After a tough loss late in the game the night before, one might have wondered how the Hurricanes would react with a quick turnaround for a game the next night. While the first period was not the best that the team has played of late, the team did not seem to suffer any ill effects from the night before. Midway through the period, the hockey gods continued a strong run coming to the Canes aid. A harmless Micheal Ferland shot somehow went off the back part of the top of the net and found its way back to the crease where the a Buffalo defenseman scored an own goal which was credited to Ferland. The resulting 1-0 lead would hold until the final minute of the period when Jeff Skinner scored a pretty power play goal batting a puck out of mid-air and into the net to tie the game 1-1. Especially after playing and traveling the night before while Buffalo rested in Raleigh, the Hurricanes had to be happy with the 1-1 tie heading into the first intermission.
The Skinner goal to close out the first period seemed to kick off a burst of scoring. Early in the second period, a great individual move by Justin Williams saw him open a lane to the net and finish up off the cross bar and in. But Buffalo struck back only 30 seconds later when Jason Pominville labeled a shot for the top half of the net. Then the Canes pushed back up 3-2 when Sebastian Aho threw the puck into traffic from the corner. The puck went off the skate of a Buffalo defender and in with Teravainen creating the chaos in front. After a quieter stretch, Aho scored the Canes fourth goal of the game off that was more or less an own goal off of a Buffalo player when a wraparound rebound attempt found a skate and then the net.
With a two-goal lead entering the third period, the Hurricanes mostly chugged forward through the third period without much incident. But the game became interesting when the hockey gods returned at least part of the favor when Buffalo scored with just over three minutes remaining. But the Hurricanes and McElhinney finished strong after that to hold on for a 4-3 win and another great Friday in black with a storm surge at the end.
Player and other notes
1) The hockey gods and the bounces
The Ferland goal in the first period was bizarre going off the back part of the top of the net and somehow finding its way back to the front of the to get batted in by a Sabres defender. Then both of Aho’s goals were shots not on the net that caromed off Sabres’ skates and in. Combined with the couple offside challenges earlier this week, and at least temporarily the bounces have turned in the Canes favor.
2) Another big goal for Williams
Justin Williams continued his run of netting big goals during the Canes recent surge with his pretty snipe early in the second period.
3) Sebastian Aho
Fortuitous bounces played a significant role in his big night, but his two goals on the night of Jeff Skinner’s return were well-timed. The game was that Aho had a huge night on the score sheet with two goals and a plus four, but the statistics were a bit of an anomaly in that three of the goals were knocked in by Sabres defensemen and the fourth goal was actually netted by an individual effort by Justin Williams on a partial change. Nevertheless, the results were well-timed with former Canes offensive star Jeff Skinner returning.
4) Micheal Ferland returns to Aho’s line
As noted above, the Aho line’s big night was as much the result of lucky bounces than a surge by the trio, but I still like the decision to return Ferland to Aho’s line. Aho will benefit from having a power forward and a receive/shoot winger, and Ferland’s finishing ability on those receive/shoot opportunities is significantly better than McGinn’s or other options. Ferland was in the middle of all of it with three points on the night. Here is hoping that Brind’Amour sticks with this trio and that it can return to the same level of play and production as before Ferland’s injury.
5) The blue line
The headline of the Hurricanes defense has rightfully been the solid goaltending, but the role that the blue line is playing should not be lost. De Haan and Faulk meshed pretty well from the beginning. Slavin and Pesce have picked up where they left off in the pass since being reunited. And Hamilton has been surging offensively with slightly less responsibilities in a third pairing role with van Riemsdyk.
6) The climb resumes
With the win over the Sabres who were sitting in the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, the Hurricanes pulled to within five points of the cut line. There is still work to do, but little by little the Hurricanes are climbing the ladder again after December’s nasty fall.
Next up for the Hurricanes is another matinee 12:30pm start on Sunday afternoon at PNC Arena against the Nashville Predators.
Go Canes!
Here’s hoping that the O/M see through the fog and decide it’s worth paying a few pennies more to have Ferland long-term on Aho’s wing – but, by reports, the two sides haven’t talked in over a month.
De Haan is rock solid – missing what he is doing every game is like missing the little things that Slavin does every game.
It was great to see Skinner get a goal today – even better that it was in a losing effort. He clearly enjoyed the video tribute – I went back and forth from watching him on the ice and watching the tribute on the screen.
Canes had all the luck tonight, but on a lot of nights they don’t have any, so that’s all right.
Good to see Skinner play in Raleigh again, good he scored a goal, even better that the Canes got the W.
I can never get over the travesty that was the Skinner trade, but he’s happy, successful, and I thank him for all the goals, excitement and contributions to the ttrangle.
Now, as already said, we have to hope that TD does not let penny pinching get the better of him. He can upgrade a promising roster to a playoff team, last year at the latest.
But he’s going to have to pay to acquire the missing pieces.
Extend Ferland, give our new top center a contract and add another top 6 legit player, trade excess RHD smartly to do it.
This was TD’s owniversary, he tweeted that the best was yet to come, I look forward to seeing the best happen.
Results matter. I turned to my spouse, who wasn’t watching the game, after the first goal and said the Canes were going to win. The Boston game, final NYI game, and now the Buffalo game. All three included “lucky” goals and all three were good wins. Like most of us who are regulars here at C&C, the players were doubting their talent level. Given a break, the doubt quickly dissipates. I think the truth is that the Canes do have the talent to be a wild-card/#3 in the Metro playoff team. They are not as unskilled or poorly coached as we feared. They are likely equivalent to Buffalo, Montreal, NYI. That is not to say the season won’t see another trough. But if the breaks even out, then the Canes should be playing meaningful hockey in late March.
The Canes definitely don’t have the scoring talent of many other teams. They do have a top 5 defense, four lines that can play fast and cause problems on the forecheck, and (finally, after years of not having it) solid goaltending. Those things won’t make winning easy, the Canes are going to be in a lot of one-goal games. But the remainder of the season should consist of games the Canes can win. With a few more deflections off the opponents, the Canes will continue to move up the standings.
On the other hot topic: Ferland’s contract situation is becoming more interesting. Serious question–can the Canes justify paying Ferland more than Justin Williams next season? Williams is making a case that he should be signed for at least another year. If you base it on value to the team, I don’t think many can argue that Williams isn’t as valuable as Ferland. So if Ferland is worth $5M for 4-5 years, is Williams worth $5M for two? I think we all hope/expect Justin Williams to sign a team friendly deal to stay “home” for his last season or two. But from a purely objective business perspective, I think it is a close call as to who is more valuable. Ferland is providing scoring and physicality with Aho and Teravainen. Williams is scoring without playmakers and his leadership appears to be making a difference. The UFA decisions are going to be difficult and will likely indicate the direction of the organization for the next few years.
ct…you are dead on in your about resigning Ferland IMO. I hope Dundon reads what you have to say about this.
I also agree TC. TD said he likes winning. A lot will be displayed this season. Ferland should defiantly be resigned. Don’t screw it up. Same thing with TT and Aho. When you get good pieces, you keep them. What TD does will determine if I remain a STH. He messes it up, I’m done. No more lip service.
I was bumbed with the Tampa game. We played real well. The tying goal was a whiff that trickled in. At the time I was thinking when are we ever going to get a bounce. The season had been very few bounces going our way. They happen for other team but seldom us. Last night we finally got some. We get the luck other teams get, the season is different. We have the tallent. Let TD get us a little more scoring and we will be good for a while. Do not loose what you have. Also happy that skinner got a goal. I still view it as s massive screwup to let him go. I am also happy the goal was in a loosing effort.
If LeBrun is correct that the two sides haven’t talked in a month, then a decision has already been made regarding Ferland. The sides are just too far apart; Ferland has to be looking for his big payday as a UFA and the team is not going to chase that.
I agree. Chemistry aside, Ferland is the 3rd wheel on the top line and his production is replaceable at a cheaper cost. A few years back Tlusty was a successful 3rd wheel on the top line and that flamed out quick. It is therefore reasonable to suspect Ferland is asking for more than fair market value, and we all know teams spend silly on July 1st. It is also reasonable the Canes have a replacement or two in mind that is more cost controlled (via trade or in the pipeline). Management needs to spend added dollars in other areas for guys who drive scoring, not complementary players.
This is why I don’t think we are going to be able to compare the CGY/CAR trade until next year or beyond. Much depends on what happens with Hamilton and Fox, and the return for Ferland. It may very well be a situation where A is dealt for B, then B dealt for C.
Or in historical terms: Pronger dealt for Shanahan, Shanahan dealt for Primeau, then Primeau dealt for Brind’Amour. While each player succeeded in their new destinations, none carried a team the way RBA did. So in hindsight, sometimes trades are not won or lost for a few years.
I love Ferland,and I certainly don’t want to lose him but he wants between five and six million. He has never been a great scorer.last year with calagary was his best playing with Johnny hockey and did not score much when he was on a different line away from turbo and Aho.So the question is can you pay 5million plus for a physical player.if the answer is yes you will have to give good money to Martinook and McGinn.Then turbo contract is up too and he has outscored Ferland every year so is he worth 6 or 7 million and then that makes Aho worth way more than those guys so I think it can get out of control in a hurry.I want to keep him but not if it is going to cause us problems signing everyone else.
The hockey gods “made up” for Thursday night.
Friday night showed that sometimes you can just throw pucks at the net and win. It does happen. It is generally not a repeatable recipe for success, but the win counts for the same 2 points and it is fun to be a part of.
It was a night of fun all the way around.
The discussion around Williams and Ferland contracts is is very interesting too. Each plays an important role on the team. If you use Washington as the blueprint for success, given they just won the cup, the combination of skill and grit on the top line is a good one. The only scenario where we should consider letting Ferland slip away is if we have another one like him signed. And there are not many like that.
Williams is the perfect captain. Fiery on the ice, chill, thoughtful, and smart off the ice. He has a great relationship with the coach and serves almost as an assistant coach on the ice.
Given that Aho will be most ready to step in as captain in a couple years, and would benefit by more time with a great role model, my vote is 2 more years for Williams. Depth scorer, paired with a rookie, whatever, a great fit is there to be had. Plus he’ll get the game winner in game 7 :-).
I haven’t counted the number of games / number of days ratio, but we have to be bumping against physical limitations. Another game tomorrow… when is the workload going to be light enough for these bodies to recover?
Go canes!
The team gets 8 days off at the end of the month.
Goals are goals. Our caroms and flukes are no worse than all the caroms and flukes our opponents have scored against us. It is a method of scoring prevalent in the NHL and is actually done by design by the best teams and players. Let’s lament only when we don’t get our share of caroms and flukes…and for good measure a healthy bunch of empty netters (we all no what the presence of these would indicate, don’t we? My chant, “Cheap goals are great!”