First, on the heels of my Chad LaRose tribute blog of sorts which you can find in the archives if you missed it, I am running an UNofficial poll to select my first annual “Chad LaRose Award.” In case you missed it on Twitter, the award is intended to a summer and training camp award to be given to the player who most exemplifies Chad LaRose's spirit and effort in overcoming the odds to make it to the NHL (or at least put forward an effort worthy of award).
Click here to vote.
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Also you can find a pretty fair season preview type write-up on the Canes from HockeyBuzz’s Blue Jackets writer Glen Miller
HERE. Glen inserted a couple of my comments, but I tried not to hijack his solid effort critiquing the Canes from an outside perspective.
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The hope of figuring out where Coach Kirk Muller’s head is after 3 days of practices has gone out the window. With expected regulars Gleason, Ruutu, Semin and Lindholm all banged up and not taking part in practices, the line combinations especially are probably more of a mix and match of who is healthy than a clue as to how it all gets sorted out. None of these players will play in Thursday’s preseason game, it is doubtful that this will change for Friday’s preseason finale. All are in the fuzzy “day to day” category, so there is a chance that most, if not all, of them will be ready for the season opener next Friday.
As expected, this week’s practices have been a little bit lighter on skating and conditioning and heavier on systems and special teams work. The penalty kill received a great workout in last Saturday’s game and looked pretty good in the process. The power play at least as measured by the preseason games is still a work in process. Missing key component Alexander Semin at practice this week and also for the remaining preseason games will not help, but you have to push forward.
Per the team’s web site, the expected lineup for tonight is:
Tlusty/EStaal/Terry, Gerbe/JStaal/Dwyer, Skinner/Nash/Dvorak, Bowman/Sutter/Westgarth.
Sekera/Faulk, Hainsey/Murphy, Harrison/Bellemore.
Ward in net.
UPDATED IN AFTERNOON: Skinner is now out with an injury. It is the usual non-specific "lower body injury." It does not sound serious (no mention of out for __ weeks or even days) but still another top of the roster player on the shelf. The bottom 2 lines are now expected to be Bowman/Nash/Dvorak and Welsh/Sutter/Westgarth.
Here is what I will be watching for Thursday’s preseason game #5 versus Columbus tonight:
1) Cam Ward. My biggest concern coming out of the first 4 games is the amount of rust on key parts of the defense. The team as a whole managed to shake off the yuck from Friday’s debacle with a strong win on Saturday, but this effort was minus a couple of top players who also need to get on track. Now almost 1 week deeper into preseason and running out of chances to measure progress in game situations, a solid (great not required) outing by Cam Ward is would be my choice if I could make only 1 wish for tonight’s game.
2) Andrej Sekera/Justin Faulk. In that same vein, putting it bluntly Justin Faulk had a real rough time of it in early Canes implosion last Friday night. Of most concern was his sudden tentativeness with the puck and the turnovers that resulted. Evidence of a little bit of remaining rust is fine, but I would hope to see a more decisive and assertive Justin Faulk and to some degree Andrej Sekera. I think this pairing is going to need to push 25 minutes of ice time many nights and be a true #1 pairing for the Canes to hold up defensively. Signs that this is rounding into form tonight would be encouraging.
3) The tryouts. In that lineup, I count exactly 1 player on each line who is probably still competing for roster spots. Chris Terry, Nathan Gerbe, Radek Dvorak and Brett Sutter have at most 2 more game situation chances to impress coaches. Which one(s) rise up tonight? (Note: Muller has not said anything final, but my personal guess backed by general comments by Muller is that Bowman and Nash already have spots.)
4) Jay Harrison/Brett Bellemore. When camp started Bellemore was supposed to be competing for the #7 spot. I am on record as thinking that he has outplayed the veterans from his category of big, physical defensemen so far in training camp. Most significant to me is how much faster he looks to loose pucks, dump-ins, open players, etc. Training camp is a time for players to round into form, but things will not change that much in terms of mobility, and that is why I think Bellemore has a very good chance to find his way into the opening night lineup. So tonight he is paired with another player likely to be in that lineup. Another solid effort tonight helps build his case. Chemistry with another player in the lineup also helps his chances but helping Muller figure out not just which puzzle pieces to use but how they fit together.
5) At least a decent effort. With the fringe AHL/NHL player tryout still underway and with the volume of key players on the shelf, I am not overly concerned with winning or losing Thursday’s game, but I do think it is very important for the team to pick up where it left off on Saturday. Winning is always better than losing, but I do not think at well-competed 3-2 or similar loss that saw a decent effort by Ward and the team as a whole would not be a setback. A return to the disaster like last Friday’s 6-0 loss in Quebec City would be. The games obviously still do not count, but I think it would raise tension and doubt coming down the stretch run of regular season preparation.
Here is hoping that the Canes can build upon last Saturday’s strong outing with a few key players back in the lineup.
Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63
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