Hurricanes Staying Course vs. Capitals

Possibly more than any other team, the Carolina Hurricanes take the phrase "you miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take" to heart.

The Hurricanes have developed a reputation over the past several years for essentially throwing the puck on net at any chance they get. This approach often leads to them putting up gaudy shot totals, but sometimes, their goal totals don't necessarily follow suit.

That's exactly what's happening early on in their second-round series against the Washington Capitals. Through two games, Carolina has 180 shot attempts - 61 on goal, 70 that were blocked and 49 that missed the net - with three goals. Comparatively, Washington has 84 shot attempts - 35 on goal, 20 that were blocked and 29 that missed the net - with four goals (including an empty-netter). The series is tied 1-1 heading into Game 3 Saturday in Raleigh.

While the Hurricanes haven't lit up the scoreboard in this series, they're not going to change their approach after just two games.

"Absolutely not," defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said, per NHL.com. "That's our style. That's what we do.

"I'd say the luck isn't there, but we're not going to change a thing. If it ain't broke, we're not going to fix it. That's our game. We put pucks on the net. We crash the net. We get traffic and the bounces will come next."

It's not surprising that the Hurricanes are staying the course, as this has been their philosophy since Rod Brind'Amour became head coach in 2018-19. However, there is a worrying trend in their recent playoff defeats that they must be wary of.

During their four-game loss to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final in 2023, they averaged 21.25 more shot attempts per game than their opponents. During their six-game loss to the New York Rangers in the second round in 2024, they averaged 16.5 more shot attempts per game than their opponents. Those teams had strong defenesive structures, much like the Capitals do this year.

Once again, though, Brind'Amour knows what he likes and believes staying the course is the best option.

"You've got to try to hit the net, and we're trying," Brind'Amour said. "I look at more the opportunities to get it there. Are we getting it there and do we have traffic there because every goalie is going to save it if he sees it? That's the next phase. You've got to keep trying to fight to get to the net. Both teams are trying to do that. I didn't look at the actual Grade A scoring chances (in Game 2). I know the first game, we doubled it. That's the number. It's not all the other stuff, it's what is it leading to? We've got to keep doing what we do. If we get off of it, we're lessening our chances to win."