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GDT: Canes vs Colorado 2/10 8:00 EST

Personal reasons kept me away from tonight's game, but I did catch the last two periods on TV. Very entertaining - fast and physical. Great defensive play around Cam, who was super tonight. And here's to Brock - my new hero!
 
Skinner-Aho-Stempniak? Peters was juggling lines all night, but really whatever line Aho is on looks dangerous. The kid is a superstar in the making....you could argue he is already at that status.
 
And the Rangers have sunk to dead last in the division. Warms my Long Island heart.

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Skinner-Aho-Stempniak? Peters was juggling lines all night, but really whatever line Aho is on looks dangerous. The kid is a superstar in the making....you could argue he is already at that status.

The line blend-o-matic was in full use last night. I’m not sure Peters sent the same combo out more than twice in a row.
 
Staal, Lindholm, Rask, and Ryan (our four current C's) all play penalty kill. So Aho centering Skinner after that 4-minute high-sticking penalty might have just been born out of necessity.

But it did seem to stick. I haven't gone back to figure it all out just yet. Probably doesn't matter from coach's post-game comments. It happened. It might happen again.

Loved Lindholm at center. It was his forechecking and centering pass from behind the net that set McGinn up for his first goal. May all his assists be primary ones.
 
Yeah ... the line with Aho centering Skinner and Stempy stuck for the majority of the 3rd. They looked great in possession but Aho got pushed around pretty good by Compher on several shifts in the defensive zone. He's a smart kid and seems to figure out a way around his size limitations most of the time, but I understand Peters' reluctance to use him at center on a full time basis. Lindholm not so much ... everything about his game gets more energized when he plays in the middle. I have no idea what the reluctance there has ever been.

Honestly though, it was McGinn's night. He was "on" right from shift one. He easily could have scored four ...even without the empty netter he missed. Props to Ryan for winning 4 or 5 consecutive d-zone face-offs in the third too. Overall I didn't think Colorado had anything like their A game and they badly miss McKinnon. That's a big roster, but on the slow side and once Carolina found their legs they were noticeably the faster team. That doesn't happen all that much.

Big picture-wise I thought these two would go well. Let's see how they handle some success and a return to their Eastern Conference chase-mates post-Valentine's Day.
 
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They will get the AC turned waaaaaayyyyyy down....its been noticeably colder down in the lower bowl the 2nd half of the season, I expect it to be really really cold come game time, at least we can hope it is....

The ice was a non-factor ... which is great considering the circumstances. You could tell it was a bit brittle with several guys blowing edges in what looked like routine turns, but I've seen much much worse.
 
Thought they played well, and more physically than is their norm, and it made a difference.

Fleury looked particularly good - very physical and generally very solid all around game from him.
 
The current conference standings have the three playoff bound Atlantic Division teams at the top, the entire Metropolitan Division in the middle, and the rest of the Atlantic at the bottom.

Not to be too optimistic, but five wins separate the Canes and Capitals right now. That's how close this entire division is.
 
The current conference standings have the three playoff bound Atlantic Division teams at the top, the entire Metropolitan Division in the middle, and the rest of the Atlantic at the bottom.

Not to be too optimistic, but five wins separate the Canes and Capitals right now. That's how close this entire division is.

And the last place Rangers are only 2 points behind the Canes. The division is bananas, with an 11 point difference between first and last.
 
Yeah ... our division is a zoo. Personally, I think Pittsburgh and Washington are going to float above the fray and that everybody else is in play unless they decide that their lineup is just too flawed. The Rangers appear to be making that decision, but it could just be the media trying to make it for them. Carolina, in my opinion, has the opposite problem. Their roster is significantly flawed but nobody seems to have noticed aside from Luke DeCock playing the role of lone voice crying in the wilderness.

I mean ... you can chuck a medium sized hat over Philly, NJ, Carolina, Columbus, NYI and NYR and on any given day they all pretty much look the same in terms of their odds. This is absolutely a race that could be tipped by a good acquisition at the deadline. The NYR, NJ and NYI all badly need help on defense, while Carolina and Columbus need offense. Philly's biggest issue is getting their crap together on the kill. I'm just not sure that Carolina's offensive issues are of the sort that a deadline deal can fix. They really need a quality center and there just aren't that many floating around.
 
Yeah ... our division is a zoo. Personally, I think Pittsburgh and Washington are going to float above the fray and that everybody else is in play unless they decide that their lineup is just too flawed. The Rangers appear to be making that decision, but it could just be the media trying to make it for them. Carolina, in my opinion, has the opposite problem. Their roster is significantly flawed but nobody seems to have noticed aside from Luke DeCock playing the role of lone voice crying in the wilderness.

I mean ... you can chuck a medium sized hat over Philly, NJ, Carolina, Columbus, NYI and NYR and on any given day they all pretty much look the same in terms of their odds. This is absolutely a race that could be tipped by a good acquisition at the deadline. The NYR, NJ and NYI all badly need help on defense, while Carolina and Columbus need offense. Philly's biggest issue is getting their crap together on the kill. I'm just not sure that Carolina's offensive issues are of the sort that a deadline deal can fix. They really need a quality center and there just aren't that many floating around.

Good points... given that there are so many flawed teams fighting for those spots though and one or more may bow out, it seems we don't need to fix the 1C hole to make the playoffs. We probably do have to make a move or two to add a solid top 6 forward and I'd be a lot more comfortable not having to depend on Darling figuring out his issues.

The Lindholm to center move doesn't address the 1C issue, but at least we're less overslotted there. Adding another good forward to the mix would greatly improve the options on line combinations for all 4 lines, and it should be something we can do with a view to both the short term and long term.
 
One of the better games I 've seen the Canes play lately. They have ro play a more physical game every night. Poke checks don't win games. McGinn is really turning it up a notch.
 
Good points... given that there are so many flawed teams fighting for those spots though and one or more may bow out, it seems we don't need to fix the 1C hole to make the playoffs. We probably do have to make a move or two to add a solid top 6 forward and I'd be a lot more comfortable not having to depend on Darling figuring out his issues.

The Lindholm to center move doesn't address the 1C issue, but at least we're less overslotted there. Adding another good forward to the mix would greatly improve the options on line combinations for all 4 lines, and it should be something we can do with a view to both the short term and long term.

I think the weakest link in the current mix is Rask. Not so much weakest really; more like most unreliable. If you could find a decent center who could hold down a third line while Lindy and Staal handle the other two and Ryan wins key draws and fills in the gaps ... you might could make it work. Of course, Ward needs to hold up ... less than given, as history veritably screams ... and the D needs to continue to clean up their season long habit of barfing up 2-3 odd man rushes per period.
 
One of the better games I 've seen the Canes play lately. They have ro play a more physical game every night. Poke checks don't win games. McGinn is really turning it up a notch.

Easier to hit 'em when you can catch 'em. Colorado is one of the slowest teams in the league ... or at least they were the other night.
 
I think the weakest link in the current mix is Rask. Not so much weakest really; more like most unreliable. If you could find a decent center who could hold down a third line while Lindy and Staal handle the other two and Ryan wins key draws and fills in the gaps ... you might could make it work. Of course, Ward needs to hold up ... less than given, as history veritably screams ... and the D needs to continue to clean up their season long habit of barfing up 2-3 odd man rushes per period.

Yeah - I agree. I was looking at the plus/minus and he's one of only 2 players in the black on that... He KILLS me with his lack of physical play, and he doesn't seem to generate anything at all. How is he maintaining a positive +/- ? Am I missing something in his game that he's doing well?



Did you go to the game Saturday? Did you wear a Shanahan Whalers green sweater?
 
Easier to hit 'em when you can catch 'em. Colorado is one of the slowest teams in the league ... or at least they were the other night.

Our issue with not being physical is not usually because they can't get there, it's that they decide not to hit. Saturday night they made a lot more decisions to take the body than normal.
 
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