• Moderators, please send me a PM if you are unable to access mod permissions. Thanks, Habsy.

GDT: Hurricanes @ Jets, 11/21, 7PM Eastern

Great comeback…… I really hope RBA does something about the 2nd line center position. I noticed KK only got a little over 10 minutes of ice tonight. Sent message. We’ll see what happens next.
 
BadgerCane58 said:
Great comeback…… I really hope RBA does something about the 2nd line center position. I noticed KK only got a little over 10 minutes of ice tonight. Sent message. We’ll see what happens next.
Click to expand...
It’s time to try Necas at center on that second line when Turbo returns. Kotkaniemi is a fine bottom six center and is fine defensively but you are not going to get second line production from that guy. Hopefully once Pacioretty returns he gives you a first line scoring winger to pair with Aho and let Necas center a line with Svech on a second line.
 
LJG said:
A big, stinking brain fart??
Click to expand...
Yeah, they've lost a couple of OTs now where you end up scratching your head afterwards. Still, I'd rather they go hard to score, even if it results in some Ls when they get caught in bad defensive position.
 
Fayettenamcanesfan said:
Well, to be fair, panic ensues in every game thread whether the canes are winning 7-0 or losing 7-0. If all I had to get canes news was a game thread, I’d swear the canes hadn’t won a single game since 2018 and have been shutout 14 games in a row.
Click to expand...
Which is why I'm pretty much back to ignoring the during the game part of the game threads. The point of all that clearly eludes me.
 
It’s not really panic. It’s a difference between expectations that this is a cup contender and the realization that they’re not. Not at this point in the season. Not likely this season and not likely with this core group. There was expected to continue to be an upward slope and that doesn’t seem to be the case.
 
As for this game, we turned it off with 8 minutes left in the 3rd and I just watched the score change on my phone as we made the comeback.

For those purists who don't like it when teams pull a goalie in a regular season game when you are down 3 goals, well, here is the proof of concept. The Canes stole a point last night.

As for the team overall, there are issues and concerns for sure, but I'm not exactly seeing a dire situation where we should start to panic. A check of the standings and where all of the other 'Cup contenders' are sitting right now relative to the Canes calms my nerves a bit.

KK doesn't appear to be capable of handling 2C at this point (he might never be capable). Yes he is willing to go into the corners and play D, but you cannot be that much of an offensive black hole out there considering the wingers he has played with this season. He may look skilled at practice, but he is useless out there in the offensive zone during games. Hard to keep giving him leash.

We are playing without 2 top wingers (Turbo and Pacioretty). If/when both of those guys are back, the dynamics of this team offensively change tremendously over what we have been icing over the past couple of weeks.

If the Canes were sliding down the standings and sitting where, say, the Caps are right now, I would be worried. But we are in 2nd place in the Metro and 4th in the Eastern conference. We've played 12 road games and 7 home games so far.
 
cmaleski2 said:
If the Canes were sliding down the standings and sitting where, say, the Caps are right now, I would be worried. But we are in 2nd place in the Metro and 4th in the Eastern conference. We've played 12 road games and 7 home games so far.
Click to expand...
I mean, this is the bottom line isn't it? For all their warts, the Canes are hanging in the meat of the playoff picture and not doing any real damage to their chances to end up with a decent seed. Also, Boston and New Jersey are running away with the East so far but doesn't anybody really trust either of them to maintain this pace all season? Carolina, Toronto, Tampa and the Rangers are all in pretty much the same place right now. None of them are happy with how they're playing but none of them are flatlining either. You could include Pittsburgh and Florida in that group as well.
 
cmaleski2 said:
KK doesn't appear to be capable of handling 2C at this point (he might never be capable). Yes he is willing to go into the corners and play D, but you cannot be that much of an offensive black hole out there considering the wingers he has played with this season. He may look skilled at practice, but he is useless out there in the offensive zone during games. Hard to keep giving him leash.
Click to expand...
That's it in a nutshell, there is nothing more to say on this topic...you try anyone else at this point and keep the player in the bottom six for the foreseeable future. It's going to turn out to be a somewhat expensive third or fourth line center moving forward if he is simply a 25-30 point player that can play a checking role on a fourth line. The Canes need another option at 2C...whether that comes from an internal option like Necas or Drury or finding that at the deadline, it's still a real need and letting Trochek go was the right thing to do when you look at that contract and term he signed in New York.
 
Last edited:
FWIW, Kotkaniemi is cheaper than Staal ... significantly so. So if he ends up being a 3rd line, defensive minded center it's not the end of the world. Getting from here to there is tricky, but so is a lot of stuff.

Right now, even with Pacioretty coming back in 2023, I'm hoping they make a move for an offensive minded forward. It's pretty obvious this bunch need some fresh ideas up front.
 
jeffbear said:
FWIW, Kotkaniemi is cheaper than Staal ... significantly so. So if he ends up being a 3rd line, defensive minded center it's not the end of the world. Getting from here to there is tricky, but so is a lot of stuff.
Click to expand...
Yeah but I think we can all agree that offersheeting him was a misstake at this point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top