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Canes Game #12: Vs. Lightning --- I love this new NHL! |
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The Canes roared out of the gate and scoring 3 goals in a span of over 43 seconds in the 1st. Oftentimes, shots on goal can be misleading but the Canes 13-2 margin in the 1st was pretty representative of how the period went. The period was tattered only a tiny bit when Ward was beaten to put the Canes down 1-0 early which has been all too familiar so far this season. This was very similar to the 1st period outburst against Atlanta on Wed that eventually fizzled into a horrible 2nd period and a win that required rescuing in overtime.
When the Canes scored first in the 2nd to make it 4-1, we had the recipe for about 30 minutes of trapping, holding, clutching, hooking and whatever else was necessary to hold on for a 4-2 win with 30 minutes of hockey that would not be nearly as good as the kids who play during the intermission. Oh, but wait...that was the old NHL!
Instead, Carolina continued to push the issue trying to score more goals and play offense. And it is a good thing they did because Tampa despite digging a hole too deep to climb out of did not quit. The result was some decent hockey, decent goals and a fairly entertaining 6-4 final and Canes win. THANK YOU NHL! Thank you for the officiating that actually gives customers the 60 minutes of hockey that they paid for in these games.
A few comments on the game:
1) The leaders step up offensively. On yet another night when the team was smarting a bit from another false start trying to get the sputtering win engine going again, Staal had 2 goals and 3 points, BrindAmour had 3 assists, and Walker had 2 goals. And the Canes needed every bit of it. Though it was a little disappointing that they could not completely bury Tampa when it was 4-1, the guys did not quit working hard and trying to score. Had they mailed it in when they were up 4-1, this could have turned into a brutally ugly and painful OTL. Now that a win is in the books, it might seem like a remote chance, but I am not so sure. The Atlanta game only 3 days ago felt pretty safe after a phenomenal 1st period and 3-1 lead only to require overtime heroics. How damaging would a 7-6 OTL have been for a team that is fighing it right now?
2) A little bit of crispness. The biggest difference in the Canes game especially early was simple efficiency and crispness. They did not give the Lightning much room to maneuver through center ice and when they dumped the puck, the Canes gobbled it up and moved it off the boards and the other way very quickly and crisply. Tampa's 2 shots in the 1st were because their offensive zone possession time was virtually nonexistent.
3) Erik Cole's unselfishness and blue collar work in the crease. When St. Louis scored with about 8 minutes left the Canes possible route was suddenly only a 2-goal lead. And the Lightning seemed to be gaining steam after getting their feet underneath them in the 2nd period. But in the very first shift after the St. Louis goal to make it a hockey game again, Cole mostly sealed a victory in a way that will never show up on a scoresheet or highlight reel. On that next shift, Cole parked himself near the crease and started battling for ice with Luke Richardson. Once he got set up, Richardson got the stick and hands up to try to move Cole drawing a penalty. Then when the whistle blew, Richardson took about 2-3 jabs at Cole trying to see if he could get a retaliatory roughing minor out of him. Then rather than retaliating or skating away, Cole basically stepped up to Richardson without retaliating and took a couple more jabs. When all was said and done, Richardson went off the ice for a double minor, Cole skated back to his bench and the ensuing powerplay would kill 4 of the last 8 minutes of the game and stall any energy and hope that the Lightning might have gained from the St. Louis goal.
I have been quick to call it like I see it and point out a couple instances this year where Cole took needless frustration penalties late in games. Tonight he showed a huge level of team commitment and unselfishness that helped seal a victory in a way that will probably make no one's top 5 key plays of the game (if they even noticed and remember it at all) when everyone is talking about their favorites of the 6 goals tomorrow. He was also the player driving himself, a defender and a whole pile of hockey mess to the front of the net on the 2nd Staal goal that deflected off a skate or something for a goal courtesy of 'Cole created chaos in the crease." But alas, had Erik not benefitted from a bang in goal on a beautiful passing play from BrindAmour and Whitney in the 1st, it would just have been another scoreless game in the box score and for the fantasy leaguers that would only feed the "why isn't he scoring" questions.
4) 2 points. At some point the Canes need to find some kind of rhythm and momentum and string together a consistent stretch where they do better than a point a game. But there is no easy way to fastforward to that easier time. Until they get there, every single point regardless of beauty or origin is precious.
On Tampa:
- I said after the last game that if you tell me how Richards, Lecavalier and St. Louis fared, I will tell you how the Lightning did. While St. Louis and Lecavalier did muster late goals to claw back into it, the Canes scored powerplay goals on Richards and Lecavalier penalties and the group was minus 1 for the game. Not horrible but not good enough to win on the road.
- Denis. He seemed shell-shocked after the 3 goals in 43 seconds and never really recovered. Though the floodgates for goals did not open, they easily could have with the volume of rebounds he left laying in front of him tonight. In his defense, he was thrown into a shooting gallery by a team being outskated in the 1st, but he still just was not that good tonight.
Go Canes!
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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