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GDT: Canes v. Caps 11/3 5:00

Nice win. And really nice to see a line other than Staal's just dominate. KK's line has just been clicking fantastically. Robinson is a quietly great addition.
 
Great atmosphere in the arena and a great win for the Canes. Like most of our victories this season, we could have scored several more goals in this one. The 3rd period was an example of something close to domination, our relentless forecheck mostly kept the Caps in their zone. Kooch was really good at the end, when the Caps were creating some strong pressure. Finally, I agree with everyone here that our additions are fitting perfectly so far this season. Maybe the Canes feel they have something to prove to the critics (and to those of us who thought likewise).
 
Pretty decent effort from Carolina. I felt like they could have put the hammer down a bit harder in the 3rd, really worn the Caps down and removed any doubt but they kind of let Washington creep back into it. That's definitely not the same aimless, drifting Caps team from last season. They've got a pretty solid plan and they stick to it for the most part. Carolina basically choked the life out of the game in their D zone after barfing up that 2nd goal late in the first. It took the Caps a while to find any room at all, but I'll credit them with plugging away until they finally carved out some chances. Last year's model wouldn't have bothered.
 
Nice to see the Canes have three balanced D pairings with all three pairs bringing offense to the table when needed. I'm not even sure you can call any of them a top pairing anymore, just balance throughout the groupings this year with each group bringing a little something different.
 
andyt said:
Robinson is a puck retrieval machine.
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Yup ... so is Carrier, and both of them get a lot of deflections on the forecheck as well. I think most people knew those guys would be good fits, but maybe underestimated the impact they would have when sprinkled through the lines. Roslovic being the key to unlocking Aho and Svech on the rush as been the big surprise for me. Maybe he picked up some tricks playing on that Rangers first line last year. The other big change has been Necas FINALLY being willing to pull up and wait for help in the offensive zone. His newfound ability to extend shifts instead of just going 1 on 4 has had a big impact on Carolina getting back to their possession game with multiple lines.
 
I certainly didn't see this kind of heater coming from Necas. I'm sure he'll regress to the mean a bit, but he's always had the skill set to get on a points streak like this.
 
The personal changes accomplished 2 things:

They’re not stuck with 2 lines that have to basically play Aho’s style without Aho’s skill set. TT out and any of the new guys in allow the second line and fourth line to both play a bigger style. It’s what they needed to add more physical play to the mix.

These guys buy in better to RBAs system than last years team. I’m not getting any sense that they’re trying “hard enough to win” or that they expect to win without the need to outwork the opponents. They play hard all game long -very few shifts taken off. Last year they never seemed to commit to being totally relentless. This is necessary with a team without the superstar level scorers.
 
cmon3 said:
The personal changes accomplished 2 things:

They’re not stuck with 2 lines that have to basically play Aho’s style without Aho’s skill set. TT out and any of the new guys in allow the second line and fourth line to both play a bigger style. It’s what they needed to add more physical play to the mix.

These guys buy in better to RBAs system than last years team. I’m not getting any sense that they’re trying “hard enough to win” or that they expect to win without the need to outwork the opponents. They play hard all game long -very few shifts taken off. Last year they never seemed to commit to being totally relentless. This is necessary with a team without the superstar level scorers.
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Yeah, they added sneaky size. Nobody's confusing the three primary forward additions for goons or anything but Carolina badly needed to add some physical oomph without losing too much speed. In the end, they added three fairly big dudes up front who can also skate. They also added two defenseman who can also motor. Tulsky actually manged to make the roster bigger AND faster, and that ain't easy.
 
jeffbear said:
Yeah, they added sneaky size. Nobody's confusing the three primary forward additions for goons or anything but Carolina badly needed to add some physical oomph without losing too much speed. In the end, they added three fairly big dudes up front who can also skate. They also added two defenseman who can also motor. Tulsky actually manged to make the roster bigger AND faster, and that ain't easy.
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Robinson and Carrier are both listed at 6’2” and they’re both over 210 lbs. so they join Staal as the only forwards over 210.
 
andyt said:
Robinson and Carrier are both listed at 6’2” and they’re both over 210 lbs. so they join Staal as the only forwards over 210.
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Not to criticize TT but when you pair him with Aho that’s 2/3 of a line that’s not big enough to handle bigger skilled forwards.

Now you have more of your forwards big enough to get to and remain in front of the net to win the battles on the boards.

Maybe less skilled overall but a better mix.

They also appear to mostly be good passers.
 
It's still early in the season and a lot can change, but I thought the loss of Turbo would be below the radar, but very significant. I was wrong.
 
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