The Carolina Hurricanes are set to begin a highly anticipated 2023-24 hockey season, and they will kick off with a home matchup against the Ottawa Senators, who are looking to have finally ended their rebuild as they look to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs while the Hurricanes are a favorite to win the Stanley Cup this season.
Carolina Hurricanes (0-0-0) vs. Ottawa Senators (0-0-0)
When: Thursday, October 11
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: PNC Arena (Raleigh, NC)
What To Watch:
The Hurricanes will begin the season without Andrei Svechnikov, who is recovering from knee surgery he received back in March. With Svechnikov out, the Hurricanes will slide in Brendan Lemieux, who will play on the fourth line; that means Teuvo Teravainen will replace Svechnikov on the second line. As much as Svechnikov being out to start the season for Carolina hurts, it shows their depth that they can slide in a player like Lemieux to shuffle the lines and have the potential to score on all four lines.
By The Numbers:
(2022 Stats)
Tonight’s Hurricanes Player to Watch: Sebastian Aho
Aho, the 26-year-old forward, is about to enter his eighth season in the league, all of which he has spent with Carolina. Tonight will be his 521st career game, and he has recorded 468 points on 218 goals and 250 assists; he also has 135 career power-play points on 52 goals and 83 assists; he is a +80 in his career. Last season, he played in 75 games and put up 67 points on 36 goals and 31 assists; he had 15 power-play points on seven goals and eight assists and finished a plus-eight; he finished second on the team in points, first in goals, fourth in assists, second in power-play goals, fourth in power-play assists, and tenth in plus/minus.
Sebastian Aho’s Line Assignments:
Aho will center the first line with Michael Bunting and Seth Jarvis playing on his wings; it’ll be Michael Bunting’s first regular season game playing with Aho. Aho will also center the first power-play unit with Bunting, Jarvis, Tony DeAngelo, and Brent Burns.
Aho’s career vs. Ottawa
In his career against Ottawa, Aho has played in 17 games against the Senators and has recorded 15 points on five goals and ten assists, and he is a plus seven career against them. Last season against the Senators, he played in three games, recording just two assists, and was a plus-two.
Between the Pipes:
Carolina: Frederik Andersen (Probable)
Andersen played in 34 games last season, going 21-11-1 with a 2.48 GAA and a .903 save percentage. Last season against Ottawa, Andersen made only one start, going 0-1-0 and giving up three goals; in his career against Ottawa, he has played in 20 games, going 9-7-4 with 594 shots against and 529 saves.
Ottawa: Joonas Korpisalo (Probable)
Korpisalo played for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings last season, playing in 39 games, going 37-18-14 with a .914 save percentage and a 2.87 GAA. In two starts last season against the Hurricanes, he went 1-1-0, giving up nine goals in those two games. In his career against Carolina, he has played in 16 games, going 7-5-3, giving up 50 career goals on 468 shots.
Wrap Up
The Carolina Hurricanes will look to get this highly anticipated season off to a great start at home before they hit the road for their big road trip, which is a trip to the West Coast with five games out there. The Senators are a young and scrappy team, so the Hurricanes will have their hands full.
In their last ten matchups against Otta, the Hurricanes are 5-5-0 and have outscored them 31-25, and last season, in their three games against each other, her the Hurricanes went 2-1-0 and outscored them 9-5.
