Carolina Hurricanes power-play surge keys seven-game winning streak
In theory, the Carolina Hurricanes’ power play shouldn’t be this good.
Not with the Canes playing the same seven teams in the Central Division. Not with every shift, every pass and shot in every game situation evaluated on video in scouting. Opposing teams probably know how many times Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour chews his gum on a power play.
On paper, the Canes’ power play couldn’t look any better.
Not 12 power-play goals in the past seven games, all victories. Not going 12-for-25, a 48% clip. How good is that?
The power surge has lifted Carolina to the top of the NHL in power-play percentage at 32.2% after Saturday’s games, ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs (30.2). It’s a big reason the Canes are scoring 3.42 goals overall per game, second in the NHL, and why they’re among the leaders in the Central Division with a 19-6-1 record.
The Canes were 3-for-3 on the power play Thursday in their 5-1 win over the Nashville Predators. They’ve scored a power-play goal in each of the past seven games, a first since the 2008-09 season, and had eight players scoring goals in that stretch. It’s not a couple of guys carrying the load.
They’ve done it without forward Teuvo Teravainen, who has been sidelined by a concussion, and without defenseman Jake Gardiner, who has missed seven of the past eight games with back issues and on Saturday was placed on NHL waivers. Teravainen is one of the Canes’ craftiest power-play passers, and Gardiner is a veteran power-play quarterback.
The Canes also were without center Vincent Trocheck on Thursday against the Predators. Trocheck, who leads the Canes with six power-play goals and 13 power-play points, has an upper-body injury. He will miss more games, Brind’Amour said Saturday, and will not be on the two-game road trip to Detroit.
But again, shouldn’t the divisional teams know the Canes’ power-play tendencies by now?
“You’ve got to adjust to what they’re doing,” Canes defenseman Dougie Hamilton said this week. “I think they’re adjusting to us, so we have to adjust to them. They’re watching video, we’re watching video.
“We’re trying to find openings every game. After every power play, we’re trying to find different plays. So we’re always talking to each other to see what’s open and just trying to be ready right away and adjust as the game goes on.”
Hamilton has quarterbacked the first power-play unit, sees the ice well and has a team-high 12 power-play assists. Trocheck has been in the middle of everything, patrolling the slot, deflecting shots. Jordan Staal, given more power-play time this season, has scored five times.
Everyone has done their part.. Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas are pretty slick passers whose heavy one-timers must be defended. Defenseman Jake Bean has stepped in for Gardiner on the second unit, handles the puck well and can find shooting lanes.
“I think our breakouts have been good,” Staal said Saturday. “I think the more zone time you have the more opportunities you have to put the puck in the net and give yourself a chance to score. We have some great shooters from the outside, and the puck’s been sneaking in for us and helping us win some games. It’s been good.”
On the flip side, the Canes in the past seven games have allowed just three power-play goals. They’ve adjusted on their penalty kill.
“It goes both ways,” forward Brock McGinn, one of the Canes’ best penalty killers, said this week. “I think they know our tendencies and we know theirs, so it’s about going out and executing. You definitely learn a lot playing the same team a lot of times. You’re adapting every time you play them.”
The Canes had a new power-play wrinkle Thursday against the Preds: Morgan Geekie. With Trocheck out. Geekie went into the lineup as the fourth center, then scored twice playing on the Canes’ second power-play unit.
On his first goal, the Canes had a 1-3-1 look with Bean at the point, forward Jesper Fast low, defenseman Brett Pesce and forward Nino Niederreiter on the wings and Geekie positioned between the circles.
Bean got off a shot, Geekie deflecting the puck to the ice. It took a wicked bounce and got past goalie Pekka Rinne for a 1-0 lead. It also started a scoring binge as McGinn and Hamilton soon followed with even-strength goals.
Geekie’s second goal came as a Canes’ power play was in its final seconds. Geekie simply put a shot on net, the puck hitting off Rinne, off defenseman Mattias Ekholm and back into the net.
In the third period, the Canes got a power-play score from its first unit, which had Necas filling Trocheck’s spot. Svechnikov put a pass on Necas’ stick in the low slot, the deflected puck trickling through Rinne’s pads.
After sweeping a four-game homestand, the Canes have two games gainst the Red Wings, who are 8-16-4 but a more competitive 4-5-1 in their last 10 and held on to top the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-4 on Thursday.
The Red Wings’ video coach is LJ Scarpace, who worked two years for the Canes and video coach Chris Huffine before joining the Detroit staff last season. Think he knows a few things about the Canes’ personnel and their power-play schemes?
“Every team has the things that they like to do, and you just need to keep getting sharper at what you do,” Brind’Amour said.
Carolina Hurricanes vs Detroit Red Wings
When: Sunday, 5 p.m.
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.
TV: FSCR.
This story was originally published March 13, 2021 at 2:36 PM.
