Hurricanes Depth Has Been Key to Taking Series Lead – The Hockey Writers – Carolina Hurricanes

As the Round 1 series shifts away from the cities they started in, the Carolina Hurricanes will make the trip to Ontario with a 2-0 series lead over the Ottawa Senators. They are out in front, in control, and have been the better team over the course of the first eight periods of hockey. A game-winning goal from Jordan Martinook in double overtime capped off one of the most insane playoff games you will ever see.

The fact that it was Carolina’s third line that converted the winner after Mark Jankowski had a game-winner disallowed for a supposed offside was very fitting. Carolina’s depth is creating problems in this series, and the Senators do not have an answer for it. Game 2 is a great measuring stick for it, because we saw how happy Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour was to use all 18 guys, whereas the Senators were much more hesitant.

Hurricanes’ Depth Rotation

The highest ice time for the Hurricanes in a game that went into double overtime was K’Andre Miller, who played 34:56. That’s a lot, but Carolina’s lowest ice time defenseman, Shayne Gostisbehere, still played 24:59. Considering the Hurricanes also had to kill three penalties, and only had one power play where Gostisbehere gets most of his ice time, the time difference is fine. Only Alexander Nikishin joined Gostisbehere below 30 minutes.

For the forwards, Jordan Staal played 27:22. That’s it. No forward was over 30 minutes, and only the fourth line of William Carrier, Eric Robinson, and Jankowski was under 20. Even then, they all played more than 15 minutes, so it isn’t like they were nailed to the bench. Brind’Amour was happy to continue using all four lines, and it helped keep the big guys fresh, which is absolutely the right way to utilize the Hurricanes’ depth. He managed the game situation very well, and that isn’t something we’ve always been able to say about Brind’Amour in the playoffs.

Senators Comparison

If we compare that to the other side, the Senators leaned heavily on their horses. Tim Stutzle played 29:05, while the Ottawa fourth line played around 15 minutes. Lars Eller had the least ice time for the Sens at 12:24. It was clear in overtime that head coach Travis Green was not as happy as the Hurricanes were to keep rotating his lines. He shortened his bench, and it left the Hurricanes with a little energy left while the Sens were dog-tired for the game-winner.

As for the Senators’ defensemen, Lassi Thomson played just 13:01. Dennis Gilbert played 15:24. Green did not want to use his third pairing if he didn’t have to. Instead, he chose to lean on Jake Sanderson, who played 43:06, while Thomas Chabot played 40:50. With the two days off between games for recovery, it makes sense as to why Green did it, but it factored into why the Hurricanes had so much left to give at the end of the game when the Sens looked exhausted.

The Depth Causing Trouble

The Hurricanes’ depth is giving them the advantage. Ottawa’s hesitation to turn to its fourth line means that when Carolina does, the Senators aren’t comfortable. According to Moneypuck, the Hurricanes’ fourth line has an expected goals for (xGF) of 0.3 and an expected goals against (xGA) of 0.5. That seems bad, right? But they’ve played so much that they’re not just playing against Ottawa’s fourth line. They’re almost analytically even, and they’re not just playing fourth-line minutes.

Ottawa’s fourth line doesn’t even register on Moneypuck because they haven’t spent 10 minutes together. The fact that they had to be separated is a good indicator that they were not where the Senators’ bench wanted them to be in terms of performance. It’s evidence that the Hurricanes can stay fresh by continuing to use their fourth line, and that helps keep the top talents rested. If this series turns into a marathon, those small margins could be the difference.

That’s not the only line. The Hurricanes’ third line scored the game-winning goal twice (it should have counted) and won the penalty shot. The Senators’ third line has been slaughtered in its matchup against the Hurricanes’ second line. The Senators had to load up their top line to generate offense, and the Hurricanes have done an excellent job of keeping them off the scoresheet. Line for line, Carolina’s groups are beating their counterparts, and that is why the Canes are up 2-0 in this series.

Will it continue? That’s the big question. This series is the tightest of any of the opening rounds. Both teams want to suffocate the space and cut down scoring chances. The Hurricanes are probably the group better equipped for it, but the key to maintaining this success is their depth. If they can do that, they can take this series quickly. If they cannot, this may go the distance.