It’s that time of the year again – the State Fair Road Trip. The Carolina Hurricanes start out their five-game quest through the west Saturday afternoon with a game against the Winnipeg Jets.
The game is scheduled for 3:00 PM EDT.
In the Hurricanes’ last game, they managed a bit of a come-from-behind victory against the Washington Capitals to push their winning streak to six games straight. However, as great as that game was, it came with its own wrinkle – an injury to a key veteran forward. Second line winger, Taylor Hall, suffered an upper-body injury in the first period of the game, and after making a brief 11-second shift in the second frame, he was officially ruled out of the game by Hurricanes PR. In the time since, he has been listed as week-to-week in his recovery timeline.
Meanwhile, Seth Jarvis appears to be nearing his return, joining the team on their road trip – though he has not yet been cleared to play.
In the wake of Jordan Staal and now Hall’s absence, the Hurricanes recalled both Bradly Nadeau and Felix Unger Sorum from their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Interestingly, both players were on the second power play unit during practice Friday, ahead of their flight to Manitoba, Canada. You can read all about their last game here!
As for the Jets, they remain entrenched in their goaltender dilemma as they try to sell off Connor Hellebuyck’s contract to the highest bidder – but Stuart Skinner has been good. He has had five of seven starts this season, posting a save percentage above .900 and a goals against average under 3.00. Their last game – against the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday – was lost in overtime, but they remain third in the Pacific Division, at the time of writing, with 10 points.
In the Crease
During Friday morning’s practice, Pyotr Kochetkov was once again in the starter’s crease. The Hurricanes will likely start him for the first game of the trip, seeing as he is the hot hand right now, with Brandon Bussi starting against the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
This season, Kochetkov’s goals against average is 1.73, with a save percentage of .911.
Meanwhile, the Jets will more than likely play Skinner, rather than Clay Stevenson – but you never really know.
This season, Skinner’s goals against average is 2.76, with a save percentage of .906.
Projected Carolina Hurricanes Lines
William Carrier – Sebastian Aho – Andrei Svechnikov
Bradly Nadeau – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Mark Jankowski – Jordan Martinook
Eric Robinson – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Felix Unger Sorum
Defense
Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere – Mike Reilly
Goaltenders
Pyotr Kochetkov / Brandon Bussi
Projected Winnipeg Jets Lines
Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Cole Perfetti
Nino Niederreiter – Viggo Björck – Gabriel Vilardi
Isak Rosen – Adam Lowry – Alex Iafallo
Cole Koepke – Morgan Barron – Brad Lambert
Defense
Dylan Samberg – Neal Pionk
Mario Ferraro – Dylan DeMelo
Haydn Fleury – Jack St. Ivany
Goaltenders
Stuart Skinner / Clay Stevenson
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 22.9% (9th, up two spots from previous game)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 93.3% (2nd, up three spots from previous game)
Winnipeg Jets power play: 31.6% (4th)
Winnipeg Jets penalty kill: 88.2% (7th)
Hurricanes Game Notes
The Hurricanes will play five games for the Western Conference Road Trip, spanning Saturday to Saturday. The order in which they will play will be the Jets (Saturday), Flames (Sunday), Vancouver Canucks (Tuesday), Edmonton Oilers (Thursday), and finally the St. Louis Blues (Saturday).
How To Watch
TV: Hurricanes Hockey Network
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
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