Ben Shelley: Hurricanes hold off Islanders for Game 1 win

Kind of what was expected . Canes controlled play and Sorokin was excellent keeping the Isles in it. Without Pacioretty and Svechnikov, I have difficulty seeing the Canes win a SC. Just not enough scoring talent. Great defensive team though. Best I've seen in a few years at least. I hope they prove me wrong.

Kind of what was expected . Canes controlled play and Sorokin was excellent keeping the Isles in it. Without Pacioretty and Svechnikov, I have difficulty seeing the Canes win a SC. Just not enough scoring talent. Great defensive team though. Best I've seen in a few years at least. I hope they prove me wrong.
- jfkst1

Interestingly, because of how strict Brind'amour stuck to his matchups, Kotkaniemi ended up with the most even strength Time-On-Ice for the Canes last night.

Almost a full 6 minutes more than Aho at evens. Curious how that plays out on the road or if that's a pattern we'll see continue.

Interestingly, because of how strict Brind'amour stuck to his matchups, Kotkaniemi ended up with the most even strength Time-On-Ice for the Canes last night.

Almost a full 6 minutes more than Aho at evens. Curious how that plays out on the road or if that's a pattern we'll see continue.
- BINGO!

Isn't Brindamour one of the most matchup deliberate coaches in the league? I thought that was part of the team being so defensively sound. They also have an uncharacteristically high % of strong defensive forwards to support a strong blue line.

Isn't Brindamour one of the most matchup deliberate coaches in the league? I thought that was part of the team being so defensively sound. They also have an uncharacteristically high % of strong defensive forwards to support a strong blue line.
- jfkst1

Kind of. When the opposition has one high-octane line he likes to stick Staal against them to grind them down and then let the rest do their thing.

One of the better passes of Staal's career. He's certainly not a playmaker. Good shot by Fast. Sorokin can't be blamed on that.