Had the Carolina Hurricanes played this exact same game last March, it would have been a 4-1 or 5-1 loss. Instead, the Canes weather the early storm, get a break on the Lindholm goal and get stronger in the 3rd period leading to a solid 3-2 win. In the 2012-13 version of this game, there is a good chance that at least 1 of the Grade A chances that the Caps had early would have netted a goal which would have made Khudobin’s only mistake a straw to break the camel’s back. Even if that did not happen, the puck that went through Khudobin was exactly the kind of play that caused the team from last spring to implode. And in any game when the Canes had a skating and puck possession disadvantage as bad as they did early in the Caps game, the breakdowns inevitably followed.
But this is a new season. While the Canes did get outplayed by a significant margin in the 1st period, there were 2 keys to hanging around:
1) The goaltending by Khudobin was really really good early.
2) The team is doing a much better job of avoiding the ‘big oopses’ even when under massive duress in their own zone.
The result was that the team got out of the 1st period still in a hockey game. Even early in the 2nd period, it just looked like it was going to be a long night. But while Elias Lindholm’s 1st NHL goal was not pretty, it was a big 1. The team had sort of clung to life for about as long as it could and needed something positive. At the point where Lindholm scored the game evened up a bit, and then the Canes finally found the higher gear in the 3rd period. While the front part of the game was much different with the opponent being better, the 3rd period very much felt like the Flyers win where the Canes played aggressively and well with a lead until a frantic finish to hold on.
This marks the 2nd time in 2 tries on the young season that the Canes took a potentially damaging outcome and rebounded for a win in the next game to right the ship. And the points make for a solid 2 points in 2 games on the road and keep the Canes trending above the breakeven line points-wise.
A few quick notes:
1) Anton Khudobin was very good. The blemish keeps it from being perfect and 2 goals against is not statistically phenomenal, but he saw a number of real good chances.
2) The penalty kill was very good. I cannot remember the Canes upfront penalty killers being nearly as aggressive pressuring the puck up high. Aggressiveness is a sign of confidence for penalty killing and also a trademark of the league’s best units.
3) Elias Lindholm. It was great to see him get his first goal. It was even better to see him smile like a kid who enjoyed it rather than trying to do “I need to stay focused on the game and not make a big deal about” face. It has been gradual, but he continues to get more minutes and more responsibilities. As I said in my game preview blog, I think the time is coming to give him a run at the C3 spot that was originally thought to be his. His upside offensively is just higher than the other options. And with both Sutter and Nash playing decent hockey, the Canes are suddenly deep at center. Who would have guessed that?
4) Alexander Semin. Good for him scoring a huge goal with a laser that Holtby had no chance on. The diving call was crap. There should be a rule that says it cannot possibly be diving in the even that you get a stick up under your chin.
5) Nathan Gerbe and Andrej Sekera. With the rest of the players back in Buffalo now 0-4-1 with another loss tonight, I cannot help but think we might have taken 2 of the very few decent players they had and gave up only Jamie McBain + a 2nd round pick and absolutely nothing (for Gerbe) to get them.
6) Jeff Skinner. John Forslund correctly called him out for 1 lazy blind clearing attempt on Thursday night, but he continues to make strides with doing more of the little things.
7) 6 deep on D. The team had its share of struggles early moving the puck from its own end. And it has not been perfect. But the clear difference is the decrease in the volume of bad breakdowns. This is impressive with 2 rookies in the lineup and 4 new faces in the top 6. If the group can make even small gains in terms of cohesiveness and as the young guys grow, the Canes will continue to stay in hockey games much longer even on nights where things do not go their way from the outset. This is incredibly important to turn games like Thursday into wins or at least OTL points when they were quickly destined for bad losses last season. Faulk logged north of 28 minutes of ice time and if he keeps playing them like he has he will not get the benefit of an Olympic break layoff to recoup a bit for the playoff run. What a great problem to have!
The Canes get a quick turnaround traveling and playing at home Friday against the Kings who rested tonight. Here is hoping the Canes can recharge quickly and get back to collecting points in the standings at home tomorrow.
Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63
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