With the slate of games for October completed with a 4-4-2 record, timing is good for an early assessment of the 2017-18 Carolina Hurricanes. The Monday Coffee Shop is mostly an open forum for discussion on the play so far and the path forward.
Carolina Hurricanes polls
Please remember to click ‘vote’ after each individual poll.
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Discussion questions
1) What is the greatest positive through ten games of the 2017-18 NHL season for the Hurricanes?
2) What is the greatest negative through 10 games of the 2017-18 NHL season for the Hurricanes?
3) Open question for any other comments on the season thus far.
Go Canes!
1/ the biggest positive to me by far is that we have survived the early Western swing and a very tough first 10 games without playing consistent hockey: the season is very much alive and just getting started, unlike season’s past when we’ve been in catch-up mode. It should be obvious to everyone who’s watched these games that our ceiling is quite a bit higher than what we’ve seen so far, both for almost all players and collectively as a team. When we start rolling, and I’m confident we will sometime soon, we will make a big move in the standings.
2/ a few things: we haven’t found our identify, lack of consistency, and special teams (both). I think Darling and Aho are fighting it a bit now and many others are pressing.
3/ I know we’ve looked overmatched against these heavy cycling teams from the West, but I believe the formula for success in the East is speed and skill so we should stay focused on accentuating our strengths.
Again, we haven’t hit our stride yet, but after these 10 games I believe even more so now that when we do, we’ll run off a big point streak like we did last season. I just hope it’s in Nov/Dec and not Mar.
1- Skins…
2- …everybody else except Slavin /Pesce
3- RF has some work to do. …Brindy has to fix the powerless-play
…this team is too NICE, SOME GUYS NEED TO GET “NASTY”!!
We have no nasty anywhere in the system that I’m aware of
I am mostly with dmiller on this. The team is much better coming out of October than past seasons and the schedule was likely tougher.
One of the big concerns before this season was OT. While there haven’t been results, the Canes were obviously the better overtime team in both games they lost. If the level of play continues the OT wins will follow.
Darling should play better and a more even split of starts will also improve results as Ward is demonstrating that he is capable.
Staal is scoring, which should continue. And while Skinner can’t keep up his pace for 82 games, he is a constant weapon. At some point Aho finds the net and his goals will be close to last season. By the way Carolina is on pace for 230 even given the struggles.
I have been frustrated six times. Still the team is not that far off. Plus for the first time in many seasons players not in Raleigh might add a boost if needed. Overall the team is in better position than years past.
ct, I’m going to ride with you and dmilleravid above. I think you two have got the right perspective for now.
Said this in the earlier thread and will say again. NHL .500 is a misleading win percentage. While we are NHL .500 after 10 games (4-4-2), most players will tell you the team is (4-6).
Say what we will, but this is not a playoff team. We remain one higher-end offensive catalyst and one veteran defenseman away from honestly competing with the bigger grinding teams. There is too much pressure right now on young players both offensively and defensively. Gripping sticks too tightly and fumbling passes is a sign of trying to do too much. The results are clear so far.
Adding…the pros so far are a small handful of players playing to their abilities. Cons, we are a team of mostly young guys who are complimentary players at this stage of their development (none of them THE guy yet). Additional cons are not hitting twine via open nets, which again is a sign of young players feeling the pressure. Faulk is a problem in the 2nd pair, and as one of our captains that doesn’t help any.
Not sure why we didn’t take a flyer on Garrison when he hit the waiver wire. He’d look good next to Hanifin. Keep TVR/Fleury as 3rd pairing and trade Faulker for some veteran offensive help. Teams like Nashville and Columbus have understood you have to give to get…it just may take Faulk to get what we truly need.
Lastly…RedRyder, Golden24, Gocanes0506…all with good points and similarly related concerns in this and other threads. Puckgod, I hear you brother and love the passion! Greasy nasty goals are where it’s at and we just can’t see to this consistently.
When I come down on my trip from New England later this year I hope to cross paths with you fellow tailgaters.
1) Going off the board with this one because Skinner’s been said already. McGinn. I don’t think he’s a top 9 forward on a playoff team but I’ve loved his game recently.
2) Faulk, my worry for him going into the season was that he may still be a defensive liability and through 10 games I’m still seeing more bone head plays in our zone from him than I’d like to see from our co-captain.
I also think he’s making Hanifin look bad (not trying to absolve Hanifin of his own defensive short comings but he’s at least younger and starting in the top 4 for the first time in his career.)
3) Based on results so far I still think the team has a 50% at the playoffs and that’s fine, the assets we have that I’d be willing to part with would probably wouldn’t fetch a player that improves our playoff hopes much, if at all.
Our forward group is dramatically below league average… and that is perfectly okay. We’re building from the back end out and this may be an awkward year to watch as we struggle to score again but our forward prospects are on the way.
I also strongly agree with Dmiller’s point about the team being built to compete and succeed in the east, even if Columbus may kick our butts for a few years while we wait for help up front.
I echo your sentiments exactly. Mcginn is earning his ice time…. I feel like he’s a Matt Martin junior…. Faulk is a liability and I’m not sure his offensive surge after 30-40 games like it is every year is worth the defensive liability and at a more basic level he’s just not passing the eye test for me. Im not seeing Captain anywhere in his game. I Am a little higher on the future for this team this year. They always seem to have a higher gear in February and March but in years past have dug to big a hole. Aho an TT will breakthrough eventually and Lindholm needs to get nasty again like he was the last half of the season last year. I strongly feel that its coming gentlemen…….. p.s I’m shocked that Sakic turned down the Faulk for Duchene trade.
Maybe if we looked poor during the preseason, our expectations would be different. To me, because we looked so good in preseason, maybe I had higher epxectations for the real season.
I believe everything can be summed up in for 10 games, we only played 60min in 2 of them. Players and others talk on the need to play 60min. I think we saw that with Calgary and Wild. The rest of the time, its been something less. Sometimes we’ve been lucky, sometimes not. getting closer to 60min of play every night will make us look better.
The problem is that we can’t aford to wait a few more years for help from within the system.
This team has been so bad for so long that results must come soon, else I honestly think we will see the canes blow out of Raleigh, to Canada or Seattle or somewhere.
Yes, there are improvements from last year and a lot of untapped potential, but we need results. There’s still chance, but the team does not convince me.
The captaincy was very badly handled by the GM/coaches, this team needs a leader, and that leader is JW right now.
Faulk is not a good C right now. He needs to focus on his game.
I’m riding with Red, who is riding with CT and Miller. And the rest of team Coffee, all insightful comments.
1) The greatest positive is the result. We survived a tough schedule. The gaps in play, tough teams, etc, without playing consistent hockey.
2) Consistency. There are times we look good and times we look terrible. From the outside, the appearance is that Peters is playing Whack-a-Mole, addressing one thing just to have another go south. A regular rhythm to games and enough bops on the head to a few hundred moles and I’m hopeful for a more consistent result.
I haven’t given up the ship yet and won’t even if they don’t. I still think we are a year away in the rebuild but I still voted that we will make playoffs but that’s because I keep that ray of hope. As someone said above……….we need a nasty and that guy needs to park in front of the net on the PP. I am all for bringing up Zykov to see if he is our answer. Since Kuo was sent down Stempniak must finally be healthy so maybe he can create more offense.