Though it is only about the midway point of preseason, Monday night’s match up against the Oilers figured to be a good test. The Hurricanes just looked faster in all three zones from the outset and eventually rode the advantage to an easy 6-2 win.
The game was not a great one for a couple evaluation points. Making his first preseason start, Scott Darling saw almost nothing for shots early until things picked up later. And because the Hurricanes were so dominant winning loose pucks, on the forecheck and in the neutral zone, the defense encountered a very manageable situation through about half of the game before the play did start to balance out at least to some degree.
Here are a few notes following up on my ‘what I’m watching’ list from earlier today:
1) Scott Darling
As noted above, the game did not present a preferable tune up with a steady amount of medium quality chances. The few times, Darling did see shots early, he was fighting the puck just trying to get a piece of it. The first Edmonton goal came on a juicy rebound that he left right in front of him, and he generally had pucks carom off him at random all night. Important to note is that it was his first start and also that he only allowed two goals which is far from a disaster.
2) The blue line
The fact that the forwards seemed to either win or steal every puck in the offensive zone and neutral zone made for a favorable situation for the defensemen. But when called upon as the game wore on, the defense was mostly solid against a mostly NHL lineup with some high end talent. Slavin did lose a battle in front for the first goal, but in total I thought the defense looked to be tracking toward being ready on October 7.
3) My turn
With Martin Necas being the focus of most of the prospect/youth buzz right now, Janne Kuokkanen had a huge effort that will reclaim some of the attention. He collected three points and displayed a varied offensive tool bag in the process. He fired a laser of a one-timer for a goal, fed Jordan Staal with a pretty pass on the rush and collected another assist. At least for now, Kuokkanen is playing on the wing which is more likely to offer an opening than the center position which is booked up.
4) A few other player notes
Teuvo Teravainen: He probably ranks second behind only Derek Ryan right now for being ready to go offensively.
Jordan Staal: It was good to see him finish when given a couple opportunities.
Martin Necas: The fluid and effortless skating is always there as is the comfort level playing with the puck on his stick in the middle of the rink, but he had a quieter day overall on Monday.
Next up is a rematch against the Edmonton Oilers in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Wednesday night.
Go Canes!
Two caveats for my comments:
1) The game was blacked out where I live, so my comments are based on Kaiton’s call, stats, and comments from Matt and other interest sites;
2) It is still the preseason so I am trying to contain the optimism.
To the point that the Canes were faster to the puck, that is really impressive given it was the Oilers.
TT has the ability to rival Aho as an offensive weapon. A 60-point season is probable if he stays on a line with Williams and Staal. The 2-year deal may end up being GMRF’s only misstep this offseason.
Williams is adding exactly what this team needed–a player who consistently creates “danger zone” activity. He will probably end up under 50 points, but his effort, style of play, and influence will rival the top wingers in the league.
While it is a great problem, I am glad I am not Peters. Making the final cuts gets more difficult every game. If Stempniak has an injury that keeps him out, then I would flip a coin an have either Wallmark or Kuokkanen center Skinner with Ryan as RW to start the season. I would let Necas head back to Europe with instructions to find a finishing move or two. He is as dynamic as any end-to-end, can make plays with speed, has a good sense of the game. But ultimately the objective is to score goals and for some reason that hasn’t come yet.
Kuokkanen and Wallmark on the other hand both have made a case with their play and on the score sheet. At this point the only reason one doesn’t make the roster is concern with playing time.
Because I think I was wrong about Jooris. The organization saw something they liked, and so far JJ has delivered. The presumed 4th of Nordstrom/Kurger/Jooris appears to be what Cory Fogg hoped–an extremely difficult line for opponents.
Should the Canes make the playoffs and have an offensive renaissance, I think Staal will finally get the respect he deserves as a 1C. Along with the respect he may well win the Selke.
I watched periods 2 & 3. I saw many posts about how dominant the Canes were in the 1st.
The Oilers had 9 total shots through most of the 2nd period. Their announcer said they played 11 of their 12 starting forwards The 12th may end up being their 1st rounder that played last night. Side note: most people crapped on this draft but seeing Yamamoto play should change their opinions. I don’t know how he made it to 22 but his is a very smart and talented player.
Im back. The 9 shots on goal through 30 + minutes is pretty impressive. They had a good spurts where they uped their effort level and it got interesting. Overall the Canes dominated on the intangible effort metric last night.
I think Bean had flashes of a great puck moving defender. He needs more time to bake.
Darling needs to play 2 more games.
The decision will be tough between Kuokkanen, Wallmark, and Necas to see who takes Stempniak’s spot for a while. All have their positives. In the end, it should be Kuokkanen. He is more refined then Necas but has the same ability to make plays for Skinner.
Lastly, I enjoyed listening to the Edmonton announcing crew. They were very complimentary of the team. They compared us to Nashville and said the team can be very good this year. They talked about our ability to win faceoffs a bunch, speed, and the ability of the defenders to transition the puck quickly.
I listened to most of the first period and watched the last two periods. My observations:
1. Koukkanen or Wallmark have done enough to make the team if there is an open spot for the taking.
2. Rask plus a young defenseman (Carrick, Fleury, or Bean) should be enough to go after another experienced scoring forward if RF and BP think we need one.
3. Darling was okay, but was a little rusty.
4. The Canes’ overall speed and the special teams play were the things that stood out the most.
5. Edmonton announcers were very good. Not just in their praise for the Canes, but their overall calling of the game. I would Forsland/Tracy, the Edmonton pair, and the Washington pair as the best I have seen and heard on tv.
This is turning into an extremely impressive preseason. We should be thrilled for the next couple of years as canes fans. Kuokkanen is sooo slick. Darling will be fine, first game in months and didn’t face many shots early to get him into the game, still only allowed two powerplay goals. And I think people need to quit worrying about Necas. Forslund said he will end up making the team out of camp, if only for a trial run. Aho had no finish in his game early last year too. It’ll come. NHL goalies take some getting used to. He’s got the speed, intelligence, and incredible vision to help this team.
BW. As you said, much to be excited about. Which is why I lean toward giving Necas another year. It seems to be working for Logan Brown. I don’t really buy the NHL goalie argument. Yamamoto and Hischier are scorers and it is showing. I am on record as thinking Necas should be top 3 in his draft class. But he hasn’t mastered scoring yet. Remember that was what everyone was clamoring for all last year. Give the kid a year and put him at RW with Aho at C and TT on left. Playing against men in Europe has no real downside. There are enough options without rushing Necas. If BP disagrees, I will gladly acknowledge my mistake (though since we are among friends I must admit I surprised even myself with the What I Am Watching comments before last night).
I have been up and down in my thoughts on Teuvo – probably reflecting his inconsistent play last season. He looked a lot better last night – he displayed his high-end skill level and it was great to see that.
After having not been impressed by Bean in Raleigh last week, I liked what I saw last night. TvR is going to be a solid pairing-mate for whatever young D-man who plays on his left.
Rask has not a good preseason, I don’t think. Last night he looked a lot like he did during the last half of last year – and he got thumped on faceoffs to boot.
Kuokkanen had the game Necas needed to show he deserves a roster spot – IU agree with ct that he needs to learn to generate scoring. Kuokk has no such issues.
I missed the third – how did Kuokkanen end up on Staal’s line?
After fighting the Internet and my tablet (wish I never bought it), I got to see the 2nd half of the 1st period on…
WOW…THE CANES SKATED CIRCLES AROUND THE OILERS!
The score didn’t completely indicate the Canes dominance!
It could have been 10-2 based on that…
Too bad it was pre-season, eh?
I think cutting down to 22/23 will be tough, and THAT’S A GREAT PROBLEM TO HAVE!
All that said, I think NOW is the best time to get a better BU keeper, and a center using the depth we obviously have!
Trading from strength is when you can get fair value.
No Ward isn’t a good back up… his stats have made it clear!
Yes he has an occasional good game, but overall he is sub-par. At his age…what you see is all you’ll get…or less.
This was the first time I’ve seen Kuokkanen play. If he can bring that game consistently, I will officially be kookoo for kokonuts (sorry). If he can play that way consistently then I agree with ct, red, and others that he is a fine choice for the line with Skinny and Doc. He could drive a tough decision and option consideration when Stempniak comes back.
I posted this same comment on the Daily Cup of Joe post – sorry for the duplication …
1/ I had not really seen Janne Kuokkanen or Martin Necas play live against NHL competition until last night. Kuokkanen looked way better than I expected. He obviously had a great game and just oozes talent – that pass to Staal was nasty. If he starts the season in CLT, I bet he finds his way to Raleigh before the season ends. Necas is fast and all over the ice but couldn’t quite make anything happen. Maybe it was just one of those games, but this has been the repeating story-line for him; I think he may need another year before he’s truly ready. And then there’s Wallmark (who was excellent last night, again) and Zykov (who plays a heavy game we need more of). With all the rising talent especially on offense, makes me wonder whether McGinn is also at risk. The final forward spot looks like it’s going to be a very difficult decision. I don’t envy BP at all.
2/ Noah Hanifin looked extremely composed and very solid without any moments of being flustered. It’s a one-game sample size, but his game seems to be further along, which is obviously a very good sign. I also agree that Bean looked better but he’s going to need more time to develop: unfortunately,he can’t play in CLT this year, which is where he belongs.
3/ EDM is supposed to be one of the fastest teams in the league but they were slow in comparison to us last night. Our forecheck was stifling and very impressing. Hard to tell whether we were just really good or they were just off their game – probably some combination of both – but other than the one play where Nordstrom took the hooking penalty on McDavid, they didn’t get behind us or have any real odd-man rushes.
4/ Darling gave up a bunch of rebounds but he’s entitled to a few games to shake off the rust.
5/ The net-net is that all our options to fill the last spots on the roster are good (for a change). There are no gaping holes on the roster like in years past and there’s quality behind them in the case of underperformance or injury.
Oh, and why couldn’t that have been a regular season game? We were dominant.