I think an important starting point for anyone who was unable to watch the game and also anyone whose vision is a bit blurred by frustration is to say that Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins had absolutely nothing negative in terms of heart, work ethic, desire or any other kind of intangibles. The Hurricanes played desperate hockey for pretty much the entire 60 minutes and should be commended for that.
But yet the Hurricanes lost their fifth straight game which begs the question of how that is possible. There was an element of great opposing goaltending, but as has often been the case, I think there is also an element of the Hurricanes just lacking the ability to finish and also sometimes just not enough ugly goals from scoring in/near the crease. And there was also the element so common from good teams of having great players make enough great plays to win a game even if the overall effort was not great. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin logged as much time sitting in the penalty box as they did playing the dominant hockey that they are capable of. But each also found the puck on his stick with a chance to score and did. And Penguins goalie Matt Murray was probably the best player in the game.
Recap of the Hurricanes 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins
The Hurricanes actually started a little bit slow with the Penguins collecting the first few shots on goal and then the first goal. The play featured a soft defensive effort on a couple fronts. First, Teuvo Teravainen arrived at the puck in the defensive zone but the Pens’ player tipped it back. Then Noah Hanifin was in reasonably decent position to defend the puck carrier but as is too often the case with Hanifin, he just seemed to have no idea what passing lane he should be defending. Despite being next to the puck carrier, he left him a clean lane straight to the front of the net. There he found Scott Wilson right in front of the net. Again, Matt Tennyson was in decent position but did nothing to tie up a stick, bang Wilson or get into the passing lane such that Wilson could and did make a play.
From there, the Hurricanes were actually pretty dominant throughout the rest of the first period and the game even. The Canes got back to 1-1 when Jeff Skinner finished from between the circles on the power play after a strong effort by multiple players playing hungry hockey to keep the puck in the offensive zone. The series of small plays to keep playing offense ended with Phil Di Giuseppe diving to bat a puck toward the front of the net where Lee Stempniak retrieved it and fed Skinner for the goal. The period ended at 1-1 with the Hurricanes widely outshooting the Pens.
The second period was more of the same, but again saw the Penguins score anyway. After a borderline penalty on Viktor Stalberg while on the penalty kill gave Pittsburgh a 5-on-3 Crosby made the Canes play when a Phil Kessel shot got through to the front of the net where Crosby scored a nifty tip goal. The Hurricanes again drove play through much of the period and absolutely dominated for multiple stretches and finished it with a 10-6 shots on goal advantage but still exited the period down 2-1.
The Hurricanes continued to push in the third period, but it became fairly apparent that it was just not to be when Evgeni Malkin scored at the midway point of the period. In many ways the game seemed unfair for an increasingly exasperated Caniac Nation.
‘What I’m watching’ follow up
If you missed my rant in the game preview, you can find it HERE.
1) A spark, some leadership, an agitated demeanor, something, anything
Again, the results did not follow, but pretty much to a man, I was impressed with the Hurricanes response on Tuesday night. Skinner was buzzing early and 1 of the more noticeable Canes players, but team in total just played the right kind of hungry pretty much all night.
2) The defense
The team did such a job of tilting the ice into the offensive zone that they actually were not under as much duress as 1 would expect against the high-powered Pens. The first goal featured 1 of those plays where the defense just was not good enough when 3 small ‘oopses’ piled up to make a goal against. The Malkin goal was also tough. Rask actually won the face-off back, but Hainsey just did not jump to the puck. Then Rask was beaten to the front of the net by Malkin and just like that the Pens had a 2-goal lead. But in total the game was not horrid defensively.
3) Phil Di Giuseppe
His diving keep of the puck earned him a second assist on the Skinner goal. To be clear, I do not think Di Giuseppe is likely the answer for a top 6 scoring catalyst, but I like conceptually what he bring as a secondary forward if he can put it all together. He has enough speed and skating ability to keep up. Along the way in his development, he has molded his game to be more that of a rugged power forward who can be difficult to play against. And he has shown some scoring ability at the AHL level and even in the NHL last season. I think he is worth watching as a player who could be an inexpensive depth forward who could bring a bit of a different element to the lineup.
4) Aho/Rask
The duo was not bad but also did not generate the magical ‘wow’ that I was optimistically hoping for. I think the challenge with this combination could be Rask’s ability to match pace and be up to attack off the rush. Even though there was no ‘wow’, I hope Peters gives this duo a little bit of time to see if they can figure it out.
Other notes
Viktor Stalberg: I liked his game. He was noticeably physical and aggressive all night. The penalty that led pretty directly to the Pens’ 5-on-3 goal was unfortunate but also a borderline call.
The it factor: The thing that jumps out to me in games like this is how good teams have an uncanny knack for hanging around and then making a handful of great plays to win games even when they have off nights. It is a stark contrast for the Hurricanes who too regularly seem to fall into stretches where they play well enough to win but seem unable to push over the top and into the win column.
Next up for the Hurricanes is a Friday match up against Ottawa as the trade deadline pushes closer.
Go Canes!
Trade Rask now, he is soft and shows up every 25 games, he will NEVER BE A 1st or 2nd line center, has not showed up in past 25 games. Get pushed off pick every shit every play.
Trade Faulk, Rask, Ryan Murphy, Derek Ryan, Brock McGinn, Phil D., a 2nd round pick and 3rd round pick for Matt Duchene and Landesgog.
Get these AHLers out of here and people who can score or at least be playmakers!!!!
If you can get Sakic to take that list of garbage for both of his players, I’d support your elevation to GM, fire Francis and remove his number from the rafters. But since that is not going to happen…
If we are going to play fantasy hockey here, lets think big and send this year’s first round pick and both of last years first round picks to Winnipeg for Laine.
I understand the frustration. Rask can be an average 2C if he can get past whatever his issue is right now. If the team is built properly down the middle, he would be a really good 3C (looking for Duchene at 1C). Right now the Canes are not drafting high enough to get a 1C and there is nobody in the system that projects to be a 1C. Even if Roy did project that high, he is several years away from being able to slot in to that position.
Ryan, McGinn and PDG would slot as 4th liners at best on most playoff bound teams. Murphy has gotten to the point that he should just be waived if there is not trade partner for him.
The Canes outplayed the Penguins as far as effort and control of the puck is concerned. The goaltending was not a negative factor as Ward made several “great” saves early on in the game and generally was steady throughout. We just aren’t going to win many games where we score one goal or less and that was the case here.
I understand the frustration expressed above and we all know I am the worst when it comes to going through the post loss doldrums. But I do not believe we are that far from moving up the ladder. There is a small difference between the different tiers of teams in the league. Teams like Pittsburgh, Washington, Minnesota, etc. are in the top tier. Teams like Columbus, New York Rangers, etc. are in the second tier, but are very close to the top tier teams. Teams like Boston, Ottawa, Carolina, etc. fall a tier or two below the others. The fortunes of any of these teams can generally change with the addition of one or two key players and the melding of players of complimentary skills to make a better “TEAM”.
Keeping this in mind, IMO we hold onto DiG as he looks to me to be an, at least, a serviceable 3rd or 4th line forward with some scoring potential and plenty of Hartnell type play in him. Hold on to Rask for now. My gut feeling is he is playing with an injury or the carryover effects of an old injury. There is no need trading him now when his value is at its low ebb. Hold on to him and let’s see what he brings to camp next year. McGinn. Let’s hold onto him for now with the proviso that the coaches do some coaching and get him to play down low in the vicinity of the front of the net and see if he can’t stuff a few pucks in the net. Ryan has outstanding faceoff skills, but seems to be suffering from the lack of size keeping him from playing in the scoring areas. He’s playing around the perimeters and no player in the league does much scoring from there. Murphy. IF he is not a defenseman, can he play a wing? He has great speed and puck carrying skills. If we are not going to play him, let’s trade him for “his” sake.
My view has changed. Let’s try to get a Duchene and/or Landeskog type player(s). I think a lot of all of our players because beyond the wins and losses they have put in the effort on a game by game basis. There is no one on our squad who is untouchable to do so IMO other than Slavin, Jordan (it better be a damn good player or players), Skinner and Aho. I say this referring to who I would make available to get comparable or better talent back.
Well it was fun while it lasted….the 1st day of the next 8 months speculating how to acquire a winning/playoff hockey. Getting to be a familiar routine had about 9 years of practice now.
The state of the Canes was on display last night. They played just about as good a game as they can and still came up short. Our lack of finishing ability hurts us on a nightly basis. That means we have to play perfectly on D to have a chance and that’s a lot to ask with all the youth we have there. Still, progress has been made this year and the hope is that RF can use his stockpile of futures and deep D core to pull some offensively stronger players into the fold. I agree that if we can add 2 top 6 forwards and goaltending, we have the makings of a perennial playoff team. Still a lot of work for management to do to get there, but I’m finally encouraged that we’re finally on a better path.
Well said. I don’t see any alternative.
Yup i wouldn’t expect it to change soon while Karmonas is still the owner. I’ve watched enough press conferences to know that he has no intentions of coming anywhere close to the cap. RF hands are tied. I hope I’m wrong but it seems like every year we say the same thing. If we only had two more tope 6 forwards and a goalie. Although I would say that goaltending has not been the issue this year. Let face it. Cam has kept us in a lot of games this year we just can’t score.
Here we are once more, lamenting how close Canes came to the playoffs. But on the bright side, they saved $15M in salary cap!
The Canes have been as good or better than the Stanley Cup champs twice this year. Yes, they lack “finishing power,” but as Matt mentioned in an earlier post, it is next season when the rebuilding is over and playoffs should be expected. In fact, one of the analytic sites had the Hurricanes as the best positioned team based on youth on the current roster, draft picks in the past two drafts, and upcoming picks. So the future is bright. I want to take last night as evidence that the current team can hang with the best in the league. That doesn’t deny that they need to “learn” how to win close games. Part of that as the OP said is having stars who “find a way.” Maybe Skinner steps up another level, maybe Aho can be a true difference-maker in 17-18 and beyond. Or maybe, a big trade is what is needed.
I for one am still confident that all the years out of the playoffs will be quickly forgotten when the Canes are at the level of Pittsburgh/Washington for 5 years or more starting next season. Patience is tough, but I think the current management (not necessarily ownership) is making many more positive moves then negative ones. It is easy to point out who (Rask, Ryan) is not playing great. But remember how the team performed during its good month. I think consistency is a year away. Keep the faith.
I want some of what you’re smoking! RF won’t /can’t spend what it takes to raise the talent level…sufficiently enough to make a real difference! Doesn’t really matter which, the results is NOT QUITE GOOD…OR WORSE!!!
None of the guys we will trade will bring much more than mid-round draft picks.