Domi makes bold statement about the Carolina Hurricanes
PUBLICATION
Dorin Canaday
May 12, 2022 (12:23)
Home ice has played the most significant advantage in the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes series more than any other so far in the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. (In every one of the other series, at least one road team has won a game, and in five of the seven, both teams have won a game on the road. Nashville was swept in four games, and the New York Rangers' two wins have come on home ice.)
The big difference in this series has been how the head coaches have used their last change advantage. When at five-on-five, Jordan Staal's line was tasked with shutting down "The Perfection Line" of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. Per NaturalStatTrick, Bergeron played 11:16 at five-on-five in game five, and of that, 9:19 came against Staal. In games three and four, Patrice Bergeron had 5:30 of five-on-five ice time against Sebastian Aho. In those two games, Aho collected zero points and was a minus one. Bergeron had just 46 seconds of five-on-five ice time in game five, and Aho ended the night with two assists and was plus one.
The difference in line matching is very apparent, especially on the scoreboard. Carolina has outscored Boston 15-4 in three games on home ice, while Boston has outscored Carolina 9-4 in two games on home ice.
Hurricanes' forward Max Domi noted that's why his team is currently leading the series three games to two, even-strength play. The Bruins' potent powerplay has been threatening in this series.
However, Domi thinks that if the Hurricanes stay out of the box, they're the best team not only in this series but the entire NHL:
"When we play five-on-five hockey, I don't think anybody can beat us in this league ... We know that, and we're a confident group [at] five-on-five. There's an intensity that comes with the way we play the game. It's an aggressive style, so there are going to be penalties here and there that come with our game. The difference is the few undisciplined ones, and that's something we know we can clean up. We did a great job of it last game. When we're disciplined, we're tough to beat. We just have to stay out of the box; then we'll be good to go."
Domi may have somewhat of a point for this series, as they've outscored the Bruins 12-6 at five-on-five, but to say they can beat any team because of it may be a little bit of a stretch.
Boston is also currently 2.27 below expected goals in this series, while Carolina is 4.73 above expected at five-on-five. So you could make the case that one team has also been a little luckier than the other as well.
