Carolina Hurricanes: Keys to First Miniseries Sweep vs. Chicago

Tonight, the Carolina Hurricanes look to finish up their first miniseries versus Chicago in the 2020-21 regular season with a sweep against the Blackhawks. If the Canes can pull it off, this will be the second miniseries sweep they’ve managed to pull off this season after sweeping the Dallas Stars at home in Raleigh last week.

In Tuesday night’s game, Chicago proved to be a more worthy opponent than was first anticipated; the Carolina Hurricanes couldn’t finish them off in regulation or the overtime period, and the teams resolved their differences in a shootout.

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James Reimer made an incredible glove save on Patrick Kane, which allowed Andrei Svechnikov to seal the deal for the Canes and close out the first of 8 meetings between the two teams this season.

Tonight’s game should hopefully end a bit sooner; we all love bonus hockey, but for all of our cardiovascular health’s sake, I’m hoping for a regulation win. Not only will this give the Canes a 7-1-0 record, but it’ll keep Chicago from collecting a slew of consolation points by forcing games into overtime or the shootout.

For the Carolina Hurricanes to make their second sweep of the season a reality, I think we’ll need to see more continued dominance from Vincent Trocheck, continued success on special teams, and continued stability in the crease.

Trocheck’s Impact

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it a thousand times: Vincent Trocheck is a massive addition to the Carolina Hurricanes’ roster.

Trocheck embodies the type of player that fully clicks with Rod Brind’amour’s style of hockey; successful at both scoring goals and preventing them while maintaining a strong physical presence anywhere on the ice.

Trocheck, along with Russian phenom Andrei Svechnikov, have all but carried the Carolina Hurricanes’ offensive production, tied for the team lead in both goals (5) and points (7) in 7 games played apiece.

Look for Trocheck to be just as effective at stymieing the Chicago Blackhawks tonight as he was in Tuesday night’s game.

Special Teams Success

The Carolina Hurricanes have seen a tremendous uptick in special teams production after their return from having their season put on pause due to complications from COVID.

In 7 games played, the Carolina Hurricanes have had 27 powerplay opportunities that have led to 7 powerplay goals. More than 50% of those goals have come within the past three games, giving the Canes the 10th best powerplay in the league at 25.9%.

As far as penalty killing goes, the Carolina Hurricanes have always been very solid on the PK, and this season has been no exception so far. The Canes currently boast the 3rd best penalty kill in the league, trailing Colorado (1st) and Boston (2nd) with a penalty kill percentage of 88%.

Special teams, especially the penalty kill, have always been a deciding factor for the Carolina Hurricanes; the past few years, however, it has proven to be a driving force in the Canes’ success as opposed to a driving force behind the Canes’ mediocrity pre-2018. Hopefully they continue their trend with special teams tonight in Chicago.

Final Notes

Location: United Center, Chicago IL
TV: Fox Sports Carolinas
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
Uniforms: White Aways
Potential Lineup:

• Teravainen – Aho – McGinn
• Niederreiter – Trocheck – Necas
• Svechnikov – Staal – Foegele
• Dzingel – Geekie – Martinook
• Slavin – Hamilton
• Skjei – Pesce
• Gardiner – Fleury

Goalie Matchup:

Carolina: James Reimer, 4-0-0, .915% save percentage, 2.19 GAA
Chicago: Malcolm Subban, 0-1-1, .889 save percentage, 3.95 GAA