Ben Case: Hurricanes Need Offense To Step Up Against Oilers
The Carolina Hurricanes (1-1-1) are set for their second of four straight road games tonight against the Edmonton Oilers (1-3-0). The Hurricanes come into this game with three areas that grossly need improvement – get more traffic, get to the net more, and score more goals.

New lines tonight.

From Morning Skate:

Teravainen - Staal - Williams
Skinner - Rask - Ryan
Aho - Necas - Lindholm
Nordstrom - Kruger - Jooris

Slavin - Pesce
Hanifin - Faulk
Fleury - Carrick

Not sure who's in net... I hope Ward.

New lines tonight.

From Morning Skate:

Teravainen - Staal - Williams
Skinner - Rask - Ryan
Aho - Necas - Lindholm
Nordstrom - Kruger - Jooris

Slavin - Pesce
Hanifin - Faulk
Fleury - Carrick

Not sure who's in net... I hope Ward.
- BINGO!

Not surprising with the TT-Staal-Williams line. I don't think they have the speed to match McDavid's line though. This combo seems to be one many have waited for as a true shutdown line. BP really seems to want the Ryan-Skinner combo to work. Love the 3rd line - should be dynamic. I think I prefer McGinn over Jooris, but can't have an opinion until I see what Jooris brings. Carrick isn't a shock given the -2 from Dahlbeck the other night.

I imagine Ward will get Calgary or Dallas because of the amount of rest time for Darling so far. I'm going with Ward v Lack in Calgary.

Not surprising with the TT-Staal-Williams line. I don't think they have the speed to match McDavid's line though. This combo seems to be one many have waited for as a true shutdown line. BP really seems to want the Ryan-Skinner combo to work. Love the 3rd line - should be dynamic. I think I prefer McGinn over Jooris, but can't have an opinion until I see what Jooris brings. Carrick isn't a shock given the -2 from Dahlbeck the other night.

I imagine Ward will get Calgary or Dallas because of the amount of rest time for Darling so far. I'm going with Ward v Lack in Calgary.
- BenCase

Michael Smith says it looks like Ward gets the start tonight. Means I get to see Darling in Calgary (Yay!)

I love the Aho-Necas-Lindholm idea. That line is going to be crazy fun, especially as it probably gets Edmonton's 3rd pairing.

Dahlebck should never play in a Hurricanes uniform ever again.

Michael Smith says it looks like Ward gets the start tonight. Means I get to see Darling in Calgary (Yay!)

I love the Aho-Necas-Lindholm idea. That line is going to be crazy fun, especially as it probably gets Edmonton's 3rd pairing.

Dahlebck should never play in a Hurricanes uniform ever again.
- BINGO!

I'd count on Ward in tonight then. I didn't see much of Darling last three years, but I am enjoying what I've seen thus far - he's calm in net and you don't see tons of unnecessary movement. You'll enjoy getting to see him up there.

Aho-Necas-Lindholm could be a line of the future. I could also see it next year with Aho-Necas-Kuokkanen though. Maybe we will see it this year, but I still have a feeling Necas will be around until Stempniak returns. I think they wanted him to see what real NHL hockey looked like outside of preseason so he knows the benchmark for next year.

Good news is tons of options. Just got to find out who can pocket some G's.

Thank goodness Pesce was alright the other night too. If he went down, we could really start seeing some problems on the blueline.

I'd count on Ward in tonight then. I didn't see much of Darling last three years, but I am enjoying what I've seen thus far - he's calm in net and you don't see tons of unnecessary movement. You'll enjoy getting to see him up there.

Aho-Necas-Lindholm could be a line of the future. I could also see it next year with Aho-Necas-Kuokkanen though. Maybe we will see it this year, but I still have a feeling Necas will be around until Stempniak returns. I think they wanted him to see what real NHL hockey looked like outside of preseason so he knows the benchmark for next year.

Good news is tons of options. Just got to find out who can pocket some G's.

Thank goodness Pesce was alright the other night too. If he went down, we could really start seeing some problems on the blueline.
- BenCase

Yep. Agreed on.... well, everything.

I think Necas excels and the pressure will be on Ryan to stick at RW otherwise Stempniak is going to take his spot.

New lines tonight.

From Morning Skate:

Teravainen - Staal - Williams
Skinner - Rask - Ryan
Aho - Necas - Lindholm
Nordstrom - Kruger - Jooris

Slavin - Pesce
Hanifin - Faulk
Fleury - Carrick

Not sure who's in net... I hope Ward.
- BINGO!

TT better start scoring or I'm dumping him from my team

TT better start scoring or I'm dumping him from my team
- Iggysbff

I actually dropped him early last week. Love that he slots on fantasy in more than one forward position. Look at his hero chart though and you'll see his shot suppression off charts. He seems to be used more defensively, so you may be better off looking for a more naturally slotted O forward. TT should have around 30's to low 40's though. I'd look for a Hartman or Leblanc who are on first lines with elite players. Most likely they've been snagged but in a less deep league could've flown under radar. Granted I don't know scoring format but those are my quick thoughts for what it's worth.

The hurricanes are also a slim margin from being 0-3. In 180+ minutes of hockey they have had the lead for about 2 minutes. They have given up the first goal in all three games.

It is obvious from watching the games that there is no net presence. We don't need Coach Peters to tell us that. Same problem as last year.

This is going to be a very long season unless this problem is solved.

The hurricanes are also a slim margin from being 0-3. In 180+ minutes of hockey they have had the lead for about 2 minutes. They have given up the first goal in all three games.

It is obvious from watching the games that there is no net presence. We don't need Coach Peters to tell us that. Same problem as last year.

This is going to be a very long season unless this problem is solved.
- cbcibryant

That's a personnel issue more than a coaching issue, I think.

Peters can say it all he wants but if guys won't go there there's not much he can do. What we need is a forward not named Skinner or Aho to be assertive with the puck.

My hope is that Necas steps in ad shows the same audacity he did in preseason, attacking the opposition instead of just trying to pick away at them.

The hurricanes are also a slim margin from being 0-3. In 180+ minutes of hockey they have had the lead for about 2 minutes. They have given up the first goal in all three games.

It is obvious from watching the games that there is no net presence. We don't need Coach Peters to tell us that. Same problem as last year.

This is going to be a very long season unless this problem is solved.
- cbcibryant

Very true too. MOE is very slim. Sticks should warm up a bit and get closer to 7-10% 5v5 shooting %.

Battles in front of the O and D have been a concern. Got to get size or someone with that "grit."

I've been saying it for a long time that Dahlbeck is best suited as a healthy scratch. Keep the young guys playing and getting experience in Charlotte or the NHL but Dahlbeck should not see ice time. He is a liability.

That's a personnel issue more than a coaching issue, I think.

Peters can say it all he wants but if guys won't go there there's not much he can do. What we need is a forward not named Skinner or Aho to be assertive with the puck.

My hope is that Necas steps in ad shows the same audacity he did in preseason, attacking the opposition instead of just trying to pick away at them.
- BINGO!

So years ago we had a bunch of soft as charmin toliet paper players on our club. I mean this is before the real good ultra 6 ply stuff we have now. MacT was coaching and the whole staff was under the impression they were going to get fired.

MacT and company ended up having a whole practice where they "taught" the players to block shots. Essentially from what Craig Simpson has told myself and a couple others was the coaches just fired the puck as hard as they could trying to hurt the players.

Some how after that practice the Oilers turned things around. Became top shot blockers and played with some heart.

Unfortunately some bumholes beat us in game 7 of the cup finals, but MacT and company changed the team in one practice. I assume that having Pronger, Smyth and Smith in the locker helped get the coaches message through after practice, but at the end of the day the coach did something different than the norm to get through to the guys.

And you didn't win 19 consecutive playoff series in the 80's either

Visiting N.C. for future moving purposes, will be in a fine establishment tonight rooting for the Canes

Visiting N.C. for future moving purposes, will be in a fine establishment tonight rooting for the Canes
- Sec111

Enjoy the time in RTP. Not sure how familiar with it you are but downtown Raleigh has some great bars with beer garden and others. Lucky Bs is good sports bar and owned by bates bataglia (might be partial owner). If you have extra time, going down to DPAC in Durham it's also a great scene. Enjoy!

From what I have seen so far this season, the Slavin contract extension was a bargain. I am glad he is locked up for years to come.