The Carolina Hurricanes will be taking on the Nashville Predators tonight in their first home game since Dec. 2.
After four straight losses to start their six-game road trip, the Canes have won each of their last two to officially put the good vibes back on track.
Here are my three keys to tonight's game:
Cover Filip Forsberg
This one is pretty simple.
Do whatever you can to keep Filip Forsberg from getting open looks.
The Swedish sniper is leading the Predators in goals (15) and points (33) this year and he's basically their only true offensive option.
He's also scored in each of his last three games against Carolina.
However, it's easier said than done when you are going up against a talent like Forsberg.
He can create goals out of very little and doesn't need much time nor space. The Canes would do well to always keep track of him whenever he's on the ice.
Goalie Duel
Hurricanes fans are well aware of the massive headache that Nashville's goaltending can be.
Something, something... 67 shots in a game and still lose.
It seems like every time that the Canes and Predators play, goaltending is the central point of the story so tonight, Carolina's goaltending has to match or outperform whoever Nashville throws out there.
Pyotr Kochetkov had two strong bounce back games in a row, so it will more than likely be Antti Raanta's turn to reestablish himself and there's no better place for him to do that than PNC Arena.
Since coming to Carolina, Raanta has a 25-3-2 record at home with a 0.913 save percentage. He's been so good at PNC Arena and it's time for him to keep that streak going.
Get the Second Line Going
All three of the Hurricanes' second line players had really strong starts to the season and while two of them have seen their point production stay steady, all three have seen a dip in their scoring.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi
First 14 - 6g, 7a, 13p
Last 15 - 2g, 0a, 2p
Teuvo Teravainen
First 14 - 8g, 1a, 9p
Last 15 - 3g, 7a, 10p
Martin Necas
First 14 - 5g, 6a, 11p
Last 15 - 3g, 7a, 10p
The drop off has been especially noticeable in Kotkaniemi who went from nearly a point per game player to now having just two points in his last 15 games.
And while Teravainen and Necas have produced, that mostly all came while on different lines or on special teams.
It's no secret that Carolina needs more from the trio as a line, but it hasn't necessarily clicked yet. The line has accounted for just three goals at 5v5 and have only controlled a 51.9% expected goal share.
If the Canes want to get back to dominating, they need everyone in the top six to be contributing steadily.
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