by Matt Karash | Dec 24, 2017 | The Drive Home
With the schedule offering a second try after a disappointing holiday home stand for Thanksgiving week, the Hurricanes started this one off right with a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. I caught only the second period which was well-timed with five of the six goals during the period. Having caught only part of the game with the rest waiting on the DVR when I return home, I will be brief with my notes/recap. If you caught the entirety of the game and have a few minutes to share, I (and I am sure others too) would appreciate others’ perspective in the comments. Notes from the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres 1) Sebastian Aho starts it I have been positive on Aho’s play for a couple games now even the tough game on Tuesday, so it was good to see him net a goal. 2) Justin Faulk His offensive game for the 2017-18 season thus far has been odd. His game has not looked significantly different from last year in the sense that still plays with a shoot first mentality each and every game, has a propensity for joining the rush and think the game well offensively. But the goals and points just had not come, and 34 games is too much to just call it bad luck. So his two goals on Saturday were a huge contribution in the game at hand, but maybe more significantly could prove to be Faulk’s ignition switch offensively. 3) Cam Ward It is hard to pass judgement on his game having only seen part of it,...
by Matt Karash | Dec 23, 2017 | Morning Skate
Quick heads up on holiday week schedule at Canes and Coffee: –I might/might not get to watch part or all of Saturday’s Canes game live which means there might/might not be the usual recap. At a minimum, I will put up an article such that those who watch the game can chime in with their observations (which are my favorite thing the day after every Canes game). –Tentative plan is to the resume regular Canes coverage including the Daily Cup of Joe on either Tuesday or Wednesday. –I wish those who celebrate Christmas a blessed and special day, and I also wish those who not a joyous holiday season, enjoyable time with family and a Happy New Year! With the Hurricanes North American road trip for December completed with a respectable 5-4 record in nine games with eight on the road, the team will now try to capitalize on home ice during the holiday week. Round 1 of this game went badly during Thanksgiving week. The team played horribly in a 5-1 loss to the Rangers before Thanksgiving and had a second period implosion lead to a loss to the Maple Leafs after Thanksgiving. The team did salvage two points in a home win over the Predators on Sunday that week, but by that point, the week was already a negative in terms of point production and also leaving loyal Caniacs who attended all three games mostly disappointed. The game against Buffalo is the first of three home games again during the holiday week with a Wednesday game against Montreal and a divisional game against Pittsburgh on Friday....
by Matt Karash | Dec 21, 2017 | The Drive Home
In what follows, I will go on to talk about any number of ways that the Hurricanes played well on Thursday just like I talked about how they played horribly on Tuesday afternoon. But as much as anything, the past two games illustrate the random craziness that is NHL hockey. The Hurricanes went being seemingly incompetent to capable of handily beating a top team on the road in a matter of two days. What even more illustrates the difference is that two games were not as wildly different as a first glance might indicate. No doubt the Hurricanes started better on Thursday, but at the end of the day the difference was a couple bounces and the play of the goalie. That really is it, and the primary causes of a seven-goal swing from down 4-1 early on Tuesday to being up 4-0 early on Thursday. The same hockey gods that cursed Scott Darling on Tuesday made up for it on Tuesday by afflicting Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne with the same curse. Rinne had a couple get by him early that maybe were the ‘shrug and play the next one’ variety of goals, but then he capped it off with an ugly soft goal that saw a puck bounce up off him and into the net as if he was a Little League shortstop facing a bad hop. The Hurricanes did also have a role in the first period surge. On the first goal, Noah Hanifin made a good play to creep closer to the net and at the same time create a passing lane to the front of...
by Matt Karash | Dec 21, 2017 | Daily Cup of Joe
When the calendar flips to 2018 in just over a week, the Hurricanes will be 38 games into the 2017-18 season. That is a few games short of the official midway point but close enough to start doing that type of evaluation. The honeymoon begins Three and a half years ago, Ron Francis inherited a team that was near the bottom of the NHL both in terms of current season and also the future based on system rankings. As a familiar face with a tremendous on-ice contribution to the organization, all Francis had to do to be well-received was say anything that the fans could interpret to mean a positive future was on the way. Francis’ mantra in that regard from the very beginning was that his goal was to build a team that not just returned to the playoffs but also became a regular entrant and true Cup contender. The plan made sense given the state of the team he inherited and the realities of a small market team. Though the word “rebuilding” was probably never uttered directly by Francis, he pretty clearly charted that course when he stated his strategy/plan and also when he followed through repeatedly by eschewing opportunities to make short-term fixes and instead sold veteran assets at every opportunity to stock the prospect pool and system. Not to discount the merit of Francis’ original plan, but by taking the reins when the team was at a low point, he entered at an incredibly easy point for ‘before any results can be measured’ type of evaluations. The process plays out over three long...
by Matt Karash | Dec 21, 2017 | Morning Skate
After a brutal 8-1 loss in Toronto on Tuesday, the Hurricanes will look to right the ship in Nashville against the Predators on Thursday night. Interestingly, the game marks the second time in a couple weeks that the Hurricanes square off against Predators seeking to change their fortunes after a rough patch that included a loss to the Maple Leafs. On the Sunday ending Thanksgiving week, the Hurricanes pulled out a much-needed win after losing two straight at home sandwiched around Thanksgiving day. After Tuesday’s game, the watch points are focused solely inward… ‘What I’m watching’ for the Carolina Hurricanes versus the Nashville Predators 1) A response After a humiliating loss like Tuesday’s, the bare minimum is to respond in terms of effort, intensity and desire. If the Hurricanes cannot even muster that, it is time for serious soul searching both within the player leadership and coaching ranks. Giving credit where it is due, the team did show resiliency and the ability to stick with it during the challenging western road trip, so I am expecting similar on Thursday night. Today’s Daily Cup of Joe shows that even good teams have games like Tuesday’s but also that they tend to overwhelmingly respond with a win in the next game. Can the Hurricanes do similar on Thursday night? 2) Cam Ward As of writing this, I have not seen an official announcement as to the Hurricanes starting goalie for Thursday, but I will be shocked if Ward does not get the nod. If Cam Ward is going to have a resurgence as a Canes netminder, I think now...
