2025-26 Regular Season, Game 65 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes vs. St. Louis Blues

Last Game: The Hurricanes made life a little harder on themselves than they needed to when they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night at the Lenovo Center. They got rolling early after Logan Stankoven popped home a loose puck, thanks to hard work around the crease by Mike Reilly. The Penguins got it back late in the first, capitalizing on a turnover on Anthony Mantha's strike. Penalties ruled the second period, especially for the Canes. On their third power play of the period, Bryan Rust roofed a shot to put Pittsburgh ahead. Early in the third, the Canes took control once more. Mark Jankowski followed his shot, putting home a rebound chance to tie it. Just 59 seconds later, Seth Jarvis buried a breakaway, putting the Canes in front once more. Adding to it, Alexander Nikishin hammered home a 5-on-3 goal, extending the Canes' lead to two. After Stuart Skinner committed robbery against Eric Robinson, the Penguins scored twice with their goalie on the bench to tie it. Rust had a shot deflect off Noel Acciari's skate to pull within one before scoring with 35 seconds left in regulation to ensure each side finished with a point. In overtime, the Canes were forced to kill a penalty, doing so to send the game to a shootout. Ben Kindel scored in the first round for Pittsburgh, but Andrei Svechnikov and Jackson Blake followed to put the Canes ahead. In the bottom of the third, Frederik Andersen denied Mantha to secure the second point.

Injury Report

Shayne Gostisbehere: The injury appears worse than initially anticipated, so it's unclear exactly how long he'll be out, though it'll be longer than we first thought.

The Opponent: St. Louis Blues (25-29-10, 60 Points; 7th in the Central Division)

Last Meeting: The Hurricanes didn't appear to be all there when they visited the Blues in January. It was just 24 hours after the team suffered an overtime loss in Detroit on a brutal no-call. The teams played to a deadlock after 20 minutes before the Blues did all of their scoring during the second period. The Canes' power play conceded a short-handed goal to Nick Bjugstad, who sniped a shot over Brandon Bussi's glove to break the ice. Their transition game earned them their second goal, with Dalibor Dvorsky finishing the play to double the lead. With St. Louis on the power play, Jimmy Snuggerud put it in the same spot as Bjugstad, making it 3-0, where the score stood at the end of regulation. Joel Hofer stopped 33 shots, earning his fourth shutout of the season, and handing the Canes their first shutout defeat of the season.

Since We Last Met: I'm not quite sure why the Blues have decided to start winning games and earning points now. They should just shut it down for the year to try and get a better shot at the first pick. They're on a five-game point streak, and they've recorded a point in six of their last seven. They're still well out of a playoff spot, so it will all be for naught, but it's good to see them going down swinging. The Blues didn't play as big a role in deadline day as I initially thought they would. They swung two big deals, sending Justin Faulk to Detroit and captain Brayden Schenn to Long Island, but their biggest pieces, Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, stayed put, and Colton Parayko wouldn't waive his no-trade clause, keeping a deal with Buffalo from materializing. Despite what the numbers might indicate, this team is still a very good, young team. Along with Thomas and Kyrou, the Blues have impressive talents in Jimmy Snuggerud, Dalibor Dvorsky, Jake Neighbours, Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg, Joel Hofer, and many more. This team will be just fine. They probably need another piece or two to really get them over the hump again, but this group is in very good hands.

Stories to Watch

1. Can Bussi get back on track?

It has been a rough stretch of starts for Brandon Bussi. While he has won two of his three appearances since the break, Bussi has struggled mightily, especially when it comes to handling the puck. It nearly cost him a few times in Vancouver, and it directly led to two goals against in Calgary. His numbers have taken a massive hit since. I'm looking for him to keep it simple against the Blues. Don't overthink things. Stay at home and allow his defensemen to do their jobs with the puck. I don't mind him being aggressive, but he can't be reckless.

2. Playing a good, defensive game in front of him

Honestly, those are good words for the group in front of him, too, because things have gotten a little too crazy over the last few weeks. They remain one of the top defensive teams in the league, but they are allowing a ton of goals that they don't need to. There have been a lot of unforced errors that have ended up in their net. The Blues are a perfect team to try and simplify their game against, and I don't mean any disrespect when I say this. These are two important points, especially ahead of Saturday's game in Tampa.