Canada’s Capital City lights up for hockey tonight as the Carolina Hurricanes roll into town and face off against Ottawa in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
You have to wonder if the Senators are feeling like Carolina did three years ago the first time they played the Florida Panthers. They have gotten outstanding goaltending from Linus Ullmark, they got a game to multiple overtimes including having the good fortune of having a goal disallowed. Yet the squad on the other side was a little bit tougher, a little bit luckier, and got goaltending that was just a hair better. Oh, and the other side is also just a little bit deeper.
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The NHL really was lucky that the Hurricanes won on Monday night to where the offside call that wiped out the original game winning goal was more of a funny side story instead of the main talking point. It doesn’t take too long to search on YouTube to find experts breaking down the call and realizing that someone in the league control room decided that they could definitively see something that was about as subjective as it gets. It’s a credit to this team the Hurricanes were eventually able to get a goal that couldn’t be turned over.
So now how does that linger for the Senators? Their first full team skate was this morning after getting back into Ottawa just before the sun came up Tuesday Morning. Coach Travis Green is clearly trying to maximize rest, especially as the ranks continue to be depleted. On Wednesday he still didn’t have an update on when their first pairing defenseman Artem Zub would resume skating let along return to action. Another defenseman Tyler Klevin was on the ice in a regular jersey and he will be in tonight. Any help would be appreciated as three defensemen played at or near 40 minutes on Monday, while two still only played about 15 minutes of a 94 minute game. It tells you the level of trust the team has, and mirrors what the defensive corps was looking like for Carolina by the end of the playoffs last year. Heres what Ottawa skated with this morning:
The extra day off had to have helped, but right after getting that extra day the schedule shifts to another grind. The two teams will play tonight then turn around and play a 3 PM tilt on Saturday. Should Ottawa take one, there will be no extra day before Game 5 as the teams will immediately head back to Raleigh for a game Monday night.
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On the Canes’ side there was an optional skate this morning with most in attendance, but there’s really no reason to expect any line or pairing changes as everyone was a full participant in the Wednesday practice before flying up to Ottawa. The minutes distribution was a lot more balanced for the Hurricanes, with just a ten minute range on the defense and a twelve minute range for the forwards. Clearly the fact that Carolina practiced at all on Wednesday means coach Rod Brind’Amour feels good with where his team is at.
Speaking of feeling good with where things are, signs are pointing to Andersen making a third straight start tonight—something that Brind’Amour all but confirmed in his availability. It’s tough to pull the Dane from the net considering he’s only let in two shots of the 61 he’s faced. What was especially encouraging was that after he let in his first tough goal of the series—you can see by his reaction from the normally stoic goaltender he knew it—he was able to put it behind him and kept the Senators off the board despite them pushing hard throughout the rest of the game.
That said at some point Brandon Bussi is likely going to see action. In speaking to Rod Brind’Amour before Game 2, even after the great performance, Brind’Amour told Adam Gold the goal was to get Bussi into one of the Ottawa games. Now you can see the logic: the extra day off would work to where you use Andersen again, then you likely see Bussi for Game 4 as that’s like playing a back-to-back with the early start time. Then Game 5 probably goes back to Andersen unless he really struggles.
So throw all the cliches out there, but there’s no denying the Hurricanes can put an absolute hammer lock on the series if they can go into Ottawa and beat the Senators who will likely be throwing everything they can to get their first win before the series gets out of reach.
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If you aren’t in Canada’s Capital tonight to see the game, here’s how you can catch the action:
Time: 7:30 PM
TV: A reminder that you get both a National and Local call of tonight’s game. TBS (yes TBS not TNT) has the national broadcast with Alex Faust—normally doing play-by-play for the Rangers so he will be familiar with the Canes—doing play-by-play and Jennifer Botterill & Colby Armstrong handling color. They will be on site, by the way. For FanDuel Sports Net in the Carolinas, Mike Maniscalco will handle play-by-play alongside Tripp Tracy doing color. Hanna Yates and Shane Willis will provide off-ice reports.
Streaming: HBO Max will have the game for National folks, FanDuel Sports Network App for fans in the Carolinas. A very important note—the NHL Power Play feature isn’t available on ESPN during the playoffs, so the only way to hear Mike and Tripp on the TV will be through the FanDuel app.
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Radio: The pregame on 99.9 The Fan starts at 6PM and runs for 60 minutes in the playoffs. At 7PM the Hurricanes Radio Network (consisting of 99.9, 730 The Game in Charlotte, ESPN New Bern 107.5/1490, and ESPN Greenville 107.5/1570) picks up the FDSN feed. You can also stream the call on the Hurricanes app.
Odds (per Fanduel Thursday afternoon): Hurricanes +102 Moneyline, Puckline Hurricanes +1.5 at -260/Senators -122 Moneyline, Puckline -1.5 at +205, O/U 5.5 (-124 Over/+102 Under)
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