The Carolina Hurricanes face the Buffalo Sabres tonight at PNC Arena for the second time this season.
Lineups and Game Preview: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Buffalo Sabres
The Hurricanes are looking to bounce back after a disheartening OT loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday.
Here are my three keys to the game:
Redemption
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour confirmed this evening that Pyotr Kochetkov would be getting the net tonight for the fourth straight game due to Antti Raanta "not feeling 100%."
Kochetkov is coming off of a tough performance Thursday night where he saw five goals go past him on just 16 shots, but he'll have the chance to respond tonight.
Before that Islanders game, Kochetkov was 3-1-0 in the month of November with a 0.929 save percentage and one shutout.
This would be the perfect game for him to reestablish himself and bounce back from a bad game.
Stick to Your Strengths (Even-Strength)
The Hurricanes have really found their groove at even strength recently.
They haven't just been good, they've been flat out dominant in most games at even strength after a shaky start.
The offense is generating tons of chances and the defense has settled in a ton with steady pairings.
The Canes have always been a team that thrives at even strength, so it's just sticking to the formula they've found.
Buy in from every line, every pair and playing the right way.
Neutralize Special Teams
On the flip side, the Hurricanes have run into a pretty poor special teams rut.
The power play is struggling to convert and giving up shorthanded goals now too.
The penalty kill has been good at times and struggled at other times.
Either one or the other can struggle, but not both.
The easier thing to do is to just commit to the penalty kill efforts and for the love of all that is good, stop turning it over at the blueline on the power play.
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