Carolina Hurricanes: Ten Qualifying Round Bold Predictions

The Carolina Hurricanes will rely on special teams

3. The Canes will score multiple short handed goals.

It is going to take a strong special teams performance to win this series. New York lead the league in penalty minutes during the regular season so it is safe to say the Hurricanes will have a lot of time on the man advantage. While they saw improvement in that area, the Canes’ penalty kill is the better of the two special teams units.

Scoring a total of ten short handed goals on the shortened season, it wouldn’t shock me to see them convert multiple times on the PK.

Sebastian Aho was tied with the league led in shorties with four by himself. With that being said, if Carolina does end up scoring multiple times short handed, he is one of the guys I would keep an eye on.

4. Sami Vatanen and Jake Gardiner will both score a power play goal.

Both Sami Vatanen and Jake Gardiner will be competing for power play time behind Dougie Hamilton on the second unit. I feel as if both players will make the decision extremely difficult on head coach Rod Brind’amour through strong play.

I do think they will split time, at least to start, and will both score on the man advantage. Each player did so once during the regular season.

Now, having an overwhelming amount of competition on the backend, they will be forced to elevate their level of play or risk spending a game or two in the press box. This competition will bring out the best in Vatanen and Gardiner.

At their best, both go these guys are more than capable of running a power play on their own, so it’ll be very interesting to see how it plays out.

5. Morgan Geekie will pick up from where he left off.

Morgan Geekie started his NHL career on fire with four points in his first two games. This next prediction see him pick up right where he left off, producing well above expected even with limited ice time.

I know it’s been said a lot lately, but the depth on this Hurricanes team is really promising. Having a skilled guy like Geekie on the fourth line allows Brind’amour to use his entire bench, even late in games.

A much deeper team than the Rangers, guys playing on Carolina’s lower lines should be able to create a lot of solid chances. With their strong chances they should, in theory, be able to produce some offense.

Geekie was dynamite for the Checkers in the playoffs and can’t wait to see how he does against New York.

The Carolina Hurricanes will look to their offense

6. The Carolina Hurricanes will sweep the New York Rangers.

Although the Hurricanes were the ones who were swept by the blue shirts in the regular season, 4-0, they will flip the script and sweep the Rangers out of the playoff picture. This prediction too circles back to the amount of depth.

In addition to that, the Hurricanes appear to be focused and ready to go during camp. Brind’amour had stated multiple times that he’s been impressed with everyone thus far which is extremely encouraging.

Given how well conditioned the team as a unit is, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them get off to a strong start. With conditioning playing a huge role in them besting Washington last season, it’ll go along way in defeating New York after the long layoff.

7. Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad will be held off the score sheet at least once.

Easily the two best players on the Rangers, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad were only held off the score sheet a handful on time this season. To make matters worse, when they score they usually score in bunches.

I think that Carolina will find a way to keep not one but both off the score sheet at least once in the series. Going back to depth yet again, the Hurricanes have a wealth of top four guys on the backend. This will help in shutting them down, but what really turns the tide here is the “home ice advantage.”

As the higher seat, the Canes will get last change more often than New York, allowing them to play Jaccob Slavin against the duo as much as possible. One of the best defenseman in the league, Slavin is more than capable of limiting their chances.

Adding to that, both James Reimer and Petr Mrazek have looked sharp, which will also help in shutting Panarin and Zibanejad down. If they can do that, their chances of winning the series increase exponentially.

8. The Canes chase Henrik Lundqvist.

It is no secret that the Canes struggled against Henrik Lundqvist historically, as the Rangers’ netminder has won over 70% of his career appearance vs the Hurricanes (33-12-1).

This bold prediction see Carolina finally finding a way to beat him early and often, resulting in him being pulled in favor of Igor Shesterkin. Of course for this to even happen Lundqvist would have to be named the starter over the young rookie in the first place.

While the decision is going to be a difficult one for New York’s coaching staff, I do think Lundqvist’s experience and previous success against Carolina will give him a slight edge. No matter who starts, let us hope the Hurricanes find a way to get one early, shaking whoever is in the creases’ confidence.

The Carolina Hurricanes have the chance to be the first to win a series

9. Brady Skjei scores the series clincher.

Brady Skjei was traded away from the Rangers at the trade deadline and looks to be as determined as ever he gets set to face his former club for the first time. I do believe that he will have his finger prints all over this series and will get the last laugh against his former team.

With this prediction not only does he come out on top, he will be the one to put the nail in the coffin and send the Rangers home before their season ever really got a chance to start back up.

Wouldn’t it be a storybook ending for him if his clinching goal came in overtime or the final seconds of the third period capping off a late game surge?

10. Andrei Svechnikov one ups his lacrosse style goals.

Andrei Svechnikov is already becoming known for his fair share of highlight reel goals in his young career. Scoring the NHL’s first two lacrosse style goals, what else does he have up his sleeve?

This last bold prediction sees Svech score a goal that tops his lacrosses style goals from earlier this year. What are commonly referred to as the goals of the year, this will be a daunting task, but there’s no reason to believe it is not possible.

He is a creative highly skilled player who has been given the green light from his coach to take chances in the offensive zone. This creative freedom combined with confidence is beautiful thing to watch.

So there you have it, ten bold predictions for the upcoming best of five qualifying round series versus the New York Rangers. I would love to know what you think of these predictions and if you have any of your own.

Question for CC readers: What are your bold predictions for the Carolina Hurricanes series against New York?