It’s that time of year when many sporting events collide on the calendar, and today is no exception.
Thanks to the Carolina Panthers’ hurricane-like resurgence, they will kick off the NFL playoffs today at 4:30. If you’re a fan of any of Triangle’s three teams, your school is getting in on the action, too. Of course, the main reason you’re reading is because the Carolina Hurricanes will play their final home game before playing back-to-back road games early next week.
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The rendezvous didn’t go so well last weekend. Of all the teams mentioned, only Durham’s varsity team won the game – and frankly, the game was closer than it should have been. If you’re a UNC fan (btw, like I’m no hidden author), then you’ll really enjoy the Panthers at 4:30, UNC at 6 and the Canes at 7.
It’s fun and tiring at the same time, which is why we’re fans, right?
Interestingly, the Hurricane games have a lot of intrigue. Speaking of a week ago, fans were worried about the team giving up a multi-goal lead to Colorado again while staring down back-to-back games, wondering how their baby Brandon Bussey would react to his first poor performance. Since then, he and the team have won three straight — a pretty dominant victory over the sinking Devils, a thrilling home win against Dallas that was all fun to watch, including the return of Seth Jarvis, and Freddie Anderson’s first win in two months against Anaheim. Suddenly, the Canes were on their way again, sitting first in the entire East Region and four points ahead of the Islanders in the metro.
Then the news came out on Friday morning and it was a reminder of just how amazing this team has accomplished.
Nystrom has done an outstanding job since joining the main roster. While he didn’t score, he had eight assists and was +4 in 33 games. Not bad for a guy who wants to spend a full season with the Chicago Wolves. He averaged 15:37 per game heading to the Wolves, showing he wasn’t just playing protected minutes in Raleigh. At least he’ll be back in Raleigh sooner or later, no doubt presenting himself as a bargaining chip in case the Canes want to include him in a trade – more on that later.
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But what brings Nystrom back to Chicago? Jakob Slaven will return to the lineup tonight. Slavin was bitten by a snake, to say the least. He did not appear in training camp due to injury. The injury was serious enough that he only played in the first two games of the season, then missed two months before finally rejoining the team in mid-December. He was last seen during the massacre in Florida, where Jarvis was also killed. Rod Brind’Amour went on to say that his injury is completely different this time and that’s all we’ve got, so we’ve been patiently waiting for him to rejoin the team.
In fact, the morning skate confirmed that Slavin will be back in the lineup tonight. Here are the pairings you can expect:
A third pairing of Nikishin and Gostisbehere? Let’s take a moment to appreciate the potential there.
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On the subject of trades – While the Canes didn’t take the puck on Friday, they made more news as Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman reported the Hurricanes are listening to offers for Jesperi Kotkaniemi. While this news may have Montreal Canadiens fans laughing hysterically, it’s no surprise to current Hurricanes fans. Tom Edwards talks about his transfer potential here – which you should subscribe to, by the way, as few are as familiar with the CBA and salary cap implications as he is – but honestly, if you listened to Brind’Amour’s speech and looked at the lineup, it’s clear that at this point, both sides realize it’s probably time to move on from the other side. Normally, reports like this don’t get out unless there’s something close because once the dam breaks, it’s difficult to put the water back.
Oh yeah, there’s actually a hockey game tonight! Tonight, the NHL’s newest team, the Seattle Kraken, come to town for the only time in the 2025-26 season. Not long ago, this game was just an afterthought, but the Kraken have begun to move up the standings and would be one of the top three players in the Pacific if the playoffs started today. It goes to show that everyone in the division is having a tough time right now, as with 48 points they are not only in third place, but just two points behind Vegas and Edmonton, who are tied for first. At the same time, you look at the rest of the Western Conference and…yeah.
Which is to say Seattle is on a tear. After a three-game losing streak a month ago, they’ve scored points in ten straight games for an 8-0-2 record and are quickly entering playoff contention at a time when it looked like they might be struggling for more draft picks. They did so despite having only two players reach double-digit goals (Carolina had six, including Jordan Staal), and their leading scorer was 28-year-old Jordan Eberle. Sebastian Aho has 43 goals. The problem for the Kraken is that Eberle has been listed as an everyday goal scorer. He’s on a road trip, but it’s unclear if he’ll be on the ice tonight. If he doesn’t, here are the expected lines:
McCann Beniers – Kakko
Tolvanen – Stephenson – Gaudreau
Carton – Wright – Winterton
Katie – Meyers – Melanson
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Dunn-Larson
Lindgren-Fleury
Evans-Olksiak
Dacor
There were two reasons for this operation. One of them is the combination of Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer, whose goaltending ability is outstanding. Both have save percentages above .900, while Grubauer has a save percentage of .925. The team ranks 26th overall in goals scored but 11th in goals conceded. The second was the red-hot Power Play, who had a click-through rate of nearly 35% during this period. Needless to say, it’s great to have Slevin back.
Seattle’s first break might come in their final game, though. Seattle led by two goals in the third period against the Minnesota Wild. The game was in Seattle, but Minnesota tied the game on Grubauer and won in overtime. The Kraken now embark on a five-game road trip that will see them fly across the country, starting here with three games in the Northeast Corridor before concluding with a game against Utah State. Of course, hopefully the Canes can catch up on the jet lag and continue where Minnesota started.
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Finally, Seattle’s arrival means former Hurricanes play-by-play man John Forslund will be on hand to call the action, and you can bet there will be smiles in the press box as the two staffers chase each other before puck drop, and no doubt Forslund will join us all in congratulating Mike Maniscalco on being named North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year.
Got it? So if you’re not planning on getting into the Lenovo Center tonight, here’s how you can watch the event:
time: 7pm
television: FanDuel Sports Network. Mike Maniscalco will handle game details along with Tripp Tracy. Hanna Yates and Shane Willis will provide sideline coverage and host the pre-game broadcast starting at 6:30, with the post-game broadcast lasting approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion.
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Streaming media: FanDuel Sports Network App for Carolina fans. Outside the box, the ESPN app will give you coverage of tonight’s game, as it won’t be aired on the NHL Network.
radio: 99.9 The Fan’s pregame begins at 4:30. At 5 p.m., the Hurricanes Radio Network (consisting of 99.9, 730 The Game in Charlotte, ESPN New Bern 107.5/1490 and ESPN Greenville 107.5/1570) picks up the FDSN signal. You can also stream the call on the Hurricane app.
Odds: Hurricanes -295 Money Line, Under/Under Hurricanes -1.5 at -114/Kraken +240 Money Line, Under/Under +1.5 at -106, O/U 6.5 (+110 over/-134 under)
