Three Takeaways from Return of Carolina Hurricanes Hockey Roundtable

Fox Sports Carolinas had a roundtable discussing the Carolina Hurricanes

Here are three takeaways from John Forslund’s Sunday roundtable with Tripp Tracy and Shane Willis for Fox Sports South “The Return to Hurricanes Hockey”.

While we still have more questions than answers about the upcoming 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, it was so so good to hear the voices of John Forslund, Tripp Tracy, and Shane Willis on the Fox Sports South special “The Return to Hurricanes Hockey” that aired on Sunday, May 31.

The trio covered several topics on the return to hockey in the unique postseason format presented recently by the NHL.

I recommend that every Caniac watch this special because the Forslund Tracy dynamic is as fun to watch as ever. Willis provides the technical analysis essential to understanding the playoff matchup. The viewer receives a small taste of the return to hockey.

There are three important takeaways from this conversation for the upcoming Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers qualifying series. The first takeaway is the discussion about whether this format will favor either team.

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.