Carolina Hurricanes goaltending coach Tom Barrasso is credited for Cam Wards turnaround this season but following the All-Star break, head coach Paul Maurice handed the penalty kill duties to Barrasso and the Canes have seen instant results.
The Canes moved to an aggressive (PK)forecheck with an strong emphasis on pressuring at all times. They are very aggressive and the Hurricanes are 49-for-54 on the penalty kill in the playoffs and limited the Bruins high octane power play to only two goals in the entire series.
It has caught many by surprise that Barrasso has had an instrumental on Cam Ward after Barrasso was regarded as a horrible teammate to younger goaltenders when playing with the Penguins, but his role with the Hurricanes penalty kill is a prime reason why the Hurricanes have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Rod Brind’Amour probable to play in Game 1
The Hurricanes have announced that Rod Brind’ Amour is expected to play in game 1 aftering suffering a head injury in game 7 of the Hurricanes-Bruins series.
Corvo – Gleason to matchup against Crosby’s line
The Hurricanes will matchup
the pairing of defensemen Joe Corvo – Tim Gleason against the Chris Kunitz – Sidney Crosby – Bill Guerin line. The Penguins clearly have the advantage as the Hurricanes don’t have a shutdown defenseman.
This was a problem for the Washington Capitals and will be a problem for the Carolina Hurricanes.
