Thanks to everyone who came out to Bond Brothers to watch the Canes game on Thursday night. It is always a pleasure to meet other passionate Canes fans in person and also to watch Canes hockey in good company.
Unfortunately, the results of the game were not as positive. The Hurricanes entered with an impressive five-game point streak but saw it left in Brooklyn after suffering a 6-4 defeat. The game mostly followed the path of wild Hurricanes/Islanders match ups from last season. After falling behind 3-1 in the first period, the Hurricanes surged back with three unanswered goals in the second period. But then Islanders returned the favor in the third period to climb to a 6-4 win.
At the most basic level, the Hurricanes had a tough night in terms of having too many breakdowns and also netminding on a night when the offense was good enough to win.
Notes from the Carolina Hurricanes 6-4 loss to the New York Islanders
1) Early defensive breakdowns were costly
The Islanders jumped out to a two-goal lead early due in large part to a couple of errors by the Hurricanes defensemen. First, Trevor van Riemsdyk pinched too far up the wall at a time when the Isles had possession of the puck. A quick chip pass sent two Islanders players off to the races for a 2-on-1. Noah Hanifin did his primary job to take away the cross ice pass but was not able to close on the shooter who beat Scott Darling. Shortly thereafter, the Hurricanes power play surrendered another prime scoring chance against and a goal. On the opening face-off of the power play, Jaccob Slavin slid too far to the wall anticipating a chance to keep the puck in. A quick pass to the middle of the ice was just too easy in springing Cal Clutterbuck who rushed up the ice alone for a breakaway scoring chance. He too beat Darling off the rush. The final breakdown featured the Hurricanes penalty kill running around mostly chasing the puck without identifying players to defend or passing lanes to take away. The result was a quick succession of passes that found the Hurricanes chasing and ultimately a tap in goal for the Islanders.
Important to note is that the defense including the blue line has generally been solid of late, so with a rebound on Saturday, it would be fair to write Thursday off as an off night.
2) Scott Darling had very few answers
No doubt, the players in front of him did not offer the type of first period that could help him ease into the game, but Scott Darling had very little for answers on Thursday. Both of the first two goals featured defensive breakdowns that put Darling in a bad spot. Against middle/bottom of the roster forwards, I think Darling could have made things tougher by challenging a bit and forcing the player to shoot before ready and also be bigger and take away more net. Instead, on both plays, Darling seemed to just wait, allow the shooter to dictate and then ultimately get beaten. Then the first period scoring concluded when Darling just flat out missed on a shot he saw, actually gloved but then saw the shot deflect off the leather and into the net.
After the second period concluded with the Hurricanes storming back for three goals and a lead, I commented that it was nice to score and give the goalie some breathing room and margin for error. But when the Isles stormed back in the third period, the margin for error and more was erased. The game-winner saw Darling get beat cleanly from the top of the face-off circle from a bit of an angle. The replay makes it hard to tell to what degree Darling was screened, but nonetheless he was beaten from out to post the Islanders to a 5-4 lead before an empty-netter made for a 6-4 final.
As with the blue line, the netminding including Darling’s has generally been a strength recently. Thursday was below ‘meh’ in my estimation but not something that completely erases what has generally been a positive of late.
3) The power play
The shorthanded goal against maybe negates it, but it is worth noting that the power play scored for the second consecutive game. The common factor in both goals has been Elias Lindholm parked directly in front of the opposing goalie. “Parked” is the key word. He did not sort of float by. He did not start in front of the goalie but hop to the side looking for a tip. He parked right in front of the goalie such that Greiss lost his view of the puck, and it ended up behind him and in the net. He did tip the goal and get credit for it, but it was not because he was taking the easy way out by standing off the to side of the shot.
In total for the game, the goal scored was wiped away by the one that came from Slavin’s miscue. But in terms of looking forward, scoring in consecutive games is progress, and Lindholm (and others at times) parking directly in front of the goalie has the potential to yield gains going forward.
4) Jordan Staal
Jordan Staal continues to play his best hockey as a Hurricane, especially on the offensive side of the puck. Aho’s goal was a play of beauty. Despite having the outside track to a puck on the boards, Staal quickly put a shoulder into the Isles player, separated him from the puck and quickly turned away and made a nifty short pass to Teravainen who found Aho on the back door. Possibly lost in the wild 10-goal affair is the fact that Staal continues to play incredibly well in all three zones. He spent a decent chunk of time trying to slow John Tavares who did not get on the score sheet, and he made some plays offensively too.
5) Couple-game context
Any game that does not yield points in the standings is unproductive in terms of chasing a playoff berth. But over the course of a long 82-game NHL season, viewing games as part of chunks can be significant. The disappointing overtime loss to the Blackhawks was somewhat made right when the Hurricanes beat the Stars on Monday to convert it into a lesser part of a five-game point streak. Similarly, with a back-to-back set on Saturday and Sunday to wrap up three games in four nights, a quick bounce back can again make things right. Best guess is that Peters goes back to Ward for the first half of the back-to-back just like he did last weekend. Here is hoping the results are similar.
Next up is another road game against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
Go Canes!
The 1st goal, Williams or TVR missed communication. Both pinched in to attack the puck. One should have said something to the other. Ultimately TVR will get the blame.
The 2nd goal was on the high side forward as well. Slavin was cheating. The other forward playing the point (didn’t see who it was) was way too deep. we had 4 forwards within 15 feet of the puck and then Slavin cheating over.
Portions of this game were the opposite of the Dallas game. Against the Stars, with a lead we drove possession and kept scoring goals. We rolled four lines.
Against the Isles, we stopped playing offense in the 3rd period. We came out like it was a race to 4 and we already won the race, just flicking the puck into the o-zone and going off for a change (a “turnover”). However, if you give an NHL team a full 20 minutes of offensive zone time and don’t require them to play defense, they are going to score. I was surprised it took 11 minutes.
The playing time was also unbalanced, increasing difficulty because we spent so much time in our own end. Bad strategy, bad outcome.
Yes, there were certainly defensive breakdowns (and not just from the defensemen, the forwards need to take some of the blame), but this is when you need your starting goalie to bail you out. At least some of the time. But that didn’t happen. Darling was stoned on both breakaways (whereas Greiss made the save on our breakaway attempt), and then he let in an inexcusable ‘oops’ goal with the awkward tip off his glove, then into the net. For our team, where a four goal game thus far has been rare, weak goaltending just can’t happen. Even the third period go ahead goal was certainly stoppable. I also give some blame to Peters, for allowing the third period play to continue, without appearing to do anything about it. It was obvious the team sat back, just hoping the time would run out, by playing a very dangerous dump and line change style. At least call a timeout and get the team to refocus. At least DO SOMETHING. But no. He just stood there with his little notebook and watched a very winnable game slip away.
This is the same old story….. Time to go BP.
We need a change, a shakeup on the bench!
Do something RF… Before its too late
This team has the talent, they just lack good direction, sit back too much, not aggressive enough when it counts.. (That’s with a 1 goal lead in the third Bill) in case your’re wondering bud.
Justin Williams had a rough night. Darling should have been pulled after 1st period. (just din’t have it) Rask was in slow motion and should be benched. I would not change coaches. Unfortunately this happens with young teams. That said we are still one true scorer away from playoffs.
Totally agree on Darling. One true scorer is the reason I think we should consider trading Rask or Faulk. I doubt much will happen.
I hope you guys had fun yesterday. I certainly want to join a Caniac gathering one of those days but was unable to this time.
The Dallas game was fun to watch, felt like a game we didn’t deserve to win but found a way to do so anyway.
Yesterday’s game was pretty much the opposite (except we didn’t clearly deserve to win, but in my biased opinion we did a little bit).
I continue to be blindsided by our coaching decisions.
1. We had an opening in the lineup, why not bring one of the two difference makers from Charlotte, one of them is even a center. PDG did not do much for us last year and while I am all for seeing him turn it around, he as not impressed with the Checkers either, so why bring him up?
2. Why not pull Darling after a horrendous first period. He’s been ok for us and everybody has the off nightsometimes, but don’t let it turn into a loss on the scoresheet, BP has to have the courage to pull a goalie when he is having a bad night.
3. Despite scoring, I am not happy with the powerplay (well, who is) and it didn’t work out to our benefit, we lost the special teams battle, and when you do that you usually lose the game too. I am not sure about the 4 forwards set up, why not get our defensemen more involved?
If we win the next two games we can toss this one up to bad luck or an off night, but we have to win the next two.
And, regardless, we need to hold players lke Rask accountable, and give the Checkers forwards a chance to prove themselves, don’t bring up the same people as last year regardless of how they are playing. We keep hearing the “you got to earn your playing time” mantra, but we hardly ever see it in action.
I agree with all points. I think who gets pulled up is probably RF’s decision. BP probably has some say. Where was Wallmark or Zykov?
Agree, that there have been some wierd decisions or non-decisions by the coach, but I am not ready to send him packing. I’m still looking at what he came into and what he has built since then. I would have pulled Darling, but I can also see keeping him in there to let him build the confidence of working through things. If he is the starter, he needs to be the starter and know he can get past things. (of course, I still would have benched him because I’m not that smart :O)
Couple quick comments…
I am willing to evaluate Bill Peters’ moves on an individual basis and do not always agree with them, but I am not even close to ready to make a coaching change. My big gripe with the coaching is that Francis did not use the offseason to add 1 more experienced coach to the staff, ideally with head coaching experience. The cost is relatively low and teams are expanding staffs because of the low cost and fact that it is a way to improve that does not count against the salary cap. “Special consultant” or similar could be a good way to add a sounding board for Peters during the inevitable ups and downs of a long season and could also provide another viewpoint for things like the power play.
As a few others mentioned, I would have pulled Darling after the 1st period. He just did not seem to have it. That said, I think the message being sent right now as Darling settles in is that the team is hitched to him as its #1 goalie through thick and thin. I think that is important right now as he bounces through some ups and downs transitioning to a new team and bigger role. My back of the envelope assessment of Darling thus far is that he has been ‘good enough’ though I do acknowledge some inconsistency and also think he has a higher gear if he can settle in and find comfort and a rhythm.
I think probably due to justified paranoia and recent history of doom, the reaction right now by the fan base to individual games is too high. Completely crappy outings on occasion are every bit the nature of the beast for even good NHL teams. As breezy said, what happens next becomes more important. If the Canes go 2-0 or even 1-0-1 in the weekend set, then the trajectory continues upward despite the blip on Thursday.
Last nights game was a downer after thinking we might be putting it together. Good goalies are difference makers and Darling is just not at the level he needs to be. Several of those goals last night were stoppable. There are other teams leaving their goalies out to dry as well, mistakes happen, but the goalies save the day. Darling is not doing that. He seems to be up and down. He had played several pretty good games in a row, then last night. I guess lets hope this was an abortion but last night he was the reason we lost. He has to be better then that. .905 save percentage is not lighting the world on fire and is at the lower end.
I am not ready for a coaching change yet but I do believe everybody should be held accountable, coaches and players. Rod is the one where he needs to be re-assigned or get some help. The PP has been horrible. At least we got one last night.
I very much like the net front Lindholm is doing. It is becoming a habit, which is great. SAT line, great. There are a lot of positives but better goal tending would make the difference when we do mess up. Right now, I am looking forward to see Cam in net.
aberration, thanks spell check.
The team also needs a find a way to spend their dudd game allowance on non-divisional opponents (preferably from the westernconference), having a lackluster game against anybody in the Metro division is a clear 4-pointer, and with the metro being the best division we can’t let that happen very much.
At least we chose good games to undder perform (in Col and Ari) for our last skid.
Our powerplay needs a coaching change, whether it is re-assigning Rod or bringing in a consultant or something (and if me saing that causes us to score 4 powerplay goals in the next two games I gladly take it).
I wish BP had a little more fire (he is a water person and, as we all know, he trusts Conetico to get the job done, but we need to trust him to get the job done, I did for the most part until this season but the volume of WTF decisions, from my comfortable couch or P&C Arena stands viewpoint, is beginning to affect that).
Darling has not been good enough. I’ve been really pulling for him and still think he can be the #1 we need, but he has been far too inconsistent for far and is starting to put up a red flag to me. Too many games in which he hasn’t been able to make a save when we need it. He did not look good last night. The defense in front of him was not good enough either. As you said, both the D and Darling’s play of late have been strengths, so hopefully this is just a bad night. But that .905 save percentage does not look good, and this D, especially in Peters’ defensive-minded system, is too talented to be giving up 4-5 goals every week. The team as a whole has got to find some consistency. Its one step forward, two steps back. Three steps forward, two back. Closing out games is getting to be absolutely ridiculous. It’s pathetic how many points this team has left on the table. And these Metro division games that we keep blowing are what is going to keep us out of the playoffs for the ninth consecutive year if this garbage continues. Very frustrating night. We HAVE to win both in Buffalo and back home against these guys on Sunday.
I hope that didn’t sound too overreact-y following what had been a pretty good stretch, but every time this team loses a winnable game like this, blowing a third period lead, it just makes me want to scream. You’re a professional hockey team that’s supposed strength is on defense. The Islanders aren’t even some fantastic, big bad powerhouse. I don’t really even think they’re what you would call “good”. You’ve got to figure out a way to close the deal and win these kind of games against teams you’ll probably be competing with for a spot in April. If Peters cannot fix this problem he shouldn’t continue to be the head coach. Just my opinion.
Oh and one last thing – Victor Rask has been terrible. I’ve been rough on Ryan and still think he needs to be upgraded even though his play has definitely picked up slightly recently, but Rask continues to look absolutely lost out there and like he’s gripping his stick too tightly. He needs to be the one swapped for Wallmark. Between Lindholm and Skinner I think there’s a chance Wallmark’s playmaking style can elevate those two guys. Skinner being the finisher, Lindholm being the do-it-all guy who wins puck battles and gets to the net. That line could combine to do some very good things. Rask continues to just lose control of the puck for no reason. Happened again a couple times last night. He’s ruining opportunities for his talented linemates. We need a mix-up at center, badly. Glad to see the TSA line continue to dominate, but one line is not enough.
Another option for that line would be to sit Rask for a few games, move Lindholm to center and bring up Zykov. Either way, Rask needs to sit for a few games.
As someone who is on the other side of the spectrum from you, bwstanley, I totally understand your frustration. Our whole team has been maddeningly inconsistent all year, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve screamed at my TV about it. That said, the key here (in my humble opinion) is to do the tinkering necessary to ensure that our long-term rebuild keeps it’s momentum, and avoid dropping an atomic bomb, just because we’re desperate to make the playoffs again.
All that said, I do agree, if the team can’t find consistency, Bill Peters will be the first on the chopping block. As for Darling, I will preface by saying I am biased in his favor, but the fact is our team goaltending is actually better than last year. I don’t think Darling has gotten fully comfortable in his role as starter, but Cam Ward has clearly gotten comfortable in his role as backup, and I think that puts us forward of where we have been. I’m still withholding Darling judgment until a half-season played minimum, as I’ve been told there is a significant adjustment to be made between being a backup and being a starting goalie