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Carolina Hurricanes: 3 Keys to Beating the Bolts

By Conor Power

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 19: Jordan Staal #11 of the Carolina Hurricanes reacts after his teams 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 19, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 19: Jordan Staal #11 of the Carolina Hurricanes reacts after his teams 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 19, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 19: Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes speaks with James Reimer #47 during a timeout against the Boston Bruins during the third period in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 19, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 19: Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes speaks with James Reimer #47 during a timeout against the Boston Bruins during the third period in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 19, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Goaltending

Shock. Carolina are going to need stable goaltending. Hold the front page, this must be breaking news! Not like this has been said about this organisation every single day since it was relocated.

On a serious note, whichever goaltender goes against Tampa will need to be at their best to give the Canes a chance. We’ve seen both Petr Mrazek and James Reimer this season and we’ve seen them both perform in varying ways. Specifically Mrazek tends to be incredibly up and down whereas Reimer is traditionally solid, albeit with injury issues.

Reimer traditionally brings a calm to the defense in front of him. We’ve seen Reimer stonewall countless teams as a member of the Hurricanes, and put up some rather decent stats in the meantime. In a one off game against Tampa just trying to bridge the gap until the reinforcements arrive from Nashville, I feel that favors “Optimus Reim”.

Mrazek tends to be better in games when he’s only going to see 20 shots, and the defense in front of him will take the bulk of the load for the most part. Against a team like Detroit where he had a sub-20 save shutout for example. That’s when Mrazek is a very valuable goaltender because his concentration doesn’t dip when he’s not seeing a lot of the puck.

Against Tampa Bay, I think it fits Reimer’s style better. Tampa will not blow Carolina away on the shot clock if they don’t blow them away on the scoreboard. Tampa don’t shoot unless it’s a VERY high percentage chance it goes in. That’s why I would prefer to see him in here tonight. But it needs to be a big performance from whoever plays.

Mrazek may have a fire in his stomach after the way his last game ended in defeat to the lowly Detroit Red Wings (said with all due respect), and perhaps he could be given the chance to prove he’s a better goalie than that performance perhaps entailed. Giving him a shot at redemption might work out better in the week or so before the players on the COVID-19 list get back.

Either way, Tampa Bay are a team of highly talented forwards and dangerous offensive defensemen. They can kill teams with all four lines and all three defensive pairs too. They are not one dimensional. They can pin you in your own zone, exploit weaknesses, control you on their powerplays, and are just a truly dominant team. A bad goaltending performance will almost surely kill the Canes.

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