Preview: Hurricanes at Wild

ST. PAUL - It's time for the Carolina Hurricanes to hit the road, and the team's three game trip begins in Minnesota with a Saturday evening faceoff against the Wild.
The Hurricanes have earned seven of possible eight points (3-0-1) in their first four games of the 2018-19 season. Now, the Canes' first multi-game road trip of the season will take them through Minnesota, Winnipeg and Tampa Bay.

Not Your Usual State Fair Road Trip
In previous seasons, the State Fair road trip was a dreaded, but somewhat expected facet of the Hurricanes' October schedule, as it would shuttle the team out of town for an extended period of time and traverse a handful of cities across North America.
This season? Much different and much more manageable. The Hurricanes will play three games in four days before returning to Raleigh and even playing a home game during the Fair's final weekend.
At least in terms of time spent away from home and distance travel, a grueling trip this is not.

A Good Test
What this trip lacks in the above it makes up for in quality of opponent. The Canes will face the Wild and Jets on back-to-back nights before squaring off with the Lightning on Tuesday, all playoff teams from a season ago.
PROJECTED LINEUP
"It's going to be a huge test to see where we're at, for sure. Those are three really, really good teams," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said after practice on Thursday. "We'll look at this one game at a time, but it will be a big test for us."

Aho-t Start
Just as the team has experienced a hot start to begin the regular season, so too has Sebastian Aho. The third-year Finnish forward is riding a four-game point streak and paces the team in scoring with six points (2g, 4a). This, a stark contrast to the Octobers of the two previous seasons, in which Aho had gone goalless.
Aho now centers a line with Micheal Ferland and Teuvo Teravainen on his wings. The trio has combined for 15 points (5g, 10a) in the first four games.
The Opposition
The Minnesota Wild are 1-1-1 on the young season. Former Hurricanes captain Eric Staal is tied for the team lead in scoring with three points (1g, 2a) in as many games.
ADVANCE AUTO PARTS KEYS TO THE GAME

(It's 80s Night in Minnesota, so we're having some fun with today's keys to the game.)
1. "Jump"
Jump early, especially on the road, is critical. If the Hurricanes can get off to a quick start, they can take the crowd out of the game, just as they did in Columbus on Oct. 5.
2. "Roll With It"
When they have fallen behind this season, the Hurricanes have not let the deficit affect the way they play or the way they approach the game.
3. "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"
The Canes have started the season 3-0-1. This road trip is a big test to see if the team can maintain that early-season momentum.
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