2024-25 Regular Season, Game 61 Preview: Hurricanes vs. Calgary Flames

The Carolina Hurricanes failed to carry momentum from Whalers Night into their battle with the Edmonton Oilers last night, losing 3-1 despite playing 40 solid minutes of hockey. Edmonton struck first short-handed, getting a friendly bounce off Adam Henrique's leg as he crashed the net to score early with a man in the box. Corey Perry extended Edmonton's lead late in the second after Leon Draisaitl made an insane backhanded pass for an easy tap-in. The Canes got one back early in the third on the power play. Mikko Rantanen made a great pass of his own to find Sebastian Aho streaking toward the backdoor as the Finns connected for the Canes' lone goal. Aho had a chance to tie it with a short-handed breakaway in the final minute, but Calvin Pickard stoned him. Evan Bouchard scored into the empty net with less than a second left to ice it. Pickard made 35 stops and Draisaitl had two assists in Edmonton's victory. 

The Opponent: Calgary Flames (28-23-8, 64 Points- 5th in the Pacific Division)

Last Meeting: The Canes completed their Alberta trip in late October in Calgary. Seth Jarvis broke the ice late in the first period before the road team took control early in the second. Jack Roslovic scored 41 seconds into the middle frame before Martin Necas added another before the two-minute mark. The Flames slowly worked back into the game. Former Hurricane Jake Bean got the Flames on the board late in the second, and Jonathan Huberdeau brought them within a goal late in the third. Eric Robinson buried the empty-netter for the Canes, scoring his first goal with his new team to take the 4-2 win. Dan Vladar was excellent, making 39 stops, but Pyotr Kochetkov emerged victorious with 30 saves. 

Since We Last Met: The race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference is going to be a tight one. The Calgary Flames are one of the teams still in the mix, sitting just below the line heading into tonight. They've remained in the hunt despite being one of the worst offensive teams in the league, scoring the second-fewest goals this season. Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team with 22 goals and is tied with Nazem Kadri with 43 points. Kadri also has 20 goals as the two veterans sit more than ten points clear of anyone else on the team. The stellar defense and excellent goaltending. Their loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon epitomizes their season perfectly. Dan Vladar faced 42 shots and stopped 39 of them, but his team failed to score a goal in a 3-0 shutout loss. Dustin Wolf, the projected starter with Vladar played yesterday, has been great during his rookie campaign. He was great when he faced the Canes last season, making 28 stops in their 3-2 victory in Calgary. 

Stories of the Night

1. Which Team is Less Tired?

With both teams playing on Saturday, the start of the game is going to be important, but how their legs feel in the third period will tell the story. Calgary played earlier in the day than the Canes, but the added burden of travel could be a factor. One player I'll be paying close attention to is MacKenzie Weegar. He played 28:56 in yesterday's loss to the Panthers. He's used to logging big minutes, but that's nearly half of a game. That's not easy for any player in the league.

2. Kochetkov vs. Wolf in the Net

The two freshest players on the ice will be the goalies, seeing as neither played yesterday, making the goalie battle the most important aspect of tonight's game. Wolf bested Kochetkov in the aforementioned meeting last season, so now it's Kochetkov's turn to return the favor. Kochetkov wasn't tested much in his last start on Tuesday. While I think Wolf has played himself into Calder Trophy consideration, he's had a tough stretch lately, going 2-5-1 in his last eight decisions.