Game Preview: Hurricanes v. Sharks
By Chris Baker
If you take the tried and true Mike Leach approach, the Hurricanes v Sharks match-up will be an interesting one Friday. It does not take a marine biologist to know hurricanes do not actually beat sharks, but they confuse them and make it tough to live in their usual habitat.
On the ice, this game makes for an interesting battle, but one the Carolina Hurricanes should handle and handle well.
One thing the San Jose Sharks have going for them is they actually have a better record on the road than at home. 16-5-2 is not great, but compared to 12-9-3 it is not terrible. But that has not been the case of late.
Coming to Raleigh, the Sharks will have lost to Detroit in overtime 3-2, been shutout by Boston 4-0, and punched in the nose by Columbus 5-3. Not the best string of away games by any stretch of the imagination. And, not that it matters, they have to leave Raleigh for Pittsburg after the game to play the Penguins on Saturday.
Timo Meier, who has loosely been linked to the Canes in trade rumors, has been making some waves. With goals in four of his last five, Meier is one fin the Hurricanes defense will need to keep an eye out for. He also has negative points in 3 of the 5. Meier also had seven minutes in the holding tank against Boston, so maybe if someone can get under his skin, it’s possible to keep him off the ice for awhile.
Besides Meier, the Sharks offense has lost their bite. Erik Karlsson, Logan Couture, and Tomas Hertl (San Jose’s points leaders) have also been less than effective on an offensive unit that has scored 5 goals in 3 games.
Defensively, San Jose is even less of a threat. Four goals to Boston is respectable, but 5 to the abysmal Blue Jackets would give even the smallest of clown fish an idea or two.
The worst thing, however, the Carolina Hurricanes can do Friday is look past the San Jose Sharks.
Carolina has been working through, effectively so far, line changes and new parings can be tricky sometimes. If everyone gets to churning, the Hurricanes should easily blow the Sharks out of the way pretty easily.
Hurricanes v Sharks on Friday is also Pride Night in Raleigh. This should be a great opportunity for Canes fans, especially those in the LGTBQ+ community to celebrate and be recognized as members of the Carolina Hurricanes family.
Caniacs and Jerks alike are encouraged to respect our fellow Caniacs and Jerks in this community and their allies. If you cannot be respectful, maybe stay a home and eat plain crackers.