-Gabriel Dorris-

Last time Out

In the Canes’ previous outing, 11/4 in New York against the Islanders, the Canes were down 3-0 in the second period but stormed back for the 4-3 OT win off of goals by Jalen Chatfield, Dmitry Orlov, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Sebastian Aho, who had the winner. The team didn’t look good in the first period, and the second was mediocre, but the third was some of the best Canes hockey I’ve seen this year. Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook, Brady Skjei, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Martin Necas each had a helper, while Andrei Svechnikov had two. Raanta was solid in net, with 22 saves on 25 shots.

In order, my three stars would be Andrei Svechnikov (***), Sebastian Aho (**), and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (*).

The Overview

Tonight at 7:00 pm EST, the Canes are coming home and hoping to bi-son’ goals against the Buffalo Sabres. Carolina is 7-5-0, with 4 of those wins coming in their last five games, while Buffalo is 6-6-0 after a high-scoring victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Buffalo’s projected to start Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in net, with Devon Levi behind him. Luukkonen has a 3-2-0 record, a 3.14 GAA, and a .901 save percentage. He also has a shutout this year, earned on October 29th against the Colorado Avalanche.

After Frederick Andersen had a health issue related to blood clotting diagnosed, Pyotr Kochetkov got called up from the AHL, where he is 3-0-0 with a .932 sv% this year. Still, it looks like it will be Antti Raanta starting again tonight. He’s 3-1-0 with five starts, a 3.03 GAA, and a .870 SV%. He’s had a rough start to the year, as minus his shutout against San Jose, Raanta has yet to play a game with an SV% at or over .900. Still, the defense has also had a rough start beside him. However, Brett Pesce did practice yesterday and may be returning soon.

The Canes have looked solid recently after a poor start, and they’ve seemed to grow each game since being shut out 3-0 by Tampa in Amalie Arena. They’re playing better than 7-5-0 right now, while dealing with injuries that have come and come so far. The Sabres have been very up and down and have yet to lose or win more than two games in a row. They’re a young team that aims to snag a playoff spot this year, but they’ll have to improve if they want to do that in a strong Atlantic division.

The Sabres have 39 goals in 12 games this season, nearly identical to Carolina’s 41 in the same number. They’ve allowed 38, putting them at a +1 on the season. Raleigh has given up slightly more, allowing 42. However, just 12 of those 42 have come in their last six games, as the defense and goaltending have tightened. This improvement in goaltending has been crucial, as the Canes have a .865 SV% on the year, the second worst in the NHL. Edmonton has only received much more ridicule because they haven’t powered through and won games. The powerplay is churning for Carolina like never before, at 26.7% through 12 games, placing them 7th in the NHL, but the PK is at 76.1%, the 7th worst score in the league. Still, it’s shown heavy improvement, as the Canes have allowed just one PP goal on the last 14 chances their opponents have had. The Sabres have an incredible 89.1% PK but a horrific 11.4% PP.

Things to Watch

Jesperi Kotkaniemi is the leading point scorer for Carolina, with 12 in 12 games. He’s off to a flaming start, as last year Kotkaniemi had just 2 in this same span. He’s blossoming into a true 2C, and the more he can keep this going, the better his contract becomes. The powerplay is flaming hot, with a goal in four consecutive games. If this can keep going, it’s a giant piece of the puzzle that Canes have tried to fill for years in search of a cup. Antti Raanta may be taking on a lot more responsibility with Freddie out, and because of this, he’ll need to improve if he doesn’t want to lose this role to Pyotr Kochetkov.

Prediction

The Canes have won 14 of their last 16 games against the Sabres, and as of today they look like the better team. Neither side has had phenomenal goaltending, which may lead to a higher-scoring match, but I still think the Canes come out on top.

5-3 Canes

Record: 9 (correct winner) – 3 (incorrect winner) – 0 (predicted OT/shootout loss and lost in regulation, or vice versa.)

Record in losses: 2 (correct winner) – 3 (incorrect winner) – 0 (predicted OT/shootout loss and lost in regulation, or vice versa.)

Record in wins: 7 (correct winner) – 0 (incorrect winner) – 0 (predicted OT/shootout loss and lost in regulation, or vice versa.)