"We're know they're undefeated and a great team," Panthers Interim Head Coach Andrew Brunette said after Friday's practice in Sunrise. "I don't know if anything changes. They're a really good measuring stick for us and a good test to see where we're at right now."
Extending their point streak to 10 games, the Panthers, who have played beyond 60 minutes in each of their last three games, are coming off a 5-4 overtime win over the Capitals on Thursday.
Against Washington, Aleksander Barkov scored two goals, Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour each chipped in goals from the blue line, and Eetu Luostarinen netted his second game-winning goal of the season when his pass in overtime deflected off a defender's stick and into the cage.
Tied with former Panthers captain Olli Jokinen for the most goals in franchise history with 188, Barkov has been simply on fire as of late, lighting the lamp five times over his last three games.
"At the end of the day, it's all about winning games," Barkov said.
Benefitting from a balanced attack on offense, the Panthers currently rank second in the league with an average of 4.10 goals per game. Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau are tied for first on the team in scoring with 12 points each, with 10 other players accumulating at least five points.
Overall, the Cats have scored at least four goals in eight of 10 games this season.
"That's how you win some games," Huberdeau said. "The depth in our lineup is nice to have. A lot of guys can score some goals. Every single line can score goals. That's good for us. I like our work ethic. We're a tough team to play against. That's what we've got to keep doing."
With Sergei Bobrovsky exiting Thurday's game against the Capitals due to an upper-body injury after just one period, Spencer Knight, who made 25 saves in relief, is expected to get the start in net against the Hurricanes. In four appearances so far this season (three starts), the 20-year-old rookie has posted a 3-0-1 record with a 2.65 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.
Brought up from the AHL this morning, Christopher Gibson is expected to back up Knight.
Looking to become just the third team in NHL history to begin a season with 10 straight wins, the Hurricanes stretched their streak to nine with a 4-3 win over the Blackhawks on Wednesday.
Derek Stepan, Seth Jarvis, Jesper Fast and Martin Necas all scored against Chicago, while Frederik Andersen made 27 saves in net. The backbone of Carolina's top-ranked defense this season, Andersen has gone 8-0-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average and .949 save percentage.
Averaging a mere .01 goal per game more than Florida, Andrei Svechnikov leads Carolina in goals (7) and points (13). Sebastian Aho ranks second on the team in scoring with 11 points (five goals, six assists), and Tony DeAngelo sits third with 10 points (two goals, eight assists).
Last season, the Panthers owned a 2-4-2 record against the Hurricanes.
Oddly enough, no other team in the league had a winning record against the Cats in 2020-21.
"Against them, we've got to keep it simple," Huberdeau said of going up against Carolina. "We need to get behind their defensemen and be physical. We know they're going to be on us really quick. That's how the game's going to be. We've got to be ready, especially at home."
