North Raleigh Today

The Carolina Hurricanes are set to face the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Friday, October 18. This marks their first road game of the season. The puck will drop at 7:00 p.m. ET, with broadcasts available on Bally Sports South, Bally Sports App, and NHL Network. Fans can also listen in on 99.9 The Fan or through the Hurricanes App.

As of publication time, odds from Fanatics Sportsbook favor the Hurricanes at -155. Currently, the Hurricanes hold a record of 1-1-0 and sit eighth in the Metropolitan Division after securing a victory against the New Jersey Devils earlier this week.

The Penguins have a slightly better start with a record of 3-2-0, placing them third in the division following an overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres.

In their recent match against New Jersey, Jackson Blake scored his first NHL goal for Carolina, contributing to their win. Goalie Pyotr Kochetkov made his regular-season debut by stopping 23 out of 25 shots.

Head coach Rod Brind'Amour has not announced who will start as goalie for tonight's game. Both Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov have seen action so far this season.

Several players are approaching career milestones: Jesperi Kotkaniemi is two assists away from reaching 100 NHL assists; Jordan Martinook needs two more points to hit 200 NHL points; Shayne Gostisbehere is two goals shy of achieving 100 NHL goals; Martin Necas is three goals away from scoring his 100th goal for both NHL and Hurricanes.

Sebastian Aho recently played his 600th game for Carolina while Kotkaniemi marked his 400th NHL game by reaching his 100th point as a Hurricane.

The game against Pittsburgh kicks off a six-game road trip for Carolina that runs until October 28. Last season, they had one of the top records on the road in terms of points percentage and led in power play efficiency when playing away games.

Pittsburgh enters this contest riding high after back-to-back wins. Sidney Crosby achieved another milestone by becoming just the tenth player in NHL history to reach 1,600 points during their latest victory over Buffalo where Evgeni Malkin also scored his landmark 500th goal.

In injury news, forward Jesper Fast was ruled out for this season since August due to an unspecified issue while defenseman Riley Stillman remains sidelined with a lower-body injury but has been practicing without contact since September.

The team will don white sweaters for tonight's matchup before heading to St. Louis tomorrow to complete their back-to-back schedule against the Blues.