The Carolina Hurricanes will get their title defense started in familiar fashion: at home, in front of a banner-raising crowd, against the Florida Panthers.
The NHL released Opening Night matchups for all 32 teams on Wednesday morning, and Carolina’s first game of the season is set for Tuesday, September 29, at the Lenovo Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 pm, with the Hurricanes celebrating their Stanley Cup banner before facing a Panthers team that knows plenty about that kind of stage.
It’s a sharp contrast in early-season vibes for the two clubs. Carolina has been quiet so far, with the sense that a bigger move could still be coming.
Florida, meanwhile, has spent the offseason loading up. The Panthers brought the Tkachuk brothers together, re-signed Radko Gudas and traded for Garnet Hathaway, building what looks like a bruising lineup.
That comes after a rough year for the Panthers, who missed the playoffs after preseason injury trouble for captain Aleksander Barkov helped set the tone for a difficult season. More injuries piled up from there, and the two-time defending champs slid further and further out of the race. They also addressed the crease by acquiring Jacob Markstrom to take over as their starter.
The Hurricanes, by comparison, appear set to bring back almost everyone from last season’s roster. Frederik Andersen is the only major departure at the moment, and otherwise the group is lined up to reunite for a night that should be all celebration before the real work begins.
The teams met three times last season, with Florida taking two of the three. Carolina’s win was memorable for a different reason: a 9-1 rout at the Lenovo Center in January.
And no, this matchup on September 29 won’t decide whether the Hurricanes “earned” their Stanley Cup, no matter how loudly that argument gets made by Florida fans or anyone else. The Panthers had a brutal run of injuries last season and still missed the playoffs. There is no asterisk attached to Carolina’s championship, and one game on Opening Night won’t change that.
For now, though, the date is set. The full schedule arrives Thursday, and with it, a clearer picture of the Hurricanes’ path as they begin the defense of their title.
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Carolinas fate still depended on more than one result, but the bigger frustration was how close the door had been to opening. Had the Hurricanes found their way in, the first-round matchup would have been Washington, a team that had handled them well all season and would have posed a difficult test for a club already fighting uphill. Instead, the rule change and the standings combined to make one of those late-season collapses feel even harsher, because the Hurricanes were not just chasing a spot, they were chasing the right kind of win under a system that no longer gave them much room to breathe. [Read more 🡒]
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Hurricanes Goalie Search Just Hit A Concerning Hellebuyck Twist
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Hellebuyck is drawing attention well beyond Raleigh, with the Buffalo Sabres also said to be in the mix, and that kind of competition only adds to the difficulty for Carolina. Trade talks are still ongoing, but with no agreement in sight, the Hurricanes are left watching a high-end goalie market that is getting more crowded by the day. [Read more 🡒]