Carolina Hurricanes put their perfect record on the line verses Islanders
The Carolina Hurricanes go into tonight’s match up against the New York Islanders with their perfect record on the line. Will they come out with it intact?
There are only five remaining undefeated teams in the National Hockey league going into tonight’s match ups. Of those five teams only two have played at least four games; The Edmonton Oilers and the Carolina Hurricanes. The Oilers get to enjoy their undefeated record for at least one more night before taking on another undefeated team in the New York Rangers.
The Carolina Hurricanes on the other hand take on the other New York team tonight. The Islanders, who are coming off a 5-2 loss at the hands of the previously mentioned Oilers (really it was just James Neal alone who beat them) roll into town looking to settle a score from the playoffs last year which saw them get unceremoniously swept after a completing a sweep themselves.
Almost as if by fate the Carolina Hurricanes will be donning the black third jerseys for the first time this season to welcome the New York Islanders to a recognizable atmosphere in PNC arena that is sure to give them a bad case of Déjà vu. While there are several new faces on the Carolina Hurricanes roster, there are enough familiar faces that will haunt them.
Last season the New York Islanders took three out of four games from the Carolina Hurricanes including ruining their opening night after holding the team to a single goal and finishing them off in overtime. Now while the Carolina Hurricanes go the last laugh in the playoffs, they should be looking to start off the series against the Islanders this year on the right foot.
So what should this team look to do to establish themselves at the top of the metro division and not fall back down a la’ New Jersey Devils last season? Here are the three keys to tonight’s game that will see them skate away with the undefeated record intact and another storm surge to put into the books.
1. It Doesn’t Matter Who Is in Net for Islanders
Last season the Carolina Hurricanes only saw a single Islanders goaltender during the regular season; Thomas Greiss. For some reason he managed to keep the Carolina Hurricanes at bay for the most of the season. Their final game against Carolina however saw the Hurricanes finally get past Greiss and earn themselves a win on route to the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.
The playoffs saw Vezina Trophy runner up and winner of both the Jennings and Masterdon trophies Robin Lehner come into play and fall flat on his face against the Hurricanes. Thomas Greiss was brought in to salvage the series but even he couldn’t bring back his prowess against the Hurricanes from the regular season.
Lehner has since moved on to Chicago and the Islanders have brought in the Russian, Semyon Varlamov to take the starting position. Starting goalies for tonight have yet to be named, but with both teams also playing tomorrow do not be surprised to see Greiss in net if the Islanders decide to save Varlamov for the Panthers tomorrow.
To the Carolina Hurricanes it shouldn’t matter. Even if it is Greiss, who was the first off the ice for the Islanders practice this morning meaning he will most likely get the nod, they should reach back to the playoffs and know that he can and will be beaten. He no longer has the Carolina Hurricanes’ number. He no longer has any real control in Carolina.
No surprise. Thomas Greiss first goalie off for #Isles.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) October 11, 2019
Now granted, of the entire Islanders roster, I love Thomas Greiss the most. Little known fact, he spends parts of his summer every year down at Fort Bragg, NC doing a summer camp for youth in the area and helping spread the love of hockey in Carolina. That said, neither him nor Varlamov should matter to this team. They threw Sergei Bobrovsky out in Florida. This is no different.
2. Don’t let the Rust Set In
The Carolina Hurricanes will have something going into this game they haven’t seen yet this season: TWO days of rest. While this is seemingly a good thing, it can also be a bad thing. The New York Islanders are coming off a loss just two nights ago and are eager to get back into the win column. The Hurricanes cannot allow their extra day of rest become an extra day of rust.
To avoid turning that “E” into a “U” (I’ll see myself out) the Carolina Hurricanes will have to approach this game as the important game that it is. While the season is still very early, this game may or may not be a factor in the playoffs come April. Every game against a division opponent is critical. After all there are only 28 of those games in the massive 82 game schedule.
That is even more important for Petr Mrazek who is most likely going to be the starter tonight for the Carolina Hurricanes. His last game against Tampa Bay which was back on Sunday was less than stellar considering he allowed three goals in the first period on 11 shots.
Other than have Gauthier in Martinook's spot, Brind'Amour not making any line changes. Would you? Mrazek in the starter's crease.
— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) October 11, 2019
Now granted the defense bailed him out only allowing two more shots for the rest of the game and even scored the OT winner on a wonderful shot by Jaccob Slavin, but he still ended the night with an abysmal 0.769 vs%, which has to be one of the lowest save percentages a winning goalie can possibly get. Tonight he has to earn to fix his season stats and earn himself a third win.
For everyone else on the ice they should continue what they have done for the first four games of the season. They should also welcome Julien Gauthier into the lineup in Jordan Martinook’s place and hope he can deliver as well as he did in the preseason. They should hunger to continue the trend they set and finish this game in regulation.
3. Get Offensive First
The following statement is a cliche and thats okay. The first team to score set the tone for the rest of the game. The Carolina Hurricanes need to be that team. The Carolina Hurricanes were the first team to strike in three of the four first games of the season. And while they did allow their opponent to come back in two of those games, having that first goal allowed them to come back.
It’s critical to get the first goal against any good goalie. Thomas Greiss is no exception. Playing from behind to start a game is a daunting task. But playing from behind while at least being on the scoreboard is a mentally different aspect. At least then you know that you can get one past the goalie. After all, you’ve already done it once.
Perhaps it is time for one of the seven (eight if you count Gauthier) skaters on the roster who do not have a goal to get their first. In fact with the exception of the Washington game, the only game that Carolina failed to be the first to score, the first goal of the game came from a Carolina Hurricane who was seeking their first goal in the season.
This tradition should not stop just yet. Nothing gives a group of players more confidence than a guy getting his first goal of the season to open up a game and give his team the lead. This team is extremely talented on both sides of the puck, so it’s up to the defense to keep the Islanders out of the defensive zone and away from Mrazek and the offense to hammer at Greiss until something sticks.
Perhaps this is the time for Haydn Fleury to get his first NHL goal? Perhaps even Julien Gauthier? What about Joel Edmundson, who is looking for his first goal a member of the Carolina Hurricanes? It doesn’t matter at the end of the day. The important thing is to get on the board first.
Gameday Notes
- Puck Drop: 7:30 ET, PNC Arena
- TV: Fox Sports Carolinas, NHL.TV
- Radio: 99.9 The Fan
- Uniform: Third Jersey
- Lines:
- Nino Niederreiter – Sebastian Aho – Teuvo Teravainen
- Andrei Svechnikov– Jordan Staal – Brock McGinn
- Ryan Dzingel – Erik Haula – Martin Necas
- Warren Foegele – Lucas Wallmark – Julien Gauthier
- Jaccob Slavin – Dougie Hamilton
- Joel Edmundson – Brett Pesce
- Jake Gardiner – Haydn Fleury
- Starting Goalies:
- Carolina Hurricanes: Petr Mrazek
- New York Islanders: Thomas Greiss
Several Carolina Hurricanes are riding a point streak into this game. McGinn, Staal, Hamilton and Dzingel are each looking to extend their streak to three games. Svechnikov and Slavin are both looking to keep it going to four games after failing to secure a point on opening night. Teravainen is looking to keep his streak alive and go after Aho’s franchise record for points streak to start a season.
Prediction. 2. 106. 4. 109
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