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.