Hurricanes Look To Start Winning Streak Against Kraken

Carolina heads into the fourth game of their six-game road trip on Thursday, as they travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Kraken. The Hurricanes will seek their second consecutive victory after downing San Jose, 6-3, on Tuesday.

Seth Jarvis netted two goals, including the game-winner, and Brady Skjei tallied his fifth and sixth points, while Antti Raanta earned the win after relieving Freddie Andersen in net.

As Andersen’s availability is in question, Raanta could be in line to start his second contest of the season with Pyotr Kochtkov available if needed. Raanta has a 1-1-0 record in two appearances, allowing 3.17 goals per game and amassing a .838 save percentage.

Forward Sebastian Aho missed Tuesday’s win with an upper-body injury and his status for tonight remains uncertain.

If he is unable to go, Carolina will almost certainly deploy an 11 forward and seven defenseman lineup, which could also include Jalen Chatfield.

Welcoming the Hurricanes to Seattle are the Kraken, who have been off to a slow start to begin the 2023-2024 campaign.

Seattle has tallied just one point in the season’s first four games, which they earned in a shootout loss to St. Louis on Saturday.

A big area of concern for the Kraken has been their ability to score, as Dave Hakstol’s squad has scored just three goals over 245 minutes of play.

Their lack of success and scoring can be partially attributed to their power play performance, as their 9.1% conversion rate ranks tied for 24th in the league.

On the other side, Carolina sits ninth in their success on the man advantage, converting 26.1% of their chances.

Defenseman Vince Dunn is the lone skater to accrue multiple points on the season, highlighting a cause for concern in the season’s early going.

For the Hurricanes, 17 different players have recorded a point and 13 have recorded two points or more.

In net for the Kraken, goaltender Philipp Grubauer has started three contests, accruing an 0-3-0 record, while allowing 2.71 goals per game.

Seattle entered the season with high expectations and they certainly have the talent to not only make the postseason, but go on a deep playoff run.

Their early season schedule has been rigorous, facing both Western Conference Division champions in their first four contests. Four of their first six opponents made the postseason a year ago, giving them tests in the season’s first month.

San Jose, who Carolina defeated earlier this week, joins the Kraken as the only team to have less than two points this season.

The Hurricanes will either maintain their Metropolitan Division lead or Seattle will finally get into the win column on Thursday night.

Puck drop is set for 10:00pm EST at Climate Pledge Arena.