The Carolina Hurricanes entered Friday’s match up against New Jersey with the weight of a six-game losing streak having been lifted off their backs the night before but still needing to do more to gain ground in the battle for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
The opponent was a tough one in the New Jersey Devils who are currently in playoff position themselves and gave the Hurricanes fits in two games in the span of a few days that saw the Hurricanes drubbed 5-2 and then suffer a 3-2 loss in overtime.
But picking up where they left off on Thursday, the Hurricanes turned things around against the Devils and picked up a solid 3-1 win to push to two straight wins. The margin of victory was only a single goal plus an empty-netter, but the level of play was incredibly high for the Hurricanes. As happens too often, the Canes generated a bit more offense than their two goals (not counting the empty-netter) would indicate, and the team played a strong and nearly error free game defensively.
The first period was fairly tightly played by both teams. The Hurricanes had the upper hand in terms of possession and offensive zone time but did not generate a ton of high-quality chances. Derek Ryan had a couple of the best chances including a shot that beat Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid but clanged the post and then two consecutive chances from just inside the face-off circle. But despite being the better team and collecting a 9 to 6 shot advantage, the Hurricanes exited the first period scoreless and still tied with New Jersey.
The second period started similarly but again offered little in the way of score board reward early. Victor Rask was the next fourth-liner to step up with a couple strong plays off the forecheck and a couple good chances to score. Finally, just after the midway point of the game and after multiple near misses, the hockey gods looked down and rewarded the Hurricanes fourth line with a goal on a Derek Ryan centering pass that glanced off a Devils defenseman’s skate and into the net. The Hurricanes would hold that lead until late in the period when an ill-timed offensive zone penalty by Derek Ryan gave New Jersey a late period power play. After nearly two periods that were fairly quiet for Taylor Hall, the power play presented the small opening that Hall needed to extend his point streak to 24 games. Cam Ward had no chance on his deft deflection on a shot/pass, and the result was a 1-1 tie heading into the third period.
The Hurricanes continued to play well and mounted a couple rounds of sustained pressure that carried from one shift to the next. Matching Hall’s goal earlier, Teuvo Teravainen finished with a tip in front on a Brett Pesce point shot to stake the Hurricanes to a 2-1 lead just before the midway point of the third period. From that point forward, the Hurricanes continued to be pretty sound defensively, and Cam Ward who was sharp in playing both halves of the back-to-back had a couple big answers to hold the lead. Justin Williams put it away with an empty net goal from the left side that had just enough similarities to serve as a reminder of his class empty-netter to finish off the Stanley Cup win 13 years ago.
The win was a second consecutive solid win over a team currently slotted to play in the playoffs.
Notes from the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils
1) The fourth line on offense
They suffered a bit from the regular inability to finish, but on a low-scoring night the line fourth line of Rask/Ryan/Stempniak was the team’s best offensively. The trio spent a ton of time in the offensive zone and generated a reasonable volume of decent maybe if not great scoring chances. They did net one goal but could have had more with Ryan’s post and a couple other point blank chances for Ryan and Rask. If you count this as the team’s fourth line which seems reasonable even though they played third line minutes on Friday, then the offensive production of one goal was plenty and signs are that there could be more to come.
2) The Staal line on defense
The fact that the Canes one make it a non-issue, but in some ways it was too bad that Hall netted a power play goal. Jordan Staal along with line mates Justin Williams and Brock McGinn and mostly paired with Slavin/Pesce had a strong game defensively holding down one of the NHL’s hottest players right now in Tyler Hall. Staal logged 20:28 of ice time and was dinged only for the Hall power play goal.
3) …With Slavin/Pesce
Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce also had incredibly strong games and spent a significant portion of their ice time paired with Staal and matched up with Hall’s line. And for the second consecutive game, Pesce got a well-timed shot through to the front of the net with a Hurricanes forward within range for a deflection and a goal.
4) Hanifin/Faulk March reunion
Last year after the trade deadline departure of Ron Hainsey, Noah Hanifin and Justin Faulk were united for a month of March that was each player’s strongest month during up and down 2016-17 seasons for both. The duo spent most of Friday’s game together and held their own in a second pairing role. With all hands needed on deck right now, a repeat of last year’s strong March would be appreciated if they stay together.
5) Cam Ward
Playing both halves of a back-to-back for the first time in awhile, Cam Ward looked sharp. From confidently snaring pucks with his glove hand to rebound control to making a couple stellar saves, he was solid throughout and spectacular a couple times when it was needed in a big game and with no margin for error. With the pair of wins, I think the net might now be his for the vast majority of the remainder of the 2017-18 season. The Canes do have two different pairs of back-to-back sets that are clustered together such that Ward might need a game or two off, but otherwise I think Peters is rapidly approaching the point where he rides him almost exclusively to the end.
6) You might be looking at the wrong team
With the Columbus Blue Jackets’ loss on Friday night, the Hurricanes are now in a dead heat in the standings for the last playoff spot. But in reality the front runner and team that the Hurricanes are chasing is the Florida Panthers. The Panthers are a point behind Columbus and Carolina in the standings but with three games in hand, adjusted math suggests that the Panthers are actually up two points on both teams (counting games in hand as a point each) with the potential to make it five points if they were to win all three games in hand.
Next up is the fourth challenge of the week against a playoff team when Winnipeg comes to PNC Arena on Sunday night.
Go Canes!
I was gonna comment last night and say last nights win was impressive but would mean nothing if we didn’t follow it up tonight… pretty big 27 hour span. Would be a good time to get hot and for Teuvo to keep up one of his big offensive stretches carrying this team. As bad as it’s looked at times, all it takes is one big hot streak here and it’s actually possible we have playoff hockey in Raleigh again this April. Time to ride Cam til his wheels come off.
Still not getting my hopes up too high.
1) The Canes have the personnel to have somewhat interchangeable (based on the game situations) lines. That is the future.
2) Because Staal doesn’t have great finishing skills, he is called “defensive.” What he does is drive possession through winning face-offs, puck battles, and seldom giving the puck away. Williams has been one of the best wingers in the league driving possession for the last several seasons (though the eye-test indicates he has more give-aways this season). So pairing them will continue to keep the opponents’ possession time down.
3) Unlike tj, I like making predictions. If the Canes are to grab the last playoff spot, it will be because Brett Pesce is scoring like an elite defenseman for the remainder of the season. He has not only been shooting so that players can redirect in front of the net, but just like last evening he has been joining rushes to either create lanes or drive the net. Another 10-12 points over the remaining 17 games will mean Carolina is playing as the “good version.”
4) All the D seem to have found a higher level. And it has a synergy effect–the forwards make better plays when the D are moving the puck.
5) I trust Cam–pretty much always have. My hope is that he is still with the organization in some capacity when they are Cup “favorites” for a stretch of years.
6) The extra games are a blessing/curse for the Panthers. They could use them to secure the last spot, or just as likely they could get burned out. Also, their winning % over the last 15 games is not likely to continue. Bottom line, the April game against the Canes might be a de facto playoff game. Which is what we all wanted–right? Meaningful hockey in April.
Call me pessimistically optimistic. Right now that WC2 spot is Florida’s by a decent margin (until and unless they start losing). Meanwhile we may need Columbus to continue their downward spiral, and maybe just maybe New Jersey has hit their wall only to spiral the same? All this while the ‘Canes needing to continue their own points streak.
Simply put, we need some help. All the ‘Canes can do is worry about themselves and continue a solid win streak (so far so good)! Then hope two of CBJ/NJ/FLA loses some steam. Plenty of games left and anything is possible.
If that’s the team that shows up to play each night in March/April, then ct is 100% correct:
we’re going to have meaningful games down the stretch and it’s going to be a lot of fun to see what happens. That team is going to have to show up, though; very tough schedule.
Agree with the point about really chasing FLA; interesting, they 5 games in the last 7 days of the season: CAR, NAS, BOS, BUF, @BOS. Columbus has to travel to EDM, CAL, and VAN the last week of March.
If we make the playoffs, we will have earned it.
Scoring 4th lines is the future of the NHL. It is no longer a requirement to get one dimensional “experienced NHLers” for a purely defensive fourth line.
Young players on ELCs are way ahead of past generations. Many start elite training regimens, healthy eating, and get excellent coaching starting in their early teens. Many are ready for the big show with one or less years in the NHL.
It is time for the canes to embrace the new model now.
I made the case at the start of the season that slotting in Stempniak and Ryan on the 4th line might be ideal. So far it has paid off. While I’d be happy to see Wallmark or Foegele take over the 4C next year, I would also be interested to see if they could re-sign 1 or both of Stempniak and Ryan to 4th line money for next season. I think those 2 are the starting point of a good offensive 4th line – add in Brock McGinn and I think you could argue that might be one of the best 4th lines in the league.
Due to power outage in North East I could not watch or record so can’t comment on game however I went to Pbruins vs Checkers. I was really looking forward to seeing just how much talent is in Charlotte. Unfortunately I was disappointed. No one really stood out. Tolchinsky had a really nice between the leafs move to get a breakaway but didn’t finish. Gauthier had a nice breakaway chance but Quiet rest of game. Foegele was non existent. Best forward was McKegg. But again no one stood out.
On D Carrick played solid D and scored a goal. Didier had a good game.
But again no one stood out.
I have been hard on RF and Peters for not calling up our young talented players from AHL but now after seeing them in person I don’t blame them nobody seems ready. To be fair I have only one game to judge it on. Can Someone who goes to Checkers game give us a run down.
Golden. I have been to three Checkers’ games. So not a huge sample. Still, I partially agree with your assessment. The team looks good, but no single player is overwhelming competion at the AHL level. Though there are a few who have stood out.
Saarela–I would say he has looked the best of the players in total. He scored a highlight reel goal in the very first game of the season. Then when I saw the Checkers twice at the end of January, Saarela looked really good in the face-off circle and even killed penalties pretty well–though both games Charlotte ended up on the wrong side of 5-3 situations.
Roy–His size is pretty noticeable. He also seems to have the ability to get off his shot with very little room, unfortunately the four times I have been impressed with how he was able to shoot the puck, the actual direction/accuracy was into the middle of the goalie. If he can work on getting shots toward the corners he will be quite dangerous. Also, Roy is disruptive when the other team has the puck. He uses his reach well.
Foegele–He scored two goals including the game winner on opening night. He was fast to pucks and seemed to be all over the ice. In the two January games he was less noticeable, but still strong on PK.
Zykov–I can’t say I particularly noticed his play, but he scored in two of the three games and had a terrific wrister in the one game that went to shootout.
The player who stood out most was Wallmark, he was constantly talking with the coaches and other players. In the second January game where the Checker’s were called for either 4 or 5 penalties before the opposition was whistled for one, he spoke to the official and soon there was a call the other way. He looked most like an NHLer among players still trying to make their marks.
Ned started in goal two of the games and spelled Smith in the other. He was not bad, but didn’t look NHL ready in any of the games.
I would be interested to get the opinions of some of the commenters who have been to home games.
THX CT
I am a Canes mini-plan STM but I go to about 30-35 game per season at PNC. I also try to get down to Charlotte for 3-4 games a season – I was down for two back-to-back weekend homestands, including 3 weeks ago (the first was in November against Providence). So only one more game than ct, but I will add this.
As far back as November, Wallmark was described as the most NHL-ready player – not just for the Checkers, but in the entire NHL. He is proving it now – and would do so even more if Peters would let him off his leash. He is a top-9, but not top-3 player. But you didn’t see him against Providence, of course.
Zykov doesn’t play a game that is bright and shiny and easily visible. I believe that is why Matt doesn’t view him as fast enough for the NHL level. He has some flash but he gets and stays in the dirty zones and works it. He is a young Bickell. The guy is built like a brick shithouse as well. He has game now at the NHL – 3rd line with PP.
Saarela is an excellent AHL sniper – I am not yet sure his level matches NHL quality.
Note – both Saarela and Zykov have touchy shoulders and both have had multiple surgeries the past few years. I think Zykov will succeed in the NHL more so than Saarela but I think the world of both of them. And tonight, Zykov scored twice, including the OT GWG and Saarela notched the other.
Both Roy and Foegele are not yet ready for NHL but both play solid games. They are still 1 or 2 years away.
I wasn’t impressed with Koukkanen as I wanted to be – but he has had an amazing month and was just named AHL player of the month (and consider the “Finnish Line” when he centers Aho and Teravainen in a year or two).
As for Gauthier, a few weekends ago I was in the stands and Julien was on the ice and we were both doing the same thing – we were watching a hockey game being played in front of us. LOL! That said, he had a solid two-weeks since, and there was an excellent article quoting Vellucci along the lines when Gauthier is engaged and moves his skates he starts to show his promise. If Gauthier decides he wants to play and not watch he can be a beast – it is in his head and in his hands. I want to believe he can figure it out and become that player.
A final note on Ned. I chatted with someone in the Checkers’ organization who said he didn’t think Ned would get a good look because of his size. I caught him on one of his 3 shutouts. When he wants to stop the short side there is no space – his shoulder is locked into the top bar and there is not an inch of space between him and the post down to ice. He moves back and forth quickly and handles the puck beautifully. Then you get games like you saw from him in Providence and you scratch your head. And then you remember that Price let in something like 8 goals in one game this season and you nod your head and realize this guy has it, in spite of his size.
THx you for the info