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Tag: Carolina Hurricanes

  • Capitals Announce 2019-20 Preseason Schedule

    Capitals Announce 2019-20 Preseason Schedule

    Today the Washington Capitals have announced their 2019-20 Preseason Schedule which will feature six games against three opponents.

     

    The Capitals will take on the Chicago Blackhawks, 2019 First Round rival Carolina Hurricanes, and the 2019 Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues. For the Blackhawks they will be looking to continue thier turnaround under first time head coach Jeremy Colliton who went 30-28-9 in 67 games after taking over for Joel Quenneville last season.

     

    Then there is the Carolina Hurricanes who will be looking to build upon their exciting 2018-19 season that saw them reach the Eastern Conference Finals, only to be swept by the Boston Bruins. The Hurricanes will be the only Eastern Conference test the Capitals will have in the preseason.

     

    Lastly, the Capitals will be facing the newly crowned champion Blues in what will be the two most interesting games of the preseason given the what we have gotten the last two preseasons between these two teams. In a preview of the last two Stanley Cup Champions, there will now be some added value to seeing what both teams could look like going into the 2019-20 Regular Season.

     

    The 2019-20 Preseason is very far away, but is a good reminder of what is coming up next.

  • ECF Game 4 – Boston Bruins v. Carolina Hurricanes

    ECF Game 4 – Boston Bruins v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Boston Bruins v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Game 4 – BOS Leads 3-0

     

    Game Recap:

    Heading into Game 4 with the potential to clinch the series in Carolina, the Boston Bruins will have to do it without their captain and veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara who is listed as “day to day”.

    In the first period both teams would trade chances, and both teams would get at least one powerplay opportunity each, but neither would capitalize on their opportunities.

     

    Going into the second period the Carolina Hurricanes would shoot themselves in the foot when they would take a too many men on the ice penalty, and the Bruins would take advantage as David Pastrnak would get the puck past Curtis McElhinney to make it 1-0 less than five minutes into the period. Then much later in the second period, Carolina would get themselves into penalty trouble again as Patrice Bergeron would score from the slot area as McElhinney did not have a chance on the shot.

     

    Going into the third period it would be do or die for the Hurricanes, and despite their best efforts a turnover in their own zone midway through the period would push the game more out of reach as David Pastrnak would exhibit great patience to feed Patrice Bergeron for his second goal of the game to make it 3-0.

     

    Lineups:

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — David Backes

    Marcus Johansson — Charlie Coyle — Danton Heinen

    Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari

    Matt Grzelcyk — Charlie McAvoy

    Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo

    John Moore — Connor Clifton

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steven Kampfer, Karson Kuhlman

    Injured: Chris Wagner (right arm), Kevan Miller (lower body), Zdeno Chara (day to day)

     

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teravainen

    Nino Niederreiter — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

    Warren Foegele – Lucas Wallmark — Brock McGinn

    Micheal Ferland — Greg McKegg — Saku Maenalanen

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Haydn Fleury — Calvin de Haan

    Curtis McElhinney

    Petr Mrazek

    Scratched: Jake Bean, Patrick Brown

    Injured: Jordan Martinook (lower body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (left shoulder)

     

    First Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 1:18 – Matt Grzelcyk 2 minutes fot Tripping

    Hurricanes Penalty – 10:35 – Nino Niederreiter 2 minutes for Slashing

    Bruins Penalty – 12:19 – Charlie Coyle 2 minutes for Interference

     

    End of 1st – BOS – 0       CAR – 0

    Shots              10                13

    Faceoffs         12                10

    Hits               08                  07

    PP                 0/1                 0/2

     

    Second Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 4:26 – Bench (Justin Williams) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

    Bruins PPG – 4:46 – David Pastrnak (7) from Brad Marchand (11) and Torey Krug (11)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 18:10 – Greg McKegg 2 minutes for Goalie Interference

    Bruins PPG – 18:34 – Patrice Bergeron (7) from David Pastrnak (7)

     

    End of 2nd – BOS – 2        CAR – 0

    Shots               18                 18

    Faceoffs          25                 23

    Hits                 15                  19

    PP                   2/3                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Bruins Goal – 10:32 – Patrice Bergeron (8) from David Pastrnak (8)

    Bruins ENG – 17:43 – Brad Marchand (7) from Patrice Bergeron (5) and David Krejci (10)

     

    End of 3rd – BOS – 4         CAR – 0

    Shots              23                   24

    Faceoffs        35                    31

    Hits               17                     33

    PP                 2/3                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Stanley Cup Finals – Boston v. STL/SJ

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • 2019 NHL Playoffs: Round 3 Game 3: Bruins Win In Raleigh; Take Commanding Lead In The Series

    2019 NHL Playoffs: Round 3 Game 3: Bruins Win In Raleigh; Take Commanding Lead In The Series

    The Carolina Hurricanes hosted the Boston Bruins in Raleigh tonight. The Bruins came into the game with a 2-0 lead in the series, and both victories were in convincing fashion. The Hurricanes came to tonight’s game to try and take advantage of their home ice; as coming into tonight, they are undefeated at PNC Arena.

     

    In the first period, the Hurricanes came out flying, trying to capitalize on the momentum of home ice, but the Bruins weathered the storm. The first period would have no scoring, but the Hurricanes out-shot the Bruins 20-6. The period also featured a ton of penalties between the two teams. The Bruins took six penalties and the Hurricanes took four penalties, with both team’s PK units taking care of business.

     

    All the scoring in this game happened in the second period. The Bruins would quickly strike first in the period, at a little over a minute in. It would be Chris Wagner, who would notch his second goal of the playoffs.

     

    The Bruins would proceed to take a 2-0 lead in the game about five minutes later, when everyone’s favorite hockey player Brad Marchand would notch his sixth goal of the playoffs. A back hand shot in the slot, beating McElhinney.

     

    The Hurricanes would get one back, as seven minutes later Calvin de Haan would notch his first goal of the playoffs with a nice slap shot goal from the circle, beating Rask five hole. The goal would be de Haan’s first career playoff goal. The period would end 2-1 in favor of the Bruins.

     

    In the third period the Bruins held on as the Hurricanes would throw 10 more shots at Rask, who stopped them all. As Boston’s defense again made the difference in seeing out the 2-1 victory and the win would give the Bruins a commanding 3-0 series lead. For the Hurricanes this loss represents the first loss at home for them in the playoffs.

     

    Game 4 will be on Thursday at PNC Arena in Raleigh, where the Hurricanes will look to avoid the sweep.

     

    Boxscore

    https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-car/2019/05/14/2018030313#game=2018030313,game_state=final

     

    3 Stars of the Game

    Tuukka Rask

    Chris Wagner

    Calvin de Haan

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • ECF Game 2 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    ECF Game 2 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Game 2 – BOS Leads 1-0

     

    Game Recap:

    Coming into Game 2 this afternoon the Carolina Hurricanes look to tie the series at one and take away the home ice advantage from the Boston Bruins. The first half of the period saw the tempo change hands between the two teams, and we alao saw a Hurricanes powerplay that did not generate much offense. Then in the last five minutes of the period Matt Grzelcyk would get one through Petr Mrazek and just over the goal line to score the first goal of the game. The Bruins would not be done there as they would get a late powerplay opportunity and would need only six seconds as Jake DeBrusk would knock in her own rebound and give the Bruins a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission.

     

    Going into the second period the Bruins would get themselves into penalty trouble as Patrice Bergeron would take a tripping penalty, but the Hurricanes would squander their opportunity and moments later the Bruins would capitalize as Marcus Johansson would exhibit great patience as he feeds Connor Clifton with the pass for Clifton to bury the puck into a wide open net for his first career playoff goal. Then late in the second period Matt Grzelcyk would strike again, this time on the powerplay to give the Bruins a 4-0 lead going into the second intermission.

     

    Going into the third period the Hurricanes would stick with Petr Mrazek between the pipes, but the Bruins would continue their assault as David Backes would score 70 seconds into the period. Then after killing off their second Patrice Bergeron tripping penalty of the game, it would be Bergeron out of the box and setting up Danton Heinen to make it a commanding 6-0 lead. The Hurricanes would eventually end Tuukka Rask’s shutout bid when Justin Williams would deflect a Justin Faulk poimt shot to make it 6-1. Then the Hurricanes would build on that as they would catch Tuukka Rask cheating to play the puck as he would accidently shoot the puck into Teuvo Teravainen who would shoot it into the wide open net to make it 6-2, but it would be to little too late as the Bruins take Game 2 and the 2-0 series lead.

     

    Lineups:

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho – Teuvo Teravainen

    Nino Niederreiter — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

    Warren Foegele – Lucas Wallmark — Brock McGinn

    Jordan Martinook — Greg McKegg — Micheal Ferland

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Haydn Fleury — Calvin de Haan

    Petr Mrazek

    Curtis McElhinney

    Scratched: Jake Bean, Patrick Brown

    Injured: Saku Maenalanen (upper body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (left shoulder)

     

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — David Backes

    Marcus Johansson — Charlie Coyle — Danton Heinen

    Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Chris Wagner

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo

    Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Clifton

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steven Kampfer, Karson Kuhlman, John Moore

    Injured: Kevan Miller (lower body), Noel Acciari (upper body)

     

    First Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 11:56 – Zdeno Chara 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins Goal – 15:22 – Matt Grzelcyk (2) from Marcus Johansson (5) and Charlie Coyle (4)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 18:26 – Justin Williams 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins PPG – 18:32 – Jake DeBrusk (3) from David Pastrnak (6) and Torey Krug (8)

     

    End of 1st – CAR – 0       BOS – 2

    Shots              06                11

    Faceoffs         08                13

    Hits               14                  20

    PP                 0/1                 1/1

     

    Second Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 1:09 – Patric Bergeron 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins Goal – 3:46 – Connor Clifton (1) from Marcus Johansson (6) and Danton Heinen (5)

    Bruins Penalty – 13:36 – Chris Wagner 2 minutes for Holding

    Hurricanes Penalty – 16:07 – Justin Williams 2 minutes for Holding

    Bruins PPG – 17:56 – Matt Grzelcyk (3) from Charlie Coyle (5) and Torey Krug (9)

     

    End of 2nd – CAR – 0        BOS – 4

    Shots               17                 21

    Faceoffs          18                 21

    Hits                 26                  27

    PP                   0/3                  2/2

     

    Third Period:

    Bruins Goal – 1:10 – David Backes (2) from David Krejci (8) and Torey Krug (10)

    Bruins Penalty – 2:22 – Patrice Bergeron 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins Goal – 4:32 – Danton Heinen (2) from Patrice Bergeron (4) and Charlie Coyle (6)

    Hurricanes Goal – 11:17 – Justin Williams (4) from Justin Faulk (6) and Sebastian Aho (6)

    Hurricanes Goal – 17:32 – Teuvo Teravainen (7) from unassisted

     

    End of 3rd – CAR – 2         BOS – 6

    Shots              23                   25

    Faceoffs        22                    31

    Hits               27                     35

    PP                 0/4                    2/2

     

    Next Up:

    Game 3  – Boston Leads 2-0

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • Eastern Conference Finals Preview – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Eastern Conference Finals Preview – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Eastern Conference Finals

    Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

     

    Regular Season Series:

    CAR 1-0-1 (Playoffs 8-3)

    BOS 2-1-0 (Playoffs 8-5)

     

    How they got here:

    Carolina defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the first round, and then swept the New York Islanders 4-0 in the second round.

     

    Boston defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in the first round, and then defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 in the second round.

     

    A Deeper Look at the Series:

    Offense:

    For the Carolina Hurricanes this postseason they had a lot of players playing in the playoffs for the first time in their careers, and outside of the veteran leadership of Jordan Staal and Justin Williams they have also received contributions from their young stars of Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho. The biggest surprise this season has been the rise of rookie forward Warren Foegele who has recorded 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points in the postseason so far.

     

    For the veteran Boston Bruins they have received contributions from all of their top players including Brad Marchand who leads the way with 5 goals and 8 assists for 13 points this postseason. However, despite their contributions this postseason, the Columbus Blue Jackets last round showed how you can keep the top players of the Bruins quite for an extended amout of time throughout the series. Unfortunately for the Blue Jackets they faltered near the end and the likes of Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak would take over and lead the Bruins back to the Eastern Conference Finals.

     

    Defense:

    On defense for the Hurricanes they have been lead quietly by Jaccob Slavin who leads the team in points with 11 this postseason, but all 11 points have been assists for Slavin and it has shown as he has been a jolt for kick startig the Hurricanes offense. The Hurricanes have also gained contributions from Dougie Hamilton, Justin Faulk and Brett Pesce who combined have 19 points (4 goals and 15 assists) this postseason. With these four players firing on all cylinders, it makes the Hurricanes defense a dangerous one to contain in regards to moving the play up the ice and into the offensive zone.

     

    The Bruins major contributions offensively have come from Torey Krug (1 goal and 8 points) and Charlie McAvoy (1 goal and 6 points) from the blueline, but their overall core which is lead by captain Zdeno Chara has been solid throughout the majority of these playoffs. However, going into Game 1 the Bruins will be without McAvoy who will be serving a ome game suspension for his hit to the head of Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson in Game 7 last round, so the Bruins are going to need to step up in his absence for Game 1.

     

    Goaltending:

    For the Hurricanes they have relied on both of their horses from the regular season in Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney. Mrazek, who is the team’s number one goaltender has a 5-3 record with a 2.22 GAA and a .913 save percentage, while McElhinney has a 3-0 record with a 1.56 GAA and a .947 save percentage since coming in when Mrazek went down with a lower body injury. The Hurricanes hope to have Mrazek between the pipes for Game 1, but McElhinney is ready to answer the call when needed.

     

    For the Bruins they have their stalwart Tuukka Rask who in these playoffs have an 8-5 record with a 2.02 GAA and a .938 save percentage as he has been the backbone for the Bruins this postseason.

     

    Goaltending will be one of the biggest keys this series, and could also be the determining factor.

     

    Special Teams:

    CAR – PP 17.8%     PK 81.6%

    BOS – PP 25.9%     PK 79.9%

     

    For special teams this could be considered a wash as both teams are on the opposite end of the spectrum in regards to powerplay and penalty kill. During the regular season the Bruins had a better powerplay, but on the penalty kill the Hurricanes were the better team. One edge I would give to the Hurricanes would be their penalty kill as seeing it in person, against the Bruins for Hartford Whalers Night, they utilize their young, fast players along with their grizzled defenders to kill penalties, and with players like Teravainen and Aho on the kill that can score shorthanded, that can give the Hurricanes a slight edge.

     

    Prediction: CAR in 6

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • May 4th, 2019 — News and Notes

    May 4th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Saturday, May 4th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were two contests yesterday in Stanley Cup playoff action.

     

     

    CAROLINA 5, NY Islanders 2 (Carolina wins series 4-0)

     

    Round 2 - CARNYI - Game 3 - 4-0 CAR

     

    The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Islanders last night by the score of 5-2 and in doing so, the Hurricanes have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals and now await the winner of the Columbus Blue Jackets v. Boston Bruins series.

     

     

    TXHT has your recap of that contest at the following page, which you can find here or at page below.

     

     

    Dallas 2, ST. LOUIS 1 (Dallas leads the series 3-2)

     

    Round 2 - DALSTL - Game 5 -3-2 DAL

     

    The Dallas Stars are one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals after their 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues last night.

     

    TXHT has your coverage of the contest between the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues here or at the link posted below.

     

     

    Game 6 of this series takes place tomorrow (May 5th) afternoon at 3 p.m., ET.

     

    Today in Stanley Cup playoff action, there are two games taking place.

     

     

    The Columbus Blue Jackets visit the Boston Bruins, with the series being tied at 2 games a piece.  The action starts at 7:15 p.m., ET.

     

     

    In the other contest tonight, the Colorado Avalanche visit the San Jose Sharks with this series also being tied at 2 games a piece.

     

     

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

     

     

     

     

  • Round 2 Game 4 Recap – New York Islanders v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Round 2 Game 4 Recap – New York Islanders v. Carolina Hurricanes

    New York Islanders v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Game 4 – CAR Leads 3-0

     

    Game Recap:

    Heading into Game 4 the Carolina Hurricanes look to complete the sweep at home as they take on a desparate New York Islanders team trying to remain alive. The Islanders would get an early break as Andrei Svechnikov would take an early high sticking penalty that would lead to a Mathew Barzal powerplay goal for quick 1-0 lead two and a half minutes into the game. However, the Hurricanes would respond on a powerplay of their own as Sebastian Aho would jam it in past Robin Lehner to tie the game at one.

     

    Going into the second period it would be the Hurricanes unleashing a storm early on as Warren Foegele, Sebastian Aho, and Teuvo Teravainen would connect on a tic, tac, toe play as Teravainen scores his sixth of the playoffs. Then Greg McKegg knocks in a loose puck in the slot area to make it 3-1 for the Hurricanes and chase Robin Lehner out of the crease and put in Thomas Greiss for the Islanders. Then after killing a Brock McGinn penalty, Jordan Staal would throw the puck into the slot area and Justin Williams would bat it out of mid air and past Greiss to make it 4-1.

     

    Coming into the third period the Hurricanes would choke up this game and kill the clock, and then Andrei Svechnikov would score his third of the playoffs to give the Hurricanes a commanding 5-1 lead. Brock Nelson would score, but it would be too little, too late as the Hurricanes would go on to defeat the islanders 5-2 to sweep the 2nd round series 4 games to none.

     

    Lineups:

    New York Islanders:

    Anders Lee — Mathew Barzal — Jordan Eberle

    Josh Bailey — Brock Nelson — Tom Kuhnhackl

    Anthony Beauvillier — Valtteri Filppula — Leo Komarov

    Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

    Nick Leddy — Thomas Hickey

    Adam Pelech — Ryan Pulock

    Devon Toews — Scott Mayfield

    Robin Lehner

    Thomas Greiss

    Scratched: Luca Sbisa, Dennis Seidenberg, Michael Dal Colle, Ross Johnston

    Injured: Johnny Boychuk (lower body), Tanner Fritz (hand), Andrew Ladd (torn ACL)

     

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Warren Foegele — Sebastian Aho — Justin Williams

    Nino Niederreiter — Jordan Staal — Teuvo Teravainen

    Andrei Svechnikov — Lucas Wallmark — Brock McGinn

    Jordan Martinook — Greg McKegg — Patrick Brown

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Calvin de Haan — Haydn Fleury

    Curtis McElhinney

    Alex Nedeljkovic

    Scratched: Jake Bean, Clark Bishop

    Injured: Petr Mrazek (lower body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (upper body), Saku Maenalanen(upper body), Micheal Ferland (upper body)

     

    First Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 1:13 – Andrei Svechnikov 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Islanders PPG – 2:30 – Mathew Barzal (2) from Devom Toews (3) and Jordan Eberle (5)

    Islanders Penalty – 4:02 – Leo Komarov 2 minutes for Roughing

    Hurricanes PPG – 4:44 – Sebastian Aho (4) from Teuvo Teravainen (3) and Justin Faulk (4)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 6:33 – Jordan Martinook 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

    Islanders Penalty – 6:33 – Scott Mayfield 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 1st – NYI – 1       CAR – 1

    Shots              10                05

    Faceoffs         06                08

    Hits               16                  14

    PP                 1/1                 1/1

     

    Second Period:

    Hurricanes Goal – 2:11 – Teuvo Teravainen (6) from Warren Foegele (4) and Sebastian Aho (5)

    Hurricanes Goal – 3:17 – Greg McKegg (1) from Brett Pesce (6) and Jordan Martinook (3)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 5:38 – Brock McGinn 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Hurricanes Goal – 8:51 – Justin Williams (3) from Jordan Staal (5) and Nino Niederreiter (3)

    Islanders Penalty – 9:54 – Scott Mayfield 2 minutes for Interference

    Hurricanes Penalty – 14:47 – Nino Niederreiter 2 minutes for Slashing

    Islanders Penalty – 17:40 – Casey Czikas 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 2nd – NYI – 1        CAR – 4

    Shots               16                 17

    Faceoffs          15                 14

    Hits                 25                  20

    PP                   1/3                  1/3

     

    Third Period:

    Islanders Penalty – 5:02 – Leo Komarov 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Hurricanes Goal – 15:13 – Andrei Svechnikov (3) from Justin Faulk (5)

    Islanders Goal – 18:51 – Brock Nelson (4) from Scott Mayfield (2) and Devon Toews (4)

     

    End of 3rd – NYI – 2         CAR – 5

    Shots              28                   21

    Faceoffs        23                    24

    Hits               33                     28

    PP                 1/3                    1/4

     

    Next Up:

    Carolina v. Boston/Columbus – Game 1 Eastern Conference Finals

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • 2019 NHL Playoffs: Round 2 Game 2: Hurricanes Pull Off Another Road Victory

    2019 NHL Playoffs: Round 2 Game 2: Hurricanes Pull Off Another Road Victory

    Game 2 of the second round between the New York Islanders and the Carolina Hurricanes took place today on nationwide TV, on NBC. The Islanders were looking to tie up the series before it heads back to Raleigh, while the Hurricanes were looking to extend their series lead.

    The game started off well for the Islanders, as a little over halfway in the first period, the Isles would grab the lead. The goal would come from Matthew Barzal, and it would be his first of the playoffs. The puck would bounce off of Jaccob Slavin’s stick and beat Petr Mrázek and go into the net. Then, the Islanders would then finish off the period with a 1-0 lead.

    There would be no scoring between the two teams in the second period. The Islanders outshot the Hurricanes 13-9 in the period. Also, only two penalties were called in the period, both going against the Islanders, in which their penalty kill were successful in killing off the penalties.

    In the third period, the Hurricanes would nab a quick goal 17 seconds into the period. It came from Carolina hot man, Warren Foegele, who shot the puck from the right circle beating Robin Lehner. It would be Foegele’s fifth goal of the playoffs.

    Shortly after, slightly over a minute into the period, the Hurricanes would grab another quick goal. This time it came from Nino Niederreiter, it would be his first goal of the playoffs, and it could not come at a better time.

    The Hurricanes would then hold on to win the period and the game, and take a 2-0 series lead heading back to Raleigh.

     

    Things to note, that Petr Mrázek went down injured in the second period and it was Curtis McElhinney who would come on in relief. The Hurricanes were dealt another injury as Saku Maenalanen would depart from the game early. Also Trevor van Riemsdyk left the game early as well.

     

    3 Stars of the Game

    Third Star: Matthew Barzal

    Second Star: Warren Foegele

    First Star: Nino Niederreiter

     

    Boxscore

    https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/car-vs-nyi/2019/04/28/2018030222#game=2018030222,game_state=final

     

    Game 3 of the series will be at PNC Arena in Raleigh on May 1st at 7p on NBCSN.

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • 2019 NHL Playoffs: Round 2 Game 1: Hurricanes Steal Game 1 In OT

    2019 NHL Playoffs: Round 2 Game 1: Hurricanes Steal Game 1 In OT

    The second round of the playoffs began yesterday; however, for these two Metropolitan division rivals, their first game was tonight. It was the first game for the Islanders since April 16th, when they swept the Pittsburgh Penguins. For the Hurricanes, the last game that they played was Wednesday in DC, when they defeated the Washington Capitals in double overtime. The last time that these two teams played against each other though, was all the way back on January 8th. Which saw the Hurricanes come out victorious in that game.

    Game 1 took place at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, and it saw a tightly contested match with great defensive play on both sides and great goaltending from both teams. In the first period, saw great back and forth action from both teams, but unfortunately, no one was able to find the back of the net. The Islanders outshot the Hurricanes 11-9 though.

    In the second period, we saw much of the same as the first period, great back and forth action from both teams. Again, unfortunately there was no scoring between both teams. However the shot count in the second period was even, with both teams registering 12 shots on goal.

    In the third period, we got more of the same as the first two periods. There was no scoring, as I’m sure all of the fans stress levels went up a few notches as the game would head to overtime. It was the Hurricanes who outshot the Islanders in the third period 10-6.

    Also, through three periods of play, both teams penalty kills went perfect. The Hurricanes penalty kill was 5 for 5, and the Islanders penalty kill went 3 for 3.

    In overtime, there were no penalties called on either team. There also wasn’t much shooting going on in the third period either, as the Islanders outshot the Hurricanes 2-1. Everything from both teams was on lockdown. Then four minutes into overtime, a shot came from Nino Niederreiter, which bounced off the back boards and landed on Jordan Staal’s stick. He took a shot which beat Robin Lehner to give the Hurricanes the 1-0 victory in OT and a 1-0 lead in the series.

    This was some absolutely incredible hockey and I hope that there is more to come with this series.

     

    3 Stars of the Game

    Third Star: Petr Mrázek

    Second Star: Robin Lehner

    First Star: Jordan Staal

     

    Boxscore

    https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/car-vs-nyi/2019/04/26/2018030221#game=2018030221,game_state=final

     

    Game 2 action will be this Sunday at 3p on NBC.

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • 2019 NHL Playoffs: Round 2 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Islanders

    2019 NHL Playoffs: Round 2 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Islanders

    The first round of the playoffs came to its final conclusion yesterday. With the second round set, it’s time to take a look at the match up for these two teams.

    New York Islanders First Round

    The New York Islanders played the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. Handily sweeping them in four games. The Islanders outscored the Penguins in the series by a combined score of 14-6. Only Game 1 of the series was close, going to overtime; the other games were just dominating play by the Islanders.

    Carolina Hurricanes First Round

    The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Washington Capitals in seven games in the first round. The series saw the Hurricanes barely outscored in the series, the combined score being 19-20. However, the team has heart and soul, and used it to beat the Stanley Cup Champions.

    That being said, let’s see how these two Metro division rivals matched up against each other in the regular season.

    In the regular season series, saw the Islanders win 3 out of the 4 games against the Hurricanes. In the first game of the regular season, these two teams squared off on 10/4 which saw the Islanders come out on top in OT with a 2-1 victory. A couple of weeks later, the Islanders would get a 2-1 win in regulation on 10/28. These two teams would not see each other for another month, and when they finally met again on 11/24, the Islanders were once again victorious by a score of 4-1. It would not be until the new year when these two teams would meet again. This coming when the Hurricanes were playing a lot better hockey, and they were rewarded with a 4-3 victory against the Islanders.

    Keys to Victory for the Islanders

    • Goaltending: Robin Lehner was spectacular against the Penguins all series, and will need to continue his stellar play.
    • Defense: The shot blocking and defensive play in the series against the Penguins was also spectacular. It’s one of the biggest reasons why the Islanders dominated play, so far in the playoffs.
    • Secondary Scoring: The Islanders got contributions from all over the line up and that’s always important in the playoffs.

    Players to Watch

    Devon Toews (D)

    Jordan Eberle (F)

    Robin Lehner (G)

     

    Keys to Victory for the Hurricanes

    Goaltending: Petr Mrázek was downright awesome at times during the series with the Capitals, he stood on his head and kept the Hurricanes in the game. If the Canes want to pull off another upset, he needs to play just as well as he has been.

    Home Ice Advantage: I would have kept this for the Islanders, however because they are now playing at Barclay’s Center, it’s not quite as good as Nassau Coliseum. However, PNC Arena in Raleigh is noisy and raucous, and there is a reason why the Hurricanes are undefeated in their barn so far in the playoffs.

    Leadership: Justin Williams, aka Mr. Game 7, is the unquestioned leader in that locker room. The team plays well, when he plays well. He has the experience and it’s gonna be needed in this round as well.

    Players to Watch

    Petr Mrázek (G)

    Justin Williams (F)

    Sebastian Aho (F)

     

    Game 1 of the series starts tomorrow at 7p in Barclay’s Center. The game will be on NBCSN.

    Should be interesting to see if there is any rust on the Islanders squad, as they have not played a game since 4/16 when they swept the Pens.

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.