After many a game in which the Hurricanes lost but arguably deserved better, Thursday night against the Rangers had many elements of the opposite. Until a massive surge in the third period, the Hurricane were widely out-shot and at times outplayed. The Hurricanes took 6 minor penalties and lost the special teams battle in uncharacteristically giving up 3 power play goals against. But the Hurricanes got opportunistic scoring early even when they were not generating much offensively, and then Sebastian Aho lifted the team up late in a third period that was much better than the first 2.
Recap of Hurricanes 4-3 win over the New York Rangers
Thursday night’s game started okay but seemed to drift the wrong way almost instantly when Derek Ryan took a double minor penalty for high-sticking and then Elias Lindholm added a tripping penalty shortly thereafter to give the New York Rangers a full 2 minutes of 5-on-3 power play time. After Jaccob Slavin partially blocked a couple shots and the Hurricanes got scrambling around down 2 players, the Rangers finally capitalized from in close to go up 1-0. But a Rangers turnover in their own end found the puck on Victor Rask’s stick at the top of the circles, and he quickly put it on Jeff Skinner’s stick below the circles from where he quickly finished. Next Valentin Zykov, playing in his first NHL game, went to the front of the net, won a battle against Ranger and scored a power forward goal when Sebastian Aho got the puck to the front of the net. After a first period that was mediocre at best and the Hurricanes give up 6 minutes of overlapping power play time, they emerged from the period up 2-1. The secret recipe was opportunistic finishing and an ugly hard-working goal. Many times the Hurricanes have been on the wrong side of this type of period, so I felt no guilt whatsoever seeing our team head to the locker room up a goal.
The second period was more of the same and seemed destined to catch up with the Hurricanes. First, the Rangers scored when Ward seemed to have the puck but spit it out to the side for an easy tap in. Then Jay McClement received a pass between the circles and proceeded to immediately turn it over to Mika Zibanejad who scored his second of the period. In total in the second period, the Canes took 3 more minor penalties, were out-shot 14-4 and allowed 2 more power play goals. At the end of the second period, the Hurricanes were down 3-2, heading in the wrong direction and seemingly headed for a loss.
But the third period was a completely different hockey game. The Hurricanes stayed out of the penalty box and found some rhythm playing 5-on-5 generating both possession time, shots and a couple power plays. When Sebastian Aho ripped a shot from the center of the ice almost at the blue line through a perfect Elias Lindholm screen, the Hurricanes pulled even at 3-3. Shortly thereafter another Lindholm screen saw him find a rebound and start a pretty tic-tac-toe passing play to Staal and then Aho who sniped and finished again. A couple key Cam Ward saves and a post late were enough for the Hurricanes to hold on for a 4-3 win. The Hurricanes picked up 18 of their 30 shots in the game in the final frame and played a much strong period to pull out the win.
‘What I’m watching’ follow up
If you missed the preview and want to catch up, you can find it HERE.
1) Something, anything after Tuesday
The theme at Canes and Coffee on Thursday was fun (Forslund-isms reign) and leadership (some discussion of the captaincy in the Coffee Shop. A few players stepped it up in Thursday’s win, but by far the standout was Sebastian Aho. He picked up an assist getting the puck to the net with traffic early. He had 2 great offensive plays stepping in on the penalty kill for the first and easily could have had a shorthanded goal and assist. And when that did not pay off, he collected the game-tying and game-winning goals in the third period on the power play. If someone parachuted into the Hurricanes situation and was asked which players most looked like leaders in the past few weeks, I think the answer would be Jaccob Slavin and Sebastian Aho. This is not a knock on the current captains but rather a statement of how much these young players are rising up.
2) Valentin Zykov
He had a very good NHL debut. It took only about 1 period to understand his game. He did work on the walls and elsewhere when necessary, but when not doing that in the offensive zone, he went to the crease, battled for space and waited for the puck to show up. His goal came for 4 feet from the goal line, and he had a couple other times where he was parked at the top of the crease waiting for the puck to show up. As I noted in the preview, the challenge for Zykov will not likely be his play in either zone but rather his ability to play the 200 feet of the NHL rink at NHL speed. One telling play early in the second period saw him drive the net as the third player in a rush with Jaccob Slavin and Jordan Staal which is encouraging. Hard to say if it Zykov’s play was contagious or if it was just random, but Lindholm who should theoretically fill a similar role found himself parked in front of the goalie as part of 2 scoring plays in the third period. All in all, Zykov’s debut was a success and should definitely earn him more NHL ice time.
3) Continued progress for the young blue line
The Hurricanes were under duress for parts of the game but did a reasonable job of avoiding the kind of break downs that lead to point blank chances (at least at even strength). With the Rangers only scoring on the power play, Noah Hanifin was plus 2 on a quiet night with 19:54 of ice time.
Murphy had his ups and downs, but he did have a big rush that saw him gain speed, carry through the neutral zone and wheel all the way around the offensive zone net before feeding his partner Klas Dahlbeck for a good chance. He also had a penalty and a play where a Rangers’ forward got behind him. But biggest for me is that Murphy is at least rolling out the strengths of his game. I think that is significant for 2 reasons. First, it is the ONLY path toward him ever making it as a regular NHLer. Second, even if that does not happen in a Hurricanes uniform, at least showing off his upside could boost his trade value for a team hoping that a change of scenery helps him put it all together and realize his upside.
Other notes
Scoring makes all the difference in the world: Cam Ward saw a heavy work load and generally had a decent night. But he also lost a puck he seemed to have and was beaten cleanly on the Zibanejad shot. But when you score 4, a good not perfect night from the goalie is often enough.
Sebastian Aho establishing himself as a big game player: We will likely have to wait until next season to see how he looks in the playoffs, but Aho is establishing himself as the type of player who steps up when the team really needs a win. Aho did so in early January against the Bruins when the team was sputtering and needed a win. He did so again when the Canes limped into the All-Star break, and his hat trick helped them right the ship coming out of the break in a big win against the Flyers. And facing another game that the team needed, he led the way again on Thursday.
Lindholm following the rookie: Lindholm has been playing fairly well in general, but he hit at least a recent high in terms of being a net front presence almost as if he was following the very clear lead that Valentin Zykov established in his first 3-4 shifts at the NHL level.
Next up for the Hurricanes is a home match up against Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs in Raleigh on Saturday night.
Go Canes!
Like you, I’ve been impressed by Murphy’s play since his last call up. While I wouldn’t say he’s playing at the level they expected when he was drafted, at least his recent play is showing his potential. That’s more then he’s shown in quite a while.
Quite accurate analysis. Especially since you didn’t get too carried away with what Zykov brings. Because I will. Sure only one game, but Zykov addressed the exact topic folks on this blog were discussing–physical in-fornt-of-the net play.
Being in New England, I had to watch the Rangers’ broadcast. They were quite upset that Lindholm didn’t get called for GI on the first Aho goal. Needless to say I was thrilled. As you mention, the Canes seemed to take the play of Zykov as an example to follow.
Of course, there have been too many times this season when someone or some outcome has made the Canes look like they were taking the next step only for them to follow it up with a stretch of poor outcomes/play. But as you said, they/we deserved the outcome last night.
I can hardly wait to see what you will be watching for next, because I think there were quite a few positives to build on.
Hey Matt, first and foremost I respect your opinions and analysis of the canes. But its time for an intervention. Murphy’s play has not been in any way shape or form positive, one rush up the ice with a poor shot attempt does not negate the fact the he is a defensive liability. He is a “defensemen” after all. Every single shift I see him get out played, physically dominated, and easily panicked. I have not seen any growth in four years of play at the NHL level which is an even bigger issue when you see the play of Pesce, Slavin, and Hannifin. Lets not forget that we still have two first round pick defensemen waiting in the wings in Fluery and Bean. His play highlights the biggest shortcoming of this team, the lack of a physical presence. If you accept that the end goal of the Hurricanes is to develop and be a playoff contender year after year, then you only need to look at lasts years first round to see that the canes as structured right now wouldn’t stand a chance just based on the physicality alone. All the skill in the world goes out the window during the first round and it becomes a team effort, toughness and survival game. Brown, PDG, Mcginn, Ryan, and Dahlbeck have shown effort and intensity when called up. Zykov parked himself in front of the net and was rewarded tonight with his first nhl goal. I have not seen one game this year where Murphy matched the compete level for even one shift of the other call ups so when you way that he is playing to his strengths I find it hard to stomach. He should be playing to his strengths, he’s had four years of nhl experience to build on and yet night after night a puck jumps his stick, he makes a bad pass that results in a turnover, he gets trapped behind his net and turns the puck over, he get pushed around, shies away from hits. I would be very interested to see how much Dahlbeck’s play improved with a partner that he didn’t have to bail out every shift. I have been impressed with both he and Tennyson as 5 and 6th defensemen. Please move on from Murphy. Its sad and a reflection of the frustration of a fan base when we try and justify why after 4 years we should expect anything different from a player. just because he was a first rounder. Lets focus on the future. Unless we win 18 in a row theres always next year, We have some promising talent coming. Tolchinski, Gauthier, Bean, Fluery to name a few. McGinn and PDG and to a lesser extent Ryan have been impressive to this Caniac. Im excited to see their progression through the rest of the season.
Two months ago I would have agreed with you about Murphy. I disagree now. I saw several lays last night where he made excellent plays with the puck. Regardless of this, here’s how I evaluate him now. He’s playing as a 5th or 6th defenseman with a 5th or 6th partner on defense. He’s making 1 million or less in salary. Can we replace him with anyone better for the role he is playing and at what cost. If the answer is yes, then like any other player at an y other position we should replace him. If the answer is “no”, then we better hold on to him. It’s up to Fluery, Carrick, McKeon, etc. to beat him out, not be awarded his position without doing so.
One other note, next year I’m not looking for McGinn, DiGuiseppe, etc. to use the season to “further their progression.” They have been given their crack at wining a job. Generally, throughout the league how players perform when they are initially given a real crack at the roles they are expected to play, this is the level of play you can expect during their career. McGinn, for example, has been given a good crack at being a third or 4th line banger forward with some scoring upside. This season he has done the banging and scored very little. Based on this performance, this is the performance you can expect from here on out. There will not be any more progression. What you have SEEN is what you will see from here on out. There are very few instances throughout the league where this is not true. Maroon at Edmonton is an example of a player “progressing” up a level as a scorer when his initial years in the league indicated a third line forward who could score “a little.” There are not many like this. In a different scenario where we hadn’t missed the playoffs for several years, taking a chance and giving a player another year to “progress” might be okay, but IMO in our situation we need more than a “hope” player or two.
Just my opinion and I have been known to be wrong at least once or twice, oh well, my friends say usually.
Uhhhhhh and Lindholm was…?
Hey Haunski…I appreciate your disagreement and different opinion on Murphy. I sometimes feel like there should be more of that in the comments. There are some things that are reported facts (stats, examples of specific plays, etc.), but much of what I write is a subjective opinion which can certainly have different valid points of view.
Debating level of play aside, I think what encourages me most about Murphy is he is starting to use his skating and carry the puck. That is the strength that made him a 1st round pick and though it obviously does not guarantee that he will make the jump I think using his potential strengths is a requirement for at least having a chance.
For Haunski and everyone else, if you disagree with my assessment of something, I hope that you will be respectful in how you do it (which Haunski was), but please share it.
In the big scheme of things, Hanifin will fill the role that Murphy was drafted to play. That redundancy of that role makes Murphy excess baggage. The team needs to expose and lose one player to Vegas. If Murph can fill that slot he will have accomplished a lot for the Canes in his time here.
Lots of good discussion with this thread. It is true that in a lot of sports, you often draft on potential and what a player’s ceiling may be and not so much, or as much, as their skill level at that point in time. The expectation factor can be unrealistic and not so much because a certain player is not capable of being an everyday NHL player but rather the expectations exceeded what the player is capable of. If Murphy was a third round draft choice, he wouldn’t be expected to be much better than he is, which at best is a #5-6 dman. He does one thing well which is skate, but to date he has struggled with most of the other fundamental aspects of the game like seeing plays before they develop, initiating physical play, not turning the puck over, etc. At some point you are who you are. Determining when that time is in a someone’s career path is the tricky part. A good example is Sean Courtier in Philly. Big scorer in Juniors, drafted eighth overall and immediately developed a reputation as an extremely good defensive player who in time, could bring his offensive game up to speed and be a solid #2 center. The Flyers waited, and waited and finally after six years they determined he is who he is and it’s never going to change so they brought someone in -at $5 mil.per year – to do the things Sean is incapable of doing. Courtier is a good NHL player but the point is the Canes don’t have six years to wait for Murphy, or PDG and McGinn for that matter, to develop the skills they may or may not have the capability to develop. Maybe they just simply are good AHL players who can provide some overall team depth insurance. It just might be time to move on but that’s why there are knowledgeable people on the Canes staff who get paid the big bucks or free pizza to make those determinations. Personally, I’d like to see a bigger and more physical presence at the spot that Murphy is currently holding. But as someone stated above if Murphy is the guy who gets picked up by Vegas, and I have to think it is even a long shot for there not to be 6-7 better prospects than him that will be exposed, then it may all work out (for him and the Canes).
Agreed that Murphy is only the answer to who Canes’ fans hope Vegas takes off our roster.
The player on the team who I think doesn’t get enough credit is Pesce. Canes Country (by way of Cane_alytics) has an article about how impressive Zykov’s debut was from an analytic standpoint. But the other thing that jumps out is that Pesce is only behind Zykov and Aho as far as 5v5 expected goal differential. I would be interested to see what the season-long numbers look like. I am with everyone that Slavin is one of our best players, just wonder if Pesce might even be a hair better. My guess is he doesn’t get the same love because of “eye appeal” and offensive activity. But I remember an analytical take from earlier in the season that said the Pesce makes all his partners, including Slavin, better based on advanced measures. So I would vote for Pesce as at least alternate captain next year–I think Staal has earned the C based on this year. Sure he is not quite enough of a scoring threat, but the other team always knows when he is on the ice.
The two young D are going to be among the best in the league for the next decade or more. Let’s hope we can keep them both signed. If the Canes get a power, net-front scorer either through trade/free agency or one of the youngsters to add in with Aho, Skinner, Lindholm, then things should improve significantly.