The 2016-2017 NHL season is still in its infancy, each team has still played less than 10 games a piece. The top and bottom teams in the Metropolitan Division are still only separated by five points. The Carolina Hurricanes are in that bottom position, but now that the road trip is over, they will look to climb the standings with two straight games at home.
The Penguins have pulled off the nightmare that the rest of the division feared. With Sidney Crosby out of the lineup until their seventh game, the Pens have nonetheless jumped out to an early division lead, overtaking the Washington Capitals atop the division after going 2-1-0 in the past week.