The Hurricanes offense continued its recent scoring ways on Saturday night in Ottawa and pushed the team to its second consecutive win. The 5-2 win boosted the goal total to 11 in the the past two games with many of the contributors from Thursday featuring prominently again on Saturday.
The Hurricanes actually started slow and relied on Cam Ward to keep them in the game early. Ward did exactly that, as team in front of him gained its footing and built a game with opportunistic scoring. Phil Di Giuseppe struck first when he beat Mike Condon from an odd angle on a Valentin Zykov pass from behind the boards behind the net. Ottawa struck back when Bobby Ryan won a battle versus Roland McKeown for ice in front of the net and tipped a puck past Ward from close range. The first period finished with that 1-1 score. The Hurricanes were uncharacteristically out-shot 12 to 5 and had a tough period defensively that Ward was mostly able to cover up.
The second period was more of the same. The Hurricanes continued to struggle in terms of managing the puck. Noah Hanifin looked rusty after a couple days off in terms of his defensive gaps defending the rush and also handling the puck. Haydn Fleury had a couple turnovers. And in total, the Hurricanes blue line that was minus veterans Brett Pesce and Justin Faulk played the kind of game that could have been another painful shellacking. But continuing the first period theme that saw the Canes more opportunistic than good, Brock McGinn scored the only goal in the second period when he deflected a Klas Dahlbeck shot for a late goal.
Then in the third period, the Hurricanes poured it on scoring twice and adding an empty-netter late to win 5-2. Hanifin scored a tap in goal on an audition tape for Sebastian Aho to stay in the center slot and be the playmaker that the team needs for the position. The play that saw Aho circling the offensive zone and attracting all of the attention before feeding Hanifin is worth watching if you did not see the game. Then Jeff Skinner followed with a pretty backhand finish after Di Giuseppe sprung him with a heady pass from blue line to blue line. Jordan Staal finished off the scoring with an empty-netter.
The game was a reverse of the most regular theme. The Hurricanes were out-shot by a 36 to 24 margin but did what too often happens to them to the Senators. The Hurricanes just picked their spots and finished at a high rate, such that the shot differential never seemed to matter.
Notes from the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators
1) Phil Di Giuseppe rising
Di Giuseppe now has five points in his past two games. The five-point scoring outburst is more than the four points he had during 40 games previously in 2017-18. Di Giuseppe looks assertive with the puck right now. Here is hoping that this represents him finding the latent part of his offensive game.
2) And ditto for Valentin Zykov
Zykov added two assists on Saturday to go with his two goals on Thursday giving him four points and putting him right behind Di Giuseppe. Early returns on his NHL stint are overwhelmingly favorable obviously. The point total is impressive, but I think more significant is that he has been able to match NHL pace with Aho and Teravainen and his simple game meshes well with the two skilled puck handlers.
3) Cam Ward
He was stronger than a superficial look might suggest. The defense in front of Ward was shoddy, especially in the first half of the game. The volume and degree of break downs was not significantly different than a couple of ugly recent losses. Ward was sharp early and fended off an alarming number of break downs and breakaways.
4) A rusty Noah Hanifin
In the middle of some of the messes was Noah Hanifin who was returning after a few games off with a concussion. Hanifin had a couple bad turnovers and regularly had trouble maintaining a gap that limited opposing players’ options in the offensive zone. I think the key in a first game back is to make simple plays with the puck and to push a bit out of the comfort zone in terms of gap.
5) Jaccob Slavin as a rock
With an undermanned blue line, Jacob Slavin looked like a veteran leader. He played 26:10 of nearly flawless defense despite missing options #1 and #2 for his partner in Pesce and Faulk respectively.
6) It’s an easy game with two lines clicking
I said on Twitter shortly after the game ended that the game looked easy with two lines clicking offensively. Teravainen/Aho/Zykov was a going concern again. And Skinner/Lindholm/ Di Giuseppe also played well again. When you couple that with McGinn/Staal/Williams also getting on the score sheet, the Hurricanes seemed to attack in waves such that even though the shot volume was low, the shot quality was enough to score and win.
7) The fourth line
The veteran fourth line of Nordstrom/Ryan/Stempniak continued to struggle a bit.
Next up for the Hurricanes is a rematch against the Senators on Monday night in Raleigh.
Go Canes!
TAZ line was good again–Aho at center could well be the difference-maker the team has been seeking. Zykov looked confident and really adds another dimension to Aho and Teravainen. Zykov had another shot in front of the net, tonight he didn’t score but it is obvious that his strength and wrist shot are something new for the Canes.
Di Giuseppe looks like a different player–still not sure he is one of the twelve forwards to start next season, but if he continues this play it will be hard to keep him off the ice.
Charlotte won back-to-back games with Wallmark getting five points. He is as good as anyone in the AHL. Saarela is heating up much like he ended last season. The next training camp is really shaping up to have some fierce competition.
We need to be careful here: this might be the March Surge that gives us all the false hope we had as last season ended. It can leave a dangerous impression that the team may not need as much change to the core we all thought just one week ago.
I’m a huge fan our our depth and wish we had seen more of it sooner; PDG sure does seem to have elevated his game lately; and Skinner has relocated his scoring touch. That said, all much easier to do when the pressure is off and against two of the worst teams in the league.
I totally agree with you.
At the trade deadline, Columbus was on the bubble and I think just two points ahead of us. They acquired Vanek for Jussi Jokinin and a mid-tier prospect; they acquired Ian Cole (experienced physical puck moving D-man with Cup rings) for a 3rd round pick and a mid-tier prospect; they acquired Letestu (C with good face-off skills) for a 4th round pick. Cole has 6 points and is plus 10 and Vanek has 4 goals & 5 assists since the trades. Columbus went on a run and is now in playoff position.
Would the Canes have had similar results with these deals? We’ll never know. The point is that Columbus at least TRIED to address their needs without mortgaging their future. We clearly had an opportunity to make deals or at least bring up some Checkers players and did nothing. You can bet TD had one-on-one conversations with both BP and RF – we know what the outcome was.
Both excellent comments here I completely agree.
dmiller. I do tend to be overly optimistic. However, there are some facts/indications that make me believe the hope is warranted.
Zykov needs a center to drive his scoring. For instance, when Wallmark was in Raleigh late February and early March, Zykov only scored in two of the six games in Charlotte. The first game Wallmark was back Zykov had two goals and an assist. The TAZ line provides him two playmakers. Being realistic, I don’t believe he will score 35 goals next season. I do believe that line could produce 70 goals (TT=18, Aho=32, Zykov=20). That is significantly better than any line in the last 5 years.
Aho at center is reason to believe. I think about two of Hanifin’s goals: the first one against Minnesota and the one last night. Both of those were created by Aho’s puck handling skills. With Zykov being an excellent shooter in tight and having the ability to remain in front of the net even when being engaged by defenders, Aho’s creativity will be rewarded more often. I truly think that is different than what has happened the past few years. Zykov’s time in Charlotte looks to be paying off in that his passing is much improved (I noticed this in seeing the Checkers in October and then in February).
And there is some pressure–I would think any call up feels significant pressure to make a mark.
Should Zykov stick next season, his presence and a line with Aho as center is definitely change to the core.
As fogger mentioned earlier this week, the D are becoming veterans as a unit. Which might lead to fewer mistakes, but I am convinced will lead to more production. Slavin has been much more offensive the past two weeks. Pesce prior to the injury had 9 points in 19 games. I believe hope is warranted to think that each of Hanifin, Pesce, Slavin can produce 8-10 goals and 35 points next season. That alone makes Carolina 5-7 points better in the standings.
Where I totally agree is in regards to Di Guiseppe. It would be nice to seem him play 82 games next season like the last 5-6. But I would feel better if he was fighting for 13th with Nordstrom (can I just say I wish Nordstrom could produce points because in most other aspects he is always noticeable in a good way). Di Guiseppe just hasn’t been able deliver on a consistent basis. So skepticism is warranted.
You and I also agree about Skinner–his upside is terrific, but it too often arrives when the season is lost. Still, if TAZ sticks and the D becomes more productive, then having Skinner’s ability to go on streaks might not be as problematic.
I don’t think the optimism at the end of last year and, especially, beginning this year was unrealistic. Most “experts/professional commentators” agreed Darling was the best option–it just didn’t work. Though like you I still believe he might regain his form.
The one place where the hope was misplaced was Kruger/Jooris. Strictly defensive/checking players are a liability in the league. My biggest hope is not so much for a change of the core as a change to the four line mentality. I would love to have a “bottom” line of Wallmark/Staal/McGinn or the like. Staal will get his minutes on special teams and defensive zone starts against the opposition’s best–it doesn’t matter what “number line” he is on. Players like Wallmark and Foegele should be able to provide 13-15 minutes a night of defensively sound hockey while scoring 10-12 goals.
I would sum up by saying the entire purpose drafting and development is to provide options for improvement. The Hurricanes have done well at this–so I am again feeling good. Call me a sucker for my optimism, but I think it is mostly based in reality.
I’m optimistic, too, for all the same reasons. I’m just reluctant to let myself fall into the same trap after how last season ended.
I like most of what you are saying, however I like wallmark as a center.
I was quite frustrated when I noticed that the lines had been shuffled around mid-game. Benefit of the doubt, we came back to them in the 2nd period.
My concerns regarding puck security with our defensemen continue to show. Slavin and Pesce are the only two D’s I trust with the puck.
I want to see this level of play continue and be built upon. Don’t care about the ‘March Surge’…let’s just play good hockey!
I’m in favor of good hockey, too!
We have seen this pattern of play so often that we have to consider that it is a conscious choice. We have seen it ever since E Staal and C Ward signed their big long term contracts.
Perhaps it is a min-max solution. Minimize wear and tear on your body at maximum pay (don’t get fired) by finishing just above .50@ with a March surge.
Everyone above has contributed valid comments. There is not much I could add or express any better. That being the case, I’ll just shut up for now. Nice to see some newer names contributing with good content and as usual dmiller…, ct…and Asheville…are good reading.
Seconded. Thanks for the entertainment.
For me the biggest reason for hope is the realization that Aho and Lindholm are good centers. We have to assume our D will continue to improve with age and experience and become what we hope they will become. Obviously the goalie situation has to be fixed, but if you can shore that up, have a productive D core and be strong down the middle, then you have a chance to compete in the NHL. If our centers are Aho, Staal, Lindholm and Necas, you have a good base to be a strong offensive team. None of those C are overslotted as has so often been the case in the past 12 years. We can find and fill in with finishers on the wing. If the backbone isn’t solid nothing else matters
This is all good, and I am glad to see some life, but we mustn’t forget that the last two games were against teams with nothing to gain just playing out the string, this does not have the intensity and skill associated with real playoff hockey.
So let’s not get blindsided again by good performances against non playoff teams in March, that is misleading and has actually hurt the team consistently over the last 4 or 5 years. Seriously, where was Skinner’s goalscoring when it was needed.
I am happy seeing the Canes finally bring up Zykov, but I question why this was not done earlier, when it had the chance to change the outcome of the season, I think not doing this, e.g. in January, was a massive coaching/management fail. Seeing the TAZ line play well now is heart warming, but in context equally frustrating.
But I think adding one more top 6 catalyst, top 4 defenseman and upgrading the goalie will combine nicely with a couple of breakthroughs from the prospect pool to finally get over the playoff cutline next year.
JVR or Kane are interesting UFAs (and JT is the gold standard, but I doubt he will come here, probably he will re up with the Islanders),RNH or Max for the right price. There are a number of interesting options out there. The current core has failed to get it done for too long and I do not have faith in them. I am also just not happy to see meaningless wins when it is too late, especially when it has become practically the hallmark of the team. So while I enjoy seeing the potential I have a hard time reading much into the last two games.
I think your comment about Zykov’s game matching well with Aho and Turbo is an excellent point. He plays a solid offensively-minded north-south game with net front presence – and that may be what Aho and Turbo has needed as well.
And someone tell me if Lindy has centered Skinner and/or PDG before? Lindy hasn’t had that much time so far in center. But I don’t think it is a coincidence that Skinner’s offensive resurgence and PDG’s offensive game in general has risen while being centered by Lindy. I have really respected what Phil has done.
Granted, it is a small sample size. But to me, it seems that Zykov and (finally) PDG are being put in a position to succeed with the right mix of line-mates.
And linemates make such a difference – witness JoNo being centered by Kruger, Jooris, or Ryan vs. JoNo being centered those two games by Rask.
Here’s hoping Foegele gets the same opportunity to play in a line configuration that works for him (and that is not with Ryan at center on the 4th line).