Keys to the Game: Carolina Hurricanes @ Seattle Kraken
© James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports - Keys to the Game: Carolina Hurricanes @ Seattle KrakenThe Carolina Hurricanes (3-1-0) got back in the win column on Tuesday and they'll look to keep the ball rolling as they take on the Seattle Kraken (0-3-1) on Thursday.
The Hurricanes looked much more like themselves on Tuesday, as a dominant even-strength performance suffocated the San Jose Sharks and set the team up for a big third-period rally.
They'll be looking to keep the pedal down and pull off another win. Here's how they can get it done.
Stay out of the Box (Redux)
Another day, another game where we say Carolina has to stay out of the box.
The Hurricanes are still taking a ton of penalties.
They were penalized six times against the San Jose Sharks and are averaging over six penalties a game on the season. They've also taken the second most penalties in the entire league (26).
Normally staunch, the Canes' PK has been seemingly very mortal with only a 79% success rate, so it makes the penalty problem even worse.
Back the aggression up, tighten up and play smart and they'll have a much easier time in games.
Stick with It
Rod Brind'Amour talked after Tuesday's game about the team sticking to their game despite the results not showing immediately.
The team could have been frustrated by strong goaltending, but they stuck to their game and finally broke through.
The same problems may raise their head in Seattle as the Kraken are a team built for defense.
Their forward group is littered with two-way players, their defense is big and steady and both of their goaltenders have been solid on the season.
The Canes have to just stick to their game and trust that the process will lead them to success.
That and keep up the even strength defending which gave the Sharks absolutely nothing. That would be good too.
Don't Underestimate the Opponent
It's easy to look at the struggling Seattle squad and feel pretty good about your chances, but there is way too much talent on that team to be this dry on scoring.
Last season, the Kraken had a 40-goal scorer in Jared McCann, eight 40+ point players, six 20+ goal players and three players over 60+ points.
The number one pitfall any team can fall into is underestimating the opponent and especially in the NHL where any team can beat anybody on any given night.
The parity in the league is so high and so you really have to bring your best every game, because you can expect your opponent to be doing just that too.
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