Carolina Hurricanes: 3 Keys to a Home Victory vs. Anaheim
The Carolina Hurricanes return home tonight to take on the Anaheim Ducks after losing two straight. Here’s what the Canes need to do to walk away with a win and two desperately needed points in the standings.
The Carolina Hurricanes need to win this game tonight. Technically, the Carolina Hurricanes needed to win their last two games but, as fate would have it, they lost both of them, and in doing so gave up 4 points to Metropolitan Division opponents.
Last night’s 3-2 loss to the injury-riddled Columbus Blue Jackets should be their wake-up call. Not only did they lose the game and two vital points, they lost Dougie Hamilton, at least for the foreseeable future.
Dougie went down after tangling skates with Columbus forward Kevin Stenlund; Dougie landed awkwardly on his left leg, and visibly said, “I think I broke my leg” to both the referee and head athletic trainer Doug Bennett. He wasn’t wrong – news broke earlier today that Dougie had broken his left fibula, and further evaluation was needed to determine whether or not he needs surgery. The timetable for his recovery and return is, at the time of writing, unknown.
The Canes need to rally behind the loss, and take it to the Anaheim Ducks tonight, if only to stop the skid and gain a little bit of momentum to close out the last few games before the All Star break. Here’s how they can get it done.
1. Superstars Need to Step Up
It is no secret that Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov have hit a scoring drought as of late.
Aho hasn’t scored a goal since December, and has only registered 3 assists in his past 5 games. This is not only wildly out of character, it is costing the Carolina Hurricanes points in the standings and games that should’ve been easy wins had he played his normal, dynamic game.
Svechnikov is in a similar boat, having registered only 1 point in his last five games, an assist against the Arizona Coyotes on January 10th.
This is honestly baffling to me, considering both of them have previously played at almost a point-per-game pace. Aho is still close, having registered 40 points in 47 games played, Svech a tad closer at 42 points in 47 games played.
With offensive wizard Dougie Hamilton out of the lineup, Aho and Svech need to rediscover their game, and they need to do it tonight. The Canes have had plenty of scoring depth from their 3rd and 4th lines, but this is not a sustainable method of scoring goals and winning games.
2. Figure Out a Way to Score on the Powerplay
This one is going to be significantly tougher, especially now that Dougie is out.
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Dougie was a huge influence on the Carolina Hurricanes’ first powerplay unit, and will not easily be replaced. I imagine Jaccob Slavin will take his spot on the first unit, or potentially Rod Brind’amour will move Jake Gardiner up to the first unit, and slot Slavin into the second.
Either way, the Carolina Hurricanes need to start finding ways to convert on the man advantage.
This trend absolutely cannot continue; teams are going to keep taking penalties against the Canes, and the Canes have to be able to respond in turn. If not, they’ll be in for a long night tonight and potentially an even longer summer.
3. Generate High-Quality Scoring Chances
This one is of utmost importance. The Carolina Hurricanes have got to stop making the opposing goaltenders look like stars.
The Carolina Hurricanes get a ton of shots on goal pretty much every time they hit the ice.
The problem is that a significant portion of these shots are either predictable, or low-quality. This has to change. Most goalies love getting peppered with a ton of lower-quality shots early on. It allows them to get a feel for the puck, and gain confidence with each and every save.
Don’t get me wrong, the Canes have the ability and talent to generate the high-quality scoring chances I’m asking for. They just haven’t been doing it, and that needs to change.
Game Notes
- Puck Drop: 7:30pm EST
- Location: PNC Arena
- TV: Fox Sports Carolinas
- Radio: 99.9 The Fan
- Uniform: Alternate Black
- Potential Lines:
- Svechnikov – Staal – Teravainen
- Aho – Haula – Foegele
- Dzingel – Wallmark – Necas
- Niederreiter – Martinook – McGinn
- Slavin – Gardiner
- Edmundson – Pesce
- Fleury – van Riemsdyk
- Potential Goalie Matchup:
- Carolina Hurricanes: James Reimer
- Anaheim Ducks: Ryan Miller
109. Prediction. 1. 105. 3