Maybe it’s because of the upcoming trip to Finland has a four day break before and after, or maybe it’s the earlier start to the season that allows some rhythm to have already been established, but this year’s State Fair Road Trip just didn’t feel as long as it normally does. There have been some years when the Canes were stuck in a city for a while, and it felt like they were gone over a month.
This year, though, it feels as if the trip was pretty contained. Five games being played meant never having a long stretch that was hockey-free, and up until tonight’s game all of the games were basically in the same part of the world. After tonight, the Canes will return to Raleigh to play four of their next six before the trip out to Finland. There’s little doubt fans are ready to cheer for this team at home again.
To get there, they’ll play the St. Louis Blues. The Blues once again have the unenviable task of being in the same division as Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, and Utah. Remember there was scuttlebutt last year that they were going to trade young captain and center Robert Thomas, but instead no one met their asking price. Thus, this offseason they added a few pieces via trade. They are hoping to avoid getting too far down in the record so they can contend for a playoff spot, but their best bet would be a wild card because of the way the teams in front of them are built. This seems to be the thought when Jim Montgomery was hired and signed through 2028, but as expected when the team’s ceiling is barely making it in, they’ve had a wildly inconsistent start to the 26-27 season.
The record says 5-4-1 but actually looking at the games detail a team still trying to figure things out. They have wins over Dallas, Ottawa, and Vegas but also have losses to Nashville, Columbus, and Chicago. This game is smack dab in the middle of a five game homestand for the Blues, one that has gotten off to a 2-0 start. Two players—Mason McTavish and Jimmy Snuggerud—have six goals, and then no one else has more than three. They also are fresh off the high of defensive prospect Justin Baron having a four point night against Vegas.
We’ll see who starts in goal for the Blues as this is Joel Hofer’s team now. Jordan Binnington has been relegated to backup status, only seeing three games so far this season, going 1-2 with a .831 save percentage. Hofer, meanwhile, is a tidy 4-2 with a .921 and was the goalie for the Blues’ wins this week. That said, one would think Binnington will get a start sooner or later.
This game sets up as a trap game for Carolina. You’re coming off the work that was needed in the game of the season so far against Edmonton, they didn’t practice Friday, won’t have a morning skate today, and after the final horn finally get to fly back to Raleigh after a week and a half on the road.
We’ll see if Rod Brind’Amour switches anything around with the lines since there won’t be any practice, but if the MO for how he operates is consistent, expect to see the same lines and pairings from Thursday Night. The only change will likely be Pyotr Kochetkov entering the net in place of Brandon Bussi. Now with Connor Hellebuyck heading to New Jersey, fans are going to have to be comfortable with this pairing the rest of the season. While Kochetkov has visually been better and has yet to lose, his save percentage is also just a hair under .900 and the Blues look to be a tougher test than Vancouver.
Seth Jarvis is also someone to keep an eye on as he admitted after the first period on Thursday he wasn’t “feeling great” as he had to get his NHL legs back under him. He seemed to fit in well with Martinook at the other wing and Jesperi Kotkaniemi at center, getting a highlight-reel goal and almost getting another one. Meanwhile Jackson Blake finally saw the puck go behind the goalie to reward him for his hard work, and you wonder if this is the start of a run for him.
The good news for Carolina is that they are about to play one of the few teams doing worse at the faceoff dot than them. Missing Jordan Staal and now Mark Jankowski has dropped the Canes to 18th in the league at winning faceoffs but the Blues are currently 21st. St. Louis is also a paltry 27th at the dot during the Power Play, something that played a direct result in the loss to Edmonton. Hopefully tonight helps some Canes feel better in that department while they wait for their Captain to return.
If you aren’t in Saint Louis to watch the game, here’s how you can catch the action:
Time: 7 PM Eastern
Location: Enterprise Center — St. Louis, MO
TV: Hurricanes Hockey Network. Hanna Yates will handle the pregame duties at 6:30, and then Mike Maniscalco handles play-by-play with Tripp Tracy providing color—still waiting on the NHL and Direct TV to work things out.
Streaming Video: Hurricanes Hockey Network on Prime Video in the Hurricanes Footprint. Outside you’ll need to use the ESPN app and have at least an ESPN Select subscription, which comes with ESPN Ultimate.
Radio: The pregame Storm Watch with Adam Gold on 99.9 The Fan starts at 6:30 PM, At 7 PM radio (consisting of 99.9, 730 The Game in Charlotte, ESPN New Bern 107.5/1490, and ESPN Greenville 107.5/1570) will pick up the Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy TV simulcast.
Lines: (Per DraftKings) Hurricanes -155, -1.5 (+170) /Blues +130, +1.5 (-205). O/U 6.5 +105/-125