Hoo boy. Let's do this thing.
Carolina returns home hoping to find a spark, trailing Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals 0-2 after a pretty comprehensive butt whoopin' in Boston in Game 2. Looking at the set in Boston, the script kind of went in reverse order. The Canes, coming off of a long layoff after sweeping the NY Islanders in Round 2, actually looked pretty sharp in Game 1 and lost control of a tight game late. Game 2 was a different beast as the Canes cracked under pressure, lost patience and discipline and pretty much just looked like a dumpster fire. Even the two goals in the 3rd didn't seem to bring any solace other than simply avoiding a shutout that they probably deserved.
So ... back to the drawing board, and back to the madhouse that is the PNC Arena. And look, that WILL help ... it always helps ... but that alone is not enough. Carolina has to start small and build back to the kind of game that can actually beat a quality team on a roll. And make no mistake. This Boston team is a quality hockey team and as good as anybody in the NHL when they get hot and confident. They had an extended run like this in the regular season too and they're no fun at ALL to play when the lava is flowing for them like it is right now. So yeah, start small and build it up shift upon shift.
Details for Bruins ...
Boston won't be making any changes, I'd think. They might tinker with their forecheck a bit but otherwise they found something that clearly works in Game 2 and will likely look to reproduce that in Game 3. They MIGHT dial down the secondary pressure a notch just because they're on the road, but probably not too much.
Details for Canes ...
No word from the rink yet, but I think we see McIlhenney in net tonight. Brindy doesn't like to make "shake things up" changes, but in this case I think Mrazek has shown enough technical weaknesses in Games 1 and 2 to justify doing just that. The team has confidence in both guys, so there's no real downside to a change right now. By the same token those two losses were NOT on any one guy, so Brindy might just play the contrarian and put Mr Azek back out there. Either way, the TEAM has to play better ... including the goaltender. Other changes ... I doubt it. Martinook is apparently going to be a game time decision for the duration, and the only change today is that Maenalanen is available to sub in if needed as well as Brown. We'll see on that. The lines will almost certainly be tweaked, as home ice gives Brind'Amour the ability to load up two offensive units and avoid Bergeron's line with one of them pretty much all game. We'll just have to see how that goes as well. Again, this is about EVERYBODY not a small group, an individual player or a single line or pairing. EVERYBODY has to play better.
And yeah ... in terms of the series anyway, this IS a must win. Be loud, be proud, be supportive even if everything doesn't go exactly to plan.
Carolina returns home hoping to find a spark, trailing Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals 0-2 after a pretty comprehensive butt whoopin' in Boston in Game 2. Looking at the set in Boston, the script kind of went in reverse order. The Canes, coming off of a long layoff after sweeping the NY Islanders in Round 2, actually looked pretty sharp in Game 1 and lost control of a tight game late. Game 2 was a different beast as the Canes cracked under pressure, lost patience and discipline and pretty much just looked like a dumpster fire. Even the two goals in the 3rd didn't seem to bring any solace other than simply avoiding a shutout that they probably deserved.
So ... back to the drawing board, and back to the madhouse that is the PNC Arena. And look, that WILL help ... it always helps ... but that alone is not enough. Carolina has to start small and build back to the kind of game that can actually beat a quality team on a roll. And make no mistake. This Boston team is a quality hockey team and as good as anybody in the NHL when they get hot and confident. They had an extended run like this in the regular season too and they're no fun at ALL to play when the lava is flowing for them like it is right now. So yeah, start small and build it up shift upon shift.
Details for Bruins ...
Boston won't be making any changes, I'd think. They might tinker with their forecheck a bit but otherwise they found something that clearly works in Game 2 and will likely look to reproduce that in Game 3. They MIGHT dial down the secondary pressure a notch just because they're on the road, but probably not too much.
Details for Canes ...
No word from the rink yet, but I think we see McIlhenney in net tonight. Brindy doesn't like to make "shake things up" changes, but in this case I think Mrazek has shown enough technical weaknesses in Games 1 and 2 to justify doing just that. The team has confidence in both guys, so there's no real downside to a change right now. By the same token those two losses were NOT on any one guy, so Brindy might just play the contrarian and put Mr Azek back out there. Either way, the TEAM has to play better ... including the goaltender. Other changes ... I doubt it. Martinook is apparently going to be a game time decision for the duration, and the only change today is that Maenalanen is available to sub in if needed as well as Brown. We'll see on that. The lines will almost certainly be tweaked, as home ice gives Brind'Amour the ability to load up two offensive units and avoid Bergeron's line with one of them pretty much all game. We'll just have to see how that goes as well. Again, this is about EVERYBODY not a small group, an individual player or a single line or pairing. EVERYBODY has to play better.
And yeah ... in terms of the series anyway, this IS a must win. Be loud, be proud, be supportive even if everything doesn't go exactly to plan.
