Canes With Total Effort, But Come Up Short in OT: Capitals 4, Hurricanes 3

well one point. woudl have won if the effing ref had picked up the stupid stick behind the play

Thanks for the detailed write up. Did not see the game, listened to first half of the second period. It’s always tough not being able to “see” Chuck’s call. A bit shocked to see pre-game that the lines were the same as last night. Did this stand up thru the 2nd? And how did the lines look in the 3rd with the changes? For the life of me I’d like an explanation of Poni on the 3rd line and LaRose on the 1st. I thought the preseason saw Poni and Staal on the same line with good passing and movement.

Power play scored twice; a move in the right direction. Staal got on the score board! All positives to build on.

I thought were were dominated for most of this game but thankfully the powerplay was working well and kept us alive. Staal responded nicely after an off-game yesterday and I thought Jokinen played pretty well too. Unfortunately, we had to take a penalty at the worst time which led to the 5-on-3 and the Caps taking the lead.

I’d definitely like to see the lines changed a little bit. At least give Dalpe and Stewart more ice-time and put Tlusty back on the fourth line. I thought those two played well but they received less than 10 minutes of ice-time. Defense pairings could use some work as well. Kaberle got Faulk into trouble a couple times with those bad pinches which led to the first two Washington goals. I saw Faulk with Pitkanen for a little bit and they seemed to play well.

The loss is pretty frustrating even if we were outplayed at even strength because we had about four golden chances to end the game in OT but Neuvirth came up huge. It took the Caps one to convert.

I don’t have many complaints about Boucher tonight aside from that miscue in the 3rd period.

It was a much better game than the night before, but it would have been difficult not to improve on the Tampa sh*tfest game.

I glad we actually got some goals, but I’m concerned that all 3 came with a man advantage (the 3rd being a 6 on 5). Mo really needs to look at changing the lines for the better; getting out of his comfort zone. I really can believe LaRose was on the top line for any period of time. JSkins has started the season out beautifully, but that line with Staal & whoever is so far a disaster defensively.

I also believe the Jussi OT penalty was a result of poor coaching. Staal/Skins/Jussi/Pits were out there the entire time and Mo had also used them for the majority of the final minutes of the game, even after we tied it up. I’m sorry, but there are 9 other forwards on the team.

last nights games was 100% better than Game #1 with them Botz…and i sent an email thanking FSCarolinas for theor coverage and asked them to forward a copy of the tapes showing the slewfoots that wwere freely given to the Canes..and hopefully the NHL Offical supervisors will get on the crews to be more vigilent than they have been…And Bob ..we thank you for the effort…you outlined the game perfectly..Thank You !!

thought the effort was a bit more focused, but still the lines looked lost 5-on-5. did not like staal’s defensive zone play, but admired him down low on the PP. Boucher looked real good for the most part, wish he’d stay in goal a little more instead of wandering around. liked faulk’s game but didn’t love it. he’s got a great upside but i would not be opposed to sending him to charlotte for a while so his head doesn’t get too big (need to get back a bit quicker, dude). loved Jussi’s attitude - why doesn’t he wear an A? Sutter still looks like he’s fighting the puck, don’t know if it’s a product of his linemates or what, but that late penalty, bleh. Defense doesn’t look terrible, but doesn’t look great either. Very, very concerned with the forward line makeup, our 5-on-5 game does not put the fear of God into the opponent by any stretch of the imagination. And LaRose on the first line…well…still, overall, an A for effort, C for execution. I just wish I knew what Mo is thinking on those lines…

than the Tampa Bay game. I don’t agree with the person who said we were dominated the whole game. I thought we were on even terms with Washington about 95% of the game. There were only a few times, when we had breakdowns, and that is why Washington scored. Canes still need to work on the power play. How can we not score when we are a man up still is beyond me…especially when we are 4 on 3 in OT…

The lines definitely need to be adjusted before tomorrow. What not try theses;

Skinner/Staal/Poni
Skinner has been excellent. Staal was piss poor in Game 1, pretty good in Game 2. But so far, our top line has been a defensive liability. Maybe Poni could help even it out as well as providing some size and net presence.

Jussi/Ruutu/Dalpe
Jussi seemed to get it going in Washington and does seem to play better at wing. Dalpe hasn’t been great, but he has been getting limited time. Dalpe’s biggest weapon is his shot and he’s only got 2 through 2 games. I’m thinking with Juice & Ru, they should be able to open up chances for Dalpe.

Tlusty/Sutter/Stewart
Let’s try a checking line with size. They all have decent wheels and Sutter & Stewart like crashing the net. Let’s see what happens.

LaRose/Brent/Dwyer
Honestly LaRose belongs in the bottom 6. He has value as an agitator and energy guy. Brent has been solid and Dwyer is steady. This line wouldn’t score much, but could be a headache for opposing teams and should be decent defensively. And just maybe with “Mo love child” LaRose and “Everyone from Toronto is Great” Brent; Mo might roll for 4th more often and rest the other guys a little more?

1st PP unit (the Movement Unit)
Skinner/Staal/Jussi/Pitkanen/Kaberle
This unit would be all about moving guys & the puck around, creating shots by getting the goalie moving back & forth and crisp passes.

2nd PP unit (the Shooting Unit)
Poni/Ruutu/Dalpe/Gleason/Faulk
This unit would be about shooting the puck and net presence. Park Poni in front of the net, have Ruutu near the net also, have Dalpe in the slot, and Faulk & Gleason on the points. Focus on Faulk & Dalpe taking shots and Poni & Ruutu screening the goalie, trying to clean up the garbage near the crease.

Looking at the rest of October’s schedule, where do we slot Murphy in? I think Boston is definitely out. I’m thinking slide him in tomorrow against NJ and have him replace Allen on the 3rd pairing. Then try him again against St. Louis & Ottawa.

It’s only games he’s played in.

Is till sub par…as mentioned numerous times, the line combos are attrocious based on past years performances, based on previous player history, based on recent camp performances and based on Talent….

I mentioned minor tweaks which I think would make difference, similar to what others have posed:

Skinner, Staal, Poni — Still have aplaymaker and two scorers. A big body to go to the net and gather rebounds, or to punish the other team and try to keep the puck in Battles. Poni also showed a good ability to keep the puck on is stick, and he could also dish to the other two guys. Ruu hasn’t looked good on the first line, part of that could be injuries. Either way, keep him off, but don’t put LaRose up there. Go with Poni.

Jussi, Ruutu, Dalpe—Ruu is better at Center than Jussi, Jussi and Ruu have chemistry and play well together, both can score, but Ruu doen’t look to shoot enough. Dalpe has sniping and speed. Ruu can create space and put fear into the opposition….

Tlusty Sutter, Stewart, Good mix of size speed and some limited scoring potential. Can still see Dwyer here instead of Tlusty…..toss up to me.

LaRose, Brent, Dwyer or Tlusty. Tlusty would stop a center and two smallish guys…. Dwyer and Tlusty can play either line right now. Not sure where Tlusty’s offensive potential went, but he’s been under Mo, and imho, Mo kills young offensive talent…

Hopefully, Mo would leave thos eline to develop among themselves, work out roles, strengths and tendencies, as I think they optimise some of our potential, brings more of our forward size up front so we’re not playing small again…