The red-hot Carolina Hurricanes make their first-ever visit to Salt Lake City when they face the struggling Utah Hockey Club on Wednesday.
Carolina is 9-1-0 in its last 10 games. The only blip in that stretch was a 6-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday in the first game of the Hurricanes’ three-game road trip, but Carolina bounced back strongly in Monday’s 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Nine different Hurricanes collected at least one point against the Knights, as Carolina became the first team this season to score a road victory in Las Vegas.
“Every line is contributing … Every team that I’ve been a part of here, depth has always been our strong suit,” said Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook, who is on a four-game scoring streak (five goals, one assist).
“Obviously, we’re showing it at the beginning of the year and we’re going to need to continue that throughout the rest of the year. When everybody is chipping in, it’s easy and a lot of fun.”
This roster-wide production has resulted in at least four goals scored in each of Carolina’s last nine games. The Hurricanes are two games away from tying their franchise record for the most consecutive games with four or more goals.
Martin Necas has emerged as the focal point of the well-rounded attack. Necas is among the NHL’s leaders with 24 points, with 21 of those points (seven goals, 14 assists) coming over the forward’s ongoing 10-game points streak.
In contrast, Utah players collectively amassed only 19 points over the team’s four-game road trip, resulting in a 1-2-1 record and two shutout losses. The Utah Hockey Club outshot the Nashville Predators by a 27-21 margin on Saturday but allowed two power-play goals and an empty-netter in a 4-0 loss.
“I think defensively we played good enough, but … we need a way to generate more offense without sacrificing our defense. That’s urgent for us,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said.
Avoiding the penalty box would be a good start, as Utah ranked among the league leaders in penalty minutes (174) entering Tuesday. On the other side of the special teams coin, Utah is 0-for-8 on the power play in its last four games, and 2-for-26 with the extra attacker in its last 10 games.
After a 4-1-1 start, the Utah Hockey Club are only 2-5-2 in their last nine games.
Clayton Keller leads Utah skaters with 13 points (six goals, seven assists). Nick Schmaltz is second on the team with 12 points all from assists, as Schmaltz has yet to score in 15 games this season.
Connor Ingram remains Utah’s top goaltender, though backup Karel Vejmelka could get more action if Ingram can’t turn things around. Ingram has only a 3.40 goals-against average this season in 12 starts.
Pyotr Kochetkov is expected to start again in Carolina’s net, and has thrived with an increase in playing time. With Frederik Andersen recovering from a lower-body injury, Kochetkov is 7-0-0 with a 2.28 GAA in his last seven games.
The Utah Hockey Club are 3-2-1 on home ice this season. The Hurricanes have been one of the NHL’s best road teams, posting a 6-2-0 away record.
–Field Level Media