2024-25 Regular Season, Game 47 Preview: Hurricanes at Chicago Blackhawks

The Carolina Hurricanes earned a hard-fought victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Raleigh on Friday night. Pyotr Kochetkov was under siege from the jump, doing everything he could to get the Canes into the second period scoreless. While he was sharp, Vegas got the first goal after Tomas Hertl settled a bouncing puck and lifted a backhander past Kochetkov early in the period to break the ice. This goal didn't faze Kochetkov, who was forced to stop a Keegan Kolesar penalty shot a few minutes later. The Canes responded just after the halfway point. Jordan Martinook won a battle to get his pass to Seth Jarvis at the front of the net. Jarvis kicked the puck to his stick and slid it past Adin Hill to knot it up. The game turned on its head to start the third. Jackson Blake earned a friendly bounce off Noah Hanifin's stick 46 seconds into the period to give the Canes their first lead. A few minutes later, Martinook intercepted a pass and lofted the puck out of the zone, creating a 2-on-1 for Jarvis and Jordan Staal. The captain hit Jarvis, who snapped it past Hill to make it a two-goal game. Shea Theodore scored on the power play around the ten-minute mark, but Vegas failed to find the equalizer. Kochetkov finished with 29 stops to help the Canes hold on for a 3-2 victory. 

The Opponent: Chicago Blackhawks (15-28-3, 33 Points- 8th in the Central Division)

Life hasn't changed much for the Chicago Blackhawks in Connor Bedard's second season. Chicago remains one of the worst teams in the league. They enter tonight with the fewest points and are in the cellar of the Central Division. Chicago did what it could to surround its newest superstar with a good supporting cast, bringing in Tyler Bertuzzi and former Hurricane Teuvo Teravainen for his second stint. Bertuzzi leads the team in goals (16) and Teravainen is second to Bedard in points (33), but they remain a shell of the team that won three Stanley Cups in the 2010s. The team's rough start culminated in Luke Richardson's exit after 26 games. Life hasn't been any easier for Anders Sorenson since taking over. The Blackhawks are 7-12-1 since he took over behind the bench. They're the fourth-worst offense in the league with the third-worst defense. They've lost ten of their last 13 games but are coming off a big 5-3 win over the Golden Knights on Saturday. 

Last Season's Meetings: The Hurricanes swept the season series with Chicago last season, though it was far from easy. Carolina dominated the early portion of their mid-February meeting in Raleigh, jumping out to a 4-0 lead against Petr Mrazek in the first 30+ minutes. Chicago got one back late in the second period, but Brent Burns re-extended the lead on the power play early in the third. Connor Bedard did everything to get Chicago back into the game, scoring and setting up Tyler Johnson on consecutive power plays to draw within two goals. Jordan Martinook ended it with an empty-netter to seal a 6-3 win. In their penultimate regular-season game in April, the Canes were on the wrong side of a 2-1 game early in the third period. Seth Jarvis scored twice on the power play and Sebastian Aho scored the empty-netter to prevent the upset in a 4-2 Carolina victory. 

Stories of the Night

1. Ready Freddie?

With the back-to-back to begin the week, the Canes will have to decide what they're doing with their goalies. Frederik Andersen was activated off IR on Friday, meaning he'll likely be in line to start one of the two games. While the decision is out of my hands, I would turn to Andersen in Chicago and give Kochetkov the Stars tomorrow night. Andersen was phenomenal in his four starts before getting hurt in Seattle, so easing him into action against Chicago might be the best course of action. Either way, I'm excited to see Andersen get back into the net.

2. A Surprising Special Teams Battle?

While the Blackhawks have been pretty bad this season, their special teams have been excellent. Both of the Blackhawks' units are in the Top 10 in the league, providing a slight glimmer of hope. The Canes' penalty kill is the second-best unit in the league, while their power play has been struggling mightily over the last few weeks. If we're not careful, this could turn into a special teams battle in Chicago. It would be the perfect time for the power play to get something figured out.

3. Bedard Has Gotten Hot

While the Blackhawks have struggled, Connor Bedard has been on a heater. Bedard had a career-high nine-game point streak snapped last week, only to begin a new streak of three games entering play. Bedard scored four goals and 12 points during his streak and has goals in two of the last three games. The sophomore slump has been seemingly short for Bedard as he begins to turn his season around. Bedard has almost as many goals over the last month as he did in the first two.