stormTRacker Podcast
...stormTRacker Podcast is your home for in-depth analysis of the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Wolves & Hurricanes' prospects around the globe. Host, Tom Ray, gives his insightful perspective & is joined by Hurricanes' "Insiders" Erin Manning, Katie Bartlett, Nick Bass (Canes Prospects) & Andrew Rinaldi (Chicago Wolves), as well as special guests, to cover all the top stories for your Carolina Hurricanes. Tom is also active on "X" connecting with Hurricanes' fans on a regular basis. (@stormTRacker24)
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stormTRacker Podcast
11 Wins in 13 Games: Inside the Hurricanes' Late-Season Dominance
The Carolina Hurricanes are surging at the perfect time, riding an impressive 11-3-0 streak over their last 13 games to climb to second place in the Eastern Conference. What's driving this late-season dominance? Erin, Katie & I break down how the new acquisitions are transforming the team's identity and playoff chances.
• Taylor Hall making immediate impact with seven goals in his last eight games
• Mark Jankowski surprising everyone with his offensive contributions on the fourth line
• Logan Stankoven finding chemistry with veterans Staal and Martinook
• Frederik Andersen dominating in net with perfect 6-0 record and .940 save percentage in last six games
• Sebastian Aho and the top line finally coming alive at the perfect time
• Russian contingent (Svechnikov, Orlov, Kochetkov) showing flashes but needing more consistency
• Alexander Nikishin signs with Quartexx agency, fueling speculation about NHL arrival
Subscribe and hit the bell button to be notified of future stormTRacker episodes as we continue tracking the Hurricanes' journey toward the playoffs.
Well, the Carolina Hurricanes continue their red-hot play, winning two of the last three on the current homestand and 11 of their last 13 games. The Canes now sit in second place in the Eastern Conference, just nine points back of the Washington Capitals. For sure, there's lots to the good. The new guys have made an immediate impact. The Ajo-Blake Blake Jarvis line is heating up. And how about Freddie Anderson? He's been lights out in net Joining me to talk about this and a lot more.
Speaker 1:Storm Tracker Insiders Aaron Manning and Katie Bartlett. Ladies, hi there Evening, hey. Ladies, hi there evening, hey, so, uh, the canes have been playing tremendous hockey. I mean, you think about the one game that was a bit of an outlier, seven, nothing with the los angeles kings. Um, if you look at the other games, like during that, uh, that stretch, they could have won them all. They won 11 of them. They could have won the one in in, uh, in Nashville as well, um, unbelievable play.
Speaker 1:And you know I was looking at the newcomers in particular to kick this off, and I was thinking about Taylor Hall. You know, hall came in. He was kind of under the radar in the big deal with Nico Rantan and in fact some people thought he was just there to kind of make the cap work right. So this is Eric doing some good work and they throw in Taylor Hall. Hey, that's fine, he might be able to help a little bit. Turns out he's been doing a great job. In his last eight games he's got seven goals, three assists, he's got a couple of power play goals and a power play assist and he's been kind of helping that get started and overall he's got 17 goals and 21 assists now. So he's starting to make this season look interesting and he's been off to a great start with the Canes Otts.
Speaker 2:I'm really encouraged, particularly on the power play end of things. I mean, yes, he's looked good five on five on that line and is starting to develop chemistry there. But I think that the main thing that he has brought to the power play is that he moves around and, as we've talked about in past episodes, that has been the biggest problem with the Canes power play in 2025 is they've just been too static.
Speaker 2:They've been too content to stand around in their spots and pass around the umbrella and maybe take a shot from distance, but not do anything particularly dangerous. And he is. He is changing up that equation quite a bit. He's finding the spots, he's moving around and his movements are forcing the other players to do some forechecking and to also adjust their positioning.
Speaker 2:And you think about one of the most recent power plays, that the most recent power play goal he scored where Blake had to get below the goal line and make the defender's answer to him, which gave Hall just enough space to get open so Blake could feed him and he could snap it over the goalie and into the goal. I mean that was just completely set up by Hall and then Blake's hard work behind the net. It was fantastic. So I think that's what I really appreciated is that Hall has helped to rejuvenate that power play and it's looking like it's not quite so soft as it was before.
Speaker 3:I would agree with that. And since you took the power play, I will talk about a little bit about their five-on-five play, because the line that Hall has been on has gotten a lot of attention for how well they've been doing. There have been two main versions so far. We've seen Hall with KK and Jackson Blake and then more recently Hall with KK and Jack Ross, and I like that. There's strengths and weaknesses, I think, to both of those combinations. It may come up later down the line when we start talking about playoff lines and you know, does Jackson Blake stay on the top line or not? I think we have that coming up, you know. But both of those lines have worked really well in different ways. And one of the things that I've noticed with the power play that you said, katie, you know Hall's had a lot of chemistry on the power play with Blake. So I think if they were to put him back on that line at 5-on-5, it would be really interesting to see how that would look now, because they've been developing some very natural chemistry there.
Speaker 3:But what I like about the line at five on five is that Hall has been, you know he's slotted right into how Rod Rendemore wants his forwards to play.
Speaker 3:He's not a defensive liability at all and I think there were people who thought he would be, because Chicago being what it is right now, it's hard to tell.
Speaker 3:It's really hard to tell who can or can't play defense in Chicago, because no one seems to. So, honestly, it's been really enlightening to see how well he thinks the game, you know, and that he's seeing those pass opportunities opening up and or, you know, with the scoring opportunities that other players maybe don't see, some of the goals that he has scored have involved him driving the net at the last second and just taking the goalie completely out of the play. I mean, that's that's not just a high skilled play, it's having the vision to see that that's even possible. And you know, I think, that that there are a lot of Canes players who can do that, but for whatever reason within the system, they don't seem to. So it's nice to see someone who's playing fully within the system, playing very responsibly, playing defensively, but still able to get those breathtaking moments of, you know, getting a goal or at least getting a really exciting chance, because we've missed that, I think, in recent months, and it's good to see.
Speaker 1:Well, for sure, and I think Paul is showing some of his skill that he demonstrated certainly, you know, in past years with his MVP year and so on. He was a great player and you know he suffered injuries for several seasons. We saw that he had missed a lot of action over three or four years. That's tough and it seems that this year he's come back healthy, you know, and playing for the Blackhawks again. That's a tough situation and he immediately upon, you know, joining the Hurricanes.
Speaker 1:You know you could see him with a much bigger smile on his face and feeling very, very good about things. And he's definitely. He's made a huge difference. And you know, if you look at the power play and you see the confidence now starting to build, you see he's been leading the way, sure, with a lot of his good play. And then you know Shane Gossespierre jumping in and starting to play the way he can, and now Sebastian Ajo being the guy that's firing away on that right side and getting the huge opportunities over there as well. So again, I think he's definitely leading by example. He's a hard worker, he skates hard, he's involved both ends of the rink and you're right, Erin, he's not a defensive liability at all. I think he's a great player and right now, well, he's making that trade look a lot better by his play, certainly at this stage and hopefully into the playoffs, and he's got a lot of playoff experience. That should help too. So good stuff with Taylor Hall.
Speaker 1:Mark Jankowski scores again against the Islanders. You know Jankowski, it's interesting. We talked a little bit about his past. You know he was a first-round pick. He had some good years with Calgary Flames. His early stage into the league Scored 17 goals one year, and you might not know this, but last year with Milwaukee. So he went back to the American Hockey League and he had 47 points in 40 games, Okay, and it was a plus 29. So he dominated in the American Hockey League and I think what you know, what we weren't quite aware of, was he does have some offensive acumen and, you know, for whatever reason, he's getting a chance to show that on a regular basis, and I think part of that is the fact that Eric Robinson has teamed up with him on a just incredible number of great plays. Some turned into goals, some didn't. But what are you thinking about Jankowski right now? Is he for real? Some didn't, but what are you thinking about?
Speaker 3:Jankowski right now. Is he for real? Well, I think you know I didn't. I didn't see the results after last night's game, so I don't know what, but before last night's game he had a sixty three point nine, I believe, percent shooting percentage. So that tells you. You know for real? Yes, but that's not sustainable, obviously.
Speaker 3:Sustainable no, so he's not going to keep scoring goals like he is, unless there's, you know, some magic at work here that we don't know about. But really it's incredible to see that he's got having this kind of impact, because obviously that's exciting for the Canes right now. I think that his broader impact as a center on the fourth line is going to be just his big physicality, the fact that he's not, you know, in any way easy to push around. You know he's certainly strong in those areas as well. That line has put up great possession numbers so far. You know he's certainly he's everything you want in a 4C going into the playoffs, Absolutely everything. So will the scoring continue? No, but will it? I mean that doesn't mean that there won't be opportunities, because, as we know, in the playoffs a lot of times it's a fourth line that scores the really impactful goals when they can take advantage of those matchups, when they can get out there and just dominate the other team's fourth line.
Speaker 3:So I'm excited to see him in the playoffs. That's, I mean, I know, as exciting as it is right now. I'm really excited to see what Mark Jankowski will bring in the playoffs. I think it's going to be a treat, so it doesn't have to say 63% scoring.
Speaker 2:But the one thing, the one thing that's encouraging, where I do think that it's realistic to expect him to still contribute on the score sheet, is the ways that he has scored these goals.
Speaker 2:It's not just a particular style. He's had some coming in on the rush, he's had some dirty work around the net. I think he even has a tip or something along those lines. I mean, the one last night against the Islanders was just such a fantastic play by all of them because Jost chips it up out of the zone so he makes a really good play to move it up to Robinson. Robinson brings it down the ice and Jankowski sees him and just makes a beeline straight for the net and gets there and Robinson gets the pass through perfectly, which Jankowski just taps home. And so it was a wonderful play from all three of the forwards on that line that Jankowski finished off.
Speaker 2:And that's the sort of impact that they can have and the type of goal I see him being able to continue scoring is he's still going to be coming in with those sniper goals. I mean maybe, but most likely it's going to be those sorts of hardworking, good vision type goals that catch the other team a little bit off guard, because you just don't expect a team's fourth line to be that fast and that quick with their play, and Jankowski and Robinson together as a duo definitely are. And then I don't think it really matters who you put in as the third winger, whether it's Jost or someone else. It's going to be somebody who can work hard and help get pucks and get them up to those guys to create chances, and so that line is a threat. The other team can definitely not sleep on that line or they're going to end up giving them a bit of a handful for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know what I mean. That goal yesterday was a very I mean it was a slick goal by him too. That's not an easy play. Going at speed he was able to, you know, redirect the puck, get it into the net quickly. You know, he seems to have pretty soft hands and that's something that I think is surprising a lot of us. He's, he's definitely good with the puck, he and man I don't know what to say about Robinson that we haven't said already. He's just, he's a guy that's out there, he's, he's one of those lunch pail guys that just gets it done and he has amazing speed and, and that is, we see it regularly and that changes the rules quite often. So I'm really delighted to see this. I think it's, as you say, rightfully too, Katie. These guys are going to, they're going to contribute, there's no question, and it'll be interesting to see who ends up with them. And that's one of the million-dollar questions these days is who's going to be patrolling the wing with those two fellas. But I'm excited about it. We haven't had a fourth line like that I don't know if I can remember one With two big guys that can move and, you know, can put the puck in the net as well, and both of them playing at the top of their game. So very exciting. We'll keep an eye on Jankowski and I'm sure he'll score another goal before the year's over maybe two, he knows but he's definitely having a tremendous impact in his short time with the Canes.
Speaker 1:You know you go back to and it leads into the next guy as well, but you go back to the summer. We talked a lot about the moves that eric tolsky made and you know he made a lot of noise about the fact that, hey, we handpicked these folks to be hurricanes, right. So you know we went out and, yeah, they're not the biggest names around and and you know some of them we signed the long-term deals and all kinds of things. And and again, you know, looking at the players that he brought in, he was very clear that he wanted Taylor Hall. He was a player he wanted to go after, and this is before the deal was done or anything else.
Speaker 1:And also, again, he wanted Jankowski. He said that his group had their eye on Jankowski for a while. So you know you really got to be impressed with, you know, that team of folk that are sitting in the back room and up on the whiteboard and whatever they're doing, coming up with these players because they're coming in and playing quite well for the Hurricanes. You know, and you go back to the summer when some folks, crazily enough, said you know, this was a transition year for the Hurricanes and you know, if they make the playoffs, that's great. Maybe get a round or two. How?
Speaker 1:things have changed. So again, I give a lot of credit to Eric and his group. I think they've again they've done a really nice job. And that leads us to the third pillar of the new guys, and of course that's Logan Stankoven. And Logan, he's playing under the radar a little bit more and, yeah, that's not a pun, but anyway, he's definitely a guy that's out there trying to get it done. It was again a nice goal. What did he do? He's hardworking, he's getting in front of the net, he's pushing and shoving, trying to get something done and the puck ends up in the net. So that's again how he plays and I think he's starting to, you know, have his impact in playing with the dads. That's always an interesting one. But what are we thinking about Logan these days?
Speaker 2:I love his energy, I love his bulldog mentality and I really love him with the dads. I get grouchy when I see Jarvis or Svech end up there because I just think it's a mismatch of talent and ability. Not that Svech and Jarvis are more talented than Stahl and Martinuk, they're just a different kind of talented and Stahl and Martinuk. They're just a different kind of talented and I think that the talents that Stankhoven has are the ones that complement Stahl and Martinuk a lot more than the other two, because the other two are a little bit more slick and he's a little bit more, you know, get to the dirty areas a little bit more blue collar lunch pail, just go to work.
Speaker 2:And he is definitely not afraid, because I think is it pretty much every goal that he scored for the canes been right there in front of the crease you know, there's the tip power play goal.
Speaker 2:And then there was the one last night where I mean it was right next to the crease.
Speaker 2:He just got down there and martinook fed the puck out front and he was able to find it. And if there's one thing that stall and martinuk are good at, it's having possession of the puck and getting it to the front of the net. The two of them just aren't very good at putting it into the net piece and that's where stankovin compliments them so well, because he likes that front of the net area and he is good at cleaning up, uh, whatever rebounds or or small passes are put there for him. And I think the more time he gets with those two, the better he will get at it, because he will get there more frequently and he will know what to be looking for from them so he can get his stick on the ice and connect. So, whatever happens with the lines as things move around, I'm really hoping that Rod leaves that particular line alone, because I just think they're going to keep getting better and Stankoven is going to be the one that will help them convert those possession numbers into actual, to more scoring numbers as well.
Speaker 3:I think you could very well be right with that, katie. The one thing that's interesting about Logan is that he has said a few times in media interviews that you know he still very much feels like he's kind of feeling things out. You know that he's still trying to figure out the system, he's still working on it. He sees the flaws that he. You know we're all really excited because we see him contributing and that's great. That's great.
Speaker 3:But when you look a little bit into the stats, you do see that the one area where I think he's struggling to reach the level of most Canes players is the possession numbers. He's not as hard as he works and as much as he battles, he's not able to have those higher possession numbers just yet. I don't think that has anything to do with his size as a player, because certainly he's playing like somebody who's a lot bigger than he is. But I think it does have to do with the fact that you know, something we've always talked about is that for forwards, and especially for forwards that aren't veterans, to come in and learn this system is really, really hard because of everything that Rod Rendemore demands from his forwards. So I do think that there's room for improvement and that's exciting because he's such a young player.
Speaker 3:Obviously, you know he's going to get better and better and so you know we're seeing such promising flashes right now. We're very excited about it. I think all of us are on the same page with that, you know. But he's going to get even better and he's going to start putting up bigger numbers and he's going to have a bigger impact. And he's going to start putting up bigger numbers and he's going to have a bigger impact. I know, you know I'm not trying to run this one into the ground too much, but it was kind of fun to see him on the same ice with Brendan Gallagher the other night when the Montreal Canadiens I didn't bring Gallagher, into this.
Speaker 3:And.
Speaker 1:Gallagher's playing great hockey right now.
Speaker 3:He's playing wonderful hockey right now. When Gallagher was playing some of his best hockey in Montreal and Katie might find this amusing he was playing on a line with Tomas Tatar and Philippe Deneau and, as you know, deneau is another one of those incredibly talented shutdown centers. Yes, it was always the complaint in Montreal because before Nick Suzuki came along, deneau was the top center and they were basically playing someone like Jordan Stahl, someone who kept that, you know, was great at shutting down other guys but didn't do a whole lot of scoring himself as their 1C, you know. So that was not always ideal, so, you know.
Speaker 3:The interesting thing is that you've made that comparison, or you've made that comment, that Logan Stankovic is doing great with Stahl and Martinuk. It's that same kind of mentality that you know, the smaller player who is not at all afraid to rush to the front of the net and just, you know, grind it out and get those goals that the other two are creating the opportunities for. It to me that there is a parallel there, because I see that same energy, I see that same scoring touch, I see that same, you know, heart and soul player. I'm going to do everything. I mean same scoring touch. I see that same, you know heart and soul player. I'm gonna do everything. I mean he's, he's delivered.
Speaker 2:Hits on guys.
Speaker 3:You know that you think, okay, how can you? But but when you've seen it happen before with another player of a similar size, you're like, yeah, it's it is. It's not the size of the dog in the fight, right, we all, we all know that one yeah um, so, so yeah, it's very much a similar kind of a thing.
Speaker 3:So that was fun to see, because I think that that is the kind of player you know. I think that Logan will probably end up being a more talented scorer overall, yeah, because he has a higher pedigree, but I also think that smaller players along the way have opened that pathway, because there was a time when you wouldn't have drafted a player of that height Correct? Oh for sure, you know. So that's one of those things. I mean, the Canes have a couple coming too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we've talked about Justin Poirier and Justin Robita. Oh yeah, yeah, just a quick comment. I think you're right, erin. Just a quick comment on this guys is that? I mean Stankoven, we know he through the roof. I mean he has torn up every league he's been in.
Speaker 1:He's a guy that you know, once he figures it out, he's deadly. And one thing I've been having fun with has been that you know, you watch him with Martinuk and Stahl and he looks like them, just a smaller version, like he's going in, he's trying to do the same kinds of things, and so I think you're right, katie, he's a great fit on that line and and I hope they leave him there too, because he's a little bit sheltered that's great. I mean, they've got obviously they're doing the heavy lifting defensively, and so he, you know he can, he can kind of find his way, as you say to Aaron learning man. I think he's going to be a great player over time. You know, the cool thing is the Canes don't have to rush it Like, they don't have to put him into a situation that is going to be difficult for him. They can put him with the veterans and help him kind of, you know, mature his game with them. And I think that's again another fortunate thing the Canes have is that they have enough depth that they can do these kinds of things. So good stuff with Stankoven that they have enough depth that they can do these kinds of things. So good stuff with Stankoven. I think the new guys. I don't know what we could expect more than what they've delivered. Goodness. They've just all really made a difference to the Hurricanes and I think they're all looking like Carolina Hurricane-type players. So good stuff, and kudos to Eric and his team for bringing these guys in. That's great.
Speaker 1:I want to mention someone that's been around for a little bit of time as we talk about kind of the general discussion of the play of the Canes, and this guy has been lights out for a while I mentioned in the start, and that's Freddie Anderson. You know, freddie. You know we watched as Piotr went crazy for an 0-9-6-0 save percentage .99 goals against. That was insane, right. We're all going crazy and meanwhile Freddie was, you know, doing his thing and he's continued that. That's the difference. Piotr's had a few challenges, whereas Freddie's just continued. Freddie, in his last six games he's won all six. He's got a 1.5 goals against average and a 9-4-0 save percentage. I think that's pretty good. He's got a 1.5 goals against average and a 9-4-0 save percentage. I think that's pretty good. So I'm a big fan of Freddie's. What are we thinking about Freddie these days and how this plays out as the season goes on? Erin, why don't you take that one?
Speaker 3:I was waiting for Katie because she's the goalie person, but I think that it's been noticeable how calm he is in that and how that translates to a calmness among the group. You know, I think I'm not one of those people who thinks that goaltending can't be. You know that the whole goaltending is voodoo kind of thing. I think there are measurable things, but when it comes to these things that are not measurable, having a goalie who's just very calm, very focused, very, you know, even keel in net, it does make a difference when you have a group that maybe isn't quite as defensively structured the way that they were in the past.
Speaker 3:you know, and that's something that we've talked about with the Canes from the beginning that the one thing they did lose this season a little bit is that their defensive core is not what it was in previous years, when you had the Shea and Pesci pairing on the second line.
Speaker 3:It is still doing incredibly well. I'm not knocking our defense at all. You know there's there's been some ups and downs, but they've. You know they're still doing incredibly well and overall the forwards have been doing their job defensively more often than not, and that's getting better as time goes on too. So it's not like the team defense hasn't completely collapsed around them or anything. But at the same time you have to have that awareness that says, yeah, the goalies are for the Carolina Hurricanes. They either look way better than average because the team defense is so solid, or if team defense has a bad night, the goaltenders can suddenly look like.
Speaker 3:You know the old Swiss cheese jokes, you know, so it's one of those unfortunate things, because when the Canes do start having a bad night defensively and they have I think we can talk about the LA Kings game a little bit, although I don't really want to but when the Canes have a bad night as a group defensively, it just highlights anything that's going on in goaltending, because they tend to give up more high danger chances, they might not give up many chances at all.
Speaker 3:You might look at the end of the game and say, how did they get seven goals on however many shots? It's not right. But that's because the shots they're giving up tend to be those incredibly high danger ones, and if the goalie's already a little bit in his head, that's not going to be a good scenario. So you look at Freddie in net right now and you say he is somebody that even when he's had stretches of time where he's struggled, he never shows that really in game. His temperament isn't like that, he just goes okay, we'll get the next one, you know, and there's that. You can tell that that's the mindset. So I think that right now, with the group being, you know, incorporating new players and getting everything else up to speed, they will rely a lot on Freddie's calm temperament in these games. And so you know I I'll leave, but I'll leave the more statistical stuff to Katie.
Speaker 2:I don't know that I so much have the statistical stuff for Freddie, but just he is so positionally sound, which is nice because you know we'll get to him later. But the one of the biggest criticisms of peter is just that he gets himself out of position. He's too deep, he's too far. One side, the other side, and that's not something you have to worry about, freddie. He is always where he needs to be, in his crease. His angles are good. He, when he needs to move, he gets there quickly and efficiently and he just has ice water running through his veins.
Speaker 2:He doesn't ever do more than what he has to do. You don't see him flailing around, you don't see him dropping his stick, you don't see him going on wild trips around the ice, he's just steady, not usually, and that's I think that's goes back to what Aaron mentioned with the defense and the team around him, just knowing that, look, I'm going to do my job, I'm going to do my best, but if they get past me or if the shot gets through, I know that Freddie's there and he's got my back and he's going to be good to go and we're going to keep firing and keep going, because the the biggest Achilles heel right now for the Canes is that they're not good when playing from behind, when they're chasing the game, and they end up making a lot more mistakes in that particular scenario.
Speaker 2:So with Freddie and Nett, it's more often than not that they actually have the time to get the lead and not have to play from behind, or if they do play from behind, they know that well, one more mistake isn't going to dig us a deeper hole, that he's going to keep us where we need to be and give us the confidence that we can move forward and get this game knotted and then move ahead at some point. So, yeah, he has just been fantastic. His ceiling is not as high as I would like it to be. I do think that, even though he hasn't shown it recently, he can let in a soft goal sometimes, but when he does, he doesn't spiral, he gets past it, he brushes it off and he moves on and he gets right back to the job that needs to be done. So that's, that's another feather in his cap as well.
Speaker 2:So lots, lots to love with what freddie's doing right now. Definitely lots to talk about in the future as far as he's concerned when it comes to playoffs. But for the time being, all good to go and I can't wait to see how the game goes against the Capitals on Wednesday because I expect him to start. That's a big, high-powered team, lots of offense, lots of storylines around that team, and I can't wait to see what kind of game he brings forward, because it should be quite the battle between the two teams.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we'll talk a little bit more about that as we kind of round up today. I do want to talk about the upcoming schedule and We'll talk a little bit more about that as we kind of round up today. I do want to talk about the upcoming schedule and there are two games in the next five against the Caps, so we're definitely going to see you know how the team works. But on to Freddie, just for a second. Again, I think your comment about you know he's able to put a goal behind him regularly. Yeah, he might have the odd one that he'd like back, but, boy, he tightens it up in a hurry and he's playing with confidence. Right now you can see that. I mean, you look at the save he made against Anaheim, against Olin Zellweger, who came in, and it was just a gorgeous save. I mean he's made a number of excellent breakaway saves and so on, and he's just quiet, as you say, quiet in the net, just makes a save and carry on and do the next thing. So I think the Canes are in pretty good shape with Freddie right now. Again, he hasn't had a big season, like. He's missed a lot of games this year, so he should be fresh, which is great, and he's been alternating with Piotr. So hopefully, as we head towards the playoffs, we're going to see a rested or certainly ready to go Freddie, which would make all the difference in the world, I think, for the Hurricanes. So pretty cool stuff.
Speaker 1:So one of the things I wanted to just touch on again, surprisingly, the big line has started to come together. We've watched it kind of, you know, a little bit here, a little bit there, but in the last couple of games they've been dominant Five goals and six assists in those two games collectively. Jackson Blake continues to show some interesting things. Of course Ajo, Sebastian Ajo, starting to kind of get going again, and he was in that skirmish a couple of games ago and that seemed to be a wake-up call for him and he's played great ever since, so maybe he needs to get in more of those. And of course, seth Jarvis, who continues to, you know, amaze us with some great play and certainly scored a beautiful shorthanded goal as well. So is that line ready to go or are we going to see some more of this up-and-down type play with the top line? What are we thinking about this big line as we go through the next number of games, Katie?
Speaker 2:I certainly hope this isn't a fluke. We have been waiting all season long to see Sebastian Ajo start to look like Sebastian Ajo, and they had been building up to this before the previous two games, but it feels like they finally broke through with these last two games and it has been a wonder to behold.
Speaker 2:I mean, just in the Islanders game, Ajo had three points and one of them was a power play point, One of them was a penalty kill point and one of them was a five-on-five point. So I mean, that's what you're looking for. That is Sebastian Ajo hockey, right there. And of course, Jarvis was involved in two of those. So it is definitely what we're looking for. This is a great time for them to finally be finding their scoring touch. I don't know why it's taken this long, I don't know. You know, is it just time to build chemistry with all of the different linemates? He's had all of the drama with the trades and that sort of thing. Who knows why. We're at the end of March, going into April, and Fishy's finally found his scoring touch.
Speaker 2:Because he you know a lot of a lot of the numbers he was putting up were concerning Like, for example, only 40% of his points were five on five.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's 67% of his ice time, two-thirds of his ice time and only 40% points. He's got to produce more and you know he was just as culpable as anybody in the power play being bad, and thankfully Hall's starting to wake that up and hopefully it'll get Ajo to wake up as well. The other thing is is he wasn't shooting much. Last night he had six shots on goal, and that's what we need. He has such a good shot and he just doesn't play. He wants to be the playmaker. He wants to be the one to set the other guy up. We have plenty of those guys on the canes.
Speaker 2:We need guys to actually score and aho aho has a good shot. It's not the most amazing elite sniper shot in the world, but it's a good shot and when he gets all of it it's a heavy shot. And so if he can find that balance where he can shoot, he can play, make, he can be on the same page with Jarvis and Blake and they can really start getting the ball rolling downhill with some force behind it, then we should be in a good place, because the Canes are not going to go far in the playoffs if Ajo's line is quiet.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, katie, you did a detailed analysis on this and it's a great article over on StormTracker23.com and I think you know you really peeled the onion back and it's interesting that you highlighted a number of areas that Sebastian was coming up a little bit short. It just seems like the last couple of games I don't know if he read that and thought, gee, I better get going here or what, but certainly he started to do some of the things that you talked a lot about. I mean, he was struggling to do anything outside of his points on the penalty kill and a few other areas. And again, he's the top paid guy, he is the number one player on the Hurricanes and that's not the kind of behavior you're looking for. Were there any other things that you saw when you put that article together that you thought were relevant regarding Sebastian?
Speaker 2:I think that the stat that blew my mind and I don't know that it's going to change much, since he had yes, he had the power play goal, but he also had the shorthanded assist. So it's going to keep those numbers in about the same ballpark, but as of a couple of games ago in 2025, so starting January 1st in 2025, he was recording one power play point for every almost 22 minutes of power play time that he put in. That's terrible. That is terrible. And yeah, the goal, the goal was not nice last night that they didn't change the math much. I don't believe in 2025,.
Speaker 2:On the penalty kill, he was recording one point on the penalty kill for every 18 minutes of penalty kill. So one point for every almost 22 minutes of power play time and one point of almost every 18 minutes of penalty kill time. So much more efficient down a man than he was when he was on the ice and the Canes were up a man. It's just absolutely mind-boggling that that was.
Speaker 2:I mean it shows how elite he and Jarvis are on the penalty kill but, also shows just how poorly the power play overall and him as really one of the keys, if not the key player, on the power play. We're we're not clicking, so we definitely need to get that power play to trend upwards. He should be scoring more often on the power play than he and he is on the penalty kill, but I mean, that's just kind of been 2025 in a nutshell, for not just him, the canes as a whole, yeah and and again.
Speaker 1:Uh, we talked about Ajo so much this year, just not being the dominant player that you know he has been in past years and he's starting to you know this last series of games. He's starting to show some of the kind of play we expect from him and we just have to hope he's ready to continue with that. He's going to be critical, of course, as the Canes go into the playoffs. He's going to be a very critical member for the Hurricanes. The other guys in that line didn't want to spend a lot of time on them. Probably Jackson Blake deserves a minute or two.
Speaker 1:I think Blake has done all you could ask on that top line and one thing we've talked a lot about with, uh, with jackson is is that he, um, he has no concern heading into those dirty areas and and it's led to goals, it's led to all kinds of great opportunities. Um, you know he'll, he'll make things happen out there and he is incredibly good with the puck, like it's sometimes it looks like it's on a string. You know the stick. I mean, he's just always got that puck and he'll go in the corner with three guys in there and somehow, you know, blake comes out with a puck. It's kind of astounding for a rookie to be delivering this kind of play and you know, I think as we watch him he just continues to grow and in terms of his complete game and the contribution he makes, erin thoughts on this young man.
Speaker 3:I think it's funny because you know there was a big burst of conversation on X about his production level. You know right before he had that three-point game. So you know anybody whose production level you're concerned about please bring him up on X and rag him a little bit, because that seems to work. No, I'm kidding. But seriously, though, I think that the production question was simply the fact that, like I think Katie and others had pointed out, he's getting a lot of top line ice time right now, and his numbers, I think he's trending towards almost 17 minutes a game, which is a lot for a rookie. Over the last I don't know exactly it was either 15 or 20 games. It was either 15 or 20 games. So he's getting more and more ice time, even though his overall ice time average for the season is still not extremely high, because back in the beginning he was playing fourth line minutes, so he hasn't balanced that out yet. But with all that ice time comes a lot of responsibility to produce, and especially on the top line, because the top line is the scoring line.
Speaker 3:We joke around a lot about the fact that the Canes have a first line and then three third lines, because they don't really have a fourth line that you would expect to be a fourth line. We've talked about Jankowski already in his Jan Gretzky scoring stretch, but it's true for the other two lines as well. The other two, the second and third line, are pretty much interchangeable most of the time, but that just adds extra pressure on the members of the first line to produce. They have to produce because they are the Canes scoring line and you know you can have a team that's going pretty far with one scoring line. I mean again I'm coming back to because we just did see them, the Montreal Canadiens, the other night they have one scoring line and the Canes were extremely good at shutting down that one scoring line and that's one of the keys to how they won that game, the way that they did the Habs for those who don't know then went on and played the Panthers yesterday and they beat the Panthers, you know, which is pretty, pretty incredible, because the Panthers could not shut down Suzuki's line. So it's all about whether you can shut down that scoring line.
Speaker 3:So if Ajo and Blake and Jarvis are the Canes scoring line, that production is really important. Well, that three-point game from Jackson Blake shows that he is starting to go beyond just expected goals, which is what you need him to do. So we have too many Canes as Katie has pointed out many times that just stand at the top of the charts and the expected goals measure, but the actual goals are behind. So seeing that from him was great. I want to see a lot more of that from him and I also think that just briefly, since you said you wanted to stay briefly on these guys I think a lot of the Ajo reawakening has come about when Rod finally did something Katie's been asking for for months, which is to put him back with Jarvis.
Speaker 3:He has incredible chemistry with Jarvis. They should not be separated. Whatever else you have to do, if they decide they have to move Blake because of the size issue in the playoffs, they should still not separate Ajo and Jarvis. They need to play together and I think that was honestly kind of one of those things in the last playoffs that you know they did. They moved Jarvis for size reasons and I don't think that that line was the same without him. So I really think that it needs to be Ajo and Jarvis from here on out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and one comment just before, katie, if you have something to add. But one more comment I just want to make is that Seth Jarvis is doing that as a left winger I mean, this is the interesting thing. So he's playing his offside and he is incredibly effective over there, and so, you know, it gives them a little bit of flexibility. But I agree with you 100%. I think that Katie had it right, as she usually does, and said hey, get those two together Absolutely, and finally they do, and of course it works well.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I think the top line's got to be the top line. We've talked so much about it. Nice to see them. You know feast on a couple of teams. Hopefully they can continue that. You know it's all about confidence in this game. Once they get a few, you know a couple of good games behind them, we can expect them to continue. So that's good stuff. A lot of great things happening with the Canes. If you've won 11 of your last 13, and a lot of, I don't think a lot of folks really know that they've done that I mean that's insane. That's fantastic performance. Quietly going about their business and just playing. Well, there have been some players who haven't quite been on their game and it just turns out that the Russian contingency there's some players in that group that we really want to see kind of get to the next level with their games. And you know I thought we'd kick it off with the forward side and Andreas Vesnikoff We'll talk for a few minutes about.
Speaker 1:Svac Scored in his first game back from injury. That was great, but again, not a particularly good game against the Islanders and the questions we keep asking is where does he slot in? I mean, you know there's a lot of different moving parts here. He started on the fourth line. He's moved around. What are we thinking about it with Andrei Sveshnikov? Do you want to kick that off, katie?
Speaker 2:Sure, I've been trying to puzzle out Svesh for a while now and I think part of it is that he has a bit of an identity crisis at the moment on the canes is who is he supposed to be? And it's because of the battling with injuries you can't find consistency there but also with all the movement up and down the lineup Is he supposed to be the scoring forward? Is he supposed to be more of a power grinder when he's with the stall line? Is he the playmaker? Is he the sniper? Line is? Is he the playmaker? Is he the sniper? He?
Speaker 2:He doesn't know the answer to that question, which makes it very hard for the coaches to work with him, which makes it hard for him to to perform.
Speaker 2:And with the coaches moving him around, it's almost like they haven't even decided really what they want out of him or what he can be.
Speaker 2:And there's the question as well as far as the possession numbers.
Speaker 2:Aaron alluded to it before that wherever he gets moved around, that line tends to end up having the worst possession numbers, because and part of that is because svetch is still searching, but also part of it is because svetch's game is less about possession and more about creating opportunities, whether it's through the pass or the shot, and so in some ways I'm less concerned about those possession numbers and more concerned about what Svetch that when he has those opportunities on his stick, they slip away, because that moment of indecision loses him the opportunity to create a play or to get the puck on net for a scoring chance. So you know there's that balance. Svetch needs to decide who he is going to be when he plays and the coaches need to help communicate their expectations and what they want out of him as well. He needs that clarity from them and that freedom to be able to then go pursue that identity to the maximum potential, even if he does take a stray penalty in the offensive zone or loses possession and it goes back the other way.
Speaker 2:So we'll see how he goes, but I just have the feeling that Svetch is going to be super key in this playoff run, and as he goes, so the Canes will go.
Speaker 1:Now, erin, you put together a fantastic article again over on StormTracker23.com, rushing to the playoffs, and you talked about Svetch. You talked about some other players who we'll get to in a minute. What were you thinking about with Svetch? You talked about some other players who we'll get to in a minute. What were you thinking?
Speaker 3:about with Svetch. I think that, first of all, one of the things that I've noticed, I've heard a lot of negativity about him and around him on the various social media platforms and one of the things I think people don't realize is that, like Katie said, there is something of an identity crisis here. But I think part of the reason there's an identity crisis here is that the player he is most naturally trying to be or trying to become has been the player it's been the hardest for him to figure out how to do on the canes, and I would say that he is a power forward and he needs to be a power forward, he needs to embrace that 100%. The problem is, you know, like we've both, we've both talked to, or you guys have both talked about his penalties, right? Yes, power forwards tend to take penalties. They do from his same draft class.
Speaker 3:Um, we know the example is Brady Kachuk. Everybody loves Brady Kachuk. They love his physicality, they love his feisty nature, the fact that he takes, you know, fights at the drop of a hat. You know he, everyone loves that. Everyone wants that on their team. There are so many teams that that that you know, create, you know fans will create these wild scenarios about how their team can get Brady Kachuk. What they, what people who don't look at the stats don't know about Andrei Svechnikov is Svech is what Brady would be if Brady played for Rod Rendemore.
Speaker 3:Because yeah he has very similar statistics. His, his goals are very right up there. He was like three assists behind and you know, and this is with with a lot fewer games played, because, uh, he has had more injuries Svec has, you know. So he's he's very, very close to being that kind of player. The biggest difference is, I believe the last time I checked, I think Brady has close to 300 more penalty minutes than Spets does.
Speaker 1:That would make sense, yeah.
Speaker 3:In fact, I think Brady has more penalty minutes than anyone all the way down through. I think you have to go back to 2013 to find anyone who has a similar number of penalty minutes. His brother, matthew, used to have more, but Brady has passed him, so that tells you what kind of a player a power forward is. They get in trouble because of how they play this hard-nosed, aggressive, driving-the-net style. You're going to take some hooking calls every now and again. You're going to take some stick infractions every now and again.
Speaker 3:I think that he needs the freedom to understand that that's going to happen and not necessarily try to stifle himself every time that it does. Yes, the team doesn't want him taking a lot of those straight penalties, but, like Katie said, do they want him to be a power forward? If they don't, what is he doing on the canes? Because a power forward is incredibly important to have, especially in the playoffs. Half of the ways you score goals that involve nice fancy shots from a distance get shut down. Game one round one, and you've got to have guys that are willing to lower the shoulder and drive the net like he does.
Speaker 3:So I get frustrated because I see the value in the kind of player that he is and I don't want him stapled to the dads.
Speaker 1:No, and you're right, and we've seen Svetch when he's on his game. He is a player that can make a difference in a big way and I think it's all about confidence with him. He's got to. You know he needs to have a little bit of success. You know he's definitely. He's got all the tools. He's a guy that's shown up numerous times. He is the right kind of profile for playoffs. You know he's a big body. He likes to go in and lay on the hits and make things happen and of course, he's got a good touch around the net. I things happen and of course, he's got a good touch around the net. I don't know how many times we saw him make outstanding plays to set up other goals. So he's definitely a player we want to see on top of his game and hopefully, as he gets more playing time, he's again coming back from injury. We'll have to see how this plays out, but he's going to be critical On the blue.
Speaker 1:You talked about Dmitry Orlov, which is interesting. So Orlov is a guy that I think, when we look at the Russian side again plus 14 on the year you know he seems like most of the time he's getting it done, but he has this unbelievable habit of every once in a while he'll make a play that you just shake your head and say what was he thinking? And you know, I watched him the other night. Interestingly enough, he did that and I watched him over on the. You might've seen him in the broadcast sitting on the bench going you know.
Speaker 3:Yep, Like this, you know, and you're kind of, I think.
Speaker 1:I think he's figured it out. I think he's understood that. You know, something isn't quite right, katie Dimitri Orlov. What's he got to do to get back on track?
Speaker 2:I think the main thing is is that he's just got to be a little bit more conservative. Yeah, he's excited, he looks for that play, he takes that high risk pinch and or trying to keep the puck into the offensive zone at the blue line and it just doesn't work out and the other team's able to tap it past him and he just doesn't have the foot speed to catch back up. A lot of times Chatfield bails him out, because Chatfield does have the foot speed to get back and cover, but too many times that hasn't worked out. And so I think, moving into the playoffs, I think I think orlov should be fine as long as he plays a more conservative game, stays up at the blue line, uh, airs on the side of caution when it comes to the puck, coming back up towards him and just not letting players get behind him.
Speaker 2:If that that's the case, he'll be fine Because, as you referenced, his play has been very solid as of late, other than those gaffes, and those gaffes have been spectacularly bad and have ended up in the back of the net way too often. But it's not like they're happening every other shift. They're happening once, maybe twice a game. So just back off a little bit, play a little bit more conservatively and he'll be fine. Because how quick are we to forget that Orlov and Chatfield were the dominant defensive duo last playoffs.
Speaker 2:Because other teams were avoiding Burns and Slavin. They didn't want to have to have their big guys go against that duo, and so it was Orlov and Chatfield that were getting a lot of those matchups with teams, top line or lines, and they were great. They were really, really effective because with Pesci out, that fell on their laps and that was their responsibility and I don't see why that duo can't have a repeat performance come this playoffs. Just need to be a bit more mindful, a bit more conservative in the decisions made in the neutral zone and in their own zone.
Speaker 3:Agreed, agreed, and I think that the last couple of games we saw two of the biggest reasons why we want Dmitry Orlov in the playoffs that huge hip check on Josh Anderson against Montreal and the booming shot against the Islanders and a very critical goal at a time when the team definitely needed him to score.
Speaker 3:So those are the things he brings that outweigh all that other stuff a lot of the time, and I think that, like you said, katie, it's a matter of playing more conservatively and also, just, I think that to me, the funny thing about those gaffes is that he does, like Tom was saying, he instantly knows, he reacts, he knows he's done something, but it's almost like they happen because for just a split second he forgets that there's other guys on the ice and you know, I think that that's just a matter of fine tuning, that awareness of what's going on around him before he's, because he's thinking about his play I'm going to get the puck here, I'm going to go there and he's not thinking about the fact that the opponents are, you know, clogging those lanes and getting in the way.
Speaker 3:So if he just has a little more situational awareness, which I think that that's just a case of, I mean that could even just be the fatigue at the end of a long season. You know you tend to lose some of that when you're a veteran player. So a little situational awareness, a little backing off of those more aggressive plays, he'll be fine.
Speaker 1:Well, and I think you're hitting something here as well. Now, he did take a few games out. He was out for a little while, but don't forget, he's playing probably a couple of minutes, two to three minutes more this year. You know he's playing in all situations and it's a much heavier workload for him. Now, interesting thing I was thinking about Some people probably thought that Alexander Nikitian boom was already with the Canes with that hit that Orlov put on that guy the other night and then scored on that bullet goal they were like, oh, we got him, that was a great hit.
Speaker 1:He was a precursor to what we're going to see with McKeishen. But, yeah, excellent play most of the time. You see him doing a lot of heavy work on the PK, which is one of the best in the league. So, yeah, it just has to stay within your game and everything's going to be cool. Another guy that you talked about in the rushing to the playoffs as well Aaron and boy. He was on that tear for a while and seemed to have. He lost his confidence. The LA game and then the Predators and the Islanders not particularly great games for Piotr Kochatkov. He's got to find his game. What are we thinking about with Piotr Erin?
Speaker 3:I think that you said it when you said confidence. That is, I think, the biggest issue and it is something that players at any age can go through, and Piotr is still pretty young, so I think that is, I think, the biggest issue and it is something that players you know at any age can go through.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 3:Peter is still pretty young, so I think that that's not a surprising thing to have happen.
Speaker 3:One of the funny things about goaltenders to me is that, especially when they're in a tandem, is that you know, I mean this is true for all players. We all tend to look at players where they are right now, the snapshot of right now, you know. Take Jankowski for another example. I'm just going to keep throwing him in there, but I mean, if you only saw Jankowski's last five, 10 games, you would think he was one of the best scorers in the NHL. And if you only saw Kachetkov's last two or three games, you'd think that he was one of the worst goaltenders in the NHL. But we just finished talking about how great he was in a stretch of games prior to that. So with goaltending, I think it's more, it's magnified. You know when they're great, they're the next, you know, star goaltender in the league, and when they're less than great, I mean, one of the examples I can use here of this it's really funny is that you know, igor Shcherkin, there are people who will?
Speaker 3:come out of the woodwork to complain every time he has a bad game about the exact dollar amount of his contract. They forget that the reason he has the exact dollar amount of that contract is because for so many more games he's good and he's stellar and he's elite. So for Kachukov, I think it's just a matter of getting back to basics, getting grounded, getting back to you know that, and I liked what I saw when in the Islanders game, things were not going well for either goaltender in that game.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:I liked what I saw in the third period. I felt like he turned a little bit of a corner in that third period. He started to lock it down. He made a couple of crucial saves towards the end of the game. That's what it's going to take A couple more moments like that, a couple more games like that, and he'll just be able to build back, because I don't think that there's anything wrong with him as a goaltender. I don't think that. You know, I think people that have these doom and gloom takes about well, that's it. He's not going to work out. I mean, come on, it's a couple of games and you know what I mean, katie.
Speaker 2:I just think that this is the reality of Kochakov. It's who he's been the entire time he's been with the Canes. Now, granted, you can perhaps suggest that in the past few seasons he's had more of the long good stretches than he has had with the inconsistent play, but it's still in there, he's still very good. The inconsistent play, but it's still in there, he's still very good. It's still awesome that we have Freddie in order to be the the steady even keel to Piotr's a little bit more adventurous self, but that we still have a gem in Kochekov, and I think he has plenty, plenty to give and some more opportunities to get himself situated and ready to go for the playoffs, because we know that the canes are going to be flirting with disaster If they try to go just to Freddie and leave.
Speaker 3:Piotr sitting cold on the bench Piotr's got to play.
Speaker 2:And it's not just for Piotr's sake that he has to be more involved in the playoffs this year, it's for Freddie, because Freddie will not hold up under that kind of demand in come the playoffs. And I don't know if that's still. They maintain the tandem of every other game, or if it's two games for Anderson or one game for Kochaka. Whatever it is, they can't let him sit and get cold. For what was it? Two and a half weeks last year before they put him in a game? But? And by that time, what was it? Two and a half weeks last year before they put him in a game? But? And by that time it was too late.
Speaker 2:People keep saying, oh, he was awful, he's terrible, he was fine, he got to, he got the team to overtime, but he could have been better. He could have had that extra save if he had been a little bit more sharp because he'd been playing. So I think that it's. You know, we've got to wait and see. We've got to see how he's doing heading into the playoffs. We've got to see how Freddie's doing heading into the playoffs. But he's good and I'm willing, with this team, to trust him and to move forward and to expect good things from him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean he was smoking hot. So I mean, clearly this guy can play and you know his record he's had 26 wins, 13 losses, so he's definitely a guy that you know he's going to give you a good performance, more nights than not. So again, confidence he'll get it back. And the luxury, as you mentioned rightfully is we do have Freddie Anderson. And the luxury, as you mentioned rightfully is we do have Freddie Anderson. So it's not like, well, you know, before we were trying to put in Spencer Martin or Dustin Tarkarski and hang on to your hat, you know, like this kind of stuff. Anyway, final person you talked about in rushing to the playoffs was the wildcard guy We've talked so much about him, alexander Nikitian, and lots of news lately on Nikitian.
Speaker 1:I'll just bring us up to date on that. You know he signed with Cortex, of course, which was a big move. Cortex handles a number of canes Jalen Chatfield, taylor Hall, william Carrier so several canes are already in that Cortex grouping. That's good news and that certainly would probably not happen if there's not a plan to bring them over to North America. Second of all, we did hear from Mark D'Amico. He writes for the Canadiens. I guess one of their beat guys who said Nikitian will be released by SKA at the end of the season. So he had information from somewhere, I'm not sure where, but that's great stuff.
Speaker 1:Right now, nikitian, of course, and his SKA team are deep in a playoff run. They're up against Dynamo Minsk. They played three games. Minsk has won twice, so they're sitting behind the eight ball a little bit Now. Nikitian was out the first two games. As we know, he did return today and scored a goal, so he's having an immediate impact. He scores and they win, so not surprising with the role that Alexander plays. So, just on the calendar side, their game seven in that series is April 8th. The last game for the Canes is April 17th. For anybody that's trying to figure out, you know, could this possibly work? We don't know anything more than that. It sounds like he's going to sign with the Canes. We don't know when he would get over here if he does, but he would be an interesting ad for sure. And you talked about him as well, aaron. What were your thoughts on Alexander Nikishin?
Speaker 3:Well, I think my thoughts are the same as every Carolina Hurricanes. We're just so eager to have him here. Every fan, every Canes fan, is saying the same thing we want him here, we can't wait to get him. I hope he knows and has heard from enough sources that Canes fans are more than eager to embrace him as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes organization. I mean, he's going to be a significant piece of this team and I think he's going to be a significant piece for the next decade. You know if they, you know if everything all plays well, contract wise and everything else, you know he's just a highly skilled defenseman who is going to bring so many elements of that. You know the power of his shot, the power of his hits, like you pointed out, the fact that he's, you know, just such a solid player in every facet of the game.
Speaker 3:Now, as far as can he get here quick enough to play in the playoffs for the Canes? That question's gone back and forth. A lot of people have talked about it. It really is kind of a who knows situation right now. We don't have any way of knowing for sure until his current team gets eliminated from their playoffs and we don't know if and when that will happen. So the hope is that he would be able to come sometime relatively soon to North America and get here. Whether that means he comes in time to play or not is you know. There's so many moving pieces so I don't think anyone can say for sure. But you know it's. There's nothing but positives when it comes to Nikishan. So you can't, you know, even if he can't play in this year's playoffs, that doesn't change the fact that he's just such an exciting piece for the future. What do you think, katie?
Speaker 2:Yep, I agree, who knows, as far as this year's concerned.
Speaker 2:That would just be gravy on top of everything else. But regardless, it'll just be nice, after all the talk and all of the speculation, to finally get a contract signed, if and when it gets signed, the speculation to finally get a contract signed, if and when it gets signed, and then I think that's when I'm finally going to start getting my heart rate up a little bit more Absolutely that it, once it becomes official, provide I mean assuming it becomes official then we'll have a clearer picture as far as when he's going to start playing his impact, the way that he looks alongside the other Canes, how he meshes with the forwards, how he communicates with the goalies, that sort of thing. But I mean just super excited.
Speaker 2:It's going to be fun once he gets here.
Speaker 1:no matter when, that is yeah, and he's arguably the top defenseman outside of the NHL right now. That's what a lot of folks are saying. He's going to have a transition period. Look, he's going to have to learn that Kane system, which is not probably anything similar to what he's doing with SKA, I can assure you, but he's a guy that you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're all looking forward to it, and what I'm thinking these days is we're hearing more towards the positive side that he's coming to North America than not, and that's a good sign. So when that is I'm like you, katie as soon as we hear some good news, we're going to be all over it and we'll continue to update on Nikitian, because there are a lot of folks interested in what happens to Alexander and we should definitely continue to track this as close as we can. So good stuff. All right, let's wrap it up with some closing thoughts. We've got a very interesting schedule coming up, including, as I mentioned earlier, a couple of games against the Capitals in our next five. What are we thinking? Erin, you want to kick it off?
Speaker 3:I think that this is the time of the year when it gets really difficult for teams whose playoff position is more or less set, and the Canes are in that position. It's not that, you know, the Canes come out every night playing hard and wanting to win the game, so there's no question. But it's really hard mentally to stay that sharp and that focused when you're playing and there's just really nothing much at stake anymore. I mean, they're not going to catch the Capitals on the one hand, they're not going to lose position to the Devils on the other. At this point it's just a matter of getting through the rest of the regular season and, honestly, I think the funniest thing to me is that we always have that attitude as much, if not more, from their coach.
Speaker 3:I think Rod Brindamore absolutely detests these last nine or eight or nine games of the season because there's nothing at stake anymore and you just want to get through it, make sure the guys stay healthy, make sure everybody's getting some reps before the playoffs, but their mind is, I mean I know they stay focused on one game at a time. I know that's the mindset of the Canes. We're only interested in today's game, you know. But it's really hard not to be looking to the playoffs at this point, and we all are too, aren't we? You know, I mean there isn't, I think, for the Caps game, the only thing was well, we really don't want Ovechkin to break that record against us, and it's looking like that's unlikely, because he's still what? Five away.
Speaker 1:I think he's four behind right now, isn't he?
Speaker 3:He'd have to have a heck of a night against the Canes for that to happen. Well, he could do it. On the second one, though, the second game that we played, him he could do it.
Speaker 1:So five games out, he could do it. On the second one, though, the second game that we played him, he could do it. So five games out, he could do it, that's true.
Speaker 3:That's true, but apart from that, I don't think that there's a big sense of any of these upcoming games being critical or crucial like they have been, and at the same time, the Canes have had to play teams that are in the position where those games are critical. So I just want everybody to stay healthy and get to the playoffs.
Speaker 2:I think, the biggest thing for me. I mean, I agree absolutely with everything Aaron just said, but I would like to see them continue to build consistency and chemistry, because there have been so many mix-ups, especially on the forward line. The defense has been very consistent. The only time the defense has been messed with has been because of injury. But on the forward lines we're finally starting to see the fruits of chemistry between Ajo and Jarvis and now, you know, with Blake on that group. We're seeing good chemistry with KK and Hall, we're seeing Stankoven start to develop that chemistry on the line with Stahl and Martinuk and we're seeing good chemistry between Jankowski and Robinson.
Speaker 2:So where the other wingers slide around in there, where Svec ends up, where Rasevic ends up, how Jost contributes Carrier when he comes back, how that looks is to be seen. But I really think that chemistry is going to play a big part in how well the team does going into the playoffs, especially on the scoring end of things. And that's what I really want to see them hone in on for these final handful of games is just developing that chemistry, that anticipation of where the other one's going to be, to keep to their, to their lane, to their, man to their, to their systems and, like Aaron said, healthy and firing on all cylinders and being ready to give the devils and whoever else they might face in the playoffs a heck of a run, because I think the Canes can go pretty far. I think they have a path in front of them that they could take advantage of.
Speaker 1:Agreed. I think you're right and I think you know. Interestingly enough, we're seeing Jordan Stahl sitting out. I think if it was a tough situation, they'd probably play him. I don't know if it's that serious. So we're starting to see some of that. Last year, remember, they had the collegians that came in at the end of the season and they had some different things happening there. The only concern I have around this stretch is that the Canes are much better at home and the more they can be in front of some of these teams, like if it's going to be the Panthers, if it's going to be you know Tampa, or if it's going to be you know Toronto, you want to have that home ice advantage and that's the challenge, because these guys are all really close right now, not so much worrying about.
Speaker 1:You know the Devils and certainly you know it looks like the Capitals are a stretch. So I think that's the one question I have in my mind as we think about okay, yeah, let's sit down with some of these guys and rest them. I would like to see them winning these games, because they've got to definitely have that home ice advantage for sure.
Speaker 1:And you also want them going into the playoffs firing on all cylinders. And if you start mucking around with the lineup again, you know how that goes. So I think I'm hopeful they'll kind of keep as much of this together as possible and keep playing hard, you know, because it's going to be important to them and we'll see how it plays out, but anyway, lots to talk about as we get closer to the playoffs.
Speaker 1:Looking good right now, as I started this whole thing off, they're playing well and let's see how they carry on this week playing the Caps on Wednesday. That'll be interesting. We saw the Caps get beat up pretty good by the Buffalo Sabres yesterday, so that's kind of fun to watch, I'm sure. In any case, ladies, it was great to talk, as usual, about the Canes and some of the players that are going to be critical and some of the folks who are doing so well right now. We'll pick this up very, very soon, I'm sure, and continue our discussions on the Canes.
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