Hurricanes at Wild – The Recap

Heading into tonight, the Carolina Hurricanes were feeling the burn of two straight losses, the last one being a 3-0 shutout to the league leading Winnipeg Jets.  What’s interesting is that I don’t really feel as though we were all that bad in the Jets game – at 5-on-5 we were pretty solid for long stretches of that game.  Special teams ended up being the difference.  Against the Kings, our top line had a ton of chances – Freddie Andersen didn’t look his best and Orlov was a trainwreck as well.

Tonight, against the Wild, the hope is that we would be able to find a little something with the updated lines that Rod decided to deploy.  Additionally, the new look power-play the other night looked decent against the Jets, albeit still off the scoresheet. 

Below are my thoughts on the game:

• As mentioned, Rod decided to change up the line combinations – he did what most have been begging for:
• Rantanen-Aho-Jarvis
• Hall-Kotkaniemi-Blake
• Svechnikov-Staal-Martinook
• Jaaska-Roslovic-Robinson
• I was curious at the beginning of the game to see how the “top line” would be deployed through the game and, more importantly, how the Wild would deploy their defenders against our "power line".  In fairness to all involved, I believe the lines that were put together in past games were better in terms of distribution of scoring depth and everyone complimented what each of the other players on the line can do.  But what do I know?  In the end, it didn't really seem to matter if it was Jarvis or Blake with Rantanen and Aho.  This line reminds me of Pedro Cerano from 'Major League', who needed a live chicken to sacrifice before a game to remove the curse on his bat.  Perhaps that top line needs a live chicken?
• Overall, Frederik Andersen kept us in this game for as long as he could.  That said, he didn’t really seem to have a lot of hard work, although he did have stretches where he needed to make a key save.  He gave up two goals, outlined below:
• First, Trenin scored, and we were not very responsible with the puck.  Orlov made it way too easy of an entry, and he was nowhere to be found on that goal.  The goal itself was not great to be let through by Freddie (5-hole Freddie strikes again), but the dude was wide open.  The two shutouts for the Wild are no more…1-0 Minnesota.
• The second goal was actually a pretty decent save at the start of the third period that snuck behind Freddie.  He tried to cover, but it slid right behind the goal line – 2-0 Wild. 
• Dmitri Orlov is on his last days in Carolina, I believe.  Defensively he has been a liability – that first goal that he completely whiffed on in the neutral zone and then not getting back responsibly as he should to try to, you know, defend – that was pretty bad.  Additionally, there are far too many times where he is getting beaten by the attacker heading into the zone.  My question is this – has Orlov been told that he is a potential candidate to be traded to upgrade the team before the deadline?  If so, that would explain his outright laziness over the last hand full of games.  He did a little better in the 3^rd, but at one point I looked at my wife and told her we needed to send him straight to the sun.  Anywhere but here.  Chatfield deserves a better linemate right now – I say let Scott Morrow play next game, Chatfield play his offside and let Orlov watch from the press box.
• Defensively, I just don’t really know how to articulate what is happening – it just seems like Orlov is floating out there, Chatty and Slavin are working, Burns is trying but the dude is up there in age and then the 3^rd pair of Ghost-Walker is kind of there and doing…OK (Walker far better than Gostisbehere defensively, who without the offensive flair really doesn’t provide the value you’d hope – that said, he is supposed to be a 3^rd pair defenseman, so can we really be THAT mad about it?)  Carolina Hurricanes fans have been spoiled over the years with strong defensemen – we have taken a slight hit, and we knew with the cap what it was last offseason, we would have to find some discounts while awaiting Nikishin and Morrow.  All that to say, the Walker-Gostisbehere is a competent 3^rd pair and would fit most teams 3^rd (and some teams 2^nd) pair.
• The power play – sheesh.  Still no goals.  We are going on 10 or 11 games.  The Wild came in with the 30^th ranked kill in the league – and they killed everything we offered.  I don’t know what the system is that we are trying to play on the power play – we passed the puck well, I guess?   Some have suggested that we just send 4 over the boards and play 4-on-4 to kind of take the pressure off.  Others have offered that we just play regular lines and pairings for the two minutes.  Anything would be better than this stretch, which sits at around 4% since the calendar flipped to 2025.
• Through the first period, we kind of had control of possession, zone time and shots – we were down on the scoreboard, though.  Chasing the game against the Minnesota Wild is not where you want to be.  They can (and did) muck things up all night – they aren’t afraid to pay the price blocking shots and can (and did) make things real difficult in the neutral zone. 
• Taylor Hall had some real good shifts tonight – his hockey IQ has been noted in the past.  I thought he was noticeable in a positive way tonight.  He played a good bulk of the night with Blake and they looked decent together.
• The starting line combinations looked OK, but you could tell they didn’t seem overly comfortable or confident with where each of them would be on the ice.  For example, for all the talk of Blake moving out and Jarvis moving into the top line, Blake seemed to be “out-creating” Jarvis (if out-creating is even a word).  That, plus Blake was building some chemistry with Rantanen – it just seemed like Rod may have been trying to manufacture something.
• I noted it in the 1^st period, but Sebastian Aho looked frustrated but also looked dangerous.  He got himself to the right spot with 2:41 to go in the 3^rd to bury a puck to get the game to 2-1.  It was a nice feed from Jarvis, with us being up a man at the time. 
• With about 7 minutes to go in the 3^rd, Rod appeared to put Mikko with Svechnikov and Kotkaniemi and Hall with Aho and Jarvis.  And honestly, I think I might like it.  That combination of Mikko-KK-Svech is a pretty sizable line, but their skills would seem to mesh well together.  And, honestly, Hall really seemed to unlock Aho and Jarvis a little.  I wouldn’t mind seeing these lines cook for a little bit.  I would also consider Blake with Aho and Hall as well and put Jarvis back with the Jordans – he fits in on that line and gets good opportunities.
• Mikko Rantanen seemed, at points, to be frustrated, and rightfully so.  My hope is that the frustration is because he genuinely wants to help this team win and it is not about his point production dipping without MacKinnon, which ends up potentially lowering his value as an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.  All that to say that those unrestricted free agent talks can end if he just agrees to a deal to stay in Carolina.  I’d love to have him here long term.  Still, I can’t help but wonder if the vibes of not hitting the scoresheet for him are negatively impacting everyone else on the team. 
• I thought the combination of Rantanen-Aho-Jarvis did have some good shifts together, but it just never felt like they were all on the same page during their time on ice.  Line chemistry is a thing - so if Rod liked that combination, I can live with them staying together for a few games to see what we might have there, and longer if they really gel.  
• During a stretch in the 3^rd period, after Rod did the ol’ blend-o-matic on the lines, we had a stretch of a little over 2 minutes of non-stop offensive zone time.  A dang eternity.  Credit to the Minnesota Wild defense for getting in front of pucks and paying the price.  After the Wild gained possession, Rantanen attempted to steal and got called for a trip in the process, which he was none too pleased with.  Our penalty kill did the job, but that was tough not to get something out of that 2 minute stretch.
• At different points of this game, it didn’t look like we were very quick out there – and it looked like the Wild wanted it more.

We scratched, scrapped, clawed, but ultimately couldn’t muster more than a goal against a solid Minnesota Wild team, losing 2-1.  While I can’t say I was overly enthused about some of the play, I did see us try some new things that we might be able to expand upon.  I still believe Mikko Rantanen aligns more with the way we play than Martin Necas.  Speaking of, he was playing in the Avalanche game against the Flames – he had two goals, an assist and about 30 shots on goal.  I’m happy for that dude.  I said it before, but I really think that system fits him.  Oh, and a final note about the deployment of our lines - heavier ice time for the Aho and KK lines and less than 8 minutes for the Roslovic line.  

We need this four nations break more than any team, if I am being honest.  Our next (and last game before the break):  A date with the Utah Hockey Club.