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GDT: Canes v. Slugs 11/7 7:00

A

andyt

Canes Moderator
Staff member
Another brief trip home before a Florida back to back on Friday/Saturday.

We saw the news about Freddie, hopefully things can be worked out quickly and his recovery time is short. In the meantime, PK was recalled from Syracuse, where he had 2 good outings after being sent back, and Jaro Halak was signed to a PTO. He can practice but can’t play in a game unless the Canes sign him to a contract. Brett Pesce returned to the ice in a yellow jersey, hopefully he’s only a few days away from returning. If not the weekend, maybe next Wednesday. I think we’ll see Raanta get a good, long run in goal.

The Slugs were expected to make the leap to contender this year, but so far they’re stuck in neutral, 12 points in 12 games, 7th in the Atlantic. They’ve won 3 of their last 4 though. Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson both have 6 goals, Casey Mittelstadt and Rasmus Dahlin each have 8 assists. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (thank God I only have to type that a few times per season) and Devon Levi have split time in goal, with Eric Comrie also making 3 starts. Neither UPL (3.14/.901) or Levi (3.41/.885) have been good. Levi played their last game, a win over Toronto so I suspect we’ll see UPL tonight. Their PP is bad, 27th at 11.4%, they only have 4 PP goals in 35 chances, 1 each from Skinner, Thompson, Peterka and Tuch, but their PK is good, 5th at 89.1%.

Red jerseys tonight. Bally Sports South for TV.
 
Best guess ... they'll give Raanta a couple of games here, but if he still keeps leaking in soft stuff then something's going to give. He doesn't need to be at .925 save percentage or anything, but he darned well needs to be around the league average. That -3.0 goals saved vs expected isn't gonna cut it on a team with actual aspirations. For the record, Kochetkov was worse, so he needs to get his crap together too. If Freddie's out for a fairly long time (safe to assume a month even in the best case scenario) then the Canes almost have to look at a move in net ... and it's darned hard to pull that off in season in the best of circumstances.
 
Stamkos had a clot in his arm. He underwent surgery on April 4, 2016 and played again on May 26, which was game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final, where they lost to the Pens. At the time, recovery was estimated to be 1 - 3 months. If it had occurred during the regular season, would he have come back that quickly?

We don’t know where Freddie’s clot is, how it happened, etc. Stamkos’ was in his right shoulder, between the collarbone and top rib. Surgery reportedly included removal of the top rib, which is small. We’ve probably all had the same issue temporarily, when we get numbness in our arm after sleeping wrong, that’s the vein being pinched between the collarbone and rib. But the other thing involved in treatment is blood thinners, and it’s doubtful he’d be allowed to play while on them.

 
Lines and pairings at the morning skate. Pesce was on the ice in a regular sweater. So maybe this weekend is a possibility. Raanta in the starter’s crease.

Noesen-Aho-Jarvis
Svech-KK-Turbo
MSF
Bunting-Drury-Necas

Slavin-Burns
Skjei-Orlov
Chatfield-TDA
 
Good test for Raanta tonight. Buffalo had had a scruffy start, but it's not because they aren't generating offense. So he'll get some looks, especially off the rush ... which is his key issue most of the time. I want to see him make a couple of good stops and get to a more positive mental place. Aside from that shutout against the woeful Sharks, he just hasn't looked comfortable yet this season.
 
Tonight’s officials:

Referees:
Jon McIsaac #2, Beau Halkidis #48

Linesmen:
Ben O’Quinn #91, Jesse Marquis #86

Both the Canes and Slugs were a perfect 6-0 with McIssac last year. Halkidis is working on a split AHL/NHL schedule.
 
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