It is game #1 of preseason. Getting too bogged down in the score and results for a game where the primary purpose is to evaluate players and sort out the roster is not worth it. But the part that bothered me was the way the game felt too much like the bad part of 2012-13. The defense struggled with both basic stuff (someone PLEASE take away the pass on a 2-on-1) and attention to detail in its own end. The Canes looked good enough offensively. But between the defense and goaltending easily found a way to lose.

But again, the more important thing is figuring out the rosters and roles. In this respect there were positives to go with some negatives.

--EStaal/Semin. I said after the Sunday scrimmage that they looked ready to go. They did have a few plays Wed night where timing was a little off but they also made enough good plays offensively, consistently created something when they had the puck on their sticks and importantly, they finished to the tune of 3 goals between them. Bowman continued to make enough little plays to complement them which is encouraging.

--That #16 is appropriate. I think I am fully onboard that Lindholm is going to make it as an NHLer this season. He is going to make some mistakes obviously, and my hunch is that his scoring will definitely be more 3rd line than 2nd line in his rookie campaign, but he gets it. He made a decent number of the small variety of good plays backchecking and forechecking to either win a puck or at least close out an angle for the Canes defenseman on the other side of the play. He also seemed to read pretty well when he could step up a bit or when his line mates were in deep and minus a chance to shut down passing angles such that he had to retreat a bit to make sure anything bad was a _v3 not hanging the defensemen out to dry. I think he is on a fast path to be a good Brandon Sutter type of player who does not put up huge numbers but just generally helps you win. If he does that, he will be at least an adequate 3rd-line center very soon, and with that we can wait to see what his offensive ceiling is and how long it takes to get there with him being a plus player (in terms of winning) on the path there.

--Ryan Murphy. I have not generally been positive on Murphy or his chances to make the team, so it is important to make sure I am fair. After not being impressed with his play in Sunday's scrimmage, I thought he was better Wed night. He had the puck on his stick a ton, and though he was not perfect, he avoided bad turnovers in bad places. He had plays where he had the puck on his stick without any real good options and mostly made good decisions to make safe plays. He used his skating ability to get the puck moving north-south, but also did a better job of taking opportunities to get the puck in front of him to a forward when the opportunity presented itself versus always carrying it to the point where he hit a wall or a problem. He did not play so well that I am reversing course and penciling him in my opening day roster, but I do think he played a decent game Wed.

--Jeff Skinner. He was real quiet. Did he manage a decent scoring chance?

--Zac Dalpe. He was even quieter which was a disappointment after a good start to training camp. I do not recall any specific mistakes, but he just did not do anything to stand out and just did not seem to be around the puck much. I can remember Lindholm hounding the puck. I can remember Gerbe hounding the puck. I can remember Bowman, etc. There were stretches where if you had told me Dalpe left the game 8-10 minutes ago, I would have believed you. So if he did in fact miss a stretch of the game, someone please let me know.

--Gleason/Komisarek. I thought they had a rough night. The first goal happened when Komisarek came (maybe too soon) to help Gleason with a player skating around him and behind the net. After the loop both defensemen were on the 1 side of the net and Gaborik was alone on the other side for a quick backdoor goal. Komisarek also managed a minor penalty of the "that guy just skated right around me" variety. I am concerned that the mobility just is not there, especially if you put these 2 together. An interesting stat would be percent of times that Ward had to play the puck behind the net and just get it out of there (versus leaving it for a dman coming ahead of the forecheck or with enough of a head start to receive a pass) for Gleason/Komisarek versus the other pairings. To me it felt like any dump behind them especially Gleason's side quickly became a 50/50 puck in the offensive zone when the forward got there ahead of Gleason or Komisarek in the corner or Ward received it in the trapezoid and had to go 2nd option to the corner/glass when the dman did not beat the oncoming Blue Jacket forward by enough. Theoretically, this pair could work for PK, but I am not sure that played out either. The short answer is that they just looked a step slow getting to an opponent or a loose puck.

--Brett Bellemore. I think he might be the player competing for a spot whose stock rose the most. I gave Murphy credit for a decent game, but at the end of the day the decision for a #6 or #7 spot on D will probably come down to whether you really want Murphy's puck moving or if you prefer to just pick the best safe and sound/Glen Wesleyish option for your last defenseman. If I had to pick based solely on Wed's game, I would slot Bellemore ahead of Gleason and Komisarek. Very simply, he just looked more mobile and better able to get to win a 50/50 puck or at least get in the battle when the puck was loose 15 feet from him. And he continues to make quick simple plays to advance the puck when he gets it on his stick. In some cases, a little more patience could be beneficial, but the general approach of advancing the puck to the best safe and forward option is mostly what you want from your bottom pairing. One game does not make for a conclusive decision, but I do hope that Muller is able to objectively evaluate the available defensemen without a bias for experience, expected slot, salary, etc. and make the decision to play Bellemore ahead of the veterans if it turns out that this is the best option for winning hockey games. I am starting to think it could be.

--Chris Terry. His feed on the Jeremy Welsh goal was a great pass.

--Typical preseason game. I was hoping that this game would have much more the feel of last Fri's scrimmage in terms of intensity and a bit of snarl. Instead it felt like a run of the mill preseason game with a preseason crowd and against a non-familiar team.

--Nathan Gerbe. I have to imagine he is still finding his skating legs after missing the first 4 days of training camp, but you could see a bit of the puck-hounding style of play.

--Cam Ward. First, I would say he was not in the "great" category. Past that I would have to go with very mixed with room for improvement. The first 2 goals were backdoor plays where he had no chance. But the 4th goal, Gaborik just beat him from a decent ways out right over his shoulder and the 5th goal he gave up a juicy rebound that immediately ended up behind him. In the middle, he had to endure some of the 2012-13 defensive coverage struggles. He had a couple short stretches of a few real good saves. There is also the chance that fatigue set in a bit playing all 3 periods for the first time since last March. Especially for Ward after the injury and playing his first full game, I think just have to count it as 60 minutes of ice time closer to being ready for October 4.

Next up is a quick turnaround and another preseason game tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what the intensity level looks like for game 2. Game 1 was not abysmal, but I think the door is definitely wide open for a player or 2 in the second set of players to come out and skate and play like his hair is on fire to separate from the pack. Before the start of camp, I would not have put Boychuk anywhere near the top of the list of players likely to impress by playing with intensity, an edge and a fire in his belly. But he did on Sunday and minus a ton of that on Wed, a good follow up on Thu could further boost his chances. Jared Staal has also been 1 of the more physical players in training camp. Can he find another gear and push into the roster debate with a strong effort on Thu?

What say you Canes fans? I only commented on about half the players. What did I miss? Did anyone that I did not mention stand out favorably? Or negatively?

Twitter = @CarolinaMatt63.

Go Canes!

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