The Carolina Hurricanes are about to embark on a five-game West Coast Road trip, starting with a matchup against the Los Angeles Kings. The Hurricanes are coming off a big 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night to start the 2023-24 campaign. The Kings are coming in off a 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.
Carolina Hurricanes (1-0-0, 2 PTS) vs. Los Angeles Kings (0-1-0, 0 PTS)
When: Saturday, October 14
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Where: Crypto.com Arena (Los Angeles, CA)
TV: Bally Sports South
Hurricanes vs. Kings Scoring Leaders
What To Watch:
This is a big test for the Hurricanes as they take on a top team in the Western Conference, as the Kings have made the playoffs the last two straight seasons. It will also be a reunion game for Hurricanes forward Brendan Lemieux, assuming he plays; in the previous game, the Hurricanes went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Lemieux played for the Kings for three seasons in 2020-21, 2021-22, and part of 2022-23. He played in 95 games for the Kings, recording 20 points on ten goals and ten assists, and had 164 penalty minutes.
Hurricanes vs. Kings By The Numbers:
Tonight’s Hurricanes Player to Watch: Brent Burns
Burns is in his 20th season, spending time with the Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, and Hurricanes. Tonight will be his 1,335th career game, and he has recorded 838 points on 245 goals and 593 assists; he also has 299 career power-play points on 84 goals and 215 assists; he is a -15 in his career. Last season, he played in all 82 games and put up 61 points on 18 goals and 43 assists; he had 23 power-play points on four goals and 19 assists and finished a +19; he finished third on the team in points, fourth in goals, second in assists, tied for sixth in power-play goals, he was first in power-play assists, and second in plus/minus. In the first game, he didn’t record a point playing 20:59 minutes; he had two shots and a hit.
Brent Burns’ Line Assignments
Burns will play on the first defensive pairing alongside Jaccob Slavin. He will also play on the first power-play unit with Michael Bunting, Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Tony DeAngelo.
Brent Burns’ Career vs. Los Angeles
In his career against the Kings, Burns has played in 93 games and has recorded 63 points on 23 goals and 40 assists, and he is a plus nine career against them. Last season against the Kings, he played in both games, recording four points on a goal and three assists, and he was a plus-one.
Between the Pipes:
Carolina: Frederik Andersen (1-0-0, 3.00 GAA)
Andersen, against the Senators, picked up the win to start 1-0-0; he stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced for a .900 save percentage. Last season against Los Angeles, Andersen made only one start, going 1-0-0, giving up four goals on 21 shots; in his career against the Kings, he has played in 17 games, going 11-1-3 with 505 shots against and 470 saves.
Los Angeles: Phoenix Copley (0-0-0, 0.00 GAA)
Copley last season appeared in 37 games, 24-6-3, with a 2.64 GAA and a .903 save percentage. In his career against Carolina, he has played in one game, going 0-0-1, giving up five goals on 30 shots.
Wrap Up
The Carolina Hurricanes enter an early road trip stretch, and it’s the toughest trip for any Eastern Conference team, but it usually consists of three games against the Kings, Anaheim Ducks, and San Jose Sharks. The Hurricanes will also add the Seattle Kraken and Colorado Avalanche to their trip. It will be a tough stretch as three of those five teams were playoff teams last season, and all are expected to return this season.
In their last ten matchups against Los Angeles, the Hurricanes are 8-2-0 and have outscored them 38-20, and last season, in their two games against each other, the Hurricanes went 2-0-0 and outscored them 9-6.
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