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GDT: Stanley Cup Final Game 4 Canes @ Vegas 6/9 8:00

Well, that happened and Carolina comes home back on serve in the series. And weirdly enough, a 5-3 road win with yet another multi-goal lead blown, a 27 year old rookie goalie making his first playoff start and Jordan Staal of all people popping in 2 goals … THAT was by far the most conventional game of this series. Couple of bullet point thoughts ...

Bussi … I thought he was pretty decent, especially considering that he’s never been in this situation and couldn’t have possibly knocked all the rust off on Saturday. He just slid under even money on the goals allowed above expected measure, but he outplayed Hart and got the W. Honestly? That’s the business right there.

Hart … speaking of the Vegas goaltender, I’m wondering how ride or die Torts is gonna be with “his guy.” He hasn’t been good in this series, as Carolina has scored a bunch of goals without playing what I would call their best offensive hockey, really. I know Hill hasn’t played in forever and that he had a shockingly bad regular season, but can you keep giving up 4-plus goals against without doing something different.

Carolina D … huge bounce back effort from Chatfield and Slavin after they struggled in Game 3. Chatfield in particular picked up his processing speed last night, jumping more pucks earlier and keeping the pressure on the right side of the puck instead of flailing around. Slavin still isn’t moving as well (clearly still bothered by the knee), but his stick is still stupid good and if his partner can keep his level up then it helps level things out a LOT. Miller and Walker on the other hand, had kind of a rough night and Miller did look a bit wonky on his skates. All in all, one of those two pairings has to win their territory for the Canes to succeed. Job done.

Vegas … the Knights are doing a really good job of limiting Carolina’s rush offense, but it’s come at the expense of their vaunted low block zone as they are asking their defense to cover too much territory. Carolina is getting less quality chances than they normally get, but they’re getting better looks in the slot than anybody Vegas has played in the post season. Some of that is horses for courses as Colorado was the only other team Vegas played that is built to can opener out inside chances, but some of it is the limitations of both their system and the roster.

God only knows where we go from here, but I can see a scenario where Carolina hits another gear here. I could also see a scenario where every game remains bonkers to one degree or another. We’ll see.
 
Sorry if already posted, but....According to articles Freddy just 'needed a day off' per Schonfelder....no mention of the C word

Brind’Amour said he made the call after a one-minute discussion with Hurricanes goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder. Schonfelder told him Andersen needed a day off. Andersen didn’t dress for Game 4.

“If you’re going to give him a break, you need to give him a break,” Brind’Amour said. “To me, him dressing and going through all that, that’s not really giving him a night off.”
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On Freddie …

I mean, they’re not going to say anything about a head/neck injury one way or the other. Let’s be serious. If they’re giving Freddie that kind of “rest” then it’s obvious that he wasn’t fit to play. The specifics of why he wasn’t fit to play really don’t matter that much. He’ll either be ready to go on Thursday or he won’t. Nobody’s going to tell us specifics until after the series, if then. Knowing how the Canes discuss concussion-related injuries, they’ll say as little as possible.
 
jeffbear said:
On Freddie …

I mean, they’re not going to say anything about a head/neck injury one way or the other. Let’s be serious. If they’re giving Freddie that kind of “rest” then it’s obvious that he wasn’t fit to play. The specifics of why he wasn’t fit to play really don’t matter that much. He’ll either be ready to go on Thursday or he won’t. Nobody’s going to tell us specifics until after the series, if then. Knowing how the Canes discuss concussion-related injuries, they’ll say as little as possible.
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"Ask Rod."
 
andyt said:
If Vegas wins, it’s Marner. If the Canes win, it’s Jordan, Stanky, Hall in that order.
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Probably … although either Hall or Stankoven could make a stronger case in the closeout games should they unpack some magic. Hard to argue Carolina would be where they are without any of the three of them, honestly.
 
I'm still flying high after that 3rd period performance. It wasn't that the Canes were dominant (we weren't), but rather the determination and the fight that impressed me. Staal's highlight winning goal, Bussi's huge saves when we needed it most, and Ehler's puck luck on the boards, while keeping Vegas off the scoreboard the entire period made for fantastic finish. Now let's get a win at home tomorrow and put Vegas on the ropes.
 
jeffbear said:
Probably … although either Hall or Stankoven could make a stronger case in the closeout games should they unpack some magic. Hard to argue Carolina would be where they are without any of the three of them, honestly.
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I’d like to add Freddie to the mix for the first two series.
 
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