeding boys. LET'S GO CANES!

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

“Cloud Nine” – Hurricanes 9, Panthers 1

The Carolina Hurricanes played one of their most entertaining games of the season as they thoroughly dominated the Stanley Cup Champion, Florida Panthers, 9-1 on Friday night at the Lenovo Center.

Nikolaj Ehlers had a hattrick, goaltender Brandon Bussi picked up another win, (17-3-1) and every Carolina forward had at least one point in the shellacking.

The Panthers were missing some key players due to injuries but this win has to help the Hurricanes get over the mental block which they seemed to have when they played this team.

The home team dominated the first period but skated into the dressing room with a slim 1-0 lead.

Ehlers scored the first goal off an absolutely beautiful no-look pass by Jordan Staal.

The Panthers tied the score early in the second period off an odd play but that would be it for the visitors.

Later in the period, Mark Jankowski knocked in a rebound off of a blast by Alexander Nikishin to make it 2-1.

A couple minutes later, Nikishin rocketed another shot during a powerplay that got by Bobrovsky to make it 3-1 and the Canes never looked back. The shot was clocked at 92 MPH.

Speaking of the powerplay, the team officially went 4 of 5 for the night and the penalty kill was perfect, 0-5.

In the previous two meetings against the Panthers, the Canes gave up multi-goal leads in the third period and ended up losing, but that was not happening on this night.

Andrei Svechnikov sniped another PP goal to start things off in the third. A bit later, Ehlers scored another powerplay tally, his second of the night.

Just 21 seconds later, Taylor Hall scored yet another powerplay goal to make it 6-1, but the Canes were not done yet.

Next up, Ehlers scored his third and the hats rained down upon the Lenovo Center ice.

Hall then scored again and 10 seconds later, Eric Robinson made it 9-1 and the celebrations started.

There were several heroes in this game and the team was physical throughout.

The Canes outshot the Panthers, 33-16. They outhit them 30-19 and were dominant in the faceoff circle winning 66% for the game.

Jordan Staal was finishing his checks from start to finish and was awarded six hits. Sean Walker was very physical in this one as well and also had a team high six hits.

Panther, Donovan Sebrango took exception to one heavy hit and went after Walker. The defenseman answered the bell as the two dropped the gloves until Walker took him down. According Cory Lavalette, it was Walker’s first career NHL fight.

Bit surprised by this, but that's the first career NHL fight for Sean Walker

— Cory Lavalette (@CoryLavalette) January 17, 2026

It was the first game that Ehlers played on the same line with Staal and Martinook. After the game when asked about it, he said he was looking forward to it.

“The way they play, the way they battle and get pucks out, I knew I would get more space out there. And that is something I was looking for.”

Nikishin had one of his best games in the NHL with a goal and an assist.

Alexander Nikishin passed Chris Pronger (5 in 1993-94) for the third-most goals in a season by a rookie defenseman in @Canes/Whalers history, trailing Justin Faulk (8 in 2011-12) and Jamie McBain (7 in 2010-11). #NHLStats

Tune in : https://t.co/dT34F4MhkC pic.twitter.com/LvuB1atnTb

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) January 17, 2026

I could on and on about this game but there is another one coming up soon enough as the Hurricanes traveled after this game to New Jersey, where they will play yet another back-to-back scenario.

Highlights –

Game Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/GS020750.HTM

Event Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/ES020750.HTM

Interviews – https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/r352...cw0dlqydmy9j1s7meiynccw7&e=1&st=zwc2w0jn&dl=0

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...caps/52722/cloud-nine-hurricanes-9-panthers-1

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Game Preview: Carolina at New Jersey

The Carolina Hurricanes outskated, outhit, outhustled, and outscored the Florida Panthers in one of the most dominant games in recent memory.

After being shut out for the first time all season on Tuesday, head coach Rod Brind’Amour shuffled the lines searching for some offense. The team was challenged to return to their style of game and finish on the offensive end, and the Canes delivered on both.

The 9-1 win matches the most goals scored by the Hurricanes since relocation, with the two previous times coming during the 2009 season.

But there is not much time to celebrate. The January grind continues with the third back-to-back of the month. Carolina travels north to take on New Jersey tonight at 7:00 PM.

When Jake Allen shut out Buffalo on November 28, New Jersey jumped over Carolina to take first place in the Metropolitan Division standings. Since that time, the Devils have been 8-14-1, and are now four points behind Pittsburgh for third place in the Metro division and six points out of the final Wild Card spot.

There are a couple of factors for this regression. Since the beginning of December, New Jersey has ranked near the bottom of the NHL in five-on-five scoring. Nico Hischier scored only two goals the entire month of December, and Jack Hughes has just two goals in his last 19 games played. New Jersey is now tied for the fifth-worst goal differential in the league.

Without this goal support, the light shines brighter on the defense and goaltenders. Allen and Jacob Markstrom have not played as well over this period. Markstrom ranks near the bottom of the league in Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx), ranking 77th out of 82 qualifying goalies.

Just this week, New Jersey Devils president and general manager Tom Fitzgerald said of Markstrom, “He needs to be better, but I do believe that he can,” continuing, “We don’t ask our goalies to be spectacular every game.” Just give us a chance.”

The Devils are searching for answers on the blueline as well. New Jersey made headlines by scratching defenseman Dougie Hamilton on January 11 versus Winnipeg. The Devils contend it was a hockey decision based on the return of Johnathan Kovacevic and wanting to keep Simon Nemec in the lineup, while Hamilton’s agent said it was an intentional decision to force a trade.

Hamilton has played in the last two games, and the Devils are on a two-game winning streak. New Jersey has not won more than two consecutive games since three straight in late November.

Despite the struggles on five-on-five, the New Jersey penalty kill has played quite well in recent games. In their last 10 games, New Jersey has killed 16 of 19 penalties, and since December 1, the kill is at 84 percent.

This will be an intriguing matchup since the Carolina power play has been one of the best in the league during this same stretch. The Canes scored four power play goals last night and have scored at least one power play goal in 11 of their last 20 games. For Carolina, keeping the power play momentum alive must remain a focus of the team each game.

The Devils report that Nemec will likely be a healthy scratch this evening. Zack MacEwen is out for the season after knee surgery earlier this month, and Stefan Noesen is on the injured reserve with a knee injury.

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The challenge for the Hurricanes is to put the same energy and effort into tonight’s game as they did last night, especially since the Devils are finishing up a three-game homestand with two days’ rest.

Carolina was blanked by one of the worst teams in the NHL earlier this week, and was facing off against the team that has kept them from advancing in the playoffs in two of the last three seasons.

Brind’Amour challenged the team, and the Canes had an overwhelming response.

This season, the Hurricanes are 2-1-1 in the second half of back-to-backs. One of those two wins was against the Devils.

There are a few pieces to the lineup to watch, and there may not be any answers until closer to game time.

Since this is back-to-back, the assumption is Frederik Andersen will get the start tonight. Another consideration for the schedule is Jaccob Slavin. He was held out of the previous back-to-back, but Brind’Amour said yesterday that he is hopeful he will no longer have this rehab restriction.

Shayne Gostisbehere did not play last night due to a lower-body injury, and William Carrier has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury. Carrier practiced Thursday, but there were no new updates on Gostisbehere as of writing.

Noah Philp remains in the concussion protocol.

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Here’s how to check out the action:

Time: 7:00 PM ET

Location: Prudential Center – Newark, NJ

TV: FanDuel Sports Network with Mike Maniscalco, play-by-play; Tripp Tracy, color analyst; Shane Willis, analyst; Hannah Yates, rinkside.

Radio: 99.9 The Fan FM

Line: ML: CAR -115; PL: CAR -1.5 +210

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/caroli...anes-at-new-jersey-devils-nhl-january-17-2026

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Svechnikov Tallies Hat Trick as Hurricanes Take Down Devils, 4-1

The Carolina Hurricanes entered Newark in as brutal a scheduling situation as there is.

After a 9-1 drubbing of the Florida Panthers in Raleigh on Friday night, they touched down in Newark for the second half of a back-to-back on Saturday against a New Jersey Devils team that had been waiting for them with two full days of rest, having last played on Wednesday.

It didn’t matter.

Andrei Svechnikov recorded a hat trick, and Frederik Andersen delivered one of his best starts of the year as Carolina defeated a hungry and desperate Devils squad to strengthen their grip atop the Metropolitan Division standings.

The first period went by scoreless, with Andersen making several key stops as the Canes struggled to find a real rhythm.

They found their legs in the second period, though, and after a few physical altercations, they took the lead when Svechnikov closed hard on Luke Hughes, forcing him to turn the puck over to Sebastian Aho.

Aho entered the zone and found a trailing Svechnikov, who buried one past Markstrom to make it 1-0.

Svechnikov quickly made it 2-0 when he streaked down the right wing and fooled Markstrom, who allowed it to trickle through for a two-goal lead that Carolina took into the third.

The Devils got one back when Timo Meier beat Andersen with a tricky shot from distance on a power play, but it took the Canes just over four minutes to answer back.

That came in the form of Jackson Blake’s 15th goal of the year, which he tallied on a nice move to his backhand to beat Markstrom after a slick feed from Nikolaj Ehlers, who kept his momentum rolling after his hat trick against Florida.

Svechnikov once again beat Markstrom low with just over four minutes left in the third period to pick up his 16th goal of the season and give Carolina a hat trick in a second straight game.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/genera...-hat-trick-as-hurricanes-take-down-devils-4-1