Hurricanes-Bruins Preview: Canes Must Turn Chances into Goals

Oct. 2, 2009, was a day of missed opportunities, disappointments, and an opening-day home loss for the Carolina Hurricanes.

In front of a sellout crowd, rowdy and ready to watch the Canes march their way to the Cup in the new season, Carolina had two shots sail wide with plenty of net open, two wristers off the post, and one goal nullified from a hand pass. The Hurricanes were also a dreadful 0-for-8 on the powerplay.

New Flyers goalie Ray Emery was perfect throughout the night, and the Hurricanes are still waiting to score their first goal of the year, losing to Philadelphia, 2-0.

Now they have to fly quickly into Boston tired, disappointed, and anxious. There is a loud, opposing crowd waiting in New England, and another elite and talented team on the other side of the ice. But they are having their fair share of anxiety as well.

That's mostly because of Thursday's weak effort against Washington, where the Bruins appeared strangely out-of-rhythm. All-star goaltender Tim Thomas gave up four goals, and Boston was out-played in shots, physicality, and on the scoreboard.

They were down by four late in the contest, but a meaningless goal broke the ice. However, a 4-1 loss was definitely not what they were looking for.

So both teams head into the matchup needing a win to start getting on the road to a top-five seed in the playoffs. It's sure to be a great game, with sensational goaltenders Tim Thomas and Cam Ward staring each other down from each end of the ice, both reflecting on matches and playoff series gone past (see 2009 playoffs).

But the offenses won't be lacking either, when the first lines step on the ice for the opening faceoff. So let's buckle down for a battle of the fallen elite, and take a look at what might come of tonight's game.

Keys to Victory - Carolina Hurricanes

1. Powerplay

This is obvious. 0-for-8 is completely unacceptable, especially against an inconsistent goaltender in your home arena. The coaches are furious, the management is furious, and the players may well be furious, too.

The Hurricanes need to have a better performance with the man-advantage tonight. They will probably get less chances, but they need to convert on the ones they get. The powerplay actually generated plenty of shots Friday, but just couldn't get the puck in the net.

What they really need versus Boston is goals from the unit, and, in the end, the play of the Carolina special teams may very well determine the outcome of the entire game.

2. Discipline

The Hurricanes had the fewest penalty minutes of any NHL team in 2008-2009, but it didn't really show last night.

The Hurricanes gave up five powerplays to the Flyers, including one double-minor to Samsanov and as well as a fighting major, fight instigator, and game misconduct (all to Tim Gleason). In all, there were 19 penalties between the two teams, with 10 in the first period.

This will likely end up being another key for the Hurricanes tonight. Boston is a physical, tough team, and if they try to fight back, the penalty box might be in for yet another busy night. In the end, the Flyers won off Carolina penalties, and that must not happen again.

3. Scoring the First Goal

The Hurricanes have already gone through their first 60 minutes of the season without setting off the red light, and they need to make sure that time without scoring doesn't get much longer.

If the Canes can get a goal in the first 10 minutes, they should be more confident and stable for the rest of the game.

Keys to Victory - Boston Bruins

1. Continuing to Produce Later in the Game

After the first period, the Bruins were tied in shots with Washington, 10 to 10. The Caps had a one-goal lead, but the game was still very close in contention. Then, in the second period, the Bruins tapered off a bit, producing just seven shots to the Capitals 12 and letting in anther goal.

Then, in the final 20 minutes, Boston was clearly out-shot 12-3, and gave up two goals for a game total of 4 GA.

The Bruins must manage to keep with the 'Canes as the game goes on into the second and third periods. Carolina did just the opposite yesterday, increasing in shots by period. Line shifts must increase in the second half of the game, energy must continue to flow, and the Bruins cannot afford to let Carolina get their way in the third period.

2. Tim Thomas

Simply put, another four-goal performance is not what the Bruins want from their elite goalie, Tim Thomas. The Canes do not have quite the offense of Washington, and they must manage to lower Thomas's shots faced in order to keep the goal total at no more than two for the night.

The Boston defense must also live up to expectations and keep up with playmaking speedsters Eric Staal, Erik Cole (who did very well against the Flyers), Tuomo Ruutu, and Sergei Samsanov.

3. Not Allowing Lower-Level Scoring

Against Washington, it was Brooks Laich. They can't let it be Samsanov, Cullen, Kostopoulus, or anybody else against Carolina.

Laich was able to score two goals and three points on Thursday, which ended up really being the gamebreaker for the Caps. Another three-point night from a third or fourth line Hurricane may end up making the same difference that Laich did two days ago.

Game Projection

First Period

Goals: Carolina-Cole (6:30), Boston-Lucic (PP) (12:15), Boston-Wideman (16:40)

Score: Carolina 1, Boston 2

Shots: Carolina 8, Boston 13

Second Period

Goals: Boston-Krejci (PP) (11:10)

Score: Carolina 1, Boston 3

Shots: Carolina 9, Boston 11

Third Period

Goals: Carolina-Ruutu (4:20), Boston-Chara (EN) (19:05)

Shots: Carolina 14, Boston 6

Totals

Final Score: Hurricanes 2, Bruins 4

Shots: Hurricanes 31, Bruins 30

Powerplay: Carolina 0-for-3, Boston 2-for-5