With consecutive losses entering the road trip finale and minus Micheal Ferland, Jordan Staal and Curtis McElhinney against a hot Ducks team, the odds looked pretty good that the Canes would return home with nothing to show for the three-game road trip.
But with a nod to the unpredictability of NHL hockey, the Hurricanes rose up and claimed a big two points. Suddenly, utterly dismal was transformed to a bearable 1-2 road trip and a win heading home.
Early on, the game felt like a loss to me. John Gibson was on his game early, and the Hurricanes were sloppy. After I called for the young leaders to rise up, Sebastian Aho had a horrible turnover dribbling the puck out between the face-off circles in the defensive zone. And a shorthanded goal against saw a breakaway followed by the Hurricanes mostly falling asleep while Anaheim retrieved the puck and scored. Jaccob Slavin was front and center standing right next to the goal scorer but doing nothing to move him from the front of the net or defend him. With the Hurricanes recent scoring woes, the 1-0 deficit at the of the first period felt much larger.
But in the second period an unlikely hero arose to jump start the Canes. Looking at a one on one at the offensive blue line with nothing much doing, Clark Bishop turned on the afterburners to blow by a defenseman and forge a puck to the net in Erik Cole fashion. And just like with Cole, goodness happened once the chaos ensued. The play ended with Bishop being taken down and forcing the puck into the net with his leg/skate as he wrapped around the post like a horse shoe. After a review, it was correctly determined that the puck crossed the line before the net was dislodged. The Hurricanes seemed to catch a needed spark from the goal, but at 1-1 entering the third period, nothing had been accomplished yet.
The next hero to rise up was Brett Pesce who labeled a shot through a screen joining the rush from behind. Justin Williams would knock in some loose change to get the Canes up by two goals, and the penalty kill would mostly seal the deal by killing off an extended 5-0n-3 midway through the third period. The Ducks never really challenged after that. Sebastian Aho would add an empty-netter that seemed to stir up a minor fracas and the long flight home would be a happier one.
Player and other notes
1) Brett Pesce
He had a solid game defensively in only his second game back. He had one of the key plays on the 5-on-3 kill, and obviously the goal was huge. His strength is his defensive play, but timely goal scoring is incredibly valuable for this team right now too. Pesce only logged 13 minutes of ice time in a third pairing role but still managed to put his stamp on a big win.
2) Clark Bishop
His goal was a huge one and also prettier than the ending. He really did not have much with a defensman in front of him and in good position. Reasonable would have been to dump the puck deep and then go muck for it in the corner. So his burst of speed right around the defender was a strong attacking play. The end result was more of a cloud of dust than a work of art but beautiful nonetheless. He later chipped in an assist and a couple good defensive plays. I had him as the first star simply because of the magnitude of the goal he scored to push the Canes ahead.
3) Petr Mrazek
Mrazek did not see a ton of volume, but he was sound and solid. With the state of the team coming into the game, if Mrazek cracks for a couple goals early, this game very likely goes a different direction. With McElhinney seemingly on the shelf for a few games, Mrazek’s play in both games on this trip is incredibly encouraging.
4) Next man up
Sebastian Aho took a few more minutes with Staal out and is who everyone will want to talk about with Staal out. But I actually think Lucas Wallmark was quietly the story of getting by without Staal. Wallmark logged 18:07 in all situations and held his own which iwas good enough. Had Wallmark struggled in a bigger role, the game could have taken on a much different tone. Both Aho and Wallmark logged penalty kill ice time in filling the hole left by Jordan Staal’s injury.
5) The penalty kill
The penalty continued its strong run. Most significant was the 5-on-3 kill midway through the third period. Had Anaheim converted, the game would have been a one-goal white knuckler down the stretch.
Up next for the Hurricanes is a well-timed three-day layoff which hopefully gets the team closer to having a couple of players back. After the layoff, the Hurricanes return to home ice on Tuesday against a Toronto Maple Leafs team that is near the top of the NHL standings.
Go Canes!
I turned this game on at the start of the third, and saw… possession oriented, high-risk, high-reward hockey. The canes carried the puck into the zone, often in the center of the ice, throughout the third. Chip-and-chase, dump-and-chase, take it the boards were the exceptions not the standard.
And the boys scored three goals!
Hopefully this is a return to an identity that is more successful and more fun to watch.
Go canes!
Last night I understood why Matt wrote the “Hall Full” article. I attended the Checkers game and then watched the Canes game.
I will start with the only real negative (which may result in a positive). The short-handed goal against displayed why Hamilton is not on the first power play unit like many fans desire. He is not good at carrying the puck into the zone. His pass once he recovered the puck after the breakaway shot hit the post was bad–basically a pass to nowhere. The positive is that with Faulk not yet scoring Pesce is the Canes best offensive D-man. That may force RBA to reunite Pesce and Slavin including on the second PP unit.
Speed is huge in the NHL. Bishop has speed. If he can develop some offensive talent, he can be a key contributor. My favorite non-Cane is Blake Coleman. I can see Bishop playing that kind of role for the Canes at some point.
While Tripp’s tendency to repeat a point can be too much, I think he was accurate last night: Aho had an excellent game. I was glad he at least got the empty-netter. Aho at center is one of the keys for the Canes success.
Yesterday I wrote that I prefer the high skill players to remain in Charlotte until they are playing like the AHL versions of Pastrnak and Marner. Last night that is what I saw. Kuokkanen was a dangerous scorer every time the puck was in the offensive zone. Necas used his speed and puck handling to create defensive breakdowns. They were clearly two of the best players on the ice. From seven rows up I thought that Roy was actually the best player for the Checkers. His skating was fine, but it is his positioning and anticipation that really made a difference. I am convinced that Necas and Kuokkanen will be scoring threats in the NHL. I hope that Roy can develop into a middle-six center at the next level because he makes his teammates better. Finally, Gauthier was strong with the puck last night. His combination of speed and strength is finally starting to show.
The first two goals against Darling were not pretty. He looked bad. But to his credit he recovered when the offense bailed him out.
After a long week of hockey angst, last night was an impressive hockey display by both teams.
I made it through the first two periods and saw the oddest first NHL goal ever (seriously, (John and Trip didn’t even think it was a goal until the review and then it was challenged) but who cares how he scored it, Bishop deserved one and it was fun to see.
Wish I would’ve stayed up for the third, I wasn’t grumpy about where things were going, just tired after a 60 hour week, but these are the magic things about sports, when a team seems out of answers with key players missing, magic can happen.
Honestly, I think the Canes could trade Jordan Staal and replace him with Roy, not exact replacement but similar skills, huge salary savings and Staal may want to go to a cup contender soon, all depends on the return.
I’m still strongly of the opinion that Hamilton should be traded for more offense. Good player but he doesn’t seem to mesh very well with the Canes D, where Da Hahn and Faulk, Pesce and Slavin and Fleur/TVR make for a natural top 6 with some options in Clt + the Fox.
I slightly disagree with Matt: yes, the SHG was deflating, but after the first half of the first period we titled the ice all night long and I had the sense that it was only a matter of time before the score reflected it. I would add a few other points …
1/ Wow. the Canes outworked ANA and were relentless on the forecheck all night creating turnovers and grade-A chances. None went in, but only because Gibson was outstanding (or was Gibson just doing his job like every other goalie we face and the finishers were below-average – hmm). Even with Staal and Ferland out, we were the more physical and hungry team. This is the kind of game we played to start the season that we haven’t seen in quite some time. Hopefully, the players will reconnect with that feeling and carry it forward.
2/ We scored 4 goals. Two were things of beauty: working-man’s goals from dirty areas. One was a surprising dart and one an empty-netter. That’s a formula for success.
3/ It’s time we recognize that our defense and goaltending have been not just good, but outstanding. Yes, we’ve had trouble scoring, but we have also been very stingy defensively. Here are our goals-against the last 9 games: 1 (ANA), 5 (SJO), 1+empty netter (LAK), 1+1 in OT (ANA), 1 (MON), 4 (NYI), 1 (FLA), 2 (TOR), 1 (NJD). That’s 19 goals in 9 games (including 2 clunker-games). Is it possible that our defense has actually developed into the core strength of the team now that we’re getting solid goaltending, something we projected at the start of last season that didn’t materialize? I think maybe it is and I think it might just be sustainable.
4/ I’m declaring the PK issues resolved. I’m also declaring that it’s becoming a core strength of the team again. These guys, to their credit, have resolved their issues and have figured it out.
5/ Mrazek did not see a huge volume of shots but made a handful of excellent and timely saves. His record and stat-line would be substantially better than it is had the PK been this good early in the season. He is in the process of earning another contract.
6/ PDG was excellent last night. His forecheck was everywhere and he created a number of chances – one of which he should have taken for himself instead of passing. His confidence is growing and I think his role will too as the season progresses.
7/ Svetch is going to start adding more offensively soon. He’s a much better player now than he was at the start of the season. He just gets and creates too many chances.
8/ JW led by example. People have been tough on him here lately but he’s the “C” for a reason.
9/ Was it me, or did the team seem faster last night without JStaal? ANA is a big-bodied team but we didn’t seem to miss him much. l love him and value him highly – other teams do too, and he would collect a kings-ransom in a trade. Buy low, sell high. If I’m GMDW, he’s not untouchable. There, I said it.
10/ The standings bounce around too much in our division to get too excited about it, but the Canes woke up and flew home 3rd in the Metro. It’s almost Xmas. Even with all the lost opportunities and obvious problems, it’s hard to complain about that. Having said that, I’m excited.
Let’s lay the lumber to TOR again on Tuesday. I wish I could get there from CLT but it’s going to be tough with this storm coming.
Good point about the PK, it’s been pretty impressive in the last 15 or so games after the abysmal start. If the team keeps playing like that the PK will be in the top 10 soon.
JW had a rough first period, took one (maybe 2) penalties, whiffed on the puck that led to the Ducks SHG and seemed just way out of place. He played better as the game wore on. Can’t vouch for him in the third but glad he got his team going.
Same with the D and goalies. There are a couple of clunkers in there, but it’s true for every team. I need to dig up where the Canes rank for GA. The D needs to score more, as do the forwards, but they are doing their primary duty, stopping the puck.
I admit I am obsessed with trading J Staal now, because I think he would fetch a really good player coming back and if we wait until next year his decline will be in full swing.
Probably hold on until the trade deadline, he would be fantastic for a cup contending team that needs solid line to supplement their top 6. And, quite frankly, I don’t think he’s doing much for the Canes right now. There are the intangibles and all that, but on the ice I am not seeing much of anything.
We are 6th in GA/G overall and 5th since Nov-1. That’s pretty good. On the PK, we are 17th overall but #1 since Nov-1.
I worry about the remaining term on Staal, too, so I also find myself thinking about trading him. He’s got a NMC so it’d be hard to do, and especially since “a really good player” with offsetting salary probably has one, too, CAR might be a tough sell. I’ll bet JR and PIT would love him back.
Everybody above make good sense and have covered things well. I would add only one comment/correction. The person who led this team (caused it to pick up its game) last night was a fourth liner making the least amount of money named Clark Bishop. His rush up the ice and goal changed the whole pace of the Canes game. From that point on the team’s speed, aggression and determination ramped up substantially. Clark Bishop showed the team what it takes to win in the NHL.
Staal. Love the way he plays hard…. Bless his heart he is not a scorer and I don’t think the coach will ever see that. He wants him to play a major role…. On offense. It’s just not his strength. I said before I would never want anyone to be hurt, but this let’s us see things. Yes, I think we did look faster wiout him. His line with Williams should have the playing time of a 3rd line. Augment his minutes with the PK, not PP. Yes, there will be defensive lapses from others, but the potential for more offense should far outway that.
He’s back. https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2018/12/carolina-hurricanes-recall-scott-darling-from-charlotte.html
Does this make sense to you guys?
Ned “MUST BE AT LEAST AS GOOD”, and ought to be given a chance, eh?
It sound like Darling was pulled in the last Checkers game on Saturday
http://gocheckers.com/news/checkers-news/game-recaps/checkers-score-twice-in-final-minute-shock-thunderbirds-in-ot
Wait, what?
A goalie that goes down to the AHL because of poor performance, then is pulled from the AHL game is sent back to the parent club the next day?
I read he was pulled because of the recall, not his play in net.
Hopefully that’s the reason. It sounds weird to pull a goalie for one period because he has been recalled, and his GA that game was not looking fantastic (but wasn’t disastrous either), hopefully you are right.