Remember when the Carolina Hurricanes struggled to win games in shootouts? No longer.
Five observations from the Carolina Hurricanes’ 4-3 shootout win Tuesday over the Chicago Blackhawks:
▪ There was a time, and not that long ago, when putting “Hurricanes” and “shootout” in the same sentence usually ended with “loss.” No longer. The Canes were 5-0 in shootouts last season and now have won the last two games in shootouts as Reimer stopped five of six shooters including Jamie Benn of Dallas and Patrick Kane of Chicago.
Kane’s approach with the puck was so slow it appeared to be in freeze-frames. Reimer waited out the Blackhawks star, then gloved the backhand shot. Big stop, another win.
▪ Petr Mrazek announced on Instagram Tuesday that he planned to have surgery in Vail, Colorado, ending a few days of suspense. Video of Mrazek Saturday against Dallas revealed the thumb injury and Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Tuesday the goalie will out for a long time. Mrazek had the surgery Wednesday, the team announced, although it is not known how long he will be sidelined.
The talk in training camp was with the NHL’s condensed 56-game schedule and a lot of back-to-backs, two good goalies would be a necessity, not a luxury. The Canes had Mrazek and Reimer. Now, it’s Reimer and Alex Nedeljkovic. The goalie they call “Ned” is the “next man up,” one of Brind’Amour’s favorite expressions.
▪ It was easy to second-guess Brind’Amour’s decision to put Andrei Svechnikov on Jordan Staal’s line Tuesday. With four players missing and on the NHL COVID-19 protocol list, Brind’Amour had the winger on Sebastian Aho’s line with Brock McGinn. With the players back Tuesday, it was on Staal’s line with Warren Foegele.
Here’s why he’s the coach and everybody else second-guessers: the Staal line clicked for two first-period goals as Svechnikov and Foegele scored off Staal passes. Svechnikov did get some time with Aho late but the initial move was the right one.
▪ And, yes, Svechnikov had the thought of another lacrosse shot flash through his mind in overtime. He had the puck behind the Chicago net and ...
“I was going too fast,” he said on the postgame media call. “It was a good opportunity. The D wasn’t there and I tried it but I couldn’t put the puck on the stick that time. The ice was pretty bad, so maybe next time.”
▪ The Canes and the Blackhawks were too loose with the puck, almost nonchalant, at times in overtime. Puck possession is everything in 3-on-3 overtimes and the Canes weren’t as careful and strong with the puck as they need to be with victory and a point on the line. As Svechnikov said, “We’ve got to handle the puck more in overtime.”
Brind’Amour’s strategy of starting Staal in the OT for the opening draw, then quickly being replaced by Aho, also backfired this time as Staal lost the faceoff to David Kampf. Vincent Trocheck won the next draw for the Canes and was 15-5 in the circle Tuesday.
Hurricanes at Blackhawks
When: 8 p.m., Thursday
Watch: Fox Sports Carolinas
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 11:07 AM.
