Preview: December 21 at Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH, PA. - The Carolina Hurricanes aim to move their season-long point streak to six games on Thursday when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

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When: Thursday, December 21

Puck Drop: 7 p.m. ET

Watch: Bally Sports South, Bally Sports App

Listen: 99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes App

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Canes Record: 17-12-3 (37 Points, 4th, Metropolitan Division)

Canes Last Game: 6-3 Win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, December 19

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Penguins Record: 14-13-3 (31 Points, 7th, Metropolitan Division)

Penguins Last Game: 4-3 Win over the Minnesota Wild on Monday, December 18

Previous Meetings This Season

• Saturday, November 18: Carolina scores three in the third to take a 4-2 victory from the Pens at PNC Arena.

Last Time Out

• For 58 minutes, Tuesday's performance against the Vegas Golden Knights was the one that Canes fans had been waiting for for a long time. A perfect special teams performance, 3-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, was the driving force to victory, extending Carolina's season-long point streak to five games. Sebastian Aho and Michael Bunting led the way for Rod Brind'Amour's group, each producing three points.

Power Playing

• The 3-for-3 power play performance was the first for Carolina since March 11, 2021, vs. Nashville. The Canes have now scored multiple power-play goals in three of their last five games, and their three goals on the man advantage matched their season high.
• Carolina improved to 7-for-17 on the power play over its last five games (41.2%), with a league-high seven power-play goals scored by seven different players during that span.

Aho's Distribution

• No. 20 set a career-high with three power-play assists against the Golden Knights on Tuesday, becoming just the second Canes skater to record three assists on the man advantage in a single game since 2003-04. He now paces the team in goals (12), assists (18), points (30), power-play assists (8), and power-play points (10) this season and enters this evening on a three-game point streak.

Svechnikov's Back

• After missing six games due to an upper-body injury suffered earlier this month in Winnipeg, Andrei Svechnikov returned in a major way on Tuesday. Scoring the game-opening goal just 10 minutes in, #37 also registered a game-high five hits, including a thunderous crunching of Alex Pietrangelo.

In Net

• Pyotr Kochetkov was 1:24 shy of allowing just one goal for a fourth consecutive appearance on Tuesday, but two garbage time tallies for the Golden Knights instead made it a 30/33 evening on Tuesday. The 24-year-old has been stellar over the last nine days, a "much-needed" run per Brind'Amour, providing a stabilizing presence between the pipes after an inconsistent start to the season. With youngster Yaniv Perets riding shotgun, it is expected that Carolina will go back to Kochetkov again tonight. He is 2-0 with a 1.96 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in two career regular-season starts against the Penguins.

On The Other Side

• Sitting seventh in the division, the Penguins have won three of their last four games. On one hand, they've had trouble scoring this season, as their 86 goals in 30 games ranks 27th in the NHL. On the other hand, they've done a good job of keeping the puck out, allowing just 83 goals in the same amount of contests (9th, NHL). Forward Jake Guentzel leads the group with 34 points in 30 games, but Sidney Crosby continues to be exceptional at 36 years old, trailing Guentzel by just one point in the same amount of contests.

Injury Updates

• Goaltender Frederik Andersen has been sidelined since the team announced on November 6 that he is dealing with a blood clotting issue. General Manager Don Waddell shared on December 17 that he has been cleared and could start skating again soon.

What Are We Wearing?

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

What's Next After Tonight?

• The Canes are scheduled to practice on Friday at Invisalign Arena.  They will return to game action on Saturday at home against the New York Islanders.

Worth A Click

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Andersen To Resume Skating Soon

Canes Reassign Raanta To Chicago

Kochetkov's Most Electrifying Saves Yet

Mailbag #72: Team Performance Chef Sean Murnane

Bucket List: When and Why?

Whalers Night: In White!

Williams Named To Hurricanes Hall of Fame

Prospects: Where Are They Playing?

Uniform Schedule For 2023-24

2023-24 Single Game Tickets