GDT: Canes v. Vegas 12/19 7:00
- Thread starter andyt
- Start date
Am asking genuinely trying to understand the game better:
Did they play better last night due to a) Svech being back, b) actually playing 4 lines w 12/6 vs the 11/7 TDA experiment, c) the team just got their collective a$@!s together, or d) some combination of the above?
Did they play better last night due to a) Svech being back, b) actually playing 4 lines w 12/6 vs the 11/7 TDA experiment, c) the team just got their collective a$@!s together, or d) some combination of the above?
dwind
Well-known member
The other ‘canes’ team that had been playing was sent to Chicago.
ThinIce
Well-known member
Yes
A .. yeah, sort of. Svech wasn't all that good, despite the goal, but his presence goes a long way towards balancing out the lines.
B ... you kind of have to play 4 lines against Vegas because they're also built to stretch opposing teams with depth. I see that as a wash
C ... Vegas plays a system that allows Carolina to do a lot more of the stuff they're comfortable with in possession, kind of like Nashville (different in the details, similar in concept). Thus my previous comment about wanting to see a better result against a trapping team. Those are the ones that have largely been stealing Carolina's lunch money all season.
D ... it's ALWAYS a combination of factors, unless the goalie skews results by standing on his head or sucking.
CanadaCanes
Well-known member
Your goalie making a bloody save when needed:
Actually finishing scoring chances instead of firing everything into the goalies crest:
Executing on the power play:
cmaleski2
Well-known member
This year's Canes team shows flashes of the dominant play we have come to expect, and then turns around the next night (or even the next period) and looks like the bad old Canes teams that pre-dated Dundon. Obviously that Cup contender level of play is still here, we just need to tap into it on a much more consistent basis.
Getting reliable goaltending will help that along, but as we know with Kochetkov, he is also all over the place in terms of his performance. Spectacular sometimes, craptacular other times. We just need NHL average in the nets to succeed. Hopefully Kochetkov's latest 4 game run (3-0-1, 1.47 GAA, .948 Sv%) is a sign of a goalie finally getting into a groove.
It was a bummer those last 2 goals happened. Yes, they were 'meaningless', the game was clearly decided. But just from a phycological perspective, if those 2 shots never occurred, Kochetkov would have gotten his Sv% to .900. Instead its .895. Yes, that probably means nothing to him or anyone on the team, but I as a fan I know I would have felt better.
Getting reliable goaltending will help that along, but as we know with Kochetkov, he is also all over the place in terms of his performance. Spectacular sometimes, craptacular other times. We just need NHL average in the nets to succeed. Hopefully Kochetkov's latest 4 game run (3-0-1, 1.47 GAA, .948 Sv%) is a sign of a goalie finally getting into a groove.
It was a bummer those last 2 goals happened. Yes, they were 'meaningless', the game was clearly decided. But just from a phycological perspective, if those 2 shots never occurred, Kochetkov would have gotten his Sv% to .900. Instead its .895. Yes, that probably means nothing to him or anyone on the team, but I as a fan I know I would have felt better.
Again, I'm VERY concerned about Carolina's inability to dictate the game and drive play. Even lines that have been super good in that regard in the past are just treading water against certain kinds of opponents ... ones that are organized in the neutral zone and disciplined and patient in their d zone. Having had Svech out so much 100% isn't helping, as he's by far the most reliable play driver, but that CANNOT be the whole reason since he's certainly not playing on all four lines when he's in there. As others have noted, there's too many speculative passes on the one hand (risky backdoors mostly) and not nearly enough on the other hand (when's the last stretch pass from open play you noticed that wasn't actually one of those sand wedge dump outs?). I dunno. I guess it's focus related but this team just doesn't seem comfortable in its own skin this season and never really has. And yes, having crap goaltending makes all of it worse.
I feel like maybe there’s tape on how to beat us. Tie up the neutral zone and be patient in the D zone. That works against us because:
- We don’t adapt to the neutral zone defense and either try to force things, or go cowboy and try to get fancy. Those lead to chances against and turnovers and struggles to set up when we do get it in the zone. This is on the coaches.
- We don’t pass very accurately with the right pace. That means the defense can sit back and let us play without much risk because we usually don’t make them move too fast and we don’t score well from outside and in all likelihood we’ll turn the puck over because we try to force something which they can turn into chances the other way.
I mean, there obviously is a tape on how to beat everybody in the league, but executing it is another matter entirely. Brindy's teams have struggled against teams devoted to trapping the neutral zone since day one, but have been able to overcome that with various tweaks, team speed, special teams play and determination ... mostly. When they stuck in a down cycle it's almost always when they get too bogged down gaining the offensive zone and then get very blunt in possession. By that I mean, settling for cycling the walls and shooting from distance as opposed to driving possession to the middle of the ice and out-numbering the area a bit. They have been beaten by plenty of teams that are pacey, direct and good on the rush, but that describes every other team in the NHL as well. The trends run more to the meat grinder teams being a problem.
And remember kids ... there is no magic way to play hockey and teams are generally only good at one thing at a time 5v5. Your high pressure forecheck driven team isn't gonna turn on a dime and manage to be just as good at soft pressure neutral zone trapping, or the direct line, flood the channels speed game. Goaltending and special teams generally sort the losers from the winners in the margins created by even strength systems. I really only recall one team in the cap era that's managed to employ multiple systems on a high level ... Tampa in the Covid years. And they were backstopped by the best goalie in hockey during that stretch as well as a lethal top power play unit, which afforded them all sorts of luxuries.
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