Carolina Hurricanes vs. Detroit Red Wings - 10/4/13

It looks like the Detroit Red Wings are certainly going to like being in the Eastern Conference this year. Their debut got underway on Wednesday night with a 2-1 win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres in a match that saw them cast their puck possession spell over a frustrated opponent. When the Red Wings are on their game it's a lot of fun to watch in this one the only thing that was missing was them finding the back of the net a few more times. Mikael Samuelsson and Pavel Datsyuk scored 36 seconds apart and it was the only offense that Detroit would need. Jimmy Howard was hardly tested on the night but when he was he stood tall and picked up the win by recording 19 saves on 20 shots in the contest. He'll get a much stiffer test Friday night against the Carolina Hurricanes.

 

 

It's a new year and people should expect much different results from a Carolina club that had everything work against them in the lockout shortened season. There aren't many clubs that can survive the loss of their No. 1 goaltender and the Hurricanes simply fell apart when Cam Ward went down last year. With Ward back in the fold and healthy again the Hurricanes could surprise a lot of people this season. They've got a dynamic group of forwards with Eric and Jordan Staal, Alexander Semin, and Jeff Skinner. Their defense could use a little help but this team should be extremely competitive on most nights and should be right in the thick of the playoff hunt. They'll want to get off to a good start so expect them to come out flying in this one.