Jared Staal To Make Preseason Debut Tonight: Hurricanes At Thrashers, Game Preview
by Bob Wage on Sep 25, 2010 3:34 PM EDT
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When they were kids, Jared Staal used to team up with brother Eric as they took on brothers Marc and Jordan in two-on-two battles on their home-made family rink. Tonight, he has a chance to team up with his brother once again as the Carolina Hurricanes travel to Atlanta to take on the Thrashers in a preseason matchup at Philips Arena.
All Star center Eric Staal will start on a line with Tuomo Ruutu and Sergei Samsonov, but coach Paul Maurice did not rule out the possibility that the brothers could spend some time together on the ice.
"You never know, we might throw them out together, " said Maurice.
Mostly though, Jared will be playing alongside a "young center", Maurice added. The actual lines had not yet been determined after the morning practice.
The players selected to travel to Atlanta were: (possible lines):
- Staal-Ruutu-Samsonov
- Dalpe-Cole-LaRose
- Skinner-Boychuk-Bowman
- Matsumoto-Samson-J. Staal
- Gleason- Corvo
- Pitkanen-Babchuk
- Harrison-
SanguinettiMcBain
Cam Ward will go the distance in net with Justin Peters as his backup.
Drayson Bowman and Jay Harrison will both be playing in their third consecutive game, on as many nights. "They are used to that because that's what they do in the AHL," said Maurice. "And both these guys have AHL experience."
The coach added that it is a positive for the players to be put in that situation. "We wouldn't play a guy three games in three nights if we thought he was struggling and we didn't think he could handle it," the coach said. "I think Jay Harrison and "Bow" have both gotten stronger and they have earned the right to get back in."
Hockey Mom's updated roster can be found here: Gameday Guide Sept 25 at Atlanta
Chris Mason is also expected to go the distance in net for Atlanta. For more information about the Thrashers, check out Bird Watchers Anonymous.
The game may or may not be live-streamed, but it will definitely be called by Chuck Kaiton on 99.9 The Fan. We will have an open thread here starting up at 6:30. The puck drops at 7.
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so with brothers on the team, how dies jersey names go? E. Staal and J. Staal or Staal and J.Staal..?hmm interesting..
by RU4RU on Sep 25, 2010 4:00 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I’ve heard guesses for both variations. My guess is Staal and J. Staal, but who knows.
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by Great Ice-Pectations on Sep 25, 2010 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m still good with the back of the sweaters reading “Staal” and “Opie”.
Triple Gold Juice - It's Potent and Guaranteed to Help You Score!
by PackPride17 on Sep 25, 2010 4:58 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Third Line: Skinner, Boychuk, Bowman (or Dalpe)
I am really hoping to see Skinner, Boychuk, Bowman and then Skinner, Boychuk, Dalpe together tonight. Atlanta has put its big lines out for tonight. Boychuk has been under the radar and has not as of yet put any points on the board. Carolina needs to find out if Boychuk’s game has developed to the point that he can add goals and assists at the NHL level. The one way to find out is to play him on a line that could potentially play together rather than a mish mash of lines. As much as I believe Boychuk will someday be an impact player for the Hurricanes, I acknowledge his performances in the two games thus far in he played were not spectacular.
I’m still missing where Sammy has earn a top line spot………………………….
Carolina Hurricanes! Your 2011 Stanley Cup Champions!
Samsonov: great question
Samsonov should have to earn a top six or top nine position. He has the talent to do so; but he isn’t like Staal, Ruutu, Sutter, Jokinen who have already proven that are top six players.
I’d say he needs to get a chance to prove that he can produce in the top six or nine. No one is going to showing too much when they are buried on the 4th line and have Brindy and Kostopoulos as linemates.
Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, uh, your opinion, man.
Linemates and Samsonov
I think smaller framed forwards who are play-makers as much as scorers, such as Samsonov, are highly dependent on their linemates. Samsonov’s passes look crisp when he has players who can anticipate them and handle them; and when he is paired with players with less gifted hands, his passing game is much less effective. Samsonov is hindered by the fact he lacks burning speed so he can’t blast past defenders; but when he is in his zone, he can do some amazing things with a puck.
Don’t forget that Samsonov has been given the opportunity to produce before. He had significant top line minutes with Staal and Ruutu during the 08/09 season.
Triple Gold Juice - It's Potent and Guaranteed to Help You Score!
by PackPride17 on Sep 25, 2010 7:02 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Interesting Quote from Boychuk
Boychuk said Maurice told him before the game to concentrate on the forecheck and not worry about scoring goals. “When you show you can get in there and win the puck battles, that’s when you get your chance to play on the top lines,” Boychuk said. “You don’t just come in and get to play on Staal’s line.”
This interview was quoted at http://hurricanesbeat.com/profiles/blogs/still-not-connecting.
I would imagine some Mo haters will go ballistic with the idea that Boychuk’s offensive wizardry should be reigned in; but I think there is also the Dean Smith equivalent of “use defense to create offense.” Still, it helps explain why Boychuk has been less visible offensively than I would expect. It’s pretty much an instruction by Maurice to Boychuk to focus first on being sound defensively with hard forechecks and backchecks. I did see Boychuk trying to lay hits; and I think he will learn that his low center of gravity lets him lay surprisingly tough hits on bigger guys. Here’s hoping a good balance can be found and that Boychuk will figure out how to play tough defense without losing his offensive creativity.
I understand the concept that Boychuk has to fit into the system, but Dean Smith was also largely credited as the only man to hold Michael Jordan under 20 points per game. One of the criticisms of Maurice is that he tries to adapt the player to his system, instead of vice versa.
Just my gram of Au.
Boychuk and Maurice's System
It may take Boychuk time to become instinctual about how to play within Maurice’s system. At the moment, Boychuk has not found the happy medium between defense and offensive creativity. In the end although it make take longer than I’d like, I think he will find his game; but it looks now to me as if he will have to work his way back to the team from Charlotte. He’s still quite young; and with Maurice’s emphasis on physicality on defense, he’s at a disadvantage over bigger framed players like Dalpe, Bowman, and Tlusty. Skinner is also a physical player who has not only talent but the ability to be at his best when the game is on the line.
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