The Hurricanes got into some penalty trouble in the first period and it hurt them. The Blackhawks scored three power play goals and it probably could’ve been worse than that, given the chances they missed and the saves James Reimer made. As a result of the penalties, Carolina didn’t get much going and had a rough start to the game.
Carolina did start the second period strong with two goals in the opening minute and had control of the game for most of the period as well, before a fairly even third period.
Despite allowing five goals, Reimer was actually quite good. He really can’t be faulted for the goals and made the initial save on a couple of them. He gave the Hurricanes a chance, despite the opportunities they allowed early.
It’s worth noting that Dougie Hamilton has now had a rough few rough games in his own end. He's not the only one but he seems to keep getting caught out of position and loses track of opposing forwards. Considering how important he is to the defense group, hopefully we see some improvement going forward.
Overall, it was penalty trouble and defensive breakdowns that were the difference-maker in last night’s loss.
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Who do you think has been most reliable in the defensive zone so far?
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