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Carolina Hurricanes Blogger •
Put very simply, the Carolina Hurricanes just are not a very good hockey team right now. This is a not a prediction for how the season ends or the beginning of a doom and gloom prediction; a lot can and will change over the course of a long NHL season. But I think it is a perfectly accurate assessment of where this team is on October 21, 2009.
The gritty, young Islander team had given up 2 points in each and every game that they had played coming into this game, so anything less than 2 points is a disappointment and 1 point less than the competition is getting. But I think you can take a little solace in the fact that the team managed to find a couple good hockey plays late and turn another rough night into a point in the standings which is much more than the total loss that the effort and quality of play for about 55 minutes probably deserved.
For me, the biggest disappointment continues to be the inability to find any kind of jump and win any kind of 1-on-1 battles. If I could bear watching the game a 2nd time, I would be curious to rewatch and count how many battles for pucks on the boards the Canes won below the faceoff dots in each end. These stats were abysmal early and got little better as the game wore on. They are slower to lose pucks. When 2 players get there at the same time, the Canes seem to lose more than their fair share. And when the Canes have the puck, they seem to give it up too easily/too often. Sure there are system adjustments to be made including the power play and puck movement up the ice, but at the end of the day if the other team is some combination of faster, stronger and/or more determined every night, it is tough sledding.
The team just needs to find a higher gear somehow. Until then, any progress will be short-lived 1-game flickers of hope that dim again.
Were there any positives? Being the optimist that I am, I can still find a couple:
1) 1,000! games for #13. I am going to save my 'Ray Whitney tribute' for a separate blog rather than burying it in a game recap of a not-so-good game.
2) Eric Staal. He managed a big goal and 2 points. Though I would still not chalk this up as the pure version of the Staal game we need nightly, it is a step in the right direction.
3) Joni Pitkanen. The guy just oozes offense. He made heady and perfect passes on both of the 2 late goals that helped earn the point.
4) Scott Walker. I am not sure it worked, but you have to give him credit for stepping up and trying to get his team going by fighting big and nasty Brendan Witt.
5) Jussi Jokinen. He is possibly the only player on the roster who is clipping along at the scoring pace you would hope for him (30 goals/60 points). This is impressive considering that he has only recently been getting a regular serving of power play time and ice time with more skilled linemates.
Not sure what the trigger is, but the team just needs to get better.
Go Canes!
The gritty, young Islander team had given up 2 points in each and every game that they had played coming into this game, so anything less than 2 points is a disappointment and 1 point less than the competition is getting. But I think you can take a little solace in the fact that the team managed to find a couple good hockey plays late and turn another rough night into a point in the standings which is much more than the total loss that the effort and quality of play for about 55 minutes probably deserved.
For me, the biggest disappointment continues to be the inability to find any kind of jump and win any kind of 1-on-1 battles. If I could bear watching the game a 2nd time, I would be curious to rewatch and count how many battles for pucks on the boards the Canes won below the faceoff dots in each end. These stats were abysmal early and got little better as the game wore on. They are slower to lose pucks. When 2 players get there at the same time, the Canes seem to lose more than their fair share. And when the Canes have the puck, they seem to give it up too easily/too often. Sure there are system adjustments to be made including the power play and puck movement up the ice, but at the end of the day if the other team is some combination of faster, stronger and/or more determined every night, it is tough sledding.
The team just needs to find a higher gear somehow. Until then, any progress will be short-lived 1-game flickers of hope that dim again.
Were there any positives? Being the optimist that I am, I can still find a couple:
1) 1,000! games for #13. I am going to save my 'Ray Whitney tribute' for a separate blog rather than burying it in a game recap of a not-so-good game.
2) Eric Staal. He managed a big goal and 2 points. Though I would still not chalk this up as the pure version of the Staal game we need nightly, it is a step in the right direction.
3) Joni Pitkanen. The guy just oozes offense. He made heady and perfect passes on both of the 2 late goals that helped earn the point.
4) Scott Walker. I am not sure it worked, but you have to give him credit for stepping up and trying to get his team going by fighting big and nasty Brendan Witt.
5) Jussi Jokinen. He is possibly the only player on the roster who is clipping along at the scoring pace you would hope for him (30 goals/60 points). This is impressive considering that he has only recently been getting a regular serving of power play time and ice time with more skilled linemates.
Not sure what the trigger is, but the team just needs to get better.
Go Canes!
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