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GDT: Canes v. Panthers 4/6 7:00

Biggest win of the season right there. Mr Azek, Tro, and Jordan definitely earned those stars tonight. It's great to have Trocheck back as he is playing himself right back into being the team's MVP
 
What an exciting game last night! It was fun watching two talented teams fly down the ice in a wide-open display of talent. It was pretty evenly matched until we took over the play in the 3rd. Both goalies were excellent and each team had a couple of miscues and a number of high-danger scoring chances. The pipes must be dinged up this morning. Aho appeared closer to form, but Svech is still struggling mightily.
 
What an exciting game last night! It was fun watching two talented teams fly down the ice in a wide-open display of talent. It was pretty evenly matched until we took over the play in the 3rd. Both goalies were excellent and each team had a couple of miscues and a number of high-danger scoring chances. The pipes must be dinged up this morning. Aho appeared closer to form, but Svech is still struggling mightily.
Barkov’s line dominated the first 2 periods and then they got disappeared. That also might be the first time that Huberdeau was held off the scoresheet. Aho had a very quiet 3 assists. I think Svech is getting closer, but maybe that’s wishful thinking. Staal’s empty netter...when he remembers that he’s 6’4”, 220 lbs., he’s an absolute load. I loved his postgame comments, he saw Eric score coming down the wing the night before and wanted to copy him.
 
Personal musings:
- Mrazek looked darn strong and made a few aggressive saves that I’m not sure the other two would have made
- Florida is for real. Darn tough to play against and with good goaltending, are a threat
- still hate Hornqvist. Always have. Glad the canes pushed back against that crap.
- Love the “Southeast” rivalry
 
Sigh ... the more we play Tampa and Florida this season, the more I miss the old Southeast. It's just such an easy connection ... obviously TOO easy for the geniuses at NHL corporate. At this point of proceedings I'm sick to death of Dallas and Chicago, and I have always hated watching the boys play Columbus, but I could watch 8 game series against the Florida teams (and the Caps) every year with no problem. And I miss the Thrashers a little bit too
 
Personal musings:
- Mrazek looked darn strong and made a few aggressive saves that I’m not sure the other two would have made
- Florida is for real. Darn tough to play against and with good goaltending, are a threat
- still hate Hornqvist. Always have. Glad the canes pushed back against that crap.
- Love the “Southeast” rivalry
On Hornqvist...he reminds me a lot of Tomas Holmstrom from the Red Wings. An absolute menace around the crease, completely useless anywhere else.
 
Game thoughts ...

Goaltending ... Bob was great, right up until he wasn't. And that's pretty much why you don't pay Bob 10s of millions of dollars to be your franchise keeper. That's a front office decision that's going to keep biting Florida in the butt for a long, long time.

First lines ... Barkov showed up big for the first time in the season series, and that made for a fascinating back and forth in the "good on good" chess match. Aho's a cat burglar compared to Barkov's smash and grab crew and I love watching the ebb and flow of how those units traded territorial advantage. This is a really fun matchup.

Pushback ... I've said it before, but teams like Florida and Dallas that try to bully the Canes really don't get that much joy, so long as they aren't piling up a bunch of injured bodies. The little guys do a good job of dodging, while the bigger guys handle the pushback. Nice level of feistiness from guys like Paquette, Martinook, Svech and Pesce ... and Trochek for that matter. You don't have to go blow to blow with those teams, but you can't give ground either.

Wes McCauley ... you all get my point about just how NHL average that guy is by now, right?
 
Sigh ... the more we play Tampa and Florida this season, the more I miss the old Southeast. It's just such an easy connection ... obviously TOO easy for the geniuses at NHL corporate. At this point of proceedings I'm sick to death of Dallas and Chicago, and I have always hated watching the boys play Columbus, but I could watch 8 game series against the Florida teams (and the Caps) every year with no problem. And I miss the Thrashers a little bit too
I don't mind Dallas and Columbus. I'm sure the old Southeast fans weren't too keen on watching Mo hockey either. And I too like the regional aspect of a South Division with:

Washington
Carolina
Florida
Tampa
Dallas
St. Louis
Nashville
Columbus
 
I don't mind Dallas and Columbus. I'm sure the old Southeast fans weren't too keen on watching Mo hockey either. And I too like the regional aspect of a South Division with:

Washington
Carolina
Florida
Tampa
Dallas
St. Louis
Nashville
Columbus
I'd vastly prefer that to the nonsense we're presumably returning to that ties the Canes to the NYC Metro and the Florida teams to ... points further north. Maybe Canada's obsession with doing their own thing will yield some benefit for the rest of us when it's time to get serious about the next alignment.
 
I don't mind Dallas and Columbus. I'm sure the old Southeast fans weren't too keen on watching Mo hockey either. And I too like the regional aspect of a South Division with:

Washington
Carolina
Florida
Tampa
Dallas
St. Louis
Nashville
Columbus
There is zero chance that WAS wants to give up the in-division rivalry with PIT. Unfortunately you can't put PIT in this division (in place of DAL, STL, or CBJ because Pit will not want to give up its rivalry with PHI.
 
There is zero chance that WAS wants to give up the in-division rivalry with PIT. Unfortunately you can't put PIT in this division (in place of DAL, STL, or CBJ because Pit will not want to give up its rivalry with PHI.
Change is hard. They can adjust. :)

What happens to the West when Seattle comes in? o_O
 
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