RALEIGH, NC. – Antti Raanta will look to build off of his impressive numbers at PNC Arena on Saturday, as he gets the nod in net for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
23-2-2 with a .922 save percentage on home ice as a member of the Canes, the veteran netminder’s last start came last Friday night in Sunrise. On the season, he is 4-2 in seven starts.
In front of the Canes’ crease, the team has a few changes from their last game as they remain in search of consistent offense.
Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen have been reunited, as has the trusty combination of Jordan Martinook, Jordan Staal, and Jesper Fast.
Among all 186 line combinations in the NHL that have played a minimum of 30 minutes together this season, the Martinook-Staal-Fast trio ranks 8th in Expected Goals For (7.5) and 10th in Expected Goals For %, claiming 73.5%, per MoneyPuck.com.
Newcomer Michael Bunting, who worked alongside Jack Drury and Stefan Noesen at morning skate, has six points in six career games against the Penguins.
On the blue line, it appears that Jalen Chatfield will be a healthy extra for a third consecutive game tonight.
Rod Brind’Amour was asked this morning about finding the right combinations on the blue line, despite some of the defensive struggles that Dmitry Orlov and Tony DeAngelo have experienced.
“It’s still been a bit of a challenge. We don’t want to mess with the ‘top four’ grouping because they are what they are. It’s finding that other match to be perfect,” the head coach shared. “Obviously, it hasn’t been great, so we’re still searching there, but hopefully, it will solidify as we go along.”
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Tonight’s Projected Lineup…
Forwards
Teravainen – Aho – Jarvis
Svechnikov – Kotkaniemi – Necas
Martinook – Staal – Fast
Bunting – Drury – Noesen
Defense
Slavin – Burns
Skjei – Pesce
Orlov – DeAngelo
Goaltenders
Raanta
Kochetkov
Injuries
Frederik Andersen (Blood Clotting Issue)
Healthy Scratches
Jalen Chatfield
Brendan Lemieux
