GDT: Canes v. Leafs 12/11 7:00
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CanadaCanes
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I feel for the fan base that has to sit through that kind of shitshow. It’s just hard to fathom how rock bottom this team looks like sometimes. PDG getting major power play minutes tonight is just plain embarrassing. Tough to watch.
Hamiltion was a sterling -4 tonight. He looked as disinterested as Emo Joe on his worst days.
ThinIce
Well-known member
Rumor has it that Dougie Hamilton was arrested after the game last night for impersonating an NHL player.
SlapShots
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LOVE those guys. Great call.
Yes, and yes.
Ferland came out for his very first shift and I noticed he looked foggy. By his last shift of the game he was barely moving his legs at all. How that guy got cleared by a competent medical professional, I have no idea. He probably shouldn't have even been allowed back on the ice after the first shift.
And without Ferland, our pop-gun offense has turned into a VERY limp noodle. Martinook is bravely giving it a go, but he doesn't have the offensive instincts or the hands to pull off an effective Ferland impression. Not his fault, of course. In true Canes tradition, we're asking him to do too much. And don't even get me started on putting PDG on the first power play unit. Brindy even threw Svech out on the first line in the 3rd, but that went about as well as I expected. He's NOT ready for that pace yet. But I guess that was an effective STFU to the legions of people who just can't stop themselves from demanding that shift in lines. At this point, Brindy is well and truly out of options on the current roster. NOBODY is suited for that top line wing role other than the guy who's already centering that line. We either need to start experimenting with the guys in the minors or trade for somebody. Like NOW. Kuokkanen, Saarela ... heck, call up freaking Necas and let him play wing. I don't really care. Just get somebody in there who can keep up with the speed of the other two and bury the odd puck.
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One more thought on that Leafs game
There's no shame in getting beaten by a team that is THAT much better than you. Hamilton is taking heat for his dumpster fire of a performance which is probably fair, but honestly that Leafs team with Nylander back in the mix and going full speed is going to roll this Canes team 9 games out of 10. And it's generally going to look pretty much exactly like it did last night. The guys that are left on a VERY patchwork roster can only be held responsible for their level of effort, and I thought they played really hard last night.
There's no shame in getting beaten by a team that is THAT much better than you. Hamilton is taking heat for his dumpster fire of a performance which is probably fair, but honestly that Leafs team with Nylander back in the mix and going full speed is going to roll this Canes team 9 games out of 10. And it's generally going to look pretty much exactly like it did last night. The guys that are left on a VERY patchwork roster can only be held responsible for their level of effort, and I thought they played really hard last night.
HurryCanes
Well-known member
on paper that team better contend for a cup. lots of intangibles obviously but even with Matthews getting pretty much locked down, that team is just stacked with talent offensively. With a good goalie, even mediocre defense should take them a long way.
CanadaCanes
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There are so many things that could be done right now to wake up that sleeping offense but apparently the front office is asleep at the wheel yet again. Necas on the wing makes too much sense, so does calling up Kuokkanen...both of those two skilled guys would give you more upside than PDG. Make a trade, there are trades to be had before the Christmas trade freeze...even if you go out and find a bottom 6 guy that can provide a bit of a spark to change things up. Rask is yet again AWOL, poor Wallmark has had so many looks in close but simply does not have the talent to score goals, PDG/McGinn/Bishop...meh. Staal and Ferland are both dinged up and who knows for how long on both...scary to think about what the forward lines look like if those two are on IR long term.
The only reason to put PDG on the PP is to park his butt in front of the goalie. He did that for about 10 seconds total across all the power plays last night. When he drifts to the boards or beyond the hashmarks the PP essentially becomes 4 on 5 because he’s just another obstacle on the ice.
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bagopux
Well-known member
That's what it takes if your D includes Ron Hainsey at almost 20 minutes per night. Exhibit A: Weight-Cullen-Recchi.
Thanks for bringing that up, because I intended to mention the defensive job the Canes did on Matthews and forgot. Even with the lines all bollocksed up and Hamilton going mentally absent on us, Carolina did manage to squeeze Auston Matthews' line quite well last night. Like, to the point that the obnoxious Leafs fans near us were actually calling him a bum by the middle the third. I mean, it took a lot to make them stop complaining about Nylander's paycheck, because that was a constant bleat through the game even as the kid played ridiculously well and notched 2 assists.
Bottom line ... Aho's line ended up with Matthews a lot, paired with Faulk and de Haan. Sometimes it was the depth lines with TVR and Pesce. But no matter who was on the ice with Matthews, they pushed him wide, directly loose change into the corners and made him go lug the puck. He's MUCH better in the middle of the ice where he is great at using his physical leverage to get position. Smart plan, and well executed ... probably doesn't hurt that we just played Getzlaf and you basically take the same approach to him. We could easily have lost that game 6 or 7 to 1 if their big line had ever gotten themselves going. And yeah, any team that rolls Marleau, Nylander and Kadri as a 3rd line is just stupidly good offensively.
And, in contrast, we don't have any forward lines capable of being dangerous. We have a couple players that have the talent to be able to carry the puck in and beat a defender, but most of our guys, if they get a one on one chance end up getting pushed wide, pushed off the puck, dumping it in, or making a poor pass. That means when we have PDG out there, or Rask, etc. they don't really worry about those guys defensively - they can take their chances pressing the offense because even on a breakaway we're not much of a threat to score, and if they get one guys back, they are usually able to break up the scoring chance. That contributes to our struggles defensively because they can pinch with impunity and take other chances to keep the puck in, or crash the net and we're not able to make them pay for it.
We need help up front. Aho is fine. Teuvo is marginally good enough to play with him, but we don't have anyone near that level to slot with them. On top of that, we there's not another dangerous line unless you count whatever line Svetch is on, and that's another line that has 1/3 of the talent it needs to be dangerous.
We're going to continue to struggle until whatever the issue is gets resolved. I think it's 1C and 2C, or maybe 1C and 1W. If we look at top 6 talent, we have:
Aho - check
Tuevo - marginally
Svetch - yes but with the right supporting cast.
Seems like you need at least 4 guys solidly as that level.
Last year we failed without Svetch but with Skinner and Lindholm - both of whom are in that class.
I think adding a 1C and another top 6 forward would allow us to ice dangeous lines. It would also fix Staal's line since it could be a checking line instead of our second scoring line which it's not suited for.
However, it could also be coaching - although Peters seems fine and he was not good here.
Our D should be fine. Our Goalies have been adequate. We need to score. We need to be dangerous offensively at least somewhere.
PDG on the PP seems absurd. However, who else would you put there? That's how much of a problem we have up front -there's not any clearly better alternative to him on the PP.
Need to do something - either call some bodies up and try them out, or make a trade. If you don't make a trade, and don't call anyone up, we don't make the playoffs and we don't know if any of the guys in the system are the answer either. DO SOMETHING.
We need help up front. Aho is fine. Teuvo is marginally good enough to play with him, but we don't have anyone near that level to slot with them. On top of that, we there's not another dangerous line unless you count whatever line Svetch is on, and that's another line that has 1/3 of the talent it needs to be dangerous.
We're going to continue to struggle until whatever the issue is gets resolved. I think it's 1C and 2C, or maybe 1C and 1W. If we look at top 6 talent, we have:
Aho - check
Tuevo - marginally
Svetch - yes but with the right supporting cast.
Seems like you need at least 4 guys solidly as that level.
Last year we failed without Svetch but with Skinner and Lindholm - both of whom are in that class.
I think adding a 1C and another top 6 forward would allow us to ice dangeous lines. It would also fix Staal's line since it could be a checking line instead of our second scoring line which it's not suited for.
However, it could also be coaching - although Peters seems fine and he was not good here.
Our D should be fine. Our Goalies have been adequate. We need to score. We need to be dangerous offensively at least somewhere.
PDG on the PP seems absurd. However, who else would you put there? That's how much of a problem we have up front -there's not any clearly better alternative to him on the PP.
Need to do something - either call some bodies up and try them out, or make a trade. If you don't make a trade, and don't call anyone up, we don't make the playoffs and we don't know if any of the guys in the system are the answer either. DO SOMETHING.
Re: PDG ... as bad a look as it was to see him get some much power play time last night, as noted ... just what the heck were your options? Williams was playing that off wing half wall to the low post role on the 2nd unit. Staal and Ferland have gotten 90% of the rest of the minutes in that role all season, so the hole they leave in their wake is HUGE. Foegele got some looks there when he was hot early, but he's solid ice at this point. McGinn? Sure, I guess, but that's no better than PDG if we're honest. Neither one of them has any kind of shot and neither one can muster any real physical presence in the offensive zone. Rask? Please. Plus, he was on the other unit and they looked even worse than the "first" unit ... despite the goal, which came on a change and was a direct result of yet another sick Aho pass.
Honestly, until we get some players in here, I'm not even looking in Brind'Amour's direction.
Honestly, until we get some players in here, I'm not even looking in Brind'Amour's direction.