Preview: October 18 at Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH - The Carolina Hurricanes head north for their first road test of the year against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

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When: Friday, October 18

Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. ET

Watch: Bally Sports South, Bally Sports App, NHL Network

Listen: 99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes App

Odds at Time of Publishing, via Fanatics Sportsbook: Canes -155

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Canes Record: 1-1-0 (2 Points, 8th - Metropolitan Division)

Canes Last Game: 4-2 W over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, October 15

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Penguins Record: 3-2-0 (6 Points, 3rd - Metropolitan Division)

Penguins Last Game: 6-5 OTW over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday, October 16

Last Game...

• Led by a pair of second-period strikes and Jackson Blake's first NHL goal in the third, the Canes earned their first win of the 2024-25 regular season with a 4-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
• Pyotr Kochetkov turned aside 23 of 25 shots to pick up the win between the pipes in his regular-season debut.

In Net...

• As usual, Rod Brind'Amour did not name a starter during media availability after Thursday's practice. Frederik Andersen appeared on opening night while Pyotr Kochetkov picked up the win on Tuesday, setting up a potential rotation that could see Andersen return to the crease tonight should Brind'Amour elect to continue the pattern. As the Canes kick off the front end of a back-to-back, it seems safe to expect the goalie who doesn't go tonight to get the nod in St. Louis on Saturday.

Milestone Watch...

• Jesperi Kotkaniemi is two assists away from 100 NHL assists
• Jordan Martinook is two points shy of 200 NHL points
• Shayne Gostisbehere is two goals away from 100 NHL goals
• Martin Necas is three goals shy of 100 NHL/Hurricanes goals

First Of Many...

• Jackson Blake scored his first NHL goal on Tuesday vs. New Jersey, which also happened to be the game-winner. He is the 18th skater in franchise history to score his first NHL goal and have it be the game-winning goal.
• The only other active Hurricane to accomplish this feat with Carolina was Andrei Svechnikov, who scored the game-winning goal vs. the New York Rangers (10/7/18).

Fantastic Finns...

• Sebastian Aho and Jesperi Kotkaniemi both hit milestones in Tuesday's game vs. New Jersey.
• Aho recorded his first goal of the season in his 600th NHL/Hurricanes game Tuesday, becoming the 11th player to reach 600 games with the franchise and the third among active players.
• Kotkaniemi recorded his 100th point as a Carolina Hurricane while skating in his 400th NHL game Tuesday vs. New Jersey and is now two assists away from registering his 100th NHL assist. He currently sits 10th among active Hurricanes in points as a Hurricane, two points from passing Jesper Fast.

Hitting The Road...

• Friday's game vs. Pittsburgh starts a season-long six-game road trip from 10/18 to 10/28.
• In 2023-24, the Canes posted a 25-23-3 record away from home, ranking tied for sixth in the league in road points percentage (.646%).
• Carolina posted the top road power play percentage (30.8%), had the second-highest road penalty kill percentage (85.4%) and allowed the fewest shots against per game (27.17) last year.
• With Rod Brind'Amour behind the bench (2018-19-present), the Canes have posted the second-highest road points percentage with .626 behind only Boston with .656.

On The Other Side...

• Pittsburgh enters the contest with wins in back-to-back games, including a rollercoaster 6-5 OT victory over Buffalo on Wednesday.
• Sidney Crosby (3pts) and Evgeni Malkin (4pts) led the way and each climbed to new milestones in the win, with Crosby becoming the 10th player in NHL history to reach 1,600 points and his Russian counterpart posting his 500th NHL goal.
• Malkin is currently tied for the league lead in scoring with 11 points (2g, 9a).

Injury Updates

• Forward Jesper Fast was ruled out for the 2024-25 season in August after having neck surgery.
• Defenseman Riley Stillman (lower-body injury) has worked in a no-contact sweater since training camp started on September 19.

What Are We Wearing?

• The team will be wearing their white sweaters. To view the team's full 2024-25 uniform schedule, click here.

What's Next After This Game?

• The Canes are back in action in St. Louis tomorrow to wrap up the back-to-back against the Blues.
• Next Game: Saturday, October 19 at St. Louis
• Next Home Game: Thursday, October 31 | HALLOWEEN NIGHT | Tickets | Parking