Thoughts From My Couch: Carolina Hurricanes v. Nashville Predators, Round 1, Game 2

Spurred on by a strong third period, the Carolina Hurricanes claimed the first game of the best of seven against the Nashville Predators 5-2. Jordan Staal scored twice and Alex Nedeljkovic earned the win in his first career postseason start, a first for the franchise. Ned will get the start again facing off with Juuse Saros, Nashville's Game 1 starter. With a 1-0 series lead, the ideal scenario would be for the team to be leading 2-0 heading into two straight on the road in a hostile environment. It will take a start just like how they finished on Monday night to ensure they achieve just that. I wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if Nashville comes out with more tenacity and frustration after the way they played in Game 1. What will be interesting is seeing how each team reacts to having Jaccob Slavin out of the lineup with a lower-body injury. This will no doubt be a major loss for the Canes' defensive core. Jake Gardiner is slotting in for Slavin. This is going to be a dog fight on the Canes end and they'll really need to buckle down to subdue the Predators tonight. 

1st Period: Predators 0, Hurricanes 1

I do not often blame the referees for what's going on during play, but they inserted themselves into this game way too much in the first period and it has felt very one-sided. The Canes went on the kill four times, with the final one carrying over into the second period, while Nashville was called twice. The Hamilton penalty was reasonable in my opinion, but the penalties to Trocheck and Aho deserved some level of embellishment on the Predators' side and the Staal play didn't feel any different from anything that has been going on for the first four periods of this series. Let's also not skip over the fact that Erik Haula has done the full heel turn and is now a major pain. I have no clue what he was thinking going after Necas early on, earning a penalty in the process, but he deserves an Oscar for his performance after he took a stick up high from Aho. While it certainly looked dangerous, he helped that call along. Regardless, the Canes have killed off three and a half penalties so far. Speaking of special teams, the first tally of the game came on the power play after some beautiful passing. Andrei Svechnikov found Aho cross-ice and buried the shot to give the Canes the lead in Game 2. The game should be 2-0 but Juuse Saros absolutely robbed Vincent Trocheck on a 2-on-1 short-handed attempt and he's looked solid to start the game. An extremely underrated play that wasn't talked about a whole lot was Jake Bean breaking up a 3-on-1 during the delayed penalty towards the end of the period. As much as we might rag on the defensemen not named Slavin, Pesce, and Hamilton, this was a major play to prevent Nashville from tying the game. The Canes need to kill this penalty to start the period and then regain the momentum they'd had for most of the period. 

2nd Period: Predators 0, Hurricanes 1

This game has gotten extremely chippy, which I strongly believe plays more into the hands of the Predators than the Canes. The other big story here has been the goaltending of both Ned and Saros. When the Canes have been killing penalties, they have been more dangerous at times than the Preds' power play. He made another great save, this time on Aho after a beautiful feed from Teravainen. Ned's saves haven't looked as dangerous as Saros, but they've faced about the same volume of shots. I still feel the stripes have been too influential on this game. They've never really known when to get involved and when not to. The call of Pesce was bad, but fortunately, the Canes killed it off. Matt Benning holds down Jordan Martinook, but there's no call. Then Benning starts going to town on Martinook while he's on the ice and the referees don't step in. They've felt lost all night and they've felt utterly useless. No one scored in the period, so the Canes remain ahead by a single goal. The Canes outplayed the Predators by a large amount in the third period Monday night, so some of that magic is going to be required tonight because one goal really doesn't feel safe.

3rd Period: Predators 0, Hurricanes 3

It felt like a tale of two halves in the third period. The Predators came out of the locker room looking good and they peppered shots on net, but this period belonged to Alex Nedeljkovic. Nashville spent a lot of time on the attack during the early stages and their hard work paid off when they forced Warren Foegele to play the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty. It was this penalty kill, the team's seventh of the night, that changed the momentum back to the Canes' side. Sebastian Aho had a breakaway on the kill and shot it wide, but from this point on the Canes dominated. The period remained without a second goal until Nashville pulled Juuse Saros late. Brett Pesce played the puck down the ice and Aho won a race to throw it into the empty net and give the Canes a 2-0 lead with less than one minute remaining. The Canes would add a final marker when Foegele shot the puck on a wraparound that deflected in off Ryan Ellis' skate and between the pads of Saros to give the Canes a 3-0 win and a 2-0 series lead in the first round. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Brady Skjei- 27:43 TOI

It isn't often you highlight a player that goes scoreless on the scoresheet, but the microscope was placed on the defense with Jaccob Slavin out. Pesce and Skjei shared most of the load and while Pesce could just have easily been in this spot, especially with the smart play on the Aho ENG, Skjei stepped it up big time tonight. He played over 9:30 on the penalty kill (9:37 to be exact), the most on the team, and his total TOI was only 20 seconds fewer than Pesce. If Slavin remains out, this needs to become a regular thing.

Second Star- Sebastian Aho- 2 G

For most of the game, Aho was the only player with a goal. He was easily the best forward on the ice for either team tonight. The power play marker was huge for the team as a whole with how many opportunities they had in Game 1 without scoring. The empty net goal was also huge as it put a dagger in the Predators for the night and stopped any momentum it felt Nashville had before they pulled their goalie. He won the race down the ice and cemented the 2-0 lead for the Canes.

First Star- Alex Nedeljkovic- 32 SV SHO

Ned isn't playing like this is his first run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I said after two periods that it didn't feel like his saves were extremely dangerous, but he kept Nashville off the board when they started to push in the third period. He did get some luck from the post on a shot in the third, but he looked great all night. He was the team's best penalty killer in the first two periods and brought it home to finish off his first career playoff shutout.

Final Thoughts

After winning both games at home, the series shifts to Nashville, where the crowd is certainly going to be a major factor. Going in with two games in hand gives the Canes a major advantage from a series standpoint. It'll be the first true playoff road test in two seasons and the crowd is likely to be just slightly larger than they have been in Raleigh. Carolina has all the momentum in the series right now, especially after blanking the Predators here in Game 2. The referees are likely to be a major part of the two games in Nashville, as will be how the Preds' fans embrace the new persona of Erik Haula as a figure that gets under the skin of the Canes. Ideally, you want to get at least one win on the road so you can come home and finish off the series in Game 5, but taking both games and finishing off Nashville on the road to avoid needed more games would be just as nice. The fact of the matter is the Canes have a 2-0 lead and are in the driver's seat. They need two more to finish off Nashville. Don't overlook the next two games on the road. The test has only just begun.