Carolina Hurricane: 3 Keys To Taking A Two Game Lead vs The Rangers

The Carolina Hurricanes prepare for game two against the Rangers

The Carolina Hurricanes are coming off a big victory against a talented New York Rangers team. Here are three keys to a potentially triumphant game two.

Well, how about that for the first game back after a 4-month hockey hiatus? The Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers played an extremely exciting game Saturday afternoon that saw both teams take a couple of blows… literally (See Featured Image).

The Canes and Rangers played some amazing hockey for having missed 4 months of real game action. The Rangers put up a good fight, although the Canes just seemed to dominant the game almost the entire time. The final score doesn’t necessarily symbolize that (3-2 in favor of the Canes) however, the Canes fended off 7 penalties without letting the Rangers capitalize on their power play.

Not only that but the Canes had the advantage in shots, face-off wins, power-play goals, as well as takeaways. The Canes came out the gates hot with assistant captain Jaccob Slavin scoring just 61 seconds into the contest.

The Canes will be looking at another noon game on Monday as they plan to take a two-game lead against Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers. So, how exactly can the Canes expect to secure another victory against New York?

The Carolina Hurricanes are a Stanley Cup Contending team, no doubt about it so this team must take it one game at a time by executing and playing the physical and fast game that Rod Brind’amour has implemented since becoming the head coach of the team.

The Right Man For the Net

The Carolina Hurricanes have a choice to make in the net.

One thing is for sure whoever starts in net, MUST be on their A-game, especially to lead a back to back that can end the series. While the Rangers ranked only 22nd out of 31 NHL teams in goals for during the 2019-2020 NHL regular season, they still have a TON of weapons at their arsenal.

Artemi Panarin, the Rangers star player has produced 9 points alone in his 4 games against Carolina this season. Keep in mind that the Rangers are also 4-0 against the Canes in the regular season. Panarin also has 95 points in just 69 games played during the regular season.

Panarin isn’t alone in his dominance against the Hurricanes this season. Mika Zibanejad, the Rangers second-leading scorer has produced 7 points in just 3 games against Carolina this season. Zibanejad also has 75 points (41 goals!!!) in just 57 games played this year.

Now to keep the theme going, the Hurricanes also have to worry about rising star defender Adam Fox. Does the name sound familiar? Well, if you have kept up with the Hurricanes then you will know that Fox, once upon a time was apart of the Carolina Hurricanes organization but essentially forced a trade to New York.

This is really unfortunate for Carolina because Fox is looking to be like an absolute stud! In 70 games this year as a rookie, Fox has put up 42 points which rank 7th on the team and he also ranks 2nd on the team in blocks with 92. Fox also has the peculiar ability to hold the puck away from opponents and speed the puck up ice in a flash.

The point is the Canes have a lot to handle with a top-heavy Rangers offense and whoever is in goal for the Canes is going to have a tough night keeping the puck out of the net. Mrazek did a good job in game 1 and should get the nod for game 2 however, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rod wanted to shake things up and give Reimer a chance to see if he can continue to hold down the fort for the Hurricanes.

Continue to be Physical

The Carolina Hurricanes need to continue the physical play.

One thing became abundantly clear in game 1, this series is going to be VERY physical. After watching game 1 between the Rangers and Hurricanes, I think most fans can agree that these two sides aren’t very fond of each other nor do they need fans to get the adrenaline pumping.

Game 1 had a ton of big hits on both sides and even a fight with an unexpected player. After some jawing from ranger forward Ryan Strome, Justin Williams decided he wanted to show him what a 38-year-old, 3 Stanley Cup champion could still do.

Justin Williams, a player who rarely fights got into it early in game 1. Now I’m not saying these guys hate each other but it seems to me like there is some strong dislike going on here and these two teams aren’t shy about throwing around their bodies either. This fight comes after Marc Staal, brother of Canes Jordan Staal and former Carolina Hurricanes star Eric Staal, checked rookie Martin Necas with a big hit early in the game.

Below you can see just one of the many big hits that went on in game 1.

The physical play likely won’t stop after just one game. The two teams combined for 68 hits in the first game back after the break. Suffice to say the players have been waiting to get back out there.

Though ultimately, the rangers had 12 more hits than the Canes and Carolina is likely going to need to step up its physical play in order to secure a two-game lead against this Rangers squad.

End the Lundqvist Curse for Good.

The Carolina Hurricanes need to continue to find ways to Score

As a lifelong Hurricanes fan, as much as I hate to admit it, Henrik Lundqvist has been amazing whenever he has faced the Carolina Hurricanes. Lundqvist has typically been a brick wall against the Canes in years past.

Although at the twilight of his career, Lundqvist seems to be slowing down a bit. In 30 games played this season, Lundqvist has posted a save percentage of .905 which is the lowest of his career. He has also allowed an average of 3.16 goals per game which ranks as the highest in his career. For those who aren’t aware you don’t want to have a high GAA or a low save percentage as a goalie.

If we are comparing that to years past, in the 2011-2012 season, Henrik posted a career-high save percentage of .930 as well as a career-low goal allowed percentage of 1.97 to go along with 39 wins that year.

Henrik’s career average for his save percentage has been an impressive .918 and a GAA of 2.43. This year against Carolina, in 3 games Lundqvist has averaged a .946 save percentage, while only allowing 7 total goals on 132 shots. He is called the Carolina Killer for a reason and the Canes are going to have to continue to find ways to get the puck past him.

Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, Turbo, Necas, Trocheck, are all going to have to be at the top of their game if they want to secure another win against this rangers team.

The lesson here for the young Hurricanes squad is to not underestimate Henrik’s ability in goal.