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GDT: Canes v. Habs 2/1 7:00

A

andyt

Canes Moderator
Staff member
The homestand continues with a rematch of last week's wild affair in Montreal.

This is the 3rd and final game of the season series. The Canes have a chance to sweep the Habs for the first time since 1994-95. Peters mixed the lines up pretty early on Tuesday night, reuniting the TSA line once it was obvious that Aho was back to his old self. Lindholm spent a good bit of time skating with Kruger. We'll see what the Blend-O-Matic has in store at the morning skate. I expect Ward in goal tonight with Darling going tomorrow.

The Habs lost their first game back from the break, 3-1 in St. Louis on Tuesday night. Paul Byron was injured in that game and might not play tonight.

Fox Sports Southeast for TV.
 
It seemed and incredible waste to have Lindholm out there with the offensive black hole that is Nordstrom and Kruger.

This goes back to the 'what happens when Stempniak returns?' question. That question didn't need to be answered when Aho and Ryan were out of the lineup due to injuries. Now that everyone is back to health we have 10 'top 9' players (yeah I know, not really....). If the answer is putting Lindholm on the 4th line that is a really crappy solution. Whose shoes did he piss on? If Peters is looking for some sort of Swedish connection he's not going to find it. Kruger and Nordstrom are garbage offensively and Lindholm isn't going to fix that.
 
cmaleski2 said:
It seemed and incredible waste to have Lindholm out there with the offensive black hole that is Nordstrom and Kruger.

This goes back to the 'what happens when Stempniak returns?' question. That question didn't need to be answered when Aho and Ryan were out of the lineup due to injuries. Now that everyone is back to health we have 10 'top 9' players (yeah I know, not really....). If the answer is putting Lindholm on the 4th line that is a really crappy solution. Whose shoes did he piss on? If Peters is looking for some sort of Swedish connection he's not going to find it. Kruger and Nordstrom are garbage offensively and Lindholm isn't going to fix that.
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Part of it is the supposed chemistry between Skinner, Ryan and Stempniak. But in the 7 games Stempy has played, Skinner has 2 goals, 1 assist, Stempy has 1 goal, 3 assists, Ryan has 2 goals, 1 assist in 5 games. Not exactly setting the world on fire. Of the 16 scoring points last Friday, Skinner and Stempy each had 1 point, Ryan 2.
 
cmaleski2 said:
It seemed and incredible waste to have Lindholm out there with the offensive black hole that is Nordstrom and Kruger.

This goes back to the 'what happens when Stempniak returns?' question. That question didn't need to be answered when Aho and Ryan were out of the lineup due to injuries. Now that everyone is back to health we have 10 'top 9' players (yeah I know, not really....). If the answer is putting Lindholm on the 4th line that is a really crappy solution. Whose shoes did he piss on? If Peters is looking for some sort of Swedish connection he's not going to find it. Kruger and Nordstrom are garbage offensively and Lindholm isn't going to fix that.
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I think what you're implying is that Lindholm has become "Stockholm infested" ...

As you note, this is all just a byproduct of having a roster full of forwards who just don't fit together into proper line combinations. And while Stempy hasn't played badly since his return, I'd suggest that the step he lost in the second half of last season has since turned into 2 or 3. He's really struggling with the pace of play out there. Seems like every time he wins a puck battle on the boards, by the time he takes two strides the guy he just beat has caught up to him. And look ... fair play to him, because he's one of the VERY few guys we've got who actually wins battles on the boards. But ...
 
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Optional skate this morning, only 7 forwards and 4 dmen on the ice. Darling and Alves in net, so probably Ward in goal tonight.
 
That custom-built line for Skinner is quite the disrupter, especially on the RW side now that Stempniak has returned.

Lindholm just seems odd-man out after Peters rolled the dice for the other three lines instead of any doghouse issue. His stat line certainly seems fine.

Career year for us to date, heading for 20+ goals (14 presently) for the first time ever. Assists are down from his usual pace, but so is everyone's in this anemic scoring season.

He's 4th in goals and 6th in points for the team. Hits, blocks, takeaways, giveaways are all at his usual pace. No anomalies except his goal/assist ratio is inverted from his usual 2 assists for every goal pace. And that should be a good thing.

But stuck on a fourth line? One completely devoid of any offensive sign of life whatsoever? That's not a good thing.
 
Elsker said:
That custom-built line for Skinner is quite the disrupter, especially on the RW side now that Stempniak has returned.

Lindholm just seems odd-man out after Peters rolled the dice for the other three lines instead of any doghouse issue. His stat line certainly seems fine.

Career year for us to date, heading for 20+ goals (14 presently) for the first time ever. Assists are down from his usual pace, but so is everyone's in this anemic scoring season.

He's 4th in goals and 6th in points for the team. Hits, blocks, takeaways, giveaways are all at his usual pace. No anomalies except his goal/assist ratio is inverted from his usual 2 assists for every goal pace. And that should be a good thing.

But stuck on a fourth line? One completely devoid of any offensive sign of life whatsoever? That's not a good thing.
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Agreed. If anything I think Lindy is a guy who could help the offense take a step up if he could bring his level of play up a notch. He hasn't been bad this season, but just a little bit more of everything he already does would not be amiss. We badly need something cooking up front aside from Skinner and Aho. And not just in fits and spurts ... right steady like. We've got a lot of guys who have OK numbers, but we've struggled to get all three "balanced" lines going on the same night. You know how not to fix that? Put the a creator like Lindholm down with the grunts.
 
cmaleski2 said:
It seemed and incredible waste to have Lindholm out there with the offensive black hole that is Nordstrom and Kruger.

This goes back to the 'what happens when Stempniak returns?' question. That question didn't need to be answered when Aho and Ryan were out of the lineup due to injuries. Now that everyone is back to health we have 10 'top 9' players (yeah I know, not really....). If the answer is putting Lindholm on the 4th line that is a really crappy solution. Whose shoes did he piss on? If Peters is looking for some sort of Swedish connection he's not going to find it. Kruger and Nordstrom are garbage offensively and Lindholm isn't going to fix that.
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A "Billy Peters Special" yet again...Lindholm on a fourth line. Genius!!!
 
I can't figure out why Lindy was playing on the 4th line. Peters has constantly talked all season about how strong his play has been. And I agree, we really need to get Skinner scoring again. He's always been streaky, but now's the time for the pendulum to swing the other way.
 
Will the D and goalies play tonight? They were absent last time these two teams played.
 
Habsy said:
Will the D and goalies play tonight? They were absent last time these two teams played.
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I'm calling it ... 1-0 in a shootout. Nothing but D

:O)

Oh ... and my early Christmas present to all you good people is that I'm hauling my grumpy self off to Orlando for a few days of warm weather and the kind of work I do now, which is mostly fun. So at least you won't have me whinging about ticket discounts and other sideshow nonsense.
 
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