Rangers At Hurricanes: Game Day Preview

by Bob Wage on Dec 1, 2011 3:31 PM EST in Carolina Hurricanes Game Day Previews

NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 11: Eric Staal #12 of the Carolina Hurricanes controls the puck from a diving Ruslan Fedotenko #26 of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 11, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

One of the league's top teams faces one of the bottom teams tonight as the Carolina Hurricanes, (8-18-4) take on the New York Rangers, (13-5-3) starting at 7 at the RBC.

The Hurricanes have lost their last four straight, as well as 11 of their last 14 contests. The Rangers have won three in a row, and eight of their last 10.

Look for the same lineup for the Hurricanes as Tuesday night. Jamie McBain and Jay Harrison are expected to sit this one out. The lines should look like this:

Ruutu, Staal, Skinner
Poni, Jokinen, LaRose
Tlusty, Sutter, Dwyer
Stewart, Brent, Nodl
Allen, Gleason
Pitkanen, Faulk
Joslin, Kabere

Cam Ward will be facing Martin Biron in net.

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2011 - Cam Ward	22	1259	8	11		64	3.05	674	610	.905	1

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2011 - Martin Biron	5	250	3	1		7	1.68	111	104	.937	1

Rangers defenseman Marc Staal traveled with his team, but said he has some conditioning to put in yet before he's ready for prime time.

Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards lead the Blueshirts, with Ryan Callahan close behind.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2011 - Marian Gaborik	21	11	8	19	4	10	2	0	2		88

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2011 - Brad Richards	21	9	10	19	1	4	2	0	3		48

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2011 - Ryan Callahan	21	9	7	16	4	25	3	0	2		71

Check out Blue Shirt Banter for more Rangers info.

Of course, Jeff Skinner leads the way for the Canes.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2011 - Jeff Skinner	26	10	12	22	-6	18	2	0	3		86

Eric Staal and Joni Pitkanen have points in each of their last two games.

The home team will be wearing their black third jerseys again tonight. Overall they are 29-15-5 when wearing them, but they have a 1-3-2 record this year donning black.

This is the second meeting of the season between the clubs, with the Rangers winning 5-1 at MSG earlier.

The game will be televised on FS Carolinas and will broadcast on 99.9 The Fan. We will have our open game thread ready to at 6:30.

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Comments

Well with 2 new coaches

we shall see if JR’s spending on management will pay off if not then JR should have found a way to get Ryan..but remember..I’m just a fan…what do i know ? :-D

9/11/01 - Never Forget !!
Long Live #63 The Condor
Go Canes & Checkers !!!

by CaniacSteve on Dec 1, 2011 3:53 PM EST reply actions

I’m one who’s going to give Muller a chance to make a difference in this team if he can. The major positive difference he can make is to get all the players playing hard and up to their potential and in the course of doing that getting the PP and PK special teams up to snuff. If we get another 1st line forward or top two defenseman, that will be icing on the cake.

by FoxtrotSierra on Dec 1, 2011 4:18 PM EST reply actions

You hit the nail on the head. I’m not expecting a huge turnaround in a mtter of games. I’m mainly looking for effort, hustle and an improved powerplay for the next month.

"I'm not going to waste my time with Tuukka Rask" - Cam Ward

by anonymousJ on Dec 1, 2011 5:45 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Muller has now had a full practice and a morning skate sine his debut game Tuesday. Not a lot of time to see a result, but we should at least see what he’s aiming for starting tonight. McLean has just been a part of the morning skate, so he’s not too familiar with the boys yet, and thus not expected to make too big an impact tonight. Game two of the Muller era tonight. With JR’s strong words regarding Kaberle, his being in the lineup has to be purely for showcasing. Maybe the words about his poor conditioning coming into camp was to let other teams know he’ll be a great catch once he’s in shape!! Please other GM’s, listen. He is a jewell available o all!!

by Hockeydog on Dec 1, 2011 4:33 PM EST reply actions

Kaberle and McBain

Yup, my take as well….Kabs is playing on the off chance that he gets a little something going, thereby showcasing him for a trade. Directly related to that is the fact that McBain is probably “in play” as part of ongoing trade talks that may be closer to fruition than we expect. If the latter is true, we’ll have to live with Kaberle for the near future. If the former is the case, Jamie is on the ice as soon as: 1)Kabs proves just too inept to keep in the line up, or 2)He has a couple of good games that open potential trading partners’ eyes. I think we do McBain a huge disservice keeping him out of the lineup if one of those two trades isn’t eminent. Add the whole Nodl acquisition to the mix and you’ve got to think D-man, roster forward, and pick/prospect are in the mix for a major move by JR…at least that’s my “crystal ball” read at the moment.

by NotOpie on Dec 1, 2011 4:59 PM EST up reply actions

If you hadn’t seen this, it looks like the power play units have been revised. LaRose out, Stewart in.

Twitter @HMof2

by Carolyn Christians on Dec 1, 2011 5:04 PM EST reply actions

Is this a bit bigger than it looks?

Muller is wise to move in small incremental changes. Change too much at once and the change that mattered can’t be determined. Upping the compete level for the group is a big change all by itself. Nodl is one of those small incremental changes as well. I expect all of Rutherford’s roster changes to be similarly subtle, not ever the blockbuster deal we all dream about; at least not until we are a seller at the trade deadline. Next one of the Charlotte kids will creep back into the lineup and be given a real try out for the top six. My hopes for this team are modest this season. Hopefully our games become max effort real try outs for key roles in next years powerhouse team.

by surgalt on Dec 1, 2011 5:24 PM EST up reply actions

Also publicly calling out Kabs is bigger than it looks. The action is a very drastic one for JR, not at all his usual method of operation. Somebody check to see is Kabs is on the exercise bike right after the game ala Brind’Amour.

by surgalt on Dec 1, 2011 5:27 PM EST up reply actions

Liking Muller More and More

Hopefully, it is true that Stewart is being brought in to the power plays to create havoc and chaos around the net. To me that is just sound hockey. Stewart needs some work to hone the rough edges, but that is what good coaches accomplish with talented players who have areas that are not as refined. Also, it is the function of bringing in a fresh set of eyes and perhaps without preconceived notions about the upper limits of players.

by abramsdoug on Dec 1, 2011 5:41 PM EST up reply actions

Is Poni now crowding the net on one PP unit and Stewart on the other?

by curiouscanesfan on Dec 1, 2011 5:57 PM EST up reply actions

Exactly.

Twitter @HMof2

by Carolyn Christians on Dec 1, 2011 6:04 PM EST up reply actions

You’d think Muller was an All-Star NHL forward when he played or something with his radical idea of getting big bodies in front of the goalie on a power play.

by abramsdoug on Dec 1, 2011 6:12 PM EST up reply actions

Exactly. Really like this move. Not only makes sense buy might also be a precursor to Stewart moving off of the 4th line. Regardless it gets him more TOI. He then gets to develop some chemistry with folks in the Top 9 and who knows where that goes.

Not to be too much of a geek, but the incremental changes, as mentioned previously, are really the only way to isolate what catalyst is doing the work. Statistically sound, as it were….

by NotOpie on Dec 1, 2011 6:32 PM EST up reply actions

Correct, Use a Control to Ensure Correlation

It’s sound problem solving. One starts with a control so if there is a change you can then assess if there is a correlation. Putting Stewart on the power play brings to bear a different approach and frankly a more traditional approach. Even if the Hurricanes don’t score on the power play with a big body creating havoc, it’s no fun for the goalie. The Hurricanes need to be a team people hate playing because they come in waves, never give up, and always make the goalie feel he is in a cave because he can’t ever get good looks at the puck.

by abramsdoug on Dec 1, 2011 6:39 PM EST up reply actions

Thanks Kirk Muller, thanks!

by curiouscanesfan on Dec 1, 2011 6:36 PM EST up reply actions

Amen AD

Stewart & Nodl will be like Joslin..the more they play the better they or the more their flaws are seen…just finnished supper will catch a wee bit of the news and then get ready for…Canes Hockey !!

9/11/01 - Never Forget !!
Long Live #63 The Condor
Go Canes & Checkers !!!

by CaniacSteve on Dec 1, 2011 5:58 PM EST reply actions

Is this going to be streamed? Link?

by Dan Fogarty on Dec 1, 2011 6:16 PM EST reply actions

A couple of surprises from behindthenet.ca - why do the Canes miss the net so often?

Looking at 5 on 5 stats and goals per 60, I knew Anthony Stewart would be leading the list, but not that Jiri Tlusty would be near the top too. I’m also surprised how high LaRose is. Poor Eric Staal was at 0.83 last season and is at 0.32 now.

Stewart 1.46
Skinner 1.31
Ruutu 0.89
Tlusty 0.81
Jokinen 0.69
LaRose 0.67.

It’s also interesting to look at the leaders in primary assists 5 on 5 per 60 minutes.

Skinner 0.98
Jokinen 0.91
Boychuk 0.61
Tlusty 0.60

LaRose brings up the rear in primary assists 5 on 5 per 60 at 0.34. That is huge evidence in my opinion supporting the widespread belief that for all his virtues, LaRose does not belong on a scoring line and that LaRose is, in fact, part of the Staal problem this season. Maybe Tlusty and Boychuk can help boost scoring if given a chance.

There are a couple of other interesting numbers. It’s hard to say Poni and Stewart don’t get assists because they’re sent to crowd the net or if they just aren’t playmakers. But if you put Poni and LaRose with Staal, Staal doesn’t have even a mediocre playmaker to work with. The third guy on a line with Staal and Poni has to be a Ray Whitney type or Cory Stillman type or the whole thing is doomed. The vets PM chose to play with Staal don’t even register on the playmaking scale. There wasn’t a Whitney or Stillman, but there were better alternatives for the critical playmaker role.

Could it be that the Canes miss the net so often because there aren’t enough playmakers to set up decent shots?

Worth a look. Behindthenet.

by curiouscanesfan on Dec 1, 2011 6:31 PM EST reply actions