Carolina Hurricanes, Svechnikov Clobber the New York Rangers

Mrazek Was (Almost) Unbeatable

The Carolina Hurricanes got the support needed in net.

I mentioned in my recap of the Washington Exhibition game that Petr Mrazek looked good and it was still his net to lose. Reimer looked good in that game, true, but the goals against him then were not really on him. Well, the Carolina defense tightened up and with that Petr’s ability to defend the net.

Game one saw him give up a pair on excellent shots on the 5v5. Today saw him break hearts and absolutely dominate with both blocker and glove. Especially the glove that saw him rob several high scoring chances from the dead slot.

Even the one goal that the Rangers did score, which came on an ill-timed 5v3 powerplay had to trickle over his glove to get into the net. That was a perfect shot from Artemi Panarin. It had to be to get past Mrazek today.

He sucked the soul of the rangers right out with his glove like some strange hockey-themed Power Ranger villain. But the Blue Rangers couldn’t win the day against him. When asked about his game plan moving forward Mrazek had this to say:

“We just have to play the same game we played Saturday and tonight. We didn’t give them anything special. Just play our game and focus on ourselves.

I would be hard-pressed to think that Rod Brind’amour would give the crease to James Reimer tomorrow, even on a back to back. With a two-game cushion you have to go with the hot hand in net. Expect more criminal activity from Petr Mrazek Tomorrow.

Team Chemistry is through the Roof

The Carolina Hurricanes are operating as a complete cohesive unit.

Tropic Thunder jokes aside, this team operates and communicates as well as any special operations team I have ever seen. And when it comes to guys like Andrei Svechnikov, they seem to shoot just as well. But more on him later.

There is a reason that the Rangers couldn’t get anything going without a two-man advantage. The Carolina offense continued to put pressure on the offensive zone until they either scored, drew a penalty, or got a whistle while defense managed to suffocate them whenever the Rangers managed to sneak the puck into the zone for some offense.

All three zones of the ice belonged to Carolina. They may be playing in Toronto but the Hurricanes have been taking the home-ice advantage concept straight to the heart. The Rangers were never allowed to set anything up while five on five offensively and even with the man advantage, they were forced to frantically throw the puck on the net where Mrazek could make an easy save.

On defense, the Rangers were lost and Henrik Lundqvist once again stopped this game from being too far out of control until late in the third period. Rangers fans, if you are reading this, your defense is terrible and it starts with the coaching. The Carolina Hurricanes bullied any real attempt at defending against them as they racked up the shots and the goals.

The fourth line obviously has some serious chemistry as Jordan Martinook, Morgan Geekie, and Brock McGinn combined together like some Captain Planet spin-off to generate the third goal of the game that truly sank the Rangers’ hopes for any sort of actual comeback.

There is no Stopping Svechnikov

The first playoff hat-trick in Carolina Hurricanes History.

The first line wasn’t the only one that had some serious chemistry. Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechikov have three points each as Svech ripped three impressive goals past Lundqvist to seal the first playoff hat-trick in Carolina History, the first hat trick in Andrei’s young career, and another multi-point game for these two superstars.

Each goal was special in its own way. From the clapper three seconds into their second powerplay of the night, to the magnificent two-on-one that officially sealed the deal for the Rangers. Andrei Svechnikov alone has as many goals in this game alone as the entire Rangers offense through two games.

The love for Svech has been well established. The crew back at PNC left him a little something in his stall for when the team returns, hopefully, no earlier than October.

But do not forget about Sebastian Aho either. He now has five points in these first two games. That has put him at 17 points all-time in the playoffs, gained in only 17 games. People in Montreal are fuming right now.

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When asked about his hat trick and how he plays at the playoff stage, Andrei Svechnikov ensured to give his Finnish teammates all the credit:

“Obviously it feels great, you know. Especially when you win that game. I think that I wouldn’t have that hattrick without my partners and I thank them for that.” “I just think [Sebastian Aho] is a special player, you know. He’s got great talent. He’s fast, like he’s just super talented, you know. I think we got good chemistry and with Teuvo Teravainen, between the three of us we got good chemistry.” “These are just playoff games. They are more physical games than the regular season and much more faster, you know. You have to make decisions quicker.”

Don’t worry Andrei, we know. It is no surprise really that along with Petr Mrazek, these two were our three stars of the night:

The Carolina Hurricanes will be the designated away team tomorrow night for their first nighttime hockey game since March. Then all our twitters will be time accurate. A win will send the Rangers on a bus back to NYC where they can figure out how it went wrong and will give the Hurricanes extra time to practice and prepare for the first round of the playoffs.

Quick note: Sami Vatanen has now played two games for the Hurricanes in this series, ensuring that the New Jersey Devils will receive at least a 4th Round Draft Pick.

Question for CC Readers: What was your favorite moment of the game?