It seems odd to say it in the preseason, but I think the Canes really needed Saturday's 3-1 win. After an 0-3 start and the 6-0 drubbing with few if any bright spots, I think the team needed a step in the right direction, affirmation that they can get there and a chance to feel good about things heading into the flight home, a day off and 3 days of practice before another chance to shake off the losing thing.
So Saturday's 3-1 win was just what the doctor ordered for mojo.
A few observations specifically from Saturday's game:
--With a set of mostly veteran wings eating up ice time on Sat, it was a striking difference trying to move the puck up ice with a couple passes to do it. Players like Dwyer, Dvorak and Ruutu regularly provided somewhere to go with the puck to get it moving forward. Ryan Murphy doing a regular Joni Pitkanen impersonation did not hurt either.
--Riley Nash. I think he made the team tonight. Ideally Muller would want Nash plus about 20 pounds and a bunch of banging, but you have to work with what you have. And what the Canes have in Riley Nash is a bigger guy at least in terms of reach taking away passing angles who is actually capable of skating in Muller's system. I fear that most, if not all, of the bigger bodies just cannot quite skate well enough to cover as much ice as Muller's aggressive forechecking system requires. If you watch Nash (or Ruutu for that matter) when they get in a little deep as the 1st player in on the forecheck and then watch the play develop. They eventually find there way back into the play at the other blue line. When the same happens to some of the bigger players (i.e. Welsh, Jared Staal, Sutter, etc.) they just do not. He also looked very good on the penalty kill though I did notice that Muller twice went to EStaal in his spot to take a defensive zone face-off. Time to start spending and extra 20 minutes per day after practice with Brind'Amour. But if necessary, maybe Muller continues to work a rotation where Nash goes for a neutral zone draw or an over the boards PK shift and EStaal has to fill in occasionally for a defensive zone draw (when JStaal is coming off the ice). Faceoff limitations aside, Nash played a solid game both at even strength and shorthanded and should inked his name into the opening day lineup in pen with this effort. (He was a front-runner anyway, but I think this assured it.)
--Ryan Murphy played well. He is still prone to decision-making 'oopses' here and there, but he is 20. I think the most notable thing for me with Murphy is that he does not look like he is struggling with the speed of the NHL game. He does the occasional play where he chooses to try to skate through 2 defenders at the blue line rather than safely playing the puck off the boards to a place where his wing has a 50/50 shot at it and he is safely sitting behind the play. He had a pass go through his legs to the other side of the crease that Khudobin somehow saved. So there are mistakes here and there. But they are more the norm for a 20-year old offensive-oriented defenseman still developing in terms of risk/reward decision-making NOT those of a young player who just is not ready for the speed and the pressure of the NHL game. I also thought he was decent up top on the power play which on a team lacking true power play defensemen could easily be good enough to win 1 of these jobs. It was no surprise to anyone that he is pretty good at carrying the puck up the ice and getting it into the offensive zone, but manning the point once the puck is in is a different skill set. He looked reasonably comfortable in that role Saturday night.
Aside from what the coaches and people like John Forslund and Chuck Kaiton who know what they are thinking are saying, perhaps the strongest statement about where Murphy is right now is his continued pairing with Ron Hainsey. Hainsey will be on the NHL roster. He needs a partner for this job. Unless my memory is failing me, I do not believe that Hainsey has skated with anyone else who even has a shot to make the team other than Murphy. (Most of Hainsey's first few days in camp he was paired with a couple different AHL defensemen.)
--Matt Corrente. First, to be clear, I do not think he is likely in the mix to make the NHL team. His stay at the NHL level in training camp will probably be a function of if Muller needs 1 more to have an even number to group 2s for drills and system work next week. My best guess is that he and Jordan get sent to Charlotte on Sunday. But this said, I think he played a subtle but important role in helping turn the tide in the preseason. Yes. He took an extra minor in the process which is a no-no, but he did it to create an opportunity early to see if he could help light a fire. Tim Gleason followed and then Nathan Gerbe. Along the way, Corrente seemed to get under the skin of about half of Montreal's bench to the point where the dominoes fell. The intensity level picked up for both teams. People were hanging on Eric Staal which got him fired up. The increased intensity level and edginess set a perfect foundation for Tuomo Ruutu to forget it was preseason and just go hit stuff. When it was all said and done, the Canes FINALLY found the intensity level reached in the edgy scrimmage exactly 1 week ago on Friday and mostly missing through 3 preseason games. And sure if this were a real game, you would have to get on him for the extra minor penalties, but in this game where the intensity level was the thing, I think you take his game for what it was. He gets credit for being the BIC lighter to finally light a fire under this team's butts. There is a good chance that Matt Corrente will not see another game in a Canes uniform this year (he is probably #10 on the blue line depth chart behind Jordan), but he has officially made a contribution to the 2013-14 Carolina Hurricanes season.
--Anton Khudobin. He had a HUGE game. Montreal was actually the better team in the 1st period and managed more shots and better chances. But Khudobin held the fort as long as needed until a single good play (EStaal finding Bowman) gave the Canes the all-important first goal and confidence builder. Things feel a little different and better because the team won, but the defense was still quite porous at times with some misses on defensive zone coverage and a couple more instances of defensemen getting beat for clear paths to the net. Khudobin made the defense look better than it was with some stellar play in net.
--Special teams. The penalty kill partly by virtue of having many of the regulars in the lineup was very good. JStaal and Dwyer looked good. Nash looked good. And EStaal got reduced time but also looked good. If Nash can hold down 1 of the 4 forward slots, that would answer 1 of my burning questions from awhile back and also add another dimension to his game making him more valuable.
The power play was hard to read. It was minus Semin who is a key part, and there was also the strange segment where many of the regulars (EStaal, Skinner) finished a 40-second shift and drew another penalty which led to a 5-on-3 with Jordan Staal, Riley Nash and (not sure who else) basically personnel who would not normally take that assignment. As I said above, Murphy looked comfortable and decent though he needs a bit of work flexing when the puck moves. He seemed to regularly creep down by the faceoff dot which is fine when the puck is on his side and under control, but he had a tendency to just park there even when the puck made it to the other point man for a shot at which time he needs to make sure he is the one person behind the puck in case of a blocked shot, a hard carom off the boards or whatever. Eric Staal spent a very brief time playing the point. I continue to think that 1 of the forwards is going to have to play the point. I suggested Semin before, but I guess EStaal is also a good trigger man if less of a playmaker from that spot.
--Brett Bellemore. I think he has at a minimum played his way into ice time next Thu and/or Fri and continues to push for a spot in the opening night lineup. He uses his size and beats on people a bit in the right way. Though still more in the category of big and physical than fleet of foot, I think is noticeably quicker to the outside on end rushes and to loose pucks than the veteran equivalent of him. It will be interesting to see what Muller does. If you can live with Murphy's growing pains, through 4 preseason games anyway I think there is a strong case for putting 2 NHL veterans and about $5M of salary (if Gleason is 1 of them) in the press box to start the season.
--Tuomo Ruutu. Intensity is different for different players. Ruutu is not one to drop the gloves, but he very clearly played with a sense of purpose and aggressiveness Saturday night. He hit everything he could with a little extra oomph, and basically knowingly skated himself into a brick wall at the blue line taking a hit to make a play to get the puck forward and on-side for Skinner's goal.
--The other guys. Muller is evaluating things on an individual basis right now, but I think how much better the team looked Saturday will not help many of the players who were in the lineup Friday when the Canes looked very much like an AHL team in over their head in an NHL game.
My wild guess for cuts on Sunday:
--Defense: Jordan and Corrente. That gets the D down to 8 and maybe the set that starts the season at the NHL level. If Gleason is out for any period of time maybe 1 of them (Corrente for his willingness to do the dirty work?) gets to stay for a few more days, so the team has an even number to pair into 2s for drills and system work.
--Forwards: This one is harder. After the vast improvement from Fri to Sat, is Muller ready to move forward and go with a more veteran lineup? My wild guess is that Sutter, Blanchard, Palushaj and Welsh get cut. Welsh is a strange contract situation. He is on a 1-way deal paying $1M regardless of whether he goes to the AHL or stays in the NHL. So if Muller figures out which 12 he wants to play and needs a 13th only as an insurance policy if someone gets hurt at a morning skate or in warm-ups, then Welsh is the cheapest alternative (he doesn't get paid more at the NHL level like most players). But if that comes into play, I would guess it to be later. Whether we see deeper cuts to the older youngsters (Dalpe, Boychuk, JStaal, Terry) probably depends on to what degree Muller is ready to just move forward with the veterans rather than holding out hope that 1 of these players can find another level and bring enough more.
Goalies: Ward and Khudobin are still it. Who else stays, if anyone, is only a function of who needs how many for what they want to do in Raleigh and Charlotte early next week.
With the win Saturday, Canes fans can do the big exhale and get back to feeling the optimism that is there every year in September.
Twitter = @CarolinaMatt63.
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