The Canes have a short turn-around tonight as they head into the second game in consecutive evenings. Last night, the Canes were up in Buffalo and squeaked out a much needed 3-1 win. They are looking to go on a three-game winning streak as they take on the Bruins at home tonight. Tired legs can’t be an excuse for a poor performance either as Boston will have tired legs too, as they won 3-1 down in Florida last night.
Last night, the Canes came out looking very strong in the first period and had that type of “desperation… needed in a “must win… game. Ultimately, the fore-check was an issue for the Sabres the entire evening and caused multiple turnovers. I really believe the pressure and turnovers was the pivotal factor that gave the Canes the edge they needed to win.
The effort started with the top players and followed through the rest of the team. Guys like Skinner, Faulk and Staal brought the leadership and intensity right from the get-go. You could tell they were hungry and they led by example. Guys like McGinn, Aho, Turbo and company then followed suit. It was truly a team-effort for the win last night, not a few solid individual performances.
Skinner found the back of the net in the first two minutes of the game to set the tone early. The key was a Sabres turnover misplaying a pass from Slavin that redirected off a Sabres player and found Skinner streaking down Lehner’s glove side. In Skinner’s last five games, he has four goals and two assists—after a bit of a cold spell in November, it appears he is starting to heat up again . Staal looked the best he has since returning from his concussion. He not only was skating well, but he forced a few turnovers that led to great scoring chances for the Canes. He even felt confident enough to drop the gloves near the end of the second period. The leadership and physicality that Staal brings is something the Canes desperately missed while he was out.
I was extremely impressed with the defensive effort from McGinn—he made a critical play to clear the zone on the PK late in the third period. He continues to show his grittiness. He also had some fantastic breakouts with his line. I really liked him with Staal and Lindholm—it looks like a good combination of two smart “two-way… players, combined with one who can be an offensive threat and playmaker.
Cam Ward did what he needed to do to preserve the win in the third period. He now has let in two or less goals in 15 of his last 21 starts. He had some key saves and continues to be a critical element in the games that the Canes win.
Hanifin owes Ward a steak for the lone goal scored by the Sabres, as he looked like a “space cadet… caught in no-man’s land leaving Larsson wide open for a one-timer. It’ll be interesting to see who Coach Peters goes with tomorrow evening now that Lack is back and healthy.
The PK continues to show off how strong it is and killed two Sabres opportunities. The players are doing a good job of not allowing backdoor opportunities and keeping teams to the outside. This allows Ward to focus/handle the long shots. When guys aren’t chasing and are focused on handling the guys in front, you know they trust the guy between the pipes.
The thing that is most impressive about the Canes play is the amount of offensive contributions from everyone on the ice. 18 of the 20 Canes players who have played in the last five games have found a way to get on the score-sheet—early in the season, the Canes struggled getting production that was balanced. The Canes are finding their offense at the right time.
There were three issues that did concern me throughout the game though. The Canes PP breakout, the Canes PP once it was established in the zone and the inability to “step on the throat… of the opponent once they established a two-goal lead.
The breakout would attack the middle of the ice close to center-ice and then would drop the puck back to the blue-line and then distribute the puck wide and attack. Granted, Buffalo has a very aggressive PK fore-check, so it made sense to get the first killer to commit, however, the Canes did a poor job of transitioning once they trapped the first killer. It was almost as if Buffalo was sending the first guy hard at the puck-carrier as a decoy because they knew the Canes were going to drop the puck back.
The next issue was that the Canes struggled to handle the aggressive PK unit from the Sabres once they were established in the zone. The Canes insisted on carrying the puck into the zone, however, it looked like a soft dump into the far corner would have worked better. Given the Canes would drop the puck back and then attack wide, I am not sure why they wouldn’t use the speed on the off-wing.
Once they were able to establish the zone, the Sabres collapsed aggressively on the puck carrier on the boards which often resulted in poor passes or turnovers. Ultimately, the Canes needed to do a better job of spreading out the Sabres PK because of how overly aggressive they were.
The final concern is related to the two above—the Canes had a total of four PP chances in the second period when the game was 2-0. I do not know what their mental block is with the lead, however, the Canes truly struggle to “finish teams off.… This has been a major problem all season and it almost cost the Canes again tonight.
If Aho hadn’t of scored the empty-net goal with just over a minute left, I am pretty sure the Sabres would have found a way to tie the game up. They were surging and definitely had the Canes back on their heels. Given the problems of closing games out in the third, the Canes should be pleased to win this one.
With that being said, despite winning, there still should be major concern about the Canes style of play with the lead. It almost looks as if they get too comfortable and then “cocky… with the puck. Instead of taking the open opportunities, they try to force plays and make ones you see on NHL ’17. That’s the difference between teams who are used to winning and those who get thrilled they have the lead.
Looking at the game tonight against the Bruins, the Canes will need to bring the same intensity they had in the first period. I would be shocked if Coach Peters changes up the lines, as all four lines are seeing rounded performances and production. Hopefully, the fore-check is able to stay aggressive and force the Bruins into some turnovers.
The last time these two teams met on December 1st in Boston, the Canes had one of their notorious third period collapses. Unfortunately, the Canes were victim of an “own-goal… in the final minute of the third period that allowed the Bruins to steal the game in a shootout.
I think the difference in the game tonight will revolve around having Staal back. In the previous game, the Canes were dominated in the face-off circle and Boston won 40 of 69 total draws (58%). Staal should help balance this discrepancy out and could help the Canes control the pace and possession a bit more.
I would say the Canes are at an advantage playing at home, however, the Bruins actually have fared better on the road than at home. They are 10-5-3 on the road, as opposed to 8-9-0 when at home. As of late, the Bruins have been a bit hot/cold and are 4-4-3 in their last 10.
The Canes have shown that when they can control the match-ups, they can be a good team and are 9-3-1 at home. It’ll be interesting to see the difference in a Canes team with match-up control and Staal back this time against the Bruins.
Puck drop is at 7:30 (EST) and is on NESN and FSCR. Go Canes!