Preview: Bruins vs. Hurricanes 01/06/18

Just the facts

When: 7 PM

Where: TD Garden, Boston, MA

How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: Canes Country

The opponent

19-13-8, 35 points - 5th in the Metropolitan Division (The Metro is once again stacked)

Sebastian Aho, 13G-20A-33PTS; Teuvo Teravainen, 11G-21A-32PTS; Jeff Skinner, 13G-15A-28PTS

Game notes

• The Hurricanes are surprising many fans and pundits alike with a strong start to the season. They are arguably as hot as the Boston Bruins, having gone 7-2-1 over their last 10, culminating in a 4-0 demolishing of the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.
• Cam Ward played last for the Canes, so expect Scott Darling and his .896SV% in goal for the Hurricanes. Darling is 3-1 with a .926% and 2.54GAA in his career vs. Bruins however, so the Bruins will need to stay focused in the offensive zone. Darling has been markedly worse recently, owning a .874% and 3.43 GAA.
• Let’s talk about that Carolina blue line: While Carolina is largely a forgotten franchise, they may actually boast the best all around defense in the entire NHL. A top pair of UNH standout Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin, as well as dangerous offensive defensemen like Justin Faulk and Boston College alumni Noah Hanifin. Their depth players, Trevor van Riemsdyk (Go Wildcats!) and Haydn Fleury are better than some teams middle pair players.
• David Pastrnak, despite 4 points in his last 5GP, is in the middle of a 10 game goalless stretch. Despite the lack of finish, he has 7 assists in those 10 games and has generally looked dangerous even without finding the back of the net.
• I’m not breaking any major story here, but the Bruin’s defacto third line of Danton Heinen (13p), Riley Nash (6p) and David Backes (11p) have been stellar with an eye popping 30 combined points and roughly 16 minutes ATOI over their last 10 games together.

The Black and Gold have been one of the leagues hottest teams over the past month, and with games in hand on most division rivals, tonight’s game is another opportunity to increase the playoff cushion. Should be a good matchup between two potential playoff teams!