Preview: October 26 vs. Seattle

RALEIGH, NC. - The Carolina Hurricanes are back on home ice for the first time in 15 days on Thursday, hosting the Seattle Kraken at PNC Arena.

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When: Thursday, October 26

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: 3-4-0 (6 Points, T-5th, Metropolitan Division)

Canes Last Game: 3-0 Loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, October 24

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Kraken Record: 2-4-1 (5 Points, T-4th, Pacific Division)

Kraken Last Game: 5-4 Win (OT) over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, October 24

Last Time Out

• The Canes were held scoreless for the first time this season on Tuesday night at Amalie Arena, blanked by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Goaltender Jonas Johansson stopped all 32 shots faced.

Fixing The Early Woes

• Unexpectedly below .500 through seven games, the Canes are hoping to get a few areas of their game on track. A lack of discipline and penalty kill struggles caused problems for the team on their six-game road trip, before being unable to find their offense on Tuesday against Tampa.

Discipline

• Entering Thursday's play, the Canes' 45 penalties taken are the most in the NHL.

Penalty Kill

• Carolina has become synonymous with having a superb penalty kill. In fact, since the start of the 2018-19 season, they have the best penalty kill in the NHL (84.3%). They also rank tied for second with 44 shorthanded goals. This year though, it's been a different story. The units have killed just a combined 68.8%, sitting tied for 28th in the NHL.

Welcome To The Loudest House

• Playing in just their second home game of the season, the Canes have accumulated a record of 121-46-18 at PNC Arena during Rod Brind'Amour's tenure as head coach.

Debut Day For Svech?

• Forward Andrei Svechnikov, who has been sidelined since March 11 when he suffered an ACL injury, could make his much-anticipated season debut tonight. His status remains up in the air, but Rod Brind'Amour said following Wednesday's practice, "When he gives us the green light, we'll definitely chuck him in there."

Freddie Returns?

• Along similar lines, goaltender Frederik Andersen could be back in the net for the first time in over a week. Leaving last Tuesday's win over San Jose after taking a shot to the mask in the first period, Brind'Amour said on Wednesday that he is anticipating the veteran netminder being good to go.

Pesce Out For 2-4 Weeks

• The good comes with the bad though, and one player who will not be in the lineup for Carolina is defenseman Brett Pesce. Blocking a shot below the belt last Thursday in Seattle, the steady defender will miss 2-4 weeks, the team announced on Wednesday. As a result, defensive pairings were ever-changing Tuesday night in Tampa. Carolina remains in search of the right recipe with #22 injured.

In Net

• Pyotr Kochetkov made a second consecutive start Tuesday night in Tampa, getting no offensive support as he unfortunately fell to 0-3. The young netminder's numbers don't tell the whole story though, because of the 11 goals he's allowed in three games played this season, five have come on special teams and he took the tough-luck loss after entering in relief last week in Seattle. With that being said though, as prefaced above, it feels as if Frederik Andersen will have the nod tonight. However, a last-minute change is always possible. The group was hoping to have the Dane start Saturday in Colorado, but after morning skate Andersen wasn't feeling quite right, so the team had to go with Kochetkov instead.

On The Other Side

• Not unlike Carolina, Seattle also had a slow start to their season. Prior to the meeting between these two teams last week, the Kraken were 0-3-1 with just three total goals scored. Their 7-4 victory over the Canes appeared to have perked them up though. They took a loss to the Rangers on home ice before starting their trip east, winning a wild one in Detroit on their way to North Carolina. Defenseman Vince Dunn has seven points in seven games to start the season, and Joey Daccord has both of the team's wins in net, while Philipp Grubauer sits 0-4.

Injury Updates

• Forward Vasily Ponomarev, who suffered a knee injury on the first day of training camp (9/22), is skating and "progressing nicely" as of October 25.
• Forward Ryan Suzuki suffered a "not serious" shoulder injury versus Nashville (exhibition) on Thursday, October 5. He is also skating and "getting closer" to returning to game action.
• Forward Andrei Svechnikov, who is working his way back from ACL surgery in March, has been practicing with the team in a standard practice jersey as of this week. He appears to be poised to return to game action any day now.
• Forward Sebastian Aho returned to the lineup on Tuesday in Tampa after missing three games due to an upper-body injury. He has been playing wing instead of his usual center upon return though.
• Goaltender Frederik Andersen was removed from last Tuesday's game just 5:27 in after taking a shot to his mask. He could make his return to the crease as soon as tonight.
• Defenseman Brett Pesce suffered a lower-body injury last Thursday in Seattle. He will miss 2-4 weeks, per the team's PR department on October 25.

What Are We Wearing?

• After a one-year hiatus, the team will be wearing their red sweaters. 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.

What's Next After Tonight?

• The Canes get right back into game action on Friday, hosting the San Jose Sharks. It is First Responders Night at PNC Arena.

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