Gold: Canes host the Rangers in search of their offense
Posted March 20, 2022 9:13 a.m. EDT
Updated March 20, 2022 2:53 p.m. EDT
One week ago the Carolina Hurricanes landed in Pittsburgh with a chance to really create separation in the Metropolitan Division. They had an 8-point lead over the second place Penguins with a game in hand. Carolina played well – better than their hosts to be honest – but couldn’t find the mark against All Star goaltender Tristan Jarry and fell, 4-2.
Two games and just one point later, the Canes find that gap in the division down to just 3 points over the Penguins and 5 over the New York Rangers, who will be on the opposing bench today at 6:00 at PNC Arena.
Since the All Star Break, the Hurricanes are 10-5-4 as they’ve seen their offense wane. The Canes, who are still a top 10 team in the league in goals at 3.31 per game, have dropped below the 3-goal mark (2.95) in this stretch. Excluding those into an empty net, the Hurricanes have scored just 2 goals or fewer in regulation 9 times in that stretch.
Three is the magic number for Carolina, as they are 32-2-4 in games when they get at least a trio.
Today is the last game before tomorrow’s 3:00 pm trade deadline and, while you don’t ever want to react to what other teams do, there have been some very significant developments on the trade front the last few days.
Florida has added defenseman Ben Chiarot from Montreal and All Star MVP forward Claude Giroux from the Flyers as they make a huge statement about going for a Stanley Cup. Boston fortified their defense by acquiring Hampus Lindholm from Anaheim. Tampa Bay brought in forward Brandon Hagel from the Blackhawks.
The Rangers also added a depth piece when they picked up forward Frank Vatrano from the Panthers last week. Vatrano has one goal against the Hurricanes this year while with Florida.
Rod Brind’Amour has said repeatedly that he “loves this group”, and I would, too, if they were 41-14-6. And, they are. But, what is he supposed to say? The assessment has to be, is this team as good as it can be – within reason, of course – in the pursuit of “last team standing” status.
One very positive development was the two goal performance of Seth Jarvis in the shootout loss to the Capitals. Carolina’s impressive rookie had personally gone 18 straight games without a goal and it was 23 games for the Canes since he last scored. Before Friday, his last marker cames in Carolina’s 6-3 win over the Rangers.
Vincent Trocheck is on a 4-game point streak and has goals in 2 straight.
It would be easy to blame Carolina’s struggles in the attacking third by pointing out that Martin Necas has just 2 goals in his last 32 games. But, he’s one player. The Canes best trio, Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov have seen their production fall off considerably of late, even on nights when they play well.
Aho has gone 8 games without a goal in the run of play, if you will. He has a pair of empty net goals and one in a late, extra attacker situation in that stretch. Andrei has just 1 goal in his last 13 games and Teravainen has just 1 assist over his last 5.
Nino Niederreiter will serve a 1-game suspension for losing his mind and slashing Washington’s Axel Jonsson-Fialby in the helmet while he was on the bench. That was all during a rough first period against the Caps as Nino misfired on a wide open net, gave the puck right to Evgeni Kuznetsov which led to a goal and was goaded into the frustration slash.
Assuming Tony DeAngelo can return to the line up, the Hurricanes will likely play with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen today. It is not expected that Jordan Martinook will be able to play after suffering a lower body injury in Toronto. DeAngelo has missed the last 11 games with a core injury.
Coverage begins on 99.9 the Fan at 5:30 with Storm Watch starring Alec Campbell. Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy follow with the live play-by-play just after 6:00. Make sure to follow the Canes Corner Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. A new episode drops the #MorningAfter every Hurricanes game.
