Thoughts and prayers continue to go out to everyone affected by the Humboldt Broncos bus crash on Friday. I happened upon the news on Twitter when writing my game preview and went to sleep with a pit in my stomach and awoke with the same on Saturday. I just cannot fathom what that community is going through right now.
Somewhat fittingly, Saturday’s 2017-18 season finale was a bit of sloppy slog through the rain and mud just like the season in total. Mother nature was not cooperative for those capitalizing on the last chance to tailgate for Canes hockey until next fall.
But on the ice and looking narrowly at Saturday’s event, the game was a success. In my opinion, the biggest target of getting Sebastian Aho to 30 goals was not achieved, but the Hurricanes played a good hockey game in total and beat a Tampa Bay Lightning team that is bound for the playoffs and importantly was playing a game with playoff seeding ramifications.
Jordan Staal got things off to a start early when a fortuitous bounce saw him fling the puck across the front of the net but carom off of Ondrej Palat’s skate and into the net. Justin Williams added another odd goal when he fired into an open net from the far boards shortly after a Noah Hanifin shot saw Jordan Staal and Phil Di Giuseppe creating chaos in front and toppling the goalie (which why the net was open).
The Lightning proceeded to claw back slowly with a goal in the second period and another in the third period that pushed the game to overtime. The Hurricanes had a great chance early with Slavin in alone and then had Elias Lindholm convert from the side of the net to claim a 3-2 overtime victory and send the fans off into another long offseason on a positive note.
Recap/notes from the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning
1) The milestones
As noted above, Sebastian Aho did not reach 30 goals. His best opportunities came during an extended run of ice time on the power play during which the Canes controlled the puck in the offensive zone. Aho managed two shots in that sequence, but one was blocked, and the other careened wide of the net through traffic.
Jaccob Slavin and Jordan Staal failed to reach 10 and 20 goals respectively, but Justin Williams did collect the point he needed to reach 50 for the 2017-18 season.
2) Cam Ward
Many things are uncertain entering the offseason, so with Scott Darling’s situation and the fact that Cam Ward’s contract ends on June 30, Saturday’s game was potentially Ward’s last in a Hurricanes’ uniform. Because he has performed admirably in a backup role in 2017-18, I put the odds at 60/40 that he is re-signed. The 40 has more to do with the playoff miss and the broader goalie situation than Ward’s play. So given that there is some potential that it is his last with the organization, Ward’s strong play and win were on target.
3) Phil Di Giuseppe
Phil Di Giuseppe put an exclamation point on his late-season scoring surge. With two assists on Saturday, he finished with three goals and six assists in the final nine games of the season for an impressive point per game average. As a restricted free agent, his evaluation and next contract just became more interesting.
4) Nicolas Roy
He had a good NHL debut in an understated way. He did not collect a point in his 10:46 of ice time, but he won 60 percent of his faceoffs and drew two penalties. What stands out about Roy’s game compared to some of the other younger prospects is how mature his game is across many areas. His ceiling might be a bit lower than a few other players, but Roy plays a decent two-way game if he can match NHL pace.
5) Valentin Zykov
What continues to stand out about Zykov’s game is the consistency in his ability to make simple goal possible plays. He has a very good knack for reading where to be to create passing lanes to receive and shoot, and has a ingrained sense to go to the top of the crease wen he does not have anything more important to do. He had two shots on goal including one good scoring chance and was also a regular creating chaos at the crease.
Next up for the Hurricanes are exit interviews on Monday that could be interesting given the disappointing results for the 2017-18. Then the organization turns quickly to trying to build a winner for the 2018-19 season.
Go Canes!
congrats to JW and Jordan Staal who both reached the 50 point mark.
Congrats (with just a little bit of sarcasm) to Lindholm for scoring his first goal in 27 games, at least it was a well-timed goal, hopefully something he can build on in the offseason.
congrats to Nick Roy who played well, especially in the second period, a reliable third line center type kid in the making it seems.
We definitely have a lot of promising Checkers we could use to build affordable and good third and forth lines next season or a killer 4th line and 1 or 2 guys on a third line.
Zykov played well, almost scored.
Nordstrom hit the post, he could have had 15 or 20 goals if his shot was just a teeny weeny bit better.
I wish we had signed that Arizona goalie in the of-season, he probably would have signed for 1.5 mill, then again, he Is playing a backup position, but it’s hard to imagine a goalie worse than darling this season. Hopefully Darling agrees and tries to make us forget this season.
Great to see JW’s interview at the end, coming out and stating that the team wasn’t good enough is exactly the type of thing a captain should do. Hopefully he can take over the C next seaon without other players pride getting hurt.
Way to go, Wardo!
This was the good version of the team that could have made the playoffs. Inconsistency and lack of work ethic did a way with this season.
We couldn’t play the possible spoiler with TBL, the team played well against a team that had something to play for. That was good to see. Kaiton repeatedly said the team was making too many passes and giving up quality shot opportunities – is that part of Peters’ system??
I thought Roy proved he is NHL-ready and Peters seemed to see that, giving him minutes. Impressive was the 3 straight faceoff wins in the O-zone. If Roy’s playing tonight was indicative of his potential that is now five Checkers players who look like they can play effectively on NHL ice.
Although Zykov was again kept off the scoresheet, I thoughthe played very well – always in front of the net with some good chances, decent 2-way play and good on the 50-50’s.
McKeown was solid – Fleury looked brilliant on some plays and WTF on other plays. Does the fact that he was on the second OT shift indicate that Peters wanted to give him the opportunity to score his first goal on more open ice?, or because he trusted his play out there? It was interesting to me to see that.
I presume the exit interviews come Monday – will any of them be a tell on who might be leaving or staying for next year? I remember Semin coming out clearly depressed in the one after his last season; making me think he was told then he was being bought out.
As disappointing a season as this one has been, I am glad it is over – and I am glad it ended on a high note for the boys.
Go Canes!
A few quick comments related to what breezy and tj have said.
First, I really think the organization would do well to get away from traditional thinking. Because the young talent–and the holdovers–is there to make significant improvements if utilized under a slightly different framework. I mentioned my favorite way of viewing it last week: a top-scoring line, a disruption line, an opportunistic scoring line, and a balanced line.
If Roy is ready for the NHL, then next season a “disruption” line of Foegele/Staal/Roy would be so much better than any checking or 4th line. As Peters mentioned–Roy will always be 6’4″ whenever he is on the ice. He and Staal would make it difficult for other teams to find space on the ice. Foegele would not only add to the disruption, but could use his knack for scoring when the opposition is out of position. Even if Roy isn’t ready, a Foegele/Staal/McGinn line would have much the same effective, because while not as big, McGinn’s physicality pairs well with Staal and Foegele.
I will elaborate more when I have time–off to a 7:30 a.m. lacrosse game with my daughter.
Go with Mcginn on that line. Roy needs at least another season (or half a season) in Charlotte to get his offensive game going because he has more offense then he has shown this year, his rookie year, in Charlotte.
1. The team showed they had some pride and the fans showed up to support the team. Very good sized crowd of I would estimate of 15,000 to 16,000.
2. All the comments above are worth reading and taking note of.
3. Regarding next year, we need:
a. better goaltending out of whoever is our number 1 goalie. I am fine with Cam as the number 2.
b. Defensemen all need to brush up their offensive and defensive games. We can’t have the same number of terrible breakdowns on defense and they need to contribute to and get more involved in the offense.
c. Four lines all with the ability to score and play the two way game like 80% of the rest of the teams in the league have. Thee cannot be a fourth line as we have seen it traditionally made up of guys willing to hustle but incapable of scoring at a decent rate relative to their ice time. We need something on the order of what ctcaniac suggests.
d. In the off season management needs to realize that we were unsuccessful with the players and coaches we had this year and conclude that both the roster and the coaching need to be improved. The roster not only needs to be improved, it has to be improved more than the improvements the other teams (our competitors)in the division and conference make. They are not going to sit back and stand pat.
I agree rjt, McKeown, Roy, Zykov, Foegele and Wallmark are all NHL capable.
We had a much bigger crowd then I expected last nigh. Good to see. This team is capable, they just miss opportunities and too many breakdowns.
Darling was the issue this season. Even with breakdowns and some challenged goal scoring the goalie is supposed to stop some of those mistakes. Dreadful season. The question now is what do we do. We have 3 more years at a sizable salary. We can possibly get a gifted goal scorer and maybe an experienced D although our guys are getting more experience. The big issue is at goal. I agree with RR, I am fine with resigning Cam. He is more then acceptable as a backup and even some #1 time.
Do we buy Darling out? Can we trade him without retaining a sizable portion of his contract? Could we keep him and put him at the AHL level? I am sure he would clear waivers. We could always hope he finds his game at the AHL level. Trying that may be better then just eating contract money. It would be a high priced goalie at the AHL level but maybe better then throwing money away, and maybe something turns around.
At least right now I do not see he magically heals himself for next season. If we have him at goal next year I think we are doomed. So, this is a very big issue. I have no idea who we would have as a #1. I know we have a serious problem. Just curious what other think?
Maybe next year JW is captain, like he should have been this year.
Did you hear the Waddell interview with Adam Gold a week or two ago? Waddell already described the likely situation next year, which will include the addition of a third goalie, with 3 goalies playing for two spots during training camp and preseason. He also suggested that if Darling doesn’t make one of those two spots he could well end up in Charlotte.
Darling is now damaged goods – a trade now will require either retaining significant salary or the loss of a quality prospect (or two), and possibly both.
I will probably be repeating this thesis in the coming months but with the end of the season I really don’t think it is a matter of we need this piece or that piece.
This was a team that could dominate a top team for 40 minutes and then rollover and give it all away in a couple of minutes. This was a team that could play the “right way” (pray tell, what way is that?) and play with and beat the top teams, then turn around and give up 6 goals to the Rangers and 7 to the Oilers. This is a team that would give up a goal on an early breakdown and end up chasing the game – apparently not playing the “right way” along the way. “Fragile” was an expression used by the media and the players. I would throw in schizophrenic.
The team had the pieces and the team had the system, when played, to make the playoffs.
Was Williams unsuccessful in his role to bring leadership and prevent the collapses (hopefully he didn’t need the “C” to play that role)?
Is Faulk such an unhappy camper that his attitude infected other members of the team?
Why did Peters keep drawing from the same well?
Going forward – and the there will be lots of conversation here I know – I will suggest another thesis. I am currently reading “The Battle of Alberta” – a rather poorly written book on the rivalry between Edmonton and Calgary in the 80s. And one of his comments was how the Oilers had a 25% turnover almost every year, bringing in/up players who were hungry. We have had a slow succession and not a serious turnover in the RF years – has the team become complacent?, is it no longer hungry? I am expecting some major turnover, including players of note and not just secondaries – and we will move some good pieces (including some of the Charlotte prospects we saw this year) as well as pieces that need to be moved. We will have a very different group, I expect, next season than this.
tj–I am a sucker for a good thesis. Especially if it leads to a good synthesis.
I basically agree with your analys: “don’t think it is a matter of we need this piece or that piece.”
The team/organization has more talent than anytime during the past decade. Somehow the Canes need to utilize that talent. I was concerned at the beginning of the year when BP stated he only wanted “NHL-level” players. But I was also one of the many who thought bringing in Kruger and Jooris made the team better. I now believe that having players who don’t have the ability to score many goals–and more importantly see themselves as “grinders”–was a big problem, while also believing that the extra time in Charlotte was highly beneficial for Wallmark, Zykov, Foegele. Without having two elite scoring lines (like Pittsburgh or Winnipeg) the only reasonable formula for success is to have four lines that can all get on the scoresheet. While defensive breakdowns by goalies, blue liners, and forwards were way too prevalent, they were often compounded because the Canes did not have the ability to put pressure on the opposition once they were behind.
So as much as I admire a player like Nordstrom, I think his spot is much better taken by Foegele. Even if he can’t produce 20 goals in the NHL (and I think he can) he poses more of a threat than Kruger or Nordstrom.
I think 25% turnover for the forwards is about right for the coming season–maybe even 33%. While every newcomer needs to earn his spot, I think the default should be that Necas, Zykov, and Foegele will be in the starting lineup unless someone clearly displaces them. Also, my personal thought is that Skinner is moved. It became increasingly apparent that he was uncomfortable and ultimately had a negative impact more often than not. He is a skilled player who might well thrive in a different system or with different teammates. My personal hope is that Skinner is part of a trade that brings Pacioretty to Raleigh. Because I agree with a point Matt has made several times that Pacioretty would be an excellent linemate for either Necas or Aho as one of them becomes the offense-driving center on the team. However, that may be just a dream.
In any event, I agree that the team will have a different makeup–I believe it will be younger and more potent.
Thank you, ct. I am going to disagree with you one player – and quite strenuously at that – and that’s Nordstrom. I admit I am a unabashed fan of him. He didn’t play World Cup for Sweden for nothing. When I saw him on a line centered by Kruger/Jooris and later by Ryan his offense was non-existent, except for short-handed rushes. In the few games when he played on the wing of Rask and Roy (last night) on effectively (and traditional) 4th lines his offense was there – with assists and scoring chances. He provides exceptional PK play with scoring that I think , with the right center, is closer to 15-20 points per game. That is a solid contributor on what you would call a “disruptive line”. I would rather the Canes move Skinner in a trade than not keep invested in Nordy who plays his role and knows what it is.
And I think the time has come to move both Skinner and Faulk – for their sake as much as for the team.
I think you hit the nail on the head with complacent.
The team seems too comfortable putting on just enough effort and then quitting. People often see this when they try to lose more than a few pounds. They do everything just right for a few days, then they either eat right, or work out, but not both. Then they are surprised by the lack of success.
To win, you have to go all in, all 60 minutes of every game.
This team seems comfortable putting in just enough effort to show what it can do but then felt comfortable just giving it all up. They tried to take it easy and thought the skill level would beat the bottom teams, which is why the Canes beat nashville both times they played but lost to the Rangers all 4.
There is a missing grit, team dynamic, bite-the-shield berserkness that never showed up during the season and hasn’t been there in recent seasons either.
IN my opinion Bill Peters has to go. He may be a good x and o coach (though his rigidly sticking with an underperforming 4th line makes me question that, and why give Hanifin a false sense of misplaced confidence by sending him to the allstar game when he clearly didn’t earn it) but he does not inspire, motivate or challenge the squad, except through the occasional sarcastic comment during post game interviews.
This team desperately needs a heart and soul character and a coach that can light some fire and challenge the players to get out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves and each other. A coach that should spend more time on the ice, less time advertising water filtering.
Also this team needs to take advantage of the promising farm system. Even if players are not ready for the full grind of an 82 game NHL season, we saw what the kids could do, coming up from Charlotte, bringing the energy and excitement, and more than a few goals.
Why in the world did the Canes refuse to harness this energy when the season was on the line, why did Lindholm get a way with 27 games without a goal? He should absolutely have been placed on waivers and sent down to Charlotte for a few games.
And why wasn’t a Checkers goalie brought up to help with the workload and challenge Darling when Ward started fading.
WE saw Pit do it, Boston do it, Vegas do it, a lot of teams bringing in inexperienced goalies when the going got tough.
Look at Tampa Bay taking advantage of Arizona’s overcrowded crease, (that sounds vaguely dirty somehow), by grabbing a goalie who played well against the Canes and had 7 wins prior to that.
I didn’t check but I gues the kid is being paied close to minimum NHL salary, pro-rated.
The coach is flat, the captains are flat, this team needs inspiration and fire, no matter who the players are.
breezy – I don’t disagree about Peters. I think his time to leave has come. But when you write, “A coach that should spend more time on the ice, less time advertising water filtering.”, have you been to a practice session? He is out there all the time.
As for why a Checkers goalie wasn’t called up? – the choices were Ned and Jeremy Smith. Smith is an AHL lifer who had a tough season in Charlotte. And Ned, in the organization, is viewed as too small to succeed in the NHL. He wins a lot and had a nice number of shutouts, but his other standard stats (GAA and S%) are nothing to shout about. I have met him, I have seen him play in Charlotte and Raleigh, he has 20 – if not 40 – minutes of NHL shutout hockey from one game last season. I really like him and want to see him get a legitimate chance in the NHL to prove his doubters wrong. But your supposition that he should have been brought up to “help with the workload” is something I don’t think would work for him. He needs to be given a real chance and a real chance to succeed at this level.
Good points.
Admittedly I conflated bringing up a goalie from Charlote with seaking help from outside the organization, which is the GM’s s job. This coming season should be different fortunately, with Booth playing well in his first games with the Checkers and Helvig having played well in juniors.
So the chances of using the farm goalies to provide a helping hand on the ranch are much better this upcoming season.
My primary point with Peters is that he does not inspire the team, nor the fans. Trip made an interesting point during the Tbl game saying how they have the perfect combination of coach Cooper, who knows his players and how to challenge them, and the assistant coach, who is great at the Xs and Os of the game.
I’m actually a fan of seeing the Checkers head coach post game comments and interviews, we may already have a promising head coach, or at least assistant coach, within the system, though traing our younger prospect is an important task and the coaching carousel down there is probably not helping.
But the head coach needs to be able to challenge the players, which includes sitting them, sending them down to charlotte or whatever it takes. Rigidly sticking with players that are not playing well and sending the message by shuffling up the lines is, n my opinion as a non-professional non-hockey coach, is not a recipe for success.