Hurricanes Game 80: Lines, Notes, Goalies, and How to Watch vs. Mammoth
James Guillory-Imagn Images Saturday, the Carolina Hurricanes will continue their trek west to face the Utah Mammoth – their final Western Conference matchup of the regular season. The game is scheduled for 5:00 PM EDT. In the Hurricanes’ last game against the Chicago Blackhawks, they enlisted the help of four players from the Chicago Wolves in Josiah Slavin, Skyler Brind’Amour, Bradly Nadeau, and Charles-Alexis Legault.
Not only did the Hurricanes defeat the Blackhawks with only half of their usual roster, but they did so in style as they achieved over half a dozen milestones in the 7-2 win. You can read all about it here ! Meanwhile, in the Mammoth’s previous game, they handed the Nashville Predators a setback in their mad dash for a wild card spot with a 4-1 win.
Not only did they cause a little havoc for their central division rivals, but paired with the Anaheim Ducks’ thrashing of the San Jose Sharks, the Mammoth were able to clinch a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history. Due to both teams’ current status as playoff-bound teams, their lineups remain murky down the stretch, as practices shift toward optionality and final gameday choices only come into focus moments before puck drop. In the Crease For the Hurricanes, the starting goalie is likely to be Brandon Bussi, due to the alternating tandem.
Bussi previously faced them in January during the Hurricanes’ historic comeback during Whalers night , which saw a two-goal deficit erased as they scored three goals in the final two minutes to win the game in regulation – making them only the third team in NHL history to accomplish the feat. Bussi’s save percentage this season is . 890, with a goals against average of 2.
52 across a 30-6-1 record. As for the Mammoth, Karel Vejmelka has taken 75 percent of the starts for Utah this season, including the last four straight. For that reason, I believe that the Mammoth will likely turn to Vítek Vanecek for the start against Carolina.