The Carolina Hurricanes picked up a big road win in New Jersey on Wednesday night. It broke a 5-game road losing streak. It broke a tie with the Devils in the standings and moved the team into 4th place in the Metro Division. And with the Ranger loss to the Bruins this afternoon, the Canes take to the ice Friday night with the chance to climb into the #3 spot in the division and a playoff spot. Sure it is subject to change 18 more times over the course of the season, but that is a good place to be nearing the 1/3 mark of the season.
The setup is favorable, but here is the thing. Wednesday’s road win only makes progress if the Canes can follow it up by winning the home portion of the 2-game set. A win pushes the Canes farther ahead of New Jersey and makes for a mini-streak of 2 wins (and points in the last 3 games). A loss and the resulting split on the other hand looks very much like treading water again with no upward progress.
Keys to the game from the Canes side:
1) Who pushes hardest 1st? The Devils seemed to find a higher gear as the 3rd period wore on Wednesday and have also been a very good 3rd period team of late. The game also got a bit chippy which can sometimes have a carryover effect both in terms of type of game but also intensity level in these situations where teams play each other twice. On the other side of the ledger is a Canes team that has recently had a couple more lapses in which it struggled to find energy and spark out of the gate (most notably the very slow start versus Ottawa last Sunday).
So 2 questions: Can New Jersey carry over its 3rd period from Wednesday? If so, can the Canes match it? Both of these teams with uneven offensive production are more comfortable and suited to playing with a lead. If either team can mount an early 2-goal lead, its chance of winning has to be about 80%. Even a 1-goal lead is a decent early advantage, so the start is important.
2) Different people/same D. The team reported earlier today that Andrej Sekera is out with an upper body injury. Sekera/Faulk have been paired together each and every game of the 2013-14 season and have been a pretty solid 1st pairing. The defense has also been a team strength. So with Sekera out, Can the Canes maintain the same level of play defensively with a lineup swap and some pairing shuffling? The Canes surged to 4 goals on Wednesday, but I think that total is a little misleading in terms of the volume of offense created. The Canes scored twice from well out on shots by defensemen by virtue of well-timed screened and also scored a shorthanded goal. While Wednesday’s 4-3 score might indicate otherwise, this game has the potential to turn into a grinding defensive affair where a defensive breakdown or 2 are the difference.
3) The big guns. Eric Staal is finally getting it going scoring points in 7 straight. Jeff Skinner gets the benefit of Muller being able to seek out favorable matchups for him. Could this be just the recipe to get his 1st goal (he does have 1 assist) in his 5th game since returning from injury? Especially if the Canes defensive changes cause things to open up a bit, scoring from the big guns might be needed for a win.
Early in this game, I will be most curious to see what impact the Canes injury-driven defensive change has on the style and quality of play. The questions to be answered are many:
--How do Hainsey/Faulk look in terms of chemistry and ability to move the puck? Sekera has been the Canes best defenseman over the past week or so. He has also taken the lead on carrying the puck and generating offense from the back end. His absence puts a little bit of pressure on Hainsey and Faulk and pushes the combination to settle in quickly.
--Does Harrison/Murphy effectively move up to be the 2nd pairing or at least play more minutes? If so, does that cause the game to be a little bit looser than some of the tight defensive battles Canes fans have witnessed? If they see more 2nd pairing type matchups, are they up to the task?
--How does Komisarek look? He has been decent this season parachuting into the lineup after layoffs, but having last played only 2 games on defense with the last being over a month ago, can he step in and get up to speed quickly? And how does the expected Bellemore/Komisarek pairing play? 2 right shot, defense-first defensemen minus a ton of puck skills could see a return to the Canes getting hemmed in the right corner even post the “side switch… or whatever it was Tripp Tracy called the tactical change to better advance the puck by reversing it quickly away from the initial forecheck target and then going north-south while the defense adjusts. Regardless, the ability of Komisarek to step in defensively and of this pairing to advance the puck from its own end is definitely something to watch.
Friday night. Holiday week. Chance to move into playoff positioning at #3 in the Metro Division. 7pm at PNC Arena!
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