Carolina Hurricanes: Three Keys to Victory Against the New York Rangers

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RALEIGH, NC – FEBRUARY 19: Nino Niederreiter #21 of the Carolina Hurricanes gets hit in the hip by a shot as he battles Tony DeAngelo #77 and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers during an NHL game on February 19, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Karl DeBlaker/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Take Advantage of Tired Bodies

The New York Rangers are coming into Raleigh on the second half of a back-to-back, which can make any team sluggish out of the gate. To make matters even worse for them, it will be three games in four days. It can be very hard to stay mentally sharp when you have a workload like that, so they will more than likely make a few more errors as a result.

The Hurricanes will be rested for this game, so it is important to come out strong from puck drop. Stay strong on the puck and wear down the Rangers with an aggressive forecheck. The Hurricanes will need the big guys like Staal and Edmundson to lay the body out and be tough on the puck. Force the Rangers to make errors and capitalize on the opportunities when they present themselves.

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When teams are tired, it increases the possibility for the team to take unnecessary penalties. This is where the power play will need to come up strong. The Hurricanes are currently 9th in the league in that department, converting on 22.45% of their total opportunities.

So far, the Hurricanes have had twelve total chances on the PP in the month of November and have converted on just two of those. Definitely room for improvement.

If the Hurricanes want to get back in the win column, they’re going to have to take advantage of what is going to be a tired Rangers team. This is also a team they *should* beat. Carolina needs to avoid losing what many would consider a trap game, play to their strengths and come out of the gate strong.

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