Three Takeaways from Return of Carolina Hurricanes Hockey Roundtable

A Unique Opportunity for an Even Playing Field

Former Carolina Hurricane Shane Willis included his thoughts

Shane Willis believes that the extended season pause will produce an even playing field for the playoffs. One of the key points of discussion was how the pause would affect the teams heading into the qualifying series. Willis believes that there will be an equalizing effect for these teams:

“We can look back at stats power plays (and) penalty kills, but really we can throw all that out the window. Every team has been off for such a long period of time, it comes down to . . . who can get off to the quickest start and get hot early”.

Willis also reminded viewers that the Rangers were the most penalized team in the NHL during the regular season. This is why it will be vital to the series that the Canes focus on a return to form for the power play.

The Canes’ power play took a blow when Dougie Hamilton suffered a season-ending injury. He has been given a second chance to compete in the playoffs with the season pause, and I believe he will be instrumental in a successful power play.

The Importance of the Mental Factor

The Mental Factor is important for the Carolina Hurricanes

The trio discusses the all-important mental factor with the new playoff circumstances.

The mental factor in hockey is one of the guiding principles that rule the game, the most important among them being crowd presence. A crowd can make or break a team’s confidence and create a true home advantage.

Tripp Tracy believes that the lack of home ice is going to be a deciding factor for both teams. What this comes down to is the ability of each team to “find desperation without fans.”

While we have seen the Canes struggle with this very issue, the last few games of the season told the story of a team that had recommitted to chasing each puck and finding the back of the net.

As I echoed in a previous article, Tripp Tracy believes that head coach Rod Brind’Amour “is the perfect guy to be able to motivate the hockey club to put that chip on their shoulder”.

I think that this will be the defining narrative of the series. Finding that desperation will be important because it may also provide an edge over one of the top seed teams who will not be going directly into the second round, unlike those teams who win the qualifying series.

Strengths of the Carolina Hurricanes

What strengths must the Carolina Hurricanes rely on to win?

The last topic the trio covered was how the Canes match up to the Rangers in the qualifying series.  Because of the pause, the trio reiterated that regular season stats mattered little in predicting the series.

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Willis believes that depth is the most important tool in the Hurricane’s arsenal. The elite defense the Hurricanes have built will be strengthened by players Willis names such as the returning Dougie Hamilton, and Sami Vatanen’s debut as a Hurricane.

There is also a chance that Brett Pesce could return from injury for this playoff series. This depth, Willis believes, will be key to a Hurricane’s victory.

Tracy takes a question from Forslund about the goaltending matchup with the Rangers, and Tracy believes that if the Hurricanes can match the Rangers in the net they will win the series. Although the goalie dynamic has had many Canes fans at odds, I believe the performance of both netminders will be positive in the postseason.

Clinching the desperation to win and using it to create a hot start is the overriding theme of this conversation. If the Canes can harness the desperation they found at the tail end of the regular season, they will not only pick up the series victory against the Rangers but take the advantage in the second round of the playoffs.