Carolina pinches both sides of the wall.
When it doesn’t have an opportunity to pinch, the Hurricanes do a great job with their F3 staying high and above.
The Lightning aren’t as aggressive with their pinches, but their F3 tracking is outstanding and the ‘D’ is very simple with how they play.
I’ve always found that when a team tracks really well from behind like the Hurricanes and the Lightning, the F3 is in good position. He makes sure when the ‘D’ is pinching that he’s above the puck.
What differentiates the Hurricanes from other teams is how their other two forwards work above the play, so they’re tracking and you’ll see five in the picture a lot with them.
That builds confidence in their defensemen because that aggression up the ice and the belief they have in their system gives the ‘D’ the ability to stand up and defend the lines because they know the forwards are going to be with them.
In fairness, that also could lead to why they give up rushes against because there are times when the forwards are a little late. However, their tracking is so strong that they can still get back to defend. So, while it counts as an odd-man rush against, they’re still able to defend it.
Carolina and Tampa Bay both have its defensemen squeeze the rush. For example, when the puck is kicked out from the middle of the ice to the left side, they will have their defensemen be aggressive and squeeze the play at the line.
The other thing that is important with that, especially when the ‘D’ pinches and the F3 stays above — if those first and second guys come back as hard as they can, now they have connection and all of a sudden it becomes hard for an opposing team to get through the neutral zone.
In the defensive zone, the Hurricanes again play a very simple system with layers when the puck is low. They’re looking to double. They’re looking to be quick to contact with their center support or low forward to help double the puck. They also look to seal the walls. When the puck does go high to the opposing team’s defense, they now become man to man.
Teams are able to create chances sometimes by beating the double, but Carolina does a good job of being quick to close, get support and have the wingers sealing the wall. So, there will be some breakdowns, but they’re able to create exits out of it.
Their exits are simple too. They will punt the puck where they just launch it and skate into it. They also will use the strong or weakside to exit and do a great job with their forwards creating pace, especially with their slash support. That allows Carolina to play fast and predictable.
The Lightning’s breakouts are built off their neutral zone setup, which creates predictability for the players.