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GDT: Canes @ Capitals, Game 1, 7:30 pm eastern

Svech lives! 3-1 Caps.

And again! 3-2.

Canes on the power play with 3:31 left...
 
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Well better than it started, but still, Capitals capitalized on their chances. We had LOTS, but couldn't. Aside, bravo Svech, welcome to the NHL playoffs. Kid did alright.
 
JamesNorthern said:
Well better than it started, but still, Capitals capitalized on their chances. We had LOTS, but couldn't. Aside, bravo Svech, welcome to the NHL playoffs. Kid did alright.
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Whoever drew up that last power play sequence should be shot. I thought the Canes got too cute and next to nothing was even directed towards the net, no shots and no scoring chances on that golden opportunity late to tie it. Aho needs to be better, the offense from him has dried up of late. It was right there late in the game to tie things up.
 
well, i didn't think we'd sweep em. Good stuff by Carolina as the game settled in, but staying out of the box is obviously crucial. Make adjustments and go after it again tomorrow.
 
The last 4 minutes or so were a train wreck. Pulling the goalie was stupid. And that PowerPlay was terrible. Wrong people on the ice for most of it.

They made it a better game than it initially looked like it could have been. But the Canes had their heads on swivels all night after several of them got railroaded and blindsided without the puck. Way too many uncalled interference penalties.
 
TheBigKahuna said:
The last 4 minutes or so were a train wreck. Pulling the goalie was stupid. And that PowerPlay was terrible. Wrong people on the ice for most of it.

They made it a better game than it initially looked like it could have been. But the Canes had their heads on swivels all night after several of them for railroaded and blindsided without the puck. Way too many uncalled interference penalties.
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I agree!


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It was a classic case where quality beats quanity. We played one hell of a game and came out hitting hard, but we couldn't connect on our chances and the Caps were deadly accurate with theirs. If we keep playiing hard and physical, we'll be OK, but not unless we get some goal-scorers going.
 
Those blind passes to the middle, where absolutely no Canes player was, grew old after the 27th try. That was just in the 1st period.
 
We can play with these guys, but we definitely need to stay out of the box or do a heck of a lot better killing penalties. We also can't flub up every PP opp we get. And sorry to put pressure on Aho, but he HAS to wake up or we are cooked. Love the kid, think he is as star, but that $10 million per salary we mused about a bit during the season. Nope. Injured or not he is capping himself at no more than $7.5-8.5 million per.
 
I thought the Canes looked like a team playing their first playoff game in a decade. Shaky in all the ways you'd expect ... too excited early, sometimes a little too eager to engage physically, definitely too jacked up both passing and receiving the puck. You can't play that kind of game against a veteran playoff team like Washington without paying the price ... and honestly 3-0 was fair. Then Carolina started to settle down a little and play their way into some semblance of their usual flow in the 2nd. Svech gave them life in the third but I think you saw that the nerves were still a problem late. That last power play was a disaster, largely because they just couldn't settle down. It was a twitchy mess.

Personally, I don't think there's much to learn from this one other than the glaringly obvious fact that if they can't get their emotions in check this is gonna be a short series. Yeah, Washington took advantage in a big way ... goosing the Canes after the whistle, stoking the fire, capitalizing (PUN) on power play chances ... because that's what experienced teams do. They also showed that when they settle down even just a little bit, they can play with the Caps. But honestly, we already knew that.
 
CanadaCanes said:
Whoever drew up that last power play sequence should be shot. I thought the Canes got too cute and next to nothing was even directed towards the net, no shots and no scoring chances on that golden opportunity late to tie it. Aho needs to be better, the offense from him has dried up of late. It was right there late in the game to tie things up.
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Yeah and is it just me or has Niederreiter's offensive flare gone? I get he's working hard down low and that is a huge part of his game and need(ed) by the Canes, but that whole line seems to have lost some magic. Aho really is the glue, the catalyst, of that line and every line he's ever played on, when he's cold, off, injured, just not on HIS game..?
 
Nino is a really good possession player who scores a bit, not the other way around. Canes fans expecting him to be a goal every other game kind of scorer haven't paid attention to the rest of his career. He'll get hot for fairly long stretches, but he's never been a guy who carries a line.

Aho was definitely out of it last night and is definitely the keystone for Carolina. He's also being matched up against one of the best all around centers in the league. Putting Turbo back on his line helped free him up a bit, but I think he's just got to settle in and relax about three notches. His game last night just screamed of a guy who's trying too hard.
 
I think the results are completely expected. The experience the Capitals have lends to capitalizing on a conversely inexperienced, nervous young team. How many players in the lineup played their very first playoff game ever??? You can include Faulk, Slavin, Pesce on that list. They are more experienced on the squad for regular season play but, the dance?
That being said, I think they showed, just like in the regular season games that they can somewhat compete with the Caps. But taking penalties against them has always been particularly bad for us. They just have far too many lethal shot options that you gotta stay away from that. And score? Yeah, that helps. In every area, be it 5 on 5, power play.. extra attacker, both?! Like the last 5 minutes and that pp were indeed putrid.

Again though... Aho's line??? Maybe its time to put JWill on a third line and use him on the PP and clutch moments. He has great creativity for his limited talent, also good vision, but tends to turn the puck over a lot. I'd like to see Svechnikov with Staal and Ferland or McGinn/Martinook, while Teuvo stay back up with Aho and Niederreiter. That would leave A decent 3rd and 4th line still, arguably adding a little more creative grind to the third line by inserting Williams there. Has a line of Ferland Walmark Williams ever been tried?

On Svechnikov, I wonder if Brindy will slot him on the 2nd line. I like the results when he went back to putting him on Walmark's line, but I think that is a matchup thing more than anything. Kid showed he held his own, not talking about the 2 goals, but moreso the rough stuff he got from Ovenchicken, standing up to him getting checked from behind in the slot, then scoring. Just beautiful. I think what has impressed me the most about Svech is that since the Canes turned around their game just before the new year, he, after a period of stagnation, seemingly re-injected, and his game has taken off ever since. Where you'd understandibly be weary of not wanting to wear down a young rookie, hit the wall, he's just gone the opposite way. I think he hit the wall earlier in the season, and has bounced back quite nicely.
 
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With everyone on it looked like the first playoff game in 10 years. Good energy early, but almost too much--with an underlying tension and nervousness that caused mistakes.

but it is only game 1 and game 1 on the road.

Its early....hopefully they settle in a bit more saturday.
 
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