Advanced analysis for NHL skaters, an NHL veteran hangs up the skates, and just where is the best destination for Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel?
Eyes on the Prize, SB Nation's blog for the Montreal Canadiens, has released its biweekly report on possession ratings and other advanced statistics for skaters in the NHL. [Eyes on the Prize]
NHL veteran Ray Whitney, who lifted the Stanley Cup in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes, has decided to hang up the skates. The 42-year-old amassed 1,064 points over more than 1,300 games. [ESPN]
The AHL Worcester Sharks are moving to be closer to their parent club, the San Jose Sharks - a lot closer. The AHL Sharks will play in SAP Center, the same rink as the NHL Sharks. [Mercury News]
If Las Vegas were to ever be awarded an NHL team, it is estimated that it would cost any potential owner upward of $450 million. [TSN]
The Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres seem hell-bent on drafting either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel. But are those markets really the best destinations for two of the best prospects the NHL has seen in years? [Puck Daddy]
Who deserves Connor McDavid though? Here is why your team - along with the other 29 - is not worthy of the expected first overall pick. [Sporting News]
If they lose Sekera, Hurricanes have big hole to fill on blueline
General Manager Ron Francis has some important decisions to make in the coming weeks. These decisions will most likely affect his team for years to come.
Francis has stated that he likes both players and wants to bring each of them back. But of course the dilemma is, at what cost and for how long?
Let's take a look at the situation on defense first.
The Canes acquired Sekera during the 2013 draft when they traded Jamie McBain and their second round pick, (the 35th overall), for the blueliner. Some liked the deal at the time and some did not, but Sekera has put up career best numbers since the acquisition and he will be missed if the club does not re-sign him.
Last season he scored 11 goals and had 33 assists for a total of 44 points, shattering his previous career highs. His offensive numbers this year have fallen off a bit, but he is still second on the team with a 22:44 TOI average. Justin Faulk leads the team at 24:09 while Ron Hainsey is third and is almost a full two minutes per game behind Sekera.
Last season he led the team with 23:40 of TOI and posted a (+4) while Faulk, his partner for much of the year, was at (-9).
His 15 points so far this season ranks him at ninth on the team and he is second in scoring on the backend, only behind Faulk.
The blueliner also presently leads the team with 79 blocked shots. Last season he posted a team high 127 blocks and played eight fewer games than Hainsey, who was next in line with 124.
Francis might be a little gun shy about offering any long term contracts at this point but Sekera should be in the prime of his career at age 29 and could find a windfall at his doorstep if he waits until this summer to hit the open market.
Last summer, there were some wild signings with defensemen Brooks Orpik (5 years, 27.5M) and Matt Niskanen (7 years, 40.25M) getting huge, long term deals. Although, also highly sought after Christian Ehrhoff (1 year, 4M) and Anton Stralman(5 years, 22.5M) signed for more reasonable money.
One never knows what will happen.
Following is a listing of some of the top pending free agent defensemen, a group of players that Sekera will be compared to and going against and also a list to choose from if the Hurricanes lose the blueliner. (from NHL Numbers)
More than a couple of the players on that list have seen better days and a couple of more are over age 40.
Sekera's salary looks paltry in comparison to those guys because for whatever reason, his contract was front end loaded, meaning he was paid more in the first two years of his four year deal, that has a cap hit of $2.75 million.
He will certainly be getting a healthy raise, the only question is how much and for how long.
If the Canes cannot sign him and decide to trade him before the deadline, who would you like to take his place? Keep in mind, some of those players on the list will probably be re-signed by their current team. For instance, I doubt Johnny Boychuk sees the open market, he is fitting in very well with the Islanders.
Many fans agree that the Hurricanes need to make changes if they want to improve. Andrej Sekera seems to be one piece they would be better off keeping, if they can agree to reasonable terms for both sides.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will also miss the NHL All-Star Game because of injuries. Goaltender Pekka Rinne of Nashville already was set to miss the game with a knee injury, and Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was replaced Thursday by St. Louis goalie Brian Elliott. [Associated Press]
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray says he met with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on a trip to New York this week to reiterate the city's interest in bringing both leagues to Seattle. [Associated Press]
A profile of the relationship between top prospect Connor McDavid and Bobby Orr. [CBC]
Puck Daddy is hosting an All-Star weekend meet up on Fridaynight, Jan. 23, from 6-10 p.m. at Bernard’s Tavern (630 North High St., in the Short North) in Columbus. Stop by if you're traveling to the game/in the area! [Puck Daddy]
There isn't a lot to cheer about in Norfolk these days. Pending a formal vote this weekend, the franchise known as the Norfolk Admirals will be moving west. Funny thing though, fans haven't seen consistent AHL hockey on the ice at Scope for months anyway.
1Josh Manson scored his first goal as an Admiral Tuesday against the Charlotte Checkers (Carolina Hurricanes). He had three points on the night (1G, 2A) and a fight, his first Gordie Howe Hat Trick in the pros.
2 Kevin Gagne added his second helper in January Friday night against the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins), his fifth assist of the season. Gagne, a defenseman, has been drawing in to the Admirals' line-up as a forward for five-on-five and a defenseman on the second power-play unit. In his 2012-2013 QMJHL season, Gagne won the Emile Bourchard Trophy as the league's top defenseman, but because of the glutton of blue-liners the Ducks have either stock-piled or dumped off, he is fighting for ice time any way he can get it. 3 Norfolk was shut out for just the third time this season last Saturday versus the Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers). The last time the Admirals failed to score a goal was back on Oct 26 against the same Hartford team.
4 The Admirals' OT win over the Checkers on Tuesday was just their fourth in eight tries this season. Norfolk has been to the shoot-out twice but failed to grab the extra point in either contest.
5Chris Wagner picked up his fifth point in January and 12th goal of the season Friday night in the 4-2 loss to the Pens. Wagner, who leads the team in goals and is second in points with 21, has goals in back to back games for just the second time this season.
6 Andrew O'Brien scored his first goal of the season last night on a beautiful one-timer that was the Admirals only power play goal of the night (1/5). O'Brien has six points this season (1G, 5A) and has been held without a shot just seven times through 38 games.
7 Nic Kerdiles scored his seventh of the season Tuesday with just one second left in OT. Kerdiles' last goal came back on Dec 5th against Springfield, a span of 18 games without finding the back of the net. Kerdiles leads the team with 22 points (7G, 15A) but has just four points in January (1G, 3A)
8John Gibson drew back in to the line-up this week with two games, one win and one loss, after being out for almost three weeks with what has still been described as a "virus." Through eight games with Norfolk this season, Gibson is 3-3-2 with a 2.36 GAA and .929 Sv%.
9 The Ducks' prodigal son Emerson Etem has put up ten points in nine games in January. Etem, who started off 2015 essentially banished to the Admirals, has five goals and five assists through the month and 13 points in 14 games with Norfolk this season (8G, 5A)
10 Norfolk won for the tenth time at home on Tuesday against Charlotte and is now 4-1-0-0 on the season against the Checkers. For perspective, one quarter of the Admirals' wins are against just one team.
--The move west is all but official, with Admirals Owner Ken Young confirming to Bruce Rader of WAVY that he was essentially forced to sell the team to the Ducks. Once the vote goes through at the Board of Governors meeting this weekend (which it is expected to without any problems), AHL hockey in Norfolk will be gone at the end of the season. Barring any surprises from the meetings this weekend, I don't think there's really much more to squeeze from the story.
--Last Saturday's loss to Hartford was described by Coach Skalde as "the worst 60 minutes of hockey the team has played all season. There is nothing good to take from the game, no positives whatsoever. This team can't afford to take nights off." Later on in the post-game presser it was agreed that the only player who showed up was Jason LaBarbera, but for all his heroics he can't cover for an offense that decided not to show up.
--Norfolk is now dead last in the league in goals scored per game with 2.19. Norfolk's goals-for has actually fallen over the past couple weeks, so despite the fact they should be playing with desperation if there are hopes of a playoff run, they are actually scoring less. Great goaltending has covered for a lot of horrible play and a lack of offense, but again, goalies can't score goals (at least not three or four).
With an average of 3.02 goals given up per game, an Admirals' loss is statistically a given every night, and that's a tough pill for fans to swallow. It doesn't seem to affect the players though, at least not in the motivation department, because the guys that should be getting it done on the scoreboard just aren't. Apparently losing has become acceptable in the Norfolk locker room.
Max Friberg--six games without a goal.
Kerdilies--one goal in last 19 games
Louis Leblanc--nine games without a goal
William Karlsson--one goal in last 18 games
Dany Heatley--two goals (both in the same game) in 12 games
Defense--a combined six goals (not including the two by Shea Theodore)
There is plenty of on-paper talent on the roster which I'm sure is where all those articles about the Ducks' great prospect pool come from, but when the skates meet the ice, the talent may be there, but the desire to win isn't. I'm anxiously awaiting the trade deadline--I'm hoping some of the dead weight here in Norfolk is cast off and some fresh blood with a desire to play in the NHL shows up.
--Earlier this week Igor Bobkov was sent back down to the Admirals' ECHL affiliate the Utah Grizzlies. For those looking at the roster, you'll still see Norfolk carrying three goalies--LaBarbera, Gibson, and Etienne Marcoux. Marcoux suffered a season-ending injury a few weeks ago and was assigned to Norfolk for treatment and rehab.
A celebration, an anniversary, and a roast. All in a day's links.
I usually have Mondays off of work...today I have to go in early. But you don't (probably), so have some links won't you?
The Game with All of those Stars ended with a 17-12 score in favor of Team Toews. Could that be the kind of win to turn their season around and get Team Toews into the playoffs? [SLGT]
Turns out that all of Alex Ovechkin 's pleading for a car over the weekend was so he could donate it to a hockey organization for kids with down syndrome. And in the end, the executives at Honda gave him the car anyway. Awwwwwww. (PS You know what this means, right? It means that PATRICK KANE HATES CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME.) [Puck Daddy]
Oh, and Carey Price got to have some nachos during the game thanks to a generous fan. It was a good time for all. [SBNation NHL]
Okay, now all of that's over...what are the biggest story lines heading into the 2nd half of the regular season? Oh, if only someone could format it in an easily share-able list-like piece. Preferably with an arbitrarily chosen number of them. [The Hockey News]
Hey, perhaps you've heard: this Thursday when the Blues play their first game of the 2nd half against the Predators, will be the 20th Anniversary Night for St. Louis Game Time/Game Night Revue! Be sure to be there, buy a special deluxe copy of Game Time, and tip your vendors extra! And don't forget to join the SLGT crew for the watch party for Friday's game against the Hurricanes, too. [SLGT]
VIDEOS:
It's Super Bowl week, and the question on everyone's mind is about...Tom Brady's balls. As usual.
Perhaps you've heard that Comedy Central's next roast will be Justin Bieber. They need someone easier to target...like Mario. (NSFW language.)
Tyler will be back tomorrow. NHL hockey will also be back tomorrow. Coincidence? You judge - just make sure you send him links before you do it.
The Canes and Bolts square off for the last time this season, and one would assume the Canes are glad to put this series behind them, having lost nine of their last ten against the Lightning including two 2-1 losses in Tampa in December. During that ten-game stretch, going back to the beginning of the 2012-13 season, the Lightning have out-scored the Canes 35-14. The Canes haven't beaten the Lightning in Raleigh since November 1, 2011.
With the All-Star break marking the unofficial halfway point of the season (technically 46 games down and 36 to go), the Canes come into the second half of the season in 27th place (tied with the Arizona Coyotes), and have 37 points, or a 66-point pace.
They rank in the top third of the league in their ability to play with defensive responsibility, with a penalty kill ranked fourth best (87.0%), shots against/game ranked seventh (27.8), penalty minutes per game ranked second (7.8), and a goals against/game ranking just outside the top ten at 11th (2.52). Though middle-of-the-pack in terms of possession (with even-strength Corsi ranked 14th at 51.3% and shots/game ranked 18th at 29.6), their ability to convert offense into goals is at the bottom of the league. The power play has dropped to 22nd (16.6%), even strength goals-for percentage is 28th (42.4%) and goals/game is next to last in the league (2.06).
With a 6-2-1 January record and only three games remaining, the Canes will close out the month winning more than they lose, which is a step in the right direction. However, only four out of those nine games were against teams currently in the playoff chase, and the Canes went 1-2-1 against them. Seven out of the next ten games will be against playoff contenders.
And how about that goaltending? Anton Khudobin has wins in his last five starts, including two in a row on the Canadian road trip that preceded the All-Star break. During that stretch he has given up seven total goals and has a save percentage of .950.
Justin Faulk was a late arrival in Raleigh yesterday after completing his first full All-Star experience (he participated in the Skills competition as a rookie in 2012). He notched two assists for Team Toews, the winner in a 17-12 shooting match. If you missed it, you can find full coverage of Faulk's weekend at the All-Star Weekend blog on the Canes website.
Bill Peters ran an uptempo, cardio-oriented practice yesterday at PNC Arena, with the primary purpose of getting players back up to game speed. With Faulk out but all others accounted for, Andrej Nestrasil served as Faulk's placeholder on defense, and Alexander Semin rotated in with the fourth line, and those two are the likely scratches again for tonight's game. Ryan Murphy is still on assignment to the Checkers as he wraps up his participation in the AHL All-Star Game (posting 3 assists and a +5 in a 14-12 Western Conference win), so John-Michael Liles will draw back in. A starting goaltender has not been announced.
Tampa Bay hopes to pick up where they left off heading into the All-Star break, winners of their last three games and leading the Eastern Conference. They are ranked third overall in the league and seventh in the number of points-per-game accumulated, and they rank first in the league in total goals and goals per game.
The Lightning sent three players to Columbus with All-Star honors. Rookie Jonathan Drouin was the fastest skater in the Skills competition. Steven Stamkos had a three-point game (2g, 1a) on Sunday for Team Foligno and leads the Lightning with 26 goals, good enough for fourth in the NHL. Tyler Johnson leads the Lightning in total points with 48, and has a team-best 31 assists. Johnson attended the All-Star events but was unable to play due to a lingering lower body injury. He is eligible to play tonight and participated in a full practice yesterday, but will be a game-time decision. On a side note, there's an pretty cool connection between Tyler Johnson and Bill Peters, who Johnson credits as the first person to tell him he could play in the NHL (read more here).
The Lightning had already been without the services of Radko Gudas (knee surgery) on defense, but they received more bad news last week when Matt Carle suffered a torn adductor muscle and required surgery just prior to the All-Star break. Barring any trades, the Lightning will rotate in young defensemen Mark Barberio, Nikita Nesterov, and Luke Witkowski, who made his NHL debut on January 20th.
Ben Bishop has started the last four games in net for the Lightning, and is tied for fourth in the NHL with 24 wins. He is 5-0-0 with a 1.19 GAA and two shutouts in his five prior appearances against the Canes.
The Lightning practiced yesterday but were missing Stamkos and Drouin, so the projected line-ups are as the team skated in their last game prior to the break. Any additional updates on both teams will be forthcoming after the morning skates.
Injuries and Scratches: Matt Carle (abdominal surgery), Radko Gudas (knee surgery). Mark Barberio (healthy), J.T. Brown (healthy)
There are 11 games on the schedule tonight, and this one makes the national broadcast, hence the later start time and station change. The Canes are back in black. Good seats are still available.
We now resume our regularly schedule dNational Hockey League season, already in progress...
The Tampa Bay Lightning (30-14-4) make a quick trip to Raleigh, North Carolina to take on the Hurricanes (16-25-5) as the NHL in general resumes after the All-Star weekend in Columbus. Center Tyler Johnson has been presumed a game-time decision for the Bolts while the defensive corps will continue to transition to life without Radko Gudas and Matthew Carle, both lost to injuries for some time.
In the NHL, don't let the third column fool you; it's a loss. They are points gained though, but they are a loss. The overtime/shootout loss and points system has already been talked about by me, though.
Yet, how do you break down 34 games into a .500 record?
That's actually kind of quizzical and interesting. 34 games in half is 17, so a 17-17 record is .500. There are so many different combinations to achieve .500 in a 34 game span, but the loss and overtime/shootout loss total cannot exceed 17 games.
It's not even an official challenge for the Tampa Bay Lightning as the second (less-than) half of the NHL season gets underway starting tonight in Raleigh, North Carolina for the Bolts in their season-finale matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes. The club went 30-14-4 through its first 48 games of the season, which is remarkable by itself. A recent FanPost broke down the first half and an argument was made a few weeks back that Tyler Johnson was the first-half MVP for the club.
64 points doesn't guarantee a playoff spot. The just-under 2-to-1 pace of winning for the Lightning's 48 games so far isn't assured to last, and with 13 of the 15 other teams in the conference having at least a game in-hand on Tampa Bay, its lofty position in the Eastern Conference isn't guaranteed to remain. This is part of why a .500 record in the remaining games is a good target - lowering expectations a mite and accepting the adversity that can come to light if injuries continue to mount for the club. 17 wins gets them there. "There" being the playoffs. Sports Club Stats already has the Bolts as almost a certainty to make it.
The challenge of completing those last 34 games in a respectable fashion begins tonight against the Canes.
The status of Tyler Johnson remains questionable, though he once again participated in practice for the Lightning today. He'll be a game time decision.
There was some interesting musing on Twitter today about Hurricanes forward Alexander Semin and his future with the club. He's a name you haven't heard so much this season after he was part of Carolina's surge in previous years. He has only one goal and 7 assists on the season in 26 games played. Bill Peters, Carolina's head coach, does not come off happy with the effort Semin is putting out:
Asked Peters if Semin situation is frustrating: "It's not frustrating to me. We just play the guys who dig in and work and play with speed."
For a club that's struggling to the degree Carolina is, an argument could be made against Peters... At the same time, a coach needs his team to buy into a system and if someone integral doesn't, that creates a problem. The Hurricanes have a roster turnover imminent in one way or another as Eric Staal's name has been dangled in trade rumors since early in the season. If Semin is on his way out too, you can expect more player movement to come as GM Ron Francis lay out their own plans for the club and its makeup.
But the club isn't done with him, or so the GM says. Stay tuned.
"Craig. People will come, Craig. They’ll come to Edmonton for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn into your Arena's parking lot, not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door, as innocent as children, longing for the past... The memories will be so thick, they’ll have to brush them away from their faces..."
Before you read on any further, listen close to this clip from the 1989 classic, Field of Dreams but when you do, apply everything the legendary James Earl Jones says to the Edmonton Oilers.
Onto the good stuff
Let's go back in time and look at the history of the Chicago Blackhawks. More specifically, 1997-1998 until now.
Starting during the 1963-1964 season, Billy Reay spent thirteen and a half seasons at the helm of the Blackhawks, leading them to twelve playoff seasons and two cup appearances. As an organization, the Blackhawks had 28 playoff seasonsin a row. 28!
So needless to say, as an organization during that time they had great success despite bringing home Lord Stanley.
Despite the fact that they had 28 playoff seasons, it all came crashing down during the 1997-1998 season, two years after Craig Hartsburg took the helm. The next nine of ten seasons the Blackhawks missed the playoffs.
I came across an article from 2013 posted on the website chicagonow.com in which writer Captain Meatball put out some frusterating thoughts:
It's tough to remember a half-filled United Center, a hockey team relegated to the back pages, and an original six team owned by a malicious self-absorbed owner. However, that was the case just six years ago on Chicago's west side.
Prior to the 2007-2008 season, the Chicago Blackhawks' chief offender Bill Wirtz passed away. This left the organization with its first opportunity to heal the wounds left throughout the community; wounds perpetuated by the worst owner in sports.
It wouldn't be easy. Yet, for the Hawks, their hard transition into this new era would be softened by the arrival of two young superstars: Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The two already joined a talented nucleus that featured young defensemen Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. A late season acquisition the prior year brought Patrick Sharp from Philadelphia. A healthy Nikolai Khabibulin in net would prove beneficial, as well. Couple this with a couple savvy off-season additions like Jason Williams and Robert Lang, and the Blackhawks suddenly had a respectable team. During the season, familiar names would arrive that would have an impact on the team's first Stanley Cup victory in 49 years: Troy Brouwer, Andrew Ladd, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Colin Fraser, Ben Eager, Dave Bolland, and Kris Versteeg. However, with the Hawks still a couple years away from history, it's important to remember the laughable: the slow-motion slap shot of Andrei Zyuzin, the confusing meandering of Sergei Samsonov, and the bloodied waste of space known as David Koci.
During the downdays in Chi-town, they brought in inexperienced coaches like Craig Hartsburg, Dirk Graham and Lorne Molleken who hoped to turn the tide, but eventually failed.
Not even Blackhawk legend Denis Savard who scored 1388 points in 1196 games could coach them to success.
The Tallon era
Dale Tallon entered the Blackhawks organization in 2002, as a director of player of personnel. But it wasn't until 2005, when Tallon was named General Manager that he made his mark.
Although he never saw the team through as a GM for the Blackhawks 2010 championship, Tallon was able to build a Stanley Cup winning roster.
On top of drafting guys like Jonathan Toews 3rd overall in 2006, and Patrick Kane 1st overall in 2007, Tallon was able to make trades that significantly upgraded his roster while giving up nearly nothing in return.
December 5th, 2005: Patrick Sharp and Eric Meloche were acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Matt Elison and a 2006 3rd round pick (Ryan White).
After numerous coaches who failed to succeed, Tallon got his guy in Joel Quenneville, hiring him on October 16th, 2008; They also got a coach with 839 NHL games coached under his belt.
Just one season later, the Blackhawks got their first Stanley Cup in almost 50 years.
Tallon was eventually replaced as General Manager on July 14th, 2009 by Stan Bowman, but since then, the foundation that Tallon laid ushered in a new era for the Blackhawks.
On the hot seat
In the NHL right now, there are four coaches that could be left jobless come this offseason:
Mike Babcock, Detroit. (915 GC, 56% W-L rate)
Dave Tippett, Arizona. (914 GC, 53% W-L rate)
Dave Tippett has the look of a man who wants to be fired, like, desperately.
Babcock, the longest tenured Head Coach in the NHL, is in a position of power and is able to determine where ever he wants to go, should he decide to leave Detroit. Babcock was the first coach to join Triple Gold Club by winning a Stanley Cup in 2008, winning gold in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics (and again in 2014) and winning an IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in 2004. On top of that, his team won gold in the 1997 World Juniors, and he guided the Lethbridge Pronghorns to a CIS University Cup in 1994.
Even though Babcock has won about every national and international title as a coach, one thing he hasn't done is help rebuild a team. I think it would be a great challenge for Babcock to work with this roster and see what he can do.
I mean, if I were Katz, I would just casually slide a blank cheque and let Mike fill it out himself.
Guys like Tippett, Julien and McLellan are all very viable candidates to be gone after the season mainly due to them "stalling out" with their respective teams, and I think each of them would be able to help lift Edmonton out of it's slump.
"Laaaay it oooooon the liiiinnnneeee!"
As Mark Twain once said, "...a favorite theory of mine—to wit, that no occurrence is sole and solitary, but is merely a repetition of a thing which has happened before, and perhaps often..."
Craig MacTavish is faced with the tough task of bringing people into the Oilers organization who are willing to lay it all on the line to help this group move forward. If Craig is looking to make a big splash this offseason, hiring a coach like one listed above should be right at the top of the list of things to do.
Simply put, the Oilers need to follow in the footsteps of the Blackhawks. Should one of Babcock, Julien, McLellan or Tippett come available, I think that any of their coaching abilities would be able to carry the Oilers back to their glory days.
The memories of the past never leave, but it surely is time that this franchise is due to turn the tides.
The Tampa Bay Lightning fell victim to a pair of early goals by the Carolina Hurricanes and got nothing from their power play en route to a 4-2 defeat in Raleigh to start off the season's second half.
With a difficult February schedule looming on the horizon, the Tampa Bay Lightning need to bank as many points as possible now, particularly against weaker competition.
A couple bad bounces early and an inability to do anything on their power play doomed the Lightning on Tuesday night in Raleigh as they failed to bank points against a team jockeying for position to draft 1st overall this summer, falling 4-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Lightning didn't get off to the start they wanted coming out of the All-Star Break, as a Eric Staal scored just 22 seconds into the game off of defenseman Anton Stralman to give the Canes an early 1-0 lead. Carolina built off the quick strike goal, carrying the balance of play early and extending their lead to 2-0 when a point shot caromed hard off the endboards and to the side of the net where Nathan Gerbe was waiting to put it home.
The Lightning, now facing an unexpected 2-0 hole on the road against a team they've typically dominated under Jon Cooper, burned their timeout early to regroup. Afterwards they turned on the jets in the back half of the first period, taking the frame's final 10 shots on goal and finishing with a 13-7 shots advantage.
A wide drive to the front of the net by Cedric Paquette resulted in a goal for the Bolts who pulled within a goal at 2-1, as the newly constructed line of Alex Killorn, Paquette, and Jonathan Drouin combined with the TKO trio to give the Canes fits in their own end, but failed to find another goal.
The teams traded chances in the first half of the second, with Steven Stamkos nearly scoring in the slot on an early power play, but Anton Khudobin made a few nice saves in weathering the man advantage. Carolina would then go on three consecutive power plays of their own, scoring on the first with a long-screen (a screen set by Cedric Paquette) shot to extend the Canes lead to 3-1. Tampa Bay managed to kill the other two and added a shorthanded goal to bring the score to 3-2 when Brian Boyle blocked an attempt by Victor Rask and finished a breakaway with a backhand through Anton Khudobin's five hole for his 10th goal of the season.
The Bolts would get one more power play themselves in the period and promptly did nothing with it, heading into the second intermission still trailing by a goal and looking to equalize in the final 20 minutes.
Unfortunately, the Lightning power play would fail them once again, with no shots in a full two minutes of 5v4 action and a quick transition goal capped off by Jiri Tlusty to bring the Canes lead back to two goals at 4-2. Carolina would retreat into a shell for the rest of the period with Tampa Bay pressing to claw back into the game, but they were unable to solve Anton Khudobin and ultimately fell 4-2 in their first game of the season's second half.
Game Notes
Nikita Kucherov took a puck off the face on the power play in the 2nd period and was patched up on the bench; he returned to the game and finished with 15:08 of ice time, so he seems fine moving forward.
Brian Boyle's breakaway shorthanded goal in the second was his 10th of the season for him with the Tampa Bay Lightning, especially surprising given he scored just 8 total goals in his final two seasons with the New York Rangers. But then, it's really not surprising. Random variance has a huge effect on scoring numbers in the NHL, and while Boyle has some skill for a big grinding forward, the reason he's potted 10 is because he's shooting over 12% for the year. He shot under 5% his past two years with New York.
A reasonable expectation for Boyle moving forward? Given his defensive usage, he'll likely regress towards his career average (7.8%) and end up around 13-15 goals.
Jon Cooper, like other aggressive coaches following the example set by Patrick Roy in recent seasons, pulled Ben Bishop down two goals with 2:30 remaining in an attempt to tie the game. Losing 5-2, 6-2, or 4-2 ultimately doesn't matter. A regulation loss is a regulation loss and goal differential tiebreaker is likely irrelevant for the Lightning this season.
The power play has been atrocious all year and continues to be so. Full two-minute advantages cannot pass without a single shot on goal. This is unacceptable. Someone needs to be held accountable for the 5v4 unit's inability to create shots and chances. Something has to change.
Ben Bishop stopped just 18 of 22 shots on the night (.818), and generally speaking did not have the strongest outing. With next to zero trust in backup Evgeni Nabokov and the team's desire to keep Andrei Vasilevskiy and Kristers Gudlevskis developing in the AHL, the Lightning need to see more of good Ben Bishop in the season's second half.
At the other end, Anton Khudobin was outstanding, stopping 28 of 30 shots faced (.933), including a handful of underrated saves on very good Lightning scoring chances.
Khudobin wins sixth straight and Canes continue success in January
The Carolina Hurricanes picked up right where they left off before the All Star break and continued playing winning hockey, this time as they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-2 in front of a national television audience on Tuesday night at the PNC Arena.
The Canes are now 7-2-1 in the month of January and they have won three in a row. Goalie Anton Khudobin continued his winning streak as well and has now won the past six straight games he has started.
The home team got off to a fast start as Eric Staal lit the lamp on a mis-hit or deflected shot just 22 seconds into the game. The shot fooled Ben Bishop, who probably would like to forget this night. Bishop ended up allowing four goals on 22 Carolina shots.
Khudobin made 28 saves on 30 Tampa shots.
Carolina made the score 2-0 when Nathan Gerbe jumped on a rebound. Coach Jon Cooper had seen enough at this point and called a time out, then the visitors came on strong after that. The Canes were outshooting the Bolts 7-3 at that given time, but ended up with a 14-7 disadvantage at the end of the period.
Before the end of the period, the Bolts got the score to 2-1, on a puck that bounced in past Khudobin off of Bellemore from in close.
Just back from the All Star game, Justin Faulk would score an unassisted powerplay goal midway through the second to make it 3-1, his ninth of the season, but the Lightning made it 3-2 when Brian Boyle stole the puck at the point during a Carolina powerplay and skated in alone shorthanded.
Faulk got involved again in the third when he and Jiri Tlusty teamed up on a 2-on-1 break. The defenseman read the play perfectly and fed Tlusty, who made no mistake when he got the puck.
Earlier, Tlusty took a spill head first into the boards and had to go to the room for a short time, but he said he was fine after the game. He was awarded the fireman's helmet as the team's MVP.
Both Faulk and Eric Staal said after the game that they felt like the team put in a solid 60 minute effort in this game and of course Khudobin was very solid in net.
Next up will be the Blues at home on Friday night.
Game Notes:
The record long penalty kill streak might be over, but the unit looked very good again in this game as they killed off all three Tampa Bay powerplay chances. The Carolina powerplay went 1-3, but of course allowed that shorthanded goal.
Khudobin's stats continue to improve and his save percentage is now up to .918. He is making it impossible for his coach to bench him as long as he keeps winning.
The Canes were outshot 30-22 but made their shots count and got a couple of breaks in this game. They were led by defensemen Ryan Murphy and Faulk, who had four shots each.
J.T. Miller and the Rangers power play connects for the same goal twice against two different opponents.
Welcome back to Video Breakdown, where I use fancy arrows to show you how and why the Rangers score the goals they do.
Today's edition is a special two for one special, please control your excitement until the comment section.
Let's flash back to December, shall we? The Rangers were still finding their groove and had started to pile up wins and climb back into the playoff picture. A couple of the big reasons for the "resurgence" of the Rangers was that they started playing a full forward corps as well as having the power play start putting up points.
Our first goal comes from the first of the Rangers back to back wins against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Now let's take a quick look at how J.T. Miller got that wide open on the power play
So after a quick outlet from Ryan McDonagh, Mats Zuccarello feathered a hell of a pass to a streaming J.T. Miller that had a wide open stretch of ice through the neutral zone. The Hurricanes were all caught watching Zuccarello and allowed for Miller to find all that open ice.
Once he breaks away, Miller gets enough time to get Cam Ward to bite on the shot way too early and gets himself caught down allowing J.T. to maneuver around him and stuff the puck into the net for the goal.
Now let's flash forward to nine days later with the Rangers playing against the Stars deep in the heart of Texas
Another quick breakout, another outlet pass, and yet another breakaway goal from J.T. Miller. Let's go through it all again, shall we?
Another quick outlet from McDonagh has the penalty kill focused on Mats Zuccarello with J.T. Miller streaking through the neutral zone opening up an open stick for Zuccarello to hit. Dallas' PKers are actually in better positioning than the Canes but Zuke does a great job pulling them out of position to find Miller.
Here you can see the Dallas penalty killer activate towards Zuccarello which allows J.T. to fly down the middle of Dallas' ice unimpeded.
Miller has some great recognition seeing that Kari Lehtonen is still in transition and that he's reading the puck so J.T., with his head up all the way, picks it top glove just as Lehtonen goes down into his butterfly.
There you have it, two goals in two games that were essentially carbon copies of each other. Thoughts guys?
1. Khudobin continues to be dominant for the Hurricanes. The Carolina goalie has now won six straight starts, not allowing more than two goals in any game of his streak. Although he is just 6-8-2, Khudobin’s .918 save percentage and 2.30 goals-against average has him on par with star goalies like Henrik Lundqvist and Tuukka Rask.
2. And why is Khudobin getting wins now? That’s easy: goal support. The Hurricanes have scored 15 goals in Khudobin’s past six starts — the same amount the they scored in his first 10 starts of the season. In the past three, Carolina has 11 goals and has scored first in each.
3.The Hurricanes won the special teams battle, getting a power play tally from Faulk and shutting down the Lightning with their dominant penalty kill. Tampa Bay managed just two shots on goal during their six minutes of power play time. The Hurricanes’ power play now ranks 22nd in the league at 16.9 percent, while the PK is third with an 87.3 percent kill rate.
Number To Know
22 — Seconds it took Eric Staal to score Tuesday, easily the fastest goal scored by the team this season. The Hurricanes record is nine seconds, which was set Nov. 12, 2000, by Shane Willis in Carolina’s 4-0 win over Ottawa.
Plus
Jordan Staal— Carolina has been rolling since it got Staal into the lineup following a 36-game injury. Not only did the younger Staal register two assists for the second straight game (he now has eight points in 11 games since his return), but Staal led the charge against Steven Stamkos. Stamkos saw Staal 58.94 percent of the time at even-strength Tuesday and was limited to just two shots on goal and three total shot attempts. Carolina’s ability to match its top line against the opposition’s best and win the battle has been a huge part of the team 7-2-1 record in its past 10. It's not an accident that it coincides with Jordan Staal’s return.
Minus
Chris Terry— Terry is getting his chance in Carolina’s top nine, but continues to be invisible. He’s gone 11 games without a point, and with Alexander Semin and Andrej Nestrasil both healthy extras, it won't be long before coach Bill Peters makes a change if Terry continues to be absent on the score sheet.
Tuesday in Raleigh was a disappointing loss, but the entire game was a trap in one way or another. The Lightning were coming off the All-Star break that spanned a week, and the Hurricanes are a bottom-dweller of the NHL at current. The mind-set for the club was going to be off no matter what with tonight's game coming up.
Earlier in the month, the Atlantic Division lead was the Lightning's with the Montreal Canadians very close in the rear view mirror. All the while the Detroit Red Wings were gaining momentum and rumbling forward. And now they've rumbled ahead.
Detroit leads the Atlantic Division with 65 points and a 6 game winning streak to their name. They're 8-2-0 in their past 10 and still have a game in-hand on the Bolts. Montreal hasn't exactly faltered in this time - they're 1 point behind the Lightning and 2 behind Detroit, they've got games in-hand on both clubs (3 on the Lightning, 2 on Detroit); a 7-2-1 record in their past 10 and a current 3 game win streak doesn't hurt either.
It's not like Tampa Bay has played poorly in their past 10 games (6-4-0) but the opportunity for divisional opponents to overtake them has arrived. Those games in-hand and the Lightning playing against the formidable Western Conference teams in the coming days and weeks enables it. That's not to shed doubt on the Lightning as if they've been fooling everyone all season long (you don't get 30 wins in 48 games out of sheer luck) but it is an admission things get formidable right around now.
Detroit is flying, Henrik Zetterberg has been healthy and showing his moxie night after night; he leads Detroit in points with 45 on the season (15 goals, 30 assists). Tomas Tatar leads the team in goals (21) with Pavel Datsyuk rocking in less games-played per usual (15 goals, 20 assists in 37 games played). While there's a drop-off between Zetterberg and Nyquist regarding points, what is impressive is the consistency of offensive output from the Wings - 9 players have 20 points or more at this point in the season. That's equal to the Lightning. Both clubs also have another player at 19 points (defenseman Danny Dekeyser for the Wings and forward Jonathan Drouin for the Bolts).
The difference being Zetterberg is the only forward with 40 or more points while Tyler Johnson, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov have all crossed the 40-point threshold.
Speaking of DeKeyser, don't expect an on-ice reunion between him and former defensive-pair/roommate at Western Michigan Luke Witkowski; Luke will be a scratch tonight for the Lightning (along with Brendan Morrow).
Detroit has the second most effective power play unit in the NHLO right now, converting more than a quarter of their power play opportunities (25.3% conversion rate). This is a sharp, sharp contract to the Lightning's continued deflation on the man-advantage (currently ranked 16th in the league with an 18.1% conversion rate). The numbers for the Bolts only give you a glimpse of how bad it's been lately; power play goals have turned into a running mock-point among Raw Charge community members on game threads.
The difference between the two clubs is less on the penalty kill. Detroit is more effective staving off opposing power plays with their 83.2% kill-rate. The Bolts are shunning the opposition 81.8% of the time...
Is this game lost on special teams? Perhaps; it certainly will be a trial. Tampa Bay would be playing to Detroit's strength by parading to the penalty box. Detroit doesn't need to have the same concern if there play gets sloppy - the Lightning aren't effective on the power play despite all the firepower the has at its fingers.
Eleven games last night with numerical outcomes. One with a favoured numerical outcome. [NHL.com 1/29/15]
Five games tonight, again only one to watch. [NHL.com 1/30/15]
The Maple Leafs might as well just not play anyone in net. Oliver Ekman-Larsson scores a short handed goal from center ice. What is happening in Toronto? [Puck Daddy]
The Canadiens miss out on a goal during this video review, but they do end up winning. In my obviously expert opinion, I say "good goal". [CBS Eye on Hockey]
California, the State of Hockey….eerrrr what? The AHL has announced the teams moving to California. So, maybe we need to move to CA...can't be more expensive than MT. [Puck Daddy]
The fall of Corsi has been greatly overstated. (s/t to CanesAndBluesFan) [Habs Eyes on the Prize]
The Tampa Bay Lightning(s) help an Air Force Master Sergeant surprise his family on ice. Excuse me, I have something in my eye. [Puck Daddy]
The NHL's first African-American Player, Val James, is telling his story in a new book Black Ice: The Val James Story. [Color of Hockey]
Andrew Conboy, formerly of the ECHL's Elmira Jackals, was dropped by his team after being handed and serving a 20 game suspension. [Puck Daddy]
FS Tennessee has taken #hockeyporn to a new level. [SLGT]
OTHER…STUFF:
Look at the strangely cute pitbull-dachshund mix doggie!! [The Concourse]
VIDEO:
I decided to go with Monty Python today and the History of the Joke.
J-Mill will be back tomorrow. So send links and stuff to him:
The Hurricanes are a very respectable 7-2-1 in the month of January, with their one overtime loss coming in a 5-4 shootout loss to tonight's opponent, the St. Louis Blues, on January 10th.
The Canes have won three straight, and head coach Bill Peters is staying with same line-up that won those last three games because why not, things are obviously working, with the latest outcome a 4-2 win Tuesday to topple the Tampa Bay Lightning from the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
The only question mark coming out of Tuesday's game was Jiri Tlusty, who was slammed into the boards during the game and didn't practice Wednesday. He returned to practice yesterday and though still not at 100 percent, is expected to be in tonight's game.
Anton Khudobin, who gets the start in net again tonight, has won his last six consecutive starts. During those six games he has a 1.44 GAA and a .946 save percentage.
To quote Tripp Tracy, leaders win with leadership. Eric and Jordan Staal have four points apiece in their last two games.
The Blues are pretty respectable in January as well, with an 8-1-1 record. Though ranked second in the league with 3.15 goals/game, they've been averaging closer to 4.5 goals per game over the last stretch of 10 games.
The Blues were in action last night, their first game since the All-Star break. After holding a ceremonial puck drop to honor a former NHL player who recently announced his retirement (didn't see a lot of details about it but I think it was this guy), the Blues scored four second period goals to lead the Nashville Predators 4-3 going into the third period, only to give up a late goal that forced overtime. The Blues were able to prevail in the shootout for a 5-4 win. T.J. Oshie had a goal in regulation and also scored in the shootout, and All-Star Kevin Shattenkirk celebrated his 26th birthday by scoring the shootout winner.
Marcel Goc played in his first game as a Blues player last night, after being acquired in a trade with the Penguins for Maxim Lapierre. He played almost 13 minutes and won 13 of 18 face-offs centering the fourth line.
Forwards Patrik Berglund and Jori Lehtera sustained upper body injuries in last night's game and afterwards head coach Ken Hitchcock said that neither will play tonight. Joakim Lindstrom was a healthy scratch and will may draw into the line-up, but it hasn't been determined if the Blues will call up another forward or dress seven defensemen. Jake Allen is expected to start in net. With a very late arrival in Raleigh, any other line-up changes likely won't be known until closer to game time.
Don't forget to look for assistant coach Kirk Muller behind the bench for the Blues in his first return to Raleigh since being fired by the Canes back in May.
Congratulations to our colleagues at St. Louis Game Time on 20 years of covering the Blues through their fan-run newspaper.
The Blues lost two forwards last night and beat the Preds in a shootout. Will their point streak continue tonight?
The Blues won another close, one-goal game last night against the Nashville Predators, though unfortunately it was in the shootout. Letting a one goal lead slip away close to the end of the third period is always rough, especially when you explode for four goals in the second period, but last night the team had an excuse for looking winded. The Blues lost Patrik Berglund for the night when he hit his shoulder hard into the boards finishing a check, and then they lost key centerman Jori Lehtera after he was ridden into the boards by Mike Fisher. Neither may play tonight against the Hurricanes, which will be rough for a team who played extra time last night.
The Blues beat the 'Canes 5-4 in overtime earlier this month as part of a 6-0-1 homestand. The Blues have points in eight games straight. The Hurricanes are on a two game winning streak, with victories over Ottawa and Toronto. Tonight should be a good one, with Jake Allen starting in net for the first time since a 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Will the Blues pick up a couple more points on the Predators to help narrow the gap?
This is your morning open thread. Check back later on for your preview and GDT, and probably a posting from Brad reminding everyone about the Game Time anniversary party tonight at Hot Shots. While you're waiting, check out Canes Country and give those nice people grief about how you think it's weird that their mascot is a pig because that's what they eat before games.
Seriously, though, pre-game tailgating with your mascot is cool. Pre-game tailgating *eating* your mascot is a bit different.
With an unlikely chance at the McEichel Sweepstakes, the Hurricanes need to weigh in other options in order to make a playoff push next season more of a possibility.
A very productive first month of the New Year has been the story of the Carolina Hurricanes.However, although their performance has been well above par with a robust 7-2-1 record, it puts them in a confusing situation.
As they begin to find some consistency and success, any hockey fan knows the worst teams get the top draft choices.The Hurricanes are en route to digging themselves out of the hole they found themselves in at the beginning of the season, but it puts them back in the consistent pool of a mediocre draft choice.Since 2000, the franchise has only had four draft picks that are in the top five.It’s not to say that the Hurricanes can’t manage players and success outside the top five draft picks, but they’re not Detroit and haven’t shown much ability to harvest players in the farm system.
Despite the fact the Carolina Hurricanes have shown impressive improvement throughout the course of January, it doesn’t overshadow their unpleasant performance at the starting line.Sure, Bill Peters is in his first year of coaching, but reoccurring issues that tend to repeat themselves each season makes it tough to put any blame on the head coach himself.Year after year the Hurricanes have failed to make a good impression from the beginning of the season, and this time around could be the breaking point.Jordan Staal’s presence certainly helped depth in the lineup and make the top line lethal, but why should one player’s presence cause a shift in function?
What makes this year tough is, as they start their ascent closer to the top, their chances at the McEichel sweepstakes start to dive and the Hurricanes could use a game-changer like Jack Eichel or Connor McDavid, players who will likely go number one and two in this years draft..
The simple fact of the matter is that’s just not going to happen.Since Bill Peters has stepped behind the bench, the morale in the locker room has risen.With that in mind Peters is not the type of coach to say "Let’s go out there and suck tonight in hopes that we’ll have Eichel or McDavid in here come September."
It’s time to weigh in other options. Some may disagree or agree, but that’s just how it goes.
Trade Jeff Skinner.
Yes, trade him.It’s nothing against Skinner personally, but he just doesn’t fit well here and I’m not sure he’s happy here.He exploded his rookie season capturing the Calder Trophy as the Rookie of the Year under the Hurricanes’ watch.Not only did that give credibility to the organization, but it also showed the type of player Skinner can be.Not to mention he’s the youngest to play in an All-Star Game since Steve Yzerman.Ronny Franchise could easily get one or two round draft picks out of him. The ideal route would be to get a more physical winger or second line center for about the same age and price.Could we get Brandon Sutter back for him?
Yes, he’s an unrestricted free agent.Yes, he deserves good money and if it weren’t for Rutherford’s questionable contract agreements he would be an easy one to keep, but I’m not sure that’s the case.He has an A on his sweater for a reason and he could be a very valuable part of the regroup/rebuild process.We were able to get rid of Jamie McBain for this guy, we have to find some way to keep him after getting him after getting him for such a steal.His chemistry with Justin Faulk has made the top line more sound and the duo keeps Cam Ward and Anton Khudobin at ease.
It’s clear he’s tested Peters’ patience and has not lived up to the expectations nor the salary he was handed by Rutherford.He was past his prime at the time he was given the contract and it should have been at most a 3-year deal.I’m no GM but it’s safe to say he was overvalued and cost the organization money they could have used elsewhere.The options they have include him leaving for Russia, sending him to the minors to free up minimal cap space, or get him back to being a 40-point producer.
From the looks of it, the Carolina Hurricanes appear to have the ability to pull themselves together for the 2015-2016 season.Several players will be in the final year of the contracts, which could lead to stepping up their game in order to receive contract extensions or a new one from another team.
The Blues take their dads with them to North Carolina.
The Blues began the second half of the season with a home win against the Preds in a shootout. It should have been in regulation, and it cost us Patrik Berglund and Jori Lehtera, but at least it was a win. Now, the Blues head down the country road to face the Carolina Hurricanes. The Blues should be well-rested from their 9-day break, so I'm not concerned about the back-to-backs. According to the Game Time paper, the Blues are actually 4-2-0 in games when they had played the night before. The one positive about facing a tough team like the Preds first, is that any potential for rust is shaken off pretty quickly. As long as we can adapt to those injuries, we should be OK.
The Hurricanes are contending to win the McDavid Division, but cannot be counted on for full-on tanking. Their early-season struggles were well documented, but they have been playing better as of late. Witness the 01/10 game, where these same 'Canes took the Blues all the way to a shootout before losing to us 5-4. They can play you tough, and like Brad Lee said, the Blues will usually get their opponent's best efforts. How sweet it is, to have earned that respect. The downside though, is that everybody has the Blues squarely in the crosshairs. Carolina, in my mind, is a sneaky-dangerous team right now. They've won 3 games in a row, and 7 of their last 10 games. A lot of this recent success can be attributed to the return of Jordan Staal . In the 11 games he's played since returning from a training camp injury, he's already amassed 8 points (1G 7A). He's on a tear, and that can only help his team win.
The team leader for both goals and assists is his brother, captain Eric Staal . His 16 goals and 14 assists lead his team, but would only be 6th on the Blues roster. Still though, you would have to expect the Carolina offense to flow through him. After him, there is All-Star defenseman Justin Faulk . He has 28 points on 9 goals and 19 assists. Elias Lindholm would be next with 20 points (9G, 11A) and then Jiri Tlusty with 19 points (12G, 7A). Tlusty is currently Day-To-Day with an Upper Body Injury, but it looks like he'll be back on the roster tonight. We also get to see our old friend #JSelke, Jay McClement.
The Hurricanes will be starting Anton Khudobin in net, and the Blues will counter with Jake Allen . Khudobin has a 6-8-2 record, but a 2.30 GAA and a .918 Save%. He's been a handy man to have as backup for the Canes. In his last 8 appearances (since before Christmas), he hasn't posted anything less than a .933 Save Percentage. He's on a hot streak also, safe to say.
Did you know? The Hurricanes home record is identical to the Blues road record: 11-9-2.
Final Verse: It's an early game, of course. The puck drops at 6:00 PM St Louis time, and the GameDay Thread will drop shortly before then. The TV broadcast will be on Fox Sports MW, and the radio call will be on KMOX 1120 AM. A lot of the local fans will probably be at the GTGT tonight. If you're around town, please come join us at the HotShots on Manchester Rd. Otherwise, please take part in the GDT here on the site. Make sure you rec the puppy gifs.
After a horrible start, Canes fight back to earn a point
The Carolina Hurricanes have had some fast starts recently but basically watched the St. Louis Blues jump out to an early 2-0 lead before fighting back to make a game of it and then losing in a 3-2 shootout in front of 13,000 plus fans on Friday night at the PNC Arena.
Trying to wake up his sleeping team, coach Bill Peters replaced Anton Khudobin with Cam Ward, right after the second goal was scored, just 3:25 into the game. In the post game press conference, Peters said that his teammates were apologizing to Khudobin before he could even get off the ice.
"Replacing the goalie was obviously not a reflection on the goalkeeping," the coach said.
Ryan Reaves opened the scoring on a blistering shot at 1:48 into the game and David Backes made it 2-0, a minute and change later. Both shooters were wide open. The Blues hit the post shortly after that and the score could have been worse.
Ward came into the game and his team eventually tightened up play in front of him. He ended up not allowing a single goal until the shootout when he was beaten by Kevin Shattenkirk for the winner. He finished making 29 saves on 29 shots, officially for the game.
As the Canes fought back, Justin Faulk would score his 10th of the season on a nicely placed shot from the point 10:57 into the period. Brad Malone was screening the goalie on the play and he also earned an assist.
The Canes would tie it up in the second period on a another shot from the point, this time by Ryan Murphy. It was a powerplay goal, with Jordan Staal in front of the net. It was also Murphy's first goal of the season.
Both teams battled pretty evenly, although the Blues did get a few good chances in the third and had the better of the play. Ward was equal to the task though and made the saves when he had to.
Ken Hitchcock thought the better team won.
"We out-chanced them badly in the third period and I thought we played a real smart third period. I thought that even though it went to a shootout, this was a game we deserved to win," said the coach.
Both teams got three shots in the overtime, but the extra period finished scoreless. Then the teams prepared for the shootout.
Victor Rask started things for Carolina but was stopped, then Ward stopped Olympic hero, T.J. Oshie.
Chris Terry made a very pretty move but hit the post, then Shattenkirk would score at the other end.
Eric Staal took the final shot and was stopped as the Blues won their second game of the season by shootout over Carolina.
Both teams entered this affair hot and the Blues continued their stretch which is now, 9-1-1.
The Canes quickly travel to New York to battle the Rangers on Saturday night.
Game Notes:
The Canes were outshot, 32-28, but it took nine minutes for the team to get their first shot on goal. Faulk led the way with six.
Faulk also had three hits, three takeaways, and one blocked shot.
Carolina was credited with 37 hits and this was a physical game. Brad Malone and Elias Lindholm each had five.
The team killed the only powerplay they faced, now having allowed only one goal in the last 41 tries against them.
Apparently, Peters was not happy with Lindholm early in the game and moved him to the fourth line. I asked him about it after the game and he said.."Everyone has to come ready to play, and a couple of guys were not ready.". Lindholm was on the ice for the first goal, but not the second. He finished with 12:53 of ice time for the game.
The team had 25 blocked shots, led by Chris Terry with four.
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Another quick outlet from McDonagh has the penalty kill focused on Mats Zuccarello with J.T. Miller streaking through the neutral zone opening up an open stick for Zuccarello to hit. Dallas' PKers are actually in better positioning than the Canes but Zuke does a great job pulling them out of position to find Miller./cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3347288/Screenshot_63.0.png)
Here you can see the Dallas penalty killer activate towards Zuccarello which allows J.T. to fly down the middle of Dallas' ice unimpeded./cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3347416/Screenshot_131.0.png)
