Huberdeau and Florida take on Carolina
Florida Panthers (32-10-5, first in the Atlantic) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (32-11-3, second in the Metropolitan)
Raleigh, North Carolina; Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Jonathan Huberdeau leads Florida into a matchup with Carolina. He currently ranks third in the NHL with 64 points, scoring 17 goals and totaling 47 assists.
The Hurricanes are 16-7-2 in conference games. Carolina ranks fifth in the NHL averaging 3.5 goals per game, led by Sebastian Aho with 21.
The Panthers are 19-5-3 against conference opponents. Florida averages 11.1 points per game to lead the Eastern Conference, recording 4.1 goals and 7.0 assists per game.
In their last meeting on Jan. 8, Florida won 4-3. Carter Verhaeghe totaled two goals for the Panthers.
TOP PERFORMERS: Aho leads the Hurricanes with 48 points, scoring 21 goals and adding 27 assists. Andrei Svechnikov has 14 points over the last 10 games for Carolina.
Huberdeau leads the Panthers with 47 total assists and has 64 points. Sam Bennett has seven goals and two assists over the last 10 games for Florida.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hurricanes: 6-3-1, averaging 3.4 goals, six assists, 3.9 penalties and 8.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .908 save percentage.
Panthers: 7-3-0, averaging 4.4 goals, 7.3 assists, four penalties and 8.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .913 save percentage.
INJURIES: Hurricanes: None listed.
Panthers: Jonas Johansson: out (covid-19), Markus Nutivaara: out (undisclosed).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.