3 keys to get back to winning ways against the Buffalo Sabres
Tonight, the Carolina Hurricanes have the task of playing the floundering Buffalo Sabres. Carolina is desperate for two points at this moment, and they need to do whatever it takes to see the organization get back to winning ways. Going 1-4-1 in the last 6 is a major concern, and a team like Buffalo coming into PNC Arena could be the perfect antidote before starting another Western road trip.
With an 8-12-3 record and having lost their last 3 on the bounce, the Sabres come into this game with a reputation for incompetence. After having to sell off the face of their franchise for pennies on the dollar due to poor management of an injury sustained last year, Buffalo is trying to rebuild its reputation as much as its roster. This team is a sitting duck for the Carolina Hurricanes.
We’ve seen the Canes choke games to teams worse than the Sabres, so nothing in this league is for certain, but they will need a victory from this game if they want to be taken seriously as Stanley Cup contenders. It’s not been a great season after their 9-0-0 start, despite now being 15-6-1, they’ve lost more games since their 9 game winning streak than they’ve won and it’s deeply concerning.
When the Canes meet the northern New Yorkers at PNC Arena, they will need to deal with the visitors swiftly and effectively. It’s not a time for the team to mess around and act like they’re going to play a strong defensive game hit back on the counter-charge because they couldn’t do that right now if they wanted to. Dominate the play, dominate the puck, and force the issue on Buffalo.
SCORE MORE THAN 2 GOALS, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S HOLY
Are you sick of hearing about the Carolina Hurricanes issues in front of the goal with the puck? Are you sick of me writing about said issues in preview after preview? Well, I’m certainly sick of writing about these issues and I’m running out of creative ways to say “The Carolina Hurricanes could not score a goal with 50 shots against their former 3rd string netminder”. It’s starting to take a toll on me.
Carolina’s “scary” attack seems to have been a ghost because when it showed up, it was capable of scaring and intimidating everyone. But since then, it’s decided to take the rest of the year off and it’s on vacation somewhere in the Caribbean. This is getting ridiculous. In 7 of the last 11 games, the canes have been held to 2 goals or less. That’s not good enough for any team with cup aspirations.
Moving forward, is there a solution for the Canes to get the puck to the net short of running the two opponent netminders and trying their luck with an EBUG? Very simply put, the Canes need to get traffic to the net and keep the puck on the ice. Take the goalie’s eyes away and shoot for rebounds. You’re not going to be able to blast pucks in, so you need to be greasy and score grinding goals.
Either that or you give the puck to a player with a very talented shot and give them somewhere to aim at in hopes that the infection of poor luck going around the dressing room hasn’t gotten to them yet. This is something that I am far less optimistic about, but it’s not something you can rule out given some of the talents on this roster. I just pray to god this game doesn’t result in a comeback in the 3rd period that the Canes lose.
Goaltending needs to stay consistent
Carolina’s netminders have been what the organization has dreamed of having for years. Consistent, and you know what you’re getting. They give you a chance to win every game. If you told the Carolina Hurricanes this 15 years ago, they would have this and a fantastic defense in front of them, you would hope that the Canes were a consistently great team that could do anything.
While other aspects of the team have faltered and found rough patches, the crease has been somewhat consistently well defended by the two new additions with the large pads. Whenever the Hurricanes take to the ice with the modern team, you know that this team is going to get solid performances in the blue paint and they will not roll over, and I have an unusual suspicion that he might be needed in this one.
Carolina’s two netminders have shown their skill when pucks are being fired at them, and it’s often been with fantastic results. In some of the games, these netminders have been the sole reason the Canes have escaped with points, and in other games, they’ve dealt well with the limited amounts they have had to face. They’ve been effective in either role for the team.
Tonight, I shockingly don’t think the Canes are going to be dominated by the Sabres, but the team will give up chances and the team will have to be bailed out by its netminders at points in this game. Carolina’s netminders don’t tend to shy away from big tasks, but this game isn’t one. Having them show up here isn’t as easy as saying they’ll show up against Florida.
Powerplay momentum continues to build
Carolina’s powerplay found some success late in the Senators game as they found a way to break the duck on the Canes half of the scoreboard late on and start to give the team life. If the powerplay can continue to build on its success from the game against Ottawa, then Carolina could see this game become a laugher and pretty quickly.
Most offenses will go as their powerplay dictates. Carolina hadn’t scored in 20 attempts but got one last night, and the team sprung to life because they had hope. It’s important for a good team like the Hurricanes to continue their abilities to produce on the powerplay. From now going forward, they need to ensure that the team makes the most of their powerplay chances.
It’s going to be a difficult game for both units, and they need to play well. If the powerplay is clicking, it becomes a whole lot easier to score goals given the issues the team has suffered trying to put the puck in the net at 5v5. When we talk about what drags the Canes out of this slump, a large part of the solution is going to be the powerplay and its ability to add when the chance
Carolina’s game against the Sabres tonight is going to be vital for the team to ensure a win for the hockey club. It’s been too long since the Canes have gotten back into the swing of things. They will need all the success they can muster to get two points out of this game.