3. Special Teams, Do or Die
The Bruins’ power play leads all the teams who have been in the Stanley Cup Playoffs so far and in the current with a 28.6% success rate, which is excellent. The Hurricanes penalty-kill has been not too great in general with a 75%, it needs to be better to shut down the Bruins power play, which has broke the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Patrice Bergeron is tied in power play goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with four goals. The Hurricanes, once again, need to shut down the top-line, whether it’s five-on-five or on the penalty-kill, they need to shut them down everywhere.
The penalty-kill is something to be confident of as the Hurricanes have improved, it just needs to improve more and adjust to a power play that has more success than the New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals, which is scary to think of.
The Hurricanes power play situation doesn’t get any better, as they have a commanding Bruins penalty kill that is successful 83.8% of the time, as the Hurricanes have a 10.5% power play success rate, which is the less than every Stanley Cup winner in National Hockey League history.
If the Hurricanes want to keep rolling, they have to wake up on the special teams. Five-on-five performance has been excellent, but the ball cannot keep rolling on these poor numbers on the special teams. They need to keep the momentum rolling with their power play goal in Game 4 against the Islanders.
This Boston Bruins team is the strongest it has been, compared to the past few years. They are known for deep playoff runs, they won the Stanley Cup in 2011, they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2013. This team is experienced and they have players who are reaching the prime of their careers.
The Hurricanes need to limit even more mistakes and play the best hockey they’ve ever played. The team that will win the Stanley Cup will likely be from the Eastern Conference and the Hurricanes need to force their way to having the title as Kings of the East, to be Emperors of the League. It all starts in Game 1, the Hurricanes hold their own fate at TD Garden in Boston.
Question for CC Readers: How many games will this series go to and who will win it?