What – Game 72 (45-20-6)
When – 5 p.m., Saturday, March 28
Where – Lenovo Center; Raleigh, NC
How to Watch – FanDuel Sports Network South, MSGSN
The Carolina Hurricanes are finally back home after a long stretch of road games and tonight will take on the New Jersey Devils for the last time this year.
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Carolina is coming off of a 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, a game that saw their three-game winning streak snapped.
The Hurricanes are expecting to get defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere back as the veteran has missed the team’s last nine games with a lower-body injury.
It will also be a big game for netminder Brandon Bussi, who is expected to start. The rookie goalie has struggled since the Olympic break, with just a 0.844 save percentage and 3.8 GAA, so he really needs a good outing for his confidence.
New Jersey will be playing their final game of a five-game road trip and are currently on a two-game winning streak.
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The season went off the rails for the Devils after a strong start to the year and now they’re basically out of the postseason, but there’s still a lot of talent on the roster that the Hurricanes need to be aware of.
Streaks
Seth Jarvis (1g, 6a) has points in four straight games.
Nikolaj Ehlers (2g, 1a) and Andrei Svechnikov (2a) have points in back-to-back games.
Milestone Watch
Taylor Hall is one goal away from 300 career goals.
Sean Walker is three assists away from 100 career assists.
Sebastian Aho is four assists away from 400 career assists.
Game Notes
Carolina is 3-0-0 against the Devils this season, winning 6-3 on opening night in Raleigh and 3-1 and 4-1 in New Jersey on Jan. 4 and Jan. 17.
The Hurricanes are 13-5-0 in the last 18 meetings between the two clubs.
Carolina hasn’t lost to New Jersey in a regular season game at Lenovo Center since 2023.
Nikolaj Ehlers (12g, 23pts in 21gp) is a point-per-game player for his career against New Jersey.
Projected Starting Goalies
Brandon Bussi: 26-6-1; 0.896 Sv%; 2.47 GAA
Jake Allen: 14-16-1; 0.906 Sv%; 2.68 GAA
Leading Scorers
Goals – Seth Jarvis (29) / Nico Hischier (26)
Points – Sebastian Aho (72) / Jesper Bratt (60)
Power Play
New Jersey – 22.4% (13th)
Penalty Kill
New Jersey – 80.1% (13th)
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook
William Carrier – Mark Jankowski – Eric Robinson
Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere – Alexander Nikishin
Brandon Bussi
Frederik Andersen
Injuries and Scratches: Mike Reilly, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nicolas Deslauriers, Pyotr Kochetkov (hip)
Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer
Jesper Bratt – Jack Hughes – Connor Brown
Evgenii Dadonov – Cody Glass – Lenni Hameenaho
Paul Cotter – Nick Bjugstad – Maxim Tsyplakov
Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton
Luke Hughes – Johnathan Kovacevic
Brenden Dillon – Simon Nemec
Jake Allen
Jacob Markstrom
Injuries and Scratches: Arseny Gritsyuk (undisclosed), Zack MacEwen (ACL), Stefan Noesen (knee), Brett Pesce (LBI)
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