Preview: January 17 vs. Vegas

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Carolina Hurricanes host one of the Western Conference's top clubs at Lenovo Center on Friday, going head-to-head with the Vegas Golden Knights.

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When: Friday, January 17

Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. ET

Watch: NHL Network, FanDuel Sports Network South, FanDuel Sports Network App | Learn More

Listen: 99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes App

Odds at Time of Publishing, via Fanatics Sportsbook: Canes -150

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Canes Record: 26-16-3 (55 Points, 3rd - Metropolitan Division)

Canes Last Game: 4-2 Loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday, Jan. 15

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Golden Knights Record: 29-12-3 (61 Points, 1st - Pacific Division)

Golden Knights Last Game: 5-3 Loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, Jan. 14

Last Game...

• The Canes played "ugly hockey" and fell behind 3-0 through two periods in Buffalo on Wednesday - a hole they never recovered from.
• Jaccob Slavin and Martin Necas got the team within one late, but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback.
• Dustin Tokarski took the loss in net, allowing three goals on 24 shots.

Previous Meetings vs. VGK This Season...

• November 11: Five different skaters scored for Carolina as they dealt the Golden Knights their first home loss of the campaign, a 5-2 decision at T-Mobile Arena.
• Jesperi Kotkaniemi (1G, 1A), Jordan Staal (1G, 1A), Eric Robinson (1G, 1A) and Jaccob Slavin (2A) each recorded two points apiece in the tilt, while Pyotr Kochetkov picked up the win with 30 saves.
• The Canes are 8-5-0 against Vegas all-time, including a 3-3-0 mark at Lenovo Center.

Finding Consistency...

• Carolina now enters tonight's contest having lost their last two games to Anaheim and Buffalo - two sub .500 teams.
• On American Thanksgiving the Canes were 16-5-1, leading the Eastern Conference in points. Since? 10-11-2.
• The most glaring dropoff is found in their scoring, The team averaged 4.0 goals per game through their first 22 games (2nd), but just 2.65 (26th) in their last 23.

In Net...

• Pyotr Kochetkov (16-9-2 | 2.54 GAA | .901 SV%) got a rare non-back-to-back game off on Wednesday. It feels almost certain that the team will turn back to him tonight as they take on one of the top dogs in the Western Conference.
• Dustin Tokarski (4-2-0 | 2.18 GAA | .902 SV%) had a tough night on Wednesday in Buffalo but Rod Brind'Amour had plenty of praise for him pre-game. "He's added some stability when he's gone in and he's given us a chance to win when he's played."
• Frederik Andersen (4-1-0 | 1.48 GAA | .941 SV%) continues to work his way back from late-November knee surgery. He hasn't been available for game action yet, but we could be inching closer.

On The Other Side...

• The Golden Knights come to town as the beasts of the Pacific Division but have also dropped three of their last four.
• Despite their recent stumbles, Vegas ranks in the top 10 in many of the league's positive categories, including goals per game (3.41 - 4th), goals against per game (2.68 - 6th) and power play (26.2% - 4th).
• Pavel Dorofeyev had a hat trick in a losing effort on Tuesday in Nashville and Mark Stone has nine points in his last seven games.

Injury Updates

• Forward William Carrier suffered a lower-body injury on Jan. 4. Rod Brind'Amour said on Jan. 16 that Carrier is gathering a second opinion and the team is expected to make a decision soon on how long he'll be out of the lineup.
• Forward Tyson Jost suffered a lower-body injury on Dec. 31 which was labeled as "long-term" by Rod Brind'Amour ahead of the Jan. 2 contest in Florida. He returned to the ice on his own on Jan. 16, but is "a ways away" from rejoining the group.
• Goaltender Frederik Andersen returned to practice with the team on Jan. 8 for the first time since having knee surgery on Nov. 22. Andersen's original prognosis was that he would be out for 8-12 weeks, and his return to practice came just before the seven-week mark. He is "on track to return to play soon", per GM Eric Tulsky on Jan 14.
• Forward Jesper Fast was ruled out for the 2024-25 season in August after having neck surgery.

What Are We Wearing?

• The team will be wearing their red uniforms. To view the team's full 2024-25 uniform schedule, click here.

What's Next After This Game?

• Carolina is scheduled to be off on Saturday. They'll practice on Sunday before flying to Chicago.
• Next Game: Monday, Jan. 20 at Chicago | 8:30 pm
• Next Home Game: Thursday, Jan. 23 vs. Columbus | 7:00 p.m. | Tickets | Parking | Upcoming Theme Nights