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Canes: So what is different from last year? |
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First, let's be clear. 3 games is a very small data sample, and not a reason to start scoping out high bridges. As we stand right now, Nashville, Carolina and Ottawa will all be battling for a high lottery pick. It is not impossible, but it seems unlikely that things will end this way next April.
But this said, the Hurricanes are off to a poor start. After a decent effort and a point in the standings against a good Buffalo team on opening night, they threw up a huge stinker at home on Fri and an only slightly less stinky stinker in a loss on Sat against Was.
So what is different from last year:
The real history: Memories of last Oct have been dubbed over by memories from Apr-Jun. But if anyone can find the old tapes, they will see that the Canes actually started slow last year too. They stunk on banner raising night in Tam and then eeked out a shootout win against a mediocre Pit team and mostly struggled to score goals early. BrindAmour start slow last year, as did Williams and a bunch of other players who could not find the net. The biggest difference on offense is that Staal started the season putting up a goal a game and Cullen started strong. Staal with a little help from Cullen more or less carried the team offensively until the rest of the guys got it going late Oct/early Nov. So one big difference offensively is that the Canes do not have that 1 guy going yet. The other big difference is defensively. In 05-06, the defense had a healthy camp and were ready to go out of the gate. The Canes defense has been fair at best so far this year.
What is not going well right now:
1) The 3rd period. Last year, the team's trademark was a hard skating, hard working game that basically skated teams into the ice for 2 periods and then scored as many goals as we needed in the 3rd to win it.
The Canes have entered the 3rd period tied twice this season, have lost both games, and have yet to score a 3rd period goal. Instead of a desperate effort to pull one out of the fire on Sat, we saw a frustration slashing penalty behind the play (Cole) and an unsportsmanlike penalty for yammering at the refs (Staal) to all but seal a loss.
NEED TO FIND THAT "WHATEVER IT TAKES" ATTITUDE FOR THE 3RD PERIOD THAT WAS OUR TRADEMARK LAST SEASON.
2) Team defense. The NJ game on Fri was a 1-game clinic on what not to do defensively once you do an okay job stopping the rush and force the team into an offensive zone set. The Canes forwards have consistently given defenseman up top a huge gap and wide shooting lane at the net. At the same time, the defensemen have done little to tie up sticks and bodies and move people from the front of the net. The results against NJ were 3 deflection goals and a close range bang in. I realize that the new rule enforcement makes it tougher to clear the front of the net, but I cannot recall a single instance of a defenseman tying up a stick in front of Cam Ward in 3 games, and man could we use an Aaron Ward clone to block a shot here and there.
NEED TO MAKE THINGS MORE DIFFICULT ON THE OTHER TEAM IN THE OFFENSIVE ZONE. WAYYYYY TOO MANY GOALS GIVEN UP ON FAIRLY HARMLESS OFFENSIVE ZONE SETS.
3) The powerplay is off to a mediocre start. It is time to get out the lunchpails and score some ugly goals. We have more than our fair share of players who can win battles in and around the crease. Time to simplify. Get the puck in the zone. Get control of it. Count bodies in/around the crease. Whenever you count 2 from Cole, Ladd, Walker, BrindAmour throw the puck in there.
NEED TO GET BODIES TO THE NET ON THE POWERPLAY AND THROW THE PUCK THERE.
4) The effort. The 05-06 were characterized by always outskating and outworking the other team with very few exceptions. This has not been true so far. Coach Laviolette mustered up an unpleasant practice on Sunday on what would normally have been an off day. The result was a bunch of unhappy players skated into the ice and a busted up eye for Kevyn Adams (on his birthday no less) courtesy of Bret Hedican.
NEED TO USE SUNDAY'S FESTIVITIES TO RALLY THE TEAM AND RELIGHT THE FIRE OF 05-06.
To keep things from getting too dark, Andrew Ladd was a lone bright spot in Saturday's game. His success as an NHLer right now can be measured by the number of times he has his skates within 10 feet of the crease. He spent most of the game there on Sat and was rewarded with a goal. My hunch is that he will have a bunch more company this week as Coach Laviolette gets the team back to basics on offense and on the powerplay.
The Canes will get a week on the road to work on things, build team chemistry and find the focus needed to win in the NHL. Win or lose, if they cannot muster a good effort over the next week, I become concerned.
Go Canes!
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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