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

Star Wars night in Raleigh, tonight is! These three keys, the Carolina Hurricanes must do to beat the Minnesota Wild in Raleigh!

Before you ask: no, I’m not going to do the entire article in Yoda-speak. I wish I could, but I don’t have the mental fortitude to swap around the structure of every sentence. In any case, the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the MInnesota Wild to Raleigh tonight for the 2nd time this season.

The last time these teams met, on November 16th, the Carolina Hurricanes won, although just barely, by a score of 4-3 in overtime. Carolina had taken an early commanding lead, but allowed Minnesota to come back and tie the game to force overtime.

Since then, the Canes have won 5 of their last 9 games, but have had an up-and-down trajectory for the past week or so. The Minnesota Wild, on the other hand, have won 7 of their last 9 games, and are currently riding a 5-game winning streak dating back to November 26th.

This go round, I think the game will go differently. If the Canes want to win tonight, they’ll need to stay out of the box, minimize high-danger chances on Petr Mrazek or James Reimer, and (most importantly) have patience, young padawans. The Carolina Hurricanes have to gain some momentum, and start to string some games together. What better night to regain that momentum than Star Wars Night?

1. Stay Out of the Penalty Box, You Must

The Carolina Hurricanes have a tendency to take penalties, almost always at the worst times. More than once this season, they have taken a bad penalty at pivotal moments in a game, or even taken penalties during their own powerplay, effectively killing their own man advantage.

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• 2023 Southeast Rookie Showcase: Takeaways from the Canes’ Strong Showing in Florida
• Week Two Coverage Of College Hockey In NC
• Derek Stepan Ends His On Ice Career As A Hurricane
• The Southeast Rookie Showcase Will Be a Good Look at Carolina’s Future
• Noesen Ready To Provide Depth For Canes

As of right now, the Carolina Hurricanes have the 6th best penalty kill in the league, averaging an even 85%. The Minnesota Wild are currently tied for the 9th best powerplay in the league (with the Carolina Hurricanes, funnily enough), at an even 20%.

The Wild have an effective and efficient powerplay, and if the Carolina Hurricanes take more penalties than necessary, the special teams could prove to be the difference-maker in tonight’s game.

If the Carolina Hurricanes can manage to stay out of the box, they’ll be giving themselves the best possible chance to walk away with yet another 2 points in the standings. Now let’s talk about goaltending, shall we?

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.

Game Notes

More from Cardiac Cane

• 2023 Southeast Rookie Showcase: Takeaways from the Canes’ Strong Showing in Florida
• Week Two Coverage Of College Hockey In NC
• Derek Stepan Ends His On Ice Career As A Hurricane
• The Southeast Rookie Showcase Will Be a Good Look at Carolina’s Future
• Noesen Ready To Provide Depth For Canes

• Puck Drop: 7:00PM EST
• Location: PNC Arena
• TV: Fox Sports Carolinas, NHL.TV
• Radio: 99.9 The Fan
• Uniform: Home Red
• Potential Lineup:
  • Svechnikov – Staal – Foegele
  • Niederreiter – Aho – Teravainen
  • Dzingel – Wallmark – Martinook
  • McGinn – Bishop – Gibbons
  • Slavin – Hamilton
  • Edmundson – Pesce
  • Fleury – Gardiner
• Potential Goalie Matchup:
  • Minnesota Wild: Devan Dubnyk
  • Carolina Hurricanes: James Reimer

Question for CC Readers: What is your favorite promo night that the Carolina Hurricanes do?