stormTRacker Podcast
...stormTRacker is your home for in-depth analysis of the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Wolves & Hurricanes' prospects around the globe. Host, Tom Ray, gives his insightful perspective & is joined by Hurricanes' "Insiders" Nick Bass, Erin Manning, Katie Bartlett & others to cover all the top stories for your Carolina Hurricanes. Tom is also active on "X" connecting with Hurricanes' fans on a regular basis. (@stormTRacker24)
You should also check out stormTRacker Website, your home for all things Carolina Hurricanes, including videos, stormTRacker Podcasts, stormTRacker bloggers section & stormTRacker store, which includes a variety of stormTRacker branded merchandise.
stormTRacker Podcast
Carolina Hurricanes' Thrilling Playoff Comeback: The Battle with New York Rangers Intensifies!
Discover the sheer adrenaline of the Carolina Hurricanes' race against history, as they claw their way back from the brink in an epic NHL playoff battle with the New York Rangers. I share the turning points, from Brady Skjei's power-play goal to Jordan Staal's equalizer, that have fans on the edge of their seats. The Hurricanes' acquisition of Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov, coupled with Andrei Svechnikov's return, has shifted the series' trajectory, and now, the roar of the PNC Arena awaits as the team stands on the cusp of an extraordinary comeback. Listen for the captivating analysis of the resilience and strategy that could etch this series into hockey lore.
The tension heightens as we scrutinize the Canes versus Rangers matchup, dissecting the critical performances from goalies Freddie Anderson and Igor Shesterkin that could set the tone for the rest of the series. This episode doesn't just break down stats—it's a masterclass in understanding the ebb and flow of playoff hockey, with a spotlight on how special teams, faceoff percentages, and shot-blocking are dictating the pace. And, with Tony DeAngelo's standout performance raising the stakes, Rod Brind'Amour's lineup decisions have never been more crucial. Step into the rink with us as we explore the moves and counter-moves that are shaping this nail-biter of a playoff series.
At the start of this NHL season, a lot of the analysts picked the Carolina Hurricanes to win the Stanley Cup, and that continued as they headed into the playoffs. After all, the Canes had ended up third overall in the league and had made some key acquisitions at the trade deadline, acquiring Jake Gensel, the prize pick available, and, of course, evgeny Kuznetsov, who came in from the Washington Capitals. Both Kuznetsov and Gensel had outstanding playoff history and they were just what the doctor ordered, as the analysts suggested. This would put them over the top. Add to that the fact that the Canes did have their top forward, andrei Sveshnikov, back. He missed all of the playoffs last year, and boy it looked very promising. And as the playoffs started, it was working as planned. The Canes took on the New York Islanders and beat them in five, and looked very strong doing it. Freddie Anderson and Goal did an outstanding job and the Canes were off and running. Next up were the New York Rangers. Now, the Rangers ended up first overall this year and boy oh boy, they took care of the Washington Capitals in a hurry. So they were sitting waiting for the Hurricanes and they got off to a quick start in the series, winning the first three games, a lot of folks thought that was it for the Hurricanes, and boy oh boy, it did not look good. In any case, the Hurricanes were not done yet and they're a team that just doesn't know how to quit. And in the fourth game a home game for the Hurricanes a late goal by Brady Shea on the power play was the difference and the Canes were back in the series, at least had some life. So the Canes headed off to New York to play the Rangers in tough Madison Square Garden and boy oh boy, this was quite the game. Going into the third period the Rangers were leading one to nothing.
Speaker 1:I had mentioned to some folks at that time. I hoped that Rod Brindamore could shake up the Canes. They didn't seem like they were playing as if it was their last game of the season and I was hoping he would get something going with them in the third period. Well for sure, whatever Rod said to them, it worked, because they came out flying and an outstanding play by Captain Jordan Stahl really started to turn it around. Stahl got a chance to get in on a nice feed by Orlov, went in and beat Igor Shosturkin with an outstanding move and the Canes were back in. And then the Canes went to work and Evgeny Kuznetsov I mentioned him earlier, brought in at the trade deadline made a beautiful goal to put the Canes up 2-1. And from then they went on to win 4-1. So the Canes now sitting at 3-2 in the series, and boy, that changes the complexion quite a bit, particularly when you know they're coming back to the friendly confines of PNC Arena. So now it gets interesting.
Speaker 1:I thought we'd take a look at the scenario that we have right now teams that are down three to nothing in a series and what are the potentials or percentages that they might be able to fight back and actually win a series? I have some numbers, courtesy of our folks over at the Athletic, and boy oh boy, these numbers are quite telling. The last time that a team did come back from a 3-0 deficit was in 2014, when the Los Angeles Kings did it versus the San Jose Sharks. Since 2015, 30 instances of teams down 3-0, only 13% made it to Game 6. So the Canes are in a pretty good number right now. And then down 3-0, on average, 10% have a chance to get to Game 7, and 5% actually win the series. So you can see that the numbers are definitely not looking good for the Hurricanes, but the numbers look better. After you realize, the Canes have won two in a row, have some momentum and are heading back to the friendly confines of PNC. In fact, under those conditions, the Hurricanes now have a 60% chance of getting to game seven and a 30% chance of actually winning this series. So the number is a lot better than what they normally have been over the last number of years.
Speaker 1:You know, it's interesting when we take a look at this situation with both the Rangers and the Canes. The Canes have won three straight seven times this year during the regular season, so this is nothing new for them. Once they get momentum, this Canes team keeps on rolling. On the other hand, the Rangers only lost three in a row on one occasion. So, man, they're going to be tough and that means that they have the ability to bounce back and they're showing that throughout the season. So lots of excitement here as we look at this and there's a lot to try to take into consideration. What's going to be the difference in this game? And I'll tell you. I think the biggest question asked by a lot of Canes fans and others right now is can the Hurricanes do the unthinkable. Can they actually turn this thing around and win the series?
Speaker 1:You know we look at the top players in this playoff so far for the Hurricanes and of course Freddie Anderson has to come to mind. Freddie had an outstanding season this year, of course shortened because of his blood clot issue, but he came back and was outstanding as the Canes pushed towards their third-place finish In the playoffs. He's looked strong the last couple of games not quite as strong as he had been before. In fact he was given a break and Rob Brendamore put in Piotr Kociakop. But back to Freddie in the next game and Freddie came up big and looks like he's going to be key if the Canes are going to continue. Anderson has the ability to win games for you and he made some outstanding saves. If we think back to that New York Islanders series, boy, I tell you he made several 10-ball saves in that series and he's made some big saves against the Rangers as well. So he's definitely able to get this done.
Speaker 1:So as we take a look at the goalie matchup pretty close to these two guys, so as we take a look at the goalie matchup pretty close to these two guys, shusterkin at 7-2-0, anderson 6-3-0. I think the biggest difference we're seeing is in the save percentage 9-2-4 for Shusterkin, 9-0-2 for Freddie. That's a little bit off where Fred was during the regular season so he's trying to bring that back up to where it should be Generally in the playoffs. He's trying to bring that back up to where it should be Generally in the playoffs. He's had excellent save percentage numbers so he's got every opportunity to continue to build on that and he's been doing a nice job the last couple of games for the Hurricanes. So definitely trying to see Anderson strengthen his game against Shusterkin. It is clearly going to be a battle of those two tomorrow night and the goalie that comes up best in that game I think is going to be the goalie that is the winning goalie in this game. So clearly Freddie's got to come up big if the Canes want to continue.
Speaker 1:And then, looking at the numbers, there's a couple of different areas I wanted to focus on. I mean, obviously the specialty teams has been a problem for the Hurricanes. The Rangers ate the penalty kill of the Canes badly at the start of this series and they've got a 30% power play percentage for the playoffs. So clearly the Rangers extremely tough Canes sitting at 75% on the PK now. So it is getting better, but boy, it was a tough slug at the start. If we look at Kane's power play, 17% overall for this playoff and boy, almost 92% penalty kill for the Rangers. So the Kanes have not been able to get anything done on the power play. In fact, the big goal by Brady Shea the other night which won the game for them, was huge. They need to do more of that if they're going to have a chance in this series. And then on the faceoff dot, which is always key, very close again, just about 52% for the Canes, almost 50% for the Rangers.
Speaker 1:A few more numbers I wanted to pull up just for interest's sake. Shots for and against in high danger areas very close. Not much to pick there. But blocked shots is an area that the Canes have to step up. The Rangers have been blocking a lot of shots so far, 163 in this playoff, 143 for the Canes, and the other night we started to see Canes start to put themselves into harm's way. A nice play by Jack Drury to block a couple of shots at the end of the game. Really key for the Canes in winning this one. And then giveaways has been a problem in the defensive zone. Clearly the Canes have really struggled with this. They've given away 48 opportunities in their zone, 37 for the Rangers. So again they've got to tighten up in their end and they have to reduce the number of giveaways in their defensive zone. So those are some numbers that I think are interesting and when we take a look at that, of course it all comes down to who's going to be the difference makers in this game. And again I mentioned Anderson, who will lead the Canes in goal and hopefully he's going to be very, very strong for the Canes.
Speaker 1:Another guy I wanted to mention is Evgeny Kuznetsov. To mention is Evgeny Kuznetsov. A lot of folks question the Canes' decision to trade for Evgeny Kuznetsov at the trade deadline. Kuznetsov had just come out of the player assistance program and was having really a terrible season with the Capitals. But Kuznetsov has a history of playing well in the playoffs. In fact starred in some of the key cup runs that the Caps had had. So the Canes thought it might make sense to give him a try and they needed shoring up at the center spot.
Speaker 1:He didn't really distinguish himself during the regular season but he started to come on in the playoffs In his nine games so far in this playoff season. He's got four goals and two assists. But let's look at those goals. One of them was a key goal against the Islanders, a penalty shot goal that really changed the situation for the Canes. And then how about the last couple of games, the winning games for the Hurricanes? He scored the opener when the Canes won 4-3 two games ago, and then he scored the winner in the last game against the Rangers in Madison Square Garden. He's definitely making it happen for the Hurricanes.
Speaker 1:You know, when we entered these playoffs, when I put together my assessment of what we might look for, I had Kuznetsov as an X-factor, and it looks like he's living up to that. So let's see what he's going to do in this next game. He's a guy that can really make a difference. He's been playing fourth-line minutes and this has been giving him some very favorable matchups. So we'll see if he, along with Jesperi Kokaniemi and Stefan Nason, can continue their fine play. Miami and Stephan Nason can continue their fine play, but the Canes also need their big line to get it done.
Speaker 1:Jake Gensel has been outstanding for the Hurricanes since coming over from Pittsburgh Boy. He's really had his success against the Rangers in the playoffs as well. He's had one point in 11 of his 12 games versus the Rangers. So that's really something for Gensel. And again, he's a guy that can really get it done offensively. He's had huge success in the past in the playoffs with Pittsburgh and he needs to come through again for the Hurricanes this year. And how about his line mate, sebastian Ajo? He's been the go-to guy for a long time with the Canes when it comes to important situations. He knows how to get it done when the going gets tough. So we'll look forward to Sebastian and see what he and his line mates can put together tomorrow night.
Speaker 1:In any case, the Canes have a lot to look forward to, but they may be making some changes. And this is an interesting one because they've got Brett Pesce getting close to returning. You know Pesce had an outstanding season with the Hurricanes. In 70 games he had 13 points but a plus 10. He's definitely outstanding defensively and that would be key in this very important game.
Speaker 1:But Tony D'Angelo, who's filled in for Pesh, has done a nice job. He's had two assists in his eight games. He's a minus one, but that's outstanding for Tony and he's been averaging almost 17 minutes a game. He's been able to work extremely well with his partner, brady Shea, and I think that's one of the reasons that Shea has had such a strong offensive playoff. In any case, tough decision for Rod Brindamore with D'Angelo playing well, and he certainly has great intensity against the Rangers and he's shown that through all these games. And the question should he bring Pesci in? Let's wait and see how that all plays out and I'm sure it's going to be interesting as we get close to game time. In any case, this is shaping up to be an incredible series and boy the Canes are making it interesting, that's for sure. Let's look forward to the big game tomorrow night, as always. Thanks a lot for joining and we'll catch up with you real soon right here on StormTracker.
