From sparking a dormant top line to leaning on Frederik Andersen’s historic postseason run, discover the keys necessary for Carolina to finally conquer the Eastern Conference.
The Carolina Hurricanes are in their third Eastern Conference Final appearance in the last four years, but they have yet to advance to the Stanley Cup Final in the Rod Brind'Amour era.
However, the Hurricanes have been the best team in the East this year and swept through their first two rounds.
Could this be the year they finally get over the ECF hump?
Here are five ways in which the Hurricanes can advance over the Montreal Canadiens:
1. Top Line Starts Producing
It hasn't been a prolific postseason for the Hurricanes' top line trio of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis, who have yet to combine for a single 5v5 goal all postseason.
The three forwards were Carolina's top producers this season and have all been prolific playoff performers as well, so the dry streak is a bit surprising to say the least.
Especially so considering the fact that they've been generating plenty of chances.
However, the trio has been credited with just six high-danger chances through two rounds, which is the least amongst all of the Hurricanes' forward lines.
Yes, they've been good defensively (they've only conceded a single goal in their minutes), but the Canes need them to start converting offensively and that means starting to get to those scoring areas more routinely.
"Offensively, we have better in us," Aho said. "We talked about it and used this little bit of a break to reset."
2. Frederik Andersen Stays Hot
No goaltender has been hotter this postseason than Frederik Andersen.
The veteran goalie has a perfect 8-0 record so far along with a 0.950 save percentage and two shutouts.
Andersen has been dynamite for Carolina and hasn't allowed more than two goals in any game these playoffs as well.
For Carolina to keep on rolling, they're going to need him to stay hot, especially so with the way Jakub Dobes has been playing for Montreal.
It's not like Andersen has to maintain a 0.950 the whole way, but so long as he can make the saves he's expected to, I like the Hurricanes' chances.
Carolina is more than likely going to control play and dominate possession, so it'll be up to Freddie to stop the few they give up and so far, that's exactly what he's been doing.
3. Continue To Win The Neutral Zone
The Canes have been one of the best defensive team these playoffs, allowing very few chances against through two rounds.
A big reason why they've had so much success too has been because they've controlled the neutral zone.
The team's defensemen have done a great job of gapping up at the blueline to prevent entries for opponents and they've also been able to jump outlet passes to transition into quick offense (see the Game 4 winning against Philadelphia as an example).
The neutral zone is one of the most important areas of the game as it's critical for facilitating an effective transition game.
Carolina has been one of the best through the middle of the ice all year and they'll need to continue dominating that area.
4. Lean On The Depth
On paper, Carolina is a better team top-to-bottom than Montreal and that depth advantage could be the difference in the series.
With the Hurricanes' top line expected to get the tough assignment against Montreal's, the hope is that the two can cancel each other out, leaving opportunities for the rest of the lineup.
That's what has happened so far this postseason, with the Logan Stankoven line running rampant on opponents, but they haven't been the only ones.
Nikolaj Ehlers has gotten plenty of opportunity playing down the lineup with Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook and the Canes' fourth line has done a really good job of stacking strong shifts even though they haven't quite gotten a bounce yet.
Add in the fact that the team trusts all three defensive pairs to both play well in their own end, but also contribute offensively as well and you can see why Carolina's depth is a nightmare for any team to deal with.
5. Triumph On Special Teams
One of the more intriguing battles in this series is going to be Montreal's potent power play versus Carolina's stingy penalty kill.
The Canadiens have a tremendously talented top unit that has had a lot of success so far this postseason (Montreal leads the playoffs in power play goals with 13).
But on the other side, the Hurricanes have had the best penalty kill, which has killed off 38 of the 40 penalties the team has taken, including all 5:33 at 5v3.
To me, this will be one of the key battles for the series, but the best way the Hurricanes can help themselves is to simply stay out of the box.
"They have a lot of skill and a lot of speed and they can make plays that a lot of other people in the league can't make," said Jaccob Slavin. "For one though, we have to stay out of the box. A big thing for us is making sure we stay disciplined and not giving their power play any opportunity. But if we do, we're a confident group."
And on the reverse, Montreal hasn't had the best PK (74.1%), so if the Hurricanes can start getting their power play going, which finished the regular season fourth in the NHL, that could be a huge potential momentum swinger too.
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