GDT: Round 2, Game 5 Canes @ Caps 5/15, 7:00
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Fayettenamcanesfan
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Fayettenamcanesfan
Well-known member
So, if the Titties Kitties win. The canes will have home ice. Correct?
HeyKurtz
Well-known member
Correct
Tough call. Home ice against a proven playoff team, or on the road against a team with a lesser playoff pedigree. In past years I might take home ice because of our dreadful road playoff results. With 3 wins on the road this year, the decision is much easier. I’d rather have TML
Fayettenamcanesfan
Well-known member
Think he comes back to get those, where 4 goals, to get 900?
CanadaCanes
Well-known member
Toronto would be a much more enjoyable series based on the speed and finesse game both teams can play. Sadly, MO and his cast of greaseballs will be looking to take out Freddy with some crease crashing and add a few “legal” head shots to everyone else. I hate Florida with a passion and add in the ineptitude of NHL officials and player safety and you have all the makings of a bad matchup for the Canes because they don’t have enough assholes and bully’s to match what the Panthers employ.
ThinIce
Well-known member
If there's a team I want to destroy more than any other, it's Florida - but they're also the toughest match up for the Canes. We had a tough going with both Toronto and FL during the regular season, so neither one will be a cake walk. Right now, I'm gonna enjoy this win.
NoMich
Well-known member
I wish I could've made it.
Except for some spots in the 2nd period, I ended up having to listen to it on the radio. When there's no TV for Mike and Tripp, they actually call a pretty good game. I could tell what was going on! I just wish that they would always pretend that they are radio only.
Except for some spots in the 2nd period, I ended up having to listen to it on the radio. When there's no TV for Mike and Tripp, they actually call a pretty good game. I could tell what was going on! I just wish that they would always pretend that they are radio only.
TheBigKahuna
Well-known member
My only hope is Florida and Toronto beatt the snot out each other for 7 games. And the Canes get a tired, softened finals opponent.
polarbare
Well-known member
Went to a sports bar last night, met a brand new Caniac (he started watching hockey in January and he just moved to Boston 3 weeks ago)
The place was super accommodating to 2 lone Caniacs and we had a hell of a time. The waitress asked if we wanted anything else (3 min to go in the game) and we were like "depends on if there is OT" followed by "Check please!"
What a beauty for a team that the eXpErTs said wouldn't make the playoff, glad I kept receipts.
The place was super accommodating to 2 lone Caniacs and we had a hell of a time. The waitress asked if we wanted anything else (3 min to go in the game) and we were like "depends on if there is OT" followed by "Check please!"
What a beauty for a team that the eXpErTs said wouldn't make the playoff, glad I kept receipts.
OK ... game thoughts then series thoughts.
Game 5
Not the Canes' sharpest game with the puck, but Washington was in full chicken with head cut off death throes mode and the refs were in the mood to let them get away with ... umm ... a lot of hooking, holding, water skiing, obstruction and other acts of general desperation. The Canes stuck to the plan, kept most of the pressure away from Freddie and circled the wagons when shots did get through. The fact that Carolina allowed no shots on goal for like 9 minutes of the 2nd when the Caps had several shifts with sustained pressure is absolutely bonkers. That was a master class in shot suppression, and they did it with basically 5 defensemen. Yeah, Nikishin finally found the pace about half way through the game but he was basically useless (sometimes worse), which is 100% to be expected of a guy in that situation. Not sure Morrow would have been better, but I am sure that Nikishin will ramp up fairly quickly if he ends up sticking for awhile and that his bar is a LOT higher when he does.
Still confused by what Carbery was trying to do with his line matchups. He kept running offensive lines at Staal for no apparent reason, and kept expecting his jumbo line to overwhelm Aho's group despite the fact that it was never all that likely. Then I remembered something. Carbery's lead tactical assistant is Kirk Muller. Who is exactly the kind of idiot who dreams up a game plan, watches it burn and sticks with it anyway. We know this all too well.
I felt like most everything both teams tried was cancelled out by the other. Carolina's grind game got compressed by Washington's desperation and Washington's throw everything up the middle and attack with 5 guys thing got squished by Carolina's defensive discipline. In the end it turned on a couple of bad angle goals from Staal and Svech, both of which were allowed by the Caps getting all squirrelly in their defensive shape and by Thompson just kind of not covering the angles well. He was VERY late to track the puck on the game winner, and it's a shame he barfed up the dagger that way because I thought the guy had a great round. But the Canes won because of their sheer level of junkyard dog wasn't particularly impressed with the Caps desperation. That was a mentality win.
The Series ...
The gentleman's sweep, nice.
Carolina won every matchup that mattered. Better in net, better on special teams, better in possession, and MUCH better defensively. It was a 5 game series, but could easily have been shorter. Washington just wasn't that team ... just not deep enough and not good enough. Brind'Amour coached rings around the Caps mostly by doing nothing. Carolina stuck to the program, making a few adjustments, but mostly just doing their thing. Meanwhile the Caps brain trust acted like they could matchup their way into some open space. Try working the other way around, because your defensive zone is a mess when under even light pressure. I'll give Carbery this. He never really let his clowns go into full head hunting mode. Even Wilson kept it mostly within the bounds of hitting and not attempted decapitation. There was a LOT of yapping, diving and ref baiting but not that much skullduggery. Yeah, they tried to hit the Canes into submission, but at this time of year everybody's gonna do that. Better team won. Fairly easily. I guess some might call it boring but it would have been more interesting had the opponent showed up ready to compete.
Game 5
Not the Canes' sharpest game with the puck, but Washington was in full chicken with head cut off death throes mode and the refs were in the mood to let them get away with ... umm ... a lot of hooking, holding, water skiing, obstruction and other acts of general desperation. The Canes stuck to the plan, kept most of the pressure away from Freddie and circled the wagons when shots did get through. The fact that Carolina allowed no shots on goal for like 9 minutes of the 2nd when the Caps had several shifts with sustained pressure is absolutely bonkers. That was a master class in shot suppression, and they did it with basically 5 defensemen. Yeah, Nikishin finally found the pace about half way through the game but he was basically useless (sometimes worse), which is 100% to be expected of a guy in that situation. Not sure Morrow would have been better, but I am sure that Nikishin will ramp up fairly quickly if he ends up sticking for awhile and that his bar is a LOT higher when he does.
Still confused by what Carbery was trying to do with his line matchups. He kept running offensive lines at Staal for no apparent reason, and kept expecting his jumbo line to overwhelm Aho's group despite the fact that it was never all that likely. Then I remembered something. Carbery's lead tactical assistant is Kirk Muller. Who is exactly the kind of idiot who dreams up a game plan, watches it burn and sticks with it anyway. We know this all too well.
I felt like most everything both teams tried was cancelled out by the other. Carolina's grind game got compressed by Washington's desperation and Washington's throw everything up the middle and attack with 5 guys thing got squished by Carolina's defensive discipline. In the end it turned on a couple of bad angle goals from Staal and Svech, both of which were allowed by the Caps getting all squirrelly in their defensive shape and by Thompson just kind of not covering the angles well. He was VERY late to track the puck on the game winner, and it's a shame he barfed up the dagger that way because I thought the guy had a great round. But the Canes won because of their sheer level of junkyard dog wasn't particularly impressed with the Caps desperation. That was a mentality win.
The Series ...
The gentleman's sweep, nice.
Carolina won every matchup that mattered. Better in net, better on special teams, better in possession, and MUCH better defensively. It was a 5 game series, but could easily have been shorter. Washington just wasn't that team ... just not deep enough and not good enough. Brind'Amour coached rings around the Caps mostly by doing nothing. Carolina stuck to the program, making a few adjustments, but mostly just doing their thing. Meanwhile the Caps brain trust acted like they could matchup their way into some open space. Try working the other way around, because your defensive zone is a mess when under even light pressure. I'll give Carbery this. He never really let his clowns go into full head hunting mode. Even Wilson kept it mostly within the bounds of hitting and not attempted decapitation. There was a LOT of yapping, diving and ref baiting but not that much skullduggery. Yeah, they tried to hit the Canes into submission, but at this time of year everybody's gonna do that. Better team won. Fairly easily. I guess some might call it boring but it would have been more interesting had the opponent showed up ready to compete.
Also to be fair, most of us on this board expected the team to take a step back (and they pretty much did) and a LOT of people were thinking this was a playoff team but not one with any juice. So, yeah. Fair enough.
A great analysis of Svech’s goal by Whalers/Canes legend Stu Grimson and (I think) Corey Schneider.
View: https://x.com/nhlnetwork/status/1923203729135649035?s=46&t=8056gLL6Pl3wbApF5otK6g
View: https://x.com/nhlnetwork/status/1923203729135649035?s=46&t=8056gLL6Pl3wbApF5otK6g
Forgot to mention in my game thoughts ... Washington for all their bluster and noise, played with full intensity and completely emptied the tank last night. And what did they have to show for it? A single goal scored largely because of a very weird bounce. Congrats on your exciting offensive juggernaut there, boys.