We really need to do that more often – at home even.
Mid-afternoon we get a surprise (not saying it was shocking, but I think surprise is fair) announcement that Justin Peters will get the start. About 8 hours later the Canes get a surprisingly easy feel-good win in Washington. Here is hoping that the rough night for Braden Holtby who has been playing pretty well creates self-doubt and carries forward.
The Canes played a pretty solid 60 minutes, but the win was really put on the tee in the 1st period. The Canes were better out of the gate, but more significantly Jeff Skinner did what Skinner just does sometimes scoring an improbable goal. At the other end of the rink, though the volume was not “sluggish Canes 1st period" high Justin Peters was incredibly good on the few tough saves he had early holding the fort as long as needed and allowing a goal only when it mostly did not matter.
A few notes:
--Jeff Skinner. After a rough week last week, he was dynamic on Tuesday. He had at least 3 decent chances to make it a hat trick and was confident, assertive and looking to score every time he had the puck on his stick. His defensive zone play was also better. The bridge he still needs to cross is the 1 where he sticks to the defensive side of things on the nights and more importantly stretches where the offense is NOT working. At that point, his offense will become a plus that is not too often offset on “the other nights.” Skinner gets the most press because of the 2 goals, but Skinner/EStaal/Ruutu was good in total.
--Justin Peters. Wondering if the changing situation and maybe even a little bit less pressure would lead to a different approach, intensity level, etc., I posted this on Twitter this afternoon after learning that he would get the start:
I think the answer to that is clear.
--A hat tip to the coach. Kirk Muller had the guts to go back to Peters which obviously worked out well. He also moved Skinner up to play with Staal which played a part in 2 of the 3 even strength goals. At some point the team needs to hit a groove where it just beats people consistently for a few weeks, but pulling levers here and there buys time and might ultimately even help find the combination that helps find the groove. Muller deserves credit for the levers he pulled Tuesday that played a significant part in the win.
--The score sheet lies. Tuomo Ruutu surely leads the Canes over the past few years in plays in which he played a pretty significant role in a goal without getting on the score sheet. He had 1 of each of the 2 most common varieties Tuesday freeing up a puck on the boards (that went directly to EStaal) on the 1st Skinner goal and setting the screen that gave Holtby no chance on the Sekera goal.
--We pick you up. Via strong play of late partly due to his line mates, Bowman has been catapulted up off the 4th line with Malhotra/Dvorak. In his place for much of Tuesday night was Jiri Tlusty and just like that he scores his 1st goal in a long time. Despite being a 4th line and not scoring a ton, it is not a bad place to go for a player who should be scoring but is not. Playing on the 4th line the pressure is taken off a bit. But with their strong puck possession game and straightforward, predictable/readable hockey 101 style of play they do generate some decent chances for their line mate.
--Mike Komisarek. He had a better game. I did not notice him much which for a stay-home defense-first defenseman that is usually a good thing.
--A quiet night for #8. Per my game preview, team defense on Ovechkin was important to Tuesday’s game. Ovechkin did manage an assist and 4 shots on goal, but his biggest stats totals were a minus 2, 2 PIM and 3-4 fits of frustration. Kudos to the Canes defensemen but also the forwards for doing their part and not leaving the defensemen on an island by themselves by too much.
--Jay Harrison. Good for Jay getting a 2-point night.
Most importantly, the Canes picked up 2 points in the standings the night after the most of the teams above them (NYR, Phi, NJ) lost and beating 1 of the others in the process. With the win the Canes are again within 1 point of 3rd place in the Metro Division and the playoff spot that comes with it.
It will be interesting to see what Muller does in net from here. With a back-to-back Thursday and Friday, it seems likely that each goalie gets a game. If my memory is correct, players can veto it, but if he is willing I have to think that the best thing for everyone is if Khudobin does a short rehab stint in Charlotte. After a long layoff, he could use the ice time, and it buys a little more time (and the way Peters is playing maybe a few more wins) before Rutherford needs to figure out the goalie situation.
Next up is a game in Nashville on Thursday. Here is hoping that this upturn on the 2013-14 Carolina Hurricanes rollercoaster is long-lived.
Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63
Go Canes!
Matt on Google+ 
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»