Gold: Canes try to keep focused for Detroit

By Adam Gold radio host 99.9 the Fan

The Carolina Hurricanes’ 4-2 win over the New York Rangers Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden temporarily gave them the upper hand in the race for the Metropolitan Division title. The Canes were excellent in the third period, scoring three times in the win, and opened up a 4-point lead with 8 games left to play. But, when the Rangers shut out the Flyers last night it was a reminder that there is still a lot of work left to be done to achieve that goal.

That work begins tonight against the Detroit Red Wings as the Hurricanes at PNC Arena. It’s the first of 6 remaining games against non-playoff competition and if business is taken care of there won’t be anything the Rangers can do to bridge the gap to first place.

Of course, that’s easier said than done.

Carolina was not even close to their standard in games with the Sabres (twice), Islanders and Ducks in going 2-2-0 in that stretch prior to the scintillating 3rd period on Broadway. That they got 4 our of 8 points in those games is a credit to the quality of their team and the depth of their character.

But, splitting these six games is leaving too much up to chance. Especially since their other two games are Saturday’s rematch with Colorado and the penultimate regular season game back at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.

So, here’s how this needs to go. Beginning tonight at home against the Wings – against whom the Hurricanes are 1-0-1 this year – Carolina’s bare minimum needs to be 10 out of a possible 12 points from Detroit, Arizona, Winnipeg, the Islanders and a pair of meetings with the Devils. Do that and the Rangers would have to almost win out to claim the Metro.

That’s just math, however. The reality is that the division title is critical for a far more important reason. And, no, it’s not because of securing home ice advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs. The division crown is important because it keeps your edge. When you can coast into the playoffs it runs the risk of having to recapture that competitive spirit that’s necessary to advance in the postseason.

We’ve known for months that the Hurricanes were going to be in the playoffs. In large part that’s why their performances haven’t been as sharp the last month – especially against some of the lesser clubs. But, there can be no let up tonight. The Wings have given Carolina a hard time this year and now is not the time to allow their record (28-35-10) or their -71 goal differential (3rd worst in the conference) cause them to lower their guard.

The term ‘must win’ is often overused. But, these are the points you need to bank.

Carolina took the first meeting this year, 5-3, on December 16, when Covid-19 and salary cap constraints rendered them the Canes-16. They played with just 16 skaters in that game and welcomed Jack Drury to the NHL. He scored his first NHL goal in the win.

Two and a half months later, Carolina was a bit of a mess in a 4-3 overtime loss. The Hurricanes took a 3-2 lead late in the third period on a Jordan Staal goal, but gave it back 38 seconds later when Detroit’s Dylan Larkin tied the game. In overtime, the Red Wings scored on the power play with just 8 seconds left when rookie Lucas Raymond pounced on a rebound and beat Antti Raanta for the game winner.

During the Hurricanes’ 6-1 win in Washington at the end of March, Jesperi Kotkaniemi was injured on a cheap shot/clean check from Lars Eller in the game’s closing seconds. Eller’s hit, if delivered in the middle of the second period would have been completely clean and part of the game. But, given the lopsided score and that fact that there were just 2 seconds left – and Kotkaniemi was actually being defended by another Capitals player when Eller’s check blindsided Carolina’s 21-year old center – it was clearly a message and a dirty one at that.

Well, it appears that Kotkaniemi is set to return to the lineup tonight after missing the last 8 games with a lower body injury. And, as we head down the stretch of the last two-plus weeks of the season, the Hurricanes are very close to having their full line up on the ice. When we last saw Kotkaniemi, he was just off the announcement of his 8-year contract extension. He was also in the midst of a 17-game goal drought. Here’s how it will look tonight.

Svechnikov-Aho-Jarvis

Domi-Trocheck-Teravainen

Niederreiter-Staal-Fast

Martinook-Kotkaniemi-Necas

Slavin-DeAngelo

Skjei-Pesce

Cole-Bear

Raanta

Wanna bet?

ML: Carolina -360. 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.