Intensity Will Be An Issue Come Playoff Time
by Cory Lavalette on Apr 3, 2009 11:30 AM EDT
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Print*Note: For the sake of this entry, we're assuming the Hurricanes will make the playoffs. Please ignore, Hockey Gods*
There's a reason hockey fans say the Stanley Cup is the hardest team trophy to win. No professional sport — not the NFL, not Major League Baseball, and certainly not the NBA — has the intensity and force of the play ratcheted up quite like the NHL. Otherwise soft players start finishing all their checks. High-flying forwards come down the wing with an extra gear that no one knew they had. Goalies sprawl and stop shots while seemingly defying physics.
There's nothing like playoff hockey.
The good news for the Carolina Hurricanes is the majority of their team knows what it means to play through the postseason grind. Several won a Cup in Raleigh just three seasons ago. Veteran Scott Walker, who surprisingly has just 11 games of playoff experience, will know what to do when the field whittles down to 16. Sergei Samsonov, Joe Corvo, Patrick Eaves — all three have been to the Cup Finals.
But there are question marks among those who play big roles.
Joni Pitkanen and Dennis Seidenberg haven't seen the NHL playoffs since 2006 and 2003, respectively. Anton Babchuk has never laced up that time of year, though his name is on the Cup thanks to his regular-season contributions with the Canes in 2005-06. Jussi Jokinen was part of two first-round exits with Dallas in 2006 and 2007. He has just nine games of postseason experience.
But without a doubt, the biggest question marks surround arguably Carolina's top most rugged players: Tim Gleason and Tuomo Ruutu.
There's no denying that both have what it takes to compete in April and beyond. Ruutu is ninth among forwards in the league in hits (219) this season, and he seems to fear nothing on the ice (anyone recall his Child's Play's Chucky impersonation in his Carolina debut?). Same goes for Gleason, who is 13th among NHL d-men in hits (165) and first in "mess with my teammates and I'll remove your head from your shoulders" glares.
But last night's game against the Rangers illustrated why the Canes could have a problem in Round 1 of the playoffs. Because while Gleason and Ruutu both bring their old-time hockey efforts each regular-season outing, no one knows if they can up the edge in their game while keeping under control.
Why don't we know? Because of three numbers: 320, 328 and 0.
The first two are how many career games Gleason and Ruutu, respectively, have under their belts. The final number is their total combined playoff appearances.
Ruutu showed last night why this could be an issue, taking a couple "trying too hard" penalties in the early going in an important, playoff-atmosphere game. No one ever faults a player for trying too hard, but come the playoffs one power play can be the difference between winning and losing. Gleason's game is more controllable than Ruutu's — his grit penalties usually come from altercations like standing up for a teammate after the whistle, rather than ill-advised hits or goalie interference (a borderline call, in my opinion) penalties, like Ruutu's infractions from last night — but still teeters on the edge from time to time.
But therein lies the rub. Everyone would love to add a physical, hard-working presence in their lineup. How about one up front and one on defense? All the better. But Ruutu and Gleason will need to find a way to harness their increased intensity and utilize it to make them even harder to play against instead, not more likely to get them some penalty box time. Any coach who had Chris Pronger on their team can tell you so much.
Too much intensity — not too little — could be a complication for coach Paul Maurice, but he won't know until the puck drops in Game 1 of the opening round. What we do know is Gleason and Ruutu will be fast, hard and tough — and it's easier to control that than manufacture it.
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nice post,
i think they are ready,
they have lead this team at times when there wasnt much else help.
gleason some how knows when to make the quiet right moves in between all of the noticed goings on of pitkanen, corvo, and babchuk. and rutuu is a smart player, like larose, he takes initiative in picking up the tempo when needed, and last night wasnt the first “playoff intensity” game. his and gleason’s discipline is noted in the team’s being last in PIM.
I have been very impressed with Ruutu this season in keeping his penalties relatively down… Lately the Ruu of last season has been showing up again, but I think he will play smart in the PO’s, knowing what is at stake.
by packpigskinfan25 on Apr 3, 2009 12:30 PM EDT reply actions
if it aint broke dont fix it...
ruutu was pushed into the goaltender last night & and the boarding call was kind of lame too.
As chrisj said, this hasn’t been the first “playoff” type game this season so whatever intensity and counter-balancing discipline they have brought since mid-February, is the same stuff they need to bring in the PO’s. Also, having Roddy and Whit on this team will help keep Gleason and Ruutu in check. But, I agree…the actual playoffs are somewhat different compared to the games we’ve been playing and ill-advised penalties would hurt us (as they would any team). Yes, we are the least penalized team in the regular season, and that’s what is working for us right now. If we can continue to be one the least penalized teams in the PO’s and keep the same intensity, that’s the key
Has anyone else noticed Pitkanen getting a little feisty, as well, lately?
“Playoff” type and playoffs are two different things. Gleason and Ruutu bring that kind of effort all year. The point of the post was to say everyone is expected to ramp it up for the playoffs. Can these two guys who play hard all the time do that without going too far. Two young guys in their first postseason … there will be butterflies and expectations. They need to amp it up without causing problems for their own team.
I love watching both them and can’t wait to see how they adjust to playoff hockey.
CanesCountry.com: An Eye On Carolina Hockey
For comparison sake, I either read a report or listened to one quoting Bruce Boudreau saying that he felt that his team was playing “playoff type” hockey during the last month or so of last season. But once they did get into the playoffs, it was a whole new level and they were not ready for it.
Regarding the Canes, they probably have enough leadership in the room to correct most issues.
GM of CanesCountry.com
HHHmmmm........
First, those guys are tough and smart. Ruutu is a wrecking ball. He is in control. His penalties are not bad penalties. I have not seen a blatent bad penalty in a while. Scott Walker’s cross check last night was the first in a while. The calls against Ruutu were just bad calls. He was pushed into the goalie……..clearly. The boarding call was just wrong. That was a good tough check. Of the two, Gleason seems like the more emotional out of control type to me. He is smart enough to not let the other guys down. This team is smart, efficient, confident, and clicking in every way. The playoffs are an opportunity to exploit the energy of the other inexperienced teams. This will work to the Cane’s advantage. We have more playoff experience than almost every other team. Hockey is hockey. They will be ready for the challange. It will be fun to watch. 2006 was the butterfly year in the first round. This time, who would wish to play the Canes right now??? I cannot think of a single team that wants any part of that action.
I don’t think we will have a problem with this. I’m not sure if Ruu had 1 or 2 penalties last night, but the first one he had was a bad call. The ranger pushed him into lundqvist and the ref called it. Gleason has always been a hard nosed player, and I don’t think the PO atmosphere will hurt his game in anyway.
Like Cory said, this team has all kinds of veteran players on this team that won the Cup in 06. If anything they can provide guidance for those who haven’t seen the PO much or haven’t been in at all. Last night was really just a by-product of trying to get a jump going on the team. A little to much jump, but I don’t think that too much intensity will be an issue with this team.
Member of Canes Country and the Cat Scratch Reader
Good topic, Cory
I don’t post here much but you bring up a great subject, Cory. Ruuty’s my favorite, but I was thinking along those same lines as you when he took two penalties right off the bat Thursday night. Whether or not you agree with the way the game was called, the fact is he was called down twice in the first period. If that continues in the post-season it will hurt us. The timing may actually end up being fortuitous because it gives the coaching staff an opportunity to sit down with him now, before the playoffs start, and address the issue of channelling his intensity (assuming they think it’s an issue). Paul Maurice has stated he’s a very “coachable” player so I have no doubts that if adjustments do need to be made they can be worked on now.
By the way, eerily similar to Jarkko’s situation with the Penguins last year.
Ruutu has showed us his ability to channel that intensity down the stretch in good ways too. Have you guys forgotten that monster hit on Schubert against the Sens a little over a week ago? Totally clean hit, just blew him up in open ice. That is the Ruutu we need. I am sure it will be the one we get, for the most part.
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