The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Opening the 2018-19 season, the Carolina Hurricanes put forth a dominant effort by every statistic imaginable except the only one that really matters in the end – goal scoring. Despite out-shooting the New York Islanders by a wide 46 to 20 margin and playing the vast majority of the game as the aggressor, it took a late goal with an extra attacker to get to overtime where the team would earn only one point in a 2-1 loss.
I am not sure one could really ask for much more from the Hurricanes other than burying more chances and winning.
The shot totals were 16-7, 15-7 and 15-4 in the three periods of regulation. The Hurricanes had a decent number of chances that could have found the net. And they also had about a half dozen point blank chances that missed gaping openings in the net.
In total, there were many more positives than negatives despite the losing outcome, and no doubt there are many things that the team can carry forward to game #2 in Columbus tomorrow night.
Player and other notes
Continuation of forward push
In my game preview the single biggest carry over that I hoped for from preseason was the tenacity and push from the forwards. The smothering aggressiveness of the forecheck and hounding of the puck in all three zones was the single biggest factor in the preseason success in my opinion. That positive very clearly carried forward to game #1 of the regular season which was a huge positive.
Jordan Staal
Save for the fact that he featured in the ‘if they could just finish’ theme, Jordan Staal had a phenomenal game. He scored the all-important goal late. He won 70 percent of his face-offs. He was in mid-season mode in terms of winning and advancing the puck. And he was regularly the best player on the ice during many shifts. He had help but led the way on a line for which the three forwards had a whopping 16 shots on goal. If Jordan Staal posts 81 more games like Thursday night, the team will be better for it. The only negative is that the fact that he just is not a top 6 type finisher reared its head again. He had the kind of game where other great players put up two goals and an assist and carry their teams to victory. He did have the crucial goal, but he also had a couple other grade A chances where he either missed the net or missed the opening right into the middle of the goalie.
Andrei Svechnikov
In just under 12 minutes of ice time in his NHL debut, Svechnikov did not find the score sheet, but he came about as close as he could without doing so. early in the game, he wired a shot from the left face-off circle that beat goalie Thomas Greiss but glanced off the top of the cross bar. Then later in the game, he clanged the cross bar again on a sublte but nifty play where he crossed the offensive blue line with enough speed to back up the defenseman, then closed the gap as much as he could to use the defenseman for a screen and finally made a quick adjustment just before the shot to open a narrow shooting lane. The latter play was straight from the NHL sniper’s handbook. I would not say that Svechnikov looked phenomenal otherwise, but he was engaged and did not at all look overwhelmed. Couple that with early indications that his scoring ability will transfer well to the NHL, and I would call his debut successful despite not scoring.
Petr Mrazek
I am torn on how to rate Mrazek’s Canes debut. By no means can one pin a loss on a goalie when he gives up one goal in regulation. And I fully admit that the recent extended run of goalie struggles has me putting goaltending under a microscope. But that said, Mrazek’s outing did not inspire confidence for me. He had two plays where started wandering here, there and everywhere. The first he somehow survived when the puck just did not find the empty net behind him. The second did find the net when he wandered out, lost his angle and then left a hole to shoot through for the Islanders first goal. Couple that with three shots that got through him but luckily did not find the net (two were scooped out of the crease by Canes skaters), and I did not come away feeling confident that he is the solution in net. It is important to acknowledge that the game was not horrible and that one game is obviously a tiny sample size, but in evaluating what I saw on Thursday, I rate it as ‘meh’ at best.
Martin Necas
Necas mustered a few of the swoops with the puck on stick that give him the mobility to become a higher-end playmaker in the NHL, but otherwise his game did not stand. The biggest work item for him is his play in the neutral zone without the puck both offensively and defensively. At this early stage of development, he lacks an understanding for how to make safe passing lanes to help his defensemen advance the puck out of the defensive zone when under pressure. On defense, he similarly has work to do learning how to take away passing angles and north-south lanes when defending as the third forward.
Justin Faulk
I continue to like the rugged and physical element that has returned to Faulk’s game. Carrying over from the preseason, he continues to engage physically whenever he can which is a positive and a strength in his game. But along the way, too much of the sloppiness that plagued him the past couple years also reared its head. He had two potentially bad defensive zone turnovers toward the middle of the rink in the first period. He had a couple other coverage issues in his own end defending the puck. In total, Faulk probably had enough good plays for a good night, but as a defenseman level of play is more dictated by how many mistakes a player makes, and I think Faulk had issues in that regard.
Warren Foegele
He hopped into the top 6 on a line with maximum defensive responsibilities and looked capable. He had one really nice play where he won a race to a puck in the corner, accelerated right around an Islanders player and forged his way back to the front of the net with the puck. The headily shot low and created a high-quality rebound chance for Justin Williams. He also showed discipline a couple times in the neutral zone not using his stick or a free hand to try to engage a player who had the puck in a place where he could protect it. The result was a clean game in terms of penalties taken which was an encouraging sign. Again, given his style of play, one has to live with some amount of penalties, but hopefully Thursday is also a sign that he is beginning to learn when he has to ease up just a little to avoid taking too many obstruction penalties. Even with a solid effort the learning is still there. Foegele was the player who tried the old Jeff Skinner swipe and go at the offensive blue line without consideration for the situation. Had the pass connected and Foegele received it off the boards in stride, he might have been in alone or at least had a step on the defenseman. But he needed to be aware that the five players on the ice were all a the end of a long shift and needed to get off the ice. Had he waited for the puck, he would have given up any chance of a rush but in the process assured that he could get the puck deep for a line change. Instead, he swiped and missed like Skinner was prone to do, and the puck went the other way. The play ended with an exhausted Brett Pesce taking an obstruction penalty.
Dougie Hamilton
What continues to stand out about Hamilton is is comfort, calm and confidence with the puck on his stick and also the quick release and arrival of his shot. The more I watch him shoot the puck, the more his 17 goals from 2017-18 looks about right versus just being a weird shooting percentage anomaly. The downside to his game if there is one is his propensity to wander a bit. Jaccob Slavin a couple times had to quickly cover behind Hamilton who had wandered a bit and then was suddenly out of position when the puck transitioned. Hamilton was even in terms of offense on Thursday. On the negative side, he cheated up the ice just enough that when the puck was turned over, he could not recover on the first Islanders goal. But then he had the point shot that Staal tipped in to tie it.
Insight into Brind’Amour’s tactical strategies/approaches
At least to start the season, Brind’Amour chose to separate long-time partners Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce. And Pesce started Thursday in what theoretically I would have considered the third defense pairing. But Brind’Amour actually used van Riemsdyk/Pesce as a shutdown type defense pairing that he regularly paired with Staal’s line especially for defensive zone draws. I actually think that Pesce is still missing a bit of the two-stride closing ability that is a strength of his game, but the duo was not touched up in their role on Thursday.
Another thing that stands out is that all six defensemen logged ice time on the penalty kill. If I get time tomorrow, I might see if I can ferret out if that was just Brind’Amour rolling defense pairings through penalty kill time or what was happening there. He also used a few extra forwards on penalty kill with Aho/Teravainen and also Wallmark seeing some penalty kill time.
Who else has comments/viewpoints on Thursday’s game that they they are willing to share?
Next up is a quick turnaround and game #2 in Columbus on Friday night.
Go Canes!
Well. That was unfortunate. It’s easy to think “here we go again”, but this is a new team with a lot of new faces. Hopefully we look back on tonight and it’s just a case of a goalie having a great night. If they continue to play this way the results have to improve.
With that said, there were quite a few disappointments out there. I was hoping to see a re-energized Faulk, certainly didn’t get that. Teravainen had a really bad game. Aho was just ok, and we need more than that from him. And the Dougie usage was obviously… weird. He’s a star on the powerplay. Did he even see any time on it tonight?
Svechnikov needs to play with more talent. I understand the idea of easing him in on the fourth line, but we saw on the power play that the kid makes things happen. He needs to be with better players than Wallmark and Martinook. He and Necas will improve steadily through the course of the season, and it may take some time for this young team to put it together. There are plenty of good things to take from tonight. Just wish we could have found a way to get the W. As tough of a division as we play in, we cannot expect to leave points on the table against rebuilding teams like the Isles and Rangers and make the postseason.
Overall. A strong outing. Hockey is the team sport with the most randomness. Last night it both hurt and helped the Canes (as Matt mentioned, Mrazek had teammates in the right place twice when the puck got past him headed for the net). The Canes were the better team–Greiss had the night of his career. For me the takeaway is that while the Canes did “miss” some excellent chances, they also created shots from high danger places on the ice. The shot totals were not just inflated by perimeter shots. Look who took the shots (Staal 7, Williams 5, Aho 4, McGinn/Svechnikov/Zykov 3). Those are all players who were taking shots in the middle of the ice.
As far as D pairings, I wonder if we don’t see Pesce/Slavin tonight and most road games. Slavin and Hamilton were not only on the ice for the regulation goal-against, but partially responsible. Slavin’s pass was not great and Hamilton was out of position against the shooter. Similar things happened in preseason. Hamilton is a force, but Calgary fans have often repeated that he relies on his partner in defensive situations. I agree with bw that Hamilton should see more power play time. Not sure why Slavin is the D-man on the second unit. (Matt, I think your conspiracy theory in the other post is at least partially correct.)
I find it hard to be critical of any of the forwards. Aho looked like a 1C. Staal was at his best. Teravainen was fine–I didn’t see the poor play that bw saw. Svechnikov is going to score soon and often. Necas had some nice moments, but I would still be in favor of him playing some in Charlotte because if he can learn how to dominate a game, then he will be special sooner. Foegele is sometimes overly aggressive, but that will benefit the team more often than not.
Coaching: I loved that RBA pulled the goalie early–I would have said that even if it hadn’t paid off. That being said, I wondered why Ferland was out for the last shift. He has never been considered strong defensively. Once the game was tied, I think it would have made sense to use Foegele/Staal/Williams and McGinn/Aho/Teravainen. Though I will admit that thought came to me after the penalty was called. TAZ needs to be reunited. Zykov actually played serviceable hockey in the neutral and defensive zone; he adds so much to what Aho and TT do.
I expect more of the same tonight, except at least 3 goals even against Bobrovsky.
Ferland impressed me with his tenacity. Its possible RBA has him there because of his physically to protect Aho and TT. I agree that I would prefer to see TAZ. Z is so dominate in front of the net.
1. If Staal could shoot he’d be a 1C in the league. He drove offense last night.
2. Faulk needs to go. now. Brindy had better pull his awful shot off the PP tonight. It had better be Hamilton up there.
3. Not overly impressed with McGinn, Z, or Wallmark last night.
4. Svech needs more ice time. Put him with Staal and Foegele
5. We need a center for this squad, badly. I have an odd feeling we are rushing Necas.
6. What is Brindy doing on the PP? His personnel choices don’t make sense.
7. The D zone is concerning. A lot of reactions and recovery.
8. We weren’t more physical than the Islanders.
9. As much as we hustled in the game, we only kept up with one of the worst squads in the league. Not good.
10. Can we not shoot the pucks into pads? Greiss wasn’t that impressive last night. We just put the puck were he already was.
Staal can’t shoot and still on many teams he would be a number #1 center – including the Canes. It really speaks volumes to what a workhorse he is. I do miss Eric Staal alot even the 40 point version played the same style and created havoc for other teams.
Overall a positive outing for the Canes. They dominated positional play, but like last season a few breakdowns led to grade A chances. The Islanders are a different team than last season. They were pretty much a freewheeling team that led to Tavares’ strengths, but last night they were rock solid defensively. They made it difficult for the Canes and yes, Greiss made it look easy, but that’s a sign of a good goaltender.
Has anyone else noticed that the best line on the ice every game seems to be the line with Foegele? He creates so much room with his speed and aggressiveness. Even when he loses a battle on the boards his reach and quickness allowed him to re-engage more than once and win the battle the second time. He’s the real deal even if he doesn’t score 30 goals. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Foegele moved around to invigorate lines that are struggling this season.
Which brings me to the Aho line. Aho brought his game last night, but had little help. Teravainen was terrible. Soft as a daisy and throwing the puck away. The reason Ferland was on the ice at the end of the game was that they had to get Teravainen off. He’s had games like this before and bounced back, but damn. That was awful. Ferland showed little chemistry with Aho and TT. He isn’t as fast as Foegele, so he wasn’t able to do much on the rush with the Fins. Not a fan of him up there. Rather see Zykov or Foegele back with these two.
Speaking of Zykov, I thought he was a pretty invisible last night. It didn’t help that his centerman goes 100% all the time and he can’t keep up with him. Necas’ shifts were fast. Fast into the zone, and fast out of the zone. Kid is talented, but just doesn’t get the NHL mentally yet. He didn’t kill them last night, so that is good. Back to Zykov, I expect he gets scratched for PDG tonight.
On the D pairings I do think I saw Pesce and Slavin back together at the end of the game for D. I like them together as well, but both Hamilton and Faulk need a lefty D to cover their behinds. Faulk in particular still makes plenty of bonehead plays. If he doesn’t find his shot he will again be a large liability.
If they scratch an offensive threat like Zykov for PDG. Who couldn’t score a goal if you left the goalie on the bench is nuts!!!!
Seeing that Zykov only was on the ice a couple times in the third suggests it. Add it the fact that Svechnikov is moving up to the third line….I’m betting on it.
The result was upsetting but the effort and style of play was not. If the trip on JW had been called at the end, we score in regulation and everyone’s happy.
I thought the Staal line was fantastic all night but each line had it’s moments and could have scored. Martinook looked good. Need to see more Dougie on the PP. It’s obvious now how young we are and how many mistakes we’ll make. Barzal is the real-deal. Wonder whether Fleury plays tonight.
It’s one game. If we play like this all season, good things will happen. And it’ll be fun to watch.
A lot to like but also some puzzling coaching decisions.
Would still like to see Zykov-Aho-Teravainen and Ferland-Necas-Svechnikov. Why not give the TAZ line a chance when it was great last year?
For all their inexperience, Necas is the best playmaker and Svechnikov has the best shot on the team. Each will be better with the other. Necas becomes much more valuable with a sniper on the wing and McGinn is anything but. Necas and Svechnikov will make mistakes but they’ll do what the Canes need most -score. And they’ll learn to cut down on mistakes. Hiding Svechnikov is the worst thing the Canes could do.
For the same reason, lack of scoring, Hamilton must get PP time.
God forbid that the Canes spend another year acting like scoring is not a desperate priority for this team.
Vets made the killer mistakes last night, starting with Slavin’s failure to clear the puck on the first goal, followed by Ferland’s penalty that led to the second. Faulk is a huge concern.
Brind’Amour *glances at boxscore – Hamilton 18 mins, Faulk 23 mins* starts sweating. Hamilton no pp minutes – starts sweating profusely**
Brind’Amour in the press conference “I made a ton of mistakes tonight too”.
Lol but all in all a typical Canes game from the past couple years outplay the opponent lose by 1 goal. It’s more exciting to lose this year because every game we get to continue to witness the development of Foegele, Necas and Svech.
Fun game to watch, frustrating results and a bit of a deja vu feeling.
I agree, put Svech and Necas together on a line and give them a vet winger. The Canes are not in it to win it this season, the moves over the summer were not ‘win now’, but they are in ‘become a regular contender’ team in which case the players of the future should get ice time together to form chemistry.
Apparently Hanafin was Calgarys best player in their opening )but they still lost to the Canucks=.
´Hopefully the team hasn´t given up on prying Nylander from the Leafs. The season is underway and he is still hanging out in Sweden holding out for a contract. Give the kid some money, give the Leafs Faulk and whatever else they want, other than our top 3 prospects and go with it.
I hope we’ll see our brand new goalie play tonight.
Positives:
* Jordan Staal – Monster game but to re-state both the comments from last night’s game and every game of his Canes career, if only he had hands…..But really, one of the best games I’ve seen him play for Carolina. He is a joy to watch for someone who is brilliant at positioning his body to separate the player from the puck along the boards. Just a master at that phase of the game.
* Micheal Ferlund – Pretty solid game. Yeah, the penalty sucks (and it was a penalty) but he played well and brings an element that’s been lacking for a while.
* Foegele, Sveckeiviofiff, Zykov – Much better first games than I expected. Not great, but a positive.
Not so Positive:
* Necas – Well….give him some time. I thought he’d start in Charlotte anyway and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up there for a while to get acclimated. Just one game. We’ll see…..
* Teuvo – Well, he should have plenty of energy for tonight’s game.
Overall a positive. Great, great crowd – that was awesome to see and hope it keeps building. A much, much more enjoyable style of play. Tough test tonight with a good Columbus squad.
The game could easily have been 3-0 in the third, given the pucks that ended up past Mrazek but were covered or slapped away before they slid ever so slowly across the goal line.
Would we be praising the play of the Canes if it was a 3-0 loss rather than 1 2-1 OTL???
Well, if the 3 canes shots that rang off the post/crossbar had gone in, the score could have been 4 1 for the good guys, and we’d think the game was a spectacular success.
I agree, there is a huge element of random luck, good or bad, to the outcome of individual games, and we can’t judge the squad or individual players based on the outcome of one game, not unless they totally dominate or totally suck.
This game was as I expected, effort, flashes of future awesomeness – even a few flashes of current awesomeness – but ultimately the Canes lost to one of the teams scheduled to be a bottom dweller in the NHL, so not good enough for win now.
I am on record as saying the canes should have done much more to address the situation at forward if TD is serious about playoffs this year, but whatever the reason it didn’t happen.
The lack of depth / experience at center will ultimately kill the canes playoff hopes this season.
It’s “deja vu all over again” (thanks Yogi) in terms of results. The style of play is refreshing though.
Hockey does have a great amount of luck associated with it. The reason we play a best-of-seven series in the playoffs is because it often takes 7 games for the better team to win 4. It’s just the way it is. That said, we would win at least 4 of 7 with both teams playing like they did last night.
I was impressed with the speed of the Islanders. Up front they looked a bit like the canes, fast and raw. It was fun to watch.
I love Rod Brind’Amour, and he’ll get better at managing the bench. He did indeed make plenty of mistakes last night, as he admitted and as people have documented above. He will get better fast, he doesn’t accept less than stellar performance.
While disappointed – as usual when Tim Peel is in stripes – it was all-in-all a positive performance.
We totally outplayed them, rang the post 3 times. Its absolutely amazing we did not win that game. Sometimes the results do not match the effort. If we continue to play like that there is no way we should not have more wins then losses.
Some of my observations during the game was Ferland was totally focused and physical. I did not realize how ferocious he was. He may not have scored, but wow was he dialed in. With the additions we are not easy to play against any more.
Foegele continues to be all out energy. I was not real comfortable with Mrazek either. He was lucky some of those mistakes did not go in. I felt he was fighting it a fair amount.
RBA is probably still feeling out the special teams. I liked Faulk and Hamilton, even though it was two defensive guys on the PP. I wish he would go back to that.
It was a very entertaining game, just hated the result and how Greiss was able to stop so many. There was very high quality shots in there, not the just the easy ones.
I did not leave thinking it was the same old canes.
I’m with you about Mrazek. In my uneducated opinion he seems to be moving all the time. Rarely seems to be set.