2023-24 Regular Season, Game 6: Hurricanes at Colorado Avalanche (Pregame)

The Hurricanes are playing the final leg of their western road trip. After taking two of three games in California, the Canes fell behind early in Seattle and never recovered. Seattle opened the scoring, but Jesper Fast responded 19 seconds later to tie the game early. The Kraken finished the period with goals on the power play and short-handed, taking a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes. Vince Dunn would clap a shot past Antti Raanta on the power play early in the second period, ending Raanta's night as Pyotr Kochetkov came in to make his season debut. Kochetkov kept Seattle out of the net for the rest of the period, allowing the Canes to get back in the game. Stefan Noesen would set up Seth Jarvis and Jesperi Kotkaniemi in the first 5:55 of the third period. Unfortunately, Seattle struck twice in 21 seconds to regain the three-goal advantage. Jarvis scored his second of the period on the power play late, but an empty-net goal would ice the win for Seattle. 

The Opponent: Colorado Avalanche (4-0-0, 8 Points- 1st the Central Division)
The final trip on the western portion of this trip takes the Hurricanes a mile high for a battle with the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado has started the season on fire after a disappointing end of their campaign last season. The 2021-22 Stanley Cup Champions were ousted in the 1st Round of the postseason by the Kraken in seven games. They re-tooled in the offseason, bringing in Ryan Johansen, Miles Wood, and Jonathan Drouin. They were dealt some bad news with Gabriel Landeskog missing the entire season, but they've been perfect to open it. Outside of a shootout win over San Jose, the rest of Colorado's wins have been by at least three goals. Their last outing was a 4-0 win over Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night. The Avalanche have been the best defense in the league to start the year, and Mikko Rantanen leads a lethal offense with three goals and seven points in four games. 

Last Season's Meetings- The Hurricanes and Avalanche met twice in five days in November. In Colorado, Cale Makar scored twice, Nathan MacKinnon added a goal, and Mikko Rantanen scored four points as Colorado stomped the Canes 4-1. Five days later, in Raleigh, the Canes heavily outshot the Avalanche but needed a goal in the third period by Martin Necas to force overtime. Artturi Lehkonen would be the hero for Colorado in overtime, helping Colorado sweep the season series. Pavel Francouz made 46 saves in the win in Raleigh, beating Antti Raanta in both meetings. 

Stories of the Night
1. Wake Up, Defense!
The disappearance of the Hurricanes' defense is one of the season's biggest mysteries through the first two weeks. Despite having one of the best defensive groups in the league, the Hurricanes have allowed more goals than any other team this season. They've allowed three or more goals in all five games. The penalty kill hasn't looked as sharp as it usually does. The power play has allowed a pair of short-handed goals. Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta have shown moments of brilliance but also some bad moments. While I'd love for today to be when they change that, Colorado is a tough team to contain. 

2. League's Best Offense vs. League's Best Defense
While the defense has been non-existent, the Hurricanes' offense has been incredible. They lead the league in goals, led by four each by Teuvo Teravainen and Seth Jarvis. They have scored at least three goals in all five games, including six-goal efforts in San Jose and Los Angeles on this trip. On the other side, the Colorado Avalanche have allowed just four goals in four games. It'll be interesting to see which unit is superior in this battle. 
 
3. Alexandar Georgiev Looking Unbeatable
A big reason for Colorado's perfect start has been their starter in the net, Alexandar Georgiev. He's started all four games for the Avalanche, allowing four goals. He's coming off an 18-save shutout two nights ago against the Blackhawks. There were concerns about him being the starter for the Avalanche last season, considering he'd never held a starting job in his NHL career, playing behind Henrik Lundqvist and Igor Shesterkin with the Rangers. He proved everyone wrong last season, starting 62 games, tying for the league lead with 40 wins, and notching a .918 SV%. His career against the Hurricanes has been a mixed bag. He has a 44-save shutout in Raleigh, but he's also allowed six or more goals twice against the Canes. 

4. Callahan Burke, In Case of Emergency
In minor news, the Hurricanes have emergency recalled forward Callahan Burke from AHL Colorado Springs. The team acquired Burke from the Avalanche right before the season started in exchange for Caleb Jones. Burke made his NHL debut for the Avalanche last season, skating in two games and recording zero points. This leads me to believe Sebastian Aho won't be ready for tonight, and maybe Jordan Staal could be out, too, after getting stung by a shot at the end of the Seattle game. This is purely speculation, but I'd imagine he plays if he's an emergency recall. 

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