Carolina Hurricanes: Keys to CBJ matinee game
Carolina finds themselves in a rough situation. Coming out of Chicago, where the Canes split the series and did not play well in the slightest while also losing emerging star Martin Necas to a scary head injury. It was a rough week in the Windy City, but now the Hurricanes find themselves with a chance for redemption in the Arch City.
In Ohio’s capital, Carolina will face a seemingly lackluster Columbus Blue Jackets squad who have been very mediocre to this point in the young season. They have an oddly pleasing record at 5-4-3 and sit in the top 4 places in the Discovery Central division. However, they may seem a little high because, for those mathematical minds, you’ll notice the record discrepancy, having played 4 more games than the Carolina Hurricanes.
Being lead by Oliver Bjorkstrand, the Jackets scoring comes from deep within. To start the season, they did not have someone who could score for fun. They will grind you to dust like any John Tortorella coached team. He alone is sometimes worth just watching the end of the games, but not the point. He runs a very well disciplined Blue Jackets team.
Now, you notice how I said at the start of the season the Jackets didn’t have someone who can score for fun? They do now! Columbus got themselves a new toy. Patrik Laine is a Columbus Blue Jacket and oh, boy can he score almost at will. One of the best shots in the league, he will pose a dangerous threat. His scoring ability will need to be respected.
In that deal, Columbus did lose Pierre Luc-Dubois who seems to always eat Carolina alive, but they did gain someone who tends to fly a little under the radar. Jack Roslovic, will also be playing. Not quite the same caliber as Laine, but a good depth piece who may cause issues. Carolina will need to appreciate the danger that all Columbus’ new forwards possess.
Columbus also boasts a fantastic back-end. With Seth Jones and Zach Werenski headlining the 6 men back there, they’re very capable all over the ice. It will take a lot to generate scoring chances against this back end, and it’s going to take a great performance from everyone on the team to start to dominate this Jackets team.
Even if Carolina starts to generate scoring chances, Joonas Korpisalo will still be tough to beat. One of the strengths of the Columbus squad is their ability to run with either goaltender and although Elvis Merzlikins is hurt, Korpisalo is still not going to be a sieve. It’s going to require a lot from the Canes to get 4 points from Columbus.
So, let’s dive into what it will take for the Carolina Hurricanes to get out of Nationwide Arena with everything they need to continue their good start to the 2020-21 NHL season.
Skating woes
During the entire 125 minutes played at the United Center, it looked like the Carolina Hurricanes were skating in quicksand. It was just not up to scratch. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, and that just isn’t good enough. Carolina got away with one in Chicago due to the high-end talent, but that will be shut down in Columbus. They need to get back to racing around the ice.
I know this is going to be far more difficult without, potentially, the best skater in the organization, but it has to be done. You need some of the faster guys lower down the lineup such as Warren Foegele, to get back to skating like their lives depend on it.
Something with Foegele and a couple of others is that they were obviously out on the NHL’s COVID-19 list. There is going to be some rust, and it’s going to take some time for the 4 guys who have been back to get up to speed, but this is the time when you need them to step up. You need them to find their legs again if the Canes are going to get something out of Columbus.
It’s not just in terms of speed either. Some of the slower skaters on the team just need to get their legs moving again. Someone specifically that I saw coasting around the ice far more than head coach Rod Brind’amour would like is Haydn Fleury. I’m well aware that we all love the story of how hard he’s had to work, but he’s not exactly been great this season so far.
This is not me personally attacking him, more than half the roster seemed to be off in terms of their skating. I’m just wanting to use Fleury here specifically to illustrate the point I am trying to make. Everyone needs to be better. Whether it was fatigue or if it was something else, it needs to be eradicated if the Canes are going to get 2 points from Columbus.
Teuvo Teravainen Time
In my keys to beating the bolts, I mentioned Martin Necas was the solution to covering for the absence of Turbo. Now, Teuvo Teravainen needs to reciprocate. Teravainen is one of the premier players on this Canes roster, and he has been quiet since coming back from the COVID-19 NHL protocol list, and understandably so. He was locked in a hotel room for 2 weeks, he will be rusty.
However, that needs to turn around tonight for Carolina to have hope of beating the Jackets. As I am writing this, Necas was in street clothes at the Hurricanes Wake County practice facility today, and it’s unlikely he plays against the Jackets. This means someone will need to step up big to fill the shoes of the young Czech, and who better than the man Necas stepped up to fill in for?
I know it’s still way too soon to be asking for Teuvo Teravainen to go back to spinning around on a dime, throwing the puck into the slot, and showing himself to be a pinball wizard as it turns a corner, stops for a coffee, realizes it’s lost all before it lands perfectly on the tape of one of his linemates. He truly is a wizard with the puck when he’s going and Carolina needs him back there.
It’s completely understandable for Teravainen to have been a little sluggish on his return, but now he needs to step up because this team needs him. He’s no longer flying under the radar as an underrated player. He’s a big part of the organization in both ends of the ice, and Carolina needs him right now to step up drastically and help the production of the forwards and stabilize a line defensively.
Teravainen probably isn’t in good enough game shape to slot into his rightful place on the SAT line, that’s just true. However, he needs to be playing higher up the lineup, and he needs to show signs of his production picking up. He’s got 2 points in 5 games. That’s more than nothing, but that’s not the Teuvo Teravainen we’ve come to know and love.
It’s almost going to be a case of waking the sleeping giant that Teravainen can be and then let him go ballistic when the puck is on his tape. Whether that’s done by easing him onto the powerplay or throwing him into the fire 5-on-5, something needs to be done to see a rise in production from the Helsinki, Finland native.
From his 318 games as a Carolina Hurricane so far, he’s acquired 74 goals and 173 assists. That’s the Teravainen that the Carolina Hurricanes will need in order to escape this matinee with two points. It’s an incredibly difficult task for Teuvo to be asked to get back to being a point per game player in his 3rd game back, but big players step up in big games. Without Necas, this is a big game.
Team defense needs to improve
Carolina gave up way too many scoring chances to a Chicago Blackhawks team that really should not have been generating that many. It was only the elite scoring talent that allowed Carolina to scramble from Chicago with a single win. Across the entire team, the Canes need to seal the defensive aspect of the game.
I am not going to pin this on a single player, this is throughout the team. Carolina was turning the puck over in the defensive zone, they’re giving the puck up in transition, icing way too much, and it was just a poor series against the Blackhawks. However, they need to step up big time because this is going to be a tight, cagey, defensive affair and this is what Carolina needs to thrive in.
Against Columbus, Carolina will get a really accurate example of playoff hockey. Physicality will be amplified, Columbus will be well-coached and well-disciplined as I mentioned earlier, which means the refs will likely swallow their whistles, and calls will be tough to get. That means Carolina will also need to stay out of the box, don’t take stupid penalties.
More importantly, Carolina gave up 9 goals in 2 games in Chicago. That is not good enough. They will need to be far better at stopping scoring chances, stopping shots from getting to whichever goaltender starts (as I am writing this, I have no idea who’s starting), and keep Columbus to the outside of the rink.
Forwards need to cover for the pinching defenseman, and they can’t fly the zone before the time allows them to, and they can’t abandon their assignments defensively. It’s going to be a battle all night, and the Canes will need to rise up to that challenge. They can’t fear board battles, they can’t be afraid to lay the body and forecheck.
I’m making this sound like it’s simple, this league is anything but. Carolina could get blown out with 5 goals all being amazing solo plays by Blue Jackets, and this is practically useless. But this does not mean that the game plan should differ all too much. This is a game that, if the Canes are at their best, they should win.
Game information
More from Cardiac Cane
- 2023 Southeast Rookie Showcase: Takeaways from the Canes’ Strong Showing in Florida
- Week Two Coverage Of College Hockey In NC
- Derek Stepan Ends His On Ice Career As A Hurricane
- The Southeast Rookie Showcase Will Be a Good Look at Carolina’s Future
- Noesen Ready To Provide Depth For Canes
When: 3 PM EST
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
TV Channels: FOX Sports Carolina
Radio Station: 99.9 FM The Fan
Projected Line-ups:
Forwards
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Brock McGinn
Nino Niederreiter – Vincent Trocheck – Teuvo Teravainen
Ryan Dzingel– Jordan Staal– Warren Foegele
Jordan Martinook– Morgan Geekie– Jesper Fast
Defensemen
Jaccob Slavin– Brett Pesce
Brady Skjei–Dougie Hamilton
Jake Gardiner–Haydn Fleury
Goalies
3. 109. 2. 113. Prediction
The Carolina Hurricanes have a slim 52.5% chance of winning according to MoneyPuck.com
The Blue Jackets are the only rival to move with the Carolina Hurricanes to the Central Divison. This will be the first of eight important matchups.
Question for CC Readers: Who is going to take this game?
Next. Canes dish out some serious Twitter sass. dark