You heard it hear 1st. I think Thursday's matchup is an interesting preview night for Team USA's 1st pairing for the upcoming Olympics with Ryan Suter and Justin Faulk taking the ice against each other. Suter is a shoe-in, very likely the team's #1 defender and a left shot. Justin Faulk is an up-and-comer, a well-rounded player and a reasonable fit for Suter as a right shot.
Thursday night begins the 2nd leg of the Carolina Hurricanes annual State Fair road trip. This year’s edition is a strange 1 in that the team played 2 road games last week, returned home for 4 days and now ventures off to play a quick road back-to-back before returning home.
Thursday’s opponent is the Minnesota Wild. The Wild come in with a respectable 4-3-3 record. The team has been grinding out points mostly via low-scoring games just like the Hurricanes. Minnesota’s 2-0 win over Nashville at home on Tuesday broke a 3-game losing streak and marked the 1st time in 4 tries that the team had mustered more than a single goal. The Wild has mustered more than 2 goals only twice in 10 tried and mustered only 21 goals thus far this season but has also allowed only 22 goals against.
What to expect from Minnesota:
1) Solid defense that does not offer much in terms of easy offense.
2) A whole bunch of Ryan Suter. He is averaging a league-leading 29:19 of ice time. If it is close in the 3rd, he basically plays out the period and gets water breaks on the commercial breaks.
3) The kind of game where 2 goals plus relatively mistake-free defense is probably enough to get at least a point in the standings, but also 1 where a break or bounce here or there could turn it.
From the Hurricanes side, I will be watching a few things:
1) 1st line continuation. The Tlusty/EStaal/Semin broke through with 2 goals on Saturday which were Tlusty’s 1st 2. This is about the point last season where things started clicking and that line start racking up points by the dozen. Was Saturday the beginning? Or was it just a 1-game wonder?
2) Tim Gleason? We might not know until game time who the Canes 6th defenseman will be, but there is at least a chance that Tim Gleason plays his 1st game of the season. If so, I will be watching closely to see how he looks. It is fair to expect some rust especially in terms of handling the puck, but most significant to me would be seeing if he looks like he is up to the pace and skating speed yet. Even before being derailed by his preseason concussion, he just looked a step slow, so any sign that the skating is coming would be encouraging. Minnesota should be a decent test in this regard, as the team features some players who can play an up-tempo game.
4:30pm Eastern Time (10/24/13) Edit: @Ice_Chip from the News & Observer reports on Twitter that neither Gleason nor Lindholm will play in Thursday's game.
3) The Canes’ 2nd pairing versus the Wild’s top line. Regardless of it is Gleason, Bellemore or Komisarek next to Hainsey, I called this out the Canes 2nd pairing as a key to the Canes defense for the Islanders game on Saturday. Hainsey/Komisarek had a solid game at even strength holding the Isles best in check. Especially on the road, I think the Canes blue line is only as strong as this pairing. It is this pairing that determines if the Canes can hold to the 2 goals against pace that has been its trademark so far this season. In the couple games where this pairing faltered (Pittsburgh 2 EV+1 PP goal against, and Phoenix 2 EV + 1 PP goal against) the team suddenly seemed 2012-13 loose again defensively. Muller can hide/limit the 3rd pairing a little bit. Sekera/Faulk will see a ton of ice time, but Minnesota can steer around them some on home ice. That puts Hainsey/??? in the cross hairs of Zach Parise and the Wild’s best chance to climb above 2 goals Thursday night.
EDIT per news (referenced above) that Gleason will not be in lineup. The issue is still the same which is how the 2nd D pairing (looking to be Hainsey/Bellemore) fares against the Wild's best. The Wild has some top-end talent but much like the Canes have not started firng on all cylinders yet.
4) Patience. With Suter playing every other shift and the Wild being decent defensively, this game is unlikely to open up like the Isles did a bit on Saturday. The Canes need to avoid the temptation of cheating for offense and in the process providing chances for a Minnesota team that is struggling to create much on their own right now. If this game goes the route of an extended 0-0 or 1-1 type of game or if the Canes get down 1-0 early, it must remain patient and stick to the game plan.
In the 4 days since the Canes last game, Columbus has won twice and Washington once. The Canes need to keep the pedal down and keep collecting points in the standings.
If I catch a few free minutes mid-day Thursday, I will see what I can dig up in terms of clarity for the Canes 6th defenseman and whether Lindholm will be back in the lineup. @Ice_Chip (on Twitter) from the News & Observer should be the 1st to know, as I believe he is traveling with the team this trip.
Puck drops a little after 8pm. The game is on the increasingly more common SportSouth. I say the Canes keep the pedal down and claim a narrow 2-1 or 3-1 to keep chugging forward in the standings.
Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63
Go Canes!
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