Ben Shelley: Hurricanes advance: Notes from Game 3 vs. Rangers

A surgical demolishing of an up and coming Rangers team.

Well done Canes.. Good for you Vats...

Vats was terrible aside from his save. He looked very slow out there.

That forecheck the canes have is something else, very smothering.

Congrats to all of you Carolina fans, even without Hamilton you dominated us in an unexpected fashion and were clearly the better team. Bravo!
Good luck the rest of the way!

It feels good to see them move on. Anxious to see who their next opponent will be.

Vats was terrible aside from his save. He looked very slow out there.

That forecheck the canes have is something else, very smothering.
- drew18

3 point in 3 games terrible?

3 point in 3 games terrible?
- Queenie_5_hole

I meant in just game 3. Did you watch it, or just check out the stats sheets?

This is random and late but does anyone know what happened with Scott Darling in Carolina? Too much pressure? Thanks

I watched the exhibition game against the Caps, then all three games against NYR.

I want to thank the Canes for brooming NYR!

Considering Vats went from being injured blocking a slapshot February 1 to about a five-month rehab / recovery largely away from the ice, to jumping right into the “playoffs” with his brand-new team, my analysis is he was shaking the rust off against the Caps, then he had two great games, and one bad game (although he redeemed himself with that shoulder save).

It gave me flashbacks to that amazing chain of events during the Sens-Devils game back in December 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16sg-cB-aTg

Could Vats have been better during Game 3? Yes, absolutely, but I would not write him off just yet.

Now that Dougie is slated to return, my best guess is that going forward, Vats will be deployed much differently.

He was run into the ground while he was with the Devils, so I'm thinking that his on-ice usage with the Canes will be designed differently.

It will probably resemble how he was used with the then-defense powerhouse Anaheim Ducks 2013-17. Meaning: some respectable minutes, a consistent LHD partner while staying a RHD, and proper use on the power play and penalty kill.

....signed, a bored Devils fan waiting for whenever the new 2020-21 season begins.

I watched the exhibition game against the Caps, then all three games against NYR.

I want to thank the Canes for brooming NYR!

Considering Vats went from being injured blocking a slapshot February 1 to about a five-month rehab / recovery largely away from the ice, to jumping right into the “playoffs” with his brand-new team, my analysis is he was shaking the rust off against the Caps, then he had two great games, and one bad game (although he redeemed himself with that shoulder save).

It gave me flashbacks to that amazing chain of events during the Sens-Devils game back in December 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16sg-cB-aTg

Could Vats have been better during Game 3? Yes, absolutely, but I would not write him off just yet.

Now that Dougie is slated to return, my best guess is that going forward, Vats will be deployed much differently.

He was run into the ground while he was with the Devils, so I'm thinking that his on-ice usage with the Canes will be designed differently.

It will probably resemble how he was used with the then-defense powerhouse Anaheim Ducks 2013-17. Meaning: some respectable minutes, a consistent LHD partner while staying a RHD, and proper use on the power play and penalty kill.

....signed, a bored Devils fan waiting for whenever the new 2020-21 season begins.
- DevilDane

Brindamour relies heavily on Slavin, Pesce and Hamilton when healthy. Vats will probably not be receiving the same level of minutes as he was in Jersey, but from what I have seen he should be able to settle in to a good second or third pairing defenseman in this lineup.