Carolina Hurricanes: Takeaways from Big Win Against Minnesota Wild

The Carolina Hurricanes won big on Star Wars Night in Raleigh. Here is how they stacked up to our three keys of the game after beating the Minnesota Wild 6-2.

The Carolina Hurricanes won their second and final meeting against the Minnesota Wild this season by a score of 6-2 in Raleigh last night.

The Carolina Hurricanes never looked to be out of this one, even after going down by a goal early on in the game. Thanks to Lucas Wallmark, the Canes were able to tie the game up. Shortly after, thanks to Andrei Svechnikov, the Canes pulled ahead and never lost the lead again, despite allowing one more goal by Minnesota.

With this win, the Carolina Hurricanes continue to hold firm the 10th overall spot in the league standings. Red-hot Minnesota drops to 17th overall in the league as their 5 game winning streak (and 11 game point streak) came to an end.

Last night, the Carolina Hurricanes managed to do a great job at two of the three keys we mentioned before puck drop: despite not quite staying out of the penalty box, they played solid in front of Petr Mrazek, and showed great patience in waiting for the right opportunities to score. Let’s dive in a bit deeper.

1. Did the Canes Stay Out of the Penalty Box?

No, they didn’t. The Carolina Hurricanes took a total of 4 penalties last night: Jaccob Slavin for interference in the 1st period, Wallmark for both Holding the Stick and Interference in the 2nd period, and Clark Bishop for Tripping in the 3rd period.

To be fair, the Canes managed to remain perfect on the penalty kill despite the four penalties, and the refereeing seemed to be more than a bit incompetent (especially on that Bishop call. Big yikes there, my dudes).

Nevertheless, the Carolina Hurricanes are no stranger to losing a handle on games after taking a bad penalty or two this season, but last night proved to be different than most others.

Petr Mrazek stood tall on the penalty kill, and the Carolina Hurricanes’ penalty kill units on the whole played spectacularly despite the 4 chances they gave the Minnesota Wild on the man advantage. Hopefully that trend continues if the Canes continue to take penalties at that rate. Now, onto the defense.

2. Did the Canes Play Solid Defense In Front of Their Goalie?

Ab. So. Lutely. The Carolina Hurricanes played an incredibly solid defensive game after a relatively sluggish start that saw the Minnesota Wild pull ahead just four shifts into the game.

During the first period, the Carolina Hurricanes not only tied the game and got back the lead, but they held the Minnesota Wild to just 7 shots by the end of the period.

The second period was much of the same; Minnesota scored one goal, this time registering 10 shots on goal. The third period saw Minnesota register 7 shots on goal again, but were unable to score in the third period.

The Carolina Hurricanes played incredibly solid defense in front of Mrazek last night; Jaccob Slavin, Dougie Hamilton, (noted offensive defenseman) Joel Edmundson, Brett Pesce & Co. managed to keep a ton of high-danger chances at bay, and were able to break up plays long before they even posed a threat to Mrazek.

The scoreline definitely shows a marked improvement in defense, especially over the Canes last game, a 3-2 victory in a shootout over the San Jose Sharks. Now, let’s talk about the patience the Carolina Hurricanes showed in last night’s matchup.