In a series as tight as the one between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers is, any weakness can spell your defeat.
Right now for the Hurricanes, that weakness is special teams.
The Canes lost the first two games of the series — both final scores being 4-3 — and each game was as tight and close as they get.
It's just that the Hurricanes were absolutely terrible at special teams.
Carolina has now gone 0-for-10 on the power play in this series while the penalty kill has gone 5-for-9.
A four-goal swing in two games they lost by just one goal.
For a power play that finished the regular season as the number two unit in the league, it's been almost a non-factor.
The power play has struggled to get pucks to the net, only having a total of 10 shots on goal through 10 opportunities.
The Rangers have done a good job of forcing Carolina to the perimeter which has essentially neutered most of its ability.
"We have to do a little more of [getting pucks to the net], that's for sure," Brind'Amour said. "We've had some chances, but obviously you have to score. So we have to get a little more active at the net, get a little more inside. They're keeping us to the outside a little too much and we're settling for that."
The game plan is simple: pucks and bodies to the net.
It's how the team scored two of their even-strength goals in Tuesday.
"We definitely have to shoot more and go more to the net," said Martin Necas. "Just kind of play around. We 0-for-10 which is kind of crazy, you know? One goal and we definitely win a game. We definitely have to shoot more, not just pass it around and go to the net."
And the Hurricanes know if they can just get one, things could really start clicking.
"Anytime you go through a little bit of a dry spell, especially now, you just want to see one go in no matter how it goes in," said Seth Jarvis. "Whether it's a set play or bounces off of three shinpads, you just want to see it go into the net and that's what we need and I think it all starts with shooting the puck more."
So the team knows how they can improve. They know what needs to be done.
Now it's a matter of actually doing it.
The penalty kill though is a bit harder to find the perfect solution for.
The Canes, who had the best PK in the league through the regular season, employ a hyper-aggressive system that involves consistently pressuring the puck whether it's at the point, the half-wall or the corner.
It usually forces opponents into quick decisions and frequent mistakes, but its one weakness is quick, high-level passing.
You know, the thing the Rangers do really well.
"They have probably one of the best passers in the NHL in [Artemi] Panarin and then [Adam] Fox up top," Jarvis said. "So it's tough to convince yourself you want to go pressure them and go race out there, but it's something that I think last game, we did a better job at as opposed to the first game. Just something we have to keep building on and trusting in what got us to this point."
"We know what they're trying to do and they know what we're trying to do," Brind'Amour said. "We're trying to make little adjustments here and there, but last night was just kind of tough luck really. A couple of bad bounces. They're getting pucks to the net, which on power plays, you have to do. The difference with this power play is that if you make a mistake, they put it in the net. You don't get a second chance."
So the solution is more so just being smarter with their pressures and coming out on the right side of those 50/50 puck battles.
That or do a better job of staying out of the box
If Carolina can iron out its special teams game, they have to feel confident about the rest of the series because they've been so good at even strength.
The Canes are getting more shots on goal, more scoring chances, are winning more faceoffs and are answering the Rangers' physicality.
At 5v5, they've had the edge as the better team.
"There's a ton of good parts of our game that we need to keep going," Jarvis said. "5v5 has been pretty good, especially last game. I think we kind of found it and had a little more success. It's tough to stay positive sometimes, but there's a lot of good things going on in our game right now."
A 2-0 hole isn't a death sentence and the Canes know what and where to improve.
It all starts with executing on the ice tonight in Game 3.
Recent Articles