Hurricanes Road Trip Continues In San Jose
by Cory Lavalette on Oct 19, 2010 1:30 PM EDT
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PrintCarolina is 0-2 to start its five-game road trip, and things don't get any easier Tuesday when they head to the Shark Tank to face perennial Western Conference powerhouse San Jose. It will also be the first time the Hurricanes are facing longtime defenseman Niclas Wallin, who played eight and a half seasons in Carolina before being traded to San Jose in February.
The Sharks are off to a slow start, going 1-1-1 in their first three games and managing just seven goals after starting their season, like Carolina, overseas with two games in Sweden against Columbus. San Jose's roster is full of familiar Sharks — Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley, Dan Boyle and Joe Pavelski lead the way — but the biggest change is in goal, where Evgeni Nabokov is gone and Cup-winning goalie Antti Niemi and fellow Finn Antero Niittymaki man the net.
The Hurricanes, on the other hand, are full of new faces in 2010-11 and still trying to find combinations that work on the forward lines and defense. Coach Paul Maurice has tried several different players with first-line duo Eric Staal and Erik Cole, while promising rookie Jeff Skinner and Jussi Jokinen — who both have been tried alongside Staal — have played wing and center through four games.
The one constant has been in net, where Cam Ward has performed well despite being left without much help from a defense that has, at times, looked confused and disorganized in its own end. Maurice tried to alleviate those problems Sunday against Vancouver by reuniting Joe Corvo and Tim Gleason, who have proven to work well together in the past. But after one game the problems appear to go deeper than chemistry, with Corvo citing Carolina's early season schedule that sent them to Europe and then to the West Coast for five games as "ridiculous."
The puck drops at 10:30 p.m. in HD on FSC, and can also be heard on 99.9 The Fan. We'll update with expected lineups as the information is available.
Game Tidbits
- San Jose's power play is currently fourth in the NHL at 27.8 percent, while Carolina's penalty kill is tied for 27th at 68.4 percent. Staying out of the penalty box — or improving on the kill — will be essential.
- Both Carolina and San Jose are in the bottom third of the league in scoring to start the season. The Canes are tied for third fewest goals per game in the league with two a night, while the Sharks, at 2.33, rank 21st. Both are allowing three goals a game, tied with three other teams for 19th in the NHL.
- Carolina's faceoff woes could continue against the Sharks. The Hurricanes are last in the league at 37.7 percent, while San Jose is ninth at 52.9 percent.
- Boyle is second in the NHL in ice time with 27:32 logged a night, while Carolina's Joni Pitkanen — who led the league last year — is third at 27:28. Chicago's Duncan Keith leads the league at 30:08.
- Marleau is leading all NHL forwards in ice time at 22:29 a night. Staal leads the Canes’ forwards (21:16, 14th among forwards) and is tied for the most shifts per game (28.3) with the Islanders’ Matt Moulson and Chicago’s Jonathan Toews.
- Thornton — who just signed a three-year, $21 million extension — has scored both his goals this season on the power play.
- The Sharks have just three points from their defense so far this season, all assists. Carolina, on the other hand, has seven points in four games — including a goal by Anton Babchuk.
Players To Watch
- Carolina: Corvo has five goals in 19 career games against the Sharks, including three on the power play — the only other Hurricanes with a power play goal against the Sharks in their career are Jokinen, Cole and Tuomo Ruutu, who all have one; Two of Patrick O`Sullivan’s five career shorthanded goals have come against San Jose; Pitkanen has no points in nine career games against the Sharks.
- San Jose: Heatley has scorched Carolina in his career, registering 33 points (16 goals, 17 assists) in 28 career games, including 11 power play goals; Niittymaki has a spectacular 8-2-2 record against Carolina despite having average numbers (3.00 goals-against, .901 save percentage) in those games; the Sharks D has had some success against the Hurricanes: one of Douglas Murray's five career goals came against the Canes (he's faced the Canes in just five of 292 career games), while Marc-Edouard Vlasic has two goals in three games against the Canes (14.2 percent of his 14 career goals in 312 games).
Fear the Fin will have more info on the Sharks. We will have our open game thread up and running early tonight, starting at 9:30.
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Do not let us see the Secret Weapon scoring a goal tonight! A Alberts was painful enough.
2 years to the Cup
by Caniac233 on Oct 19, 2010 1:56 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I'm gonna go
a nap as it could be a long night..even if the canes do win…
Everytime you write off the Hurricanes,
They make You Look Bad!!
Looks like Ruutu is the latest to get a whirl at center. Forslund reporting via Twitter he’ll center Cole and Skinner, Staal will get Jokinen and LaRose. Also said Samsonov is scratched, so I imagine Dalpe will center the fourth line. That leaves O’Sullivan, Bowman, TK and Dwyer to fill out the Sutter and Dalpe (if he’s the fourth center and not on the wing in favor of Dwyer at center) lines.
With laughter…..
it always burns within
the downward spiral never ends
when driven into sin
your salvation's found in a sinner's deed
by Douchebag St John on Oct 19, 2010 4:06 PM EDT up reply actions
LaRose back on the top line [facepalm]
Ruutu at center?!?! Mo confuses more and more each day. What exactly does Ruutu bring to center position – unless he’s good at faceoffs, I’m dumbfounded. I like him on the wing where he can spend more time forechecking and less time worrying about being back on defense. I’m now beginning to wonder what exactly the coaching staff did all training camp and preseason. They knew we had a hole at center this year and it just looks like he is blindly throwing people there until someone fits. I would have like to seen this maybe in the preseason but not in a regular season game against the Sharks. They should know more than anyone that these aren’t throwaway games.
Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, uh, your opinion, man.
I swear. He acts like he’s a dealer in a poker game. He shuffles after every game and they have play the hand they’re dealt. No wonder there is not sense of consistency.
"We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence upon those who would do us harm." -George Orwell
Staal as Harrison Bergeron
How many times does poor Eric have to carry equalizing burdens to relieve him of his exceptional skills? Jussi on his wing is a good thing but Chad on his other wing is just a farce….and so it goes.
I actually don’t mind the Ruutu at center thing as this was practiced during pre-season and rumored to be an option. He did play it a bit early in his career. I’m guessing we’ll see POS and either Cole or Bowman w/Sutter. That would leave a third line of Skinner/Ruutu/Bowman-Dalpe-Cole. Fourth line of whatever….For the record, I think I’d like to seen POS/Sutter/Cole as the 2nd line and Skinner/Ruutu/Dalpe as the 3rd line.
lines on CH.com
….report as follows
Jokinen/Staal/LaRose
O’Sullivan/Sutter/Dwyer
Skinner/Ruutu/Cole
Bowman/Dalpe/Kostopoulos
Pitkanen/Corvo
Gleason/McBain
Harrison/Babchuk
So we have LaRose and Dwyer in our top 6…it’s so crazy it’ll have to work!!!
Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, uh, your opinion, man.
I don’t mind these combo’s except for LaRose, if things go sour early they should switch him with either Skinner or POS.
May sound crazy but I miss Matt Cullen a whole lot more than I do Ray Whitney right now…oh well, Go Canes!
Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, uh, your opinion, man.
I miss Ray’s playmaking ability. So far we are greatly lacking that.
Member of Canes Country and the Cat Scratch Reader
I miss Ray’s playmaking ability. So far we are greatly lacking that.
I miss Tubert and that 2nd round pick he ( and JR for giving him the NTC in the first place) jobbed us out of more.
it always burns within
the downward spiral never ends
when driven into sin
your salvation's found in a sinner's deed
by Douchebag St John on Oct 19, 2010 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Not hating on LaRose and Dwyer, but I was hoping that the rooks would get some top nine time…both Dalpe and Bowman have been defensively responsible, but I think that Mo is playing this one ultra conservative, hoping for a 1-0 or 2-1 win here…
Against San Jose, a 1-0 or 2-1 win for us is almost an impossibility.
Member of Canes Country and the Cat Scratch Reader
which is exactly what Mo thinks he can pull off? shoots for every game.
Fixed that for you.
it always burns within
the downward spiral never ends
when driven into sin
your salvation's found in a sinner's deed
by Douchebag St John on Oct 19, 2010 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions
what are your thoughts on cam vs petedawg for tonight?
Pete dawg in net could spark the canes D to play a little better, and we all remember how last year (or the year before) the canes were able to beat SJ with leighton in goal, staal injured and brindy sent home early from the road trip.
Peters tonight, Ward tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a tougher game based on the opponent and it’s the back end of 2 on the road.
Peters tonight...
Ward for the next two months.
it always burns within
the downward spiral never ends
when driven into sin
your salvation's found in a sinner's deed
by Douchebag St John on Oct 19, 2010 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Tough first game for him to start. Not going to be good for his confidence if he gives up a bunch to this talented sharks squad…
Member of Canes Country and the Cat Scratch Reader
Actually, didn’t we do the exact same thing with Michael Leighton a couple of years ago against a talented Sharks squad? I think we did, and damn if we didn’t win!
Not sure lightning can strike twice in the same place though LOL.
Phoblographer and Finn Aficionado
The dog ate my sisu.
by Jamie Kellner on Oct 19, 2010 7:05 PM EDT up reply actions
The Coyotes will be without Shane Doan for 3 games (including their matchup with the Canes) after he delivered a late, lateral, hit to the head. This will cost Shane Doan $73,000 in salary.
Nick Foligno (who hit dwyer just a few nights ago) was fined $2,500 for his hit, for a grand total of—-DRUM ROLL PLEASE—- 0.2% of his annual salary!! MAN THATS GOTTA HURT HIM!
clap clap Good job wheel of punishment!
Jokinen/Staal/LaRose
O’Sullivan/Sutter/Dwyer
Skinner/Ruutu/Cole
Bowman/Dalpe/Kostopoulos
Pitkanen/Corvo
Gleason/McBain
Harrison/Babchuk
Why not Bowman in place of Dwyer?
I actually don’t mind having a look at Ruutu centering Cole/Skinner. Ruutu has been quiet lately ( since Helsinki) so maybe this would click with him. Also keep in mind that LaRose did have some nice chemistry with Staal towards the end of last season. He may be the agitator/ hustle player that Staal and Jokinen can feed off of. I beg of Mo to not let Staal take a face-off tonight.
At least Mo is trying some things here. I think we all expected some line uncertainty early on with the young guys coming in, and while I would have thought the vets in the lineup would have been easier to slot, you can’t blame Mo for the veteran leaders not pulling their weight.
What in the hell is the Pits/Corvo combo doing back together? Corvo’s struggling the most of the defenseman, sit him down, let him “get his legs,” and insert Carson in there somewhere. Maybe he’ll want to prove how big a moron Mo is by playing his a$$ off and being one of our best defenders on the ice!
I want to see a Skinner-Jussi-Staal line! SJS, SJS, SJS!
Let’s teach Pete Dawg how to play center. It’s not like he’s going to start any games this year.
Still not a crook!
Mad Scientist (and not that home loss loser music, either!)
The more this road trip unfolds, the more amusing it becomes. It’s just one big traveling laboratory of line combos and defensive pairings.
Almost looks like they’re treating this stretch of away games as an extended preseason, figuring there’s little chance for victory, anyway. So, why not try a few things, and hope to catch lightning in a bottle.
I’ve run into people before that solve problems by literally trying every possible combination – the “brute force” approach.
Maybe Mo’s one of those people. CYA’ing that “hey, I tried that and it didn’t work, remember?” when challenged.
Here we are now...entertain us.
Line Shuffling Is Great by Me
I personally am pleased to see the Hurricanes Brain Trust shuffling lines and showing creativity. We also don’t know who is banged up some, although even if we knew I think we’d have better judgment than to publicize that information. As a fertile tangent, for example, at one of the dinner events last year Ray Whitney mentioned the fact that the information about injuries does make a difference and letting the information out would put players at risk.
Back on topic, I am very, very excited to see the lines being shuffled. I have my own thoughts about the lines; but I think the line shuffling reflects a realization that the present lines are not providing consistent offense. I am not enthralled with LaRose on the first line; but I like having Jokinen and Staal working together. I hadn’t envisioned the O’Sullivan/Sutter/Dwyer line which shows no matter how many iterations I concoct the Hurricanes coaches will find some permutation I missed. I’d much prefer to see O’Sullivan/Sutter/Bowman because I think that line is a more balanced scoring/defensive line; but Dwyer makes very few mistakes on defense, so perhaps it will let O’Sullivan roam a bit more. I am very fine with Skinner/Ruutu/Cole. I suspect Ruutu is still not at 100% after his shoulder surgery; and I also would prefer to see Cole and Ruutu go 82 games without losing time to injury. Bowman/Dalpe/Kostopoulos could work. I like the Bowman/Dalpe combination. I am lukewarm on Kostopoulos, but understand completely that he is a player who gives all he has every shift. It’s a discussion we’ve had in depth before, so there is no need to retread that ground.
We also have to recognize that a significant part of the line shuffling is trying to avoid matchups that won’t work. The Hurricanes don’t have an abundance of physical players, so it is challenging to work lines when the home team gets the last shift.
I think the defensive pairings are fine even though against the Canucks all the Dmen seemed to be skating in mud. My skepticism about Harrison is only a little degree eased by his play against the Canucks. I find Harrison’s lack of explosive speed and quickness a tremendous disadvantage; and don’t care for his being paired with Babchuk. Still, he’s no Aaron Ward, praise be. Maybe Wallin will be matched against Harrison and they can have a slow race for the puck. The loser gets to the puck first.
CANES LINES
Jokinen/Staal/LaRose
O’Sullivan/Sutter/Dwyer
Skinner/Ruutu/Cole
Bowman/Dalpe/Kostopoulos
Pitkanen/Corvo
Gleason/McBain
Harrison/Babchuk
MY LINES:
Skinner/Staal/Jokinen
O’Sullivan/Sutter/Bowman
Ruutu/Dalpe/Cole
LaRose/Dwyer/Kostopoulos
Gleason/McBain
Corvo/Pitkanen
Carson/Babchuk
Not bad lines there AD!
I might switch Bowman and Ruutu. I might also switch Corvo and Carson. But other than that, not bad; those lines at least give our players the chance to succeed. I mean the current lines have (1) 4th liner on the 1st, 2nd, and 4th.
I want to see a Skinner-Jussi-Staal line! SJS, SJS, SJS!
The only thing I see wrong with those lines is Skinner-Staal-Jokinen. Don’t get me wrong, It is a great line, but the draw back is there is no power forward there at all, no physicality on that line. Skinner and Jokinen are both playmakers in my opinion, and are great for Staal, but would they be able to be physical enough to stand up to opposing #1 lines?
Member of Canes Country and the Cat Scratch Reader
I like the Cole/Dalpe combo. I’d maybe swap out Ruutu and Sully. Gives Cole 2 guys who can really skate. But I wouldn’t mind your lineup as is AD. Heck the lineups these days are like playing pick 5, at least on the forward side. If you name it, they will play it at some point.
Our opponents so far this season (including San Jose) are a combined 5-9-4. I don’t expect a win tonight, but I would really like to see us put some goals in the net. If we can score at least 3 goals and keep the score differential throughout the game to 2 or under; I will be satisfied.
I want to see a Skinner-Jussi-Staal line! SJS, SJS, SJS!
by PackPride17 on Oct 19, 2010 7:28 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Great, I was looking at last years FO%. San Jose had 3 guys in the top 16 in the league; with 2 guys in the top 4. I don’t think our faceoff woes are going to get any better in this game.
I want to see a Skinner-Jussi-Staal line! SJS, SJS, SJS!
by PackPride17 on Oct 19, 2010 8:14 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
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