The Carolina Hurricanes are one of just a few NHL teams that have a perfect record in the NHL Global Series.
Per Peter Dewar and Walt Ruff of Hurricanes.com:
“Carolina (2-0-0) is one of five teams that have won all of their games contested outside North America, alongside the New Jersey Devils (3-0-0), St. Louis Blues (2-0-0), Toronto Maple Leafs (2-0-0) and Philadelphia Flyers (1-0-0). Should they remain victorious through the 2026 NHL Global Series Finland, the Hurricanes would become the first team in NHL history to win each of their first four regular season games outside North America.”
The Hurricanes can take that next step forward on Thursday afternoon when they square off with Seattle. And the Kraken may not be the easiest opponent.
Last season, Carolina split with Seattle. What’s more? Seattle tied Carolina in goals scored, with four apiece. Only the St. Louis Blues allowed fewer goals against per game than the Kraken while playing the Hurricanes, with 0.5/game.
If Carolina wants to sweep Seattle, they have their work cut out for them. While 2026-27 is a new season and the Kraken haven’t been especially good in scoring (20th in the league with 55 goals) and in goals allowed (18th with 57 allowed), they are off to a better start than they were last season.
From Oct. 9 to Nov. 11, 2025, Seattle was 7-4-5, with 40 goals scored and 46 allowed. This season, they are 9-6-1. If Carolina plays Seattle the same way they did last season, it won’t be easy to hit that 4-0-0 mark.
Hurricanes Have Enjoyed Narrow Wins Overseas
Carolina hasn’t played a regular-season game overseas since their last trip to Finland on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8, 2010. They faced the Minnesota Wild in both contests and won both games by a goal.
Their Oct. 7 win came in regulation, but they narrowly scored the ‘W’ on Oct. 8. It took a shootout to beat Minnesota. That said, Carolina is no stranger to earning those overseas wins. Ironically, both of those matchups also took place in Helsinki, where they will meet the Kraken on Thursday and Saturday.
Unlike their last trip to Finland, the Hurricanes return as Stanley Cup Champions. They also have three players in a virtual home game: Sebastian Aho, Juuso Valimaki, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
All three players would love to continue Carolina’s success in front of their home crowd. But the Kraken have four players from Finland on their active roster hoping to spoil that winning streak: Kaapo Kakko, Nikke Kokko, Jani Nyman, and Ville Ottavainen.
Carolina Has Opportunity To Bring Momentum Back To States
Should the Hurricanes set the league record and sweep Seattle, they will also build even more momentum in their return to the U.S. Carolina has won their last two games and six of their last seven. Two of those wins were shutouts, and another two came by seven goals.
Imagine what a sweep, or at least a split, would do for Carolina — especially with a tough stretch coming up. Following their trip to Finland, the Hurricanes will battle the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers (twice), Tampa Bay Lightning, and Ottawa Senators.
Each boasts playoff-caliber lineups, so these two overseas matchups against the Kraken carry more weight. Setting an NHL record will be great if Carolina wins both games. But carrying momentum back home to Raleigh may be even greater.
Hurricanes Enter Finland With Chance to Make NHL History