A major piece of pre-game news was that Jaccob Slavin wouldn’t be playing. As a result, Jake Gardiner drew into the lineup and I thought he was pretty decent in a very limited role.
The story of the first period was the penalties. The Hurricanes did get the bulk of chances in the period and took the lead about half way through the frame, with Sebastian Aho converting on a great pass from Andrei Svechnikov on the power play. Their penalty trouble started after the goal, however, where the Hurricanes spent most of the back half of the period down a man but managed to escape the period with a lead.
Carolina’s penalty trouble continued in the second period and the team found themselves shorthanded a couple more times but again managed to hang onto the lead. The Predators also got the bulk of the chances at even strength and despite the score, the game wasn’t without some great opportunities for both teams after 40 minutes.
The Predators came out strong in the third period and put pressure on the Hurricanes but Alex Nedeljkovic held his ground. An empty net goal from Sebastian Aho, followed by a goal that Warren Foegele banked off Ryan Ellis sealed the deal for Carolina.
The biggest story in this one was Carolina’s penalty kill. While the Hurricanes took far too many penalties, their penalty kill was an absolute difference-maker. Carolina's penalty killers often got better chances on Nashville’s power play than the Predators did, seemingly always getting a chance on an odd-man rush the other way. Credit is due to Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce, who each played over nine minutes on the penalty kill.
It was also a really strong game for Alex Nedeljkovic, who picked up his first playoff shutout. I’d say Juuse Saros may have faced the more difficult chances overall but Nedeljkovic was very good for the Hurricanes.
It’s been a fun series to watch so far. The games have been very chippy but the Hurricanes are responding well. Last night, Carolina wasn’t in control as much as they were in Game 1, but the Hurricanes still played a relatively well-rounded game, led by an excellent penalty kill.
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Who do you think was Carolina's most important player in Game 2?
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