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Special Teams were anything but for the ‘Canes in game 1. That will need to change if they want a different outcome in game 2.
By Spencer Knight – @stormsurge_pod / stormsurgepod.com
May 6, 2024
Game 1 of the second round is in the books and those annoying Rangers fans on the socials are now more insufferable than ever. Going into this series, everyone knew the Rangers were mediocre at 5-on-5 but lethal on special teams. The Hurricanes would need to ensure the game was played at even strength as much as possible. That didn’t happen, and the Rangers scored on each of their power plays in the 1st period. On top of that, the Canes failed to score on any of their 5 (ish) power plays of the night. Improving the special teams is the first of three keys to stealing a win in game 2 (Tuesday 5/7 at 7pm on ESPN).
1 – Make Special Teams Special Again
We’ll start with the good news. After ranking in the top 10 in the NHL this season in power plays against (over 3 per game), the Hurricanes only allowed the Rangers 2 power play opportunities in game 1. The bad news is that the Rangers only needed a combined 22 seconds to score on both power plays.
After the game, Rod Brind’Amour had this to say. “A couple of kills we didn’t quite execute right and they did. They made their three quick passes, hit it, and we were just a step off. That’s the difference.”
On the flip side, the Hurricanes were awarded 5 (ish) power plays in the game (the 5th one only lasted 6 seconds until it was nullified). The story of previous playoff runs was a lack of scoring, especially on the power play. Over the previous 5 playoff runs, the Hurricanes were 31/219 on the power play, good for just 14.2%. The best individual playoff season was 2020-21 with an 18.2% power play in 11 games. After scoring just 6 goals in the 4 game Eastern Conference Finals last season, improving scoring was critical for the Canes this season.
This need was addressed at the trade deadline with the acquisitions of Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Hurricanes were second in the NHL with a 26.9% power play in the regular season this year. They went 5 for 15 in the first round against the Islanders. With 5 opportunities against the Rangers, the Canes were unable to break through. By the third opportunity, they looked completely lost. In 8 minutes of power play time, the Canes mustered just 4 shots on goal and 3 scoring chances (none of which were high danger).
The team knows this is a change that needs to be made, as evidenced by the Captain’s comments postgame. “Our start and our special teams were the difference tonight. We’ve always talked about it all year long – special teams, if you win that battle, you have a really good chance of winning. Both (the power play and the penalty kill) weren’t good enough, obviously. The PK has got to be better and the power play has to be better.”
In order to have a chance to win in game 2, the Canes will have to stay out of the box, be effective on the penalty kill, and make the most of their opportunities on the power play.
2 – Take Away Igor’s Vision
So far in these playoffs, the Rangers and their netminder Igor Shesterkin have allowed just 10 goals (best among playoff teams) and saved over 92% of the shots they’ve faced, good for 3rd best in these playoffs. To beat a guy playing that well, the Canes will need to make his job difficult. Getting bodies to the front of the net will be crucial in game 2.
Though a big-bodied presence camped in front of the net doesn’t play into the Canes style, attacking the low slot certainly is. The plays will look like a low cycle in the corners and behind the net, followed by the puck coming up to a defenseman at the blue line. He will look for a shooting lane or a cross ice passing lane. The strong-side forwards that were just winning battle in the corners will need to fight to get inside position in the low slot being prepared for the shots coming from the point. In particular, on the top line, Svechnikov will need to play his power game and find his way to the front.
The Hurricanes have shown they are capable of this in the past. Consider the scoring chances charts below. On the left we see the distribution of scoring chances in game 4 of the Islanders series. I count at least nine solid chances inside the low slot (in and immediately around the crease). On the right, we see the chances from game 1 of the Rangers series. There are two massive circles in the crease. The one to the left of where the goalie would be was Aho’s pass to Jarvis on the 3rd goal, with the one to the right being Jarvis’s goal. Besides those two chances, the Canes had 0 low slot opportunities all game.
Finding a way to get more low slot chances, especially if those can come on power play opportunities, will be key to getting a win in game 2.
3 – Ready Freddie (or PK)
Just under three minutes into the 3rd period, Martin Necas received a pass from Jordan Martinook on the rush and beat Igor five hole to cut the deficit to just one. Recovering from one goal down with 17 minutes to play is certainly doable. About five minutes later, the Rangers get a two-on-one opportunity that was well defended by Jaccob Slavin. Frederick Andersen needed to just worry about his man, the shooter, Artemi Panarin. He was unfortunately unable to do so and the two goal lead was reinstated with under 12 minutes remaining.
Game 1 of this series was Andersen’s sixth consecutive start, his longest starting streak of the season. After about 4 months off in the middle of the season, it’s reasonable to question his ability to stay game ready and able for this long of a stretch. If Andersen gets his 7th straight start on Tuesday, he will need to be sure to allow zero “soft goals.”
Could game 2 be the time to bring in Pyotr Kochetkov? The rookie netminder played in 42 games in the regular season and played well, posting a .911 save percentage and a 2.33 GAA. His playoff career has been a different story, most recently playing in game 3 against the Devils last season. He only played 39 minutes of that game and allowed 4 goals in what ended up an 8-4 loss. That being said, previous results are not necessarily a predictor of future performance, and there’s no reason to believe Kochetkov will be anything but ready to go should he get the nod for game 2.
The skill of this Rangers team in undeniable, especially on the power play. As we saw in game 1, they are plenty capable of scoring almost at will. Whoever is in net for the Hurricanes will need to make the game as easy as possible for their offense.
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