Carolina Hurricanes: Nedeljkovic and Forsberg have to hold the fort
By Jeb Bohn
Despite their struggles, the Carolina Hurricanes haven’t been left behind in the Metropolitan Division…Yet. To keep that from happening, the team has to be better defensively and the goaltending has to buckle down.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the NHL Trade Deadline passed last week. While they were incredibly active, the Carolina Hurricanes did not make a play for an established goalie.
With Petr Mrazek and James Reimer out with injuries, the team has been left to rely on Alex Nedeljkovic and Anton Forsberg, their AHL tandem. Three games in, the results haven’t exactly been stellar.
I’m not a guy who usually lays the blame solely at the feet of the goaltenders, and this is no different. In recent losses to Dallas, Colorado, and Montreal, the Hurricanes’ defensive play has left a lot to be desired.
Ill-advised pinches, bad reads, and poor puck management have been as much to blame as anything. This is made all the more frustrating when you look at the effort that the team put up in front of emergency backup David Ayres on February 22.
That game had the heart and determination of this team on display as the 42-year-old was pressed into action for nearly half of the game. Instead of being fatalistic, the Hurricanes scored the next goal to pad their lead. After Ayres ceded goals on the first two shots he faced, the team refused to roll over and what we got was an absolutely stifling display of team defense. We saw what this team is capable of.
Since then? Not so much.
The end of the first period against Dallas found the Hurricanes down 3-0. Bad coverage and a complete lack of defensive awareness spelled doom for Carolina. We saw much of the same in the following two games as the defensive structure completely fell apart. Remember how this team played in front of Scott Darling? I do and I’m not a fan.
On Monday, head coach Rod Brind’Amour offered a cloudy outlook for Mrazek’s return, despite early indications that the netminder was showing no post-concussion symptoms:
Brind’Amour says it doesn’t look like Mrazek is close to returning.
— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) March 2, 2020
So, with no official timetable for either Mrazek or Reimer to return and no addition in net at the deadline, it’s up to Nedeljkovic and Forsberg to lead the Hurricanes through this rough patch. Let’s take a look at their performance so far.