Carolina Hurricanes: Keys to beating disgraced Hawks
By Conor Power
Don’t start late
Carolina needs to start this game on time. If they can gain the lead early and start to put Chicago to the sword, the clock ticking down will become their friend. We know that the Hurricanes are on the second half of their back-to-back and will need to be out of the traps early and compete from puck drop to whistle.
We know that Carolina’s esteemed head coach will not let his team rest early. Carolina’s coaching staff is going to do everything it can to get the most out of every player on the roster. So ensuring that the team competes from puck drop until the final buzzer could be vital to seeing the Canes improve to 7-0-0 on the season.
We saw the Boston Bruins compete for 60 minutes on the second half of a back-to-back last night with travel. Carolina is still in Raleigh, they didn’t skate tonight and they have the option of some fresh bodies to go into the lineup. This team needs to start on time and there is really no excuse for it unless they’re looking ahead to tomorrow when there’s not a game.
Carolina started in a big way last night with a huge hit off the opening draw. Starting with that intensity again tonight could be very important for the Canes to see themselves continue to improve on the 6-0-0 start that the team has to begin this new year. This is a team Carolina should beat. A Stanley Cup contender needs to beat a 0-5-2 team.