Gold: Canes hope to ground Jets

By Adam Gold, radio host 99.9 the Fan

Eight days, five games and zero points stand between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Metropolitan Division title. Starting tonight against the Winnipeg Jets, the Canes will play five times in an 8-day sprint to the finish line. Entering play, Carolina and the Rangers stand at 106 points. New York will be in action on Long Island against the Islanders

For their part the Rangers have been absolutely on fire. They’ve won 6 of their last 7 and have outscored their opponents 22-2 in those half dozen wins. The loss? Last Tuesday’s 4-2 setback to the Canes.  These Jets were New York’s last victim as Igor Shesterkin made 31 saves for his second straight shutout.

The Canes are coming off Monday’s 5-3 win at Arizona which was more effective than it was esthetically pleasing. Carolina did enough offensively to overcome their defensive miscues. But, let’s not kid ourselves, there were plenty of mistakes. And unlike the Coyotes, the Jets have a ton of weapons capable of blasting Carolina unless the Canes tighten up their game. In addition, Winnipeg should be desperate as they’re on the brink of elimination from the playoff race.

It’s an inevitability, to be clear, as they’re 10 points back with 5 left to play, but they won’t give in easily.

As for Carolina’s race in the Metro, I keep saying the same thing, the division title is not the aim. Playing well when the playoffs roll around is the goal. Do the latter and the former would be the reward. It’s possible to be playing well and still not win the division and that would be perfectly acceptable if that’s the way it turns out.

The matchups in May matter, but orchestrating or trying to figure out which are more favorable is a fool’s errand. There’s no one beyond Carolina’s reach if they’re on top of their game.

Infirmary report...

Jordan Staal is expected to draw in tonight. He missed Monday’s game as a precaution after being shaken up on a Cale Makar body check in the 3rd period of Carolina’s 7-4 loss in Colorado. Rod Brind’Amour did say that Jesperi Kotkaniemi was also banged up in the loss, and his injury is linked to the lower body injury that caused him to miss 8 straight games recently.

Expect Max Domi to slide back into the middle of the ice on a 4th line for tonight. Kotkaniemi did skate today, but is not expected to draw back into the lineup.

The match up…

Funny thing about tonight is that there isn’t much difference between these two teams from a basic standpoint except in one critical area. Both teams can score goals, with the Jets at 3 goals per game and the Hurricanes at about 3.3 per. Both teams have pretty good power plays – yes, even though the Hurricanes are just 1 for their last 21, it’s looked better. And, both teams have a handful of super dangerous offensive weapons.

Kyle Connor leads the Jets with 43 goals and 87 points this season. Behind him, Mark Scheifele has 29 markers. Pierre-Luc Dubois and Nikolaj Ehlers each have 26 and veteran Paul Stastny has 21. So, if the Hurricanes are not sharp with the puck there will be goals against.

The main difference in these two teams boils down to the penalty kill. The Hurricanes are the best in the NHL while Winnipeg ranks 30th. Their 56 power play goals allowed are 4th worst in the league.

From a possession standpoint, the Hurricanes are significantly better than Winnipeg, so it's more involved than. just goals scored and goals allowed and when those goals occur. But, beyond searching for reasons why, the bottom line is that the penalty kill has been a huge part of why the Hurricanes are at 106 points and the Jets are at 81.

Line ‘em up…

Teravainen-Aho-Jarvis

Svechnikov-Trocheck-Necas

Niederreiter-Staal-Fast

Martinook-Domi-Lorentz

Slavin-DeAngelo

Skjei-Pesce

Smith-Cole

Raanta

The Rookie...

If you're wondering when we're likely to see Pyotr Kochetkov start his first NHL game in net that will likely be this weekend. The Hurricanes have afternoon games Saturday and Sunday at New Jersey and the New York Islanders, respectively. Here's how I see it and I'm fairly certain that the head coach is thinking along these lines.

Raanta needs to be sharp and the Hurricanes need to win games so he's going to start at least three of the remaining games in the next eight days. Of course, Raanta also has a history of breaking down and they need to be mindful of that when it comes to using him before the playoffs. The league will have very few -- if any -- back-to-back games in series and might even have an extra day off at times during series.

So, with Raanta playing tonight and then a fairly quick turnaround before Saturday afternoon's game with the Devils, expect Kochetkov's NHL maiden start to be Saturday with Raanta playing Sunday. Then, Raanta will get the crease again Tursday night at Madison Square Garden in a game that might decide the Metropolitan Division. I would then expect Kochetkov to play the finale at home against New Jersey.

Now, results in these games might alter those plans, but as long as the game against the Rangers matters to the standings, I think we'll see Raanta in net. If the next few games don't go well, they might let the kid play at the Garden and let Raanta start the finale so he doesn't go a full week between live action. The playoffs won't start until the week of May 2.

Wanna bet…

Money Line: Carolina -250/Winnipeg +215. O/U: 6.5 goals.

Storm Watch starring Dennis Cox rolls at 6:30 on 99.9 the Fan with the opening face off coming just after 7:00. Be sure to follow the Canes Corner Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. A new episode drops the #MorningAfter every Hurricanes game.