2023-24 Regular Season, Game 48: Hurricanes vs. Arizona Coyotes (Pregame)

On the heels of an impressive back-to-back sweep, the Hurricanes look to close out the "first half" strong. After beating the Bruins in Boston, the Canes and their moms turned around to host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday for the first time since meeting in the postseason. Sebastian Aho provided a rude welcome for the visitors, scoring 90 seconds into the game on a breakaway against Nico Daws. They added to the lead in quick succession in the second period. Teuvo Teravainen buried a shot on the power play after it hit a Devil in front to make it 2-0. Just 25 seconds later, Jordan Staal tipped home a shot from Brady Skjei to break a 13-game goalless drought. This would chase Nico Daws from the game as Vitek Vanecek came out to relieve him. New Jersey was held scoreless by Antti Raanta until early in the third period when Justin Dowling broke the shutout by finishing a great pass from Alexander Holtz. Jesper Bratt pulled them within a goal with less than three seconds left, but it was far too late for New Jersey to complete the comeback as the Canes celebrated with their moms at center ice following a 3-2 victory. Raanta made 23 stops, and Teravainen recorded another multi-point game in the win. 

The Opponent: Arizona Coyotes (23-21-3, 49 Points- 6th in the Central Division)

It has been trying times for the Coyotes for several years, making the postseason just one time in the last 11 seasons. They showed marginal improvements last season, finishing 7th in the division with 70 points. They were busy during the offseason, signing several players to one- or two-year deals, likely in the hopes they could trade them at the trade deadline if they weren't playing well. For most of the season, the Coyotes have been in the thick of things. Their record is far better than anyone expected. I expected them to be a year or two away from being competitive for a playoff spot. Right now, they're four points out of a playoff spot. At one point, they occupied a playoff spot, but a recent stretch of bad games has seen them fall. They're 4-7-1 in their last 12 games, allowing four or more goals in six of their eight losses. Raleigh is the final stop on their pre-break road trip, losing 6-2 and 6-3 on back-to-back nights to the Panthers and Lightning. Arizona's All-Star, Clayton Keller, leads the team with 20 goals and 45 assists, scoring nearly a point per game. Mattias Maccelli is following up his fantastic rookie season with another strong start, tying Keller with 25 assists. Several players are having career years, but no one has made a greater impact than Connor Ingram. After a very rough 2022-23, Ingram has surpassed Karel Vejmelka as the team's starting goalie, winning 17 games while holding a 2.59 GAA, a .916 save percentage, and five shutouts. In my mind, he was one of the biggest All-Star snubs.

Last Season's Meetings- The Canes and Coyotes split their season series, with the road team winning both games. They met right before Thanksgiving in Raleigh, and Karel Vejmelka stole the show. Nick Schmaltz scored in the first period, and that 1-0 lead stood through two periods. Lawson Crouse and Nick Bjugstad pushed Arizona's lead to 3-0, and Crouse added the empty-netter to take home a 4-0 win. Vejmelka stopped all 36 shots he faced as the Canes' offense went silent. This would be the Canes' final regulation loss for over a month during their 17-game point streak. They didn't meet again until after the trade deadline in March. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead on goals by Paul Stastny, Sebastian Aho, and Jaccob Slavin. Crouse got the Coyotes on the board before the Canes' power play took over. Shayne Gostisbehere, playing in his first game since being acquired from the Coyotes, Aho, and Martin Necas all scored with the man advantage as the Canes dominated the Coyotes 6-1. 

Stories/Keys of the Game

1. Aho's Final Game Before Toronto

After tonight's game, the only Hurricanes who will play before their next game is Sebastian Aho. He's set to travel to Toronto for next week's All-Star festivities in Toronto as the team's sole representative. It'll be his third time representing the Hurricanes. This honor has been well earned as he continues to pace the team in most major offensive categories. While this will likely just be another game for him, I'll have a close eye on him for this one. He was great against the Coyotes in Arizona last season and has averaged nearly a point per game against them in his career. 

2. Which Goalies Get the Nod for Both Sides?

While fatigue is likely to be a problem for both teams, they each have interesting decisions to make in the net for opposite reasons. For the Canes, both Spencer Martin and Antti Raanta have played well this week. Raanta has excellent numbers against his former team, going 6-0-1 in his career with a .915 save percentage, though starting Martin could be a good way to show confidence in him if he's the answer moving forward. To add further intrigue, the team activated Pyotr Kochetkov off IR on Thursday, stating he'd be available for tonight's game. For Arizona, both Connor Ingram and Karel Vejmelka struggled in their starts on this trip. Vejmelka has solid numbers against the Canes in his career, but Ingram has been far and away the better goalie.

3. Watch Out for Arizona's Young Guns

It's no secret that a lack of success often means your team picks earlier during the draft. The Canes know that firsthand after over a decade of struggles. Eventually, it leads to an abundance of young players who help turn the team around. We're starting to see that with the Arizona Coyotes. I was incredibly hopeful that they'd land Connor Bedard last season, but they ended up with the sixth pick. The year prior, they picked third. Your return to relevancy is helped greatly when those picks produce points. While it's still early, they have a few young guys poised to lead the charge. While guys like Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, who was a trade acquisition, and Nick Schmaltz are by no means old, I'm looking more at Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther. Both are primed to be major fixtures for the team moving forward, along with their established core.