“They have a lot of righty-lefties on their strong side on each line, and they compete hard, they dive in,” Staal said. “They try to own the circle, and they make every single draw a contested one. Last game, we started tailing off, and that’s not good enough. Our group of centers have to be better going forward.”
The draws can’t become a distraction.
“Rod has said don’t let face-offs and how you’re playing in the game affect each other,” Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven said. “Obviously, you want to start with the puck every single time off the draw, but if not, I’ve got my wingers that are going to jump off the draw and hopefully put pressure on them and get the puck back.”
The Hurricanes will need more offense for a better chance at a 3-0 series lead. The line of Taylor Hall, Stankoven and Jackson Blake has nine of Carolina’s 14 points.
“You’ve got to get to your game,” Brind’Amour said. “If you play your best game, you have a chance. If you don’t, you don’t have a chance, so you better get to it somehow.”