Going into the qualifying round, the Carolina Hurricanes’ matchup against the New York Rangers was labelled by many as a likely upset. In reality, it may have been the most lopsided series of any in the qualifying round, going Carolina's way.
The Hurricanes were the better team for just about the entire series (other than probably the first two periods of Game 3) and certainly deserved to win the series. But as we wait to see who Carolina will face, here are some takeaways from the series.
Obviously the first line had a major impact. Sebastian Aho scored three goals and a ridiculous eight points (and currently leads the league in playoff points), while Andrei Svechnikov had three goals and five points, and Teuvo Teravainen had a goal and an assist. Overall, the line accounted for seven of the team’s 11 goals in the series.
Vincent Trocheck looked really good for most of the series despite not managing any points, while Martin Necas gave a good effort as well. I’m less sure how I felt about Nino Niederreiter, but he wasn’t a problem. Warren Foegele, Jordan Staal and Justin Williams were also decent.
The fourth line, on the other hand, had a lot of success, especially early in the series. Jordan Martinook and Brock McGinn each had a corsi for percentage of at least 60 per cent, while Morgan Geekie’s was close to 70 per cent (according to NaturalStatTrick.com).
On defense, Jaccob Slavin and Sami Vatanen were fairly effective on the top pairing. They contributed offensively and did fairly well while playing against tough competition, aside from a really rough showing from Vatanen in Game 3. Again though, once Dougie Hamilton comes back, he’ll be able to take on the more difficult matchups. I also thought Joel Edmundson and Brady Skjei each had a really strong series, while Jake Gardiner and Haydn Fleury were as good as they needed to be.
Something a bit surprising (to me, at least) was that Carolina’s goaltending wasn’t an issue whatsoever. In fact, at times it was a major advantage, especially considering some key saves from Petr Mrazek in Game 2 and an excellent performance from James Reimer in Game 3.
In terms of special teams, while Carolina’s penalty kill was a big factor in their series victory, killing off 13 of 14 penalties, their power play needs some work. The Hurricanes converted on just two of their 14 opportunities.
Overall though, it was a great series for the Hurricanes. There’s not a doubt they deserved the win and with Dougie Hamilton hopefully returning for the first round, they’re looking a lot like a contender.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
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