2024-25 Regular Season, Game 28 Preview: Hurricanes vs. San Jose Sharks

The Carolina Hurricanes were on the losing side of a tough battle with the New York Islanders on Saturday. The Canes earned the early advantage after Andrei Svechnikov got a friendly bounce off Noah Dobson's stick on the power play to give the Canes the lead late in the first period. Jean-Gabriel Pageau tied it up early in the second, but Svechnikov responded with his second power-play goal of the night to regain the lead. The Islanders owned the second half of the period, getting three goals to take a 4-2 lead by dominating the Canes up and down the ice. Carolina threw everything they could at Ilya Sorokin in the third period, only managing a Jesperi Kotkaniemi goal in the final minute to fall a goal short. Shayne Gostisbehere finished the night with three assists in the loss.

The Opponent: San Jose Sharks (10-15-5, 25 Points, 7th in the Pacific Division)

The youth movement has officially hit San Jose after selecting Macklin Celebrini with the first pick in June's draft. Along with last year's first-round pick Will Smith, the Sharks are hoping to return to their glory from the 2010s with this crop of young guys. The results haven't been there yet, but that's to be expected from a rebuilding team. While they are a young group, Mikael Granlund leads the way with 30 points, and offseason signing Tyler Toffoli paces the group with 11 goals. Celebrini missed a good chunk of the start with an injury but has returned with eight goals and 15 points in 18 games. Once again, the Sharks are struggling in the net. Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek have both struggled, combining to allow the second-most goals in the league. They tried to "address" the issue by trading Blackwood and Givani Smith to Colorado for Alexandar Georgiev, Nikolai Kovalenko, and a pair of picks. It has left some to wonder when Yaroslav Askarov, who they traded for at the beginning of the season, will take control permanently. The Sharks are still a few years away from being true threats in the Pacific Division, but they're a highly skilled team with plenty of dangerous offensive weapons.

Last Season's Meetings: The Hurricanes and the Sharks completed their season series between ten days in October. The Canes won both meetings, beginning with their visit to San Jose during last year's State Fair. The teams swapped early goals, with Fabian Zetterlund starting the scoring before Seth Jarvis responded with a power-play goal. Jaccob Slavin gave the Canes the lead early in the second period with a short-handed goal, but Filip Zadina scored during the same power play to tie it, again. San Jose's power play struck again late in the frame as William Eklund got one through to give the Sharks their second lead. The Canes' offense came alive in the third period, scoring four times. Stefan Noesen and Jarvis added power-play goals to take the lead before Martin Necas and Brett Pesce scored 15 seconds apart to cement a 6-3 victory for the Canes. Ten days later, the Sharks were in Raleigh. Teuvo Teravainen provided all of the offense, scoring a natural hat trick in a 3-0 victory. Jarvis and Sebastian Aho added two assists and Antti Raanta made 20 stops in the shutout.

Stories of the Night

1. Welcome to Raleigh, Macklin Celebrini

For the first time in his career, Macklin Celebrini will take the ice in Raleigh in front of the Caniacs. After scoring a goal and an assist in his debut, Celebrini missed almost a month with an injury. Since returning in early November, Celebrini has been as advertised. He's fifth in rookie scoring (15) and second to Matvei Michkov in goals (8). He hasn't quite gotten to where he's dominating every time he steps on the ice, but he's going to be a major problem once he figures it out.

2. One Year Ago

On December 9th, 2023, the Hurricanes lost in Vancouver to drop their fourth straight game. They were sitting at 14-2-1 and couldn't find their stride. Their next game was against the Ottawa Senators on December 12th, and it began an incredible run through the end of the season. With it being the same time of the year, will we see more of the same from the Hurricanes? They're in a much better spot this year in the standings, but they've lost four of their last five games. Maybe we'll get some of that pre-Christmas magic again this year. 

3. Re-Finding Their Game Defensively

Over their last five games, the Hurricanes have allowed 23 goals. They've allowed four or more in all four of their losses to Florida, Seattle, and New York. It's a stretch of hockey that we've rarely seen from the Canes' defense. They've been allowing too many odd-man rushes and transition chances, putting their goaltenders in tough spots and leaving it to chance whether they'll be able to get a stop. Lately, they haven't been getting enough of the bailout saves to win games. With four home games against teams outside of the playoff picture, this is the right time for them to get back on the wagon.