Late last night I posted a blog entitled "What to do with Tuomo Ruutu" that will get pushed quickly to the archives by this game preview. You can find that HERE if you want to read it.
When the Canes last saw the Flyers in early October and then again in early November, the Flyers were floundering and on the brink of being left for dead in the playoff chase very early. But no one else in the Metro Division really went anywhere and via some combination of a coaching change, a stretch of good play in net and just generally better hockey the Flyers emerged from their early crash, got stronger and pushed up the standings. The Canes enter this meeting looking to go 3-0 against a Flyers' team that is above them in the standings and clutching the 3rd Metro Division playoff spot that the Canes desire.
Perhaps the most interesting recent news out of Philadelphia is management's complete lack of fear following the Bryzgalov debacle and the decision to commit to 3 more years of Steve Mason at $4.1M/year. Steve Mason has 1 reasonably long (~25 games) run of good hockey in Columbus and another shorter stint this year with Philadelphia to his credit as an NHL goalie. While I get that Mason is the guy right now in Philadelphia, 3 years at that price seems aggressive, optimistic and most significantly more than necessary (where else is he going to go with the volume of better netminders due to hit free agency this summer?) to keep him, but then I am not the person that thought $50M+ for 9 years including $21M over the 1st 2 years for Bryzgalov was a good idea.
But aside from checking in on the Snyder/Holmgren show, what happens on the ice tonight is significant. It is truly 1 of those 4-point games. With a win the Canes make up 2 points on the team they are chasing without giving up a game in hand or needing help from someone else beating them. With a loss the Canes fall farther from the small pack of teams trying to run away from the bottom of the division.
Keys to the game:
1) Time to keep going. Even amidst a decent record of late, the Flyers have been anything but stingy defensively. They come in having given up 24 goals in their past 6 games. Tlusty/EStaal/Semin has had a couple good games offensively. The matchup is favorable for them to extend their run, post some offense and lead the team to a win. The situation is also favorable for Jeff Skinner who is having a strong year offensively but has been quieter over the past few games.
2) Power burst. If the Canes skate and can generate a couple power plays, could this be the game in which the power play that has looked pretty good (and even been reasonably productive of late) hits the next level in terms of production? The Flyers penalty kill is a solid 8th in the NHL, but I just think that the Canes power play is heating up and ready to fire on all cylinders regardless of opponent.
3) Give Khudobin a chance. This game has the potential to open up a little. With Khudobin playing well, that is fine. The key is for the Canes to avoid the defensive breakdowns that plagued them early in the Tampa loss. Khudobin can handle volume of chances, but the team needs to give him shots where he has a chance to make a save.
If the wintry weather does not put a halt to it, the puck is scheduled to drop at 7pm on Fox Sports Carolinas.
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