Overview
- The game at Lenovo Center in Raleigh features a 7:00 p.m. ET puck drop after a league-announced broadcast slot on FanDuel Sports Network.
- Carolina enters atop the Metropolitan by points percentage at 16-7-2, while Toronto is 12-11-3 after two straight wins highlighted by a faster pace in Florida.
- The Hurricanes have not named a starting goalie; rookie Brandon Bussi is 7-1-0, Frederik Andersen is coming off five straight losses, and Pyotr Kochetkov has returned to practice.
- With Ilya Stolarz on injured reserve, Joseph Woll is expected to start for Toronto; he is 3-3-1 with a 2.53 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.
- Coaches flagged tactical tweaks, as Craig Berube remains undecided on the five‑forward power play and Rod Brind'Amour noted lessons from opponents’ slowdown tactics and the boost from captain Jordan Staal’s return, with Jaccob Slavin still in no‑contact work.