2025-26 Regular Season, Game 63 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes at Calgary Flames

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes passed their toughest test of the trip on Friday night, beating the Edmonton Oilers during the third stop of their four-game road trip. The Oilers broke the ice more than halfway through. Zach Hyman was sprung by Connor McDavid for a breakaway, beating former teammate Frederik Andersen on the backhand. The Canes responded with a pair in quick succession. Shayne Gostisbehere hammered one home after Seth Jarvis made a great pass and Tristan Jarry lost an edge. Less than a minute later, Nikolaj Ehlers' spinning shot from the point eluded traffic to beat Jarry. Ehlers added an assist early in the second, setting up Jordan Martinook from behind the net to extend the lead to two. This time, it was the Oilers with the quick response. Vasily Podkolzin caught Andersen off his post from a sharp angle, putting a perfect shot over his shoulder to shrink the lead back to one. During a delayed penalty in the third, the Canes moved the puck with precision before Jackson Blake slapped a one-timer past a screened Jarry, setting a new career-high with his 18th goal. Once more, the Oilers got the next one. Hyman scored his second of the night on the power play to make it 4-3. That's where the scoring ended for the home team. Jordan Staal scored into the empty net, and Blake scored one more in the final minute to send the Canes to Calgary with a 6-3 win. Along with multi-point efforts from Blake and Ehlers, K'Andre Miller recorded three assists.

Injury Report (this is what happens when we get too cocky)

Shayne Gostisbehere: While he briefly stuck it out and scored a goal after, he took a skate to the leg early in the game and exited in the second period, putting his status for tonight in question.

The Opponent: Calgary Flames (24-30-7, 55 Points; 7th in the Pacific Division)

Last Meeting: It was not the most exciting contest of the season when the Flames came to Raleigh in late November. Neither team generated many shots against the opposing goalie, though there were a few close calls. Matt Coronato rang the post on a breakaway in the second period, and Jordan Martinook was robbed in the final minute of regulation to ensure both teams came out of the game with a point. In overtime, Nikolaj Ehlers was the hero, finishing a pass from Taylor Hall to finish a 1-0 win at home. Devin Cooley stopped 16 shots for the Flames, but Brandon Bussi was perfect, posting a 15-save shutout, the first of his NHL career. 

Since We Last Met: This season has been lost for the Calgary Flames. They're stuck at the bottom of the Pacific Division, battling for the top spot in the draft in June. Because of this, Friday marked a big day for the organization. Having already dealt Rasmus Andersson in January, the team made two more deals at the deadline to offload some players. On Wednesday, they received a decent haul for defenseman MacKenzie Weegar. Today, they made an eleventh-hour trade with the Colorado Avalanche to send Nazem Kadri back to Denver, where he won the Stanley Cup in 2022. Kadri was the team's leading scorer with 41 points, the only player with more than 40. Scoring has been the biggest issue for the Flames this season. They're at the bottom of the league in goals per game, with no one on the team scoring more than 14 goals. It's a real shame, too, because their defense isn't that bad. They're in the top half of the league in goal suppression. Dustin Wolf has gotten the majority of the starts, and while his numbers aren't terrible, Devin Cooley has been the better goalie in limited action. He's tops in the league in save percentage and is fourth in GAA. Their penalty kill is solid, too. As we saw when they visited Raleigh, they can sometimes prevent teams from getting shots. The problem is that they don't score much with the chances they're given.

Stories to Watch

1. Close the road trip the right way

With their win over the Oilers last night, the Hurricanes ensured no worse than a 2-2-0 record on this trip, which I would be plenty pleased with. However, the Canes have a chance, with a little help, to really put the division in a stranglehold with a win and losses by the Penguins and the Islanders. The Flames are now without two of their leading scorers from the last time they met. They are struggling to score goals. Granted, they didn't play last night, so they'll be fresher. This is going to be a tough game for Carolina, but the relief they'll feel if they finish with a win would be indescribable. 

2. The toll on the defense

Gostisbehere's exit in Edmonton put the other five defenders in a very tough spot against two of the world's best. It forced Jalen Chatfield and Jaccob Slavin to play over 25 minutes, with Chatfield nearly eclipsing 26 minutes. While we don't know if Gostisbehere is good to go tonight, it might be worth holding him out and giving Mike Reilly his first looks since the break. Having a fresh body in the lineup wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. The Flames, by virtue of not having two of the best players in the world, don't hold the same firepower as the Oilers, but that's no reason not to be cautious.