It’s time to turn on the panic alarms in Raleigh because the Carolina Hurricanes are falling apart during the most important time of the season. In a 3-0 loss to the Nashville Predators, the Canes and all of their problems were exposed on national television.
For 50 out of the 60 minutes in this game, the Hurricanes (50-19-9) dominated puck possession and spent significantly more time in the offensive zone than the Predators (40-30-8) were able to manage. Despite all this, in classic fashion, the Canes couldn’t get the puck across the goal line — at least without it getting called back.
After a back-and-forth first six minutes of the game that saw each team get a breakaway opportunity, the Predators struck first thanks to center Mark Jankowski. After Nashville sent the puck out of play, the Canes got their power-play unit out on the ice, which is the second-worst in the league since March 11, converting only 11.4% of its chances since then.
The Hurricanes struggled to enter the zone and maintain possession on the power play, and halfway through it, Nashville gathered the puck and created a two-on-one that Jankowski fired into the back of the net. Just three minutes later, the Preds scored yet again as right wing Michael McCarron banked one in off goalie Frederik Andersen’s leg from the goal line corner.
Two goals in that fashion — and scored that quickly — dejected the Canes for the rest of the game and proved to be the difference at the end of the day. Following the 2-0 deficit, the Hurricanes regrouped and continued putting pressure on the Predators, but nothing on the scoresheet reflected their effort.
Knowing about the Hurricanes’ struggles to score, the Predators smartly played a tight defense in front of the net, often having five guys in between the dots to limit chances in and around the goal. In the end, Nashville totaled 26 blocked shots, stifling many of the opportunities from the Canes defensemen.
When things were looking dire, defenseman Brady Skjei stepped up late in the second period and scored what would have been his 19th goal of the season from the point. However, the goal was called back after center Martin Necas skated through the crease, interfering with Predators goaltender Juuse Saros.
This wasn’t the only Canes goal that got called back. In the third period, defenseman Brent Burns got Saros to bite on a fake dump-in and thought he scored from the halfway line. However, a delayed offsides ruled out the goal, and the Hurricanes remained two goals down.
For Canes players and fans alike, each goal raised hopes that a comeback was possible, but as each goal was called off, the team became increasingly demoralized. Meanwhile, Saros played a complete game, earning his second shutout of the season.
The Nashville goalie has been playing very well and has led the team to a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. The Preds have suffered significant losses due to injury this season, and credit has to be given to the whole team as many didn’t expect them to be in the position they are in now.
Something needs to change for the Canes because right now nothing is working for them to be a significant threat in the playoffs — or even make it out of the first round. Many teams in the Eastern Conference won big today, but Carolina suffered another soul-crushing defeat. The Hurricanes remain first in the Metro with a one-point lead and a game in hand to the New Jersey Devils.
The Canes will look to bounce back when they play the high-scoring Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, April 8 in Buffalo at 12:30 p.m.
