Jordan Staal‘s powerplay re-direct in overtime capped off an essential Game 3 win for the Canes in arguably their weakest (for lack of a better word) performance of the series. But their triumph was well-deserved given their body of work in this gladiatorial showdown. What’s more, exactly how the Carolina Hurricanes secured their first victory over Tampa provided the keys to how they can exact a full-blown comeback as this series continues to unfold.
Carolina Hurricanes Keys To Winning The Series
Game-Breaking Performances
Sebastian Aho played the sort of game that the best players have in them when a series is on the line. With three points including the primary assist on Staal’s game-winner in overtime, the Canes first-line center had an extraordinary game, to lift his team to its first victory in the Second Round. Truth be told, the Hurricanes will need more of this if they are to win out.
The fact of the matter is, this series is chocked full of game-breaking talent and often we have seen the brilliance from both sides practically cancel each other out. A great move is snuffed out by a big check. An ominous powerplay is nullified by a robust penalty kill. A nifty pass to unleash an odd-man rush is met with a spectacular save.
Naturally, both goaltenders are standing on their heads and keeping skaters honest. It explains why the series has only had six even-strength goals. (I guess that is just the standard when you have a Vezina and Calder finalist squaring off against one another). But, as a result, Alex Nedeljkovic and Andrei Vasilevskiy are asking for the next level in order to beat them.
Therefore, if the Carolina Hurricanes are going to pull off a comeback, one of their keys is (plenty) more Aho-like performances. Rod Brind’Amour‘s side needs outrageous output, especially now that they are without Vincent Trocheck, Warren Foegele and Nino Niederreiter.
Canes To Produce Tampa-Like Play
The intrigue around this series is that unlike the usual, offensive juggernaut plays a defensive dynamo storyline, in this case, both teams happen to play a similar style of hockey. They both have potent powerplays and aggressive penalty kills. They both activate their defencemen as fourth forwards and both employ a dump and chase style forecheck to set up in the offensive zone.
Now, normally anyone trying to replicate the Bolts’ style would come up short against them. But playing Tampa’s game as well as Tampa does, is actually a reasonable expectation for this Canes group. They’ve dominated the Corsi count (187 vs 154) and the expected goals projections (8.36 vs 6.75) through three games, which despite the small sample size, justifies how legitimate their regular-season dominance was.
On top of that, the way they battled back in Game 3 was in a very Lightning-esque way. For example, Carolina’s second goal came from a stretch pass that Teraivanen deftly deflected in the neutral zone to release Aho on a breakaway. The quick transition and excellent stickhandling evoked memories of what Victor Hedman and Anthony Cirelli did to Carolina at the backend of Game 2. (See below).
Furthermore, in the build-up to the game-winner, the Canes replicated the Lightning’s powerplay clinic from earlier in the piece: Teravainen’s stick-handling in the left circle pulled Tampa’s defensive structure away like wet tissue paper to find a soft spot for Aho to rip one on goal for the redirected finish in overtime, sending the Canes into a delirious frenzy. (Playoffs baby)!
Stay the Hell Outta the Box
Speaking of powerplays… the Lightning’s will rip you apart. In 72 seconds on the man advantage, they scored twice on Thursday. The first goal was particularly devastating as they pin-balled cross-seam passes around, producing a nasty tic-tac-toe finish.
Carolina needs to pour plenty of focus on limiting Tampa’s man-advantage time moving forward. That is arguably one of their toughest tasks because of how aggressively they play on defence; Carolina’s 26 penalties against the Nashville Predators made them the most ill-disciplined team in the First Round. If Nashville had half the powerplay of Tampa’s, the Canes wouldn’t be playing anymore.
Of course, they have improved through the first three games already. Overall, both teams have combined for five goals on 17 powerplay chances in this series. Tampa is three for eight and Carolina two for nine. But while these aren’t earth-shattering stats, one or two powerplay goals are all it’s going to take after the first three games produced only 11 goals in all situations.
The case and point of this fact was Game 1. Carolina controlled much of the game flow and had the higher expected goal metrics. But it took just one Tampa powerplay goal (and a goalie error) to put the Canes on the backfoot; Brayden Point masterfully redirected a Victor Hedman wrister from the bumper position in the low slot. Just like that, a game can slip away.
Moving Forward
Right now, the Canes are back in the mix after a crucial Game 3 victory. But the Carolina Hurricanes’ keys to success are fraught with difficulties.
Can the surviving members of their top-six produce other-worldly performances? Can they continue to match Tampa’s Tampa-ness? And can they do it all while remaining disciplined? It’s certainly achievable. Although, if they pull it off, there’s no doubt that the level of hockey will have this series going down as one for the ages.
All stats sourced via Natural Stat Trick
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
