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Playoff GDT: Round 2, Game 1 Canes v. Flyers 5/2 8:00

andyt

Canes Moderator
Staff member
Another first time playoff meeting.

As they did with round 1, the Canes kick off the league's 2nd round. The weak layoff did the injured some good. Nikishin cleared concussion protocol and Ehlers recovered from his lower body injury. He was the only player to play all 82 games, so the rest was probably more welcomed than the injury recovery. Both were full participants at practice yesterday. Carrier had the day off and we’ll see if that’s anything other then rest at the morning skate.

The Flyers won the Battle of Pennsylvania, taking out the Pens in 6 games. They’re wearing their underdog status on their sleeves, literally, wearing t-shirts with 3.8% on the sleeve, representing their playoff chances coming out of the Olympic break. But they went 18-7-1 down the stretch to grab 3rd in the division. They’ve gotten a boost from Porter Martone, last year’s first round pick. He joined for the last 9 games of the season, picking up 10 points. He and Travis Sanheim each has 2 goals in the first round. They pulled Dan Vladar off the Calgary scrap heap and he responded to his first year as a starter with a 2.42/.906 season in 52 games. He went 1.61/.937 in the first round. He went 1-0-1 against the Canes in the regular season, posting a 1.86/.932 stat line.

ABC for TV tonight. Mike Monaco, Chicken Parm and Emily Kaplan have the call. Mike and Tripp are radio only for the duration.
 
Yeah, Martone not only made a big difference for the Flyers up front, his game as translated to the post season pretty well. He’s rapidly turning into the poster boy for elite CHL guys who decided to go to college in the US for “finishing school.” Good for Philly and Martone, but that didn’t work nearly as well for some other dudes, so … yeah. It’s a trend I do expect to build. Another thing Martone brought with him is options for Tocchet, which has meant pressure on Matvei Michkov to earn his role. After a 51 point regular season and the resurgence of Trevor Zegras it seems the local shine is off of the guy Flyers fans were calling a generational talent two years ago.

Why am I rambling about Flyers roster intrigue? Because one of the things that Rick Tocchet built in his first year in Philly that helped them in their second half charge to the playoffs is trust. His guys trusted him and bought in to his systems, and nobody gets anywhere in the modern NHL without that. One does wonder how much trust got eroded when he started jerking Michkov in and out of the lineup in the first round. Rather than protect his young star in the face of withering fan criticism, Tocchet basically said nothing and chucked him in the press box. Now, THAT’s the Rick Tocchet I know. That’s a thought that probably belonged in the preview thread, but here we are.

Game 1 … wet day in an otherwise parched Raleigh, so no complaining. Ya hear? Rest, rust, health, weariness … all the usual cliches for this one. If Philly isn’t wiped and Carolina isn’t too rusty, this should just be a continuation of the season series, and that’s fine. Those were fun games to watch. No real reason for either team not to just trot out their base systems and see how it goes, although the Flyers did set up looking to get set in their zone trap a little more in the Pittsburgh series. But that was the Pens, so we’ll see how it goes.
 
Miller isn’t on the ice for the morning skate. He practiced yesterday. He also didn’t skate before Ottawa game 3 and played, so we’ll see. Andersen is in the starter’s crease,

Svechnikov - Aho - Jarvis
Hall - Stankoven - Blake
Ehlers - Staal - Martinook
Carrier - Jankowski - Robinson
Deslauriers - Kotkaniemi

Slavin - Chatfield
Nikishin - Walker
Gostisbehere - Reilly
Legault

Andersen | Bussi | Kochetkov
 
Still trying to determine if we will do any tailgating but the weather doesn't look good. But rain or no rain, I'm looking forward to this series and hope the Canes can bring the same energy despite a long pause.
 
I'm out of town. Hoping my hotel has decent cable. My track record of watching playoffs games in hotels is pretty good though.
Mine is too, with the provision that it’s mostly been 1st and 2nd round games and the Canes have been pretty good in those rounds after the early days.
 
The channel guide shows the NHL Playoffs, but I'm seeing MLB on that channel. Going to have to search.

I watched the Canes finish off the Habs many years ago in downtown Charleston SC. I forget the year. I watched them in a sports bar in Myrtle Beach one year during Bike Week. My dad and uncle wanted to watch Survivor in our condo. I'd have to go look up their playoff years and figure out when that was. Has to be 10+ years ago. I haven't had a bike in over 10 years.
 
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