2025-26 Regular Season, Game 20 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes at Minnesota Wild

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes opened their four-game trip with a big victory in Boston, earning some revenge after the Bruins squeaked out a victory when the Canes visited in early November. Pyotr Kochetkov and Jeremy Swayman were perfect through 20 minutes, but the Canes' captain got them on the board midway through the second. Joel Nystrom's shot got through and fell into Jordan Staal's lap. He fought to get his stick free, using one hand to fork it past Swayman to break the ice. Late in the frame, the fourth line doubled it. Shayne Gostisbehere made a high-risk, high-reward play to keep a puck in at the blue line, sending it to Sean Walker at the opposite point. Walker worked it back for Taylor Hall. His shot hit Mark Jankowski in front of the net, and the center was a step faster than Swayman, lifting it into the net. The 2-0 lead persisted until late in the third when Hall's incredible individual effort worked through the Bruins' defense and around Swayman's pad to put the game away. The Bruins ruined Kochetkov's shutout with 9.6 seconds left, scoring on the power play to finish it, 3-1. Kochetkov made 29 stops to keep his perfect start alive. 

Injury Report

Jalen Chatfield: Two weeks after Minnesota knocked him out of the game, he joined the team for practice on Tuesday, so he could be close to returning, if not returning tonight.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi: It's unclear whether he made the trip with the team, so I'm not counting on seeing him this week before the team returns home.

Jaccob Slavin: He's not on the trip, and I'm not holding my breath that we'll see him before Thanksgiving next Thursday.

The Opponent: Minnesota Wild (9-7-4, 22 Points; 6th in the Central Division)

Last Meeting: The Wild were in Raleigh a little under two weeks ago for their annual visit. Matt Boldy opened the scoring on Minnesota's first shot before all hell broke loose. A high hit from Tyler Pitlick on Jalen Chatfield led to Jordan Staal dropping the gloves. During the ensuing 4-on-4, Jackson Blake, Brock Faber, and Andrei Svechnikov traded goals 52 seconds apart to make it a 2-2 game. Late in the frame, Sean Walker floated a shot from the point past Filip Gustavsson to give the Canes the lead heading into the second. Boldy picked up his second of the night by finishing a beautiful passing play at the side of the net, but Nikolaj Ehlers immediately responded with the go-ahead goal nine seconds later. With the Canes up 4-3 less than a minute into the second, things settled down. Both goalies locked in. The Canes withstood a late push from the Wild to hold on and win by the same 4-3 score that sat on the board for the final 39 minutes.

Since We Last Met: Minnesota enters play tonight with wins in four of its last five since losing in Raleigh. This includes a pair of shutout victories during their ongoing five-game homestand, both started by backup Jesper Wallstadt, who hasn't allowed a goal in over 141 minutes. The Hurricanes mark the final visitors of this homestand as the Wild try to finish without a regulation blemish during this sequence. Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy are both north of 10 goals and 20 points this season, with Boldy riding a four-game point streak. Despite this, the Wild are still in the bottom third of the league in goals and goals per game, though their power play remains lethal. Their defense is closer to the league average, allowing just over 3.00 goals per game with a Bottom 5 penalty kill. They're stuck in a very middle-heavy division, with Colorado and Dallas separating from the pack. While they are sixth in the Central Division, the Wild are tied with Winnipeg, Chicago, and Utah with 22 points, only sitting this low because they've played more games.

Stories to Watch

1. Temperature check for a national game

For teams in opposite conferences, their meeting in Raleigh was one of the fiercest games of the season, featuring the Canes' first fight of the season. There isn't a ton of history between the two organizations, other than a complete fleecing in 2018-19. Granted, a high hit will bring out the worst in anyone. The rest of the night went on without a hitch, but there is some lingering curiosity about whether we'll see any extra-curriculars tonight. 

2. Can the Canes' 4th line keep it rolling?

While the second time (Ehlers-Stankven-Blake) has felt the most dangerous since being put together, the fourth line (Hall-Jankowski-Robinson) has found the scoresheet in back-to-back games, accounting for three goals. Taylor Hall enters the night on a three-game point streak, scoring two goals and two assists during this stretch. He had two points, including a beautiful goal, in their win over Boston. It speaks volumes to their depth that a former Hart winner is playing on the team's fourth line, and it's even better that he's producing while down there.