Carolina Hurricanes: Three takeaways from 4-1 win over Toronto

Canes win! Carolina emerges from a tough game against Toronto victorious in a 4-1 fashion. A promising win over the Maple Leafs yet again sparks optimism in the fan base as the Carolina Hurricanes are now 5-0-0 through 5 games. There’s so much to take from this game, but let me start with something that is a criminal offense and something that we cannot be having.

Jaccob Slavin took a tripping call. His first stick infraction since the COVID-19 shutdown as the reigning Lady Byng winner was uncharacteristically sloppy for even half a second and it was very unlike the Colorado native. However, his dominant performance in this game and his deke for the 3rd goal were just outstanding.

Brett Pesce also received a particularly ugly hit and crashed into the end boards after being speared in the groin. He continued to play on, but these were major events that I felt needed to be talked about. How the NHL Department of Player Safety can justify not at least reviewing this incident, I do not know, but it doesn’t look like there will be any justification for this.

However, let’s not get too caught up in the bad parts of this game from a Canes perspective. There was not a lot to complain about in general. It was a well-played game from the organization, with a lot of dominant displays across the board. It inspired a quote from the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach saying that “This is what a Stanley Cup Contender looks and feels like”.

With that in mind and the confidence boost from beating the Toronto Maple Leafs while being called a Stanley Cup contender, let us dive into the three takeaways from this 4-1 win over the blue and white.