Don’t Take the Bait
Lets be honest, the Carolina Hurricanes are not the most physical team. We mostly rely on our speed and quick passing to get teams out of position and open up the goal. There are a few exceptions like Joel Edmundson and ever increasingly Andrei Svechnikov, but we are not a ground and pound type of team.
Now I am well aware that these Flyers are not the same as the Broad Street Bullies of the 1970’s that would pick fights every five minutes, but every time these two franchises have faced off recently it always seems to be a hard-hitting, high emotions, and short tempers kind of game.
What must not happen is we fall for what happened to Justin Williams in the Eastern Conference Finals. Where Brad Marchand baited him into taking penalties that ultimately lead to goals being scored for the Bruins. Against the Flyers, the Hurricanes must stay disciplined and stay away from the bait.
The Hurricanes are already one of the most penalized teams in the NHL, we don’t need any bad penalties because of retaliations or roughing. Keep the sticks down, keep the action after the whistles to a minimum, and focus on the game.