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Playoff GDT: Stanley Cup Final, Game 1 Canes v. Vegas 6/2 8:00

Seems Jarvis is hurt or nursing some ailment, (ok, who isn't?) I'd flip him with Ehlers, it seems like he can still backcheck. and would not affect the existing chemistry too much. But, we lost Game 1 last series too, so I guess we'll see. Love how the pre game heads were predicting a low scoring series, turns out both goalies are kind of ordinary.
 
Have to find a way to win some board battles. The Canes got dominated in those battles. It's going to be very hard with how damn big those Knights are.
 
The problem with changing up Aho’s line is the other 3 lines are humming right now and you don’t want to disrupt 2 lines if you can help it. RBA usually turns to first line Martinook to get them going and that’s probably a safer short term move than swapping Ehlers and Jarvis.
 
andyt said:
The problem with changing up Aho’s line is the other 3 lines are humming right now and you don’t want to disrupt 2 lines if you can help it. RBA usually turns to first line Martinook to get them going and that’s probably a safer short term move than swapping Ehlers and Jarvis.
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Bingo! So the first line cannot carry their own mail and then go disrupt the other functional lines is not something I can see Rod doing. When top offensive guys are scuffling, I like to watch players away from the puck to see how they look...there were a ton of times last night where that first line got caved in even without the puck...Aho was especially bad when it came to position and losing tons of assignments.

Perhaps you can give some benefit of the doubt to Jarvis if that shoulder is wonky again but Aho to me has never looked worse, compare his overall game over the past countless years here to this playoff season as a whole and you see two different players...his compete and battle level is nowhere to be found...it's baffling when you watch it on both sides of the puck.
 
I’d be more inclined to think injured if they were trying something different on the powerplay but they keep sending them out there. Makes me think it’s something else. They’re going to have to be better.
 
Feel like we got too aggressive on board battles in our zone and out of position a few times. Or maybe we just had an off night in winning them. Vegas used their size to put our defender behind them on the boards and skate unopposed to the middle which blows up our man D. That seems like an adjustable problem.
 
Carolina has to be able to roll all lines and maintain pressure. The Aho line has to produce and not just ENG. The Canes got lost and off their game in the 2nd and that bit them. The issues in last night’s game are fixable. Interesting to see Jankowski take Stank’s face offs.
 
NoMich said:
Have to find a way to win some board battles. The Canes got dominated in those battles. It's going to be very hard with how damn big those Knights are.
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This. And it’s less about size than it is about sticks. The Canes just got out-fought WAY too many times last night, and Vegas ran an absolute master class in extending shifts. They've got to be quicker to engage and smarter with what they’re trying to do. Let’s face it, Carolina had a much bigger adjustment going from smallish, inexperienced Montreal as an opponent than Vegas did coming out of a series with Colorado. Against Montreal, you could engage in a board battle and realistically expect you could try to blindly bank a chip to a teammate. Against Vegas, who are supporting every one of those battles, you can’t take those chances. That in itself is a massive adjustment. We’ll see if they can get there.
 
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Another thing that Carolina has to figure out is how to defeat what Vegas is doing to slow down their forecheck. Vegas was chipping the second forward all night to slow down and redirect the pressure. It’s not legal, really … it’s interference … but Rooney and McCauley were in no mood to argue with Torts all night and they let them get away with a tactic that mostly dialed down Carolina’s most effective weapon. I know what 90% of the teams in the NHL would do in that situation … they’d start diving and embellishing. This team doesn’t really do that, but they’re going to have to recalibrate to somehow force the issue with their forecheck because without it, this series will continue to be played on Vegas’ terms.
 
Vegas looked faster, more aggressive, and harder on the pucks as the game wore on. We were right there until the 5th goal, but our defensive play was sloppy and our ability to take possession wasn't nearly good enough. We gave up way too many high-danger chances right in front of Freddie - and frankly, we need more from him, too. Hopefully, we make some adjustments and win tomorrow. But damn, our 1st line just isn't performing.
 
As for the PP, I was thinking just run our 5v5 lines and play normal Canes hockey.
Well, maybe 3 of the 4 lines.
 
Vegas pounded the snot out of Carolina in the 1st. Mostly late hits well after the puck had been moved. Charging, boarding, etc. And it worked. I counted several that could and should have easily been called interference or charging. 4 strides long after the puck was gone. In the 2nd, the Canes outlet passes got sloppy and rushed. They no longer went into the corner 1st to get the puck. They pulled up. Several players quit going hard after the puck, and started pulling up. Aho's line was the most obvious. Maybe it's injury, and the pain of getting pounded in the 1st was all it took. But you could see a serious attitude change about winning the battles and races. That line played hot potato and constantly flipped the puck to nowhere and no one while ducking contact.
 
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