2024-25 Regular Season, Game 16 Preview: Hurricanes vs. Ottawa Senators

The Hurricanes begin the first half of a back-to-back on Saturday night after returning from the road after a losing trip. After splitting during their stops in Colorado and Vegas, the Hurricanes fell 4-1 to the Utah Hockey Club in their first visit to Salt Lake City. The Canes were the better team through two periods but were deadlocked in a 1-1 tie. Utah scored three times in just over two minutes to take a three-goal lead and Karel Vejmelka played out of his mind. The Utah netminder set a career-high with 49 stops and withstood over eight straight minutes of power-play time in the third period to goalie the Hurricanes. Pyotr Kochetkov left the game early with a lower-body injury after tweaking something on what eventually became the game-winning goal. Martin Necas scored the lone goal for the Canes, extending his point streak to 11 games. 

The Opponent: Ottawa Senators (8-7-1, 17 Points, 5th in the Atlantic Division)
Through 16 games last season, the Ottawa Senators were 8-8-0 with a +6 goal differential. They went on to miss the playoffs, finishing 7th in the division. Through 16 games this season, the Ottawa Senators are 8-7-1 with a +6 goal differential. Are they destined for the same fate this time around, too? There have been some slight changes in Ottawa, beginning in the net. The Senators swapped Joonas Korpisalo for former Vezina winner Linus Ullmark in a trade during the offseason, hoping the move would fortify the position. It hasn't quite played out that way. Ullmark is 4-4-1 with a .890 save percentage and a 2.77 GAA. Anton Forsberg has been the better goalie, posting a save percentage north of .900 with a pair of shutouts. The Senators also haven't been scoring as much, though they have players who can score in bunches when they get going. Brady Tkachuk paces the team with nine goals and there are four players behind him with seven. Ottawa's power play has been much improved this season, sitting firmly in the Top 5 of the league at just under 30 percent. I'm not ready to call Ottawa a playoff team yet, but, with four teams separated by a few points in the middle of the pack, they could sneak into a wild-card spot if they catch fire.

Last Season's Meetings: The Hurricanes swept their three meetings with the Senators last season, scoring 16 goals in the process. The two teams battled in Raleigh to begin the season. The Canes opened a 3-1 lead early in the third period, but two goals in 35 seconds brought the Senators even. Brady Skjei broke the tie with a quick response and Jaccob Slavin added a short-handed marker to pad the lead as the Canes opened the season with a 5-3 win. The final two meetings were in Ottawa, beginning on December 12th, the night largely regarded as the night the Canes turned their season around. Josh Norris scored the opening goal, but the Canes scored four unanswered, including a pair of goals from Sebastian Aho. The moment everyone remembers was Pyotr Kochetkov's diving poke check on Brady Tkachuk's penalty shot, leading to a heated face-to-face as Tkachuk skated off. Kochetkov made the stop, and the Canes won 4-1. The final meeting was in mid-March, and it was close until it wasn't. The two sides alternated goals through the first 25 minutes before the Canes scored five unanswered to win 7-2. Dmitry Orlov scored twice and added two assists, while Aho finished with three helpers.

Stories of the Night
1. Gut Check Time for Carolina
For an 11-4-0 team, this game feels important for the Hurricanes. Wednesday's loss to Utah was ugly not because of how poorly the Canes played for 60 minutes, but just for the last 20. With Spencer Martin taking the net tonight, the team in front of him needs to put up a better effort than they did a week ago in Colorado. I know I'm sounding a little desperate, and it really isn't that serious, but I need to see the team that looked like they couldn't be stopped tonight. 

2. Pick Your Poison in the Net
Ottawa will have a choice about who will face the Canes on Saturday between Linus Ullmark. While Ullmark is a Vezina winner, the veteran has never beaten the Hurricanes, going 0-4-1 in seven appearances during the regular season and 0-2 in the postseason. He's also coming off an overtime loss to Philadelphia on Thursday, in which he allowed a soft game-winning goal from a bad angle. Meanwhile, former Hurricane Anton Forsberg has seen success against Carolina in the past but was responsible for seven goals against in his one start last season. Either could do the same as Karel Vejmelka on Wednesday, but both could also get lit up.

3. Time for the Power Play to Wake Up
The most important part of the Utah loss was the Canes' inability to score during eight consecutive minutes of power play time in the third period. After a hot October, the power play has gone silent in November, scoring just twice on 20 attempts. It would be nice for the second unit to find some success. They've yet to score a goal this season despite numerous excellent chances. Wednesday should be a wake-up call for everyone on the power play that it's time to make some changes. 

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