Crossroads: Carolina at New Jersey, Game Preview
by Bob Wage on Oct 17, 2009 7:01 AM EDT
42 comments
The Carolina Hurricanes are returning to the scene of the crime where they stole game seven of last year's playoff series at "The Rock" by scoring two goals in the final two minutes against Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils.
Jussi Jokinen tied the game after Tim Gleason made a brilliant play, diving on the ice to keep the puck in the zone. Joni Pitkanen then made a perfect cross ice pass to his friend who one-timed it past Brodeur. About a minute later, Eric Staal streaked down the ice and beat Brodeur with a wrister, to wrap up the game.
The Hurricanes are approaching a crossroads of sorts, as they should be getting closer and closer to firing on all cylinders as a team. They showed signs of that on Wednesday night against the Penguins, and the players as well as the coaching staff were happy with the performance in that game. The big question is, can they repeat that performance again or will they take a step back?
The Canes currently find themselves just one point ahead of last place Florida, a team which beat Philadelphia last night by a score of 4-2. Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and Washington are all coming off of wins and they are in action Saturday night as well. Carolina is riding a two game losing streak with an overall record of 2-3-1.
New Jersey lost to Atlanta last night, so they should be fired up and ready to go against the Canes. Between that loss and the playoff elimination, they might be a very angry team. Martin Brodeur started last night and Jersey coach Jacques Lemaire has not confirmed yet whether he will start again tonight. My guess is that he will.
The Hurricanes lineup is still in question because Joni Pitkanen might return to action. He joined the team for two days of practice this week and looked good. It all depends upon how he feels at game time.
Eric Staal was nursing some leg stiffness, (groin) and skipped two days of practice, but he is expected to play anyway tonight. Coach Maurice switched up the lines a bit in the third period against Pittsburgh and apparently will stick with the changes in Jersey. Look for these lines, initially:
- Staal, Whitney, Ruutu
- Cullen, Samsonov, LaRose
- Brind'Amour, Jokinen, Walker
- Yelle, Kostopoulos, Conboy
- Gleason, Corvo
- Pitkanen, Ward
- Alberts, Wallin
Samsonov and Brind'Amour have had success together in the past, perhaps they will move Jokinen up with the Cullen line put Samsonov with the Captain? On the blueline if Pitkanen can not go, Harrison will take his place and the defensive pairings could be anything. Of course "The Rock", Cam Ward will be between the pipes.
The Hurricanes still need improvement on their powerplay as it is clicking at 11.8%, good for 27th in the league. The good news is that the penalty kill is improving and is rated at 78.4%, which is 15th best in the league.
Ray Whitney is heating up and has a three game point streak.
The game will be broadcast by FS Carolinas and 99.9 The Fan at 7 p.m.. Of course, we will have a Live Game Thread although I will be attending a wedding and will not be here. Have fun without me. (The thread is set to auto-load at 6.)
_____
UPDATE- It's confirmed that Martin Brodeur will be the starting goalie tonight for the Devils.
The Devils are going through some adversity themselves as team leader, Patric Elias is out hurt. There are several unfamiliar names on their roster, but according to some at "In Lou We Trust", the lines could look like this:
Parise – Zajac – Langenbrunner
Rolston – Bergfors- Clarkson
Pando – Niedermayer – Greene
Halischuk – Pelley – Pikkarainen
Parise – Zajac – Langenbrunner
Clarkson – Zubrus – Bergfors
Pandolfo – Niedermayer – Rolston
Halischuk – Pelley – Pikkarainen
Of course the "ZZ Pops" line is always dangerous. After that, the goals probably do not come very easily. But then again, this is a Jacques Lemaire coached team and scoring goals is not the primary focus.
John Fischer, (manager at I.L.W.T) and I exchanged some questions and sent the answers back in emails. (I should have asked him what the lines would be). Here are my questions and the answers that John provided. (Thanks again John.)
1. Will Brodeur start again tonight? How has he looked so far this season? Do you think he is still the goalie to be feared that he's been in year's past?
According to Gulitti's postgame, Lemaire will be making this decision sometime on Saturday. He's considering it, but given that the Devils have another 3 day break between games afterwards, starting Brodeur may be the right decision. In the first two games of the season, he's given up his share of soft goals; but he has really stepped it up on the road trip. He was massive against Tampa Bay and Washington, not just in regulation, but also in the shootout. He's still Martin Brodeur - the same we all know and love.
Gionta's role fell into a second line scoring position in the last two seasons under Brent Sutter. Given that Lemaire is rotating Brian Rolston and David Clarkson as the second line right wing around this season, getting more than decent results from either player. I feel that the plan is to have either one of them step into Gionta's role - Rolston was my guess in the summer - and, quite frankly, I think either could work well. It's still a battle for the position, and in terms of long-term issues, Clarkson is a RFA after this season and Rolston isn't getting any younger. But right now one or both players could definitely put in 20 or more goals this season. Which is what Gionta contributed all of last season.
Given that the team has lost all 3 home games and yet won all 3 away games, it's a mixed response in terms of results. From what I've seen across preseason and all the games up to (and not including) tonight's 4-2 loss, the Devils play similar to what they did last season. I haven't noticed any major change in philosophy, just tweaks and variations based on what Sutter did last season. Lemaire did not and will likely not institute a 1-2-2 or a Torpedo or any kind of system built around defensive hockey. He actually doesn't like being pigeonholed as such, for what it's worth.
He's having the defensemen lead the breakout, pinch in on offense, and have the Devils do more than just dump it in the corners and win the puck back along the boards - which Brent Sutter had the Devils do (and very well, I might add) most of last season. The defense, admittedly needs some work in that regard. In terms of special teams, and based on last night's game, much work needs to be done; but Lemaire has taken an aggressive approach as well. Both power play units feature 4 forwards; the second penalty killing unit features the first line center (Travis Zajac) and right wing (Jamie Langenbrunner) and they are encouraged to go forward as necessary; and in their zone I've noticed that they stick to a small box.
Clearly, the team does need some additional adjustments and work in some areas (not to mention eliminating too-man-men calls, there was one tonight and upon learning this, I wanted to scream. I may not be sure if it's the third or fourth or whatever, but more than zero is honestly too much.)
____
One last item, don't forget to sign up for the new Canes Country Points. The results are kept up automatically for us at this site. (SPG) So far only 27 people are participating and we had several more than that last year. It's still not too late to give it a try. Monty is in first place so far with 9 points.
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Ah, BAck at the Rock.....
almost like home for the Canes.
Time to get the phone out and call mom when her Devils lose.
Looking forward to it.
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
I've been doing that.....
not trying to piss off the Hockey Gods by thinking “Let’s see”, “Wait until we do win”, but I’m agnostic and to hell with them.
Hey Hockey Gods, I’m calling you out. So far, I’ve done all that I was supposed to do. Not get too excited, etc.
Now all that matters is the team is playing tonight and if you guys don’t help, well then to hell with you!
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
Ugh, there are 3 teams currently better than us in our division and Atlanta actually looks for real. I certainly hope we can put together a win streak.
btw
Staal, anytime you wanna turn into the top tier scoring talent that we’re paying you to be, just let us know. kthxbye
He's a new dad.....
could be a lack of sleep so I’m willing to cut him some more slack for a little more time.
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
well… a goal here or there could be the difference in 2 points in the standings….
And I read (I think on Ice Chip or Luke DeCock) that Mother and Child were staying in Canada….
by Mateos_Canes_Lamp on Oct 17, 2009 9:30 AM EDT up reply actions
So is the little Staal
US or a proud member of the People’s Republic of Canuckistan or both.
Them he could be tired playing rich, successful sports bachelor again (jk).
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
I saw the Devils-Thrashers game last night (apparently I am in the middle of a war for the hearts and minds of the Upstate because I get both Hurricanes and Thrashers games on TV). On the whole, NJ didn’t look good and I would expect a push back from them tonight. I’d also be really surprised not to see Brodeur which may or may not work in our benefit. Hopefully his nightmares about Staal and company are worse after tonight.
Well that was glass half full! I again don’t care whether we win or lose. I want squat for penalty’s and 60 minutes of that good effort we got a glimpse of last outing. Any word on Joni or any other injury things?
A
He made the trip and is either “probable” or “likely” or “a maybe” (kind of like the terror alert system-I’m not sure what the differences between the levels are) for tonight. Staal is for sure in.
White – Joni is on IR
Pink – Joni is not on IR but is sitting out and did not make the trip
Yellow – Joni is not on IR and made the trip, but sits out
Red – Joni is playing
Black – Joni is playing like a #1 D-man
by Pirate Caniac on Oct 17, 2009 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Excellent!
Right now, we are at Joni Level Red. But a shift down to Joni Level Yellow may be forthcoming.
It might need a little tweaking, but figured it was a good start. ;)
Sadly, still sounds like we may be in Yellow status…
by Pirate Caniac on Oct 17, 2009 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions
All he needs is a good Pastrami sandwich.
Fortunately, there’s a really good sandwich shop about three blocks from the Rock.
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
Yeah, maybe Pink and Yellow need to be changed around on the scale? Pink does seem more fitting for the current situation…
by Pirate Caniac on Oct 17, 2009 6:55 PM EDT up reply actions
NJ did NOT look good last night, their passing was sloppy their shift changes even looked sloppy, I think their power play looked even worse than ours (if that’s possible) Their PK not much better. Pavelec looked good last night. Kane is going to be fun to watch. I say tonight will be a Pens type game (or at least I hope) :)
I agree about Kane. He’s gotten kind of lost in the midst of the Tavares-Hedman-Duchene love fest, but I thought he looked good last night.
And yes, it’s possible for a PP to look worse than ours. Just ask Nashville who are plugging along at a 5% success rate. I take great comfort in stats like that.
Unfortunately,
I have nothing against the Preds and I want them to look good and build a fan base. They aren’t a team that I’m worrying about.
I hope that the Pens get squished in an ice floe, the Sabre’s get dull, the Booins hibernate until April, the Caps crap out and the Flyers get their wings clipped.
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
Glad to see Whit up on the 1st. And agree that sammy should be switched with jussi.
by Andrea's evil twin on Oct 17, 2009 10:53 AM EDT reply actions
Lines
Not sure where you got:
Parise – Zajac – Langenbrunner
Rolston – Bergfors- Clarkson
Pando – Niedermayer – Greene
Halischuk – Pelley – Pikkarainen
But Greene is a defenseman, Bergfors a Winger and Zubrus oddly missing.
Far more likely is:
Parise – Zajac – Langenbrunner
Clarkson – Zubrus – Bergfors
Pandolfo – Niedermayer – Rolston
Halischuk – Pelley – Pikkarainen
Also, as John addressed, the “Lemaire only coaches the trap at the cost of offense” routine is tired and just plain untrue. Considering the Devils GAA at this point, I almost wish he would trap.
The defensive systems don’t matter when the problems are in finishing and capitalizing on power plays, really. But yeah, I expect these lines. Greene is a defenseman anyhow – though I hope he plays.
Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
In Lou We Trust - The Devils SBN Blog
by John Fischer on Oct 17, 2009 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Forward line options
Fortunately, there’s a far better brain trust in charge of the lines and pairing than me, but I do like the move of Whitney as Staal’s wing.
Staal’s a black hole (in a good way) for a shot on goal and Whitney is a ultra-crafty passer, who is dangerous in his own right for a goal. It’s a good fit. Add in Tuomo to engage the big bodies in opposition and it’s a formidable combo.
Similarly, I personally would prefer a Jokinen/Samsonov swap for similar chemistry reasons.
I believe that Brind’Amour is one of the few centers/linemates on the team that can make very good use of Sergei’s suspensions of Time as he dangles on the boards before shooting a pass between one of his many defender’s legs.
Brind’Amour has shown a real talent for using that time to sneak into the crease area on the empty backside of the goalie and has the hands to bury top-shelf from that range. Walker’s a good third for that pair, as well.
Similarly, I believe that Jokinen fits better with the chemistry that LaRose has developed with Cullen as his center. Jussi is also a creative passer and scorer and has mixed well with those two.
Nice to have such options, eh?
+1 – I agree and like your plan. Maybe we can send Mo a text…..
(wonder if he gets the CC twitter feed…..)
Let's go Canes!
Hakkaa Paalle!
by hockeymomof2 on Oct 17, 2009 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions
An additional thought is just how many times we’ve heard Ray say “we need to get the big guy going”.
It’s like he seemingly understands that we need to get the big guy going! :-D
Seriously, I do think he and Ruutu can get pucks on goal, if not directly to Staal for a shot. And Eric does love to bang away at point-blank range on goalies if there are rebounds from those shots.
Here are a few tidbits for tonight’s game.
The highlights:
Like Bob added to his preview, Brodeur will be in goal.
Joni is a game time decision-
“The knee feels better but I’ll have to wait and see this afternoon,” said Pitkanen, who practiced with the team for a third straight day. “It’s been better this week but we just have to see.”
The top line will be Staal-Ruutu-Whitney
Test
1, 2, 3…..
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
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