No, not (just) basketball. The Canes are pitted against a 9:10 start for NC State's 1st round NCAA tourney game which could make for light Canes viewing in the 3rd period. But I, either live or via DVR later, will still be tuning in.
If you missed it yesterday and need a small dose of Canes sunshine for the rain of late, yesterday I posted "5 current positives" that you can find HERE.
I am past trying to dissect Xs and Os for an individual game and the points that come with it. For me, it is very much about using the remainder of the 2013-14 season to figure things out for 2014-15.
With that, here is what I am watching in the Canes game versus Columbus on Tuesday night:
1) Chris Terry. He is the 1st of what will probably be a couple call-ups in the last month. Hopefully, Muller will get him into a few different situations with the goal of evaluating if/where he might fit for 2014-15. He is a skilled scorer and power play type at the AHL level but has yet to stick in that type of role at the NHL level. He had a good training camp with some offensive production, but did not stick. He has the same challenge as the collection of Canes summer 2013 prospects in that his AHL role is that of a top 6 scoring forward, but he is not likely to seize that role at the NHL level and just might not have the different skill set for a bottom 6 role. He is also borderline in terms of NHL speed which makes it tough to fit him on an uptempo line (i.e. with Jeff Skinner). If he is going to stick at the NHL level, I think it requires that he translate some of his offense at the AHL level to the NHL to provide depth scoring but do so in a role with fewer minutes and fewer scoring situations which is difficult. I could see him being an odd 4th-liner who plays limited minutes but sees power play time. Goodness knows that the Canes need help there.
On Tuesday, I look for 3 things from Terry: 1) Ability to handle the NHL pace. 2) Capability (if he gets the opportunity) to step right into the power play and be assertive as a playmaker playing with the attitude of "This is 1 thing I can definitely do at the NHL level and help" NOT deferring to the veterans. 3) Decent 2-way play. The biggest challenge for these veteran AHL skill players who step into smaller roles at the NHL level is to magically become decent defensively such that if they do not score, they are not a minus.
2) Ryan Murphy. Murphy's game is best suited for skating and games with pace and room through the neutral zone. Like Boston on Saturday, Columbus is another team that offers very little of that. For a player like Murphy, it forces decision-making on the defensive side of the neutral zone to figure out "best plays" even if it is not the ideal quick and easy push through the neutral zone. Can he figure out when the best option is to gain the red line with options such that the defense has to respect him making it possible to dump the puck in a way where Canes forwards have a chance to win the race to the corner? Can he find short passes ahead that get the puck to a forward in a lane with room to advance through the clogged neutral zone when it is not so much about finding an open player but finding a player with an opening in front of him? Etc.
3) Andrei Loktionov? Thus far, the Canes have gone a different direction, but I would like to see him paired with some offensive talent. He looks a bit like Terry, Boychuk (and Dalpe I guess) in that he is a skilled young player with the challenge of figuring out how to use his skill set. His game is suited more to a higher line, but it is not clear he slots that high at the NHL level. Can his offense be utilized on a 3rd line that can score at the NHL level? Or is he doomed to be yet another Canes offensive prospect who struggles in a round peg/square hole situation being banished to a 3rd or 4th line without enough scoring ability.
Personally, I am still stubbornly of the mind that the best use for Jeff Skinner is on a 3rd line that can cherry pick matchups and score. Until we get to the point when Canes broadcaster Tripp Tracy does not have to go out of his way to telestrate each single time that Skinner does the right thing defensively, I am not wavering. But that said, he continues to be a dynamic offensive player. Could Loktionov be the skilled, playmaking complement that he needs to get the same (or darn close) volume of scoring chances without having to play defense against the other team's best? I would at least give it a try to see. If they seem to find chemistry, then I think you add a big physical right wing who has at least some offensive ability and importantly can skate with them and maybe you have something for next year. Otherwise, Loktionov begins to look like a different iteration of Dalpe, Boychuk, Terry, etc. who have not worked in the bottom 6 of Muller's system, and Skinner continues to be a bit of a lineup struggle with 1st-line scoring ability but not enough defensive acumen to play in that role on a good team.
Are you still watching? If so, what?
Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63
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