2023-24 Regular Season, Game 40: Hurricanes vs. St. Louis Blues (Pregame)

The Hurricanes return home from the road to play their first home game of the new year. They did so with a five-game win streak intact after a huge effort against the Washington Capitals less than 24 hours ago. It was a game full of big stories, headlined by Dmitry Orlov's return to Washington and Vasily Ponomarev's NHL debut. The Capitals struck twice in the first period, getting goals from Nic Dowd and Dylan Strome to lead 2-0 after the first period. Brent Burns got the Canes on the board in the second, burying a pass from Andrei Svechnikov to cut into Washington's lead. Early in the third period, Orlov and Ponomarev combined to set up Seth Jarvis for the tying goal, getting Ponomarev his first NHL point. The power play kept its incendiary pace going by scoring twice in less than two minutes. Svechnikov buried a one-timer before setting up Burns for his second of the night to put the Canes up 4-2 with just over six minutes left. Orlov added his second point of the night by sending the puck nearly 200 feet into the empty net on the penalty kill, and Ponomarev ended the night by scoring his first NHL goal on a 2-on-1 with Jesperi Kotkaniemi. After falling behind early, the Canes scored six unanswered goals to earn a 6-2 win. Burns, Svechnikov, and Sebastian Aho each finished with three points, while Orlov and Ponomarev had two each. Pyotr Kochetkov only faced 17 shots, stopping 15 of them to pick up the victory. 

The Opponent: St. Louis Blues (19-17-1, 39 Points- 6th in the Central Division)

Last season wasn't a fun one for the Blues. Finishing below .500 with subpar goaltending, the Blues missed the playoffs for just the tenth time in 55 seasons. That's not to say things were all bad. Jordan Kyrou nearly reached 40 goals. Pavel Buchnevich put together another fantastic season. Justin Faulk set career highs in assists and points. A bad season coupled with a rough start this season was enough for Craig Berube to be shown the door after opening 13-14-1. Berube was replaced by Drew Bannister, and things seem to be turning around a little. The Blues have gone 6-3-0 since the coaching change, playing themselves into position to compete for a Wild Card spot. Most of their production is coming from three guys. Robert Thomas, who was just announced as an All-Star, leads the way with 16 goals and 41 points. Buchnevich and Kyrou also have respectable numbers, with 29 and 27 points, respectively. Outside of these select few, the Blues have largely struggled to score. They average the seventh-fewest goals per game and own the second-worst power play in the league at 11.1%. Where they've managed to stay afloat is defensively. While their overall numbers are spectacular, they're doing just enough to get by. St. Louis is in the middle of the pack on the penalty kill and in goals allowed per game. Jordan Binnington isn't back to the goalie he was when he first broke into the league, but his numbers are improving. The Blues are coming off an impressive 2-1 win over the Canucks in which Binnington stopped 25 shots. 

Last Season's Meetings- The Hurricanes won both meetings with the Blues a year ago, outscoring them 10-5. They first met in St. Louis on December 1, and the Blues jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the second period. Goals from Brent Burns, Jordan Martinook, and Seth Jarvis scored 1:04 apart to give the Canes the lead, but Torey Krug scored late in the period to send the game into the third period tied. With less than five minutes left, Martinook broke the tie with his second goal of the night. Jordan Staal scored into the empty net, but Ryan O'Reilly shrunk the lead with 42 seconds left. Martinook completed his hat trick by scoring a second empty-netter, giving the Canes a 6-4 win. When they met again in mid-February, the Canes dominated. Andrei Svechnikov scored twice in the first period to snap a 19-game goalless drought. Justin Faulk brought the Blues within a goal, but Sebastian Aho helped regain the two-goal advantage. Jarvis added a goal in the third period to help put the game away in a 4-1 win for the Canes. 

Stories/Keys of the Game

1. Home is Where the Heart is...and Will Be for a While

After completing their most recent trip, the Hurricanes have played 23 of their 39 games on the road, the most in the league to this point. After a slow start, they've won their last six. Naturally, their 16 home games are the fewest in the league. That's going to change quickly. They have nine games left before the All-Star Break. Eight of them will be at home, with tonight kicking off a six-game homestand. Their lone road game will be in Boston during the final week before the break. Playing at home is usually easier than playing on the road. The Canes are 10-3-3 at PNC Arena this season, averaging 3.81 goals per game in front of the Caniacs. While they are playing the second half of a back-to-back, I'm expecting the crowd to be a major energy boost for them in their return home and throughout the remainder of January. 

2. Injuries & Illness Leading to Chances

It's never ideal to have three regulars out of the lineup under any circumstance. That was the case for the Canes last night in Washington. Jesper Fast missed his second straight game against a tough hit in Toronto, while Stefan Noesen and Martin Necas also missed the game against the Caps with an illness and an upper-body injury, respectively. Fast's injury brought Brendan Lemieux back into the lineup. He picked up an assist against New York and was a +2 last night. Noesen and Necas missing the game meant Tony DeAngelo and Vasily Ponomarev would round out the group of 11 forwards and seven defensemen. DeAngelo didn't get much time against the Caps, playing under four minutes, but Ponomarev's impact has been well-documented. While I'm unsure what the lineup will look like tonight, it's cool to see guys hop in and mesh well with the group of established players.  

3. Faulk Won't Play Against His Former Team

After playing a Washington team last night that has been ravaged by injuries recently, the Blues have a key player who won't be making the trip to Raleigh. He also happens to be a former Hurricane. Justin Faulk suffered an injury against Colorado last week, and he hasn't been back in the lineup since. The team announced he wouldn't be making the trip to Raleigh for this game. Faulk is fifth on the team in scoring this season and had been playing well before his injury. While this wouldn't be his first game in Raleigh since the team traded him, it's still cool to see former players return to PNC Arena.