The Hurricanes live (and die) by their man-on-man coverage

The Carolina Hurricanes have generated much discourse over the past couple of years about whether or not their style of play is “boring.”

Head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s man-to-man defensive system makes it difficult for opposing teams to generate chances with any sort of frequency, and it’s resulted in seven straight appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs including three trips to the Eastern Conference Final, but no Stanley Cup championship.

While opposing fans may be frustrated by a lack of chances for their teams against Carolina, there’s no denying the amount of skating and hard-work that goes in to what the Canes do, as well as the fact that when it breaks down at all, games can turn into track meets full of odd-man rushes both ways.

On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton were joined by host of The Sheet, Jeff Marek, who delivered some thoughts on the Hurricanes and their unique defensive system.

Jeff Marek: I like the way Carolina plays, but there’s one specific vantage point that you have to watch Carolina in order to appreciate the Carolina Hurricanes. I am going to sound like such a snob here, here I go: The Carolina Hurricanes are an acquired taste if you’re a hockey fan. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but they play an incredibly challenging system. We all know that Rod Brind’Amour likes to play man-to-man, which is why if you’re not an athlete and you can’t think quickly, there’s no room for you there. That’s why K’Andre Miller was a really smart play… Considering they play man-to-man, if you sit up high in the stands to watch Carolina, it’s almost a team where popcorn row is the best view… It’s an incredible tightrope that the Carolina Hurricanes are walking on. Sometimes it’s bit them; a lot of times it’s brought them a lot of success.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…