GDT: Jackets @ Canes 7/11 - embrace your inner Lou Brown.. now with FOOD!

[DougieSmash]

i

hate

all

those

wins

but i hate blue jackets too

 

[bluedevil58*]

I felt like we dominated play last night and maintained good puck possession but the shots on goal said otherwise. This was a very odd game guys. Semin was outstanding last night. Also Cam Ward appears to really be stepping his game up. On to .500 hockey we go.

 

[DaveG]

"Attitude" or "work ethic" problems? His Mom called the GM of one of his teams or something.

Enjoy: http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=831409&highlight=victor+rask+2011

Yep. Skating was also thought to be an issue but he's at the worst holding his own in that regard now. I still think this kid has the upside to be a #2 in the NHL eventually, but he won't ever be a #2 here unless we go completely scorched earth in a rebuild.

 

[Stickpucker]

Canes can hire me. For something.

European scout?

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Yep. Skating was also thought to be an issue but he's at the worst holding his own in that regard now. I still think this kid has the upside to be a #2 in the NHL eventually, but he won't ever be a #2 here unless we go completely scorched earth in a rebuild.

Short term, that's true, but in a few years, I'm not so sure. It really depends on if Eric re-signs after his contract is up and what the team wants to do with Lindholm. I don't think it's a forgone conclusion that Eric re-signs when his contract is up after next season. If he doesn't, and if Rask and Nash continue to "grow", there may not be an impetus to move Lindholm to C...so you might end up with Jordan, Rask, Nash as the top 3 centers in some combination. Heck, even if Eric re-signs, they could always play him on Jordan's wing.

I'm still not counting my chickens before they hatch though so I'll keep my hopes low for now. I like what I've seen, but need to see that level of play over a longer period.

 

[nobuddy]

This team is really good and cool to watch play the game of hockey, guys.

 

[StormCast]

Semin has given Maniscalco the opportunity to feel relevant and is milking it for all he can.

Like a team finding it's identity, that what he seems to be doing. When he first got here he was part of "The Insiders" and tried to impress everyone with his knowledge. When it was apparent his hockey knowledge was iffy at best, he tried to reinvent himself.

Then he got paired paired with the equally horrific Mark Thomas and he now tries to channel (the always entertaining) Steve Logan by trying to be bombastic. He flails around and fails miserably, just a total tool...actually more like an entire tool shed. I imagine they are getting crushed in the ratings by Mike & Mike so don't expect this 3rd tier circus to improve anytime soon.

 

[NorthStar4Canes]

This team is really good and cool to watch play the game of hockey, guys.

They're finally playing like a team that knows on any given night if they do the right things they can control their own destiny, predictions be damned.

 

[nobuddy]

They're finally playing like a team that knows that on any given night if they do the right things they can control their own destiny, predictions be damned.

Agreed.

 

[GoldiFox]

Was very impressed with Lindholm, Rask, and Nash last night. Very glad to see them stepping up and they are being rewarded for it which is great to see. I believe it was Lindholm and Rask on the ice when the late OT goal was scored, that says a lot about how much trust Peters has with these kids and they are proving him right.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Was very impressed with Lindholm, Rask, and Nash last night. Very glad to see them stepping up and they are being rewarded for it which is great to see. I believe it was Lindholm and Rask on the ice when the late OT goal was scored, that says a lot about how much trust Peters has with these kids and they are proving him right.

It was Staal, Skinner, Lindholm and Rask as they went with 4 forwards. Can't say I blame the coach for going with all forwards, given how miserable they are at shootouts. Might as well go for broke in OT.

 

[VAcaniac]

....or theyre just playing crappy teams. I kinda wanna go to the game tonight but i dont wanna spend $33

 

[Sens1Canes2]

It was Staal, Skinner, Lindholm and Rask as they went with 4 forwards. Can't say I blame the coach for going with all forwards, given how miserable they are at shootouts. Might as well go for broke in OT.

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's Staal on the point on the PP (which he was on the 4 on 3). He really has trouble disguising where he's going to pass, and his touch is...below average. I'd much rather him be down at the goal line to stuff it in. But...it was good awareness to go it up the ice quickly when the Jackets made that line change in OT which led to the GWG.

 

[What the Faulk]

Disappointed I missed this one but not disappointed in the result. It's amazing how much faster this team looks all of a sudden (compared to last year, not the losing streak). They seem to be stocked with some talented skaters and even Rask looks like his issues were overblown. Jordan when he returns is going to be the perfect compliment for this team. I still think they'll live and die by their defense and depth, but if they can hold opponents to ~2ish a night, they're going to win a lot of games they "shouldn't".

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's Staal on the point on the PP (which he was on the 4 on 3). He really has trouble disguising where he's going to pass, and his touch is...below average. I'd much rather him be down at the goal line to stuff it in. But...it was good awareness to go it up the ice quickly when the Jackets made that line change in OT which led to the GWG.

I agree with that. He made a real nice play on the game winner because he looked over his shoulder before he got to the puck to see Lindholm all alone and wasted no time getting the puck to him. Other than this 4 on 4 though, have we seen Eric at all on the point? IIRC, it's been either Terry or Rask.

 

[Identity404]

Even when the Canes were losing they were playing ok hockey. They were just getting terrible goaltending and having more defense hiccups. Ward is playing decent for the first time in years and the defense seems to be starting to gel now.

Fancy stats so far seem to indicate that they should be a p-word team.

 

[StormCast]

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's Staal on the point on the PP (which he was on the 4 on 3). He really has trouble disguising where he's going to pass, and his touch is...below average. I'd much rather him be down at the goal line to stuff it in. But...it was good awareness to go it up the ice quickly when the Jackets made that line change in OT which led to the GWG.

Yep, he's regressed from the time he played the point during the Cup year. Back then though he often played the point when they went umbrella formation so not exactly an apples to oranges comparison to be found.

I did like the aggressive deployment of 4 forwards though.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Peters juggled the lines and indicated in the post game, that he'd like to get back to the lines he had before the juggling, especially because he wanted to play 4 lines on the 2nd night of a B2B. Looking at the shifts last night. Terry and Dwyer (who both took penalties) were the guys who got the least # shifts among forwards.

"The Future" got the most shifts among forwards.

Justin Faulk 34
Andrej Sekera 33
Ron Hainsey 27
Brett Bellemore 22
John-Michael Liles 22
Jay Harrison 19

Riley Nash 32
Eric Staal 31
Jiri Tlusty 28
Jeff Skinner 27
Nathan Gerbe 26
Elias Lindholm 26
Victor Rask 25
Alexander Semin 25
Jay McClement 20
Zach Boychuk 19
Patrick Dwyer 16
Chris Terry 13

 

[w e l o s t b o y s]

Sort of ironic that the knock on Rask was his skating with the name Rask

In Sweden, soldiers used special soldier names, which some of them decided to keep as a surname when they left the army. These names were usually made from words describing the personality or the appearance of the person, e. g. Rask (= quick, fast), Stål (= steel).

 

[Novacane]

Peters credited Roddy with the 4 forwards idea. Either way, I was happy to see it.

Also, can't believe I'm saying this but I can't wait until Gleason is back in the lineup.

 

[DaveG]

Yep, would much rather have Gleason out there with either Harrison or Liles then the two of them derping it up together out there.

 

[VAcaniac]

Fancy stats so far seem to indicate that they should be a p-word team.

Just don't.