Carolina Hurricanes: Keys to Game 1 vs. Nashville
The Carolina Hurricanes are back in black at the PNC Arena tonight as they host the Nashville Predators for Game 1 of the 2020-21 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. For the first time since relocating from Hartford, the Carolina Hurricanes have successfully made the playoffs for 3 consecutive seasons.
The Carolina Hurricanes also (for the first time since a very special year, 2005-06) captured a Division Championship, and would finish out the 2020-21 NHL regular season the 3rd best team in the NHL.
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Accolade after accolade, triumph after triumph, it has all led here: Round 1, Game 1 of the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Carolina Hurricanes have earned every single point, every single win this season, and that isn’t going to change going into the first round against an underdog team.
The Nashville Predators are scrappy, they’ve got playoff experience, a healthy mix of veterans and youth, and have one of the best defensive corps in the NHL at the moment.
This series won’t be a walk in the park by any means, but (like every one of life’s journeys), we have to start at the beginning – the keys to opening the playoffs with a win.
3. Nedeljkovic Gets the Start
Tonight, rookie goaltending phenom Alex Nedeljkovic will make his NHL playoff debut.
After being passed over by literally every active NHL team after the Canes placed him on waivers earlier this season, Nedeljkovic has had a meteoric rise to success over the past several months.
Ned reigns supreme over all NHL goaltenders with at least 15 starts this season with a stunning 15-5-3 win/loss record, .932 SV%, and 1.90 GAA.
There is nothing that can be said that hasn’t already been said about the Carolina Hurricanes’ newfound franchise netminder.
He has excelled at every single level he has been given an opportunity to play at, and I don’t expect that trend to stop tonight.
Alex Nedeljkovic has the tools necessary to carry the Carolina Hurricanes’ to a victory tonight, in this series, and eventually on to a Cup win. He’s a superior talent in every sense of the word, and I have a very strong feeling that we’re about to see him elevate his game to a whole new level this evening.
2. Goalscorers Back in Form
Right before the Carolina Hurricanes’ last game of the regular season (in which most of these guys were scratched or didn’t play very much as a precaution), the Carolina Hurricanes’ goalscorers were heating up at just the right time.
Sebastian Aho had 5 points (3g, 2a) alongside Andrei Svechnikov (2g, 3a) in the last 3 games against the Chicago Blackhawks; Teuvo Teravainen had 3 points (1g, 2a), and Vincent Trocheck had 4 points (4a) in that same time-frame as well.
Needless to say, the Carolina Hurricanes have secured more point-producing security than they’ve arguably ever had since relocating from Hartford. Even then, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Whalers team this prolific at playmaking and scoring goals.
To Nashville’s credit, they do have one of the best defensive lineups in the NHL right now (not to mention the goaltending that got them to the playoffs in the first place), so the Canes will have their work cut out for them in continuing this torrid pace of putting points on the scoreboard.
Watch for the Canes’ top point-getters to show up in a big way tonight.
1. Loudest House in the NHL
The biggest piece to the Carolina Hurricanes’ success tonight is none other than the Caniacs themselves.
The Nashville Predators are under a strange delusion that the Bridgestone Arena is the loudest arena in the NHL, but they are (objectively and subjectively) incorrect.
The PNC Arena, thanks to the Caniacs, is far and away the loudest house in the NHL, bar none. I can’t recall a time or place that was so loud, I could feel my skin vibrating. It’s finally time to bring the noise in the playoffs once again, and I know those of you in attendance won’t disappoint.
I know capacity hasn’t increased back to 100% yet, and likely won’t for some time, but those of you that are lucky enough to be in attendance tonight, scream extra loud for those of us watching along at home and show the Predators what “Take Warning” really means.
Game Notes
Location: PNC Arena
Puck Drop: 8:00pm EST
TV: Bally Sports South
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
Uniforms: Black Alts
Projected Lineup:
- Niederreiter – Aho – Teravainen
- Foegele – Trocheck – Necas
- Svechnikov – Staal – Fast
- Martinook – Lorentz – McGinn
- Skjei – Hamilton
- Bean – Pesce
- Gardiner – Hakanpaa
Injuries: Paquette (lower body), Slavin (lower body, game-time decision)
Scratches: Geekie, McCormick, Ryan, McKeown, Shore
Projected Goalie Matchup:
Carolina: Alex Nedeljkovic, 15-5-3, .932 SV%, 1.90 GAA
Nashville: Juuse Saros, 21-11-1, .927 SV%, 2.28 GAA
Score Prediction:
151. 3. 109. Prediction. 1
Moneypuck.com gives the Carolina Hurricanes a 64.1% chance of winning tonight’s matchup.
Hot. 2021 NHL Playoffs: Round 1 Preview. light