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GDT: Canes @ Panthers 3/21 7:30

A

andyt

Canes Moderator
Staff member
The road trip continues in South Florida.

The Canes find themselves tied with the Panthers with 73 points. It wasn't so long ago that the Panthers found themselves 3rd in the Atlantic. Since returning from a 5 game road trip on 2/22, that saw them pick up all 10 points, the Panthers have picked up just 7 points in their last 13 games and have won only 2 of their last 9 at home. Jonathan Marchessault leads with 23 goals. Vincent Trochek and Alexander Barkov each ahve 27 assists, but Barkov missed 15 games earlier in the season. Canes killer Jonathan Huberdeau missed the first 51 games of the season with an Achilles injury but has 16 points in 20 games since returning. James Reimer and Roberto Luongo have pretty evenly split the goaltending duties. with similar results. Their save % are .915 and .917, GAA 2.68 and 2.63. The Panthers are 21st at home on the PP at 16.1% but their PK is first overall at 86.3% and 4th at home at 85.8%.

The Canes come in on a 7 game point streak, going 4-0-3 over that span. Elias Lindholm has a career best 7 game point streak with 3 goals and 5 assists. The Canes are 20-5-5 in games when he records a point. Barring recoveries by Zykov or McClement, no lineup changes today. No word on goalie, we'll see after the morning skate at 11:30.

Canes Cool Bars at the Carolina Ale House in Greenville. Fox Sports Carolinas for TV.
 
I would like to now think that Lindholm has turned a corner and should be considered an important part of our building a winner here as we move forward. After that slow start (we seriously need to figure out how to fix players having slow starts), Lindholm has been absolutely fantastic in the second half of the season. Since Jan 1st has has 26 points (5 goals 21 assists) in just 30 games. That is a 71 point pace over an 82 game season (14 goals 57 assists). 20 of those 26 points have been at even strength. He just turned 22 at the beginning of this past December. He's earning that contract extension for sure with his production over the 2nd half...now we just need a full season of that from the puck drop in October. If you are getting 50-60 points out of Lindholm you got yourself a top 6 forward. Add in that 53.6% Faceoff% and you have yourself a keeper.

Still need more consistent scoring and of course, much better goaltending, but if you can get 50-60 points out of Lindholm and Jordan Staal and 60-70 points out of Skinner and 50 points from Rask and 50+ points out of Aho (not sure where his ceiling is going to be) you have enough of a base to work with in terms of putting an offense out there that can score enough goals. Not sure if its Roy/Gauthier that puts us where we need to get to or if the acquisition of another player or players or if its Teravainen finding some sort of consistency out there (or PDG or McGinn finding some sort of confidence and developing into 30+ point players), but we have something to build off of with our forwards. If we could shake loose a sure fire 60+ point guy to add to the mix AND if Skinner, Staal, Aho, Lindholm and Rask don't regress from where they are right now, I think we have ourselves an offense. Its almost there, just a couple of players away, either our incoming kids or Teravainen taking the next step or a big acquisition via a trade.

Fix the goaltending and figure out a 3rd pair on the D that we can actually count on and for crying out loud stop bleeding points in OT! We are close, real close. Not to put pressure on Noah Hanifin, but he HAS to be better next year for this all to work. Sorry kid but you were the big top Dman in the draft and will be entering year 3. You HAVE to be much better in your own end next year.

As for tonight, we already messed up draft position so what the heck, just go out there and try to win every game to keep our pretty much hopeless playoff hopes alive. If anything we can mess up Florida, Philly and the NYI.
 
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cmaleski2 said:
I would like to now think that Lindholm has turned a corner and should be considered an important part of our building a winner here as we move forward. After that slow start (we seriously need to figure out how to fix players having slow starts), Lindholm has been absolutely fantastic in the second half of the season. Since Jan 1st has has 26 points (5 goals 21 assists) in just 30 games. That is a 71 point pace over an 82 game season (14 goals 57 assists). 20 of those 26 points have been at even strength. He just turned 22 at the beginning of this past December. He's earning that contract extension for sure with his production over the 2nd half...now we just need a full season of that from the puck drop in October. If you are getting 50-60 points out of Lindholm you got yourself a top 6 forward. Add in that 53.6% Faceoff% and you have yourself a keeper.
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I'd like more goals from him 15-20 would be nice, but we can't complain about the assists. Something like his first 20 assists were primary too.
 
Lines from the morning skate:

Aho/Staal/Teravainen
McGinn/Rask/Lindholm
Skinner/Ryan/Stempniak
Nordstrom/Brown/PDG

Slavin/Faulk
Hanifin/Pesce
Dahlbeck/Murphy

Ward in goal.
 
cmaleski2 said:
I would like to now think that Lindholm has turned a corner and should be considered an important part of our building a winner here as we move forward. After that slow start (we seriously need to figure out how to fix players having slow starts), Lindholm has been absolutely fantastic in the second half of the season. Since Jan 1st has has 26 points (5 goals 21 assists) in just 30 games. That is a 71 point pace over an 82 game season (14 goals 57 assists). 20 of those 26 points have been at even strength. He just turned 22 at the beginning of this past December. He's earning that contract extension for sure with his production over the 2nd half...now we just need a full season of that from the puck drop in October. If you are getting 50-60 points out of Lindholm you got yourself a top 6 forward. Add in that 53.6% Faceoff% and you have yourself a keeper.

Still need more consistent scoring and of course, much better goaltending, but if you can get 50-60 points out of Lindholm and Jordan Staal and 60-70 points out of Skinner and 50 points from Rask and 50+ points out of Aho (not sure where his ceiling is going to be) you have enough of a base to work with in terms of putting an offense out there that can score enough goals. Not sure if its Roy/Gauthier that puts us where we need to get to or if the acquisition of another player or players or if its Teravainen finding some sort of consistency out there (or PDG or McGinn finding some sort of confidence and developing into 30+ point players), but we have something to build off of with our forwards. If we could shake loose a sure fire 60+ point guy to add to the mix AND if Skinner, Staal, Aho, Lindholm and Rask don't regress from where they are right now, I think we have ourselves an offense. Its almost there, just a couple of players away, either our incoming kids or Teravainen taking the next step or a big acquisition via a trade.

Fix the goaltending and figure out a 3rd pair on the D that we can actually count on and for crying out loud stop bleeding points in OT! We are close, real close. Not to put pressure on Noah Hanifin, but he HAS to be better next year for this all to work. Sorry kid but you were the big top Dman in the draft and will be entering year 3. You HAVE to be much better in your own end next year.

As for tonight, we already messed up draft position so what the heck, just go out there and try to win every game to keep our pretty much hopeless playoff hopes alive. If anything we can mess up Florida, Philly and the NYI.
Click to expand...

I will keep beating the dead horse...in order of importance IMHO:

1) Fix the goaltending at all costs.

2) Find a Number 1 Center or at the very least plug that hole at center in your Top 6.

3) Add two to three character veterans with an edge to mentor all these kids. No not another Jay McClement type...guys that not only can lead by example but guys that have won elsewhere that provide more than a warm body. I'm talking about the Jason Chimera types up front and the Johnny Oduya type on the backend that can get you both consistent, solid play and leadership on and off the ice.

4) Young players like Roy, Gauthier, Wallmark and Zykov should be sprinkled in to compliment the core next season, they should not be expected to be a main part of the equation.


I agree CMal that they are almost there for turning the corner, but they must address the first 2 to 3 things on the list this summer to get over the hump.
 
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Ward in goal. Why not Lack? I get starting ward the other night but Lack has been playing better as of recently though I wouldn't fault Ward too much in that loss. :beatdeadhorse5:
 
On Ward vs. Lack tonight, I'm going to say that someone in the Canes analytics department handed Peters this stat:

Over the past 4 seasons, only Considering games as a Hurricanes goalie, records vs. Florida:

Eddie Lack 2 starts 0-2-0 3.62 GAA .857 Sv%
Cam Ward 4 starts 0-3-1 1.26 GAA .948 Sv%

But wait you say, that is only 6 total starts in the last 4 seasons? Yes it is, because:

Anton Khudobin 4 starts 3-1-0 2.25 GAA .938 Sv%
Michael Leighton 1 start 1-0-0 2.00 GAA .939 Sv%

I have a feeling that all other things being equal, Bill Peters might actually have considered those number above when deciding on his goalie for tonight.

If you are looking at the other 2 games on this road trip:

Montreal:

Cam Ward 8 games 3-4-1 2.61 GAA .909 Sv%
Lack - no appearances

New Jersey:

Cam Ward 10 Games 4-5-1 2.34 GAA .903 Sv%
Eddie Lack 3 Games 1-2-0 3.08 GAA .883 Sv%

So my guess is Ward is starting against Florida because of those stats. Lack will start @Montreal unless Cam is otherworldly tonight, and Cam will start @NJ.

And yeah, its completely nuts that Cam has a 1.26 GAA and .948 Sv% over his last 4 starts against Florida and has lost ALL of them, earning just a single overtime point.
 
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I think you may be onto something, as Peters frequently mentions "so-and-so played real well there last time" or "...plays real well there".

So, that's probably what tipped the scales, small sample size and all.

Instead of considerations like Lack vs. Luango from their Canuck days or how much Cam seems to relish playing in Montreal (despite the results).

Or actual results and stats based on hundreds of minutes and multiple games.

Bill "Tank" Peters. :sarcasm
 
cmaleski2 said:
I would like to now think that Lindholm has turned a corner and should be considered an important part of our building a winner here as we move forward. After that slow start (we seriously need to figure out how to fix players having slow starts), Lindholm has been absolutely fantastic in the second half of the season. Since Jan 1st has has 26 points (5 goals 21 assists) in just 30 games. That is a 71 point pace over an 82 game season (14 goals 57 assists). 20 of those 26 points have been at even strength. He just turned 22 at the beginning of this past December. He's earning that contract extension for sure with his production over the 2nd half...now we just need a full season of that from the puck drop in October. If you are getting 50-60 points out of Lindholm you got yourself a top 6 forward. Add in that 53.6% Faceoff% and you have yourself a keeper.

Still need more consistent scoring and of course, much better goaltending, but if you can get 50-60 points out of Lindholm and Jordan Staal and 60-70 points out of Skinner and 50 points from Rask and 50+ points out of Aho (not sure where his ceiling is going to be) you have enough of a base to work with in terms of putting an offense out there that can score enough goals. Not sure if its Roy/Gauthier that puts us where we need to get to or if the acquisition of another player or players or if its Teravainen finding some sort of consistency out there (or PDG or McGinn finding some sort of confidence and developing into 30+ point players), but we have something to build off of with our forwards. If we could shake loose a sure fire 60+ point guy to add to the mix AND if Skinner, Staal, Aho, Lindholm and Rask don't regress from where they are right now, I think we have ourselves an offense. Its almost there, just a couple of players away, either our incoming kids or Teravainen taking the next step or a big acquisition via a trade.

Fix the goaltending and figure out a 3rd pair on the D that we can actually count on and for crying out loud stop bleeding points in OT! We are close, real close. Not to put pressure on Noah Hanifin, but he HAS to be better next year for this all to work. Sorry kid but you were the big top Dman in the draft and will be entering year 3. You HAVE to be much better in your own end next year.

As for tonight, we already messed up draft position so what the heck, just go out there and try to win every game to keep our pretty much hopeless playoff hopes alive. If anything we can mess up Florida, Philly and the NYI.
Click to expand...

I hope you are right but I would caution against thinking Lindholm has turned the corner. While his recent 2+ months have been good, his overall performance for the year would be below par. If the Canes have taught me anything over the past decade is don't get too caught up in how good they can look when there is no pressure after they have already tanked the season. He is finishing his 4th year and I think we were all hoping that he would produce more than the estimated 12 goals and 46 points he is on target for. I was hoping for Lindholm to make a jump into a clear #2 center (#1 on Canes!) as he should be able to out play Rask based on where the Canes drafted him. I am still waiting for that.

Outside of the clear goaltending issues, the Canes must address the cener position. On a playoff caliber team, the Canes really have 3 guys (Rask, Lindholm, Staal) that are best suited as a #3 or #2 center in this league. Unless Lindholm can make a huge jump there is a glaring hole at the #1 center slot. There is not enough offense on this team yet to compete in the current Metrol division.

The Canes are in the worst division to be a rebuilding team as the 4 teams at the top of the Metro, are really the top 4 teams in the East and 4 of the top 5 in the league overall. The power of the league has really shifted from the West and I don't see much of that changing for next year. Just based purely on the Metro divisions strength it is going to be really hard to make the jump to the playoffs next year. Prepare for another rebuilding year unless the Canes can lock down the 5th spot in the metro and outplay the wild cards from the Atlantic. Unfortunately due to scheduling quirks that is hard to do as this year shows.
 
CarolinaPen said:
I hope you are right but I would caution against thinking Lindholm has turned the corner. While his recent 2+ months have been good, his overall performance for the year would be below par. If the Canes have taught me anything over the past decade is don't get too caught up in how good they can look when there is no pressure after they have already tanked the season. He is finishing his 4th year and I think we were all hoping that he would produce more than the estimated 12 goals and 46 points he is on target for. I was hoping for Lindholm to make a jump into a clear #2 center (#1 on Canes!) as he should be able to out play Rask based on where the Canes drafted him. I am still waiting for that.
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I don't think anyone is saying he's turned the corner, just that we're starting (for the first time with him) to see what we were hoping to see with him. He's 22 years old, so although he's been in the league for 4 years, he's still young. What is encouraging is that he's seeming to "find it" in all aspects of his game. The physical, assists, goals now, along with hockey sense and some leadership and grit.

His style of play seems to work better with some size and strength on his frame.

As for the same old thing from the Canes, yeah I agree, however with all the young kids on the team, you would certainly hope to see some improvement in some of them, and it appears that we are. Wish we could have a redo on February.
 
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Lindholm is a better player than Rask, both now and in the future.

As far as this so called rebuild is going. As long as you don't put money towards getting good players to complement the youth you will get what we have now. The potential is there and that's why it's so frustrating to see that they are doing the rebuid on the cheap.
 
I think Rask can, and hopefully will, become an impact player once he starts using his size along the boards. Rask should be able to use his size and create space for skilled wingers. Bang the body and pass the puck to the open man.

Lindy has always said he would like to model his game after Peter Forsberg. Until now it looked like a pipe dream. Now if he could just attack the net like Peter did.
 
I agree with you Christer. I think Lindholm has more skills than Rask does across the board. Better passer, sees the ice better, more physical. Better at faceoffs. I also think that he will be a better goal scorer than Rask. The goals are now coming for Lindholm, but he needs to figure out how to play the way he has since January 1st all of the time. Rask is a PERFECT 3rd line center. Lindholm has the skills to be a top 6 winger (jury is out still if he will ever be an effective center, I think he is a much better RW).

The kid JUST TURNED 22 years old 4 months ago. If Detroit drafted him he would have played his 18 and 19 year old seasons in Sweden, played last season in the AHL and would be a rookie this year. The Canes didn't elect to play it that way and in hindsight I think that was a mistake. The kid has serious skills and has been able to successfully tap them for 30 games in row. The question is 'can he do that for a full season?' A 70 point pace over 30 games, even if its 57 assists and only 14 goals pace, would be a revelation for this franchise considering the scoring woes we've had. Its the same old story, we need these guys to come out of the shoot firing on all cylinders from the first game of the season. Lindholm is likely not a 70 point guy, but he could and should be a 50-60 point guy if it doesn't take him until January to get going.

Rask is almost 2 years older than Lindholm.
 
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Folks, we have to figure out how to win on the road and close out tight games- too many losses on the road and too many games lost in OT/SO.


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aa765d54f274b55a7a7bd45cad2f6c9f.jpg
 
My girl will be on the Zamboni in the first intermission, I'll have her wave at you guys.
 
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