Carolina Hurricanes: Three keys to beating Nashville

Sebastian Aho in Nashville

Sometimes, there are players that love playing against a certain team, or in a certain city. Some Swedish goaltender on the Rangers used to turn into a brick wall as soon as you mentioned PNC Arena. Sebastian Aho seems to love the Nashville Predators. It just seems to be that whenever Aho and the Predators face-off, Aho celebrates.

I think back to the playoffs last year when Aho tipped the series-winning goal in when the teams played at Bridgestone Arena. Or when Aho blew the Predators open a few years ago for his 2nd ever career hat trick. Some of his more memorable moments have come against the Predators, which is unusual considering that it’s an opponent he only sees twice a year.

With an “A” planted firmly on his chest, Aho will need to lead by example against tonight as the teams face off. We know that Aho and the month of October are like the two siblings that always keep fighting. You never want the two to be together because it’s only going to end badly. That is no different for Aho and the month of October.

Seeing as the new alternate captain traditionally struggles during this time of the calendar, it will be important to ensure that the Finnish star gets his scoring touch together before the Carolina Hurricanes fall into a deep hole that they cannot pull themselves out of. Either the struggles of Aho in october continue, or he pulls the magic hat out against Nashville once again.

Aho struggled against the Islanders. Let’s be brutally honest. He had an assist on the night, but never really got into the full on Aho domination that we’ve become so accustomed to. New York did a great job of shutting him down, and never really allowed him to establish his dominance. His entire line was somewhat mute.

In all likelihood, there will be some shuffling of the lines. Either tonight or at some point in the not too distant future to dress the two players that sat out last night for different reasons. With this in mind, it’s likely Aho will have to be a force to start with, until the lineup starts to settle and w get an idea of who he’s going to be put with in the long run. Right now, he’s been replaced on the SAT line and is almost centering the 2nd line wingers.

Tonight would be a great time for Aho to step up big time and show that he is a genuine star in this league. Whether he’s underrated or not, he’s got a stage tonight to step up big time and show that he is rightfully the first name on the Team Finland Olympic roster. He’s the reason why the Hurricanes are scary up front, and why the team are so good.

That’s about it! Puck drop is again tonight at 8 PM EST at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Carolina will look to increase their winning streak to 2. Nashville will be looking to get on the board with their first win of the season. If you can’t watch the game with Mike Maniscalo and Tripp Tracy, we will be tweeting the game live on Twitter!