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Game #9 Vs. Ari: Canes surging in November! |
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Against the backdrop of a winless October and with a disappointing Saturday night crowd, the Canes rose up and took a step in the right direction. There was very little wrong to find with the Canes 3-0 win against Arizona on Saturday. The Canes came out ready to play mustering a few pretty good scoring chances before the Coyotes even registered a shot. And the Canes found the scoreboard 1st (a rarity so far this season) and quickly again to build a 2-0 lead. But I think the best things about the game were the Canes 100% consistent workman-like effort in terms of competing hard and the play of Cam Ward in net.
A few notes:
1) Cam Ward. The shot total was fairly light, but he stopped everything and made some real good saves in the process. The game was vintage Ward in that his anticipation level was at a level not seen for some time. A couple of his best saves looked fairly easy when he anticipated a step ahead and was seemingly waiting for the shot as if he had a crystal ball. Sure the flailing and lunging type of saves get more play on the "play of the night" shows, but the good version of Cam Ward makes the difficult look easy which he did a lot of in addition to a couple of the fancier variety. With a back-to-back and slightly less than 24 hours before the next game, Peters could go with Khudobin but if Ward does not go tomorrow, he definitely earned his next start and a chance to run with it. I am usually a fan of splitting back to backs, but if I were coach, I would come right back to Ward. After a struggle to find the 1st win and with a stellar outing by Ward on Saturday, I would give him a shot to build momentum for both himself and the team.
2) Elias Lindholm. Earlier this week, I called for him to be separated from Rask and moved to center. So Coach Peters met me halfway and separated him from Rask. The results were good, and Lindholm netted the 1st 2 goals and a running start for the Canes. Both goals were quite an impressive imitation of the Jiri Tlusty guide to goal scoring: 1- Have decent hands and finishing ability; 2-Go hang out in front of the net where goals happen; 3-Finish when given the chance. Including his goal tonight, Tlusty has 6 goals of about 90 feet total. Tonight Lindholm had about the same 10-15 foot average. The 1st goal was impressive. He went shoulder to shoulder with a Coyote for a breakeven joust right before the puck showed up then regained his balance quickly and fired from point blank. Channeling his inner Tlusty is exactly the path to more goals.
3) Jeff Skinner. His score sheet and performance were a mismatch. He had 1 of the dynamic games he is capable of and just caught no luck registering points.
4) Justin Faulk. In true hockey warrior style, he took a puck to the face, donated blood and missed very few shifts in the process timing his repair work mostly for the 1st intermission. He also logged 2 assists on the way to the game's 3rd star.
5) Compete level and willingness to play through contact. Aside from Cam Ward's play, that was the thing that stood out most to me. The Canes battled on Saturday night and won their fair share or more. Brad Malone stood out in this regard, but it really stretched across the entire roster.
6) Lack of mistakes. The Canes, especially early, avoided the 'oopses' that have haunted them in some losses especially early to dig 1st period holes. Mistakes were almost non-existent on Saturday.
7) Congrats to the coach! Hopefully this is the 1st of many for Bill Peters who after a long wait picked up his 1st NHL win on Saturday.
With the 1st win out of the way, Sunday represents a big game. Can the Canes parlay their 1st win into a winning streak and momentum? Or will 1 of the league's best prove too much for back-to-back wins and turn the win against Arizona into the occasional win for a struggling team?
Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63
Go Canes!
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