With the team sitting in a playoff spot in early January and snow and ice covering the ground in the Raleigh area, it is an absolutely perfect day to grab a cup of hot coffee or hot chocolate if you prefer and spend a few minutes debating Carolina Hurricanes.
Today’s coffee shop has an eclectic mix of polls and discussion questions to help fill any gaps for everyone who is home today and with a few minutes available for Hurricanes hockey.
Carolina Hurricanes polls
Please remember to click ‘vote’ after each individual poll response.
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Discussion questions
1) Per the first poll, what are your thoughts on the Metropolitan Division competition? Which teams above the Canes are most vulnerable? Which teams below the Canes concern you most?
2) Following off of today’s Daily Cup of Joe, which player(s) will most exceed expectations for the second half of the 2017-18 season and help propel the Hurricanes into the playoffs?
3) (Forgot to include this right after the holidays, but what was everyone’s most unique/cool Carolina Hurricanes-centric present during the holiday season?
Go Canes!
1. Rangers are beatable and Carolina will beat them. Pittsburgh does not surprise me when getting to the playoffs. Crosby will take the team into his backpack as he has shown many many times in playoffs: he is just that good. The battle of the playoff spot will be with NYI: it is gonna be so close, like one point or something like that in the scenario where NYI tops the Canes. If the Canes had solid goaltending they’d be in playoffs. Please, let me be wrong in this prediction!
2. Sebastian Aho’s narrow shoulders will carry the team in the future endeavours, also Jaccob Slavin will be more consistent. The latter one has been slightly underperforming so far but it is a subject to change. I also expect a Charlotte call-up (Wallmark or Saarela) to give an extra scoring boost.
3. 4-game winning streak that started in NSH.
1. I go back to what I said earlier in the season. I think there are 7 teams competing for 5 places in the Metro. I used to think CBJ was assured to be in and PHI was assured to be out. Now I think only the latter is true, even if PHI is still pointwise well within range.
WSH seems to have put things together this season – but they are still vulnerable. We played them pretty even net of the game on Tuesday.
Ultimately I think vulnerability is going to be defined by injuries (or recovery from injuries) will play the primary role and that is not really predictable.
2. Two different questions in this one – who exceeds expectations and who leads the surge? 🙂
As I wrote earlier, I don’t view any of the players as exceeding my expectations. I do think Lindholm has more in him this season – and I think Aho is just getting better and better and could easily enter beast mode in the second half of the season.
3. I gave my daughter a Hanifin-signed (including “Merry Xmas”) used stick. The “house” gift was the Star Wars R2D2 shoes signed by Aho and Turbo which I picked up in the silent auction.
Your number 3: aawwww…too cute 😀
!. I see the Rangers as the most vulnerable. The King isn’t getting younger. The Jackets and Devils are the other “on the rise” teams like us. As long as he Pens have a healthy Crosby and Malkin ,they will be breathing down our neck. And katrii is correct about the Isles as well.
2. Aho. But if Skinner, Rask, and Teravainen can go streaking at the same time, we could pile ups some wins, maybe even grab the 1WC slot.
3. If you want to include Orthodox Christmas, getting the point vs. the Caps, and being in a playoff spot in January(I think the last time we were was 2006).
1. tj is correct in viewing this as 7 teams fighting for 5 spots. Until the last week or so I was skeptical of NJ. Now I think they will hold on and at least be a WC. The Capitals have separated themselves from the pack as well. So the Canes are fighting with NYI, NYR, Col, and Pittsburgh for 3 spots. If I had to guess, I would say NYI and Pittsburgh will be competition for last WC spot. Though if the answer to 2 works out well, I can still see the Canes moving into 3rd overall in the conference.
2. Aho and Lindholm. Especially if one moves permanently to center. Aho could be elite and Lindholm could be similar to Staal with more scoring potential.
3. My wife gave me a Hurricanes notepad. Because of Matt and some of the regulars here, I often re-watch portions of games and take notes. Thanks to all of you for feeding my obsession!!!
1/ Above us, NYR and CBJ are vulnerable. NYR have played 25 of 40 at home; they will fade if only because of their schedule. CBJ has major injury problems and are also at risk. Below us, NYI scare me the most; they have goalie issues but seem to just outscore everyone. I think PIT’s run is over (even if they beat us tonight); they lack defense and depth.
2/ I’m not sure it’s a questions of exceeding expectations as much as living up to them: Faulk, Skinner, Lindholm, Darling, Aho, Slavin. If we just play our game, we’ll continue to slowly grind our way up the standings.
3/ Not particularly unique, but my kids each got a jersey: Aho for my son, Skinner for my daughter.
Put me firmly in the camp that thinks the Rangers are vulnerable. At a basic level, I think they are a playoff bubble-ish team anyway, but their schedule situation is also interesting. The Rangers have played a lopsided home schedule (25 home/15 away) and are a modest 6-7-2 on the road where they will spend much of the second half of the year.
I did the math. Factoring in the home/away games-played and result and extrapolating it over the balance of the season, we’re on a 94-pt pace and the NYR on on a 93-pt pace. Really close.
I always peg the cut line at 95 points which one way or another always ends up close to right at the end, so just maybe Canes 94-point pace is enough this year.
1) CBJ is vulnerable because they struggle offensively. In an increasingly fast and explosive league, they are vulnerable. And the Rangers for all reasons mentioned.
2) I agree it is more about living up to expectations for regulars. A callup from Charlotte may end up being a difference maker this year who exceeds expectations.
3) My favorite canes gifts are a couple “Canes and Coffee” cups. They are attractive, hold just the right amount of coffee, and are a perfect supplement to reading my favorite hockey site. It is also nice to have a site that is about hockey and not advertisements – sometimes other sites make me feel like I’m going to have a seizure from all of the flashy advertising. If any readers don’t have the cups I highly recommend them for a late Christmas present!