Carolina trails the series 0-1
OK. You want a split in the first road set in any series, so this one has serious weight. We'll surely get some info from the press ahead of puck drop, but I don't expect many changes for Carolina. I'd go with Mrazek in net again. He didn't do anything wrong in that loss and the Canes post game efforts rightly focused on the short circuiting special teams that were a much more immediate concern. In fact, Mrazek came up huge in the 3rd to keep them in it prior to Svech going off to actually put them in it. Cal de Haan actually skated yesterday, but I doubt you trow him directly back into this particular cauldron. Maybe Game 3 at home. Up front I wouldn't be surprised to see Mainalenen in for Foegele. Not because Foegele did anything wrong, but rather because Mainalenen offers a bit of a nastier game. They're both an annoyance to the other team, but the big Finn has a real knack for being effective when the game gets a bit nastier. I'd also look for Svech to get parked next to Staal on the second unit again to start the game, but either way could I see Brindy once again shifting him around to match him up against the weaker D lines and pairings. Carolina's forwards are pretty flexible that way, and that could be an advantage to exploit. I wouldn't be surprised if they start the game with Williams and Svech flanking Staal, with Turbo shifting up to the first line and Ferland down to the third. Then you can turn loose Ferland and Martinook on a seek and destroy line while Willams and Staal watch the kid's back.
Caps ... I don't think you change what works if your Reirden. They'll keep the 2nd line matched against Aho, for sure. From there I assume they'll continue to try and keep Carolina focused on surviving heavy shifts and off of their forecheck. I expect an even higher level of headhunting from Orpik, Niskanen and Wilson too. It's not like that crew got any penalties for Game 1 shenanigans, so ... even more of the same.
Keys ...
Carolina needs to kill off a penalty and build back some confidence on the kill.
Rattle Holtby ... get in that big lump's personal space early and often. Make him stop shots with traffic in front, and make him play the puck. He got pretty annoyed in the 3rd on Thursday, so keep that up.
It's all about the forecheck, boys ... Carolina's best tool for cracking this egg is possession. Washington starves for the puck when they don't have it, so keep the cycles going and win some offensive draws. Keep the pressure on them and frustrate them into falling into that cherry picking game that they seem to love. When they're constantly trying to leak a forward out of the zone like they do when they get frustrated, guess what? That's a guy not defending his point. Use it.
OK. You want a split in the first road set in any series, so this one has serious weight. We'll surely get some info from the press ahead of puck drop, but I don't expect many changes for Carolina. I'd go with Mrazek in net again. He didn't do anything wrong in that loss and the Canes post game efforts rightly focused on the short circuiting special teams that were a much more immediate concern. In fact, Mrazek came up huge in the 3rd to keep them in it prior to Svech going off to actually put them in it. Cal de Haan actually skated yesterday, but I doubt you trow him directly back into this particular cauldron. Maybe Game 3 at home. Up front I wouldn't be surprised to see Mainalenen in for Foegele. Not because Foegele did anything wrong, but rather because Mainalenen offers a bit of a nastier game. They're both an annoyance to the other team, but the big Finn has a real knack for being effective when the game gets a bit nastier. I'd also look for Svech to get parked next to Staal on the second unit again to start the game, but either way could I see Brindy once again shifting him around to match him up against the weaker D lines and pairings. Carolina's forwards are pretty flexible that way, and that could be an advantage to exploit. I wouldn't be surprised if they start the game with Williams and Svech flanking Staal, with Turbo shifting up to the first line and Ferland down to the third. Then you can turn loose Ferland and Martinook on a seek and destroy line while Willams and Staal watch the kid's back.
Caps ... I don't think you change what works if your Reirden. They'll keep the 2nd line matched against Aho, for sure. From there I assume they'll continue to try and keep Carolina focused on surviving heavy shifts and off of their forecheck. I expect an even higher level of headhunting from Orpik, Niskanen and Wilson too. It's not like that crew got any penalties for Game 1 shenanigans, so ... even more of the same.
Keys ...
Carolina needs to kill off a penalty and build back some confidence on the kill.
Rattle Holtby ... get in that big lump's personal space early and often. Make him stop shots with traffic in front, and make him play the puck. He got pretty annoyed in the 3rd on Thursday, so keep that up.
It's all about the forecheck, boys ... Carolina's best tool for cracking this egg is possession. Washington starves for the puck when they don't have it, so keep the cycles going and win some offensive draws. Keep the pressure on them and frustrate them into falling into that cherry picking game that they seem to love. When they're constantly trying to leak a forward out of the zone like they do when they get frustrated, guess what? That's a guy not defending his point. Use it.
