Cardiac Cane
Fansided

The Carolina Hurricanes Dominate Game One Against The Rangers

By Johnathan Campbell

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 01: Justin Williams #14 of the Carolina Hurricanes checks Adam Fox #23 of the New York Rangers during the first period in Game One of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 1, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 01: Justin Williams #14 of the Carolina Hurricanes checks Adam Fox #23 of the New York Rangers during the first period in Game One of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 1, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Getty Images) /
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Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Getty Images)
Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Getty Images) /

Special Teams Magic

Both the Carolina Hurricanes’ PP and PK were essential to victory.

New York Ranger’s veteran netminder Henrik Lundqvist is good, very good. Tripp Tracy started the Canes broadcast with the remark that he would have rather seen Igor Shesterkin in net for the Rangers because of how critical Lundqvist has been in the Rangers’ recent victories against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Despite how elite Lundqvist is, the Hurricanes’ special teams proved that even the most elite goalies will eventually allow goals under enough pressure. Sebastian Aho scored the second goal for the Carolina Hurricanes after getting to the net and tapping in a shot by Andrei Svechknikov.

Getting to the net is as important as ever against Henrik Lundqvist. The formula the Hurricanes used today of testing Lundqvist at every opportunity and posting at the net proved successful.

Another power-play unit standout was blueliner Sami Vatanen, who made his presence known in today’s game. Not only did Vatanen perform well on the power-play unit, I think that he began to make a case for a contract with the team.

One change I would like to see for Monday’s game is the number of penalties that the Hurricanes take.  Both teams traded numerous power plays, and that only increased the Rangers’ chances at scoring. However, the penalty kill for the Hurricanes was elite and gave the Rangers very little room to work with.

The Ranger’s second goal was a shorthanded goal towards the end of a Cane’s power play. The Canes have to keep up the pressure on the Rangers at all times to prevent any scoring opportunities like this one. Despite this goal, I think the power play and penalty kill units for the Canes were fantastic.

The last takeaway is all about how the Canes’ netminder gave the team the chance to pull ahead.

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