Carolina Hurricanes: Three Keys Against the Washington Capitals

Key 3: Control the Pace

The Carolina Hurricanes need to set the pace of the game

This game doesn’t count, but how the players play does. The Carolina Hurricanes need to go into today’s game with the mentality that this game is important because it is their one and only chance of getting any play before the final scores become the difference between more games of Catan in the hotel or a plane ride home.

The Washington Capitals on the other hand get another three semi-meaningless games after today to get their footing on their game before they play a game with elimination implications.

The onus will be on the Hurricanes to control the pace of the game and thus controlling the game as a whole. This young roster will have to lean on veterans like Justin Williams and Jaccob Slavin who can slow down the game as needed to give themselves a breath and stop the Capitals from generating any meaningful offense.

In the same breath, they will have to use youngsters like Andrei Svechnikov to speed up the game when the Capitals need to catch a breath themselves. By creating an ebb and flow that counters that of Washington, the Carolina Hurricanes can catch a team not fully committed to the game flat footed on the ice.

That will create immense confidence in the Canes roster that can be carried into the weekend as well as help this team understand where their strengths and weaknesses are and adapt their game accordingly. That will also help Rod develop and evolve his lines.

New players like Sami Vatanen and Vincent Trocheck can use this to build the chemistry needed with their new teammates while also getting back into their own groove. If the team can do this effectively early in the game, the results will not only be an easy win today, but a successful weekend to follow as well.