Vegas @ Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 1, 2019 ) Vegas 2, Carolina 5

The Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights skated into the All-Star break and their respective bye weeks in opposite directions, with the former posting a 5-2-1 record over their last eight games while the latter had lost six of their last seven (1-5-1). The Hurricanes look to return to form on Friday against Vegas in Raleigh, N.C.

Carolina's Jaccob Slavin was in fine form during the NHL Accuracy Shooting competition at the All-Star Game festivities in St. Louis, hitting all five targets in 9.505 seconds to win the event. Slavin was making his first appearance in the exhibition contest after fellow defenseman Dougie Hamilton sustained a broken left fibula. While the Hurricanes are overcoming injuries to remain in contention in a competitive Metropolitan Division, Vegas has struggled to follow suit in a top-heavy Pacific. "I think they understand the situation we're in. This is a sprint to the finish line," Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said Thursday.

TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountains, FS Carolinas

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (25-20-7): After enjoying his first career All-Star Game appearance last weekend, Max Pacioretty looks to continue his sterling play that saw him lead the team in goals (21) and points (47). The 31-year-old Pacioretty resides one point ahead of Mark Stone, who has collected 15 of his club-best 28 assists in the last 20 games. "I've been confident in our group since the day we stepped in for training camp. I still feel the same, still feel we have a really good team," the 27-year-old Stone said.

ABOUT THE HURRICANES (29-18-3): Teuvo Teravainen leads the team in assists (38) and points (48), with five and seven, respectively, being recorded over his last six contests. Fellow forward Andrei Svechnikov answered a lull in his offensive production during a six-game stretch by scoring a goal and setting up two others in his last two outings to lift his point total to 45, and thus give him reason to celebrate during his trip to Mexico during the break. "I think after 50 games it helps you so much, mentally more than anything," the 19-year-old Russian told the Raleigh News & Observer. "You can come back fresh, and play fresh again, and I think that's great."

OVERTIME

1. Vegas Cs William Karlsson (upper body) and Cody Glass (lower body) are "day to day, (more) game-to-game than week-to-week," DeBoer said Thursday.

2. Hurricanes LW Sebastian Aho, who leads the team in goals (24), scored in a 5-2 victory over the Golden Knights on Feb. 1, 2019.

3. Vegas has allowed three or more goals in eight of its last 10 games.

PREDICTION: Hurricanes 3, Golden Knights 2