Preview: December 15 vs. Nashville

RALEIGH, NC. - The Carolina Hurricanes will play their first home game in 13 days on Friday, welcoming the Nashville Predators at PNC Arena.

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When: Friday, December 15

Puck Drop: 7:30 p.m. ET

Watch: ESPN+/Hulu

Listen: 99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes App

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Canes Record: 16-12-1 (33 Points, 4th, Metropolitan Division)

Canes Last Game: 2-1 Win over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, December 14

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Predators Record: 16-13-0 (32 Points, 4th, Central Division)

Predators Last Game: 3-2 Win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, December 12

Last Time Out

• The Canes closed out a 12-day, six-game road trip last night in Detroit, wrapping it up on a high note. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 25 out of 26, allowing just one goal for the second time in as many games. Jack Drury extended his point streak to four games and Jordan Staal collected the game-winner in the second period.

Perfect Penalty Kill

• Tim Gleason's penalty kill turned in another flawless performance last night, going 3/3 against the Red Wings. Now 20-for-20 since the calendar flipped to December, the team has improved their season-long success rate to 80.7% (15th) after a rocky start to the campaign.

Big Tex

• Stefan Noesen added another point last night on Drury's goal, giving him a share of the team lead with four points in six games on the trip. Arguably the team's best overall player during the stretch, he now has 17 points in 29 games this season and is currently on pace for 48 points this year. His current career-high was 36 points, set last season.

400 For Brind'Amour

• Tonight will be Rod Brind'Amour's 400th game behind the bench of the Canes. With 242 wins in his first 399 games as a head coach, only Dan Bylsma (252) had more to start his career through the 400-game benchmark. Since taking over ahead of the 2018-19 season, Carolina had produced the league's fourth-best points percentage (.654) after missing the playoffs the previous nine seasons. Under Brind'Amour, the team has made the postseason each year and won a division title in three of those five.

In Net

• Historically, Brind'Amour and staff do not turn to the same goaltender in back-to-back situations, so one would think that Antti Raanta will get the nod this evening. 25-3-2 in 30 games played at PNC Arena, the veteran netminder has been dynamite in Raleigh during his tenure with the team. He'll be looking to rebound after taking the loss Saturday in Vancouver after the defense in front of him was not up to par.

On The Other Side

• Head Coach Andrew Brunette has the Predators trending in the right direction, winners in five of their last six games. Four of them have been one-goal games, and while none of the major numbers jump off the paper, their penalty kill has been very good during the stretch (95%). Unsurprisingly, both Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi have six points in six games amid the run as well, both building on their impressive seasons as a whole. Forsberg has 33 points in 29 games this season, tied with the likes of Leon Draisaitl and Jack Hughes.

Injury Updates

• Goaltender Frederik Andersen is sidelined indefinitely after the team announced on November 6 that he is dealing with a blood clotting issue.
• Forward Andrei Svechnikov will be "out for at least a while" after suffering an upper-body injury on December 4.

What Are We Wearing?

• The team will be wearing their red sweaters tonight. A complete uniform schedule for the season can be found here.

Additional Game Information

• Coming to tonight's game? Save $15 on parking by purchasing in advance. Click here to buy.
• Want to remember tonight forever? Purchase a commemorative ticket here.

What's Next After Tonight?

• The Canes are scheduled to be off on Saturday. They'll return to game action on Sunday against the Washington Capitals.

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