This morning I picked up our copy of the Raleigh News & Observer to quickly browse through while eating breakfast. It was no surprise that the front page and a huge portion of the sports page was filled with coverage from the instant classic that was the UNC Tarheels victory over the NC State Wolfpack. North Carolina is ACC basketball country. We are nearing March when the big games get played. And the 2 local schools are obviously rivals. But even with the timing, the fact that the N&O did not dedicate even a small spot on the back page (where they did have an NHL roundup, an NFL roundup and a couple other random things) to a preview for tonight's Hurricanes game. I could not help but feel that it was telling in terms of where the team is at this time - right on the edge of being a sports afterthought for March and April. Tuesday's loss did not in itself remove the Canes from playoff contention, but it was a big step in the wrong direction giving up the 1st and easiest game of a 5-game road trip and a chance to get closer to the playoff spots that now sit 5-6 points ahead of where the Canes are.
But drama and the negative of the big picture aside coming out of Tuesday's loss, all the Canes can do is win the next game. That game is tonight in Dallas.
From the Canes side, there was actually a lot to like about Tuesday's game:
--The top line of scored 2 big goals and was plus 2 on the night leading the way offensively.
--The 3rd line of Skinner/Nash/Ruutu played well and generated probably the most high quality chances of the Canes lines despite not scoring. Skinner looked good, and Ruutu picked up where he left off following a strong Olympics.
--Despite a few breakdowns in the middle of the game, the Canes defense was pretty strong allowing only 18 shots and a stingy 5-6 good scoring chances.
It is obviously about results this time of year, but in terms of style of play, intensity, etc. there was nothing horribly broken in the disappointing loss on Tuesday. I think the team enters Thursday's game with 3 areas for improvement that should yield a win with the same effort and quality of play. First, anything at all from the struggling power play could help. Second, the team needs to convert on a few more grade A chances. Third, the team needs to do better at converting a good defensive game to fewer goals against.
The Dallas Stars enter the game in a similar but better situation than the Canes. They are also on the outside looking into the playoffs right now, but they are only 1 point out of the #8 spot in the West with 3 games in hand. After a rough patch in early January, Dallas climbed back into the hunt with a 6-2-2 run leading up to the Olympic break. The team has been stingy defensively in that run allowing either 0 or 1 goal in regulation in 7 of those 10 games. The game sets up to be the kind in which the Canes need to be patient and sound defensively. If the Canes get impatient trying to generate offense by taking risks, it could find itself chasing the Stars early which will be a challenging position to play from.
If the Canes are going to chase the playoffs in March, they desperately need a win. The puck drops at 8:30pm in a Midwest/West Coast hybrid time slot.
Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63
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