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Carolina Hurricanes: 3 Keys to Start a Season Opening Winning Streak

By Matthew Nidiffer |
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: Carolina Hurricanes left wing Brock McGinn (23) celebrates his game winning goal during the Carolina Hurricanes defeat of the the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the 2nd overtime of game 7 of the the Stanley Cup eastern division quarter finals at 3 games each in Washington, DC on April 24, 2019 . (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: Carolina Hurricanes left wing Brock McGinn (23) celebrates his game winning goal during the Carolina Hurricanes defeat of the the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the 2nd overtime of game 7 of the the Stanley Cup eastern division quarter finals at 3 games each in Washington, DC on April 24, 2019 . (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 24: Carolina Hurricanes left wing Brock McGinn (23) celebrates his game winning goal during the Carolina Hurricanes defeat of the the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the 2nd overtime of game 7 of the the Stanley Cup eastern division quarter finals at 3 games each in Washington, DC on April 24, 2019 . (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 24: Carolina Hurricanes left wing Brock McGinn (23) celebrates his game winning goal during the Carolina Hurricanes defeat of the the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the 2nd overtime of game 7 of the the Stanley Cup eastern division quarter finals at 3 games each in Washington, DC on April 24, 2019 . (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images) /

The Carolina Hurricanes travel to Washington, D.C. tonight to take on the Washington Capitals in what is sure to be an intense matchup.

We’ve been here before. As the preseason (and Todd Reirden) has shown us, there is plenty of bad blood still brewing between these two teams. Being knocked out in the first round of the playoffs as the defending Stanley Cup Champions has a tendency to create some not-so-warm-and-fuzzy feelings on the losing side.

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Washington is currently riding a two-game winning streak after ousting the St. Louis Blues on October 2nd, and the New York Islanders on October 4th. Ilya Samsonov earned his first win of the season last night in the 2-1 victory over the Islanders, so we can expect to see Braden Holtby in net tonight for their 2nd game in the Caps’ first back-to-back of 2019-20, opposite James Reimer for the Carolina Hurricanes.

This season seems to be about vendettas, and most of them seem to revolve around the Carolina Hurricanes getting the better of other teams.

The Capitals and their coach have strong feelings about the Hurricanes and our coach, both for their early playoff exit and for mean words said during the preseason. The Canadiens are upset because the Hurricanes wouldn’t share Sebastian Aho.

Don Cherry, I’m sure, is still upset and screaming at a camera somewhere in Ontario because the Storm Surge made its triumphant return on October 3rd.

After an intense (understatement of the century, folks) season opener against the Montreal Canadiens earlier this week, the Carolina Hurricanes look to extend their record to 2-0-0 tonight in Washington. They’ll need to solve Braden Holtby early on, capitalize on every powerplay opportunity, and shut down the Capitals’ key offensive producers (looking at you, Ovi).

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 24: Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) gets back on his feet as Carolina Hurricanes left wing Brock McGinn (23) celebrates his 2nd period goal during a game between the the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes in game 7 of the the Stanley Cup eastern division quarter finals at 3 games each in Washington, DC on April 24, 2019 . (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 24: Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) gets back on his feet as Carolina Hurricanes left wing Brock McGinn (23) celebrates his 2nd period goal during a game between the the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes in game 7 of the the Stanley Cup eastern division quarter finals at 3 games each in Washington, DC on April 24, 2019 . (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images) /

Beat Holtby Early

Braden Holtby is, far and away, an extremely talented and effective goalkeeper. In an era of hockey, in which scoring is increasing, Holtby remains elite. He’s one of the few goaltenders in the league that seem to get better and harder to score on with each and every save he makes.

This could potentially spell trouble for the Carolina Hurricanes, who tend to fire a massive amount of shots on goal throughout all three periods. Hearkening back to the Stanley Cup playoffs, Holtby got increasingly hard to score on as the Hurricanes slogged on throughout the 7-game series.

New additions Erik Haula, Jake Gardiner, and Ryan Dzingel have shown offensive prowess, and Martin ‘Powerplay Phenom’ Necas provides a fresh new playmaking ability that may just pull it off and get a few past Holtby early on in the game.

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The situation I, personally, am hoping for is that Brock McGinn scores on Holtby in the first period, thereby giving the entire state of Washington, D.C. flashbacks of April 24th, 2019. A man can hope, I suppose.

https://twitter.com/ScottyMcCreery/status/1180500433682350082

Nevertheless, the Hurricanes need to be on point in the offensive zone early on if they hope to solve Braden Holtby and get momentum on their side for the remainder of the game.

RALEIGH, NC – OCTOBER 3: Martin Necas #88 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates with teammates Dougie Hamilton #19 and Andrei Svechnikov #37 after scoring his first career power play goal during an NHL game against the Montreal Canadiens on October 3, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC – OCTOBER 3: Martin Necas #88 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates with teammates Dougie Hamilton #19 and Andrei Svechnikov #37 after scoring his first career power play goal during an NHL game against the Montreal Canadiens on October 3, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Capitalize on the Powerplay

I know, I sound like a broken record. Powerplay, powerplay, powerplay. I have a feeling, due to Tom Wilson‘s antics during the preseason, that the Carolina Hurricanes are going to see their fair share of man advantage situations in tonight’s game.

Martin Necas, powerplay wunderkind, scored his first powerplay goal in the NHL against the Montreal Canadiens Thursday night with a BEAUTIFUL deflection right in front of the net. That makes him a powerplay goal per game player so far.

I may be putting a bit too much emphasis on Necas’ powerplay skills, but man, was it refreshing to see the kid score on the Canes’ first powerplay of 2019-20.

The Hurricanes’ powerplay units have been seemingly upgraded from 2018-19, with the additions of Ryan Dzingel, Jake Gardiner, and Erik Haula alongside Martin Necas. If the Carolina Hurricanes want to take full command of this game, they need to capitalize on every scoring chance they get on the powerplay.

RALEIGH, NC – SEPTEMBER 29: Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce (22) toe drags the puck around Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov (9) causing him to fall to the ice during an NHL Preseason game between the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes on September 29, 2019 at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. (Photo by Greg Thompson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC – SEPTEMBER 29: Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce (22) toe drags the puck around Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov (9) causing him to fall to the ice during an NHL Preseason game between the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes on September 29, 2019 at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. (Photo by Greg Thompson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Shut Down the Caps’ Offensive Powerhouses

It is no secret that the Washington Capitals have a number of offensive juggernauts. Capitals’ mainstay and captain Alex Ovechkin, TJ Oshie, and Jakub Vrana (among others) are sure to be looking to light the lamp early on, and with great determination.

Newcomer Joel Edmundson, acquired from the St. Louis Blues in the Justin Faulk trade, has been such a welcome presence on the blueline from a defensive perspective. His defensive prowess and size will be even more welcome tonight as a counter to the Capitals’ fast and effective offensive lineup.

The preseason saw the Carolina Hurricanes attempt to mount a comeback in both games they played against Washington; both attempts fell just short, but if the Canes can find a way to keep tabs on the Caps’ offensive threats and shut them down, the ball (or puck, rather) will be in their court (ahem, zone) all night.

Regardless of hurt feelings, past discretions, and mean words, tonight’s matchup will be another game that carries ‘big playoff energy’ with it, just like Thursday’s matchup against the Canadiens.

The Carolina Hurricanes have an opportunity to start the first half of the season with a winning streak for the first time in a very, very long time. If they can pull off a win tonight, they can get momentum early on in the season, and ride it to (hopefully) another playoff appearance.

2. 19. Prediction. 4. 109

Also, if Kevin Malone – I mean, Todd Reirden – has any additional words for Rod Brind’amour tonight, I’m sure he knows where the visitor’s locker room is.

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Question for CC Readers: Who scores the first Carolina Hurricanes’ goal tonight?

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