From the first 5 games of the 2015-16 here is…
What I like
Eric Staal — He was not great on Saturday in Washington, D.C., but otherwise I have been happy with his game. He has been strong playing behind the end line and has created some offense from there. He has also steered clear of picking up frustration penalties (has only 1 minor penalty) despite enough cause for frustration.
Justin Faulk — As a player who has started slow multiple times, I like his start. I actually think his defensive game has room for improvement, but he has not at all been terrible in that regard. In addition, he has 2 goals and 2 assists through 5 games and maybe most simply but very importantly, he is skating and playing aggressively which is a telltale sign when he is going well.
Noah Hanifin — He is making his share of mistakes, but I still am happy that he looks capable of learning at the NHL level. As I said earlier this week, the thing I am most pleased with is his ability to defend. He is not the run of the mill young ‘skating defenseman’ who skates well forward but cannot actually defend yet.
Kris Versteeg — He is bringing the playmaking that the Canes desperately need and will only do more if he can find a groove and chemistry for an extended run with scoring-capable line mates.
Brock McGinn — What’s not to like about his NHL debut? Also worth noting is how he plays. He seeks contact. He engages in puck battles whenever possible. He blocks shots.
What I don’t like
Eddie Lack — I do not like the fact that he has only played 1 game thus far. The team in front of him in his lone start did not help him any, but he did look to be fighting the puck a bit and struggled with rebound control. Even still, I would rather see a 50/50 split on starts until a goalie earns more. I guess you can make a case that Peters was right to start Ward on Saturday by virtue of the fact that he played well, but I would rather have seen Lack get back in.
The constant line shuffling — If you go back through my DCoJ, you can find enough on this topic.
Elias Lindholm — His game is just too quiet other than his 1 pretty goal.
Michal Jordan — He is struggling on his off side. I am on record as wanting to see Brett Pesce get a game by game look in that slot next to Liles.
Jordan Staal — He has been better the past couple games at least defensively, and I like the JStaal/Nestrasil combination for playing a puck possession game in the offensive zone. And his scoring is legitimately going to be limited by his line mates. But at the end of the day, 0 points in 5 games is obviously not going to cut it for a second line center if the Canes are going to be consistently competitive.
Go Canes!
I can’t disagree with you on any of your analysis above. I would add that getting a read on the ability of the goal tenders on this team is difficult when the play in front of them is so inconsistent. My concern with the team is as follows: Under Muller the team was lackadasical (spelling?)and unmotivated in its play in virtually every game.
Peters came in and in his first season had this team playing hard every night for over the last half of the season or more. To me just that change was the most significant improvement in the team last year.
Now we come to 2015-16 season and the team is inconsistent in its play. Last night I saw everyone standing ands not moving their feet if they did not have the puck or the man they were supposed to be defending did not have the puck. The result is they were beaten to the puck and playing on their heals for the entire game. This team can compete only if it will use its skating ability in every game in my opinion. The core of this team has now played for three different coaches and accomplished nothing. Its about time for the players to look at themselves and get their fannies in gear.
I agree with RedRyder, the only way to win in the NHL with a team lacking in high end skill, is to outwork your opponent on a nightly basis. The Canes are nowhere close to doing that right now.
What I noticed..
Jeff Skinner is turning the puck over a lot. Seems like every time he touched it Saturday he did absolutely nothing with it except give it away.
Jordan Staal needs to decide if he’s a top 6 forward or not. If so, I’m sorry but you have to have some offensive skill. Right now he seems like a decent defensive defenseman trying to play forward.
I read somewhere that Lindholm wants to model his game after Peter Forsberg. Ok, so how do you figure you’re doing that? You are completely unnoticeable. Time to step up.
Brock McGinn was awesome to watch. He’s one of the smaller guys out there and throwing his weight around like a boss. You can just see he is going to be a permanent fixture in the NHL soon enough.
Eric Staal and Cam Ward looked better so far this season then I can remember them being in a several years. It’s a shame we have to wait for contract years to roll around to see them play like they give a crap.
I think we will all appreciate Jordan Staal a lot more if we accept him for who he is instead of hoping he becomes someone we want him to be. He is a 3rd line defensive center, and an excellent one at that. Just pretend he doesn’t make 6M per year.
Agree that Lindholm has been underwhelming. Making me wish more and more that we drafted Sean Monahan instead.