Sometimes the other team is just better. Although the 4-0 score would suggest otherwise, the Canes were not horrible on Tuesday, but the Rangers were just better. When they are playing well, New York looks like they have 7 guys on the ice with 2 bungeed to the puck by a 3-foot cord. There is just never any time/room to do much of anything even if you do get the puck on your stick. The Hurricanes had their chances in the 2nd period but just seemed to have 1 of those nights where the puck was intentionally dodging their sticks when it looked like a goal was coming. Maybe if one of those bounces goes our way when it is 2-0, we make a run and steal a game, but I doubt it.

To me, the game was defined by the fact that I cannot recall a stretch where the Canes carried the play through a consecutive set of 3 line shifts to build any sustained momentum. Sure there were good plays and chances here and there, but there was no 5-minute segment where Carolina dominated let alone a whole period. And you just don't get 2 points on the road when you cannot win a few big stretches of hockey.

A few notes:

1) Staal. Hockey and the scoring thing can be very funny. I thought Staal created better chances for himself today and (offensively at least) was as good if not better than Saturday when he had a hat trick. Staal played an assertive game and regularly skated around and through defenders to the net and was one of only a handful of Canes to find his way tonight.

2) Relapse of early season problems? Most disturbing to to me of late has been the number of goals that resulted in missed coverage in the 12-foot tunnel coming straight out from the net and turnovers. The Canes' early season troubles were largely due to problems with defensive zone coverage and bad turnovers. This marks 2 games straight where these problems crept back into the game after a few weeks away. Part of the problem is reintegration of Wallin and Gleason (who will both make this team better in the long run) who might be a bit rusty still. They had a couple oopses on Saturday. But tonight the problem was more team-wide with players roaming freely in front of Ward, Shanahan getting lose 10-feet out, etc. It is time to get back to basics and just put a bunch of bodies, sticks and whatever else in that area in front of Ward and give the opposition nothing there.

3) Big game tomorrow. For a team that is doing reasonably well, there is no such thing as a must win game in November. And a 2-game losing streak would be far from a catastrophe. But per my blog yesterday, I think this is an important week for the Canes. After a tough October, the Canes have earned a very successful November. They need to claw their way to some points in the next 2 games to avoid having a short road trip erase 3 weeks of progress in the standings.

4) A night when 4-0 is better. The one time I would argue that 4-0 loss is better than 4-3 is the front end of a back-to-back like tonight. Because of the lopsided score and the fact that the big guns just were not that great anyway, Coach Laviolette kept minutes down a bit. The 3rd/4th liners managed about 14 minutes each buying some rest for the 1st/2nd liners going into the 2nd game tomorrow.

On the Rangers: This team really is impressive. They bring a bunch of guys who lunchpail it hard and fast for 60 minutes and then a couple 600-goal scorers with skill around them for the powerplay and scoring. Most significantly to me though is how deep their defense is. The Rangers' blueline is not impressive in a Pronger/Niedermayer way, but you can make a good argument that their 3rd pairing (if you can even figure out which it is) is as good as any in the league. Defensive depth keeps guys fresh, gives you a chance in every game and often carries the mail in the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see what Coach Laviolette does in goal tomorrow. Tomorrow has a deja vu factor. We played the 2nd of a back-to-back against the Isles after a loss in October. Last time around, it was Grahame and a loss in a game that we were winning late and let get away. Coach Laviolette very much has a 'win today' mentality which would suggest he could go with his #1 following a loss to do everything possible to keep a single loss from turning into a holiday week slide. The flipside is that Grahame is coming off a 1-goal against win whereas Ward has allowed 4 each in the 2 games since. My wild guess is that Coach will come back with Ward but that he would have done differently had we won tonight. Who is our resident goalie start prognosticator here and what are you calling?

Go Canes!

Join the Discussion: » Comments » Post New Comment

» Maple Leafs and Hurricanes: Comparison in rebuilding strategies

» Snarly Hurricanes vs. Flyers match up set for Saturday

» Canes treading water - Will they eventually drown or swim?

» Solid first half of week tees 'make up' time at home for the weekend

» Hurricanes at Red Wings -- Canes look claw even for road trip