Carolina Hurricanes Drop Another Divisional Game, Fall 3-2 to the Rangers

A Rocky Start

From the drop of the puck in the first period the Rangers out worked, chanced, and quite frankly were all around better than the Hurricanes. In a period where the ice was titled heavily in New York’s favor, the Hurricanes struggled with turnovers, defensive zone gaps, and generating any glimpse of offensive zone time, minus a single shift about midway through the period.

Just 48 seconds into the game Joel Edmundson got entangled with Pavel Buchnevich, getting then gate for a holding. A minute and a half later, Buchnevich would draw another penalty, this time from Jordan Martinook. While the 5 on 3 was brief, the Rangers would end up converting on the man advantage on a play where Adam Fox found Mika Zibanejad wide open for an easy one timer goal.

Just 1:18 later Brendan Smith would make it 2-0 with a one timer from the point. The play all started when Petr Mrazek turned the puck over after he attempted to make a play from behind the net. With two goals on three shots, less than five minutes into the game, it was clear the Canes were going to face an up hill battle against another Metropolitan Division team once again.

Fox would get his second point of the period when he tipped a Panarin shot with 1:40 to go in the period,  making it 3-0 in favor of the Blue Shirts. An area cited in the Three Keys article was the Canes need to shut down Panarin. With two assists in the first period they failed to do so resulting in “Bread Man” staying hot.

In addition to the goals against, almost every player on the Canes struggle with taking away the time and space away from the Rangers forwards and defenseman. It seemed as if New York as first to every loose puck. Both out shooting, 11 to 10,  and out chancing the Canes, 2 to 1, the entire period was a dud.

Summed up perfectly by Brett Pesce in the first period interview, the Canes needed to get back to their game if they wanted to attempt a comeback. Also mentioned in the Three Keys article, for whatever reason they’re continuing to allow other Metro teams to play “Hurricanes Hockey” against them. In the first the Rangers’ defense was engaged, jumped into plays in the offensive zone, and generated a ton of chances.

A Better Second

With the intermission a chance to regroup and 40 minutes left to play, the start to the second period was going to be crucial if the Hurricanes wanted any chance to get back into the game. Starting off a bit slow once again, it was Mrazek that kept the score at 3-0 with a few timely saves, giving the Canes a chance to get back into the game.

A little over half way through the second the Rangers would get caught with too many men on the ice. On what was their third power player of the game, Dougie Hamilton made an excellent play to keep the puck in the zone before finding Ryan Dzingel’s stick in the slot for a tip in goal. On the play Svechnikov would earn the secondary assist, extending his point streak to nine games.

Just as the Rangers did in the first, Carolina would strike again just 1:28 later. This time Warren Foegele never gave up on the play around the net, squeaking the puck past Lundqvist on what was his sixth shot on the game. Driving the net hard, Foegele followed up his own rebound to conclude a hard working, solid checking shift from both he and Niederreiter.

For a decent portion of the game Foegele looked more like the player he was in the playoffs last season. Often around in the dirty areas around the net, he had numerous quality chances only to be bested by Lundqvist. After some line juggling, he elevated his game even more, resulting in his goal. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for Warren after a bit of a rocky start to his sophomore season.

The game could have been easily tied moments later if it wasn’t for Lundqvist robbing Martin Necas from a yawning cage. This statement seems to be very telling of every time these two team meet. Now 9-1 in his last ten against Carolina, Lundqvist has proven once again to be a Canes killer. With their solid push back in the second half of the second and throughout the third, Carolina had several opportunities to get back in the game if it wasn’t for the play of Henrik.

Divisional Woes Continue

Covered in the Three Keys article, the Canes have been rather lack luster in divisional games this season. Entering the game the Hurricanes have gone 2-5-1 on the year against fellow Metropolitan Division teams, many of which were/are bellow them at the time of their meeting. While the 2 wins came against the Caps and Isles in the first week of the season, Carolina has been out scored 21-13 in their last six since. Although each game is different and anything can happen within them, it’s a bit concerning to say the least.

If the Hurricanes want to be seen as a true playoff threat they’re going to need the important two points in divisional games. There’s a saying that divisional games are often four point swings, as a lower seated team can quickly gain ground if they come out on top. We saw evidence of this last year with the run the Hurricanes went on and how it helped propel them into the playoffs. While they’re not in danger of falling out of their playoff spot just yet, they still need to figure out how to right the ship quickly, especially if they want to advance further this time around.

It’s been mentioned numerous times now, but they haven’t been playing “their game” against teams like the Flyers, Rangers, Blue Jackets and Devils. While all of these teams are bellow them in the standings, their play against Carolina tells a different story. Brind’Amour even mentioned it  after the second period that he felt even though they scored twice in the period they never gotten to the level of play that’s made them successful, ie “their game.”

You can call it what you want; scheduling, hot goaltender, officiating, off night, etc. but the fact of the matter is that their now 0-6-1 in their last seven games against Metro teams. At this point guys like Jordan Staal need to step up and take control early on in these games to attempt to swing the momentum and confidence back in Carolina’s favor.

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At the end of the day a loss is a loss and it stings. Their horrendous start ended up costing them the game and a valuable two points. With two points on the night for Panarin, the Hurricanes failed to shut the dynamic forward down in the first. Looking at New York’s team it’s clear that he’s their go to man and it showed tonight. While they did a better job in the second half of the game, it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback.

Carolina will be back in action Friday night at PNC Arena against the Nashville Predators. They’ll look to get back into the win column against a Preds team that has underperformed a bit this season. Look for Carolina to come out with a much better effort to start the game in front of the home crowd, especially after their disappointing start against the Rangers.

Question for CC Readers: What are your thoughts on last night’s game?