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Carolina Hurricanes blog 2 (of 2): 5 reasons for hope

November 3, 2013, 11:13 PM ET [1 Comments]
Matt Karash
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
This is part 2 part of a sort of Jekyl and Hyde dual blog posting. This blog notes “5 reasons for hope” and is the companion blog for the darker side “My 5 darkest Canes fears” that you can find HERE.

My 5 reasons for hope are that:

1) The even reasonably healthy version of the 2013-14 Carolina Hurricanes was playing pretty good hockey. The team was a solid 4-2-3 when Ward was injured (with Khudobin already on the shelf). No, the team was not blowing the doors off it and dominating the Metro Division, but it was collecting points at roughly a playoff pace. Very few teams can ice the #3 goalie on their depth chart and win many hockey games. And especially with other key offensive players struggling, the loss of Jeff Skinner who was the team’s best offensive player early in the season was another huge loss. So it is not completely unreasonable to think that the healthy version of this team is much more competitive than the current version. Then see #2.

2) The good news is that we are getting closer to having most of a healthy team back. Skinner and Dvorak are close to returning which would leave the team short only Westgarth at forward and Gleason on defense. Of course getting at least 1 NHL goalie healthy is crucial, so I am waiting anxiously for reports early in the week about Khudobin’s status and whether he is at least back on skates again.

3) The players who are on the ice, have the greatest ability to lift the team to a higher level and are struggling most mightily are not unproven rookies who just might not be capable. Eric Staal has put up at least 70 points for 8 straight years. He is 29 years old, so it is not like he suddenly hit the age wall. And it is important to note that he also has a history of being a slow starter (with last season being a notable exception). The risk is that the team will dig too deep of a hole waiting, but at some point Eric Staal is going to start scoring. Same goes for Alexander Semin who is a proven NHL scorer and has actually been playing pretty well over the past 6-7 games and seems to be nearing a break out. But ultimately a couple of these veteran scorers are going to score. Hopefully it still matters.

4) I continue to think that the defense is improved and also that this is a requirement to playing hockey that matters at least into late March. The goals against totals have crept up a bit during the losing streak, but I think if you make a #3 goalie adjustment that even now the defense is better. There is a flip side to this 1 in the other blog of negatives, as I am starting to wonder if some of the defensive adjustments in terms of personnel and defensive zone coverage are partly to blame for the lack of offense.

5) The youth are tearing it up. Ryan Murphy has far exceeded my expectations from where he would be at this point. He is already a serviceable bottom pairing defenseman in terms of defense who also brings offense to the table. But the ceiling is obviously much higher and he is only 20 years old. Jeff Skinner has been the Canes best forward thus far. That ugly injury bug has reared its head again, but his season is still much more positive than negative. He is 21. Elias Lindholm’s development has been slowed by injury, but you still have to like his potential going forward. He is 18. And though I mentally tend to put him in a different category, it is important to remember that Justin Faulk is also 21 years old just like Jeff Skinner. With the inability of the next level of forwards in the system (Dalpe, Boychuk, Terry, etc.) unable to break onto the NHL roster this summer, there is admittedly a system gap right now in terms of ready to go NHL talent in the system. But the level below that is looking real promising. Victor Rask has 10 points in 10 games making the jump from juniors to the AHL. And Brock McGinn and Sergey Tolchinsky rank 3rd and 8th respectively in the OHL in scoring right now.

When you net it out, I really hate to talk about #5 in November. It is a great topic for June. When you start talking too much about the future of the team in November, it means your team stinks right now. I think #1 and #2 are where I spend my time when I want to be optimistic these days. Injuries and the ability to push forward in spite of them are a reality for each and every team in the NHL over the course of the long season. But losing both NHL goalies is very tough to overcome. The team needs to find a way to stop the bleeding and win a game or 2 no matter how lucky, ugly or whatever else. That would push the team to the point where it should get Khudobin back and Ward soon thereafter.

Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63

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