Carolina Hurricanes: Three Keys to Success on the Road vs. Blue Jackets

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COLUMBUS, OH – OCTOBER 24: Andrei Svechnikov #37 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 24, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images) /

1. The Return of Bo Time

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. The Carolina Hurricanes’ powerplay has been all but non-existent the past few games, despite getting their fair share of chances.

The Carolina Hurricanes’ powerplay has slipped to being tied with the Vegas Golden Knights for 8th best in the league at 22.1%. 8th best in the league sounds a lot more prestigious than it really is; the Canes have lost more games due to failing to convert on several powerplay opportunities than they’ve won by converting on them.

The Columbus Blue Jackets currently have the 12th best penalty kill in the league, sitting at 81.8%. This is by no means an underachievement, but the Carolina Hurricanes are going to have to start scoring on the man advantage if they want to win games.

Teams are seemingly beginning to take notice of the Canes’ lackadaisical efforts on the powerplay, which usually ends up in teams taking more physical penalties against the Canes – if the Canes aren’t going to respond with their own physicality or on the scoreboard, why not?

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