The Hurricanes arrive at the finish of their road trip with a chance to reset, and they’ll need to do it against a Blues team that has already given them problems. Carolina has banked five of a possible eight points through four stops, but Thursday’s wild 6-5 shootout loss to the Oilers showed just how thin the margin has been. The Hurricanes led 2-1, then 4-2, then 5-4, only to watch Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl pile up two goals and three assists apiece and help Edmonton force overtime before Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ended it in the shootout.
St. Louis, meanwhile, comes in with momentum and a familiar edge in this matchup.
The Blues beat the Hurricanes twice last season, first with a three-goal second period and Joel Hofer’s 33-save shutout in a 3-0 win in January, then again in March when Mark Jankowski scored the opener before St. Louis rattled off three straight goals for a 3-1 victory in Raleigh.
They were one of three teams to blank Carolina in the season series.
The Blues have spent the early part of this season making their own statement after some offseason reshaping. They traded Jordan Kyrou to the Washington Capitals, brought in Connor McMichael, and also swung a major deal for Mason McTavish, a move that signaled they weren’t planning to bottom out after missing the playoffs last season.
McTavish has fit in quickly, and St. Louis enters the night after back-to-back wins, including Thursday’s 6-2 rout of the Vegas Golden Knights, sitting at 5-4-1 and tied with the Avalanche in the Central Division.
Home ice has been kind to St. Louis so far.
The Blues are 3-0-1 in their own building, they’ve been perfect on the penalty kill at home, and they’ve allowed just 2.25 goals per game there. Hofer has been a major part of that.
After sharing time with Jordan Binnington last season, he has taken over more clearly this year, starting seven of the Blues’ ten games and putting himself inside the league’s top 10 in goals-against average at 2.17 and save percentage at .921.
Carolina gets Seth Jarvis back, which lets one name come off the injury list, but the group remains thin. Jordan Staal is out with a lower-body injury, Taylor Hall is dealing with an upper-body injury, and Mark Jankowski is also sidelined with a lower-body injury as the Hurricanes close out the trip.
St. Louis has injury questions of its own. Ross Johnston is day-to-day, while Alexey Toropchenko, Logan Mailloux, and Dillon Dube are all week-to-week with various injuries.
There are a few players worth keeping an eye on. McTavish is the obvious one for the Blues, since this will be the first look at him in St.
Louis colors. He has already tied for the team lead with six goals and 10 points, and his three game-winning goals also put him tied for the NHL lead.
He had a six-game point streak end on Tuesday, then got back on the board against Vegas.
Jimmy Snuggerud is riding right alongside him. The rookie standout from last season, when he finished fifth in Calder Trophy voting, enters the game tied with McTavish for the team lead in goals and on a three-game goal streak.
He also scored three of St. Louis’ six goals against Carolina last season.
For the Hurricanes, Jordan Martinook comes in after a two-assist night in Edmonton, snapping a four-game pointless stretch. His career line against St. Louis is 4-2-6 in 21 games, and the source notes that it was almost four years ago when he recorded his second career hat trick.
Juuso Valimaki is another name to watch on the Carolina side. In his first NHL game in nearly 21 months on Tuesday in Vancouver, he assisted on the Canes’ first goal for his first point since January 18, 2025.
Then he went one better Thursday, scoring his first goal since December 2024. It did not end up being the game-winner, but it was still a meaningful moment, and the sense is he should see a bit more ice time.
In Other News...
Hurricanes Still Face A Nikishin Problem With No Easy Fix
Alexander Nikishin remains a lingering issue for Carolina as the defenseman and the Hurricanes still have not bridged the gap on a contract. The team has a one-year offer out there, but Nikishin has not signed it, and he is not playing while the sides remain at an impasse.
For Carolina, the frustration is that this is not a simple deadline squeeze. Nikishin is a 10.2(c) restricted free agent, so the Hurricanes are not forced into a December 1 decision, even as the situation has already turned into one of those roster questions that can hang around and complicate the bigger picture until it gets resolved. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Fans Just Got Another Way To Watch This Season
Hurricanes fans picked up another viewing option this week as DIRECTV reached a multi-year agreement to carry Hurricanes Hockey Network broadcasts. The deal brings pregame, postgame and live game coverage to certain DIRECTV and U-verse subscribers inside the teams broadcast territory, adding one more place to find Carolina on the air when the season gets rolling.
The reach of the agreement goes beyond living rooms, too, with Hurricanes Hockey Network distribution also headed to commercial venues served by DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS. For a fan base that already has to track games across Prime Video, Spectrum and Fubo, it is another useful piece of access in a market where how you watch can matter almost as much as what youre watching. [Read more 🡒]
Seth Jarvis Just Reminded Hurricanes Fans What They Were Missing
Seth Jarvis slipped right back into the Hurricanes lineup and into the sort of role that makes his absence so noticeable. Activated from injured reserve and back on the ice for Carolina against the Edmonton Oilers, Jarvis returned for his first game since June after recovering from shoulder surgery, giving the team an immediate jolt with his pace, energy and willingness to get involved all over the rink.
Jarvis did not sound like a player interested in treating the night as a finished product, either, noting there is still work to do on the defensive side. Even so, his return offered a reminder of why Carolina has missed him, with a goal in his comeback showing that the impact can come quickly when he is healthy and around the puck. [Read more 🡒]