A theme/reminder across all articles at Canes and Coffee on Monday will be a somewhat gentle nudge to try to get as many people as possible to come out to PNC Arena on Monday night for the 7pm match up between UNC and NC State in hockey. Parking is free. A $5 donation is recommended at the door.
With that the Monday Coffee Shop will feature a little bit of UNC/NC State and also take time revel in the Hurricanes’ recent success that sees the team at 5-2-2 in November and coming off consecutive weeks at plus 2 above .500 (2-0-1 two weeks ago and 3-1 last week).
Carolina Hurricanes polls
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Loading ...Carolina Hurricanes discussion questions
All TSA day…
1) What do you make of Teuvo Teravainen’s scoring outburst? Is he turning the corner and now on his way to a break out season? Or is this just another short burst that will be followed by the next stretch of quiet? What now is a reasonable point total for Teravainen for the 2017-18 season?
2) Similar for Sebastian Aho…After finally netting his first goal and scoring in four consecutive games since, what not are reasonable expectations for points for him for the 2017-18 season?
3) What makes the Aho/Staal/Teravainen line click? Are they just benefiting from a nice run of finishing, or are they really as good as they have looked over the past few games? Will the trio be so good that they stay together for the full season, or are they destined to cool and ultimately become part of a line shuffle?
4) Bonus question: Since things are going so well right now, pick your own topic or add another thought on the recent winning run.
Go Canes!
1) TT is this good–see my comments on the other thread from today. His performance prior to the NHL put him in elite company. I don’t expect him to keep up the pace, but 60-65 points should be his output for the next 6-8 seasons.
2) Aho will be right there with TT. Maybe a few goals more and a few assists less. I think he ends the year around 58.
3) They are that good–BUT at least TT will cool a little as his shooting% won’t end the year at 18. What makes them click is that all three are strong forecheckers with excellent vision. While Aho has been getting PP points, what has stood out the last 5 games is winning puck battles and finding a linemate immediately once the puck is on one of their sticks. I remember at least four such goals, which wouldn’t have happened without the battle for the puck AND an excellent pass.
4) Both special teams are making incremental improvements. If that continues, Carolina will climb higher in the standings. The one caveat is that the team has uncharacteristically taken too many penalties for a few games now.
Ct covered what I was going to say. One thing I’d like to add is Aho body checked somebody last night and they actually fell over. He’s always been sturdy on his skates for a smaller player but it’s nice to see him hitting successfully and not bouncing off people.
1/2/3 I have no idea and I don’t care. Skinner led the offense to start the season, McGinn had a burst, and now it’s the TSA line’s turn. As long as we score and win, TT can go quiet for the next 10 games. I think it just takes a while for a team to settle in together, especially when it’s full of young players. It would be surprising to me if it were any other way. You can really see the confidence building across the entire group.
4a/ As for your “exceeded expectations” question, I said “Other” because there was no option for “All of the Above.” Now that the team is starting to execute like we discussed all offseason and during the preseason, it’s time to start giving GMRF a tremendous amount of credit: all his moves are starting to pay off.
4b/ I say this reluctantly … This Rask situation is both troubling and full of opportunity. We our depth, I’m not 100% sure we even need him back, though I’d like to see him figure it out here. I would not be surprised to see him dangled out there in a trade. Matt recently threw out a trade scenario using Rask in exchange for a serviceable #4/#5 defenseman (which would make Faulk available for an offensive catalyst); this is starting to seem more likely and an opportunity to improve the team. We’ve been asking GMRF to make a bold move; this might give him his chance.
Rask needed some time off to get his hunger level back up. Who knows what the kid is going through. Hopefully he comes back strong. Cam played well. PP finally started shooting the puck.
Still need to clean up some D breakdowns.
We are slowly getting there
1. As you mentioned, twelve of Teuvo’s points have come in the past 6 games and 10 of those points in the 4 most recent games. That is the definition of a streak, and streaks are made to be ridden for as long as they continue. Of course, the primary surge started when the coaching staff told Teuvo to start shooting more so I think there could be legs to this. I also think the re-constitution of the TSA is a primary trigger for both Teuvo and Aho. The passing between the 3 of them has been near elite.
Teuvo is turning himself into the Canes All-Star this season, if the hockey gods are just.
2. Aho will be good. That is all I am going to predict. But now that he is scoring I expect he will keep scoring. He has found his place diagonally off the net inside the dots, and he is deadly there.
3. I think the TSA line is that good, and more. They were good last season (I still recall the 2:13 shift in one game). They grind well, win the 50-50 puck battles, and pass very well to each – they know where to expect the others. And that makes them different than other top scoring-oriented lines. They are stronger on possession because they do everything so well as a unit.
Last year, Peters dismantled the TSA line I believe to balance the other lines. I hope he doesn’t make that same mistake this season.
Last night he said they were happy with two lines (TSA and Kruger’s line) and were trying to find a way to get the other two lines going.
4. So, that segues nicely into my question – how do you get the 2nd and 3rd lines going without dismantling the TSA line?
I thought Lindholm at center was a good move and it paid off. Reuniting Skinner and PDG as wings on the same line, which saw some success two years ago, had clear value.
I expect Lindy will move back to wing when Rask gets back, but I am not sure that is where he should be playing anymore.
But is it time to call up players from Charlotte? A stronger center to replace Ryan/Rask? More scoring-oriented players to replace PDG/McGinn? I don’t see Peters as keen on doing either of those things. And I expect to see him continue to change up lines (just don’t break up the TSA line, please).
That said, if the 3rd line is as good as it was last night, the question then becomes how do you charge up the second line?
First and important is to note that no NHL lineup is perfect especially when injuries set in, so the fact that the Hurricanes are winning right now with the current lineup should not be understated.
That said, I feel like the team is still short 1 player at center. If the TSA line continues scoring at a good clip (not current pace but good pace) and Skiner keeps creating/finishing his own at a 30+ goal pace, just maybe my longtime playmaking center wish fades into the background. But there still seems to be a hole at center.
Staal is #1; Kruger is #4. Ryan started slow but has been quietly productive of late with 7 points in his past 10 games, so maybe he works even if not perfect. Rask’s well-documented early season struggles leave a gap.
Seems like basic math is that 2 of Ryan, Rask, Lindholm or possibly Wallmark or Kuokkanen need to be at least serviceable at the center position. Having Skinner who does not really need much playmaking help makes 1 slot easier, but they still need 1 more to be part of a productive line scoring-wise. I hope it lasts a bit longer, but the idea of riding one scoring line for the entire season is a low probability.
Don’t forget that the Doctor kept a goal from occurring last night. To me, Rask is the odd man out.
Matt – I agree that one scoring line won’t cut it (most nights). Lindholm at center is an idea overdue, and I liked what I saw yesterday.
Skinner doesn’t need a playmaker – but he is better with one. My concern about Skinner is that he still plays a lot of helter-skelter/one-on-n (with n>1) – and he is not at his best that way. But I really think there is a potential with him on a line centered by Lindy, and I want to see more of that. Lindy showed his ability last season as a primary assist maker – and Skinner could be his best foil. That has the potential to be an amazing duo – particularly given Lindholm’s heavy shot.
icecobra is right about Ryan – and it is hard for me to complain about the Doctor because he does so many things on the ice that you don’t necessarily notice. He a smart, heads-up hockey player. I just think there is a weakness there that can be improved on. I am just not sure who.
But I will posit this – if Rask can find the horse he rode in on, the 4 centers of Staal-Rask-Lindholm-Kruger could be very impressive, and Ryan is on the outside looking in.
A second line that I’ve been wanting Peters to put on the ice is Skinner-Lindholm-Williams. I’m don’t think this line combination has been tried out and I’m not too sure why because I think it could be a pretty successful scoring line.
raleightj, I agree with you and icecobra about Ryan. I am not one of his haters, I actually like him a lot but I recognize that he is a weak spot in the sense that he gets pushed off of the puck too easily. This fact really doesn’t help when he is on the PP or PK which I have noticed that Steve Smith is putting him in those situations quite a lot and I do not understand why.
As for Faulk and Rask, I pretty much agree with everyone else. I wouldn’t be upset if one or both was traded for some more/better offensive players. But when Rask comes back I think Peters should keep him on the third line and make him play his way back into the 2C roll. My ideal third line with Rask (if the second line was Skinner-Lindholm-Williams) would be McGinn-Rask-Ryan. Then, if needed, Peters could rotate some AHL players into the third line on occasion for them to gain some experience and try to find more scoring punch.
I agree with you Matt, we still need a good center! As RF is VERY, VERY RELUCTANT to spend money on…welllll anybody I see a callup from Charlotte in the near future.
My satisfaction level with Faulk (and Rask) is VERY LOW, and I’d trade them in a heartbeat for a good center!
I doubt RF will, though!??
I agree Puckgod, I have the same diss-satisfaction, those are my two targeted for a trade IMO.
Faulk frustrates me as well but I would not be quick to trade him. Offensively when he gets hot he can carry our team. Rask I feel like maybe something is going on in his life that is affecting his play. Maybe relationship problems or something close to it.
Matt. In response to your point (and pondhockey’s elsewhere), DR is fine as 3C. He makes more than his share of “little” plays and takes important face offs. Given what he does well, 35 points is not a problem. It would be nice to get 50 out of a 3C but that is magical thinking.
Rask will come around. If not, Wallmark is demonstrating he will step up. However, the more interesting possibility is that Lindholm makes a case for moving to center. That would facilitate bringing in Zykov for RW. Then Rask gets shopped. My preference would be for a draft pick (maybe Anaheim as injuries have created holes). The upcoming draft has several interesting RWs, which the Canes will need as Williams moves on in two years. I am not nearly as concerned with adding a center now as Necas, Kuokkanen, and maybe Saarela will develop.
While the current team is important, the Canes are still built for a decade of success. I don’t see any advantage to win now mentality.
Good points CT. high draft picks could be good this year. I guess I did not know enough about Saarela to think he may be a center. For some reason I was thinking of him as a winger. I am not sure Rask will come around. He just seems to be slow.
1/2 They are both close to point a game players right now but expect both to be in the 60-65 range ,although I think Aho could potentially be a little higher than Teuvo.
3- I think the combination of a guy who drives possession like Staal having 2 wingers with speed , creativity and finishing ability is what makes this line go. The fact that all 3 are natural centers doesn’t hurt either as they are all comfortable carrying the puck depending on the situation.
4- I also agree w dmilleravid about Rask. I’d be open to trading him to acquire a #4/5 right hand d-man which would give GMRF the possibility of trading Faulk for another top scorer. A year or so from now when Aho and Necas are playing center and with Wallmark, Roy and Kuokkanen as potential centers, Rask will be expendable anyway. Of course if being scratched lights a fire under Rask and he becomes that 20 + scorer he has shown the ability to be then maybe we keep him.
1) I think he is shooting more and turning the corner. It could be a burst but I think there will be more bursts. I believe he could get 60+.
2) Aho is a really smart player with great vision. I believe he could go 50+ points.
3) What makes the TSA line click is you have a dominate possession center with two very fast finishers. The fact that they are playing great defense on top of that makes them very scary. Having a 4th line that can really shut the opposition down really helps staal. He is not always in a defensive shutdown mode.
Somebody always goes cold, so it is possible there could be some shakeup, but I bet even if that happens the TAS line will be back together again throughout the season.
4) A big reason it is going so well is Cam and Scott. Our defense still has some pretty glaring mess-ups but our goalies are fixing those mistakes. It is what we have been wanting for years, the goalies are the difference. We limited NYI to 2 goals (Cam did). We have limited a lot of high power offences to 2 or less. You put some scoring on top of that and watch out.