Sebastian Aho’s highlight reel play and Andrei Svechnikov’s hat trick certainly garnered national attention, and deservedly so. But the Carolina Hurricanes defensive efforts in their Qualifying Round sweep of the New York Rangers is an encouraging sign for a team hoping to make a lengthy playoff run.
The Hurricanes were not as disciplined in staying out of the penalty box as they would have liked, but their positional discipline in the defensive zone was a major bright spot.
After being burned by the Rangers several times on missed assignments in the regular season, the Canes’ defensive zone was stout.