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With another playoffs sweep looming for Carolina Hurricanes, Paul Bissonnette links current and former Canes squads
The Carolina Hurricanes are facing a familiar situation, similar to when they played the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference final last season. The Hurricanes were swept by the Cats in the series.
Following their loss in Game 3 against the New York Rangers on Thursday night, there is growing concern about the possibility of another series sweep hanging over the Hurricanes.
During a recent "NHL on TNT" segment, former NHLer Paul Bissonnette drew parallels between the current Hurricanes squad, reflecting on their sweep by the Panthers last year.
Bissonnette noted that the absence of Brett Pesce on the blue line is increasingly affecting Carolina as the game progresses. He reckoned that Tony DeAngelo's performance has been decent but not as impactful as it could be, particularly in man-on-man situations and potentially improving their penalty kill:
"I think that Brett Pesce's loss is hurrying them more and more as the games go on. I thought that Toney DS looked okay....," Bissonnette said. "He's not helping them the way that he's able to, especially in that man-on-man, the way they're able to defend a little bit better and maybe even on their penalty kill."
Bissonnette also highlighted that the team is not only struggling on the power play but also facing challenges on the penalty kill. He expressed concerns about the team's defensive capabilities and suggested that goaltending might also be a factor contributing to their current struggles:
"So it's not even just the power play. It's also the penalty kill that's struggling right now. And I don't know what the answer is for them. But also if you have to look at one thing goaltending too," he added.
One of the reasons the Carolina Hurricanes faced the sweep last time was their underwhelming performance in the power play. Their power play, which had been effective before, suddenly stopped producing results.
This shift was followed after the Panthers made necessary adjustments to counter the Carolina Hurricanes' power play strategies. Consequently, the Cats capitalized on their power play opportunities, scoring crucial goals in the final three games of the series.
The Hurricanes are 0-15 on the power play in the series against the New York Rangers so far. Game 4 takes place on Saturday.
New York Rangers push Carolina Hurricanes to brink of elimination
Game 3 of the second-round playoff series between the Rangers and Hurricanes took place at PNC Arena, Raleigh. The Blue Shirts clinched the game with a 3-2 overtime win and put the Canes on the brink of elimination through a back-t0-back sweep.
Jake Guentzel put the Hurricanes up 1-0 after scoring from the slot on Orlov's assist at 10:14 of the first period. The Carolina Hurricanes lead the first period 1-0.
In the second period, Chirs Kreider equalized for the Rangers after scoring a short-handed goal through the five-hole on the backhand off Mika Zibanejad's pass 8:30 into the period. Alex Lafreniere's one-timer at 6:25 put the New York Rangers on a 2-1 lead.
With less than two minutes remaining before the end of the regulation period, Andrei Svechnikov tied it 2-2 for the Hurricanes, forcing overtime. Artemi Panarin scored the game-winning goal 1:43 into overtime to seal Game 3 for New York.
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