The Carolina Hurricanes have gone about two weeks without a feeling that the pieces are all fitting together.
It’s an unusual stretch for a team that has excelled for most of the past few seasons.
Another chance to sort through glitches comes Tuesday night when the San Jose Sharks visit Raleigh, N.C.
The Hurricanes have lost four of their last five games, falling 4-3 to the host New York Islanders on Saturday. Andrei Svechnikov scored two power-play goals as Carolina took a 2-1 lead midway through the second period before New York put together a three-goal blitz before the second intermission.
Turnovers have translated into trouble for Carolina.
“We’re just a little off,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We forget how hard it is (not only) to play our game, but to win. Can’t take it for granted. …
“We’ve gotta regain it. There’s only one way to play. There’s no easy way. We’ll get there.”
Now might be the time to get rolling with the start of a four-game homestand before four consecutive road games that extend past Christmas.
The Sharks will arrive with their own problems after back-to-back losses. They’ve scored a total of one goal through regulation in each of their last three games.
“I think at times we play in fear and we lose our swagger,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “That’s where we’re at right now.”
San Jose lost 3-1 on Saturday at Florida despite goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood’s 49 saves. Warsofsky called it “one of the best goalie performances (he’s) ever seen,” yet on Monday the Sharks traded Blackwood to the Avalanche and received veteran goalie Alexandar Georgiev from Colorado.
There was not much for the Sharks to say after the Panthers peppered them with 52 shots on goal.
“There is a lot you can learn from that team,” Sharks center Nico Sturm said. “The next step for us as a team is playing with the swagger and the belief in ourselves.”
For the Hurricanes, low shot counts have minimized some of the trouble that Carolina often causes opponents.
“We’ve got to make it a lot harder,” Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said. “We’ve got to find it. We need to find that consistency with what we were doing early in the season and we’ll turn it around.”
Across the past three games, the Hurricanes have collected five power-play goals. Gostisbehere attributes that to increasing comfort among players on those units.
But that’s not a solution to Carolina’s slump.
“We’ve got to get our 5-on-5 game going,” Brind’Amour said.
Svechnikov had a career-high four-point game (one goal, three assists) in Carolina’s most recent home game with last week’s victory against Colorado. Then came his two power-play goals Saturday.
Gostisbehere said there’s no reason that the team can’t regain its form. The players recognize there are holes that need to be patched.
“It’s hard to chase games in this league,” Gostisbehere said. “It’s tough when you try to come from behind. It’s little things that have crept into our game the last five.”
The Hurricanes made a roster move during the weekend, placing forward Brendan Lemieux on waivers before he was released.
San Jose will be playing in its fifth consecutive road game, with one more stop on the trip Thursday at St. Louis. Sharks forward Will Smith didn’t play Saturday and is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
The Sharks and Hurricanes won’t meet for a rematch until March 20.
–Field Level Media
