2025-26 Regular Season, Game 59 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Detroit Red Wings

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes nearly surrendered another 3-0 lead to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night in their return from the break. They got off to an incredible start, getting goals from Nikolaj Ehlers, Logan Stankoven, and Taylor Hall before the game reached the 7:00 mark. The Bolts responded with two goals before the end of the period from Brandon Hagel and Nikita Kucherov, and Dominic James scored early in the second to tie things up. The Canes' top line put them back ahead, with Andrei Svechnikov finding Seth Jarvis in front of the net to restore the lead. Unfortunately, the Lightning tied it again, needing five seconds to set up Brayden Point on the power play, sending the game into the third tied at four. The Canes' power play provided the difference-maker. Sebastian Aho fluttered a one-timer over Jonas Johansson's shoulder to take their third lead of the night. This one stuck. The Canes' defense allowed very little to Tampa Bay in the third, extending their point streak to 11 games with their fourth straight victory. Brandon Bussi made 24 stops to earn his 24th win, while Hall, Stankoven, Jarvis, and Svechnikov all finished with multi-point games. 

Injury Report

For the first time in what feels like forever, there isn't anyone on the injury report. This is about as good as it gets.

The Opponent: Detroit Red Wings (34-19-6, 74 Points; 2nd in the Atlantic Division)

Last Meeting: The Hurricanes visited the Motor City in mid-January. The Canes fell into a 3-0 hole early in the second period, allowing goals to James van Riemsdyk on the power play, Alex DeBrincat, and Albert Johansson. With the game seemingly out of reach, the Canes fought their way back even. Jackson Blake got the comeback started with a strike on the power play. Seth Jarvis added to it with a short-handed tally. Then, Shayne Gostisbehere got the game all square with a bomb while up a man, helping the team storm back to ensure at least one point by sending the game to overtime. In overtime, the referees stole the second point from the Hurricanes. Andrew Copp got away with a clear cross-check in front of the net, getting himself open to score the game-winning goal. DeBrincat finished the game with a goal and two helpers, including the lone assist on the winning goal, while Sebastian Aho recorded two helpers. 

Since We Last Met: The Red Wings led the Atlantic Division after their victory over the Canes. With the surge that the Tampa Bay Lightning has made, they've fallen six points back into second place, and the teams around them have gotten hot, too. A rough patch could send them to second to a Wild Card spot in the blink of an eye. They faltered a little heading into the Olympic break, losing four of their final five games (1-3-1), but they got back on track with a win over the Senators in overtime on Thursday night. Gold medalist Dylan Larkin scored both goals in their 2-1 victory, drawing closer to Alex DeBrincat's team-leading 30 goals with his 27th and 28th of the season. Lucas Raymond, who had an excellent stint at the Olympics for Sweden, still leads the way with 62 points after assisting on both of Larkin's goals. There was a two-month stretch when it appeared that John Gibson might have been the best goalie in the league. He went 17-2-0 in 19 starts, posting a .931 save percentage and a GAA under 2.00. Like his team, he came back down to Earth before the break, but he was excellent in Ottawa, stopping 26 of 27. Raleigh is the middle stop on Detroit's three-game post-break road trip, with their final stop coming in Nashville on Monday night.

Stories to Watch

1. One more for the road

Tonight is the team's final home game for over a week as they head West for the final time this season. The team has points in 10 straight home games, the sixth time they've reached double digits in franchise history. They've won in different ways, though most of them have been very close, especially this month. All three wins on home ice in February have been one-goal affairs, featuring the team blowing a lead before recovering to win. With a grueling trip ahead of them, the Canes need one more good performance.

2. Getting Freddie some action

I don't know whether Frederik Andersen will be in the net, and I suppose we won't know until the team holds its morning skate or Rod Brind'Amour talks to the media before the game. Considering he hasn't made a start with the Canes in almost a month, Andersen getting the nod would make sense. I thought he played well during the Olympics for Denmark, albeit on a very overmatched team. Still, he didn't break down or have a truly bad game. I would like to see him build some momentum on the heels of the Winter Games.