Carolina Hurricanes vs Seattle Kraken: Game Preview and Storm Advisory

It’s a very rare feat in the NHL when you know going in to a game that history will be made. It’s a defining moment when two franchises meet for the very first time. Somehow this first-ever meeting between the powerhouse Carolina Hurricanes and expansion Seattle Kraken feels a little different given the many ties between the two organizations.

Ron Francis has once again decided to take the slow and steady approach to building a franchise. He forwent multiple big names such as Carey Price and Vladimir Tarasenko and decided he was in it for the long haul unlike the previous expansion team over in Nevada. So far the results have been as expected for a typical expansion team.

At 5-12-1 the Kraken have struggled to keep the puck out of their net and have only won twice over their past ten games. On the other side the Hurricanes are looking to bounce back after a lackluster effort in San Jose that saw their former goaltender James Reimer steal the show in a 2-1 overtime loss. Rod Brind’Amour will want to see more out of his forwards who seemed sluggish versus the Sharks.

On this we know for sure, there will be history made tonight in Seattle. The question is who comes out on top?

Game Notes

• Seattle is coming off one of their best games of the season as they ousted the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Sunday. They are in the middle of one of the toughest stretches any organization can go through after facing Washington and Carolina they have to head to Florida to take on both the Panthers and Lightning.
• Expansion teams hold a 5-6-3 record against the Hurricanes organization all-time in their first meeting. The previous time Carolina faced an expansion team they lost 3-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights on November 3rd, 2018.
• The Kraken have scored a power-play goal in four straight games despite ranking 21st in the NHL overall with the man-advantage.
• Both Haydn Fleury and Morgan Geekie will face off against their former team for the first time.
• Teuvo Teravainen continues to sit one goal shy of 100 in his NHL career. Getting he and Sebastian Aho on a hot streak will be vital to the Hurricanes as the season continues.

Storm Advisory

• Former Hurricanes and current Kraken play-by-play commentator John Forslund joined Adam Gold on Tuesday to catch up and preview tonight’s match up. Skip ahead to around 18:30 to hear the interview. [99.9 The Fan]
• Take a look at these... interesting new third jerseys from the Devils:

• Go inside the process of designing these new sweaters by the Devils and how Martin Brodeur played a role in the process. [ESPN+ $]
• Speaking of jerseys Team Canada has released theirs for the 2022 Olympics:

• The top five things you’ll never see return to the NHL. [THN]
• Unmasked: Inexperienced goalies getting chance in NHL. [NHL]
• Connor McDavid’s spacious home in Edmonton has been featured in Architectural Digest. [NHL]