The Carolina Hurricanes begin their six-game, Western Canadian road trip with a stop in Winnipeg to face the Jets Monday night.
The Hurricanes will look to start the trip on the right foot with a win and extend their point streak to five games.
Here are my three keys to the game:
Keep Cooking on Special Teams
Saturday night featured a perfect storm on special teams for Carolina.
Their penalty kill was beyond perfect, killing all five penalties including 48 seconds of a 5-on-3, and they even scored a shorthanded goal.
Then on the man-advantage, the Canes scored quickly on each of their two opportunities to keep padding their lead.
The Jets have been pretty weak on special teams this year (18th ranked power play and 26th ranked penalty kill), but as Carolina knows, those season-long stats don't always tell the full picture.
The Jets have scored a PPG in three of their last four games and the penalty kill has allowed just two goals in their last 10 times shorthanded.
Support Your Netminder
Despite ultimately being unable to go on Saturday, Antti Raanta is once again expected to get the start tonight as he was the first netminder off the ice.
His last game was Nov. 24, the 8-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning that set some pretty rough NHL records, so the team is going to want to do their best to give him some extra support tonight.
One bad game is not indicative of Raanta's current skill level and that game wasn't solely on him either, but the team needs to play like they are aiming to boost his confidence.
Block those shots, be a wall at the blueline and don't let your goaltender get picked apart.
Stay Mentally Engaged
The Hurricanes had a long road trip to start the season and it was a bit hit or miss in terms of the team's overall play.
A lot more goes into that such as new guys finding their roles and multiple injuries shaking up the lineup, but the same challenges present themselves with this 11 day, six-game trip.
The Hurricanes have been playing their best hockey all season, so it's up to them to keep that ball rolling and stay mentally locked in.
Late start times, constant travel and more can really eat away at guys, but if the team can stay locked in, they should be fine to come out of this road trip with a few more wins secured.
Recent Articles