Chronological Blog List
What does it take for the Carolina Hurricanes to win on the road?
An important starting point is to note that the Canes 3-1 loss (which included an empty-netter) to the Rangers on Sunday was not the same as the three losses in Boston. The Canes losses in Boston were characterized by sloppy efforts where they mostly deserved what...
Rd2 Gm3 @NYR: Canes road playoff woes continue in 3-1 loss to the Rangers
Though the result was the same and some of the road issues reappeared, the Canes 3-1 loss on Sunday was enough different from the game 3 loss to the Bruins to inspire hope. More on that below. First from a half-empty perspective, the Canes did lose game 3 on the road...
Rd2 Gm2 Vs. NYR: Canes stymie Rangers and claim narrow 2-0 win to increase series lead to 2-0
Led primarily by offense from the third defense pairing, the Carolina Hurricanes seized a 2-0 series lead over the New York Rangers after the first pair of games on home ice. Had a made a list of the top 500 story lines coming out of game 2, this would not have made...
Rd2 Gm1 Vs. NYR: Canes ride one good period and Ian Cole’s overtime heroics to 2-1 win
Brief recap of the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 overtime win over the New York Rangers The series opener against the New York Rangers on Wednesday actually started a bit the same as the Boston Bruins series. The Canes were slow out of the gate, a bit sloppy and were...
Series Preview for Carolina Hurricanes versus New York Rangers
After a couple days to rest and recharge (I am talking about the screaming Canes fans not the players :-)), the Hurricanes start anew in round 2 at PNC Arena on Wednesday night against the New York Rangers. Below is my preview for the series. How they got here...
Five causes for concern/areas for improvement coming out of series win over the Boston Bruins
In yesterday's Daily Cup of Joe, I offered five positives from the Canes first round win over the Boston Bruins. If you missed it, you can find that HERE. And to be clear, the series was a net positive. ANY kind of series win is a positive with minimal bonus points...
Five positives from first round win over the Boston Bruins
With a back and forth series that went seven games, the Canes received an early dose of the rollercoaster ride that the NHL playoffs can be. The series was an odd one in that though it went the full seven games, it really was not a close series on a game by game...
Rd1 Gm7 Vs. Bos: Max Domi climbs into Canes playoff lore with 2 goals in workmanlike 3-2 win
If one took a poll of Canes players likely to be the biggest difference-makers in a game 7 win, Max Domi would not have been among the top choices. But that is part of the fun of NHL playoff hockey and here we are. Max Domi started his historic night when he received...
Does Bruce Cassidy try chaos mode for game 7? If he does, what is the result?
So if we just continue down the current path, Brind'Amour will again flip the match ups to get Staal playing against Bergeron's line which has always included Marchand and at times included Pastrnak who has logged more ice time on the second line in the games in...
Rd1 Gm6 @Bos: Canes fall 5-2 in Boston forcing game 7 on Saturday at PNC Arena
Like every other game in the series, there was very little drama or suspense in the waning moments of Thursday's game. Even with a late power play goal by Andrei Svechnikov, the Hurricanes were down three goals late making the ending unexciting. But despite the...
What does it take for Canes to take series in game 6 in Boston?
Through 5 games of the series between the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins, the home team is a perfect 5 out of 5. In addition, though a couple of those games have been closer than the final scores would indicate, none of those games were decided by less than two...
Rd1 Gm5 Vs. Bos: Canes ride Staal’s shutdown line to 5-1 win
Two losses in Boston raised some doubts after consecutive wins at home, but back home at PNC Arena, the Hurricanes picked up where they left off with a 5-1 win. The formula was a familiar one with Jordan Staal's line tasked with shutting down Bergeron, Marchand and...
Four questions that decide game 5 between Canes and Bruins and likely the series
The first four games of the Carolina Hurricanes versus Boston Bruin series were night and day depending on venue. First, the Hurricanes won twice by a combined 10-3 score in Raleigh. Then the Bruins won twice by a combined 9-4 score in Boston. Part of that is just the...
Rd1 Gm4 @Bos: Bruins best beat Canes to even series heading back to Raleigh
Unfortunately, my game preview mostly foretold everything that could and would go wrong in Sunday's game against the Bruins. (Indented quotes from the game preview) 1) Battle of the best In the 2019 playoff series loss to the Bruins, the single biggest deciding...
Teeing up a ‘pivotal’ game 4 between Canes and Bruins
After consecutive Canes wins in Raleigh to start the first round playoff series between the Hurricanes and Bruins, the Bruins struck back in game 3 playing on home ice in Boston. Was that just a minor bump in the road for the Hurricanes? Or will it prove to be a...