Cardiac Cane
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Carolina Hurricanes Look to Finish off The New York Rangers

By Omar Abdelgawad

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 03: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers slides on the ice looking to gain control of the puck from Andrei Svechnikov #37 of the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 3, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 03: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers slides on the ice looking to gain control of the puck from Andrei Svechnikov #37 of the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 3, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images) /
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Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers saves a shot on goal from Morgan Geekie #43 of the Carolina Hurricanes (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images)
Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers saves a shot on goal from Morgan Geekie #43 of the Carolina Hurricanes (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images) /

Defensive Offense

The Carolina Hurricanes need to play defense by playing offense

Putting that pressure has an interesting side effect, it generates incredible defense which helps goaltenders play their very best games.

Look back to the David Ayres game. The Carolina Hurricanes did not just sit back and try to defend a lead, they attacked, consistently, and scored a few more times. This frustrated the highest-paid offense in the league and they only mustered a few shots against an emergency back-up goaltender who easily made eight consecutive saves, even after giving up two on two shots.

This is the same gameplan to protect Petr Mrazek, who will be making his third straight start. That protection by keeping the puck at the other end of the ice consistently kept him focused and frustrated the Rangers enough that they, for the most part, only managed to generate low-quality chances against the Czech netminder who had himself a highlight reel afternoon:

Tonight, the Carolina Hurricanes need to continue their offensive push, score early, and continue to put pressure on the offensive zone and keep the puck away from the defensive zone as much as possible. They also have to continue improving their ability to clear the zone cleanly and give Petr Mrazek the ability to have a relaxed game.

They do that and tonight will end up being the Rangers final game of 2020.

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