Carolina Hurricanes: Three keys to beating the Blue Jackets
Another Keys to the game means that it is also another gameday for the Carolina Hurricanes! With the team going to Columbus, Ohio to take on the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena, Carolina are about to face an opponent, unlike anything they have faced so far this season. Columbus is an NHL mystery box. A young team with a solid defensive core and capable goaltending can do anything in this league.
Carolina travel to the home of the NHL’s cannon with a 3-0-0 record on the year. Now that the Canes are 3.6% of the way to a perfect season, it’s important for us to look at what needs to happen for the team tonight to make it 4-0-0. Columbus is a team that is known for not rolling over for opponents and the Canes will have to work hard to overcome their 2nd divisional foe of the season.
Columbus’ season has started in a very similar fashion to the Canes. Columbus is 3-1-0 on the season after beating the New York Islanders in their most recent game. A lot of Columbus’ players have impressive point totals inflated by an 8-2 victory in their first game of the season over the Arizona Coyotes so it is difficult to know how good their forwards will be. One thing is for sure, this will not be an easy game.
Carolina will have to be at their best and start to play well from the defense out if they want to escape tonight with 8 points in the standings. It cannot be a slow start, and the team will have to compete for 60 minutes. Keeping the cannon fire quiet could decide the game. Whether this finishes 1-0 or 6-5, this should be a very entertaining game.
Early dominance
Carolina’s control of the games they have played so far this season has aided them a lot in their quest for the results they currently have. That will have to continue tonight. Taking control of the game early and trying to break through to take it away from a stout defensive team like Columbus is important.
Dominance doesn’t even have to be offensive zone time with the puck. Just get the puck in deep and get on the forecheck. Allow the forwards to buzz and confuse whichever netminder Columbus elect to go with. We know that the Canes’ worth ethic will be there and we know that it’s going to have to be there to triumph over the Blue Jackets.
Whoever scores first in this game could easily walk out of the building with both points tonight. With the Carolina Hurricanes knowing they will need to get out of the traps early in this game, it’s going to really be a case of whichever goaltender faulters first. In the event Carolina draws first blood, it puts them in a pretty commanding position given the struggles that Columbus has among their forwards usually.
Rain shots down on goal, get into puck battles deep, trap the zone, and recycle the puck. It’s difficult to do at the NHL level, but it’s going to require the Canes to grind their win out if they’re going to escape the discovery city with eight points in the standings. It’s not an easy task, but it’s going to be rewarding if they can do it.
Martin Necas
Carolina’s forward core has been murderous this season. With the SAT line currently exploding for points from everyone, there’s been a player who came up big last season who’s fallen silent. While the rest of the team seems to have taken big leaps forward, Martin Necas seems to have disappeared.
This is not to pile on the young Czech forward. With the Canes right-winger only having two assists on the season, he’s not exactly struggled to get on the board. His performances have been lackluster, to say the least. It’s not been a major issue, but his performances have not been of the same caliber as they were at the end of last season.
When the Canes forward steps onto the ice right now, there’s not the same fear factor with the opponents that used to be there, like the bubble last year. With Carolina’s top-line right now carrying the load somewhat sufficiently, Necas really needs to get it together in terms of his skating. He doesn’t seem to have the same threat he did, even as a rookie.
I don’t know if it’s just an early season and Necas is like the rest of the team with trying to knock the rust off, but it needs to come quickly because Carolina’s depth cannot sustain without contributions from guys like Martin Necas. It’s not going to hold up in the regular season, let alone when the playoffs roll around so getting it fixed now could solve a lot of headaches down the road.
It’s nothing against Necas, we think the world of him here at Cardiac Cane, but this player has the ability to just destroy worlds and reinvent franchises. His speed, hands, and brain combination are scary. He’s a genuine threat to blast past you with his speed, hit a perfect pass, or label one top corner from the blueline and it becomes difficult to deal with when he is at his best.
Goalie duel
Carolina is going to be in a netminders battle tonight. Columbus’ defensive system. Let’s not lie to ourselves here. Carolina is going to need to beat the Columbus system and then the Blue Jackets netminder on multiple occasions. That’s not going to happen, so they will need their own netminder to step up big time. And if you need someone to step up big, why not a big man?
I’m obviously talking about Frederik Andersen. At 6’4, Freddie doesn’t leave much of a target, to begin with, and he’s been very solid so far this season. Being a major reason the Canes have been so good to start the season, Andersen is going to be required to play one of his best games as a Hurricane if the team aspires to collect two points from Ohio tonight.
He’s been fantastic so far with his .938 save percentage and a goals-against-average of 2. He’s been outrageously fantastic. For someone who was labeled as an “unknown” by many outsiders going into the season, Andersen has been playing like he’s on a mission to prove people wrong. To say he was a human highlight reel against Montreal would be an understatement at times.
With the game shaping up to look like a shooting gallery for Carolina with Columbus looking to get spells on the break, this might be a crucial game that is looked back on if Carolina does not walk out of Ohio with two points. In the Central last year, these two were fairly equal when they played against each other. It was Carolina’s dominance against everyone else that set them apart.
Tonight, Carolina needs nothing less than two points. They travel to a very hostile building in Columbus, with a passionate fan base and a strong following. We know that Carolina is the better team on paper, but we also know that the Canes’ struggles going forward outside of their top line have plagued them in games like this. If you can’t watch the game, we’ll be tweeting about it on Twitter @CardiacCane, and let’s GO CANES!
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