Last weekend, things started well enough with a Hurricanes win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, but when pressured by a Detroit Red Wings team that came to skate, the Hurricanes had absolutely no answer on Friday. The result was a lackluster loss that was never close and the beginning of a three-game skid. Fast forward one week, and the Hurricanes won soundly on Friday night against the Vancouver Canucks and again faced the prospect of trying to follow it up a day later against a rested team and somehow find a way to win and in the process do better than treading water.
And this time around, the Hurricanes did exactly that. The game was fast-paced early and almost completely without stoppages with the puck moving rapidly in both directions. Though that was a recipe for trouble only a week earlier, this time the Hurricanes found their skating legs and were able to match pace and counter punch. Despite the pace in the first period, both teams defended reasonably well such that shot volumes grew but grade A chances not as quickly. Colorado struck first when a turnover during 4-on-4 play saw the Avalanche go quickly from defense to offense and finish when a defenseman stepped up and fired past Cam Ward. But Brock McGinn responded almost instantly with an answer goal when Elias Lindholm fed him from behind the net to right in front for a point blank chance. The goal was one of three good chances for McGinn in the first period alone. And past the goal, the Hurricanes skated well pretty much to a man which is not small feat in the second half of a back-to-back.
The second period saw the Hurricanes get into and survive a stretch of shorthanded play within the first 10 minutes of the period. Teuvo Teravainen managed six minutes of ill-advised penalties in the second period. First, he took an offensive zone forechecking tripping penalty. Then when he engaged with an Avalanche player off of a face-off he got his stick up and clipped the player for a high-sticking double minor. As often must be the case when killing penalties, Ward was the Canes best penalty killer, and the team lived to fight another day. Once the stretch of penalties ended, the game went right back to fast-paced back and forth play. McGinn continued to be in the mix off the rush, and the Hurricanes continued to play up to speed in a fast game. But no one scored which pushed the game to the third period still tied at 1-1.
With a 1-1 score and significant stakes for both teams, a lot was on the line in the third period. And once again it was Elias Lindholm feeding Brock McGinn from behind the net for the go ahead goal. When Jeff Skinner tapped in a rebound from the crease late, the Hurricanes had a bit of a cushion and a clear path to what ended as a 3-1 win.
Notes from the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche
1) Brock McGinn
Awhile back I ate crow and pegged Brock McGinn as a player who I was completely wrong about through about half of the season. His strong play just continues to get better. I still do not think McGinn is a pure finisher, and I still do not think his ceiling offensively is as high as some other young players on the Hurricanes. But at some point evaluations and projections must take a back seat to results. And McGinn’s results continue to be good. His 10 goals are not eye-popping, but for a player whose ice time is modest and his power play ice time negligible, his pace for about 15 goals represents solid depth scoring. When coupled with his consistent physical play and the volume of time he spends in the slot area, he looks even better. And when one considers his Justin Williams-like feel for the pulse of the game he gets even better.
Accolades aside, the Hurricanes desperately needed a win on Saturday to make the weekend successful. McGinn’s first star effort with a huge answer goal in the first and the game-winner in the third period were a big effort in a big game. He was easily the team’s best skater on a night when many players had strong games.
2) Cam Ward and the goaltending
Like Scott Darling the night before, Cam Ward was solid. The team in front of the goalies had a MUCH better weekend in terms of defensive play and compete level which helped, but both goalies were solid as well. Two games is not enough to declare a rebound in net, but at a minimum it is a nice reprieve when the team really needs it and has the potential to grow into much more.
3) Jeff Skinner
Jeff Skinner has had his share of games recently that could have been break out games offensively but has not really been rewarded on the score sheet. On Saturday, he was finally rewarded with another goal to offer some breathing room in the third period. The goal was not anything too pretty – just a garbage goal rebound tap in – but it was just reward after being a bit snake bitten. Here is hoping it sparks his next goal scoring binge right when the team needs it.
4) Elias Lindholm from behind the net
Long-term, I question whether Elias Lindholm is more useful at right wing or at center, but short-term he makes the team deeper by playing center at least part-time. Minus Marcus Kruger who just was not producing offensively, the team gains both in terms of offense and balance when Lindholm plays center. In the two weekend wins, he made significant contributions offensively with three centering pass assists.
5) Trying to climb back to the pace
With the win, the Hurricanes are now 4-2-1 in the first seven games of the 12-game stretch with 11 games at home. Before the run of home hockey started, I said that the Hurricanes ideally needed to go 9-3 to gain ground and position themselves to win a playoff spot. The struggles of much of the Metropolitan Division lately actually has the Hurricanes gaining ground with a pace less than that. With a win on Tuesday, the Hurricanes would be within a point of my aggressive target pace through two-thirds of the stretch.
Next up is the last of eight straight home games against the Los Angeles Kings at PNC Arena on Tuesday night.
Go Canes!
1. Goaltending: Can Ward made some outstanding stops and seemed totally in control and focused. Another excellent outing for him.
2. Defense: Faulk and Fleury each had one instance where they made a glaring defensive mistake. Fleury more than made up for his blip by consistently skating the puck up the ice (rather than standing still and trying to make a long pass) and played a sound defensive game. Slavin, Pesce, Hanifin,and Van Reimsdyk played top notch defense. All of them could have skated the puck up more to help the forwards gain the offensive zone.
3. Forwards: They all skated 60 minutes and along with the defensemen they really made a lot of hard checks. Best were Skinner (he played outstanding offense and defense), Lindholm (great assists on all goals and a physical presence), McGinn (played right around the opposing goal consistently and made several good checks. Was all over the ice and checked very closely.), Staal (played physical and was very good at controlling the puck and good along the boards.)
Team: The team played like they really believe they can make the playoffs. A full 60 minutes of fast, close checking hockey against an opponent who was also fast and came to play. Attendance was good and the team’s play had the place rocking.
Excellent breakdown of the game-as always.
Though I have a small quibble–might just be semantics. I have always liked McGinn, thinking he has a 20 goal season in him. And his energy and physicality are always on view. He was the most noticeable “skater” last night. But the best player for the Canes this weekend was Lindholm. All three goals by McGinn and Di Giuseppe were 75% or more due to Lindholm. He has found that level he was playing at last March when the Canes recorded points in 13 straight. While McGinn played a great all-around game, my view is that from a goal standpoint, Lindholm was clearly Carolina’s best player. What I really like about Lindholm when he is playing like this is that he creates goals for whomever is on the ice–his timing creates excellent opportunities whether it is for true goal scorers like Aho and Skinner, or high energy line mates like McGinn. (Though I doubt he could get Nordstrom to score this year. I love Nordstrom’s play, especially on the PK, but man he just can’t score.)
My other quibble is with saying Ward was solid. Over the last 5 games he given up 7 goals and has a save % of .951. Those numbers are better than solid–I agree the D in front of him has made a difference. But the bottom line is that Cam Ward has been one of the league’s best goalies in February.
Finally, I think last night was a preview of the future for the Carolina Hurricanes. With all the prospects in the organization, the team will be able to ice four lines every night that can produce goals. Matt mentioned yesterday the need for a “hero.” Last night it was McGinn–not one of the usual suspects. In the next year or two it might be Foegele, or Saarela, or Roy, or Wallmark or . . . you get the point. I realize that the only elite talents in the prospect pool are probably Necas and Bean. That is fine, because with the continuing development of Aho and Lindholm and with Skinner and Teravainen both being 60-point players, the Canes are going to be able to score goals. Much like last night, the goals will sometimes come from the third or fourth line. That is going to make the team fun to watch.
Good writeup ct. As a past harsh Cam Ward critic I just want to second your comments about Ward. So far this year Ward has been an outstanding goalie and one of the main reasons we are still in the playoff mix. He has had his mistakes and lulls here and there, but look around the league at the dives in performance in Price, Lundqvist, Bobrovsky caliber goalies. It is apparent when the team in front of them isn’t so good defensively and lacks firepower they aren’t as good. Maybe Ward has taken a lot of heat for the failings of management (and snide remarks by yours truly)to put a good team in front of him. Last night he looked like he was in charge and really confident. He has always represented class.
I agree and disagree at the same time. I do believe Aho and Necas can become great players on the top two lines in the future. I do believe Terevainen is a solid support winger who has the potential to score 50-65 pts a season moving forward, but I do see him as a support player not a driver of play.
You mentioned Staal, Lindholm and McGinn three guys who I think play that crucial style that playoff teams need – heavy, fast and physical. They all have reasonable scoring touch but ideally they are all middle 6 players (and truthfully I see McGinn as being more an elite 4th liner/good 3rd liner). Skinner is an elite offensive talent but a streaky scorer that you cannot count on to produce every night. With that said I count 6 players (5 if you consider Necas will take some time) to fill 9 top 9 forward positions. Justin Williams for at least this season is still a top 9 calibre player. With that said the Canes still have between 2-4 openings to improve offensively in the top 9 in my opinion. Every team has holes, and the Canes could very well make the playoffs but if the goal is making the playoffs consistently every year and worrying more about a championship than the wild card then the Canes still have some distance to go both internal development wise and bringing in extra players.
I always find the best thing to do is look at other teams that set the standard in terms of what the Canes should look for. The Tampa Bay Lightning have Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos as just elite offensive forwards the Canes have nobody of the likes, then Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Braydon Point, Namestnikov, Killorn, and Yanni Gourde as good-elite support players. After typing out all those names it’s a lot easier to look more pessimistically at the Canes group of forwards.
Man, I have to respectfully disagree here. I think ‘Top 6’ ‘Top 9’ labels simply don’t mean anything in today’s NHL. It’s all about individual skillset and how those skillsets compliment each other. Take Aho and Teravainen, this year. Both are individually very talented players, but putting them together clearly brought out the best in both.
We are not lacking a ‘Top 6’ forward. We are missing a forward who can consistently get to the front of the net and score goals while also contributing defensively. Currently Lindholm and McGinn are clearly learning, but we have no one that can do it naturally.
Perhaps Zykov could be the answer, but his defense is a bit suspect. I still like Foegele for his hockey sense and all around game. I think he’ll contribute nicely.
I think Tampa has been as good as it has because the team’s player development and draft record have been stellar at all levels. They started far earlier than we did. But this strategy is clearly at least a model for Ron’s own efforts, and it can pay off for the Canes long-term and we’re going to do it without a Stamkos.
As for the short term, Darling and Ward are the keys to the playoffs plain and simple. If they play like they did this weekend, relatively consistently for the rest of the season, we’re in. If they stay on the roller coaster, we’ll be in danger. This team can 100% make the playoffs as currently constructed. Let’s hope this is the start of a consistent drive to prove it.
fogger. I agree with you that the current team can make the playoffs. But I also see fifty’s point. The team on the ice last night is probably one or two players away. For example, McGinn is a perfect fourth liner. The team needs a little more pure offensive skill. That is where I am back to agreeing with fogger–I think Necas and one of the players currently in Charlotte (probably Foegele or Zykov) will be those extra scorers next year.
While Tampa this year looks dominant, I think the better comparison for the Canes is Boston. They have two scorers (Marchand and Pastrnak–Carolina has Skinner and Aho) and a strong two-way center. Bergeron always had a little more offense than Stall, but not really that much until this year, which might be the result of the increased scoring talent around him. What has made Boston so successful is the emergence of Heinen and DeBrusk along with the offense provided by young d-men.
Carolina has several players (Zykov, Foegele, Wallmark) whose AHL scoring prowess looks quite similar to Heinen and DeBrusk. Necas appears to at least have that level of skill. And while we are biased, I think most Caniacs think that Slavin, Pesce, and Hanifin are the equal of Krug and McAvoy–even to the point of thinking they can drive more scoring.
Without multiple years picking in the top 4 pick (for Tampa Stamkos and Hedman; for Pittsburgh Malkin and Crosby), it is not likely to create a scoring juggernaut on the Tampa model. On the other hand, Boston’s level of success seems well within reach for the current talent within the organization.
I see your point and to me we are on the same page but our expectations are simply different. I’m talking about a dream of winning a championship every season for multiple seasons – that is the calibre roster I truly believe the Hurricanes have the potential to reach because of the proper discipline and foundation Francis has laid. But to get there it is about changing the relative frame of reference from being “good enough to make the playoffs” to “we should be good enough to make the playoffs for a Detroit Red Wings length of seasons because we have built such an elite core with such a great system that now we need to talk about the holes we need to compete with the Tampa Bays, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL.
And to just add ONE layer of disagreement to the Boston comparison – yes there are certainly similarities, but Boston has that crucial but slight edge that Bergeron has enough offense to truly be a passable #1 center while Staal falls just short of that bar AND Justin Faulk is the Hurricanes elder statesman and most physical defenseman while unfortunately Zdeno Chara at 300 years old STILL is the better dman i’m sorry but the Canes don’t have a Chara. And oh yeah, Tukka Rask + Anton Khudobin >>>> Ward + Darling. So we aren’t even at Boston’s level yet truthfully. I like our backend as a whole MUCH more just to be fair though despite making a case Chara is a better dman than anyone the Canes currently have.
Moving Lindholm to center opens up the lineup – I’m still waiting for the call-ups to fill in the gaps in our roster by Tuesday that will almost certainly add to the offense. I also like the trial of Aho at center we saw in the 3rd period. I still believe there is more offense inside the organization.
One thing that is going overlooked is our team defense: we gave up 2 goals this weekend, and only 12 in the last 7 (with 4 coming against DET). We have really tightened things up.
dmiller–excellent point. Expectations since July were that the Canes would be an elite defensive team. They are starting to play that way. All three D pairings have been good at the essentials: taking away space, separating opposing forwards from the puck behind the net, minimizing turnovers around their own goal. The Hurricanes need the D to be good every night the rest of the season.
I used a tennis analogy a few weeks ago. Well if the Canes can “hold serve” against LA, then it is time for the second set tiebreaker–with the team already being down one set. The three games in 4 days agains NJ (twice) and NYI must produce two wins. If that happens, then the remaining 22 games will basically be played with three or four teams dead even for the two Wild Card spots.
Given the recent play of the top players (Aho, Skinner, Lindholm) and all seven on D, I like the odds if Carolina wins its next back-to-back.
I’ve been waiting all season for McGinn to find the scoring touch. He’s been pounding the posts all year.
His “posties” have been from the dangerous areas, where he spends a lot of time. He has been doing the little things right and generating grade A chances, they just haven’t been going in. We need a larger sample size to know if it is just chance or wether he has improved his touch, but I hope it is the latter.
It was a fun game to watch.
What a difference when we don´t have a passenger line (all lines were at least a potential threat on the ice). Interesting to finally see Aho moved to center, hopefully this is not one of BP’s random in-game tinkering, but a sign of the immediate future direction.
I think we can get an upgrade over TT, he was the worst player on the ice yesterday and his scoring is awfully streaky. Stil not an immediate problem, but I think we can do better.
Too bad Mcginn didn’t manage the empty netter (and classy of JW to set him up for a chance).
I’m steadfastly pessimistic but I really enjoyed these last two games. Tuesday is a must win for the home stand to be a positive.
4 3 and 1 does not cut it, but 5 2 and 1 is a point short of good.
And what about giving Andrew Miller a chance. He is the AHL scoring leader with some NHL experience. He is probably primarily an AHL guy but based on the way he’s playing I think he deserves a shot with the big club.
Now is a time for a trade! Bring someone in to help. Show the team you believe in them.