3 keys to a win at home against the Ottawa Senators
Tonight the Carolina Hurricanes will get a chance at the normal start time at PNC Arena as the Canes host the Ottawa Senators. This is a game that Carolina needs to find a way to win because this Ottawa team is struggling. Two points and another tally in the win column is what the Carolina Hurricanes need from this game to ensure that they see continued success moving forward.
Carolina’s recent lack of scoring and issues with winning could very much come to an end tonight. Obviously, tonight won’t be an instant fix, but it could go a long way to ensuring that the team gets back into the habit of putting the puck into the goal rather than right at the goalie. We’ve been highly critical of the team’s offensive output recently because it hasn’t been good enough.
It’s a regular start time for the boys, and that means that it’s time for the Canes to settle back into the routine for this one 7 PM start time before they get thrown back to the west coast for another extended period of time. This is the normal start time, and the boys will need to be ready and aggressive from the getgo, unlike their start in Dallas during that 4-1 loss to the Stars.
Tonight, the Canes face a limping Senators team. With their season derailed by COVID, the Senators currently sit bottom of the NHL’s Atlantic division. This is the time for this talented Canes team to devour their opponent and show their class to the hockey world. We know that the Canes started the season like cup favorites, so now it’s time for the organization to once again return to the status of cup favorites.
Score more than twice and this game should fall into place
When the Carolina Hurricanes take to the ice, there will be one task assigned to them. Score more than two goals. I’ve harped on about this team’s offensive struggles in the last 10 games, only scoring more than 2 goals 4 times. They need to be up to the standards that they set for themselves in this game and get back into the win column with two points from this one.
In the last couple of games, Carolina’s attackers have seen their chances deteriorate into just rebounds. It’s time for the forwards to learn where the netting is behind goalies as opposed to shooting the puck right into the logo of the netminder. Carolina can score, but they just haven’t been doing it recently. They need to figure out how to go back to putting the puck in the net.
Carolina’s scoring woes have been an issue for many games now, and tonight they play a team who have had struggles in their own end. Carolina will get a chance to jump on Ottawa early and really make this game simple to get back to winning ways. Putting the puck in the net is something that Carolina needs to remember if they want to be a successful hockey team.
Carolina has scored its way out of trouble once or twice before. During the season, they’ll have to find a way to win run and gun-style games when they come up. The best way to prepare for a game that turns into a shootout is to have the offense ready and rearing to go with some momentum from scoring in previous games and this is a great chance to step up that momentum.
With no new bodies to report, next man up again
With no one quite ready to return from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol, so it will be the same six guys that went in Texas for the Hurricanes again in this one. This includes two call-ups from the Chicago Wolves who performed well in their Hurricanes regular-season debuts. Now, they will get to play at PNC Arena in front of the best fans in hockey. It’s a different task than Dallas.
Now, you get favorable matchups, and you’ll get the home crowd behind you. Everyone knows that the Caniacs are the best fans in all of the hockey landscape, and it’s time for the organization’s admirers to back their new boys in a tricky game for the call-ups. It’s not going to be easy for anyone on the defensive unit, but these two in particular are going to be called upon to deliver.
This also means that we will need to see the veterans of this blueline step up unlike they did in Dallas. This is a potential trap game at home to a team that is underperforming against their expectations and we saw this kind of trap when the team met the Seattle Kraken in the Emerald City. If the defense isn’t on point tonight, this game could be another in the snowballing downfall of the Canes.
Now, it’s important for the team to deliver a strong team defensive performance. They got carved apart in Dallas by speed and couldn’t get back into the game due to a good goaltending performance. With all due respect to the Ottawa Senators, their offense doesn’t pose as high a threat as Dallas’ so the defense will need to be good to give a stuttering offense some respite.
Upping the Antti yet again for the Hurricanes
For this one, the Canes have elected to give the goaltender responsible for most of their hot start to the season a little break after his performances in Dallas and against Washington. With the Canes turning to Finnish netminder and a goalie who has largely played the backup role for the Carolina Hurricanes this season, Antti Raanta. It’s a time for the goalie to redeem himself after a tough performance in Philadelphia.
Raanta’s been somewhat meh this season. Recording a .903 save percentage in 5 games with a 2.36 goals-against average. What this means for Raanta is that the numbers do not favor him, but he’s shown himself to be a capable starter. If you remember his game against Philly, he did not start well but would come up big time for the Canes when they needed him later in the year.
Now, the team has turned back to the Finnish #32, and he will get a chance to go for the Canes against a very tricky opponent. Ottawa has some good offensive talents, so Raanta will not be able to pull up the chair and be a spectator for most of the game as the Canes often allow their goaltenders to do. It’s not a case of making saves early, seeing the puck, and being solid throughout.
Raanta isn’t assured of any time with the Canes this year. We’ve already seen a call-up from the Wolves get plugged in and win a game, and the other Wolves netminder is one of the best in all of the American Hockey League. For a cap-strapped team like Carolina, Raanta will need to prove he’s worth keeping around before he is replaced with a younger model, and he’ll get his chance at that tonight.