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Carolina Hurricanes: Victory Over Minnesota, These Three Keys Will Bring

By Matthew Nidiffer

SAINT PAUL, MN - NOVEMBER 16: Warren Foegele #13 of the Carolina Hurricanes and Jordan Greenway #18 of the Minnesota Wild battle for the puck during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on November 16, 2019 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAINT PAUL, MN - NOVEMBER 16: Warren Foegele #13 of the Carolina Hurricanes and Jordan Greenway #18 of the Minnesota Wild battle for the puck during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on November 16, 2019 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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SAINT PAUL, MN – NOVEMBER 16: Lucas Wallmark #71 and James Reimer #47 of the Carolina Hurricanes defend their goal against Zach Parise #11 of the Minnesota Wild during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on November 16, 2019 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAINT PAUL, MN – NOVEMBER 16: Lucas Wallmark #71 and James Reimer #47 of the Carolina Hurricanes defend their goal against Zach Parise #11 of the Minnesota Wild during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on November 16, 2019 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) /

2. Play Solid Defense In Front of Your Goalie, You Must

As of the writing of this article, no starting goaltender has been named for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Petr Mrazek played nicely against the San Jose Sharks earlier this week, as he stymied them in the shootout to secure the win. The last time the Carolina Hurricanes played the Minnesota Wild, James Reimer was in net, and I think he should get the call to the starter’s crease again this go round.

Petr Mrazek will more than likely get the start, as evidenced by the Mrazelorian Tweet shared earlier on in this article, but I’m going to assume Reimer gets it.

James Reimer was a massive reason the Canes won the last time these teams met, and has been absolutely stellar since then. Mrazek has taken the lion’s share of starts at home, and Reimer on the road, but I think Reimer has a good shot at replicating his last outing against the Wild.

All this being said, the Carolina Hurricanes let more than a few high-danger chances through, and relied heavily on Reimer to bail them out (which he did more often than not that game), but they cannot continue on the same trajectory.

Reimer and Mrazek both are extremely talented at making brilliantly flashy saves, but they should no longer be relied on to make as many of these saves as they have been. The Carolina Hurricanes need to tighten up defensively, especially in the second half of the game. Now, onto the most important tool a young Jedi has at their disposal: patience.

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