Carolina Hurricanes: Canes Look for Bounce Back Win Against Jackets

Ned Back in Net

There have been many positives about this historic start to the season for the Carolina Hurricanes, but one that might be the biggest is the emergence of Alex Nedeljkovic.

Nedeljkovic is expected to get the start Thursday night and he deserves it. He has been exceptional since his introduction into the lineup following the Petr Mrazek injury. He posts a record of 6-2-1 with an excellent .929 save percentage, 2.08 save percentage, and a shutout as well.

While James Reimer has been decent in Mrazek’s absence, Ned has been sparkling. There is a serious decision to be made once Mrazek is re-inserted into the lineup. Reimer’s experience helps and there could be questions about whether Ned can take on a regular backup workload consistently, but I think you need to trust the kid and give the hot hand the games he deserves.

The team has looked confident in front of the young netminder and it’s been Reimer who has been  the more shaky of the two as of late.

The Canes will ride Ned again tonight and I expect him to be excellent like he has all year.

Nino is Scorching

We know last season was a down year for Nino Niederreiter. This was going to be a big year for him to see if he could get back to the level he was at immediately after the Hurricanes traded for him. Boy, has he bounced back.

Prior to the season, I said Nino needed to have a big year to get the Canes where they want to be. Clearly, he read my article because through 28 games, he is tied for the team-lead in goals with 13. He has found his game again and has become a problem for teams night in and night out.

It’s not just the goals going on this season. He has been a presence. He has used his big body to wreak havoc on the forecheck, cause turnovers, and screen in front of the net. He has also been playing with players who have great skill level such as Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas. He has showcased his big shot with many of his goals being snipes from the circle.

It’s just a pleasure to see Nino get back to his game and prove his worth. He has always been in my mind an underrated player in the league when he is on his game and this year, he is proving it.

Too Many Penalties

While the Canes have been sublime on the power play and the penalty kill this season, they got burned by the Red Wings on Tuesday.

The Red Wings scored two power play goals in the first period and that proved to be a huge factor in the game. This was against the 29th ranked power play in the league. This just proves you give too many opportunities to a team and they’ll make you pay.

The Canes have been the victim of taking too many offensive zone penalties as well as unnecessary penalties in their own end. Thankfully for Carolina, their penalty kill has been superb this season. However, the penalties have been a consistent issue. The Canes need to clean up that aspect of their game.

Andrei Svechnikov does not get the benefit of the doubt from the referees because of his age, but he needs to be smarter with his stick. He’s not the only one but he stands out because he takes the most minor penalties on the team. Staying out of the box just avoids the risk of an unnecessary goal at all costs.

Columbus is 25th in the league on the power play, but like we saw with Detroit, they can still find ways to score. Carolina needs to stay out of the box.

Final Game Notes

Expected Lines:

Forwards

Niederreiter-Aho-Necas

Svechnikov-Staal-Fast

McGinn-Martinook-Foegele

Paquette-Geekie-Lorentz

Defense

Slavin-Hamilton

Skjei-Pesce

Fleury-Bean

Goalies

Nedeljkovic

Reimer

Goalie Matchup:

Canes – Nedeljkovic

Blue Jackets – Korpisalo

Score Prediction

I think the Canes bounce back in a big way tonight. They’ll clean up their special teams miscues from Tuesday and put some behind Korpisalo on the power play tonight. Expect a big night from the Sebastian Aho line with Nedeljkovic holding down the fort in net.

Question for CC Readers: Do the Canes respond tonight after the loss to Detroit Tuesday?