Carolina Hurricanes: Three Takeaways from Game 3 Loss
The Hurricanes are now in win-or-go-home mode. They are on the brink of elimination after losing Game 3 of the series to the Bruins to go down 3-0 in the series. If this is the end, what a run it has been.
Step back from that ledge, my friend.
The Carolina Hurricanes are in the Eastern Conference Final. They played longer than anyone else in the Metropolitan Division and so vastly exceeded expectations this season that they will have trouble reaching the newly high expectations for next season. And they did that with absolutely horrendous special teams play.
And hey, who knows, the Bruins have blown a 3-0 lead in the past, and Captain Justin Williams has come back from a 3-0 deficit too.
That being said, it is possible to be proud of this team for what they have accomplished this season and disappointed in their play this season. After a fantastic first period that yielded no goals last night, the second period was horrible. All of Game 2 was horrible, and period three of Game 1 was, you guessed it, horrible. The power play actually looked decent yesterday (and we’ll get to that don’t worry), but it couldn’t find the back of the net.
I don’t like to talk about the team’s motivation or heart or whatever other intangible you want to describe it as because I’m not in the locker room and Rod Brind’Amour is the head coach so I should pretty much always shut up. But Game 2 was BAD. Even though we lost last night, I think it was important to see that even after not scoring in the first, and having a bad second period, that this team fought until the very end.
Anyway, here we go. If this is the last recap I write this season, thank you for reading this year. It has been a privilege to serve the greatest fan base I’ll ever know. We’ll have a lot in store for y’all this summer and we’ll be back next year too.
1. Finish
If you haven’t noticed, or maybe you’re new, we love new fans, “finishing” has been a common theme throughout this season.
Most people know that the Hurricanes almost always outshoot the opponent, usually by a large margin. We usually out possess the opponent, by a large margin. Every advanced stat that exists, we usually dominate.
That did not translate into consisting winning until 2019 (not 2018-2019, but like January 2019). Period one of last night looked like vintage pre-2019 Hurricanes. Absolutely dominate the opponent in every aspect of the game except goals.
It’s frustrating to become so close, so often and not finish.
Granted, it’s better than the alternative. Game 2 was the alternative. I came into the game expecting to win, and after the first period, I felt even more confident in that prediction. Things didn’t work out.
Part of that was the fact that the only person to score was Calvin de Haan. Not exactly known for his goal scoring ability. In de Haan is your leading scorer on the night, you probably lost. That sounds a little harsh but it’s true.
Our best offensive players need to be our best offensive players. And they really haven’t been. Sebastian Aho has turned it on, with a point in five straight games, but it’s a clear departure from our top sixes play this season. Greg McKegg and Nino Niederreiter are tied in goals this series.
That’s weird.
But give credit where credit is due, Tuuka Rask played out of his mind last night and deserved to win the game. But we missed the net a couple of times and made his life easier than it should have been.
2. Special Teams
Every time I write a recap, I tell myself not to talk about special teams because I talk about it every time. But then special teams goes ahead and is the most important thing in the game.
The Hurricanes did not score on the power play last night after recording twelve shots on the first four power play chances, one of which was a five on three. Getting a couple power play goals in the first period would obviously have completely changed the complexity of the game.
If nothing else, the power play needs to get overhauled this offseason. The Blue Jackets hired Marty St. Louis as a power play consultant during this season and it seemed to help. Maybe we do something like that. I don’t know.
I trust Rod more than I trust my own father but he needs to do something. This team needs more than a complete reset on the power play.
On the other side of things, our penalty kill is better than our power play but it’s not amazing. We can’t afford to take stupid penalties the entire game.
Justin Williams should know better. I don’t know what Torey Krug said to him but Williams did not like it. Williams took three penalties in the first period, all going after Krug. I don’t get it. You’re Justin freaking Williams, why are you messing around with this guy?
And for the record, all those dopes on Twitter that have watched a grand total of three Hurricanes games that say Justin Williams is bad captain are idiots. I cannot express how angry statements like that make me.
But it is possible to acknowledge the overall greatness that he has at leading this team and what the hell he was doing last night in the first period.
That being said, he wasn’t the only one. Yesterday was not the day to send a physical message, at least I don’t think so. We needed to win. We didn’t, and well, it is what it is, but we need to focus on scoring, not on sending a message or whatever they seemed to be trying to do last night.
3. Take a Deep Breath
As I discussed above, everything is okay. Just appreciate what this team has accomplished this year. In late December we were four points from the basement of the entire NHL. The entire league! Ottawa! And know you’re reading a game recap on May 15th! I’m getting goosebumps just writing it down. It’s insane.
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- Week Two Coverage Of College Hockey In NC
- Derek Stepan Ends His On Ice Career As A Hurricane
- The Southeast Rookie Showcase Will Be a Good Look at Carolina’s Future
- Noesen Ready To Provide Depth For Canes
We’ve had a lot to be happy about this season. The night we beat the Devils to clinch a playoff spot was legitimately one of the greatest moments of my life. Maybe that says more about my life than anything else, but I just graduate law school so I have some perspective on it. I got to attend a playoff hockey game in PNC Arena. Amazing.
I am happy I got to write for Cardiac Cane. We have a great team and of course better fans. I’m glad you all have let me be a part of your news each morning.
I don’t know if we’ll win this series. I don’t know if we’ll win tomorrow. I do know that this has been the proudest I’ve been of my hockey team in a long, long time. It was a fantastic year and with the young roster we have, we are poised to go nowhere but up.
I’m excited.
Question for CC Readers: Can the Carolina Hurricanes pull the reverse sweep and come all the way back?