4 Things We Learned from the Hurricanes' Series Win Over the Islanders
The Carolina Hurricanes have officially punched a ticket to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 4-1 series win over the New York Islanders.
After winning the first three games, and despite two power-play goals on the evening, the Stanley Cup betting favorites and their uncharacteristic face-off woes dropped Game 4 in double overtime in New York.
The Islanders showed real fight forcing a Game 5, and Mat Barzal had one of his best playoff series yet. But despite New York's effort and the careless mistakes the Hurricanes made, the talent difference between the two teams loomed as large as anticipated in this mismatch.
The final game of the series was a bit wonky as the Islanders came back from a 3-1 deficit to tie it up 3-3 in the second. But the Hurricanes scored two goals in eight seconds in the third, and Seth Jarvis added an extra one.
However, the Hurricanes won't have as much freedom for error when they face the New York Rangers in the second round.
As we look ahead to what promises to be a much more competitive second round featuring the Metropolitan Division heavyweights, let's reflect on what went right for the Hurricanes in Round 1, and what they'll need to improve upon against the Presidents' Trophy winners.
Freddie Andersen Looks Like an Elite Goaltender
1 of 4It's been a whirlwind season for Freddie Andersen.
The goalkeeper missed significant time during the season due to a blood-clotting issue. But he's been as good as ever since returning. He went 9-1-0 with a .951 save percentage to close out the regular season while alternating with rookie Pyotr Kochetkov.
Andersen has been a No. 1 goalie most of his decade-long NHL career, and he's typically played 50 or 60-plus games per season when healthy. As consistent as he's been in the regular season, you can't deny the wear-and-tear the position takes after this many games.
Team staff keep telling me how refreshed—both mentally and physically—the 34-year-old has seemed after returning from his health scare.
The netminder has enjoyed a stellar playoff performance following his regular-season return.
The Dane went 4-1 with a 2.25 goals against average and a .912 save percentage against the Isles. The only shaky moments appeared after his fifth straight start and were immediately followed by a pair of wake-up call goals to put Game 5 away.
The test now is to see if he can match 2022 Vezina winner Igor Shesterkin in the next round. If Andersen is on par or better than the Russian, the Hurricanes will have an excellent shot at moving on to the Eastern Conference Final.
Seth Jarvis and the Rise of the Power Play
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Seth Jarvis made an impact at the Hurricanes' training camp in 2021-22 and has never looked back.
At the time, it was unexpected for him to make the team due to Carolina not wanting to burn a year in his entry-level contract. But he left the team no choice.
And so began a recurring theme for Jarvis: He keeps getting better. From making the team, he forced himself onto Carolina's top lines and top power-play units, and he's grown into one of the clutch gamer-type wingers that have eluded the Hurricanes.
It's been a lot of hard, honest work for the 22-year-old to earn and maintain his spot in the lineup, but the product is so effortless and fun that you forget that.
Jarvis led the team in Round 1 with three goals and eight points in five games, and you're wondering what he's capable of in the second round.
Part of the happy-go-lucky vibe is that he has been turning into the player this team has needed and taking the power play with him.
The Hurricanes' 26.9 conversion rate on the man advantage was No. 2 in the league in the regular season. It's been just as good in the playoffs, scoring in four of the five games at a healthy 33.3 percent
Jarvis, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Teuvo Teravainen and Stefan Noesen have all scored a power-play goal this series Of course, the Islanders had a flagrantly bad penalty kill in the regular season, coming in at a league-worst with a 71.5 kill rate, but the 'Canes will take the success
Hurricanes Continue to Get Offense from Their Defensemen
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As the Hurricanes have tweaked and upgraded their roster over the years, the team's overall identity has remained the same.
One of its main pillars? Blue-line production.
In the series against the Islanders, Brady Skjei had five assists, while Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov had a clutch pair of goals.
This dried up a bit when Brett Pesce's calming presence disappeared, but if the team is to continue to succeed, it needs to keep scoring from the blue line.
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Concerns Heading into Rangers Series
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We can all agree that the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers are a different challenge than the New York Islanders.
As dominant as the Hurricanes had been throughout their Gentlemen's Sweep of the latter, the Rangers will expose even the tiniest issues Carolina has been dealing with.
Let's dive into the Canes' biggest red flags thus far as they prepare to face the winningest regular-season team coming off a sweep.
Faceoffs
Success in the two-way game, and on the faceoff dot, has been a hallmark of a Brind'Amour-coached team forever. But the 'Canes struggled with this throughout the first round, and it led directly to a few Islanders goals.
Carolina won just 17 of 41 faceoffs in Game 3, and just 19 of 62 (30.6 percent!) in Game 4's double-overtime loss. This is all fine when you know you can outskill an opponent, but not when Vincent Trocheck is on the other end of the ice. The former 'Cane has a ridiculous 71.6 faceoff-win percentage after Round 1.
How do you explain this? A lot of Carolina players, especially Jesperi Kotkaniemi, have been getting kicked off the faceoff dot. This happens at the beginning of the playoffs every year to the league's best faceoff teams, much to Patrice Bergeron's 2018 chagrin.
Key Injuries
Tarrytown, NY native Brett Pesce chose No. 22 because his dad chose No. 22. His dad, Brian, chose No. 22 because of Rangers legend Brad Park.
The Pesce family charm has taken over in Raleigh since Brett made the NHL and has grown into one of the most consistent minutes-eating defensemen in the league. Brian got flack from the Madison Square Garden fans a few seasons ago for Storm Surging too hard, pledging his loyalty to the Caniacs.
There's nothing this player wants more than to play another playoff series at the Garden, and there's nothing his family wants more than to watch their son attempt to beat the Rangers. Will it happen?
Pesce suffered a "significant" non-contact lower-body injury during Game 2 of the first round and missed the rest of the series. His calming impact was missed most during the defensive lapse that led to Barzal's double-overtime winner. There's no update quite yet, but the 'Canes might need to restrict the bottom-pairing's minutes and put some stress on their first pairing if he's out.
Former Ranger Jesper Fast has been a fan favorite no matter where he's gone. He plays hard, plays well and always seems to have some consequential goal per series on top of his trustworthiness. But he's been ruled out for the rest of the season with a neck strain and isn't coming back.
Matt Rempe
If I was a Hurricanes fan, I wouldn't love living in a world where Tony DeAngelo is in the lineup and Matt Rempe exists. If I'm a Rangers fan, this might be my Super Bowl.
This has all the workings of the "worst, most distracting, most useless discourse you've ever heard."
Say what you want about Rempe, the Rangers have an 18-2-1 record with the 6'8", 240-pound forward. He is a physical player and heads will need to be on a swivel when he's on the ice.
Rempe doesn't play many minutes, but he stands out during his time on the ice. It'll be up to the Hurricanes to ensure he's a non-factor.
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