Hurricanes plan to ‘hit the ground running’ when they resume ‘always evolving’ season
The Carolina Hurricanes keep working and waiting and hoping.
The Canes practiced for the third consecutive day Tuesday at PNC Arena, again ending the workout with extra skating.
“It almost feels like a mini-training camp,” goalie Antti Raanta said.
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour won’t argue that point very much. He has kept things brisk and on-point in the three practices following the holiday break, all aimed at having his team prepared and conditioned for whenever the Canes next play a game.
That could be Thursday. The Canes (21-7-1) are scheduled to host the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal, with nine players on the NHL COVID-19 list, returned to play Tuesday on the road against Tampa Bay and lost 5-4 in overtime.
Things can change quickly. If they drop the puck Thursday at PNC Arena, it will be game on. Until then ...
“You can’t look too far down the line because everything is always evolving,” Brind’Amour said Tuesday.
As for the Canes practices, Brind’Amour said: “We’ve pushed it pretty hard, trying to get back up to speed. You don’t often have too much time off. I felt like we needed to hit the ground running to at least have the best chance.”
The Canes last played Dec. 18 against the Los Angeles Kings, notching a 5-1 win at PNC Arena as goalie Frederik Andersen had 32 saves in picking up his 16th win of the season. Games against Nashville, Boston, Ottawa and Florida then were postponed by the NHL as the league grappled with COVID outbreaks on multiple teams including the Canes.
The league announced later Tuesday that the Canes’ Jan. 3 game at Toronto also had been postponed because of current attendance restrictions in Canada — Carolina’s sixth postponement overall.
.JPG "KingsHurricanesHockey (5).JPG")
Andersen went on the COVID list on Dec. 22. Raanta will start the Montreal game, if it’s played, and the Canes on Tuesday called up goalie Alex Lyon from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL for their new taxi squad — Lyon was at Tuesday’s practice.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to have almost the full roster on the ice, so we’ve been able to work on our game a little bit and work on some things we feel like we can be a little better,” Raanta said Tuesday.
The Canes again had 11 forwards and six defensemen at practice and should add more to the taxi squad Wednesday or Thursday. Forward Jack Drury, who scored in his first two NHL games after being recalled from the Wolves, figures to return.
The NHL and NHL Players Association have agreed to reinstate taxi squads, at least through the NHL All-Star Weekend, to help with COVID absences. But Brind’Amour noted there again is a fine line to be tread with those squads.
“You definitely don’t want a bunch of guys sitting around and not playing who are your top prospects or whatever,” he said.
If Tuesday’s practice was a guide, the Canes’ lines on Thursday could have Sebastian Aho centering Teuvo Teravainen and Nino Niederreiter; Vincent Trocheck with Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas; and Jordan Staal centering Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Seth Jarvis. If Drury is recalled, he could be slotted with Derek Stepan and Steven Lorentz.
The defensive pairs had Jaccob Slavin partnered with Tony DeAngelo, Brady Skeji with Brett Pesce, and Ian Cole with Ethan Bear.
The Canes are ready to play games again. But when?
“It’s kind of an open-ended situation we’re in right now,” Cole said Monday. “It’s probably going to be a weird year. It’s probably going to be touch-and-go the rest of the year.”
