Red Wings at Hurricanes
The Detroit Red Wings hope for a repeat performance when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Detroit opened 2015-16 on Friday with a 4-0 home triumph over Toronto as Jimmy Howard turned aside 22 shots and Justin Abdelkader registered the second hat trick of the young NHL season.
The Red Wings did not miss a beat without Pavel Datsyuk, who has begun the campaign on injured reserve following ankle surgery in June. Carolina dropped a 2-1 decision to Nashville in its season opener and lost the services of James Wisniewski in the process. The veteran defenseman suffered a torn ACL in his Hurricanes debut and is expected to be sidelined for six months. Captain Eric Staal, who was the only member of the team to eclipse the 20-goal and 50-point plateaus last season, netted the lone tally for Carolina on Thursday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, FSN Carolinas
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (1-0-0): Jeff Blashill's NHL coaching debut couldn't have gone much better Friday as his team grabbed a lead 75 seconds into the contest and never looked back. Captain Henrik Zetterberg, who led the team in scoring last season with 66 points, got off to a fast start by notching three assists. Dylan Larkin, the 15th overall pick of the 2014 draft, made his NHL debut against Toronto and recorded a goal and an assist.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (0-1-0): With Wisniewski slated to undergo surgery, Carolina recalled defenseman Danny Biega from Charlotte of the American Hockey League on Friday. The 24-year-old Biega made his NHL debut last season, recording two assists and a minus-5 rating in 10 games. Czech blue-liner Michal Jordan, who was a healthy scratch Thursday, likely will be in the lineup against Detroit.
OVERTIME
1. Petr Mrazek is expected start in net for the Red Wings.
2. The Hurricanes were one of three teams to open the season without a player on injured reserve, but the run of perfect health didn't last long as Wisniewski went down 3:16 into their first game.
3. Detroit swept the three-game season series in 2014-15, outscoring Carolina 8-3.