In a game that featured a scoring pace more like the usual January 12pm ACC basketball start, the Canes scored more baskets, errrr, I mean goals to notch another big win. The win completes a perfect week of 3-0 hockey. And with that push, the Canes climbed right to the edge but not actually into a playoff position. In the Metro Division, the Canes are now 1 point behind Columbus (minus 1 game in hand) and Philadelphia (plus 2 games in hand). And for the wild card chase, the Canes are now 1 point behind #8 Detroit (same # of games played). The key is for the Canes to keep winning or at least hold the next losing streak to a single game and avoid the season habit of following good winning streaks with losing streaks that give too much progress back.
I thought it was another strange win. The Canes competed okay and seemed to show up intensity-wise but were still outplayed in the 1st period mostly by virtue of getting hemmed in their own end for a few stretches. But the team generally kept problems to a minimum and Khudobin had enough answers until the Canes broke onto the board 1st when Nathan Gerbe beat Robin Lehner around the net and to the post for an odd angle/wrap around type of goal. This "beat Robin Lehner" theme would go on to become a prevalent 1. He missed the memo about 12pm being game time NOT the morning skate. Jordan Staal later rang a post for what would have been a huge 2nd goal at the time. When the 1st period ended, I felt like the Canes were lucky to come out of it ahead and would need to play better to win.
The Canes struck again when Eric Staal streaked behind the Ottawa defense and was hit in stride by a beautiful Alexander Semin pass and then again only 22 seconds later when Manny Malhotra finished a nice Nathan Gerbe pass off the rush. The strange thing is that I think the Canes really started playing better AFTER, not before the 2 goals. With a 3-goal lead to loosen them up, the Canes were the better team for most of the 2nd period after that. Riley Nash "beat Robin Lehner" from the circle to put the Canes up 4. Even after a breakdown saw Ottawa close to 4-1, the Canes very much had the game in hand when it gained a 4-minute power play with little more than 4 minutes to go in the 2nd period. You could see a couple players head back into the locker room to grab hammers to put the nails in the coffin with a 5th goal. But instead they mostly hit themselves in the finger with the hammer. First, Ottawa climbed back into the game under dismal circumstances by scoring a shorthanded goal. Then Tuomo Ruutu "beat Robin Lehner" to make amends for the mistake and stake the Canes to pretty safe 5-2 lead to end the 2nd period. But then the Canes did the unthinkable and allowed another Ottawa goal only seconds later thereby doing everything they possibly could at the end of the 2nd period to take a game that was a sure win and set it on a path to being tense down the stretch.
I would not so much say that the Canes decisively closed things out in the 3rd period, but they played well enough, hung on and most importantly picked up 2 points in the standings.
A few notes:
--Andrej Sekera. It was almost as if he wanted to meet the challenge of hosting probably the best offensive defenseman in the NHL in Erik Karlsson. Even considering the run of impressive offensive games in November a few of which notched more points even, this game would certainly be in the running for his best. He regularly buzzed around the offensive zone with the puck. He found or made shooting lanes repeatedly to get pucks past the defender in front of him to the front of the net for chances at tip or rebound goals. And he was just very obviously the best player on the ice today.
--The bottom 6 with HUGE depth scoring. When it was all said and done, a number of players found the scoring sheet, but the offense was led by the bottom 6 forwards who scored 5 of the Canes 6 goals. Bowman/Malhotra/Gerbe was probably the Canes best line Saturday afternoon with 3 goals, but Riley Nash and Tuomo Ruutu posted 2 goals for the current 4th line too.
--Anton Khudobin. He has not been his best of late, and Saturday would not rank as 1 of his best outings, but he continues to have a knack for making saves at the most important times. He held the fort early and was not scored upon until after the Canes had scored and built a cushion. I continue to hope that his "good enough to win" lately has a lights out performance or 2 in reserve for just when the Canes need them.
--Robin Lehner. It took longer, but this game was very much the reverse of the Tampa loss last Sunday that saw backup Justin Peters struggle. Lehner could very easily have given up 8 in 2 periods on only about 20 shots on goal. He did give up 5 on only 22 shots on goal, was beaten cleanly for 2 posts and 2-3 times had shots either get behind or squibble off him that could have just as easily found the net as not. I actually think that the difference in the game was that when Lehner imploded the Canes quickly mounted a huge lead before Ottawa Coach McLean could do anything about it. Craig Anderson did come on in relief but enough damage had already been done.
--Good for #15. For now anyway, he is officially a 4th-liner and playing 4th line kind of minutes. When this happens to a player who is accustomed to playing at a higher level the choice is whether to just be a darn good 4th-liner and do everything you can to contribute in the lesser role or to mope and feel sorry for yourself until an injury or line shakeup boosts you back up the depth chart. In just short of 10 minutes of ice time, Ruutu had another good physical game with 5 hits including a couple big ones. I was happy to see him get rewarded with a goal and 1 that was an important 1 to at least balance out the scoring during the problems in the last few minutes of the 2nd period.
--Half full or half empty? On a night when the goalie was generous the newish line of Skinner/JStaal/Lindholm was the only line not on the score sheet and the only line minus on the day. But then if the post by JStaal in the 1st and Skinner in the 2nd were 2 inches more inside the net, they would be amongst the leading scorers and plus 1 on the day. Interesting that if nothing else, the line will likely get a bit more time simply because the lines both above and below them are playing too well to be shuffled back into the deck right now.
--Unselfishness. I am not sure how many people noticed, but Nathan Gerbe had a pretty good shot at the net on that last goal before passing ahead to Malhotra. And it was not as if Manny was going for a hat trick making it obvious that he should get the puck. Instead, it was just a clear example of unselfish play by Gerbe to close out a phenomenal night for that line.
--Power outage. I really thought the power play was getting ready to bust out about a week ago. Today definitely felt like a step back. In the 4-minute sequence at the end of the 2nd period with a chance to close out a game, they gave up more grade A chances (2, 1 for a goal) than they gained. Also of concern is that the unit that setup that uses Lindholm-Semin-Liles up the left side with EStaal in front and Skinner on the opposite side has now yielded 3 breakaways or odd man rushes in just the last 2 games. The challenge with that alignment is that your 2 defenseman are Liles and then either Semin or Skinner situationally depending on where the puck is. Hoping that 2 forwards sort things out correctly for who is doing what consistently and defend is risky. Even when a forward plays the point it is different because at least in that scenario, he clearly understands that he is a point/defenseman role. There are still issues with how well these players can defend moving backwards, but at least it is clear that it is part of their job there.
--Small physical price paid. The Canes finished early today and also get a day off tomorrow, but even still the small price paid in the Canes fumbling to end the 2nd period is the ice time by key players that could have been reduced with a 3-4-goal lead entering the 3rd period. Muller leaned real heavy on his top 3 D with Sekera and Faulk both at 25 minutes and Hainsey at 21.
So tomorrow Canes fans rejoice with Boberry biscuits for Sunday breakfast courtesy of Tuomo Ruutu. Then it is back to business with another back-to-back Monday and Tuesday with the 2nd game on the road. Awhile back I said that the Canes success this season could well be determined not by how they play in games where things go there way but by what results they can achieve in the games that do not go their way. This week the Canes found a nice combination of games/opponents/defenses/goalies that let them skate, move the puck and play offense. The results were a perfect 3-0. This next week could be the exact opposite. First up is Columbus who is the hottest team in the NHL right now with 8 straight wins heading into their game Saturday night in Buffalo. Then the Canes get Montreal who despite the wild loss in Raleigh on New Year's Eve has historically been able to play a strong defensive system game that can squeeze the life out of free-wheeling offense. And then finally the Canes play St. Louis who is thought to be a Stanley Cup contender and will bring a rugged and physical brand of hockey with a ton of skill layered on top of it.
The Canes need to bring the offensive confidence and positive attitude from the past 3 wins, but I am skeptical that the overall quality of play from this week will be good enough next week. Can the Canes keep the offense and refind a tighter level of defensive play and goaltending? I think that combination could be what it takes in 3 tough games next week.
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