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GDT: Canes @ Blue Jackets 10/24 7:00

cmon3 said:
Look James. Nobody is playing well. And they’re not playing as a team. Swapping lines around isn’t going to fix that, just provide legitimate additional reasons to be out of sync.
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I didn't say scramble the lines. Don't be nit picky! It took RBA how long to get Hamilton on the #1 PP? Sorry, RBA is really good, but he has some stubborn tendencies. We have enough depth to put our three best offensive weapons on a line and not look like toolbags when the other three are on the ice. Its not like Svech is a leaner/tweaner. He drives play, is probably the most physical forward we have out there. I am not worried about him in that respect. Anyway, the team is playing poorly on a whole, and I have always been a gut feeling kind of guy. Superstitious whatever, but for the love of god RBA, break up Aho and Niederreiter!
 
CanadaCanes said:
When your stars do not perform like stars you will get beat more often than not in this league. Aho has 3 goals in 10 games and two of those are empty netters along with 1 assist...Nino has been terrible, Staal and Turbo were almost invisible last night, Svech has to be better and has to start making more of an impact on the score sheet most nights. I guess the glass half full crowd will say the record is pretty good but there seems to be a ton of things to be concerned about when you really break things down in the past 5 games.
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Yeah we were riding high out of the gates, but then the rest of the league showed up to play. There are no nights off, no shifts off, no periods off in this league. That is why we were so successful last season. I am not seeing that this year, and if anything teams are even more pumped to take it to us after our recent success and apparent move from mediocrity to contender. We still get pushed around by teams built with big forwards (see that west coast trip)... if we don't play our game. The guys are trying to get too fancy out there and for the most part aren't putting in the work and team play necessary to win.

Record aside, its early, but I am not impressed.
 
Note ... I haven't even read the whole thread so anybody who takes these comments personally is projecting.

Now ... I think context is important. Everybody seems ticked off and dissatisfied but the Canes are 6-3-1 and nestled nicely in the mix at the top end of the Metro. I'm not sure we need to be acting like the world is on fire, although there are absolutely issues to be addressed. I think the biggest thing right now, from a fan perspective at least, is that we have been abused by this franchise for so long that we're conditioned to react like freaking Pavlov's dogs when things go off the rails ... even briefly. That's fine and I'm not gonna waste time beating anybody up over it, but I do think being self aware enough to know when you are over-reacting is a good thing for personal growth and development.

That game ... specifically the 2nd period ... was tough to watch. They came out blazing only to come unglued, fought to get their feet back under themselves and then blew it with some loose defending and bad decision making in OT. Yeah, not great. Bright spots ... Aho was buzzing, Dougie is still pouring in goals and oozing confidence and Mrazek put in his best work of the season thus far despite the stats (although I'm sure he wants at least one of those goals back). Less bright spots ... TVR is still rusty and burying Fluery was a bad idea, the response in the 2nd when Columbus came out gunning was NOT what you want, Turbo and Staal were fairly awful, Svech was a mistake machine in the first two periods, the power play units both came unglued, and Nino was simply dreadful in the offensive zone. PLENTY to work on over the next couple of games, for sure. Good time for a 4 game homestand ... which is exactly what they're getting from the NHL schedule abacus.

So carry on trying to fix everything on the internet if you must. But I'd suggest that you wait until the end of this homestand to start breaking out the pitchforks. There are no insurmountable problems on this team at the moment, IMO.
 
Oh beans. This is hockey. And a forum. I have an opinion. I think they should separate the two. F personal growth jb. Is it over reacting to want a change made that hasn't been? Seems to me building this team from the defense out was a good idea. RBA is good, but I think he gets stuck on stuff too much at times. On the overall he is a good coach, I just would like to see some more flexibility. I guess I'm the only one who finds it odd to not play Aho and Svech like ever on 5 on 5?
As for work to be done, yeah homestand is a good time, btw every game counts, regardless of the venue. I do expect the team to be better than they have been. Get to it.
 
I do find it a bit odd that when I always clearly state a feeling or opinion, it is more often met with some expert opinion or a comment insinuating I know nothing about hockey. Sorry, don't start that shit. I was born into the game more than any of you in Raleigh will ever know. Its not a snob thing, but don't reverse it either. I've never had a chip on my shoulder or a know it all about hockey cause I'm Canadian (born and raised in the real Meca, screw the Laughs) tone to my posts. They are a Carolina Hurricanes fan posts. Basta. But don't be talking to me like I need to be explained that Aho has slow starts (I do have the internet you know, and watched/listened to every bloody game of this franchise for the last 39 years) or that Niederreiter is notorious for long stretches of nothingness and never reaching potential. So, I'm no more knowledgeable than yall, but I guess I am the only one who wonders what's the deal with Aho/Nieds/Svech.
Queue practical "look James' condescending reply.
Yeah, personal or maybe sticking up for myself.
 
And please, I like to talk hockey more then the group here, to be honest. I lived without it before. Save the pushy southern attitude for yourselves, Target and Starbucks. This is an internet board for the Carolina Hurricanes fans.
 
JamesNorthern said:
And please, I like to talk hockey more then the group here, to be honest. I lived without it before. Save the pushy southern attitude for yourselves, Target and Starbucks. This is an internet board for the Carolina Hurricanes fans.
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I have no idea what you're talking about, but I would say that if you want to throw your ideas out there on a message board, then people are allowed to push back if they disagree. Call that whatever kind of regional "attitude" you want, but don't think for a second that you like to talk hockey more than anybody else around here. We've survived for more than 15 years doing just that.
 
Discussing is fine, even disagreeing. That is what a forum is about. The condescension though? I know you understand what I meant JB, don't pretend.
 
Back to the game: I don't understand why Fleury was barely played in the 2nd then back to a regular shift in the 3rd. Did he make a mistake in the first?
 
JamesNorthern said:
Back to the game: I don't understand why Fleury was barely played in the 2nd then back to a regular shift in the 3rd. Did he make a mistake in the first?
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I don't think anybody understands that. It's fairly clear that Brindy would like to go ahead and replace Fleury with TVR, but it's equally clear that TVR is still shaking off the rust after missing the pre season so he's not quite ready. I have no clue why the front office thought it was a good idea to play a good chunk of this road trip with 11 forwards, but whatever ... it clearly caused problems. I'd like to see that addressed pronto.
 
Yep, if you think Haula is going to carry this team, you're delusional. Theres isnt ONE player on that roster who is a game breaker. They have to all contribute. And right now most aren't.

But I find it humorous that many folks are ready to lynch a scapegoat.
 
TheBigKahuna said:
Yep, if you think Haula is going to carry this team, you're delusional. Theres isnt ONE player on that roster who is a game breaker. They have to all contribute. And right now most aren't.

But I find it humorous that many folks are ready to lynch a scapegoat.
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Right. This roster isn't set up to be carried for long stretches by any one player. It's set up to get balanced scoring from three lines and right now we're only getting consistent scoring from one. It's an issue. Again, lost in the red mist of last night's loss, I thought Aho played a solid game and got a goal so that's a positive step. He tends to score in bunches and the team could really use him to get going. Otherwise ... I think it's telling that both Brindy and Staal were talking about getting everyone on the same page in the post game last night. I noticed a LOT of drop passes to no one and stretch passes to guys who weren't looking for them last night. That's a pretty clear indication that this team still has work to do in order to get everybody moving in the same direction ... physically and mentally. With so many roster changes, some of that was to be expected, but it's time to see more progress on that front.
 
I think it’s telling that last season in post game remarks after early season losses RBA consistently liked the way we were playing and felt that it would translate to wins. This season his comments have been much less pleased about how we’ve been playing even after wins.

We’re 6-3-1 but 3 of those wins were in OT. They still count but we’re not far from 3-6-1 or at least 3-4-3.

They do need to get on the same page. I think the new players/new combinations are a big part of the challenge with that, and that will come. I’m more concerned with losing races to pucks, losing battles on the boards etc. silly stick infractions etc. They need to start consistently winning shifts.
 
The possession game has been the problem ... as in the lack of one for large stretches. Too many guys making the wrong choices about when to try to make a play and when to make a simple pass to retain possession. When and where. That's been the root of the problem when the team has come unglued this year. And yeah, sometimes that's because a guy is pushing too much or being a bit selfish, but a lot of times it's just because one guy sees an opening that another guy doesn't. Familiarity has been a real problem, and it's interesting to me the the line that clicked the quickest was the one with three newcomers to the roster ... not to mention that it's also the line with the most difficult guy to read in Necas.

I understand why Brindy is a bit perplexed with his current situation. I am too. That said, we've seen just how brutally effective the current group can be when they're all on the same page. Woof, they look good when they get in a groove.
 
There's clearly work to be done, but I am optimistic we will soon get all the oars working as one. There's at least no apparent personnel issues. Good character in the room.

This is simply a matter of getting their work boots on and bringing it every game. Win the day, as Brindy says.

And, yes, ironically it's not the new guys trying to fit into a team culture. I think its more a feeling that they might not need to work as hard this season with the noticeable talent infusion.
 
The East is a beast, when you watch the scoreboard you see the East beating on the West more than it use to be, I'm willing to bet that the 8th seed in the East is probably going to need at least 100 points to get in, last year it took the Jackets 98 to get in at the cutoff line at that seemed higher than normal. No time to sputter and spin your wheels with the competition for playoff spots tighter than ever.
 
What I noticed in the game.
all they’d been doing in the first games, they didn’t in this game.
how often do we see a 4 on 1? They were poking at the puck in the board battles, lost the 3 step races to the puck and their passing was very indifferent. The bingo bango, bongo no look quick passing wasn’t there. I don’t know what changed between the first couple games and the west coast swing but Brindy needs to get it fixed.
 
jeffbear said:
As you know, I don't generally like one game referenda, but in the case I kinda/sorta approve. Since the basic issue against Columbus in that loss was work rate-related, I think this can be a statement game in that the Canes can show that they're learning that they need to work just as hard as they did last year, even with a more talented roster. I feel like they've won some games this young season simply by being better than the other team, but that clearly doesn't work night in and night out. In the NHL you still need to punch the clock and put in the work required to win games whether you're more talented than the other guys or not. That's kind of the last aspect of the culture change that has been ushered in around here over the last year and change. Now that you're "good" you still need to play like did back when you were the gritty underdog.
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Remember Justin Williams maybe it seems. Work hard boys!
 
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