2024-25 Regular Season, Game 42 Preview: Hurricanes vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

The Carolina Hurricanes were punched in the gut during their trip to Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The Canes had played a great road game, only to have a guaranteed point snatched from their grasp in the final minute. Brandon Hagel opened the scoring late in the first period, depositing a rebound past Pyotr Kochetkov after Darren Raddysh was stopped. Andrei Svechnikov was aided by a friendly bounce and an unfortunate mishandle to get the Canes on the board in the second period, getting his backhand past Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Bolts would get that bounce back on the power play a few minutes later. Raddysh shot was blocked but it landed perfectly on Nick Paul's stick with one second left on the power play to restore the Bolts' lead before the midway point in the contest. Jordan Staal would knot the game again midway through the third, redirecting Brent Burns' pass off his skate and into the net. With 51.8 seconds left, Nikita Kucherov found Brayden Point in front of the net, allowing Point to spin and fire past Kochetkov to take the wind out of the Canes' sails. The Bolts took the 3-2 win, preventing the Canes from reaping the benefits of a good road performance.

The Opponent: Toronto Maple Leafs (27-13-2, 56 Points- 1st in the Atlantic Division)

The script is looking familiar for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who sit atop the Atlantic Division, are tied with Washington for the most points in the conference and are just three points back in the President's Trophy race. After much speculation about Mitch Marner's status heading into the final year of his contract, the winger has put together one of his best starts. With 58 points, Marner is tied for third in the league in scoring and his 44 assists are second only to Nathan MacKinnon's 52. He has 20 points in his last 13 games, including a five-point performance against the Bruins five days ago. William Nylander is on pace for his third straight 40-goal campaign, sitting tied for fourth in goals (23). John Tavares has turned back the clock, reaching 20 goals already this season. Even guys like Matthew Knies (16 goals) and Bobby McMann (12 goals) are carrying some of the load offensively. They've done their damage without captain Auston Matthews, who has missed time at two different points with injuries. Still, when he's in the lineup, Matthews is producing (30 points in 27 games). Their goaltending has been solid, too, owning the third-best save percentage in the league. Anthony Stolarz controlled the net early in the season while Joseph Woll was on the shelf. The two have switched spots with Stolarz currently injured and Woll has been sound. Toronto enters the Lenovo Center on a roll, winning five in a row and six of seven since Christmas.

Last Season's Meetings: The Hurricanes swept the three-game series with Toronto last season, including a pair of victories on the road. Their first meeting was each team's final game of 2023. The Canes scored twice on the power play, getting markers from former Leaf Michael Bunting and Seth Jarvis to lead 2-0 after 40 minutes. Timothy Liljegren got Toronto on the board early in the third, but Sebastian Aho scored into the empty net to restore the two-goal lead. Pyotr Kochetkov nearly made one of the greatest stops in team history on Nick Robertson in the final seconds, only for his glove to be over the line, giving Toronto a late goal to make it look closer than it was in a 3-2 win. 

Then, the two sides met twice in eight days, beginning on March 18th in Toronto. The Leafs opened up a 3-0 lead midway through the second period, but the Canes ended the period down by just one after goals by Jordan Martinook and Seth Jarvis. David Kampf put Toronto back ahead, putting the Canes in a tough spot. Sebastian Aho scored twice in the final 1:32 of regulation, including the tying goal with just under eight seconds remaining. The Canes killed a penalty in overtime before Jake Guentzel scored in the bottom of the third in the shootout to complete the wild comeback. The lone meeting in Raleigh eight days later was a defensive stalemate. The Canes scored twice in the first period and Toronto scored midway through the third to make it a little tense, but the Canes held on for a 2-1 victory. Nick Robertson scored in all three games for the Leafs, accounting for three of their seven goals in the season series. Sebastian Aho recorded seven points in three games, including a pair of three-point performances. 

Stories of the Night

1. The Canes' Response

Tuesday's loss was the kind that will make you sit back and think about the direction of your team. Falling the way they did in Tampa should be a good spot for the group to reflect on their season as they hit the midway point. The true test will be how they respond to the loss. Tonight marks the start of a three-game homestand over the next four games and the first half of a back-to-back. I expect this group to be motivated and a little angry with how Tuesday ended. If we see another slow start from the Hurricanes, I anticipate another potentially long night. 

2. Top 6 vs. Top 6

The battle to watch tonight will be between each team's top two lines and which one shows up on the scoresheet the most. For the purpose of his point, Toronto's Top 2 lines are Matthews' and Tavares', while Carolina's are Aho's and Kotkaniemi's. My concern is more in the Kotkaniemi line's ability to produce, especially Martin Necas. While he played better in Tampa Bay and has points in three of his last five, Necas is on thin ice with many Caniacs, justified or otherwise. The Kotkaniemi line will likely avoid Toronto's Top 6 since the Canes "control" the matchups at home. I'm expecting a big performance.