Carolina Hurricanes: A loss that stings against the Capitals

Starting on Time

The Carolina Hurricanes played their usual very fast paced style last night for most of the game. The defending Stanley Cup champs came out like it was a playoff game and had the Hurricanes on their heels for what seemed like a majority of the first period. If it wasn’t for Curtis McElhinney, the game could have been over before it started.

The Carolina Hurricanes need to understand that every game from here on out (hopefully playoffs included) will start this fast. At least matching that speed in the beginning of a game is so crucial. Relying on goaltending in the early stages of the game is likely not a recipe for success when it comes to playoff type games.

Yes, the goaltending has been phenomenal and the duo is more or less the main reason the Carolina Hurricanes are playing such meaningful games this late. But we’ve already said it before, it is the goals that win the game, goaltending can only steal one. You cannot rely on thievery to get you into the postseason.

Now, the counter to this is that the Hurricanes ended up getting on the board first in opening 20 minutes by way of Nino Niederreiter. It seemed when that happened that the Carolina Hurricanes just dug themselves out of a massive hole. They were flat-footed early and then Nino puts one in with nothing but sheer-will and effort.

BUT, this was not the case. As soon as they stuck their head out of that hole, their grip slipped and they fell right back into it – as they do so frequently when scoring a huge goal. Which brings us to our next point – holding on to meaningful leads for a while.

Don’t Hold on So Loosely

There is a lot of things that usually haunt the Carolina Hurricanes they have seemed to go away this year. Like consistent goaltending, for example. One thing that never seems to go away is the fact of how quick the opposition answers a massive Hurricanes goal with one of their own.I mean seriously, it’s like clockwork, like it follows a script. It happens so often and it is extremely frustrating to watch, especially in games of this magnitude.

This has to stop down the stretch. When scoring a goal that puts you out in front of any team in the NHL, especially the Washington Capitals, you HAVE to make them work for longer than 3 seconds to answer back. It is quite literally the worst case scenario after netting the puck.

You may have the other team worried for a second, but then that worry goes away in the literal matter of seconds and you’re back to an even hockey game. Confidence is instilled back in the opposition and you never made the other team play from behind and potentially make a mistake that can be capitalized upon down the road.

This will NOT cut it in the last 5 games and especially not in the playoffs. Leads are to be cherished in the NHL. Hold on to them as long as possible and make the other team work their tails off to take out of your hands. This team is at their best when they play with a lead, we have seen that all year-long.

I seriously cannot stress enough how important this is going to be to the Carolina Hurricanes’ success from here on out. This leads us to our last point in the valuable lesson learned on how hard a playoff series would be.

Series Lesson

It is not unbeknownst to Caniacs that most of our roster lacks old age and thus playoff experience in the NHL. Well, they got a taste of how hard a playoff series is going to be, barring they get there. The home-and-home schedule resembles as close to a playoff series as the NHL regular season allows for.

Seeing the same team twice in 72 hours , just in different arenas is pretty close. Honestly, it stinks that the Carolina Hurricanes dropped both games in this ‘series’.I get that. But, if there is a bright side, those losses have the potential to teach our young Hurricanes a lesson.

Not gaining a single point out of the two games stings the Carolina Hurricanes greatly. It puts more emphasis on the games to come, sure. But, if you are looking to be optimistic, the good thing is it happened this late in the season; very close to the playoffs.

The Carolina Hurricanes will remember how hard theses two games were against the Caps. They will remember how hard they fought for 50 minutes on March 28th and that 50 minutes wasn’t good enough. They will know that if they don’t bring their ‘A’ game for 60 minutes every night – it is likely they will get beat in playoff hockey.

The cherry on top to this is that it was the Washington Capitals that taught them this lesson. The defending Stanley Cup champs, the leaders in the Metro division, AND the potential first round matchup for the Hurricanes in the playoffs. If any team knows how to win series-like hockey this time of year, it is the Caps.

The Hurricanes now know what sort of intensity and energy it takes when you see a team multiple times in the matter of a few days. To me, if the lesson has been learned and is studied; it is invaluable to this young team, and could pay dividends come playoff time.

The Carolina Hurricanes continue to round out their regular season on Saturday afternoon with another huge game against the Philadelphia Flyers.  This is a big one, folks. Cheer loud if you are able to make it. Go Canes.

Question for CC Readers: What do you think was going to be the Storm Surge tonight?