It’s time.
Just win baby.
About this time last year, the Hurricanes shot out of the game in their 2016-17 season opener and built a 4-1 lead through two periods only to see the game end with a disheartening 5-4 loss in overtime. The loss extended a run of opening game losses that stretched back to a schedule oddity in 2010-11 that saw the Hurricanes play and win their first two games in Finland. If you want a season-opening win in North America then one has to go all the way back to the 2008-09 season which is a full two years before the arrival of Jeff Skinner. Cam Ward and Justin Williams are the only two Hurricanes players who played for the Hurricanes that season, and the fact that Justin Williams has played for two other teams and been away for almost a decade since then tells you just how long the drought is.
The 2017-18 season is about changing the trajectory and reaching the playoffs. Say what you will before or afterward and win or lose about it being only one game, but Saturday’s home opener marks an opportunity change the trajectory and diverge from the recent losing history.
For the game day details, I highly recommend Michael Smith’s preview at CarolinaHurricanes.com where he details the lineup and other specifics. Per usual, my preview will jump straight into a handful of items that I will be watching closely for Saturday’s game.
‘What I’m watching’
My what I’m watching focus hones in on a handful of players who were trending in the right direction at the end of the 2016-17 and for whom maintaining that trajectory will have a huge say in how the 2017-18 NHL season finishes up for the Carolina Hurricanes. I then cheat and add one more player simply because of his importance.
1) Noah Hanifin
I am on (broken) record as really liking Noah Hanifin’s preseason. He also finished the 2016-17 season strong after a ‘meh’ at best first two-thirds of the season. Could he be ready to rise up and become the player that everyone hoped for when he landed at #5 in the 2016 NHL Draft? On Saturday and early in the season in general I will be watching Noah Hanifin closely to try to get a read on his level of play. More significant than statistics or scoring points will be closely watching to see if he brings the same preseason level of play that was more aggressive and assertive with and without the puck.
2) Elias Lindholm
He is another player who has taken awhile to develop but seemed to suddenly have a switch flip for him at about the midway point of the 2016-17 season. It started with a noticeably higher level of physical engagement and finished with a bit more scoring down the stretch. Lindholm’s preseason was light on the bulldog type of play that he brought consistently in the second half of 2016-17. On Saturday and early in the season, I will be watching Lindholm closely to see if he can again flip the switch on intensity and level of engagement now that the regular season is here.
3) Justin Faulk
Like Hanifin, I thought Faulk’s play on the defensive side of the puck was ‘meh’ at best through the first two-thirds of the 2016-17 season. He had a strong campaign offensively, and like Hanifin, had a strong finish after the trade deadline. Now wearing a ‘C’, I will be watching Justin Faulk who has historically been a slow starter to see if he can find the higher gear defensively right out of the gate.
4) Scott Darling
No pressure, but Scott Darling could prove to be the single most important player on the Hurricanes roster for the 2017-18 season. After multiple years of sub-par netminding, Francis made a move to seize one of the top options on the market this summer. Darling must make a significant transition in terms of team and more importantly role. Especially after a delayed preseason due to a minor injury, I will be watching Scott Darling on Saturday to see if he can hit the ground running, avoid any adversity right out of the gate and look capable of boosting the Hurricanes to at least league average goaltending if not better.
Hockey probably more than any other professional sport is one where every player has an impact. Identifying four players who will get an extra bit of focus on Saturday is NOT to say that the rest of the lineup is not also worth watching.
I am curious to see if Justin Williams can be a catalyst for Teuvo Teravainen more consistently playing closer to his ceiling if they play together.
I am eager to see if Martin Necas or Janne Kuokkanen can parachute right into the NHL and perform following the Hurricanes recent success in this regard with Sebastian Aho, Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce.
I will be watching to gather an early indication of how quickly Haydn Fleury will be able to make the transition to the NHL level.
And more than anything else, I will be there with family and friends watching to see if the Carolina Hurricanes can break the season opening losing streak and offer early hope that the 2017-18 season will be different.
The puck drops at PNC Arena at about 7:07pm with player introductions about 20 minutes prior to that!
Go Canes!
1. Fleury/TVR. If they can be an above-average third pairing, then Canes D will be able to limit shots and consistently transition. That will give the forwards on all lines more opportunities.
2. Teravainen. He is my pick for top scorer this year. I would love to see that start in game 1. It appears TT will be part of line with Williams and key contributor on power play.
3. Fourth line to keep the pressure on opposition. There has been a lot of talk (and in the preseason quite a bit of evidence) that Kruger and Co. might allow Staal to focus more on production.
4. Pesce/Hanifin. This pairing has potential to be special. Do they continue to complement each other as they did in preseason. Does Pesce elevate Hanifin’s play in D zone. Does Hanifin help Pesce become bigger presence on score sheet.
On another note, I was at Checkers’ game. For first 45 minutes the team looked average–and Ned looked below average. But in last 15 minutes both individual effort and team play was excellent. Ned made two nice saves to give the team the chance to pull out victory.
Quick player observations:
With two goals, obviously Foegele was noticeable. He made several nice plays on penalty kills in addition to being in front of net for both goals. Foegele was the high-energy every shift player that so many commenters talked about seeing in training camp in 2016.
Saarela was fast. Especially in the third period after the team went down by 2. He made several plays where he blew by defenders, including the one he scored. Prior to the game-winner he was also flying around the ice unsettling the defense. He doesn’t have quite the all-around game of Foegele, Roy, or Wallmark, but he has speed, quick shot, and ability to keep plays alive.
Poturalski didn’t make it on the score sheet, but he looked good most of the game.
Wallmark played well. However, the thing I noticed most was his frequent conversations with the coaches. I was sitting directly behind the bench, it was apparent Wallmark likes to think the game and he seeks the coaches’ advice to help him on his upcoming shifts. He also looked calm when some of the players appeared to be over-reacting to the 2 goal deficit.
Roy has quite a bit of Staal to his game. Once he gets in the offensive zone he is dogged in keeping the puck.
Gauthier was not evident very often. His focus/energy didn’t seem to match his talent.
The D looked sluggish in general. Often the opposition would skate directly toward the goal and the D would slow them but was not able to get the puck and that would often result in pressure in front of the net. As mentioned, Ned did not handle the pressure well enough tonight.
Even accounting for my bias, it was pretty apparent that the Checkers had more talent throughout the lineup. Luckily, that talent made plays late in the game to pull out a victory.
Thanks for the Checkers details CT. Its good to know how things are going down there. I care much more then I did in the past as we have serious talent there, which will be coming to the big club.
The last time I was this excited to watch a game, the Panthers played NE in the Super Bowl. Regards readers know my views, I’m just bouncing off the walls until puck drop.
… And I’ll be on a plane … I’ll have to watch it on tape delay starting around 8:30. What a bummer.
(for those slow on the uptake, I didn’t start following the Canes until 2011-ish)
It’s finally here!
I expect the Canes to dominate possession and wear most teams down this year, while still not having high end scoring. It will be a fun thing for fanatics to watch, though it might be boring for the average fan that wants to see more goals.
I’m looking for Kruger to be a key part of this equation, and I expect we’ll see an increased role for the 4th line from year’s past.
I’m really hopeful we’ll see Lindholm puck right up where he left off, making Staal more of an offensive threat and creating frustration and misery for other team’s top lines.
Some might call this a negative, but I’m really hoping Necas doesn’t see the ice. I know he can skate like the wind, but preseason hockey doesn’t have the intensity or physicality that every shift will in the regular season. I’m glad he’s here to soak it in and learn, but I hope the team gives him another year to grow physically and gain more confidence finishing before he’s thrust into the spotlight. I think it’ll build hunger in him, which is never a bad thing. If he goes in and gets beat up, I could see it damaging his confidence and taking away from a more aggressive style that he’ll need to play to be an impact player at the highest level.
against. I don’t think your sentiments about Necas are negative. You pretty much summed up my position. Most top European players (Aho for example) have spent their draft year in Europe. It seems to work quite well (Erickson Ek and Wennberg; also Nylander who started in Europe then joined AHL in January of his first season).
Most of you probably recall my position, but wanted to get it out there before the season starts: I think Pesce will be considered our top D-man by season’s end. Which will be great, because an argument will be available for all of the top-4 transitioning from young and talented to in the conversation as among the league’s top 10. My excitement probably surpasses dmiller’s.
Agreed CT, this is not negative. I think it makes total sense. Good comment ATG.
Koukkanen slots into the lineup on the third line. Let’s see if what he can do with everybody watching Skinner.
From the pregame skate:
Aho-Staal-Lindholm
Teravainen-Rask-Williams
Skinner-Ryan-Kuokkanen
Nordstrom-Kruger-McGinn
The degree of optimism is impressive and CATCHING…SOOOO not to be a party-pooper, or negative-Nellie, I’ll play the “who-leads-the-team-in-scoring GAME”!! 1st – Aho… 2nd – Skins… 3rd – Ryan…
4th – TT… 5th – Lindy/ Willy (TIED)!
Also, due to our improved G and D… I see the team getting points in 7 out of the 1st ten games!
GO CANES, OUT-SKATE THEM ALL…
Now that real games are finally here, I just want to say thanks, Matt, for your writing and site getting us through another long offseason. We made it! lol!
I concur, every year it seems like a longer summer…!
Hope this coming year, that changes!
We want playoffs, and I’m going to the game TONIGHT, WOOOO!