Denver, Co. – The Carolina Hurricanes brave the waning Colorado snowstorm on Saturday to face off against the Avalanche for the first time this season. The Avalanche are 3-5-0 at home, earning their last win against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, 11/5.
The Avalanche return to Colorado after a hard-fought loss in Winnipeg, dropping the contest 1-0 and giving Connor Hellebuyck his second straight shutout. With this loss, both Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon saw the end of their consecutive season-opening point streaks (13). Despite the loss, MacKinnon still leads the NHL in assists (19). His 25 points on the season put him at second among NHL leaders, only falling behind Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov (27).
Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images
A Wet Force of Nature vs. A Cold Force of Nature
Colorado and Carolina last faced off in February, where the Hurricanes took a 5-2 win over the Avalanche at home. Martin Necas tallied a natural hat trick in the first period of the game. The Avalanche split the season series against the Hurricanes with a 6-4 win at home in October of last season. They go into tonight’s match having won four of their last five matches against the Hurricanes in Ball Arena.
The Avalanche have an all-time franchise record of 80-50-21-3 against the Hurricanes franchise. What’s more exciting about that record is the specific stats when they play at home: 49-19-9-1. Those 49 wins are the most for them against an opposing team/franchise.
The Hurricanes go into tonight with an eight-game point streak and currently sit at 4th in the league standings, though their points percentage would put them at second league-wide. Martin Necas currently leads the team in points and assists while Jack Roslivic, a free-agency addition to the team from this past off-season, leads the team in points.
Roslovic had nine goals in last season’s campaign with the New York Rangers. He’s already hit that season total with the Hurricanes just 12 games into the season, two of which came from a 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.
Returns to Colorado
Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin makes his home-state return tonight. He inked an 8-year deal with Carolina this offseason, a deal that will keep him in Raleigh until after the 2032-33 season.
Slavin is coveted as one of the best active…