Preview: Wild vs. Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes draw the curtains on a five-game homestand with a back-to-back set that begins on Saturday with a cross-conference face off against the Minnesota Wild.
The Hurricanes are 2-1-0 on this homestand after dropping a 6-3 decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

Expectations
Tampa Bay is the league's best team for a reason. They're quick. They're skilled. They're deep. They make the opposition pay for its mistakes.
The Hurricanes matched up very well, if not even slightly better, against the Lightning through two periods on Thursday. The third belonged to the Bolts, as they netted four unanswered goals to record their league-leading 58th win of the season.
It would have been easy for the Canes to simply be satisfied with their play through two periods and write that game off. It probably would have happened last season.
But this team is different. This team has elevated expectations.
The Canes expect to win. They expected to win against the Lightning and were 20 good minutes away from doing so.
The reaction from the locker room reflected that shift in thinking.
"It was a good game for the first two periods
"If you know the organization wants you and you know the coaches and your teammates believe in you, that's the biggest thing," Niederreiter said on the
latest episode of CanesCast
. "You're out there together. Everybody has to pull on the same rope, and you have to make sure everybody can trust each other."
The Last Meeting
The 2018-19 regular season was barely even a week old when these two teams first met on Oct. 13 in Minnesota. The Canes erased two deficits in the third period, the second coming when Williams scored his first goal of the season with 68 seconds left in regulation and the extra attacker on. It was then Aho tallying his second goal of the game - the first was a much-needed power-play marker in the third to tie the game with about 10 minutes left - in overtime, helping the Canes improve to 4-0-1 on the young season.
The Opposition
The Wild edged the Metropolitan Division-leading Washington Capitals, 2-1, on Friday night. Minnesota currently is holding on to the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, but at just 3-4-3 in their last 10 games, they have some work to do down the stretch if they want to qualify for postseason play.
ADVANCE AUTO PARTS KEYS TO THE GAME**

1. Start to Finish
The Hurricanes played two good periods against the Lightning on Thursday but came off their game in the third, which cost them. A full 60-minute effort tonight will deliver results.
2. Strength in Numbers
The Hurricanes' offense is at its best when its generating chance after chance. Minnesota played last night, and if they can jump on them quick, they could put the game away early.
3. Mindful of the Point
The Wild ranks first in the league in power-play goals scored by defensemen (16) and second in overall goals scored by defensemen (43). Be mindful of the shots from the point. Clear out traffic in front of Petr Mrazek and prevent second and third opportunities.
AT THE RINK
It's the sixth and final Homegrown Series night of the season, which brings you the best our local community has to offer in t-shirts, food, beer, music and art. Be sure to
check out this guide
of what's what and where you can find it all so you don't miss any of the fun.
Giveaway time! The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive an Upper Deck trading card set featuring six Hurricanes players.
The 50/50 cash jackpot continues to build toward March 30. Tonight's non-cash prize is a 2018-19 Hurricanes team-signed replica stick. Full raffle details and ticket prices can be found
here
.
WORTH A CLICK
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Gameday Links
WATCH, LISTEN & STREAM
Watch: FOX Sports Carolinas,
FOX Sports GO
Listen: 99.9 The Fan,
Hurricanes app
,
Hurricanes.com/Listen