Three keys to win in first game in Seattle against the Kraken
By Conor Power
Carolina’s stars need to be the difference
When you look at Carolina’s roster and Seattle’s roster, you will notice two major differences. Carolina’s netminders have been excellent this season, but the other is the one I want to talk about here. On the top line of the Carolina Hurricanes, you will find some of the top talents in the NHL. Carolina’s high-end talents will need to carry them through this one.
Players like Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov will be needed to guide the team through this game. Seattle does not have top-end to combat them if they are at their best. Seattle won’t be able to keep up in a shootout. They have a lot of good players in their top nine, but they don’t have a genuine star on the team like Carolina does. Now, this is why they make the big money.
Winning a game like this in a new building, hearing voices they’ve not heard before in the crowd, against a new team, this has the makings of a trap game. This is where you give your stars the time and space to guide you through this game. They need to make the difference and break this game open. Seattle will be resilient, but they’re still an expansion team.
For the Canes, do whatever you have to do to escape Seattle with two points and get back to the east coast. It’s obvious that the team has struggled with issues in their own zone, so getting the puck behind the goaltenders and forcing the issue all night is going to be in the team’s best interests. They can push and control this game as they need to if they score first, and can dominate.