Hurricanes at Ducks – The Recap

Before I jump into this game and its recap, I do want to mention there is a glaring omission – the recap to the 7-2 demolition of the Hurricanes by the Los Angeles Kings.  I was unable to watch that game real time and couldn’t re-watch prior to the Ducks game.  Sometimes, when friends are in town, that will take priority.  

My thoughts on that game overall – we were probably due for a game like that.  I don’t want to over think it – clearly the Kings were ready to play and, with multiple players out of the lineup, it was going to be an uphill climb for us anyway.  It is interesting that the two times we played the Kings, we were dealing with illness within the team.  

Anyway, this blog will be recapping the game against the Ducks.  And going into that game, the message was simple – flush that last game and move on.  We can’t expect to win every game – ideally, we are stacking points until the playoffs, but we are going to give up a game or two.  It’s going to happen.  Stick with the recipe valuing puck possession and zone time and leave Anaheim with a win.

Below are my thoughts on the game:

• Whatever the illness was in the locker room, it seemed to be short lived because all our lines were back to “normal”.  The defensive pairings also stayed the same.   Freddie Andersen took care of the goalie duties – it was his turn in the rotation.
• I thought the Martinook-Staal-Stankoven (our starting combination in each of the periods – minus the 3^rd because we were on the kill) were solid.  There were some good chances in the 1^st period with this grouping.  Stankoven had several real good shifts in a row, including one where he had an awesome opportunity out front that Dostal essentially stole from him.  All three were very solid defensively throughout the night but also hounds on the puck in the offensive zone and generated solid net front throughout.  Stankoven is a major pest out there – and I love seeing it.
• The Blake-Aho-Jarvis line was also good – generating several chances throughout the game and hounding the puck in the neutral zone as well and solid puck movement when we were attacking.  This line drew a penalty as well, which was good to see.
• The Ducks played a pretty physical game with us – it seemed like they were the aggressors far more than we were when it came to big hits.  To our credit, Aho did rack someone in the boards pretty good (cleanly), so it wasn’t all Ducks in the big hit department.  That is going to be the name of the game come playoffs – physicality is going to play a role.
• We had to kill off six penalties during this one – it taxed us a bit, as one can imagine.  But we ended up killing all of them off.  A few things about the 20% of time we were down a man tonight:
• Eric Robinson and Mark Jankowski are going to be relied upon to kill penalties from time to time.  They were both out there during a double minor.  Continue looking for Rod to send them over the boards these last few games to give them some additional time when we go to the kill.
• Sebastian Aho had three breakaway chances in the game – all three seemingly on the penalty kill.  He was a complete dawg on the kill throughout the game.
• We can say what we want about Brent Burns – but since the Four Nations event, he’s been solid.  Good work with his stick to break up several plays during the evening, but also to log the tough, grinding minutes of a penalty kill.
• Staal and Martinook are typically relied upon to do the lion's share of a kill – tonight was no exception.  My concern – the grind of the season on their legs may start to take a toll on them.  Ideally, we give them a little breather, especially if we have three groupings of forwards that we are comfortable with out there killing for us.
• Our best penalty killer – Freddie Andersen – was dynamite most of the way.  On the kill – he was dang near perfect.  He moved very well in the crease, had good hands and made great blocker saves as well.  Awesome work by him.
• We wrapped up the first period tied at zero, and it felt about 50/50, although the Hurricanes did have stretches where we dominated puck possession and zone time.  Maybe it was more of a 65/35 split in our favor.  The Ducks had something for us, but we did well overall.
• At the start of the 2^nd, we got right back to zone time and the puck possession piece that have been critical in our recent play. 
• I started to notice the Roslovic-Kotkaniemi-Hall line a lot more at the start of the second period, buzzing around and creating chances.  I think this line is the straw that stirs the drink (well, the KK/Hall combo – who knows where Roslovic will end up once Svech is back).  Hall and Kotkaniemi have built quite the rapport since they have teamed up on a line – both distribute to each other as if they have played together for years.  As this combo goes, we go with them.
• We opened the scoring with our 4^th line – these guys have been working great together.  Jankowski won the draw and went straight to the net front.  Gostisbehere retrieved the puck sent over by Eric Robinson, who was working hard to win a battle.  Ghost shipped it to Jost who sent the puck towards the net, where Jankowski was waiting behind the goal line with his long reach to redirect the puck with the backhand into the net.  1-0 Hurricanes. 
• A few minutes elapsed and the Ducks got a breakaway – we had been going up and down the ice for a couple minutes by this point.  Alex Killorn brought the puck down the ice with some pace.  Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Walker were in position to break up a potential pass, but Killorn shot 5-hole and he knotted the game at one a piece.  Andersen didn’t seem to anticipate that the puck was going to be shot.  Tough one to let in there – that one could have been saved.  1-1.
• A word about Shayne Gostisbehere.  Everyone knows that he is an “offensive defenseman”.  He works most effectively in the offensive zone, handling pucks and creating chances.  That said, he was in good position on the goal that tied it and he had some other solid defensive plays that broke things up for the Ducks.  Of course, he also blasted a puck that ricocheted off the back boards and onto Jordan Martinook’s stick for a great looking, hardworking goal by Marty.  But it starts with the blast and entry from Ghost.  2-1 good guys.
• We went to the power play three times tonight, netting one goal – all three of the power plays looked solid, with good puck movement, good pace and ultimately good opportunities.  The goal we scored (our 3^rd power play of the night) was set up by Jackson Blake getting some space out front, where his shot was kicked out and Taylor Hall found the rebound and buried it.  The top unit has been building something over the last couple games – it’s nice to see one finally hit the back of the net.  3-1 good guys. 
• The first star of the game in my eyes was Freddie Andersen – he let a goal in late for the Ducks to make it 3-2 (it was a rebound chance that was stuffed in by Zegras), but overall, he was really good.  He had quality saves all evening and really put the game away when we extended the lead to 3-1.  While we played well through two periods, the boys did not look as good in the 3^rd period, giving away numerous opportunities to a surging Ducks group.  Freddie was up to the task every time.
• The game wraps up on a great goal by Taylor Hall not 45 seconds later in the 3^rd period (after we had given up the goal for them to make it 3-2).  Taylor gets another tally on an empty netter and (checks the numbers) secures the hat trick, his first as a Carolina Hurricane.  I can’t fault the powers that be for giving Hall the first star, given he did seal the victory with his three-goal output – I am just of the opinion that Andersen played like a man possessed and willed us to victory.

With the Kings game behind us and a win under our belt, we wrapped up our road trip with a 3-1-0 record, gaining a 6 of a possible 8 points.  Keep stacking the points boys.

Next up: A home date against the Nashville Predators.

Hurricanes at Sharks – The Recap

Sharknado Night!!  The Carolina Hurricanes were riding high heading into the night, winners of seven straight and looking to add to that total against, what I believe to be, an up-and-coming San Jose Sharks team.  We had beaten them earlier in the season in our building and I know the results have not borne it out so far this season, but this is a good young team with a lot of talent, headlined by none other than Macklin Celebrini.  We can’t take this game lightly.

Tonight was all about consistency in my eyes.  A road trip out west could mess with some of the body clocks, but otherwise, we should stick to what is working – winning 50/50 battles, forechecking, and playing sound defense.  

Below are my thoughts on the game:

• Word was that Dimitri Orlov would be back in to draw a start this game, and that is what happened.  While Scott Morrow has played well in his last few games, if the plan is to play Orlov in the playoffs, we need to see what he has and to ensure he is game ready.  As a sidebar to this – it was reported that Alexander Nikishin would be able to head to the US early and start his process of signing his entry level contract (ELC).  While I am excited to see him play, I firmly believe he won’t be playing come playoff time – his motivation for coming over is to get year one of his ELC burnt so he can be one year closer to the big pay day everyone is expecting.  So, calm down everyone – we’ll see him next year.
• The forward lines stayed the same, with Aho’s line taking the draws to start the periods (except the 2^nd, which we were on a penalty kill).
• Frederik Andersen was in net, as expected.  It was his turn in the rotation.  Early on, he looked to be dialed in, turning away a few shots.
• All four lines seemed to generate solid offensive zone chances, and it appeared we were valuing puck possession.  By the middle of the 2^nd period, we were dominating possession in the offensive zone – and it continued throughout the night.  While the Sharks did get their chances, as in the Philly game, they seemed to be few and far between after the 1^st period.
• With all that said, the 1^st period did seem even.  We looked as though we were trying to get our legs under us and get into the flow of the game.  We had a few mistakes during the latter half of the 1^st period that didn’t really hurt us, but we also had some solid zone time with possession, stacking good shifts on top of each other – overall, I’d say it was a bit of a mixed bag.
• The power play was, again, not great – the first power play of the night we gave up a couple odd man rushes the other way.  And the second odd man rush, they made us pay.  Our 2^nd power play unit was on the ice, with William Eklund rushing towards the goal with a teammate on a 2-on-1 and Brent Burns defending.  Burns dropped to the ice to take away the pass but in the process tripped Eklund, all while Eklund made a motion to shoot the puck to the net.  Eklund wipes out, ended up wiping out Freddie and the puck slid through with the net popping off.  The goal counted, as it should have, and it was 1-0 bad guys.  This is what the power play has become for us – we’re on the edge of our seats to just get through it, to go back to 5-on-5.  Not great.  The 2^nd power play (which we had in the 3^rd period) was a lot cleaner – good puck movement and zone time, but no results. 
• I want to take some time to focus on the “top line” – the Blake-Aho-Jarvis combination.  It is no secret that I have wanted this group of forwards together since Four Nations.  It took a bit, but we got there.  The rationale behind this is simple – it is a very comparable line to what Guentzel-Aho-Jarvis gave us last season.  Blake has a long way to go before he is Guentzel, but he plays such a complementary role to what Jarvis and Aho can do, it’s a natural fit.  And they were dominant yet again last night, not just on the scoreboard, but overall.  Some of the highlights of their game as a unit:
• Aho drew a penalty after some stellar zone time early in the 1^st period (this is what put us on the first power play of the evening).  During that shift, a shift that felt like a minute in their end, Blake had a couple solid chances that just missed to open the scoring.
• Aho had a couple good moments physically – he is the bigger frame on that line, so I guess it might be something that we need to come to expect a little.  Not saying he should be or will become an enforcer, but he probably will play a little bit more of a physical game.
• After the penalty kill at the beginning of the 2^nd, this line had another good shift that Jarvis just missed on a chance out front.
• The work in the neutral zone led to a couple chances for the boys on this line – they truly are pests out there. 
• Jarvis finally breaks through with a goal from the high slot – the puck was kept in the zone by Jackson Blake, who sent it deep.  Aho tried to feed it out from below the goal line, but it hit the bottom of the net and was touched up by a Shark, who lost it to Jarvis – Jarvis wasted no time and buried it – tied at 1.
• Speaking of the neutral zone, Jarvis was being a menace when he ended up stealing a puck and feeding Blake for a forehand, backhand beauty – sadly, he was a tick offsides because Jarvis had to hold the puck just a tick longer than he would have liked, so the goal was disallowed.  Either way, great pressure again by the boys on this line.
• Aho buried a one-timer from Jackson Blake – they both were working defenders off them cycling (Aho high, Blake low) – Aho found a clean space up top on the ice and parked, where Blake fed him and Aho fired away.  2-1 good guys.
• Final thing I’ll say about this combination – the defensive work they do in the defensive end can’t go understated either.  They don’t spend a lot of time there because of the way they work to ensure offensive zone time and the havoc they create in the neutral zone, but when they are in the defensive end, it isn’t for long – they handle their business.  Anyone saying to break THIS line up when Svechnikov comes back to insert Svech on this “top line” is clinically insane.
• It seemed like every time I looked up and saw the Kotkaniemi line out there (with Hall and Roslovic), they seemed to be stacking good shift after good shift – playing with pace in the offensive end, generating chances and working hard to get to spots.  This line was rewarded with a + in the plus/minus column, where Taylor Hall worked hard below the goal line to retrieve and then get out of the area with possession.  He found Sean Walker set up top in a one timing position to bang it home.  Great net front traffic by Kotkaniemi as well.   This all was after a penalty kill – this line always is the bump up after a kill.  Great complementary work by this line and great snipe by Walker!
• Knowing that Jack Roslovic can play up with Kotkaniemi and Hall (and it is probably more natural for him) is a bonus for us.  I suspect that Andrii Svechnikov will slot back on this line once he is back.  And if that doesn’t work, we know that Svech can play with the dads and Stankoven (or Roslovic) can move up.  He has looked decent with those two over the last few games.
• I felt as though it took about 30 minutes of game time to actually get to our game.  Once Seth Jarvis broke the seal, it didn’t feel as much of an ‘if’ we were going to win, more like a ‘how much’ we were going to win by.  While the Sharks generated chances and had good pushes in stretches, we were dominant in puck possession, zone time, shots on goal and defensively mucking it up wherever they had possession.
• Some 4^th line love – they didn’t play a ton (maybe 8 minutes and change for Jankowski and Jost), but they looked good when they were out there.  I get it – you can’t expose them too much on the road – but I think this line was still noticeable in a positive way in the chances that they got.
• Our penalty kill was solid again.  Just steady work by the boys on those kills.  That includes Eric Robinson, who is now essentially our 5^th penalty killer.  And he looks good doing it – he has a bit of an offensive flair to go along with Aho.  Solid work by those two. 
• We had to kill off a massive 6-on-4 late in this one (with about 3:30 to go).  The group of Slavin, Martinook, Burns and Staal killed the whole thing and then stayed on for another 45 seconds or so due to icings that we had no choice but to commit with the empty net there.  Mammoth effort by all four, but Jaccob Slavin had some exquisite stick plays – this man is a defensive unicorn.
• Freddie Andersen was great in net again – it seems more and more like him and Kochetkov are in a friendly competition to see who can have the better performance.  Freddie couldn’t do anything about the goal that was given up – this one could have been a shutout if not for a trip on William Eklund.  Saved 24 out of 25 shots – he was the difference in this game.  When it was still 1-0 them, he made save after save to keep it a one goal game.   He should have been the 1^st star.  Excellent work!

3-1 would be the final.  Early on, as mentioned, it really felt as though we were struggling to get to our game – it wasn’t crisp.  We generated some chances and had good zone time, but it seemed as though we weren’t quite in the fight until Jarvy blasted his goal to tie it. 

That makes it eight straight for this team – and five straight since the deadline. 

Next up:  A date in Los Angeles to take on the Kings.

Hurricanes at Flyers – The Recap

This one is late too - I know.  I wanted some content to be available during the break.  In the end, I ended up just posting it right before game night against the Sharks.  Anyway, enjoy!

Entering the night, the Carolina Hurricanes had won six games in a row – and one thing has stood out during that stretch – identity.  The Canes have gotten back to what makes them such a tough team to play.  We have been able to pressure in the attacking zone, get to the forecheck and play steady, complementary defense.   It has been great to see.  One thing I do want to mention – teams are going to get their chances.  That’s how it goes sometimes.  The goal isn’t to not allow any – ideally, that would happen, but it’s nearly impossible to not allow a chance.  No, the goal is to limit opportunities by the opposition and play sound defense in those instances where they do have chances.

Against the Philadelphia Flyers, the goal would be to stick with what has worked through this recent stretch of games. 

Below are my thoughts on the game:

• The line combinations and defensive pairings stayed the same as the previous game against the Red Wings.  Additionally, the Kotkaniemi line ended up getting the opening face-off duties.  That line did a great job early on keeping the pressure up in the attacking zone, cycling through and making the Flyers cover.
• Pyotr Kochetkov was tasked with duties in the crease – over the last hand full of games (including this one) he has been great.  He still has his moments where I scratch my head and say, “why is he there?” or “where did his stick go?”.  I will say, the more experience he gets, the less I am going to question these things because he will be more mature and will have grown up some.  These things are still things a young goalie might feel he can get away with, but it’s the NHL – you won’t get away with certain things.
• In the early going, it looked as though the pace of the game was a little slower than the previous games.  That can happen when playing a back-to-back.  Get comfortable playing a lot.
• The Aho line finished a great shift with a goal – it was highlighted by Jackson Blake, making a driving move to the net, through the crease where the puck popped out to Sebastain Aho, who buried it.  It was challenged by John Tortorella but was upheld (which made me think we were in the upside down – those calls never seem to go our way).  In any event, 1-0 good guys.
• After the challenge that was unsuccessful, we went to the power play – the 2^nd unit had a couple good looks, but no goals.  We got another power play later in the period and the 1^st unit had a couple looks, but again, no goals.  It seems like we are close – the hope is that the dam will bust, and our power play will have some confidence heading into the playoffs (which would be the right time for that).
• The line combination after a power play has been Robinson-Staal-Martinook – that grouping looks good together – all three of them are puck hounds and are good at keeping the puck in the zone.  I like that combination after a power play.  With Stankoven playing on the 2^nd power play unit, it’s nice to see Robinson get that opportunity to get some minutes with those guys.
• Let’s talk about Mark Jankowski – what a great pickup at the deadline.  He buried two more this game, but I am more impressed with his detailed approach, getting to spots and winning battles to be in those spots.  He also wasn’t afraid to defend himself when he was thrown over the boards into the Philly bench.  His linemates (Eric Robinson and Tyson Jost) have really accented what he does well, which is get in front of the net to poke pucks through the goalie.  He and his linemates also had a great shift prior to the end of the 1^st period, where it was all zone time.  I have said it before, but teams are going to have to reckon with our 4^th line.  Those dudes are good. 
• The difference in the 1^st period was Pyotr Kochetkov – his timely saves on chances that were Grade-A level were next level.  I thought we were 50/50 with them through the course of the game to that point – that said, we had two that got through, they had to deal with a wall.
• It has been a growing theme, but Kotkaniemi and his linemates have taken the opening draw each period over the last handful of games.  Two things that I love about it – first, this shows the level of trust Rod and staff have in him in taking the draws and being able to win them.  He’s done well in the circle.  Second, this gives the Jordan’s a little less stress on their plates.  Can they do it?  Yes.  But if someone else can do it, it only helps.  Let’s save their legs for the playoffs.
• Immediately, that line drew a penalty – but they did so much more through the game – I’ll highlight Jesperi for a minute – he had such a detail-oriented game, good checks, got pucks deep, won draws, dislodged pucks with good stick play.  Just an awesome game for Kotkaniemi.
• We finally get a power play goal (off the power play that was drawn by Taylor Hall at the start of the 2^nd period).  It starts with a clean draw and great urgency to get to the net front – Blake eventually gets it through some traffic to Gostisbehere, who found Taylor Hall and he finished on the doorstep.  This is how this should look moving forward.  3-0 us.
• Logan Stankoven was making his presence felt throughout this game.  Some of the notes I had:
• He looks quick – I love how he is hounding the puck and playing with a sense of urgency.  He fits nicely along a variety of lines, glad to see him with the Jordans.
• What a great non-goal he had – it was wiped off because of a Jordan Staal offsides that was tracked later (after the goal).  It was an awesome finish of a Jordan Martinook feed behind the net.  And Stank was out front.
• Later in the game, he had another great chance out in front of the net.  I’ll start calling that area his office. 
• He made some smart puck plays, including lofting it out of the defensive zone to give Robinson a chance at a play at the puck.
• About our defense
• Jaccob Slavin – stellar again.  He had some opportunities offensively too, but defensively, he’s incredible.
• Brent Burns – another solid game defensively.  He’s been stacking games for almost a month now.  All the hate online can pause for a while – he’s been good.
• Scott Morrow – he drew in for Dimitri Orlov again, who missed another game with an injury.  Morrow, to his credit, was really good.  He got over 16 minutes of ice time, albeit most of it not against Philly’s top six.  He was good offensively, as well, making smart plays with the puck and eventually burying one that was assisted by Stankoven.  It would be Scotty’s first.  He is game ready for next season – I think he’ll be with us, but I could see him moved as part of a potential package too.  You have to give to get folks.
• Between the 2^nd and 3^rd periods, we were puck hounds.  Every single one of them was just menacing in the neutral zone, making life miserable for the Flyers.  Additionally, our pressure in their end and puck possession really forced them to be on the defensive more than the attacking end of things.  To run a shift in your own end and finish it dumping it out just so your opponent can go on the attack again…that had to be frustrating.  Pyotr was great – making save after save look easy. 

In the end, it was a 5-0 shutout victory.  We were great across the board, making all the right plays, pinching at the right time, playing complementary defense and getting timely saves.  Philly had their stretches where they pushed, but all positive marks to the Hurricanes for thwarting any chance that they had.  That makes seven in a row.

Up next:  A trip to California to take on the San Jose Sharks (AKA – Sharknado Night!).

Hurricanes vs. Red Wings - The Recap

I realize this is coming in a little late - life, as would be the case, has been a little hectic over the last hand full of days.  Couple that with back-to-back games and yeah, it's been something.  But please know these posts are coming.  I'll have the recap of the Flyers game later today.  Now, on to the blog: 

After a two-day hiatus from playing, the Carolina Hurricanes welcomed the Detroit Red Wings to the Lenovo Center to put their 5-game winning streak on the line.  Over the last couple days, the questions were swirling around Andrii Svechnikov and Dimitri Orlov, both missing in action last game due to injury.  Yesterday, Rod addressed both injuries stating that they both appear minor – refreshing news to hear as we make our way towards the playoffs.

The other topic dominating national and even some local attention was the fallout of the Mikko Rantanen trade.  We did a podcast the other day to talk through everything one final time – the reality is it is over with.  And frankly, we are playing better these days, so who cares? 

Tonight, ideally, we would continue to keep the pressure on in our attacking end and continue to play a solid game defensively.  Timely saves would help as well, as has been the case in this 5-game win streak.

Below are my thoughts on the game:

• The line combinations are the same, with a couple exceptions – Jack Roslovic has moved up to the Kotkaniemi-Hall line and Logan Stankoven is playing with the dads.  Scott Morrow drew in as well, playing alongside Shane Gostisbehere for the bulk of the evening.  Sean Walker and Jalen Chatfield are also a pair.  Freddie Andersen is between the pipes.
• Early on, I could see what was happening early – we were looking to try to take away line of sight to the puck, creating traffic with all lines in front of their netminder, Petr Mrazek.  We had a couple good tip chances early, but Petr was up to the task.
• The Blake-Aho-Jarvis line, from the early stages through the contest, looked downright dominant in stretches.  It was a line I was craving, all the way back when it was first assembled several games ago.  I am glad this line is getting its time to bake. 
• The Canes had great zone time and puck possession for, really, the first two periods of this one, dominating play in the offensive zone, playing a strong low to high game, putting pucks on Mrazek and winning 50/50 battles for the rebounds.  If the puck was moved out of the zone, we would continue to be hawks in the neutral zone, pestering the Red Wing attackers to regain possession.  They had minimal time and space for anything.
• Scott Morrow built another solid game – noticeable on various shifts in a positive way.  He was almost five-holed by Alex DeBrincat (a non-goal that clanged off iron) but learned from that later in the game to come up with a key assist on a goal in the 2^nd period.  I say it a lot – but sometimes it’s about stacking quality starts.  He looks comfortable, playing just shy of 15 minutes.
• We drew two power plays in this one – none of which yielded the results, but both getting chances.  I did like some of the possession time on our first power play, but there were still some instances of lack of motion, almost like they all were standing there waiting for a play to be called.  We ended up having a solid net front presence and we did net 5 SOG the second power play, so that’s another step in the right direction.  Mo Seider saved a potential Jackson Blake goal, coming through the slot on that 2^nd power play.  Generating chances, something will eventually leak through.
• As well as we played in that first period, we were down 1-0 – the Wings were able to get a face-off draw in our zone, which we won (we were pretty dominant in the face-off circle). The puck was fed out to Jordan Martinook, who gets leveled by a pinching Ben Chiarot.  Chiarot passes to Alex DeBrincat, who buries it top shelf, blocker side.  Freddie made a nice save with about a minute left to keep it 1-0, as the Wings continued to pressure after the goal.  That said the first period was dominated by us.
• The second period started off well.  One trend I have noticed the past few of games – the Kotkaniemi line coming out to take the face-off at the beginning of periods.  I have really liked what Kotkaniemi has done for a long stretch (really since the start of the new calendar year) – I am glad he has earned that right.  He was exceptional both offensively and defensively – he was all over it tonight.
• Speaking of that line – they were responsible for so much good in that game.  Some of the highlights:
• Kotkaniemi wins the opening face-off to start the second period – the puck is moved into the zone where Jack Roslovic retrieves it deep.  The puck is fed around to Jesperi Kotkaniemi who is in the far circle – he throws a shot towards the goal and Taylor Hall ends up tipping it home – tie game at 1.
• Another great shift from the boys – all five players (including Gostisbehere and Morrow) were in on a solid shift, peppering shots and keeping zone pressure up.  After it was all said and done, Morrow feeds Kotkaniemi up top.  He has time and space to drive to the middle of the ice and use his eyes to cause Mrazek to think the shot pass was going somewhere, but it left a wide-open post available.  Jack Roslovic won a battle to get to that spot and the shot pass ended up on his tape and an easy tap in.  2-1 Hurricanes.
• This line had an excellent bump up shift off a penalty kill.  Hall, Kotkaniemi and Roslovic don’t play on the kill, so it is a great opportunity to get them out there fresh and generate some offense – they have shown of late that they can do it.
• This combination of Hall, Roslovic and Kotkaniemi seems to work well with others, especially in partial changes.  Roslovic and Eric Robinson had a 2-on-0 on a partial change that just missed. 
• Now to the part where I gush over Eric Robinson – that guy was all over the ice.  He worked his bag off, got to the forecheck, creating net front, and worked hard in the dirty areas.  He was rewarded late by being on the ice in an empty net situation.  I have also noticed him as our 5^th penalty killer in instances where one of our primary four (Staal, Jarvis, Martinook or Aho) is in the box.  Rod trusts him and it’s easy to see why.  He plays a solid north/south game, can skate and he does the dirty work.  Don’t be surprised if he’s a Hurricane for a while (like Jordan Martinook has been).
• The dominance of Jarvis-Aho-Blake can’t be overstated.  Those three had dominant shift after dominant shift.  One such instance, they held puck possession for what appeared to be at least a minute in the offensive zone, only for the Wings to gain control and slowly start to move it out. They couldn’t get any farther than their side of the neutral zone, though, as the group all backtracked to hound the puck.  Jarvis eventually gained possession and fed Walker who shipped the puck to Chatfield and Chatty does the rest, burying the one-timer.  3-1 Carolina.
• More on the Aho line – the sum of the parts was, in a word, dominant.  But the parts were also dominant in other ways singularly throughout the night.  Blake had a couple great stick plays in the defensive zone to take away the puck or alter shots.  He also skated hard to try to negate an icing (which I thought he did, but I am not the referee).  Jarvis and Aho played hard minutes on penalty kills as well – especially late in that one when the game was still in doubt.  Just an awesome night by those three.
• Time for some Jaccob Slavin love – that dude is an absolute ace on the defensive end.  Loved his game all around, but especially the defensive stops, whether it was a stick to deflect a shot or him just doing Slavin things (if you know, you know).  Excellent game
• The game was 3-2 after a Michael Rassmussen goal early in the 3^rd period – he was being defended by Jack Roslovic (not a specialty of his) and ended up finally burying the puck – the third time being the charm (Andersen had stuffed the first two offerings).  I want to highlight Frederik Andersen, though.  He was dynamite in the game – making grade-A saves look easy.  I had so many notes on him during key times of the game where he made a save to rob a Wing from a goal or a stretch where he made a couple back-to-back saves when the Wings were able to pressure.  Just an outstanding job as the backstop tonight.
• The first two periods were Hurricane hockey – and for some parts of the third it was too.  Detroit, as any good team would, came out and pushed tempo in our own end, pressured and got chances, but in the end, with the empty net available, a backhanded clear that turned into a shot after some hard work on a loose puck after a draw, none other than Eric Robinson found the back of the net.  And well deserved for Eric – he had a great game.  4-2 good guys – and that would be your final.

This game was a great step forward for the Hurricanes.  We dominated play the first two periods with great net front, generating traffic in front of Mrazek, solid in transition defense, and excellent work ethic along the boards winning puck battles. 

Two other points – first, I would have probably given the three stars of the game to Jesperi Kotkaniemi (1^st), Freddie Andersen (2^nd) and Eric Robinson (3^rd).  I am not sure how they figure these things out, but it can’t just be about point production and lighting the lamp.  Second, it was a Friday night and the lower bowl looked about half full – I know ticket prices are starting to creep up, but we have to do better on a Friday night.  A side note to fans – and specifically to “Big Mike”, who starts our crowd chants with the horn – enough with the “refs you suck” chants.  It’s dumb.  It helps nothing.  Cool it.

We are 6 for our last 6, continuing to bank points.  Next on the schedule:  a date in Philadelphia to take on the Flyers.

Hurricanes vs. Lightning – The Recap

Riding the wave of a 4-game win streak, the Carolina Hurricanes came into tonight’s game looking to add to that mark against a Tampa Bay Lightning team that had been losers against Boston on Saturday night.  You knew that the Lightning would be hungry, but you would also know that Carolina would be a game opponent, having lost the previous two decisions to Tampa earlier in the season (4-1 – two empty netters – and 3-2). 

Much like I viewed games against the Boston Bruins in the past and how I view Florida Panthers games now, I view these games against Tampa Bay as measuring stick games – what sort of guts do we have, especially this time of season.  If we are to make a deep run, we have to win games like this one. 

Coming into the night, we learned we would be without Dimitri Orlov again but also Andrii Svechnikov, due to injury.  While Dimitri was expected (I’d guess he’d return in a couple games), the Andrii injury was a little unexpected.   He did get nicked up at the end of the game against the Jets.  Hopefully it isn’t too much of an issue and he can be around again soon.

Below are my thoughts on the game:

• With the injuries listed above, Rod deployed the lines as follows:
• Hall-Aho-Blake
• Martinook-Staal-Jarvis
• Jost-Kotnaniemi-Stankoven
• Roslovic-Jankowski-Robinson
• Defensive pairings were the same as the other nights Dimitri was injured.  And, as you’d expect, Pyotr Kochetkov was in the crease for this one.
• Early on, I could tell Pyotr Kochetkov was dialed in.  We have discussed it on the podcast some, but it really does seem like Kochetkov enjoys playing against fellow countrymen.  He made save after save during this game, 23 in total.
• A noticeable game for a good bulk of the evening – the 4^th line.  Roslovic-Jankowski-Robinson, for whatever reason, has worked.  I noted in the last game that Winnipeg just couldn’t figure out how to match up with that line.  It was no different tonight – Tampa really struggled making this line work in their own end.  To this line’s credit, they did a lot of work in the offensive zone, from puck possession to creating chances and overall, just supporting each other.  Additionally, Roslovic and Jankowski shared faceoff duties, depending on the dot.  I really like this element.  I don’t think this line is a game breaker, but you need a line like this that you can confidently roll.  Jankowski already looks like he’s up to speed, having seen some minutes on the power play and kill so far in his short time in Raleigh – nice to have a true 4^th line C that knows his role and is on the books for next season as well. 
• We go on the kill about two and a half minutes in and were able to kill it, but it wasn’t easy – Tampa had a lot of zone time and were able to get a couple chances.  Kochetkov was able to handle any shots that came through – which couldn’t be said for Andrii Vasilevskiy, who allowed a short-handed goal.  Seth Jarvis went bar down, after racing down the ice once Sebastian Aho stole a puck at the blue line.  The rest is history.  Penalty killed, 1-0 good guys.
• Logan Stankoven, throughout the night, was moved around with a couple different groupings to give him and the staff some different looks.  He looks most comfortable down low near the crease – I’d park him on a line and put him right there to redirect shots.  He needs some additional strength, but aside from that, he’s going to be a stud in this sort of system. 
• The power play – let’s discuss:
• The issue with the power play is that there is no power.  We have been able to get some good zone entries lately, which is positive.  For better or worse, we have dropped the drop pass and have just started attacking into the zone in a north-south way.  Once we got in the zone and set up, there was no real pace or urgency.  We had a few power plays, a 5-on-3 and a 4-on-4.  By the end of the night, Rod was just throwing two defensemen and three forwards over the boards.  A couple things for us that could help –
• First, winning faceoff draws.  It is no secret around the league that we are struggling entering the zone.  Winning the face off (and preferably back to the quarterback defenseman) is a critical first step – this way we don’t have to enter the zone. 
• Second, if we are a low to high team, let’s work the puck down low and then feed up high to generate redirect chances for those that are hovering around the net.  The Stankoven goal was an excellent example of this the other night – the dude is all of 5’8” but got in front of all world goalie Connor Hellebuyck to redirect a shot to the back of the net.
• Third, there must be some pace to the passing.  Of all our power plays, our second one was our best, I thought, but it all was built around pace and urgency.  We tend to receive a pass and dust the puck, which allows the defenders to reposition – pace should be priority.  It hasn’t been.  To put some things in perspective – in calendar year 2025, we have just as many short-handed goals (6) as power play goals.  Urgency and pace. 
• I thought the Lightning owned time of possession and zone time from the middle of the first through the halfway point of the 2^nd period.  It was impressive to see our defense handle things and not over pursue things – it’s not easy to do when you’re looking across and seeing the elite talent on the other side of the ice. 
• Sean Walker was one who I thought had a real solid night overall.  Scott Morrow also played noticeable positive shifts in the 2^nd period that helped keep things at 1-0.  What a way to get your bearings in the league – he’s played against Winnipeg twice, Utah and Tampa.  He was credited with three blocked shots on the night
• By the end of the first, I started seeing the Blake-Aho-Jarvis line I had been dying to see and boy, did they look good together.  Towards the middle of the 2^nd period, they had one dominant shift after another.  With Blake being able to maneuver around defenders the way that he does and get through tight areas with the puck, he should really be able to open space for Jarvis and Aho to bury the puck.  There were two such occasions in the 2^nd where Blake was able to feed a driving Jarvis, who was either saved by Vasilevskiy or had his stick tied up by the defender legally.    Another shift, this line helped keep the Lightning hemmed in for two and a half minutes in their zone while we were attacking. 
• For a bit, I thought Andrii Vasilevskiy was going to try and steal this one from us.  He made a couple stellar saves against Jarvis and Staal on some Grade-A looks.  After the Staal save, the puck was poked out and picked up by Jordan Martinook, who allowed everyone to get onside before streaking down the right side.  He threw the puck at the net, and it somehow leaked through the short side on a crazy tough angle.  It was excellent pressure for about five minutes or so – the dam was going to break eventually.  2-0 good guys.
• With a little under a minute left, Jalen Chatfield obtained a loose puck in the defensive end and sent the puck to Taylor Hall, who was working his way up ice.  He had Jack Roslovic coming with him on a 2-on-1, so Taylor sauced a pass his way and Jack Roslovic left no doubt, going top shelf blocker side.  3-0 Hurricanes. 
• Throughout the third period, I kept asking myself if there was someone injured.  It appeared that we were juggling through a few iterations of the lines.  I am not sure if that was by design to get some more looks for Stankoven and Jankowski with the rest of his teammates.  By the end, Stankoven was playing a lot with the Jordans – and I support that decision.  They had a couple of solid shifts together.  I think Rod may have found that top line in Blake-Aho-Jarvis and the 4^th line of Robinson-Jankowski-Roslovic, so he is mixing some of those middle six now. 
• Shayne Gostisbehere and Brent Burns also had solid nights tonight.  Nothing fancy, just smart, sound defensive hockey.  Stack the games boys.  Stack the games. 
• Tampa finally buried one in the 3^rd – it was a clean zone entry with Cirilli driving to the net.  Staal went with him, so that was two decent sized frames in Kochetkov’s line of sight.  The puck came off Goncalves stick and upstairs glove side to make it 3-1 us.
• Sean Walker wrapped us up with a nice goal that started with a clean face-off win by Jordan Staal.  We didn’t dominate in the circle like we typically would, but he won that one pretty convincingly.  Walker went across the top of the zone with the puck and went what could only be described as against Vasilevskiy’s grain, blocker side as he’s coming across the crease to follow the play.  Well placed puck.  4-1 Hurricanes. 

And that would be our final score.  I thought there were stretches of this game where Tampa really had the initiative, but we dug deep to keep them off the scoreboard (either defensively sound play or great goaltending).  I mentioned stacking games (for Brent Burns, I have been saying it for like 6 or 7 games now – he’s played well) – the goaltending has been very good.  Freddie and Pyotr have a good rhythm at the moment. 

We are officially on a roll, winners of five straight.  We did a lot of the work tonight with Martinook and Staal getting a little bit of a lighter load.  I would have expected them to get the lion's share of Tampa’s first line – neither of the two cracked 12 minutes of ice time.  This is good news for us, as they could use a lighter load in preparation for a playoff run. 

Next up:  Another date with the Detroit Red Wings on Friday.

Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

The end of an era is upon us – it was only six weeks ago we traded for Mikko Rantanen and now, he is a Dallas Star, in a blockbuster deal that netted us five assets (I will get to that in a bit).  The inspiration for this blog comes from the song “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs”, which seems fitting.  It’s abbreviated – much like Mikko’s time here with the organization.  The “Electric Feel” the night we landed him turned into a classic line from Fallout Boy’s song as well – Mikko, “thanks for the memories, even though they weren’t so great…”

There have been plenty of different take aways from the move that sent Mikko packing – fans have been angry, disappointed and confused at a minimum.  Heck, even I have gotten a little snarky, casually referring to him as ‘Emo Rantanen’ because of his lack of excitement and a generally depressed demeanor on the ice for us, specifically in his last four or five games with the team.  He flashed, sure, but Mikko Rantanen was not the same Mikko everyone was excited about when we made the blockbuster deal back in January. 

I want to start by going back through that sequence of events that led to his arrival in Raleigh and walk through what I can only piece through various outlets and personalities (remember, I’m not an insider).  I think it is an important exercise, so I’ll go through it:

• Eric Tulsky (after the initial trade in January) had made mention of his and Chris MacFarland’s discussions dating back to the last offseason, presumably about the Martin Necas situation.  (MacFarland is the General Manager of the Colorado Avalanche).  Necas was seen around the league as a high caliber player and while we eventually signed him, prior to that signing there were rumors about a trade to send Necas to several places (Columbus, Buffalo and Winnipeg all come to mind).  It would make sense that he could potentially fit their system in Colorado.
• The Martin Necas contract gets signed – a team friendly deal of $6.5m/yr over the next two years.  A couple of things stood out in this deal:
• First, this deal had no movement protections for Martin Necas.
• Second, it was a two-year deal, so it had some term to it
• Third, he would be an unrestricted free agent after the deal expired.  This was a deal built to be moved.
• Necas starts hot (well documented on the podcast), which is part of the reason why the Hurricanes got off to the blistering 14-4 start at the beginning of the season
• Eric Tulsky, as any good general manager should be doing, continued to talk to other general managers around the league regarding opportunities to make the team better.  He and Dundon have made no secret about the idea that we are going to always be aggressive in looking to make the team better.
• Across to the other coast, Vancouver was dealing with some of their own internal strife between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller.  Rumors began to swirl that the Carolina Hurricanes might be in on either one of those two players.  A name that kept coming up that was potentially linked to a deal with them – Martin Necas.  There were other names associated with those two, but Necas was the centerpiece.
• Because we have had known interest from other teams in Martin Necas, we start to call around to see what else might be out there – you know, to try to maximize the value and build a market for him.  Colorado shows interest.  The Avalanche are having their own internal struggles, but in the form of coming to terms with one of their superstars – Mikko Rantanen.
• Colorado and Mikko’s agent – Andy Scott – continue going back and forth on a deal, but, feeling like the Avs are lowballing, the agent plays a little hardball.  To Colorado, that meant that they weren’t close – and with the concern of losing a Top 10 asset in the league for nothing in Free Agency, Colorado engages in discussions about moving him. 
• Colorado starts some discussions with Carolina, who shows interest in Rantanen (who wouldn’t?).  They then head back to Andy Scott and share this news with him – that they have something in the works to move him to Raleigh if they can’t come to some sort of agreement.  Scott, calling the bluff of Colorado’s front office, said something to the effect of ‘we would sign in Carolina’, as if to say – ‘I dare you’. 
• Colorado and Carolina have some additional discussions, and Colorado shares that Mikko’s agent had shared that his player would sign in Carolina.  There may have been some additional (flawed) intelligence there, but this was what the Hurricanes needed to hear apparently to get this deal in motion
• Carolina, Colorado and Chicago (a meeting of the C’s as it were) come together to get the framework of a deal together.  The Hurricanes would send a package to include a couple players and a couple picks to Colorado for Mikko and a pick for some cap relief on Mikko’s contract and Taylor Hall.
• The clock was ticking, because the situation in Vancouver was coming to a head – either Pettersson or Miller needed to be moved – and, as written and discussed before, the Hurricanes were in on either one of those two as well – we had to decide quick.
• Once again, the Avalanche front office approaches Andy Scott, says there is a deal in place and if they aren’t coming to terms, they are moving on.  The agent continues to dig in on the issue – thinking there isn’t a world where Colorado would move his player.  In the end, Mikko Rantanen is traded to Carolina.

Colorado had always had an interest in Martin Necas, so it made sense for them to continue to engage with us, especially knowing they had their own issues with a player signing.  So, they sent that player to us so that we could deal with it.

I’ve gone on record before saying I don’t mind the swing that the Carolina Hurricanes took to make the move to bring in Mikko Rantanen.  Are there some flaws in how it went down?  Sure.  For starters, my hope is that Eric Tulsky had pen and paper in hand when Dallas was talking to Mikko about an extension BEFORE the trade – that is probably what should have happened from the word ‘go’ on our end.   

That said, Tulsky knew what he was getting – a player on an expiring deal that we would need to be in full on recruitment mode to woo him into staying.  He said as much in the interviews he did post trade.  Further, Tulsky made mention that they weren’t going to rush him to decide immediately – which is probably another fatal flaw.  If we knew it would take some time to “recruit” him and it wouldn’t be an immediate decision he needed to make, then it’s clear very early that we weren’t sure he was going to stay.  Was it a possibility he could stay based off the intelligence Tulsky received – maybe.  But it wasn’t locked down.  And in that sense, I can understand the discourse from many pundits on why that deal was a mess. 

Once Mikko landed in New York (we were on a road trip at the time), it sounds like he made it known quickly that there were only four teams he was interested in, and none of them were the Hurricanes (this is coming from Rod Brind ’Amour to Adam Gold in a pregame interview before the Winnipeg Jets game).  Over the next 14 games, we played a few games that looked like the hockey we have come to enjoy, but overall, it seemed as though there was a shift in how we played.  Rod made mention of it about a week or so after the trade – that things may be tweaked a little with the new talent that was added to the team.  I do have to wonder if we made that transition as part of a “recruitment” pitch. 

Regardless, that all changed about four or five games ago (prior to the deal to send Mikko to Dallas), when we started playing a sounder game defensively and pressured much better in the offensive end.  This, in my eyes, coincided with the contract offer and him not saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to it.  Speculation went rampant – even I said it was fine to take his time.  But if he knew he would never play here, then why hem and haw about it?  If he wasn’t interested in being the identity (for better or worse), then we needed to get back to our own identity.

The Boston game was the only one of those five (Mikko’s last game) where we looked bad – and that was the day before the deadline where this dark cloud was hanging over everyone.  The postgame interviews sounded more like a funeral eulogy than a team celebrating a win they probably didn’t deserve.  His mind had not changed about the four teams he would be interested in continuing his career with.

So Tulsky did what he had to do – he had been engaged with a variety of teams over the few days leading up to the trade deadline.  Late in the evening, it was reported that Dallas had been the frontrunner and that the framework for a trade had been agreed to.  Dallas wanted to get a contract in place prior to any trade – which makes all the sense in the world given what Carolina had gone through. 

There were some reports suggesting that Andy Scott (probably the true villain in this story) and the Dallas front office were at an impasse, so the Hurricanes had to pivot to another option, which sounded like the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Initial rumblings were that we had asked about a Marner for Mikko swap, but that Marner wouldn’t waive his no-movement clause for the Hurricanes.  That’s a strikeout for us, because that likely means Mitch will not be wearing a Hurricanes sweater after the offseason either. 

Additional rumors started to circulate about the possibility of Matthew Knies and a couple picks coming back – which is a pretty good haul.  But Dallas and Mikko's representation came back to the table and got the deal done.  In return, we received Logan Stankoven, a 2026 1^st and 3^rd, and a 2028 1^st and 3^rd.  All told, the sum of the moving parts for 6 weeks of time to try to recruit Mikko Rantanen include:

• OUT: Martin Necas, Jack Drury, 2025 2^nd, 2026 4^th
• IN: Logan Stankoven, 2026 1^st, 2026 3^rd, 2028 1^st, 2028 3^rd

Looking at it in that lens, it looks OK.  Stankoven fits what we do, and the draft capital will go a long way to making other moves to continue to improve our team.  Could we have held onto Martin Necas and Jack Drury to get more of an impact player for today?  Sure – in fact, we probably could have solved our center issue with a deal with Vancouver instead of trying this. 

All things considered, the bounty that Eric Tulsky received was strong, considering we had very little leverage on our end.  While the word is that Mikko only had four cities he would play for, that wasn’t knowledge prior to the deadline.  To add to it, we get mere peanuts (maybe a 2^nd round pick) if we held him after the deadline and tried to win it this year.  The dirty secret is that I don’t think the organization really thinks we have a shot at the Cup this year – this was the retool and get the salary cap situation right season, all while staying competitive.  We’ve done that.

As everything was going down, I wanted to take Tulsky to task for leaking out that we were shopping Mikko Rantanen around.  Because I thought it really impacted his play and, ultimately, his interest in Raleigh (given his perceived interest in a quiet media market – quiet is not how I would describe these last six weeks).  But honestly, I am glad he did it.  He needed to build up a market for Mikko so he had some leverage to say, ‘well I can get this over here’ and play one team against the other.  Mikko was transparent with us after his agent made it appear that Carolina was a real possibility.  Because it wasn’t. 

I still can’t understand why we didn’t get something formalized prior to our initial deal, aside from maybe some dirty pool between the agent and the Avalanche – remember, we had a player they wanted in Necas.  It’s possible that the Avs were told by Andy Scott that his player would sign with Carolina, but that the Avs knew deep down he never would.  Without being in the room where it happened, I am not certain if the question was asked to have a conversation with Scott and Rantanen, but if it wasn’t, that is pure negligence on the part of the Hurricanes. 

Fans – we have a right to be angry, to be frustrated at how things went down in this deal.  I have had a couple conversations with some people wondering if we can ever get someone of that caliber to stay long term now that we have lost Guentzel and now Rantanen.  I’ll caution that those two situations were different and, from what I have heard from anyone in the know of the Guentzel discussions – he wanted to stay.  Mikko, for his part, didn’t. 

I do want to give Rantanen a touch of credit for telling us before the deadline so we may be able to move him to a more amenable destination.  And for him to sign a deal now instead of later ensured a trove in return for us - it wasn't like he was trying to screw us over.  Mikko didn’t ask for this, so I guess it makes sense that he would kind of work to get out of a situation he didn’t create.  Mikko also had to forego his unrestricted free agency – he couldn’t build the market for himself – and for that side of it, Andy Scott made an unforced error with his little game of chicken with the Avalanche front office, likely costing his client millions.  Sure, he got a deal done that was a good one for his guy, but the market could have been reset by Mikko – now, we’ll find out what Mitch Marner gets to see what that market could have been.

There is blame to go around – ultimately the blame sits at our feet.  We can point to the Avalanche or the agent or the player, but in the end, it’s our blame to take.  In high stakes gambles like that, we have to have so much information that it isn’t really much of a gamble at all.  We went 6-6-1 in games where he played (a three-game winning streak to close that time out, which we played decent) – for a stretch of 12.5% of the season (the 3-6-1 stretch), we were bad.  We can’t be willing to change our identity midseason because of a new name in town – that goes for players and coaches.

Only time will tell, but this could lead to a pissed off Sebastian Aho – for a dude who loves this team and loves this city, he must feel at least slightly annoyed that his fellow countryman rejected both.  This could lead to an energized Logan Stankoven, who already plays with a chip on his shoulder.   The kid is hungry – he’ll have his opportunity here in Raleigh.  This could lead to a more laser focused group come the playoffs - paying attention to all the details required to ensure system success.

We are armed with draft capital out the ying yang, a slew of young talent coming in (looking at you Nadeau, Morrow, Nikishin), younger talent already on the roster (Blake, Stankoven) and a core of players that are locked up for term (Slavin, Aho, Jarvis).  The future is bright in Carolina.  We may have whiffed on this one, but we haven’t blown a Cup window – we are firmly opening that window today.  And we were going to be in that window anyway – with or without Mikko.

Hurricanes vs. Jets – The Recap

With the trade deadline behind us, it was time to get back to work.  It’s easy to talk about the team on paper, but it was time to get to it – let’s see the product that we have.  The big name out is Mikko Rantanen – I am finishing up an article outlining the autopsy on that transaction – and the big add in from that deal is Logan Stankoven.  The other name to consider is Mark Jankowski, who we acquired for a 5^th round pick right at the deadline.  When we went to the podcast, it still hadn’t been reported that we picked him up, but alas, he is now a Carolina Hurricane.

Tonight, we had Winnipeg in town – the hope was that the two newcomers could get acclimated to the way we do things in Raleigh and that the team would continue to play the way they have on their recent 3-game winning streak.  That would include whole unit defense, solid chance generation, and who knows?  Maybe a power play goal.

I texted my guy Brian James (who has appeared on our podcast before) when the Rantanen trade took place – I told him my prediction – a 5-1 win for the Hurricanes. 

Below are my thoughts on the game:

• I want to start with the line combinations, as this was a bit of a question mark coming in:
• Svechnikov-Aho-Stankoven
• Hall-Kotkaniemi-Blake
• Jarvis-Staal-Martinook
• Roslovic-Jankowski-Robinson
• The defense had to realign because of Dimitri Orlov’s absence due to an injury.  Scott Morrow drew the defensive duties in his place.  Additionally, Frederik Andersen was in net.
• We started the game with the Kotkaniemi line – it is nice to see that Jesperi is getting those minutes with the wingers he has.  He and his linemates (whoever they have been) have done a great job over the last several games, doing some of the non-stat sheet type work.  Great to see him earn those minutes.
• I had my eyes on Logan Stankoven early – I wanted to get a glimpse of the player we might be getting.  While he still has to learn the ins and outs of the system, I thought he had good jump, played soundly defensively and worked as well as he could with his linemates, even though he literally just met them.  He’s quick and has good feet.  I can already tell I’m going to like him.
• The Jarvis-Staal-Martinook line looked like they came to play as well, with Jarvis having a great opportunity thwarted by Connor Hellebuyck, who we get to face tonight.  Additionally, they had solid zone time and generated a couple decent looks as well.  Even without “he who shall remain nameless”, we have three solid top lines that we can roll.
• We were able to go to the power play first – my hope is that we don’t allow a ton of opportunities for Winnipeg to get on the man advantage because their power play is deadly.  Our power play – it might just bore you to death.  Our first look at the power play was miserable.  We didn’t get anything generated – it just looks so disjointed currently constructed.
• Jesperi Kotkaniemi drew a double minor after a second rough up on a shift – the first, he was charging hard at a puck and cleared it out, only to be rolled up hard into the boards.  The second, where a penalty was called, was on a high stick that also could have been interference – he drew a double minor and we try to get to work on this one. 
• The 2^nd power play looked better – there was nice puck movement and solid chances.  It’s baby steps here.  We have to grow with each chance, looking better than we did the previous time we were out there.  The double minor gets abbreviated because of an Andrii Svechnikov hook in his offensive zone.  We go 4-on-4 for a bit and control puck possession, but nothing materializes.  Their power play is short lived, and we kill it – still 0-0.
• In watching the game, it dawned on me that Mikko Rantanen was kind of down and depressed for being here in Raleigh.  From now until I know full well that he is 100% happy with everything and his life decisions, I will know him as Emo Rantanen.  Knowing his buddy Roope Hintz got injured in the game yesterday evening, he probably isn’t 100% happy – therefore, Emo it is!
• And just like that, Mark Jankowski makes me forget Emo – a great shot over Hellebuyck, after he had done some work in the neutral zone to cause a turnover.  Scott Morrow is the recipient of the turned over puck, who has his head up and sends it down the ice for Jankowski, blue line to blue line, and eventually he buried it upstairs.  1-0 good guys. 
• Scott Morrow has been noticeable in a good way.  He was part of the play for the first goal, and he got more comfortable as the game went on.  Early on, I noticed he got bodied a little bit on the ice early, but he has done a good job of settling in and playing within the system.  Really good to see.  He’s been with Chatfield for a good bit of the night.  His time on ice seemed limited at times, and he shifted around with a couple different guys.  Overall, a solid showing against a top unit in Winnipeg.
• Mark Jankowski hat trick watch – he’s a fit.  Jack Roslovic and Eric Robinson have been working with him tonight.  After Jankowski fed it behind the net to Robinson, Eric shuffled the puck over to Jack Roslovic, who then put the puck to the center of the ice where Mark was driving in front of the crease.  It came off the post and then Jankowski fought through and pokes it in.  He gets what we are trying to do right away.  Mark Jankowski > Emo Rantanen.  2-0 good guys.
• This 4^th line has been really good – Winnipeg can’t seem to match up with the size (Roslovic and Jankowski) and speed (Robinson as well as the other two).  This line is responsible for the two goals. 
• Freddie Andersen played well – he was very steady for a large stretch of this game.   He’s had some key saves through the course of the game that have really kept this thing a shutout. 
• We went to the power play for the first time in the 2^nd period – this power play had some life.  Stankoven in the bumper has been solid – he almost connected a couple times. Solid puck movement and good puck possession - I liked that power play way better than any other power play I have seen of late. 
• Winnipeg goes to the man advantage.  They have a good power play, but we have been up to the task, taking care of our own end and looking steady doing it – good work killing it off. 
• Taylor Hall made a great save at the goal line with Andersen doing work on a save out of the crease.  Hall came in, sealed the short side, put his stick in a passing lane and saved things late in the period.  Never going to show up on a stat sheet, but Taylor Hall has been great!  Taylor Hall > Emo Rantanen.
• The Hall-Kotkaniemi-Blake line has started the 3^rd period on time – a couple strong looks early on, dictating pace.  Fantastic to see.
• Seth Jarvis did work to split the defense and drew a hooking penalty in the early stages of the 3^rd period.  Good move to the middle with pace.  Let’s build off the last power play. 
• And Stankoven puts one in the back of the net – we were on the power play, he was out front, Gostisbehere shot the puck from the blue line and Stankoven had the vision to see the puck and make the tip in past Hellebuyck with his stick shaft.   3-0 good guys.
• Staal called on an interference penalty – we go to the kill – and wouldn’t you know it – Jankowski is in on the kill.  He was on the ice for about a minute and thirty seconds.  He probably will need to get into better conditioning in a Rod Brind’Amour style system, because he did seem a little gassed out there at times, but overall, he’s going to be a solid acquisition for us.  Also, great kill. 
• We’ve had some great shifts since the kill – sustained pressure and some solid chances that they have either blocked or have had an all-world Connor Hellebuyck save.  The consistent pressure and attacking nature of our offense has been what has been missing these last several games – the boys have gotten back to their identity and have played an exceptional game – all 200 feet of it.
• Freddie Andersen has been exceptional – you will sometimes hear that the players in front of you will play better with one netminder or another.  And I believe that to be true.  But these last 4-5 games, we have played a solid 2-way game in front of our goaltending, and I think that Freddie and Pyotr are feeling confident with the boys out in front of them.  Just great to see. 
• Another power play opportunity – Brent Burns drew the penalty.  Speaking of Brent Burns – dude keeps stacking games, this was another good outing for him.  He had a couple solid plays in his own end and looked as good as he has all season these last several games.  I’m happy for him.
• One finally gets through Freddy – they had pulled the goalie.  It’s a sharp angle shot by Alex Iafallo – Kyle Connor was in front of the net and Freddie had to consider him as well.  Still 3-1 good guys.

This one wrapped up with a flurry of activity.  First, the Jets immediately go to an empty net again and, after his linemates winning a puck battle along the boards, Seth Jarvis gets the puck and makes a nifty move around a Jet, eventually burying an empty net goal to make it 4-1.  For all that good, with under a minute left, Freddie Andersen had a mental lapse as he was trying to clear a puck from the trapezoid – he passed it right to Adam Lowry, though, and in the back of the net it went.   It wouldn’t matter, though, as 4-2 would be our final.  

I couldn’t be happier for the two new guys in that were added at the deadline.  Both played with energy and ended up being the difference makers we needed on the ice.  It’s nice that they can settle in without having to think about how they are contributing – they have already got that monkey off their back.  And frankly, I think it only gets better from here. 

Next up:  A home date with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Hurricanes vs. Bruins – The Recap

With the trade deadline looming and the rumor mill swirling, the Carolina Hurricanes still had work to do.  Riding a two-game win streak, the Canes had to take on the visiting (and ailing) Boston Bruins.  The Bruins came into the game without captain Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy, but the Bruins always come with plenty of energy and, like the Red Wings and Flames before them, were tickling the fringes of a playoff push.

The goal tonight is simple – get the win and don’t let the distractions and things you can’t control get to you.  The team that you are playing against is dealing with the same sort of distractions.  Additionally, I’d really like to see some success on the power play.  Finally, I really want to continue the full unit defensive approach in our own end. 

Before I begin, I do want to note that I watched this game on delay, not finishing the game until 1:30 A.M. that night.  Afterwards, the rumor mill was running rampant with trade speculation.  I will get to that piece briefly at the end of this blog post.  With that, below are my thoughts on the game:

• Pyotr Kochetkov is in net for us tonight, keeping with the "every other game" scenario that Rod has been deploying when both Pyotr and Freddie are healthy.  The line combinations are the same (for the third start in a row), but Riley Stillman drew in for an injured Dimitri Orlov.  The injury isn’t considered to be major – perhaps it’s his ego that is hurt. 
• The plan was for Stillman to pair with Gostisbehere and Walker to play with Chatfield.  But about a minute in, Riley Stillman delivers a solid hit on the boards, only for the player to fall over and slice Stillman in the face with his skate – he was held out as a precautionary measure for the rest of the night – we played the rest of the game with five defensemen.
• We struck first, going to the power play when Svechnikov drew a penalty on Brandon Carlo for tripping.  Sadly, instead of drawing first blood, we give up a 2-on-1 shorthanded opportunity and a good bit of puck possession time. We couldn’t get any sustained pressure, and we finished the power play empty handed.
• A few minutes later, Mikko Rantanen is called on a hooking penalty.  It was a rush killer for us, as we had some momentum going into their end with possession and Mikko gets a little lazy with his stick.  To the kill we go…
• And it’s1-0 good guys on a short-handed goal by Sebastian Aho.  He had great pressure at the blue line, won a puck race with good pace to the puck and beat Korpisalo with a back hand.  Such a great goal to get on the board.    This is what I don’t understand – such urgency with the kill and nothing on the power play.   I noted (jokingly) that we should consider offering the other team a power play when we get the man advantage. 
• Mikko Rantanen, you could tell, had a lot on his mind during the game.  He had some decent chances, but he was also trying to stay out of harm’s way too.  He got better in the 3^rd period, but the first two periods were kind of average. 
• A follow up note on Mikko Rantanen – I say we shouldn’t move him unless we are definitive that he won’t sign here and that we can get a deal that is too good not to take.  Our top nine is solid with him as a centerpiece in this system – but he does have to want it too.  So conflicted watching this game, not knowing the outcome of his future.
• We are back to Andrii Svechnikov penalty season again – this time, he takes a tripping penalty in his own offensive zone.  We kill it off – still 1-0 good guys.
• Pyotr Kochetkov, to his credit, was laser focused.  He was steady when he had to be and made some great saves to keep us afloat (against David Pastrnak no less).  With all the distractions the team was dealing with prior to the deadline, it was good to see one person who was dialed in.
• For what it’s worth, the first period 4^th line looked good, generating some good zone time against presumably the Bruins 4^th line.  Good pressure, no goals.
• Former Carolina Hurricane Morgan Geekie makes it 1-1 – it starts when we iced the puck a couple times and had to stay on the ice for a bit longer than we’d like – the Bruins pressure, eventually they got a shot off, which rebounds off of the pad of Kochetkov and to Geekie, who buries it top shelf.  Good, sustained pressure by them – and it’s a bit of a crusher since we were so close to the end of the period.
• Early goings in the 2^nd, Brent Burns gets a lucky bounce to bury his 5^th goal of the season.  And guess what line was out there with him…Blake-Kotkaniemi-Hall (the latter two with the assists).  Burns picked an excellent time to pinch – it all starts with Taylor Hall who brought the puck below the goal line around the net and fed it to Kotkaniemi who was up near the half wall area – he found Burns streaking in on the opposite side of the rink and Brent gets the puck luck off the skate of Witherspoon.  It’s 2-1 good guys.
• We head back to the power play.  I would love to see us get some separation on the scoreboard with these chances.  The things I saw:
• Power move by Svech for a stuff chance.
• A good chance for Jackson Blake that just missed
• Shayne Gostisbehere broke up a 2-on-1 opportunity for the Bruins
• No real net front
• Not a lot of pace with the passes
• As you can guess, that power play ended empty handed – the second time tonight.  We head to another power play later in the period, with Aho drawing a penalty.  The things I saw on that power play:
• We lost draws in the offensive zone.  That was a theme most of the night – they dominated us in the faceoff circle.
• Shayne Gostisbehere broke up a 2-on-1 opportunity for the Bruins (notice a theme -that’s the third time tonight we gave up a 2-on-1 on the power play)
• Slow puck movement
• No real net front
• Not a lot of pace with the passes.
• Rod sensed a lot of things off with the group, so he brought out the blender again and mixed things up.  Initially it was Robinson for Svechnikov, then I saw Roslovic out there with Staal and I was like – uh, oh.  Rod ain’t happy.  They didn’t feel like partial line changes and certainly didn’t feel like it was because of added minutes for the power play.  Either way, he moved people around.  The results were the same, though – a tired, distracted, flat group that was getting out worked and out-chanced (23-13 shots on goal).  Credit to Boston for getting up for this game.  Still up 2-1 us after the 2^nd period, but man this one looks ugly.
• The third period started with more energy – Rod put the lines back together and the boys responded playing a little more urgent and with better pace.  That said, we ended up surrendering a second goal to Morgan Geekie – it was started off a shot by Pastrnak that was saved, but Geekie worked through Staal, Burns and Svechnikov to find the puck and bury it right around Kochetkov.  I appreciate the work ethic there.  All knotted up a 2.
• The Rantanen-Aho-Jarvis line played very well in the 3^rd period, generating good chances (a couple Grade-A looks by Mikko).  Additionally, they were all mindful of the details, forcing turnovers in the neutral zone and having just enough jump to force the issue a little bit in the neutral zone (one such time forcing an icing).
• With 3:30 left, Rod decided to swap Kotkaniemi with Roslovic and allow Ros to center those two.  It confuses me, as Kotkaniemi wasn’t bad tonight – the whole team was playing kind of pedestrian, KK got the short end of the stick.  That said, with Hall buried one with 1:42 left that was ultimately waived off because of an offsides on Jack Roslovic.  It was the right call.
• Pyotr Kochetkov made another dynamite save with a minute left, 32 in total on the night, to keep this one tied at 2.  He’s been very good between the pipes.
• Sean Walker has quietly become Mr. Reliable for the Hurricanes defensive corps.  He had some good physicality and played very soundly defensively.  I’d love seeing him paired with Slavin late in games when we are tied or are ahead by 1.
• We finally wrapped this one up with 18.6 seconds left – it started with Seth Jarvis doing Seth Jarvis things, being a hound on the puck in the neutral zone.  The puck gets sent back by the Bruins to Zadorov, who tries to send the puck up ice and his stick shatters – Seth Jarvis is right there to retrieve it and, wasting no time, sends it top shelf.   3-2 us.  Great individual play by Seth there and a tough break for Zadorov – can’t anticipate a stick shatter there. 

As I mentioned, I watched this one late, keeping my phone away from me other than writing notes on the game.  Something I noticed as they headed to the locker room when they wrapped up – Mikko went into the locker room with the rest of the squad, not waiting until the end of the line with Slavin.  If you recall, a few games ago, he stayed out with Slavin to offer tail taps prior to his entry into the locker room with Slavin.  This felt like some foreshadowing for me. 

By the time I shut the TV off and looked online, the rumor mill had all but sent Mikko to Dallas.  While it wasn’t formalized, you got the sense that something was going to be done heading into the deadline.  I’ll have my thoughts on that in another blog post. 

In the end, we’ve had some games where we played well where we didn’t get the win – this one was one you could drop in the opposite ledger – we didn’t play great and ended up getting the win.  I’ll take it.  A three game “winning streak” – yay!

Next up: A date at home with the Winnipeg Jets.

Hurricanes at Red Wings – The Recap

So, it has been a couple days since this game happened – it probably won’t be as in depth as the others, or maybe it will – who really knows?  I am just starting to put things together, as I have been consuming a lot of content recently with the upcoming trade deadline.  That, and doing a podcast the night of a game made things a little tricky to get the blog out the door.  That said, I did take some notes and am prepared to go through them.

Going into this game, we had come off a win against Calgary to start to create maybe an ounce of separation in the Metro Division.  Any breathing room helps.  My hope was that we could play some steady hockey on the defensive end and get back to some confidence on the offensive side of the puck.  Additionally, our power-play has been powerless – we need to get that going sooner rather than later.

Below are my thoughts on the game:

• The line combinations appear to be intact from the game against Calgary – much to my delight.  Specifically, seeing the Hall-Kotkaniemi-Blake line playing together makes me excited.
• Early on, the Svechnikov-Staal-Martinook and Rantanen-Aho-Jarvis lines played in the attacking zone for long stretches, generating a couple good looks.  The puck possession and zone time on display early in this one was great to see.
• That is all to say the Red Wings got two 2-on-1 breakaway opportunities, both snuffed out by our defense (Slavin) and goaltending (we got Freddie in net).
• The Wings drew a penalty, and we get right to work killing it.  Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis had some decent zone time for the first minute of the kill, then the Red Wings got to work attacking – Andersen made some solid saves, and we were able to get out of the kill not giving up a goal.  One thing I’ll say – their puck movement is superb on the power play.  It could very well be why they are ranked 2^nd in the league in that category.
• Within a couple minutes we drew a power play.  And the differences in the two power play units couldn’t be more apparent.  Pass, dust, pass, dust, past – poke out of the zone – re-entry.  We did get a couple of chances (3 shots on goal in total), but the pace is far slower than what the Red Wings have.  We threw Roslovic and Blake up on the 1^st unit with Rantanen and Aho and then sent Jarvis and Svechnikov with Kotkaniemi and Hall to form the 2^nd unit.  I don’t mind the tweaks – I mind the pace and the urgency.  Still scoreless.
• Freddie Andersen had a solid outing in this one, making calm, confident saves throughout the night.  He’s strung together a couple solid showings.
• Another solid night – one Jaccob Slavin.  Man was he impressive.  There were countless times in this one (well, you can probably count them – there were a lot) where Slavin was busting up a play in the neutral zone, getting between a 2-on-1 to stop a breakaway and being an absolute puck hound at the blue line as the Red Wings tried to enter the zone.  One play in the 3^rd period, Slavin stops Alex DeBrincat (who was quiet most of the night – see, star players can have quiet games folks) on a great play to dislodge the puck, likely thwarting a chance for them.   Overall, a great night for Slavin.
• An appreciation post for Jesperi Kotkaniemi as well – he did a lot of the “non stat sheet” kind of work, going a staggering 7 for 8 in the faceoff circle (87.5% win rate).  Additionally, he had some solid, smart clears, good stick plays in the defensive end to break up would be chances, blocked shots and was using his body well to finish checks and position himself. 
• The Rantanen-Aho-Jarvis line was noticeable most of the night but hadn’t really seen the rewards for the work being done, generating good chances. The result of one of those shifts leads to a bump shift by the Staal line.  Jalen Chatfield pinched and eventually stole the puck from Mo Seider, then backhanded the puck to the middle of the ice where he found Jordan Martinook open – he went forehand, backhand for the goal.  1-0 good guys.
• Brent Burns wasn’t noticeable or unnoticeable – just steady.  Keep stacking games sir. 
• Jordan Staal puts us up 2-0 – Jordan Martinook got the puck in deep where Alex Lyon tried to handle, only to fumble it and Staal was right there to wrap it around for a goal.  Good pressure by Staal and good work by Martinook just following the recipe. 
• I felt as though the referees were calling some softies during the game, but never once did I hear a “refs you suck” chant from the Red Wings crowd – it was refreshing.  Take note fans. 
• Taylor Hall has been all over this game – just been very smart managing the puck, retreating to a spot to cover for a pinching defenseman, and just overall real good IQ.  He works with pace and urgency, which I like, and he has, to this point, teamed up very well with Kotkaniemi and Blake.  That line had plenty of chances in the 2^nd and 3^rd to really bust this one loose, including a Taylor Hall penalty shot that missed.  I wasn’t overly concerned, though, because we probably wouldn’t have scored on the power play anyway.  The line itself has been buzzing, though.
• There has been some decent net-front traffic in this one, something that hasn’t been as evident in the past several games. 
• Near the end of the second period, there was about three and a half minutes of Hurricanes domination, hemming the Red Wings in the zone the whole time.  With the long change in the 2^nd period for the defense, we were able to keep and maintain pressure the entire time, generating chances from not one, not two, but three different line combinations for us.  We didn’t score during that stretch, but I can assure you the Red Wings group that was on the ice (some for close to four minutes) felt that shift the rest of the game.
• As the game entered the third period, both teams had solid chances, and the pace of play was excellent.  The Hurricanes tonight, once again, have been steady as a defensive unit (all five playing well together) and actively generating quality chances in our attacking end.  Alex Lyon (former Hurricane and goaltender for the Wings in this one) has been solid.
• As mentioned, Freddie Andersen had a great night in net, but did give up one to Elmer Soderblom, a gigantic (6’8”) winger that put a nifty shot behind Andersen – Anderson was coming across the crease as he was following Soderblom to take away space and Elmer threw the puck behind Andersen’s blocker side upstairs.  He also skated around Dimitri Orlov, who looked like a driving cone that was parked in the middle of the ice.  I can’t say I’m surprised by this – the Dimitri Orlov experiment can’t end soon enough for me.

With about four minutes to go, I could feel a shift in energy in the game – clearly on the Detroit side of things.  With about two and a half minutes to go, they pulled the goalie and continued to attack.  While we couldn’t find the back of an empty net, the boys showed a lot of heart, hustle and drive in this one and ended up with a 2-1 win.  That’s two in a row for us and, with another win, we would be on what some might call “a winning streak”. 

I credit the team for playing sound defense as a unit.  Once again, our top nine had their chances and the Staal line ended up being the beneficiaries.  The two wins against Calgary and Detroit aren’t big for us, but the losses for the Flames and Red Wings are big – they need those games to make a final push for the playoffs.  In our defense, we need them to.  What I am getting at is this – we are seeing these teams’ best shots.  Solid defense and good goaltending were what the doctor ordered. 

Up next – a date in our building against the Boston Bruins.