Big...
Physical...
Defense first...
Willing to drop the gloves and clean up messes...
A bit of a throwback...
Left shot...
Stay home type probably best complemented by a skilled puck mover...
That's right - Tim Gleason. And his partner Bryan Allen.
Had you asked me at the start of training camp which 2 players maybe made least sense being paired together, I think I would have (if I didn't actually) said Gleason and Allen. They are very much the same player. And logic might say that each would be better complemented by 1 of the 3 puck mover types that the Canes have.
But after 6 games, Gleason and Allen have become defense partners. And they have been flat out good. Not just Carolina Hurricanes good, but NHL in total good. Gleason is 2nd in the league with an earned +7. And Allen is pulled down only a couple notches at +4. Allen is also tied for 4th in the NHL in blocked shots. The numbers don't lie in this case, but they also do not tell the whole story. To anyone who has watched the Hurricanes winning surge over the past week, it is incredibly clear how significant Gleason and Allen's role has been. The penalty kill has been outstanding anchored by a boat load of blocked shots by these 2 players (and Jay Harrison too). The defense has tightened up across the board led by what has become the team's best lockdown pairing. And in between, they have been physical and protective when necessary but also disciplined when it meant winning a hockey game.
In previous years, playing in too few games that mattered for a wayward Panthers team, might Bryan Allen have been 1 of the players coming unglued in the chaos of Tuesday's win in Boston? Seems possible. But instead, he was there to stand up for teammates and push back. But unlike former teammate Nathan Horton, he was not snapping like an uncontrolled preschooler short on sleep. And same goes for Tim Gleason. Arguably the most unselfish play of the entire season in a Canes uniform was Gleason standing in front of Nathan Horton while he imploded to the tune of 4 minutes of power play time immediately following a Boston goal to push the game to 2-1. Tim Gleason is a warrior who fears no one in the heat of battle. No way was his instinct in that situation anything except taking a bunch of huge swings right back at Horton. But he had the smarts to know that given the situation of the game, there was a better path not for himself but for his hockey team and the goal to win that night, and he had the self control to do it.
I still think it reasonably likely that Allen and Gleason ultimately find themselves matched with different puck-moving types who could benefit from a stay-home partner with a physical edge. But for right now, I am just enjoying watching 2 throwbacks who would have been just fine in the Norris division in the 70s playing well with each other and for their team.
If you want a quick heads up when I post a blog or a random comment here and there, follow me on Twitter at CarolinaMatt63.
Go Canes!
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