The Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators went to the holiday break fresh off one-goal losses.
There are areas that both teams intend to address when play resumes Wednesday in Nashville after three days off.
“There are definitely some lessons to learn and we’ve won a lot of tight games on the other side of things,” Predators center Colton Sissons said. “So we’ll take our medicine here and move on.”
Nashville lost 3-2 to the Dallas Stars on Saturday, giving up three third-period goals.
“When we don’t have enough guys playing, it’s really hard to win in this league, and we didn’t have enough guys — I wouldn’t say committed — but maybe focused on the details,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “It wasn’t like we weren’t trying. It was just that our details and our focus was off. And good teams, when they’re that deep, make you pay when you’re off.”
The Hurricanes have won only one of their last five games (1-1-3), including a 5-4 loss to the visiting New York Islanders on Saturday night.
“Hopefully, we can refresh and come back,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Hopefully, come back in a good frame of mind.”
The Hurricanes’ first matchup in that five-game stretch was a 6-5 overtime loss to Nashville at home on Dec. 15.
Nashville went 2-2-0 since the earlier matchup with Carolina. In their last eight games, the Predators have been limited to two or fewer goals four times.
The Hurricanes meanwhile are too inconsistent defensively for their own good. This month, they’ve allowed five or more goals in three different games.
“As a team, we have to be better defensively,” defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. “That’s been our lapses this year when we’re not playing well. We’re giving up too many chances against.”
Carolina has 38 points in 34 games, not close to the level expected for one of the teams that seemed geared up to excel this season.
“I think we’ve played better than our record,” Brind’Amour said. “We probably deserve more points, but we haven’t done it so we’re in a tough spot.”
Goalie Pyotr Kochetkov has been used in four straight games for Carolina. Ideally, the Hurricanes won’t put so much work on the young netminder.
“Probably riding him a little too much,” Brind’Amour said after the Islanders game. “You could tell he wasn’t as good as he’s been and that’s probably the difference.”
The Predators, who also have 38 points in 34 games, do not want their late-game collapse vs. Dallas to define the season to date. A few days off gave them a chance to absorb where the team stands.
“We were able to reflect back and see what kind of hole we dug ourselves into early and we were able to climb out of that and put ourselves in a playoff position,” right winger Michael McCarron said. “I think for the most part, we’re trending in the right direction.”
–Field Level Media
