2024-25 Regular Season, Game 70 Preview: Hurricanes at Anaheim Ducks

The Carolina Hurricanes had their eight-game win streak pulverized on Saturday afternoon by the Los Angeles Kings. Adrian Kempe scored on the Kings' first shot just over three minutes into the game to break the ice. Anze Kopitar got a friendly bounce off Jordan Martinook's skate to help the Kings capitalize on the power play. With 3.7 seconds left, Andrei Kuzmenko added a dagger to a rough period to extend the lead to 3-0 before the intermission. The Kings really broke the game open with three goals in the second period to put the game out of reach early. Trevor Moore snapped a shot bar down to make it 4-0. Tanner Jeannot received a pass from Alex Turcotte after the Canes couldn't find the bouncing puck, ripping one past an unsuspecting Pyotr Kochetkov less than a minute later. Quinton Byfield did almost the exact same thing to make it three goals in 2:43 and give the Kings a 6-0 lead. Dmitry Orlov made sure there wouldn't be a shutout, getting a bounce to beat David Rittich and get the Canes on the board. Kevin Fiala and Mark Jankowski traded goals eight seconds apart late in the third period once the game was well out of hand. The Kings won 7-2, dominating the Canes in every area of the game.

The Opponent: Anaheim Ducks (30-31-8, 68 Points- 6th in the Pacific Division)

Last Meeting: The Ducks were in Raleigh to celebrate Eric Staal's jersey retirement. On that afternoon, they played spoilers to the occasion. Jansen Harkins scored his first goal of the season midway through the first period, providing the only goal until Cutter Gauthier extended Anaheim's lead early in the third. Down by two goals, the Canes had a goal wiped out before responding seconds later on the power play after Sebastian Aho found Andrei Svechnikov to cut the deficit in half. In the final minute, Seth Jarvis potted the equalizer, earning the Canes a point they probably didn't deserve. They wouldn't get the second as Gauthier scored his second of the afternoon to give the Ducks a 3-2 overtime victory. Lukas Dostal made 35 stops in the victory, outperforming Pyotr Kochetkov.

Since We Last Met: While outside of the playoff picture, the Ducks are hovering around .500, sitting a game below the marker. They've been playing at that level since visiting Raleigh, going 12-11-3 over their last 26 contests. At one point, they'd won seven of eight from late January to late February, but things haven't been going as smoothly recently. The Ducks have primarily lost two games, then won a game before losing two more, and the trend has continued until now. They beat the Predators in their last game on Thursday. Their offense remains one of the worst in the league, scoring the fourth fewest goals. Frank Vatrano still leads the team with 20 goals, while Troy Terry paces them with 51 points. Young defenseman Jackson LaCombe has turned into a reliable player on the back end, playing almost 22 minutes per night. Their goaltending has been surprisingly good, sporting the sixth-best save percentage as a unit. Lukas Dostal was incredible in Raleigh, while John Gibson has been a consistently solid starter for a long time. If the Ducks want to spoil the trip, their starter will likely do a lot of the heavy lifting. 

Stories of the Night

1. Who is Healthy for the Canes?

The biggest news from Saturday's game, other than the Canes being completely dominated, was Seth Jarvis leaving in the third period after crashing into the boards. While he went back first, it looked like the back of his head might've taken the brunt of it. Rod Brind'Amour said they likely avoided the worst, but that doesn't mean he'll play today. Add lingering issues with Jordan Staal and Shayne Gostisbehere, who each missed Saturday's game, and Andrei Svechnikov's continued absence and it could be a cause for concern. This team always finds a way to figure these things out, but I wouldn't love to see Jarvis miss any time.

2. Bouncing Back and Finishing the Road Trip Right

After dropping their first road game to a Pacific Division opponent yesterday, the Canes will make their final stop on their California road trip today in Anaheim with a chance to end the road trip on a positive note. They've split the first two legs, needing a positive result to help me consider this a good trip. With a likely tired team on the ice against a rested Ducks team, the Canes will need Frederik Andersen to pull the team into the fight to earn two points to move into their homestand on the right foot.