Carolina Hurricanes Lack Quality Offensive Chances, Go 0-1-2 in Latest Road Trip
The last road trip to Nashville and Western Canada was not kind to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes were able to pick up 2 points in 3 games with a 0-1-2 record. During this span the teamed seemed all but comfortable to take one point away from each game and go home. What makes these three losses so much harder to swallow is that the Canes were one game away from being .500 for the first time since 2013.
The worst part of these games is that the goalies are finally playing well enough to win, but the offense cant get going. Ward and Lack combined to let up 6 goals in 3 games. Cam Ward outperformed lack with a sv% of .962, where Lack only had a .881 with one ppg against.
Offense Not Generating Opportunities
The biggest issue during this trip has been the lack of scoring and sustained offense. During the three road games, the Hurricanes only mustered up 4 goals. In the last two vs the Oilers and the Canucks the Canes offense didn’t appear to threaten the defense. The 2 goals that were scored were a short handed goal by John-Michael Liles and a fluky goal by Jordan Staal from a shot fanned on by Hanifin.
Most of the games offensive possessions consisted of carrying the puck in to the zone, being restricted to boards, getting pinned and turning the puck over. In the first period of the game in Vancouver the Hurricanes only tallied three shots on goal, and managed to give up three breakaways.
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The top performing forward for the past three games has definitely been Jordan Staal. He is looking like the player that the Hurricanes traded for in 2012. The past three games have shown that he is being hurt by the performance of his line mates Andrej Nestrasil and Joakim Nordstrom. Neither Nestrasil nor Nordstrom are true top six forwards, yet are on the second line while Victor Rask and Jeff Skinner play on the third line.
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Bill Peters began to tinker with line combinations at the end of the game in Vancouver. The line of Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, and Kris Versteeg was able to get a goal, albeit off of a Hanifin whiffed shot. I hope that Peters continues to shuffle the lines to find someone who can play and keep up with Jordan’s energy and abilities.
The offense is being driven by the defensemen explains why the team isn’t scoring The problem has been that high percentage scoring chances don’t typically come from the blue line. The forwards need to be able to move the puck towards the net and create crossing passes to get goalies and defenders out of position, not passing back to the defensemen to sustain possession and generate shots.
Most of the Carolina Hurricanes shots are coming from the edges and blue line, not in or around the slot. Even the two goals from the Canucks game came from a defenseman scoring short handed, and a missed shot from a defenseman, not forward generated opportunities.
Young American Defense Excelling
Where the Carolina Hurricanes are excelling is on the blue line. The all American blue line has been impressive in the series of games. Hanifin looks like he has been in the NHL for years. He can skate through entire teams with the puck and he can shut down players in his defensive zone. Right now Hanifin looks like a more complete defenseman than Justin Faulk looked in his rookie season.
Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce have also cemented themselves as NHL defensemen. Like Faulk and Hanifin, they are both able to join into offensive rushes, and do so responsibly. The best part about both of the players is that they are only 21 years old and they aren’t liabilities when they are on the ice.
Carolina Hurricanes
With many young defensemen it takes time to adjust to the speed of the NHL game, and that adjustment period can be rough for everyone involved. This hasn’t been the case for Hanifin, Pesce, and Slavin. This defense will be a thing of beauty with Fleury joins the team next year, and Wisniewski comes back from injury. The only problem is that with Fleury joining the team, the blue liners will no longer all be Americans.
I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen this many defensemen playing so strong offensively. In many cases during the road trip the offense was being generated by the blue liners. They seem to be the only players that can gain the zone and keep the puck. They have been joining in rushes to create odd man opportunities and have been generating a significant amount of shots.
The Carolina Hurricanes have a great opportunity coming up getting a home and home with the Metropolitan basement dwellers, the Columbus Blue Jackets and a game against the slumping Penguins. If the Canes can get two wins out of the next three games, they will be .500 for the first time in 3 years.