A pair of teams from the Metro Division will square off this evening as the Carolina Hurricanes grapple with the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The Hurricanes are off a 3-0 road win over the Rangers, while the Devils are off a 4-2 home loss to the Wild.
The Canes Stay Hot By Blanking The Rangers
The Carolina Hurricanes have been playing much better of late as they come in having won five of their last six games. In their latest contest, they took down the Rangers on the road by a score of 3-0 and it was their 2nd shutout in their last three games. Petr Mrazek got the starts and he stopped all 27 shots that he faced for his 2nd shutout of the year and the 16th of his career. He is now 12-14 with a 2.72 GAA on the year. Curtis McElhinney will be back in the crease for this one and he has gone 13-7 with a 2.50 GAA on the year, including 6-4 with a 2.8 GAA on the road. In his career, he has gone 5-2 with a 1.50 GAA against the Devils.
The Hurricanes are currently in 9th place in the Eastern Conference playoff standings, but they are sitting just one point behind the Penguins, who are in the 8th spot. The Hurricanes look to be a team to watch over the 2nd half of the year. Their game against the Rangers was tied at 0-0 in the 3rd when Warren Foegele notch the game-winner at the 6:43 mark. It was his 7th of the year. The Canes then added two empty-netters by Andrei Svechnikov (14th) and Brock McGinn (6th) over the final 1:15 of the game to seal the deal. Carolina has gone 14-14 out on the road for the year and they have averaged 2.82 gpg and have allowed 3.00 gpg in those games. The Hurricanes check in ranked 27th in power play conversions at 16.0% and 15th in penalty kill at 80.2%.
Another Home Loss For The Devils
The New Jersey Devils had major struggles on the road earlier in the year. Now they can’t seem to find a win at home. The Devils were 13-9 at home at one point this year, but after falling at home to the Wild on Saturday, they have lost their last five games here at the Pru. The Devils have now lost their last three games in a row overall and seven of their last nine and they have scored a total of 11 goals in the seven losses over that stretch, compared to scored nine goals in the two wins. New Jersey is currently in 15th place in the Eastern Conference and 15 points out of the 8th spot. Scoring in the loss to the Wild was Brett Seney, which was his 5th of the year and Jesper Bratt, which was his 5th.
Absorbing the loss to the Wild was Cory Schneider, who allowed four goals on 33 shot attempts to fall to 0-8 with a 4.12 GAA on the year. Keith Kinkaid will get the nod in this one and he has gone 14-22 with a 3.18 GAA on the year, including 9-9 with a 2.97 GAA here at home. In his career, he has gone 7-2 with a 1.87 GAA against the Hurricanes. New Jersey has gone 13-14 here at home for the year and they have averaged 3.11 gpg and have allowed 2.93 gpg in those games. The Devils check in ranked 19th in power play conversions at 18.3% and 4th in penalty kill at 83.9%.
Notable Trends
New Jersey is:
- 15-38 in their last 53 in the third game of a 3-in-4 situation
- 0-7 in their last 7 in the fourth game of a 4-in-6 situation
Carolina is:
- 7-0 in their last 7 in the third game of a 3-in-4 situation
- 6-1 in their last 7 vs. the Metropolita
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