Carolina Hurricanes Preview: Sundown in Smashville
Carolina Hurricanes back on the road again against the Nashville Predators and both teams are desperate for a win.
The Carolina Hurricanes (2-4-3) face off against the Nashville Predators (3-5-2) in the battle of two last place teams. Both Carolina and Nashville’s play is failing to meet the expectations held for both franchises to start the season. The Predators face the bigger disparity between predictions and reality. Nashville, picked by many to win the Central Division, expected to compete for a Stanley Cup this year. Compare that to their location as the bottom of the barrel in the Central and it all adds up to a team that has some serious issues.
So what better way for the Hurricanes to get a much-needed win than to play a team struggling just as bad as them. Surprise, surprise it is another away game for Carolina so it won’t be easy, but it is definitely a winnable game. Pekka Rinne is a shadow of his former self so the Canes should have no issues scoring goals. Here’s a quick look at each team’s #fancystats breakdown. All stats sourced from Corsica and Score and Venue adjusted.
| Fancy Stat | Carolina | Nashville |
|---|---|---|
| CF% | 53.91 | 48.95 |
| CF60 | 57.75 | 57.47 |
| CA60 | 49.36 | 59.95 |
| GF% | 47.28 | 42.85 |
| xGF% | 55.94 | 50.05 |
| xGA60 | 2.13 | 2.40 |
| xGF60 | 2.71 | 2.40 |
Basically, Carolina played well while not getting results, and Nashville played poorly while also not getting results. Carolina’s problems are well documented. Nobody seems to know what’s going on in Nashville. They didn’t lose one of their best prospects to free agency due to some arcane CBA rule. Or made some blockbuster trade that almost everybody said they won. If those things happened, it would definitely have been in the news. Whatever the reason it’s been a disappointing season so far for the Predators
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Matty B’s Game Keys
Pekka Rinne
The Pekka Rinne of five years ago no longer exists. In three of the last four years, Rinne’s SV% was well below league average. Rinne is perhaps the worst goalie the Canes have faced all season. For once Carolina might not be at a huge deficit in the goal keeping department and they need to take advantage of that.
Keep Playing Our Game
Even though the wins aren’t coming the Canes are still playing some really good hockey so far this season. They need to stick to the game plan and not make any drastic changes. The wins should come. It’s hard to have faith with a 2-4-3 record but trust the system it’s working. This goes for the fans as much as it does for the team.
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Don’t Underestimate The Opponent
The Predators aren’t playing great hockey and look lost out on the ice sometimes. They have arguably one of the best defensemen with P.K. Subban in the league and can roll out three solid lines. If it starts clicking they will be a dangerous team. The Carolina Hurricanes need to make sure it doesn’t happen this game and return home with a much-needed win.
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