Drop the Puck: Thursday's tilt is the first of two games the Canes will play in Detroit to begin the 2020-21 season. The 56-game schedule, which features divisional opponents exclusively, is largely grouped into pairs of games against the same team in the same city to help reduce travel.
Detroit was the site of the Canes' most recent regular season game, a 5-2 victory on March 10, 2020. It's been a while.
This marks the first season opener the Canes have had on the road since the 2016-17 season, a 5-4 overtime loss at Winnipeg on Oct. 13, which was also Sebastian Aho's NHL debut.
A Familiar Group ... And a Taxi Squad: Of the 20 players who are expected to dress for the Canes on Thursday night, only one of them was not on the team's roster last season: Jesper Fast, who the Canes signed to a three-year, $6 million deal on the second day of free agency. Fast totaled 147 points (55g, 92a) in 422 career games with the New York Rangers from 2013-17.
New this season is the addition of the taxi squad, a collection of four to six players who practice with the club and can travel, as needed; it's basically a group of at-the-ready call-ups in order to avoid travel headaches and lengthy quarantines. The Canes' taxi squad consists of forwards Morgan Geekie, Steven Lorentz and Max McCormick, defensemen Jake Bean and Joakim Ryan and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. All six players are with the Canes on this season opening road trip.
Back in Action: Dougie Hamilton is set to play his first regular season game since Jan. 16, 2020, when he sustained a season-ending leg injury in Columbus. Prior to the injury, Hamilton racked up 40 points (14g, 26a) in his first 47 games, which still ranked fourth on the team for the entire season.
Brett Pesce is making his return to the ice for the first time since Feb. 22, 2020, when he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in Toronto. Unlike Hamilton, Pesce was unable to join the Canes in the bubble for the playoffs, so it's safe to say he's
happy to be back and healthy
.
