Cardiac Cane
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Carolina Hurricanes: Three Keys To Success in Beantown

By Matthew Nidiffer

RALEIGH, NC - MAY 16: Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes looks to gain control of a puck along the boards at Charlie McAvoy #73 of the Boston Bruins defends in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Third Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 16, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - MAY 16: Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes looks to gain control of a puck along the boards at Charlie McAvoy #73 of the Boston Bruins defends in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Third Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 16, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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OTTAWA, ON – NOVEMBER 9: Colin White #36 of the Ottawa Senators is tripped on a scoring chance by Warren Foegele #13 of the Carolina Hurricanes leading to a penalty at Canadian Tire Centre on November 9, 2019 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON – NOVEMBER 9: Colin White #36 of the Ottawa Senators is tripped on a scoring chance by Warren Foegele #13 of the Carolina Hurricanes leading to a penalty at Canadian Tire Centre on November 9, 2019 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images) /

1. Stay Out of the Penalty Box

Before I get into this one, I need to preface it with a bit of a caveat. The Carolina Hurricanes are currently 8th in the league on the penalty kill. Boston is currently 2nd in the league on the powerplay. Do with that what you will.

The Boston Bruins, specifically David Pastrnak, are absolutely lethal on the powerplay this season. Of Pastrnak’s 25 goals this season, 12 have come on the powerplay. They are also lethal shorthanded, so that’ll be something to watch out for on the man advantage as well.

The Carolina Hurricanes absolutely cannot afford to take penalties against the Boston Bruins tonight. To do so repeatedly, as we saw this past weekend against Tampa Bay, will result in nothing less than a loss for the Hurricanes.

The kicker here is to not play into the Bruins’ (read: Brad Marchand’s) antics, and ability to get under the opposition’s skin. The agitation that Marchand brings to the ice, and the Carolina Hurricanes’ propensity to feed into it, were a huge reason the Canes were swept in the Conference Finals last season.

The Carolina Hurricanes will need to rise above, and play arguably the most disciplined game of their careers tonight in order to give themselves the best chance of winning. Now, onto the defensive side of things.

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