CAROLINA HURRICANES NOTES:
LAST GAME
The Hurricanes earned a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils at PNC Arena on Tuesday, extending their point streak to 12 games and their win streak to six games. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen and Stefan Noesen each scored for Carolina, and Jaccob Slavin added two assists. Seth Jarvis also tallied an assist in his 100th career NHL/Hurricanes game, while Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 37 of 38 shots in net to extend his point streak to 10 games.
INJURY REPORT
Sebastian Aho, lower-body, missed six games (12/10-12/20)
Frederik Andersen, lower-body, missed 20 games (11/9-12/20)
Jake Gardiner, upper-body, missed 32 games (10/12-12/20)
Ondrej Kase, concussion, missed 31 games (10/14-12/20)
Max Pacioretty, torn Achilles, missed 32 games (10/12-12/20)
2022-23 Man-Games Lost Due to Injury: 133
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Dec. 19 Recalled Dylan Coghlan from conditioning stint with Chicago (AHL)
Dec. 8 Recalled Maxime Lajoie from Chicago (AHL)
STREAKS
Stefan Noesen has tallied a point in four consecutive games (12/15-12/20: 3g, 1a)
Jesper Fast has recorded an assist in back-to-back games (12/18-12/20: 2a)
Jordan Staal has registered a goal/point in back-to-back games (12/18-12/20: 2g, 1a)
UPCOMING GAMES
DATE OPPONENT TIME TV RADIO
Dec. 22 at Pittsburgh 7 p.m. BSSO/NHLN HRN
Dec. 23 Philadelphia 7 p.m. BSSO HRN
Dec. 27 Chicago 7 p.m. BSSO HRN
Dec. 30 Florida 7:30 p.m. ESPN+/Hulu HRN
Jan. 1 at New Jersey 3 p.m. BSSO HRN
- All times are Eastern | BSSO = Bally Sports South | HRN = Hurricanes Radio Network
UPCOMING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
DATE DAY LOCATION TIME
Dec. 22 Thursday No morning skate
Dec. 23 Friday No morning skate
Dec. 24-26 Sat.-Mon. No practice
Dec. 27 Tuesday PNC Arena 10:30 a.m.
Dec. 28 Wednesday PNC Arena 12 p.m.
- All times are local. Times and locations are subject to change.
Carolina Hurricanes: Media Notes
HURRICANES vs. PENGUINS SERIES NOTES
— Carolina is facing Pittsburgh in the third of four meetings between the teams during the 2022-23 season. The Penguins travel to PNC Arena on 1/14.
— Carolina and Pittsburgh are meeting for the 157th time in their regular-season histories. Carolina holds a 69-69-11-7 overall record, including a 31-37-6-4 road record and a 42-39-4-7 record since relocation.
— The Hurricanes lead the season series 2-0-0 in 2021-22 (Penguins: 0-1-1), and they are 7-2-0 in the teams’ last nine matchups (Pittsburgh: 2-4-3).
— Carolina earned a 3-2 overtime win against Pittsburgh at PPG Paints Arena on 2/20/22. Sebastian Aho (2a), Brett Pesce (1g, 1a) and Andrei Svechnikov (1g, 1a) each posted multi-point games, with Pesce also scoring the overtime winner, while Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 30 of 32 shots faced in net.
— The Hurricanes posted a 3-2 win over the Penguins at PNC Arena on 12/18. Brady Skjei, Jordan Staal and Derek Stepan each tallied two points (1g, 1a), and Pyotr Kochetkov made 23 saves in net.
— Brent Burns has tallied 18 points (8g, 10a) in 24 career regular-season games against Pittsburgh.
— Jordan Staal played 431 games with Pittsburgh from 2006-12, registering 248 points (120g, 128a) and winning the Stanley Cup in 2009. Selected second overall by the Penguins in the 2006 NHL Draft, Staal was acquired by the Hurricanes in exchange for Brandon Sutter, Brian Dumoulin, and a first-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (Derrick Pouliot) on 6/22/12. He has posted 14 points (5g, 9a) in 29 career regular-season games against Pittsburgh.
— Dumoulin was selected by the Hurricanes in the second round, 51st overall, of the 2009 NHL Draft but was traded before playing a game with the organization.
— Stefan Noesen skated in six games with the Penguins in 2019-20, scoring one goal.
— Paul Stastny has recorded 16 points (5g, 11a) in 21 career regular-season games against Pittsburgh.
— Hurricanes Assistant Coach Jeff Daniels was selected by Pittsburgh in the sixth round, 109th overall, of the 1986 NHL Draft. He played 134 games with the Penguins from 1990-94, posting 19 points (8g, 11a).
— Kasperi Kapanen’s father, Sami, was selected by Carolina in the fourth round, 87th overall, of the 1995 NHL Draft and recorded 348 points (145g, 203a) in 520 games with the Hurricanes from 1995-03, representing the team at the All-Star Game in 2000 and 2002.
— Brock McGinn was selected by Carolina in the second round, 47th overall, of the 2012 NHL Draft and earned 106 points (51g, 55a) in 345 games with the Hurricanes from 2015-21. He also tallied 12 points (6g, 6a) in 34 playoff appearances and scored the double-overtime, series-clinching goal at WSH in Game 7 of the 2019 Eastern Conference First Round.
— Penguins President of Hockey Ops Brian Burke served as the Whalers’ General Manager in 1992-93 but resigned from the role to become the NHL’s Senior VP and Director of Hockey Operations.
— Penguins Assistant Coach Mike Vellucci served as the Hurricanes’ Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations from
2014-19 and coached the Charlotte Checkers from 2017-19, leading them to a Calder Cup championship in 2019.
MAKING A POINT
With a win vs. NJD (12/20), the Hurricanes have earned a point in 12 consecutive games (11/25-12/20: 10-0-2), tied for the third-longest point streak in franchise history and marking the third-longest point streak by any team this season (TOR, 11/12-12/13: 12-0-3 in 15 GP; NJD, 10/25-11/21: 13-0-0 in 13 GP). After sweeping a four-game homestand for the sixth time in franchise history (12/15-12/20), Carolina will now try to extend its active 10-game road point streak (11/14-12/13: 6-0-4), the second-longest such streak in franchise history.
Longest point streaks, franchise history:
4/15/21-5/6/21: 9-0-4 in 13 GP
3/9/17-3/30/17: 9-0-4 in 13 GP
11/25/22-12/20/22: 10-0-2 in 12 GP
10/12/05-11/11/05: 11-0-1 in 12 GP
10/26/02-11/19/02: 5-0-4-2 in 11 GP
Longest road point streaks, franchise history:
2/23/04-3/27/04: 8-0-1-3 in 12 GP
11/14/22-12/13/22: 6-0-4 in 10 GP
12/8/01-1/10/02: 6-0-1-2 in 9 GP
3/7/10-4/6/10: 5-0-3 in 8 GP
11/12/96-12/5/96: 4-0-4 in 8 GP
THE NYETMINDER
Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 37 of 38 shots in net vs. NJD (12/20) to improve to 8-0-2 in his last 10 games (11/25-12/20). Among NHL goaltenders with at least five games played over that span, he ranks tied for first in wins (8) and shutouts (2), third in goals-against average (1.80) and fourth in save percentage (.937). His 10-game point streak is tied for the longest by any netminder in franchise history, and he has joined Cam Ward (three times: 9-0-1 from 3/14/09-4/7/09, 6-0-4 from 1/4/16-2/19/16, 8-0-2 from 12/2/17-1/4/18) as the only two Whalers/Hurricanes goaltenders to earn a point in 10 straight games. According to NHL Stats, Kochetkov is just the sixth rookie goaltender in the last 20 years to record a point streak of double-digit games, joining Michael Garnett (ATL, 12/9/05-1/2/06: 7-0-3 in 10 GP), Antero Niittymaki (PHI, 12/17/05-1/6/06: 9-0-2 in 11 GP), Jimmy Howard (DET, 3/11/10-4/11/10: 13-0-2 in 15 GP), Sergei Bobrovsky (PHI, 10/26/10-11/15/10: 9-0-1 in 10 GP) and Jeremy Swayman (BOS, 2/12/22-3/12/22: 9-0-1 in 10 GP). He has also earned a 9-0-4 record in 13 road appearances during his NHL/Hurricanes career, joining Andrew Hammond (OTT, 2/25/15-11/7/15: 11-0-3 in 14 GP) as just the second netminder in NHL history to register a point in each of his first 13 career road games.
METRO STARS
In addition to their 12-game point streak and 10-game road point streak, the Hurricanes have won each of their last six games (12/10-12/20), tied with MIN for the NHL’s longest active win streak. Carolina has improved to 20-6-6 (46 points) in 2022-23, passing NJD (21-9-2, 44 points) for the Metropolitan Division lead. The Hurricanes are now set to take on the Penguins, who sit in third place in the Metro with 42 points (19-9-4) and have lost just two of their last 10 games (11/20-12/29: 8-1-1), both against Carolina.
8 GOING ON 800
Brent Burns registered two power-play assists vs. DAL (12/17) and paces all Hurricanes skaters with 18 assists, nine power-play assists and 11 power-play points in 2022-23. He has posted four multi-assist games this season, which trail only Sebastian Aho (5) for the team high. Burns has now tallied 799 points (231g, 568a) in his NHL career and needs one more point to become the 18th defenseman in NHL history and the eighth player from the 2003 NHL Draft class to reach the 800-point plateau.
BETTER CALL STAAL
Jordan Staal scored the game-winning goal vs. NJD (12/20), giving him three points (2g, 1a) and two game-winning goals in his last two games (12/18-12/20). This is just the second time in his NHL career that he has scored game-winning goals in back-to-back contests, and the first such instance during his Hurricanes career (1/12/11-1/15/11 w/ PIT: 2-3—5). Staal has now scored a team-high five goals in nine games in December after lighting the lamp four times in 23 games to open the season. With two points (1g, 1a) against the Penguins on Sunday, he has earned eight points (4g, 4a) in his last six games against his former team, including three multi-point outings. Staal has now skated in 693 games with Carolina, and in his next game, he will also tie Rod Brind’Amour (2000-10: 694 GP) for the fifth-most games played in franchise history and the third-most since relocation.
HAPPY HAANUKKAH
Calvin de Haan tallied an assist vs. NJD (12/20), giving him an assist in three of his last four games (12/15-12/20: 3a). Tuesday’s game marked his 99th game with the Hurricanes over two stints in Carolina (74 GP in 2018-19, 25 GP in 2022-23), and in his next game, he will become the 38th defenseman to play 100 games with the team since relocation. De Haan’s 100 games played would tie Haydn Fleury (2018-21) for just the sixth-most of any Hurricanes blueliner over the last five seasons (2018-23), yet his 231 hits in those contests rank second among any Carolina defenseman over that span (Dougie Hamilton, 2018-21: 264).
JESPERI HOURS
Jesperi Kotkaniemi opened the scoring just 20 seconds into the first period tonight, marking the Hurricanes’ fastest goal from the start of any game since 2/16/20 (Trevor van Riemsdyk vs. EDM, 0:12). He has now recorded 99 points (38g, 61a) in his NHL career and needs just one more tally to become the sixth player from the 2018 NHL Draft class to register 100 career points.
Most career points, 2018 NHL Draft class:
Andrei Svechnikov (Carolina): 106-132—238
Brady Tkachuk (OTT): 103-125—228
Rasmus Dahlin (BUF): 31-156—197
Quinn Hughes (VAN): 19-173—192
Joel Farabee (PHI): 50-59—109
Jesperi Kotkaniemi (MTL/Carolina): 38-61—99
ALL ABOUT THAT NOESE
Stefan Noesen scored a goal vs. NJD (12/20) and has now tallied a point in four consecutive games (12/15-12/20: 3g, 1a), marking the second-longest point streak of his NHL career (12/5/17-12/14/17: 2g, 4a in 5 GP w/ NJD). After tallying seven points through his first 19 games of the season (10/14-11/23: 2g, 5a), he has recorded nine points in his last 12 games (11/25-12/20: 4g, 5a) and ranks tied for the team lead in scoring over that stretch.
GO SHORTY
Teuvo Teravainen scored Carolina’s second shorthanded goal of the season against the Devils on Tuesday (also Brady Skjei, 11/3 at TBL), with assists from Jaccob Slavin and Jesper Fast. Teravainen has now scored five career shorthanded goals (all with Carolina), including a team- and career-high two shorthanded goals in 2021-22. He has registered 13 shorthanded points (5g, 8a) in his Hurricanes career and ranks tied with Erik Cole (2001-08, 2009-11: 8g, 5a) for the fifth-most shorthanded points and with Brock McGinn (2015-21) for the ninth-most shorthanded goals in team history (since relocation), respectively. Slavin has now tallied 12 shorthanded points (2g, 10a) in his NHL/Hurricanes career, marking the most shorthanded assists and points by any defenseman in franchise history and tied for the third-most shorthanded points of any NHL blueliner since he entered the league in 2015-16. He also added an even-strength assist on Tuesday, marking his first multi-point game in 2022-23. Fast has earned six shorthanded points (2g, 4a) in his NHL career, including two shorthanded assists with Carolina, and he has now posted an assist in back-to-back games (12/18-12/20: 2a) and in four of his last six contests (12/3-12/20: 4a).
Most shorthanded points by a defenseman, since 2015-16:
Mark Giordano (CGY/SEA/TOR): 11-7—18
Jacob Trouba (WPG/NYR): 3-10—13
Brent Burns (SJS/Carolina): 2-10—12
Jaccob Slavin (Carolina): 2-10—12
Mattias Ekholm (NSH): 3-7—10
Esa Lindell (DAL): 4-6—10
KEEPING IT 100
Seth Jarvis skated in his 100th career NHL/Hurricanes game vs. NJD (12/20). Selected 13th overall by Carolina in the 2020 NHL Draft, he became the sixth player from his draft class to reach the milestone. Jarvis registered an assist in the first period and has now tallied 56 career points (23g, 32a), passing Andrei Svechnikov (2018-19: 27-28—55) for the fifth-most points of any skater in team history (since relocation) through his first 100 career games. Only Jeff Skinner (2010-11: 38-43—81), Sebastian Aho (2016-17: 27-36—63), Eric Staal (2003-05: 25-37—62) and Martin Necas (2017-21: 23-37—63) tallied more points through their first 100 NHL contests.
GOING BACK-TO-BACK
The Hurricanes are opening their sixth of 14 sets of back-to-back games in 2022-23. Carolina is currently 2-2-1 in the first game and 5-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS NOTES:
LAST 2 GAMES
Dec. 20: Pittsburgh 3, NY Rangers 2 – PPG Paints Arena
PIT Goals: Malkin (PP), Rust (PP), Crosby
Multiple Points: Crosby (1G-1A)
Goalie: Jarry (26 saves/28 shots)
Key Stats: Sidney Crosby recorded his team-leading 12th multi-point game of the season as the Penguins took down New York.
PP: 2-3
PK: 3-3
Dec. 18: Carolina 3, Pittsburgh 2 – PNC Arena
PIT Goals: Rakell (PP), McGinn
Multiple Points: Guentzel (2G), Crosby (2A), Malkin (1G-1A),
Letang (1G-1A)
Goalie: DeSmith (26 saves/29 shots)
Key Stats: The Penguins seven-game winning streak came to a close as they fell to the Hurricanes for the second time this season.
PP: 1-5
PK: 3-3
INJURIES
Position Player Status Consecutive Games Missed Total Games Missed
D Jeff Petry Upper-Body 4 4
F Josh Archibald Lower-Body 1 1
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 44
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Date Transaction
Dec. 13 F Drew O’Connor and D Mark Friedman recalled from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL).
Dec. 13 D Jeff Petry placed on LTIR, retroactive to Dec. 11.
Nov. 15 F Teddy Blueger activated off of LTIR. F Filip Hallander re-assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL).
Nov. 13 D Mark Friedman re-assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL).
Nov. 11 D Mark Friedman recalled from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL). F Sam Poulin re-assigned to WBS.
Pittsburgh’s All-Time Record vs. Hurricanes: 76-60-20
In Pittsburgh: 41-29-8
In Carolina: 35-31-12
OT Record vs. Hurricanes: 10-8-11
Shootout Record vs. Hurricanes: 5-2
2022-23 Results: Pittsburgh is 0-1-1.
Penguins All-Time Point Leaders vs. HURRICANES:
Mario Lemieux: 40 GP, 74 PTS (30G-44A)
Jaromir Jagr: 45 GP, 68 PTS (22G-46A)
Sidney Crosby 53 GP, 59 PTS (19G-40A)
TONIGHT’S GAME
-The Penguins take on the Carolina Hurricanes at PPG Paints Arena for their third of four matchups (TV: AT&T SportsNet; Radio 105.9 The X).
-The Penguins are 12-6-3 in their last 21 games against the Hurricanes overall dating back to Jan. 17, 2016.
-Pittsburgh is 7-4-1 in its last 12 home games versus Carolina.
-The last time the Penguins played the Hurricanes on December 22 was in 2018 when they defeated them 3-0 heading into Christmas break. Jake Guentzel scored two goals and Sidney Crosby had three assists.
-The Penguins are in the midst of a four-game stretch versus divisional opponents. Pittsburgh is 4-1-1 against Metropolitan Division foes this year, outscoring their opponents by a combined 21-13 margin.
QUICK HITS
1) Sidney Crosby scored the game-winning goal against the Rangers on Tuesday, bringing him to six game-winners on the season. He is now second in the NHL in game-winning goals (6) behind Leon Draisaitl (8). He has only had more game-winning goals twice in his career (2021-22, 9; 2015-16, 9).
2) Evgeni Malkin is averaging nearly a point per game against the Hurricanes, registering 42 points (14G-28A) in 44 games.
3) Over the last eight games the Penguins penalty kill is 96% (24/25). Since this stretch began on December 1, the team’s penalty kill ranks first in the NHL.
4) Tristan Jarry enters tonight’s game with a seven-game winning streak which is the longest active win streak in the NHL. During this streak he has a 2.00 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage.
5) Jeff Carter has recorded 27 points (13G-14A) in 41 career games against Carolina. When Carter records a point against the Hurricanes, his team is 15-0-3.
TEAM NOTES
‘TIS THE SEASON
Pittsburgh enters tonight’s game as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. Dating back to November 9, Pittsburgh has points in 17 of its last 20 games overall (15-3-2). Since this 20-game stretch began, no one has picked up more points than the Penguins (32), and they have vaulted from 27th in the league standings to eighth. Excluding a stretch where the Penguins were winless for seven games (0-6-1) from Oct. 24-Nov. 5, Pittsburgh has gone 19-3-3 on the year. Head Coach Mike Sullivan and the team are looking to extend their record-setting playoff streak to 17 seasons, and have put themselves in prime position to do so heading into the Christmas break. Over the last five full seasons dating back to 2015-16 (excluding 2019-20 and 20-20 campaigns), nearly 79% of teams that hold a playoff spot on December 25 have qualified for the postseason (63-80).
WIN-TER WONDERLAND
The Penguins have won each of their last six home games, which trails only Minnesota (7) for the longest active home winning streak in the league. This season, there has only been two home winning streaks longer than the Penguins current streak (Boston, 14 and Minnesota, 7). It’s the longest home winning streak since the team won eight-straight home games last season from Dec. 11, 2021-Jan. 25, 2022. Sidney Crosby leads all Penguins with 23 home points (12G-11A) in 15 games. He’s only been held off the scoresheet twice in 15 home games, and his 0.80 goals-per-game average at home is sixth in the league:
Player GP G G/GM
Connor McDavid 18 18 1.00
Jason Robertson 16 15 0.94
Mikko Rantanen 16 15 0.93
Tage Thompson 17 15 0.88
Cole Caufield 16 13 0.81
Sidney Crosby 15 12 0.80
DECEMBER TO REMEMBER
In the month of December, the Penguins are 8-1-0 and are tied for first in the NHL in wins with the Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes. Over the last five years (2018-22), Pittsburgh has gone 36-7-1 in games during the month of December. Pittsburgh’s .889 winning percentage this month is on pace to be the highest in the calendar month of December in team history.
Season GP Record Win %
2022-23 9 8-1-0 .889
2021-22 8 7-1-0 .875
2016-17 15 12-1-2 .867
2019-20 12 10-2-0 .833
1996-97 15 11-2-2 .800
PENGUINS COACH’S CHALLENGES
2022-23 Record: 3-for-4, 75.0%
All-Time (Since 2015-16): 29-for-52, 55.8%
Last Challenge: (L) Nov. 12, 2022 – Call upheld; Video review confirmed no goaltender interference infractions occurred prior to Cole Caufield’s goal in Montreal.
Type of Challenge: Play Stoppage: 1-for-1, 100.0% Interference: 12-for-28, 42.9% Offsides: 16-for-23, 70.0%
