2025-26 Regular Season, Game 9 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Vegas Golden Knights

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes closed their road trip on Saturday night in Dallas, suffering a 3-2 loss to the Stars despite a spirited effort from the under-manned visitors. They got off to another great start, getting an early goal from Jackson Blake to break the ice. Sebastian Aho made it 2-0 in the final seconds of the period, finishing a 2-on-1 to extend his point streak to eight games and push Nikolaj Ehlers to three straight. That's all the scoring the Canes would do into their own net, but they helped the Stars a few times during the contest. The first came when Miro Heiskanen's pass to the front of the net redirected off Ehlers' stick and into the net. A few minutes later, Sam Steel tipped Thomas Harley's shot on the power play to tie the game. The Stars struck again on the power play in the third, and, once again, Heiskanen benefitted from a bounce. His pass for Jason Robertson hit a sprawling Mike Reilly in front of the net and slid under Brandon Bussi, giving the Stars their first lead of the night. The score would remain 3-2, handing the Canes their second loss, despite 31 saves from the rookie netminder.

Injury Report

Shayne Gostisbehere: He was back as a full participant at practice on Monday, seemingly indicating that he could be good to go for Tuesday's game.

Pyotr Kochetkov: He was also with the team for Monday's practice, cycling through with Andersen and Bussi. While I don't expect him to start, a back-up sighting could be possible on Tuesday.

Jaccob Slavin: He is not back with the team yet, with the head coach calling him "a little ways away" after Monday's practice.

K'Andre Miller: He also didn't practice on Monday, though he's just around the corner." 

Eric Robinson: It doesn't appear that he'll need surgery for his upper-body injury, though he could be a few weeks away from return.

William Carrier: He also won't require surgery, according to Brind'Amour, though he return also feels week from happening.

The Opponent: Vegas Golden Knights (5-1-3, 13 Points; 1st in the Pacific Division)

Last Meeting: The Canes visited Vegas last Monday night, marking the fourth of six stops during their long road trip. The Golden Knights broke the ice in the first period when Jack Eichel's pass hit K'Andre Miller's stick and snuck under Frederik Andersen. A few minutes later, Adin Hill exited the game while moving side-to-side to make a stop, forcing Akira Schmid into action. His team backed him up by scoring immediately. Pavel Dorofeyev tucked the puck around Andersen's pad to double the lead. The Canes cut the lead in half early in the second period, courtesy of the top line. Nikolaj Ehlers picked up his first point as a Hurricane, while Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho extended their season-opening streaks to six games, with the latter recording the goal. The game remained a tight one-goal tilt until midway through the third. Tight pressure from Ivan Barbashev (or a slash to the leg) forced Miller to lose an edge. Barbashev picked the puck up and beat Andersen on a breakaway to restore Vegas' two-goal advantage. William Karlsson put the game away into the empty net, securing a 4-1 Golden Knights win to end the Canes' perfect start.

Since We Last Met: The Golden Knights are on a little journey of their own, finishing a three-game trip through the Southeast with a trip to Raleigh. They played a back-to-back against the Panthers and the Lightning over the weekend, and will start a six-game homestand on the other side of this game. Vegas dropped both halves of their trip, suffering their first regulation loss of the season on Saturday in Sunrise in a 3-0 defeat before falling 2-1 in overtime in Tampa Bay on Sunday. William Karlsson scored the lone goal of the weekend. Without Adin Hill on the trip, Akira Schmid and Carl Lindblom split the goaltending duties. Both performed well, despite the results. The team also continued to play without Mark Stone and Noah Hanifin in the lineup, and they'll continued to do so on Tuesday with neither on the trip with them. There's still plenty to be scared of with this lineup, even without two of its better weapons.

Stories to Watch

1. Home, Sweet Home

It feels like forever ago since the Canes played on home ice. You'd have to go all the way back to October 11th to find the last home game. The Canes opened their season with a pair of victories on home ice, defeating the seemingly unstoppable Devils to start the year and the Flyers in overtime two nights later. The building will be rocking on Tuesday night, welcoming home their warriors after a long two weeks out west.

2. Nadeau's first (regular season) home game

This feels like a minor thing, especially given the circumstances for why he's in the lineup in the first place, but tonight will be Bradly Nadeau's first time suiting up in Raleigh for a game that actually matters. His previous four games came in Columbus (2024), Montreal, Ottawa (both in 2025), and Dallas (Saturday). The Canes' top prospect has just one point in four ganes, but he'll get plenty of opportunities to do big things in the absence of some of the team's forwards.