3 reasons the Carolina Hurricanes can be optimistic heading into Game 2 vs. the Isles
The Carolina Hurricanes didn’t play a good game vs. the New York Islanders on Saturday, but they still ended up snagging the win in a hard-fought matchup.
The Carolina Hurricanes did not enjoy a good Game 1 in their series-opening win over the New York Islanders. So many times, the Isles could have capitalized on Carolina’s misfortunes, and so many times, the Canes did just enough to deny them, and they can thank the post for its efforts as well.
So, to skate into Game 2 following a 3-1 win is nothing short of lucky for Carolina, and there is no way they can risk repeating what happened on Saturday - except for the final tally. That said, however, the Hurricanes still won and, therefore, built momentum. So let’s look at three ways this optimism will stick around as Game 2 looms, starting with the fact the Canes may have played their so-called “bad game” early.
Hurricanes may have gotten the “bad game” out of the way
In the NHL Playoffs, bad games come with the territory, and Carolina’s performance on Saturday wasn’t its best outing. For such a high-octane team that has a plethora of talent in their top-six and a top-10 scoring unit, the Hurricanes logged just 25 shots on Semyon Varlamov, something uncharacteristic against a team that had given its goaltenders more work than some of the NHL’s rebuilding groups.
There were times when the Canes looked in sync, but there was often a clear disconnect, and it’s something we haven’t seen too much of from Carolina this season. Luckily, they found ways to bounce back, and thanks to their solid third period, the Canes are heading into Game 2, having won a contest they could have easily lost.
But they still need to adjust and skate into Game 2, ready to take open shots and to take them often. If not, they’ll need to claw their way to another hard-fought win, and if New York brings their A-Game again, they will be in danger of losing home-ice advantage.
Frederik Andersen is the “hot hand”
Let’s be fair and honest for a minute: Frederik Andersen allowed more than one shot on goal to fly by him, but the post was willing to help. Either way, he still made his fair share of spectacular saves, and he came up big when the Hurricanes needed him to.
Overall, he faced 34 shots on goal while allowing just one to get past him AND into the netting. Even if Andersen had allowed another goal get by, which would have forced overtime, he’s still the hot hand over Pyotr Kochetkov, despite the latter’s stellar 0.911 save percentage, 2.33 GAA, and four shutouts this season.
Andersen, who saw time in just 16 games this season because of blood clotting that forced him out of action between November 2nd and March 7th, dominated down the stretch with a 13-2-0 record, a 0.932 save percentage, a 1.84 GAA, and three shutouts.
Andersen was on, even if the Hurricanes weren’t for a great portion of the game. And if the Islanders plan on winning Game 2, they must find a way to get around the Hurricanes star goaltender assuming he’s back in the net. If not, expect a similar result that will give the Canes a commanding 2-0 lead before the series heads to Long Island.
New York may have gotten the “good game’ out of the way
Much like the Hurricanes could have done away with their “bad game,” the opposite could be true about the Islanders. New York allowed the Hurricanes to challenge Semyon Varlamov just 25 times, and it was rather uncharacteristic of a team that allowed the fourth-most shots on net throughout the regular season.
New York also found ways to get around the Hurricanes defense and make life tough for Andersen, and it didn’t phase him too much - though the iron helped him out a few times. Regardless, the Isles lost this game by a pair of scores, and you can argue that they played a better game.
On paper, this one should have been lopsided, as the Hurricanes averaged over 33 shots on goal per contest while the Isles ranked among the worst in the league in shots against, among other differences. New York also doesn't match up well with the high-scorers that we all know the Hurricanes have, like Sebastian Aho, Jake Guentzel, Seth Jarvis, Teuvo Teravainen, and Martin Necas, to name a little more than a few.
If everything edges toward the median, don’t expect the Isles to play such a good game the next time these two teams meet, assuming the Hurricanes made the proper adjustments.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)