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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Frederick Anderson's Wall and Svechnikov's Surge Put the Canes One Win Away!
The Carolina Hurricanes stand on the precipice of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, having taken a commanding 3-1 lead over the Washington Capitals through a masterclass in modern NHL hockey. While national commentators have labeled their systematic dismantling of the Caps as "boring," Hurricanes fans know they're witnessing something special: a complete team hitting its stride at the perfect time.
Frederick Anderson has emerged as the backbone of Carolina's success, posting a spectacular 1.40 GAA and .935 save percentage while making difficult saves look routine. His health and confidence have transformed him into the elite playoff goaltender the team always believed he could be. Meanwhile, Jaccob Slavin continues to cement his reputation as the NHL's premier defensive defenseman, adding unexpected offensive flair including a highlight-reel goal that showcased his exceptional skill.
As they head back to Washington for Game 5, the Hurricanes carry the weight of expectation – they've never lost a series when leading 3-1. If they can maintain their discipline, physical play, and commitment to their system, this could finally be the year Carolina breaks through to championship glory. Ready to join Erin, Katie & I for the rest of this playoff journey? Subscribe now and never miss a moment of Hurricanes playoff hockey!
• Analytics confirm the Hurricanes' dominance with superior offensive zone time (46.7% vs 39.5%) and shot generation from all areas
• Special teams have been exceptional with a 92.6% penalty kill and 30% power play conversion rate
• Frederick Anderson has been stellar with a 1.40 goals against average and .935 save percentage, making difficult saves look routine
• Jaccob Slavin is showcasing his elite two-way abilities with standout defensive play and timely offensive contributions
• Andrei Svechnikov has tallied 7 goals in the playoffs, playing with confidence and discipline
• The defensive pairing of Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Walker have contributed 3 goals and 2 assists in the past three games
• Rookies Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake have combined for 5 goals in the playoffs
• Jack Roslovic has provided a boost, going 9-for-10 on faceoffs in game 3 and contributing offensively
Well, carolina Hurricanes have taken a commanding three games to one lead versus the Washington Capitals in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Canes have done it mostly by committee, but Frederick Anderson, andrei Sveshnikov and Jacob Slavin have all stood out for the Canes. Canes have never lost a series that they've led three games to one. Will this be another to add to the list Joining me to talk about the series to date and what to expect in the coming games? Stormtracker Insiders Erin Manning and Katie Bartlett. Ladies, hello there, hey, okay.
Speaker 1:So last night was fantastic. The Canes went 5-2. Again, the committee coming through. You see it right up and down the lineup Different players making a difference. I think they said 10 players were in on the scoring one way or another last night, or something like that. Clearly, the Canes are starting to drink the Kool-Aid and when you hear the interviews after the game, they are definitely talking like a team on a mission for sure. So what are we thinking? What have we seen so far in this series and what do we feel? Erin, you want to kick it off.
Speaker 2:Sure, I think what's really impressed me so far about this series is that the Canes just keep defying everyone's expectations, and they're doing it in a way that is so clinical, if you want to use that word, that the national commentators have pretty much labeled the series boring. It's boring to watch a team this good do what they do at the level that they do it at and kind of smother the competition. I know Canes fans disagree with that assessment. It's never boring to watch your team win. But I kind of understand what they mean because even when the game last night started getting close, I never felt like they were going to lose that game. And there's just that sense you get when everything is firing on all cylinders, like you've said before, tom, that you just know that they're in it. You know they're focused, they're driven. They have people that are, you know, maybe waiting in the wings to step up, that haven't stepped up yet.
Speaker 2:We saw that last night and I think that that's kind of been the hallmark of the whole series. Only the one game so far that they lost, you know that was the only game where it just felt like it was close all along, but they never quite felt like they connected with what they wanted to do, and you have to expect that when we're in their arena and they're getting their matchups. But even there it's not been a blowout victory at any time for the Caps, even in that one game that they won. So this is different from what we've experienced in the second round in the past. It's really exciting to see, and I can't wait to see, how far they can go.
Speaker 1:Well Rod commented on the statements that the games were boring by some of the broadcasters.
Speaker 3:He said they're just lazy.
Speaker 1:They don't want to do the extra work to find out exactly what's going on behind the scenes here and that the Canes are in fact, playing the way that Rod likes them to play. So very, very true. Now, katie, we're seeing it with the eyeball test. What are you seeing with some of the analytics?
Speaker 3:The analytics are definitely matching up with that. If you look at the hockey viz charts for five on five, we're used to seeing the Canes produce a lot of shots, but this is a lot, a lot of shots they're producing and it's not just from the perimeter, there are shots from everywhere that are scattered all over the offensive zone. They're in close, they're mid-range, they're from distance. If the canes have a, have a lane to the net or think they have a lane to the net, they're going for it and it's easy to complain that so many of them miss or get blocked or whatever and I definitely am one that participates that under certain circumstances, you know, shooting the puck into the defender's ankles make a move, create a lane, then shoot the puck for, even if it's from distance, and we have seen some of those pucks be very successful in going in.
Speaker 3:We we saw slavin's overtime winner in game one and that was definitely a shot from distance. But when you have traffic and you have someone as skilled as Slavin who can get the puck on net, good things happen. So that has definitely been good. But it's not just in the O zone where the analytics are really liking the Canes and the Canes system. Right next to the Canes chart, if you put the Washington Capitals chart up, there are a couple of small pockets of red where the Capitals are getting a fair number of shots from, but they are very small.
Speaker 3:Everything else is ice cold blue and it just means that as hot as the Canes are in the offensive zone, they are turning the temperature down on the Capitals in the defensive zone they are preventing zone entries. They are temperature down on the capitals in the defensive zone. They are preventing zone entries. They are getting sticks on puck. They are keeping them to the perimeter. If there is a shot on goal and a rebound, they're collecting the rebound and clearing it out, not preventing second, third chances. Their system is just dialed up to 10 right now in that zone and the these charts and these stats absolutely show that the canes are dominating play so far in this series yeah, and, and you know, if you look at the nhl edge numbers as well, uh, zone time canes.
Speaker 1:Uh are leading the caps 46 to 7, 46.7 to 39.5 on the offensive zone. They're also leading the Caps 34.7% to 43% in the defensive zone. So clearly a significant variance here. And it speaks to exactly what you're saying, katie, that the Canes are just doing it the right way. They've reduced the time in their own zone, which has been historically the way they play, certainly in the last few years, and increasing the time in the O zone and, as we know, when they're in that offensive zone as much as they are, that certainly reduces the potential opportunities for the opposition. So going great.
Speaker 1:Now let's talk a little bit about, then, special teams. So we've seen some interesting things here. A little bit of a change for the Canes. You know in past years we've certainly been delighted with the penalty kill and they're just off the charts right now. Of course, they went through that whole series with New Jersey and didn't give up a goal and continued on into this series and now sit at 92.6%, which is ridiculous. I was going to talk about the power play as well. They're sitting at 30% and continuing to do a fantastic job in the power play. So if you take a look at kind of what's behind the scenes in this, what do you see, katie? What are you seeing in terms of the charts?
Speaker 3:Well, if you put those same shot charts up, if you look at the power play chart for Washington, remember, for offense generated you want to be a plus number and if you are a negative number then it means you are not generating offense and the Washington power play is at a negative 40. I have not seen a number that big in a long, long time. It just means that the Canes penalty kill is shutting them down, Just not letting them have any chances. And the best example of that, of all the penalty kills, was last night that double minor on Martin.
Speaker 3:Yes, they have one of their best penalty killers in the box for four minutes and the caps did not get a single shot on goal. They missed a couple of times, but not a single shot on goal and we had three shots on goal in that time. It was just zone entry denial after zone entry denial, and when they try to dump the puck in, we were the first to the puck and got it out and sent it down the ice. It was just quintessential distilled to perfection penalty kill from the Canes, and that is so much the bread and butter of the capitals. If the capitals aren't scoring power play goals, their offense just is ineffective. And it's been such a key for the canes, so that has been going really well.
Speaker 3:What's a little bit more of a mixed bag is, if you look at the canes power play, they're in the negative as well.
Speaker 3:No, it's not negative 40, it's negative four.
Speaker 3:So we'll definitely take that of the negative 40. But it shows that, despite the fact that they have converted, the most of the teams still left. They have room for improvement and the the chart itself, if you look at it, shows where the canes are getting shots, and there's a lot of places near the net, especially where the canes are getting shots, and there's a lot of places near the net, especially where the canes are cold when it comes to shot generation. Unlike 5v5 5v5, they've been getting shots from everywhere close, mid-range, long distance and they've mostly kept to the perimeter with their shots. So if they can start converting some of that 5v5 energy into their power play, getting the shots from more of a mid to close range, crashing the net, getting those rebounds like that Jackson Blake goal the other night that was on the power play that's when I think they could really start knocking on the door of special teams and converting even more of their chances, which would absolutely turn them into an unstoppable force if they have their power play on fire as well.
Speaker 1:You know, all the analysts are going to tell you the same thing the Canes have outplayed the Washington Capitals by quite a margin, so that's exciting, and I don't know if we necessarily expected to be sitting here with a 3-1 lead in the series and with the dominance of the Hurricanes thus far. Erin, did you feel like this could be the case?
Speaker 2:I felt like coming into the series. You know, just reading different analysis out there, looking at some of the different statistics people were pulling together for both teams, I really did feel like this was a series that was going to be very winnable for the Canes.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:The things that had me thinking that it would be a really tough fight.
Speaker 2:Or it might be six or seven games, or it might be, you know, just each game a fiercely fought contest is that in the past we've seen certain things rise up and be problems. Five-on-five scoring, power play and goaltending has been in the past at some times an issue. None of those things are hurting the Canes right now. They're really helping the Canes right now. They've improved in all of those areas and they're getting hot at the right time in all those areas. So what we're seeing, I think, is more than any of us really expected in terms of just how easily it has seemed and it's not easy, but it's just never felt like they were, you know, fighting for their lives yet, at least in this series. And I hope that it doesn't turn out that way, because we still have some games to play. But I think we're all very hopeful that they're going to carry that same energy into game five and that we're going to see the same kind of game where they really take control early and hold on.
Speaker 1:So we'll see well and they certainly you know all the discussions yesterday after the game. All the players were pretty, you know, consistent in what they were saying about being ready for this game. They know it's going to be tough, but they're going to ready and they want to come out and they want to put the final nail in the coffin, so to speak. Let's see how that goes. But you know, you mentioned goaltending and I think we need to spend a few minutes on Freddie. Fred's numbers are gaudy, they're just unbelievable.
Speaker 1:I mean, let's be honest, he's got a 1.401 goals against average and a 9.35 save percentage. And he's made numerous saves and you know he makes a lot of saves that might be tougher than they are. He makes them look easy, I mean that's when you know that he's really on his game. But what are we seeing with Fred? What do we feel, katie, your thoughts on Freddie.
Speaker 3:Well he's just to start start off with has been so steady it never seems. It never seems like he's phased at all when the other team is getting some chances or some zone time or getting some shots through. He's just square, he's focused, he's calm when he's making the saves and he has been particularly good about controlling second opportunities. He's either been absorbing pucks and causing a stoppage in play or he's been directing them to non-dangerous areas where the Capitals have not been able to get an extra chance on goals. So that particularly has been fantastic. To get an extra chance on goals, so that particularly has been fantastic. And what's also impressive because it's one of the challenges of being a goaltender in the Canes system is the Canes have dominated puck possession, as you talked about before.
Speaker 3:The majority of the play has been taking place in the neutral zone or in the Canes offensive zone. And so for Freddie to be so mentally dialed in at all times that even when it goes from a big lull of many minutes where he sees no action, then all of a sudden they're coming in on a two, on one, or there's an extended opportunity for the caps in the ozone, freddie's ready and he's just as dialed in there as he is when he's seen an extended amount of work. Just as dialed in there as he is when he's seen an extended amount of work. He the mental preparation that he has been able to put into this postseason, has been elite, and it's been so great to see from him because we all know what struggles and challenges he has gone through in order to get to this point. And so I'm I'm thrilled that he has had this success and just hoping he just dials it in for quite a while, heading down into game five and hopefully far beyond game five.
Speaker 2:Well, the only thing really to add to that is that I saw a comment on X the other day that I thought really kind of nailed it and it was. You know, there's no such thing as good Freddie and bad Freddie, it's just healthy Freddie and not healthy Freddie. We are seeing a Frederick Anderson who is playing at the top of his game because he's in really great condition, he's really great shape, and I know that it was hard at the early part of the season when the determination was made for him to go and have the surgery that he did have, but it's made a huge difference. You can see how easily he's moving and you know and that goes into that mind-body connection stuff you know, the mental being dialed in mentally only takes you so far if your body won't respond. And I think he's always had the mental focus, but at so many times he's struggled physically with things that he just couldn't get past. And so it's exciting because you see the caliber of goaltender he's always been coming out and shining in these playoffs.
Speaker 1:Well, the interesting thing you take a look at the NHL edge numbers and there was a lot of discussion early in the series about Logan Thompson versus Freddie Anderson and, yeah, the first few games very close for sure. But as the series has gone along, freddie has started to kind of separate himself quite significantly from Logan Thompson and the only area that Thompson is besting Freddie right now is in mid-range save percentage. Everything else Fred's got to beat. So this is something you know we talked about before. We talked about a lot. You know, if your goaltender is winning the goaltending battle, you're man, it's easy, right. A couple of other things too.
Speaker 1:The players have been so complimentary about Fred. Of course they would be, because he's making big saves at the right time. You know he just got that new deal, an extension. He seems like he's a very happy camper right now. He loves it in Raleigh, he loves this team, he loves the fact that they can compete at this level. He loves this team, he loves the fact that they can compete at this level and, as you said, aaron, and I think rightfully so. You know he missed a period of time, okay, so he's rested now. He didn't play a long season. He hasn't had a grueling year, you know, and he shared games with Piotr at the end of the season. So he's well rested and he's in just a great state of mind.
Speaker 1:So I think, as you said too, fred's always been a great goaltender. His numbers in the playoffs are fantastic they always have been and the only question is, you know, is he going to be, you know, stay away from injuries and be able to play as he can play, and I think we're seeing it right now. So it's quite a story. Some folks are even touting him for a top player in the playoffs right now. So it's kind of interesting. So one of the guys that makes a lot of difference, of course, to Freddie's world is Jacob Slavin. Jacob Slavin recently they put out this analysis of the top defensive player in the NHL this past year, and at the top of the list was Jacob, and that's great to see that. We also saw that in the Four Nations tournament. Of course, he was lights out. He's a heck of a player. Katie, what are you seeing with Jacob Slavin?
Speaker 3:Oh, like you said, just a dominant defensive player who is leading the charge of that minus 40 that the Capitals are suffering during the penalty kill or the other struggles. Five on five. He is their spearhead. When it comes to that, he's just the one that exemplifies all of those, all of those mantras that the Canes put into practice when it comes to the D zone. I mean just, it's a broken record again that the zone entry denials the stick work, the getting in lanes, the body positioning, the keeping players to the perimeter, winning the battles in the corner, every single one of those sound bites that we're used to hearing from Rod Brindamore.
Speaker 3:Jacob Slavin is the one that has distilled that down to perfection in his play and it's been wonderful to see him dominate.
Speaker 3:But aside from that, he's gotten to show a little offensive sparkle as well, and that has been really good to see because, while he might not have the prettiest shot, because his stick work is so skillful and his positioning and his understanding of lanes is so strong, a lot of times his vision will help him do things that other players can't do, even though they are more skilled, whether it again that overtime winner where he's the one that's able to get the puck through traffic and find that lane or that absolute highlight reel goal where he knocks the puck out of midair, jukes around Mason like he's a pylon just sitting there.
Speaker 3:We know Mason's a good player he was, he was on our team for years and goes around him and then just absolutely pinpoint, snipes it through that little hole. I mean that that is just because of his vision. It was. You know, it's not his typical play, but because of his vision and his stint work he was able to make that happen, and so it's. He's just been a leader in every sense of the word and don't see that changing at all. As long as the Canes are in the playoffs, he's going to be right there at the head of the line.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely. You know, and I think that there's no bigger proof of just how much attention he's garnished as what I'm seeing out there from whole groups of people, some pundits among them, who've suddenly discovered just how low his contract that begins in next year is going to be. They're asking how on earth did the Canes sign Jacob Slavin for this amount of money? It's just crazy, because there are a lot of defensemen in the league who can't do half of what he does, who are being paid a great deal more. And you know, when you, when you think about it, it has been, I think, for a while, the age of the offensive defenseman.
Speaker 2:Everybody wants those guys that you know, the, the Bouchards and the Quinn Hughes, and you know they want the guys that can move the puck and score, or move the puck and get get a lot of assists. They want the guys that can move the puck and score, or move the puck and get a lot of assists. I think that's why Lane Hudson, montreal, is another one of that pattern. But you forget that the role of a defenseman at least some of that role, needs to be to do the kinds of things that Jacob Slavin is doing, and to do it at his level, and to be really elite at that, it takes a lot more than just being able to score. So yeah, his scoring on top of it is the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae. You know, it's just incredible to see this all coming out in the playoffs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know he played 24 minutes last night, so you know he was. Rod said I played him extra in the third period. I wanted to make sure that you know we had our guy out there and you know he just he's phenomenal. And again, I think you know Jordan Martin talking about on one of the interviews, talking about Jacob was saying you know they said is he a?
Speaker 1:shutdown defenseman and he's getting some offense as if it's a big surprise. And Martinuk just said he's just a great defenseman. You know, separate the two. He's just one of the best in the league. So I'm glad you guys are finally seeing it, so to speak. In any case, great to see Jacob, and I think he's been helping Burns as well, as he always does.
Speaker 1:Those two guys are twin towers back there and through the penalty kill and the regular shift against the top lines on the other teams, these two guys are just you're comfortable when they're on the ice, you just know that things are in good shape. And it takes a lot for a team to score. When Jacob Slavin is on the ice, that's for darn sure. And one thing he says, and they talk a lot about, is that the forwards help them a lot and that helps them with their game, particularly in you know getting the puck out of the zone and you know getting out of trouble again, and I think they've really got it down to a science. But he's been amazing. So one other player I thought we'd touch on on the players that have really stood out, and this guy has been a great surprise and we've been waiting, waiting for this guy to really do it and he's getting a lot of attention right now, of course. That's Andrei Sveshnikov. Seven goals, he's only trailing Mikko Rantzenman.
Speaker 3:He's been incredible, but Svesh has seven goals. Now who's?
Speaker 1:been incredible, but Svetch has seven goals now. He's been playing great Erin. What are you seeing with Svetch?
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, I'm not going to like pat myself on the back here, but somebody tagged me the other day with a comment that I made that I'd forgotten about back when Svetch went out with injury. I said you know, there were a lot of people at that time I don't know if you remember that saying oh well, you know, it doesn't really matter, he hasn't been that good, we should be thinking about trading him in the offseason anyway. There were a lot of people that were just ready to give up on Svechnikov because, oh gosh, we've been waiting all this time to see this. And apparently I had said something to the effect that when he returned from injury he was going to take the league by storm, especially in the playoffs, and so it's kind of nice for me to see that coming through, because I did sincerely believe it. I have always believed that he's a playoff performer. I think that he's only been held back by the unfortunate situation last season where he was returning from injury and you know, you're still you're going to still be playing a little bit tentative.
Speaker 2:People realize that now that with an ACL injury of that magnitude, that whole year was a difficult year for him. It wasn't just you come back in and, oh good, you're good again, you can play. Well, it takes a lot to get your feet back under you and to be able to play the way that you're used to. So this season we're seeing it, especially in these playoffs. He's kind of shed that last bit of hesitancy and he's ready to go, and he loves being able to play this way, and one of the things that's been impressive is that, even though he has taken a little bit of penalty time now he's not been in the box that much this playoffs he's been disciplined and he's not been losing his temper and retaliating and taking those bad penalties that will get him in trouble. So that's a maturity issue too, and so a mature, strong power forward. Svetch is what we've all been waiting to see for a long time.
Speaker 1:Katie. Any thoughts on Svetch?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I was going to mention the penalty thing too. In fact I think it's only no you're fine, Katie. Any thoughts on that? Really good about playing strong, but playing the right way, but he's still physical, which is good.
Speaker 3:He is not afraid to lay the body to go to the tight areas, but I do believe. Correct me if I'm wrong. I think at least two, if not three, of his goals are empty net goals. But here's the thing is, a lot of people like to wave those off and dismiss something like empty net goals. But those are important, I mean especially in the playoffs.
Speaker 2:Especially in playoffs, you have a team pushing.
Speaker 3:The score is close. It was 4-2 last night. I forget, yeah, I think there was another one in the Washington series and then one in the Devils series that he had, and those we've seen it. We've seen it. I suffered it with the abs and their star series because they let Dallas come back on them in three different games late in the third period, including one time, I think, when they had the goalie pulled.
Speaker 3:And so to have somebody who can just absolutely cut that hope out from underneath the other team by getting the puck up the ice and getting it into the empty net, that empty net goal last night was not easy. He had to work to get the puck and then to get up the ice and then go around the defender, which initially it rebounded off the defender and he fought through the defender and got the puck back and then got it into the empty net. It's just there's not a lot of players that do that. Most other players would be off in the corner and they'd have, and the caps would have had another chance to take the puck up the ice and try to get back in the game. So he has been so good and so strong. He's earned his place up on that top line. And now, if we can just get the entire line to be on that same synergy together, we'd really be cooking with let's see, tripp says it oil, gas and gravy there you go.
Speaker 3:You got your three. You got your three on the top. You got oil, you got gas and you got gravy. Let's get them all rolling together at the same time.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I think you're right.
Speaker 1:And for sure, you know, svetch, uh, he's playing with confidence, he's, he's taking the puck up the ice and he, he, you can see he's got determination. He wants the puck, he wants to go with it, he wants to get in there, he's trying to make those moves. He, he put one, rang one off the post, that on a backhand. That was incredible. I's just. You know, I think he's had several posts, but that was one that really stood out to me.
Speaker 1:Oh, the first four, I think, yeah, yeah, he's been all over it, so he's been playing great. I was pleased to see that Seth Jarvis got that goal, so he's feeling a little bit better.
Speaker 1:We've got him up there in the top line now. I know you've been calling for that for months, katie, so that's good and I think you know we've got a situation where these guys are they're starting to come together, and even Ajo. You know we've talked a lot about Ajo and some nights he doesn't look like he's fully there, but he's making things happen for sure. And one thing we're really seeing with Sebastian right now is he's firing the puck, he's really letting it go and I think I don't know if he had four or five shots last night.
Speaker 3:So he was out there.
Speaker 1:He was shooting hard, which is great, and that line's going to be key for us. So I wanted to maybe spend a couple of minutes on some honorable mentions. There's so many players that have been playing so well, but you know there's some that I think we need to maybe just take a second and give them a little bit of a shout out as well. The duel of Sean Walker and Shane Goss to spare to me has been a revelation and in particular in recent days, of course, they've been lighting it up offensively and, Katie, I know you like Sean Walker, so what are you seeing with him these days? He's getting a lot of praise from Rod Brendamore, that's for sure.
Speaker 3:Well, my first introduction to Walker was when the Avs traded for him last season at the trade deadline and got to see him in the Avs system. In the Avs system he had quite a bit of offensive punch and I've been waiting Ever since he came to the Canes. He, he has this sneaky, this sneaky offensive side to him. He's a really solid defender. He can hit, he can play physical, but he's got this offensive edge. That should be really exciting.
Speaker 3:And if anyone's followed me on X, whenever they put the predict the first goal scorer, all season long I've been like it's gotta be Walker, it's gotta be Walker, it's gotta be Walker forever for it to finally be walker. But it hasn't it. It hadn't emerged in the in the regular season the way I had been expecting, and I think a lot of that has to do with being on that pair with goss despair. Goss despair is the offensive engine of that duo and so walker's had to hold himself back a little bit and really invest in his defensive game to help balance that duo out. But he, he's starting to show a little bit more of that offensive flair.
Speaker 3:He got that goal yesterday, which was just beautiful the way that he drove into the zone and then let Roslevic drive the net and just hitched towards the center of the ice, just a touch to get the defender and the goalie out of position before he wired that puck into the net. That's what I have been waiting for since I saw him play with the abs and it's what I've been expecting from him on the canes. And there it was. It was fantastic. And just to wrap up the excitement I have for Walker since the beginning of the season I have been calling, I've been saying I want to see a Slavin-Walker duo.
Speaker 3:They just make sense together as a pair, the games really really would find a beautiful balance together and it would open up Walker to take for more offensive chances. And on that goal, who was Walker out on the ice with? It was not Ghost, it was Slavin. And so I'm excited that Brendan Moore is playing with that a little bit more. When he needs a little bit more defense, when he doesn't want to tire out Burns and overexert him, he can put Walker on the ice with Slavin and get that benefit. I just think that Walker's going to keep getting better and better and I'm thrilled for him because I've been his biggest cheerleader since the Canes signed his deal.
Speaker 1:Well for sure, and you know, they've got Sean Walker lined up for four more years at a very friendly I think three and a half million dollar deal. So he, he was a great signing. You know, those two guys um three goals to assist 17 shots in the last three games. I mean it's just incredible what they've been doing, uh, with ghost and sean walker. What are you seeing with ghost, eric?
Speaker 2:well, I think we're all seeing that nice, nice new dad's energy kick in there. You know there's been a lot of jokes about that, but no, really what I see with Ghost is I'm seeing the player that we saw we've seen before when he was with us in the playoffs before and then also at the earlier times in this season, which kind of confirms the point that you know people were getting a little cranky about Ghost towards the end of the season. Oh, you know, he could be after he had returned from injury. And again, I think that's that timeline of injuries when you just don't know exactly how long it takes a player to go from I'm okay to be back in the lineup to I'm playing at 100%. And on that first goal last night we saw a player who was playing at 110%, because it was the same kind of thing that we sometimes see on the power play, but it's so much harder to do it at five on five.
Speaker 2:And I think, Katie, you sent me a link to one of the podcasts out there that was commenting on some of those goals from last night and he pointed out something I didn't notice, which was that one of the Canes I've forgotten which one it was, had already left the ice for a line change, so there were only yeah, it was Walker. He'd left the ice for the line change, so there were only four canes on the ice when Ghost made that, walking the blue line, finding his lane and taking that shot. So that's exactly the kind of thing that we see from him all the time on the power play. Usually they're up a man at that point instead of down one. Should that have counted as a shorthanded goal? Let's ask. No, but really that's just one example of the kind of thing that he's capable of doing and that's where I think that you know, you do see the value of the puck moving aspect of these offensive defensemen, when he can get into those areas and he has the control of the puck and there's not a defenseman right on top of him and he can take his time to move along the blue line and set up the shot, whether he's setting up a shot or trying to go for a deflection or just a really good shot pass, you know it's.
Speaker 2:It's great to see him being at that level that we've seen before, because, again, that's why they decided to bring him back to um the canes and sign him again because they definitely need that player. You know they need that player to be generating those things and it kind of brings up another point that I think that you know probably we should mention just real quickly. We've talked about Jacob Slavin. We've talked about Ghost and Walker. We've talked a little bit about Burns. What we're seeing in the playoffs is something we were waiting for all season Offense from the blue line. It wasn't happening in the regular season and all of a sudden all of them are clicking and chipping in and I mean you want to talk about the kinds of things that make this fun for canes fans.
Speaker 1:That's a big one well, you're right on and and for sure. The canes we talked about this a lot. Their, their style of play is really built around that decor, firing pucks, and you know they they haven't had as much success as we would have liked during the regular season, but they're enjoying it now. And just back on Walker for a minute. You know Rob Brendamore was saying you know he's had tons of chances this year, like it's not, like he's not out there making it happen. It's just that he had some bad luck and some great saves and we've watched that. We've seen him many times go in and get great chances and we knew at some point they were going to start to go in. But I agree with you on this the decor starting to show some offense and we still haven't seen Burns take off.
Speaker 1:I'm not sure if we will, but he's a guy that definitely could add to that offensive piece as well.
Speaker 1:He fires the puck a lot and at one of these times it's going to go in off someone. It seems like these series and I've been watching this a lot is so many of these goals are deflections off players in front pushing, shoving, trying to, you know, make something happen in front of the goalie and they're going in and the goalie can't make a save. So you know, if we can get out there and do that kind of heavy lifting, I think it makes a difference. And you know, when we talk about the rookies, I think they're worth mentioning as well, because they're doing some of that. I mean, we know that Logan Stankoven loves to park himself in front of the net and get in there in the dirty areas. We've seen gosh Jackson Blake has no concern with picking up the puck and trying to go to the front of the net and try to score, and he's had some success with it. These two guys have got five goals in the playoffs. That's pretty good for a couple of rookies. Erin thoughts.
Speaker 2:I think that they've been great. I think that it's interesting that one of the changes that Rod Brindamore made in Game 3 that has then persisted into Game 4 was moving Jackson Blake down so that Seth Jarvis could go up onto that top line. Concern about Blake's play, but I do think that he was starting to be a little bit less effective in some areas of the game. And when you talk about penalties, I think he's right up near the top or at the top in terms of penalty minutes on the team. That's kind of you know you expect that from rookies a little bit. They're going to get caught out a little bit more often and they're not going to get.
Speaker 2:I know this sounds funny, but we know that the refs like to swallow their whistles in the playoffs, right? I think that rookies don't get the benefit of the doubt as often as veteran players do. I've seen Blake called for some things that were completely ignored. When somebody that's got a little more experience does the exact same thing, so that just that's kind of goes with the territory. So whether it's that or whether it was just the need to put Jarvis up on the top line, he can be effective on any line, so that's not a concern.
Speaker 1:Katie.
Speaker 3:Yep, I agree. In fact I like Blake down on that fourth line because I think it gives him a little bit more elbow room let's just put it that way to do what he does best. And he's still got some players down there that can work well with him, most recently Robinson and KK. But he, like Aaron said, he can play with anybody. He can play any type of style and he's willing to do that and get in and muck around. And speaking of mucking around and our rookies, it just.
Speaker 3:I just love Stankoven, as Tim Donnelly called him, mr Game One, since he has scored goals in both of our game ones and only so far in our game ones of our different series.
Speaker 3:But he has just been a dog on a bone and the chemistry he has with Taylor Hall has been phenomenal.
Speaker 3:The way they found each other, whether it's on the power play or five on five, they just seem to understand where the other one's going to be, which is impressive because Hall is a veteran who's been around for a while and Stankoven this is only his second playoffs, so he's relatively new to the scene, but they seem to understand each other.
Speaker 3:And that kid is just, he is fearless, it does not matter where the puck is and who's between him and the puck. If it's available, he is going to go after it and I don't bet against him to be the one to come out with it. So I just think he's going to get better as he gets more and more time, because he I mean, comparatively speaking he's still new to the cane system and it takes a while to get used to the way that the Carolina Hurricanes play hockey, and so there's still probably a bit of a learning curve for him to absorb before he's truly, completely entrenched as a Carolina Hurricane. So I'm thrilled with his production and his fit and his attitude and can't wait to see what else he's got in the tank.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean sometimes I think we forget that he's only been with the team a very short time and just because of the way he plays and how he handles himself out there, he's so much like a hurricane. You just think he's been here forever. But great player, key plays, he's made Obviously, that goal in the first game was huge, you know, and made a great play on a goal to Robinson in game two. I mean he's making it happen out there for sure. And it's tough slugging. I mean he gets knocked around a lot. We watch it. He goes down, he gets crushed and he gets back up and up he goes again. So I think, again, both of these young guys, they're contributing, they're making something happen out there. It's been tougher for Jackson Blake for sure. He's still getting the opportunities. There's no doubt about that. He's getting lots of opportunities, he's getting in on that.
Speaker 1:He's making great plays. He made a great setup to Kokanemi. I thought that could have gone in last night. It was a great move by him Again, just fearless, getting that puck and heading to where the action is and he's going to get some goals. He's going to get some breaks here, yeah, and great to have these two guys out there. It's a lot of fun as well. An interesting story, as they made some of the changes that they've made and again, rod Brendamore making some smart moves and he brought in Jack Roslevic and Roslevic has done a real solid job. You know we look at the game the other night, not last night's game, but he was 9 of 10 in the faceoff dot Right shot faceoff guy. This is key. Came of 10 in the faceoff dot right shot faceoff guy this is key. Um came up with a nice assist last night on the whole goal. What are we thinking about his contribution? So?
Speaker 3:far, katie, I've been. I've been impressed with rossovic because I would have been the first of the line that said everybody's healthy. The guy that behind jose that I want sitting is rosselvick, because I worry about him being a defensive liability and those concerns have not gone away. It was his failure to clear that led to the first cap school last night. So those those concerns still exist but they're offset very strongly with what he's been able to produce between Hall and Stankhoven, because Hall and Stankhoven are very offensively minded guys, without giving up a lot on the defensive side of the puck, and they need somebody who will help them drive. They need a center that will have that same kind of process and mentality and perhaps that was where there was a disconnect. Having KK on that line is that KK is more of a defense first type of center, and so it was a bit imbalanced to have that particular trio out there.
Speaker 3:But putting Rostovic in between them creates more balance, creates more engine, creates more puck possession in the other end, possession in the other end. So, as long as he is generating more offense than he is giving up to the other team, I want to see more of him. I would really like to see him in game five tomorrow just to see how he does when it's not the canes controlling the matchup with this new line, because um correct me if I'm wrong I think he did play in game two that they lost, but he was fourth line.
Speaker 3:He wasn't between Hall and Stankoven at that particular point, so I'd really like to see what that new trio can create and produce in game five in hostile territory where the other team gets to control the matchups, if they can still have those strong possession numbers and be driving play in the other team's zone and not being too risky or dangerous in their own zone. But yeah, rasevich's earned himself the spot over Jankowski at this point.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, it's a nice luxury to have, because I thought Jankowski was very effective in his work and particularly on the PK.
Speaker 1:He did a lot of heavy lifting on the penalty kill and so you know, again, great to have this depth. And I know Brendan Morris talked a lot about the fact that he doesn't remember having a complete lineup like this to work with in the playoff situation and still do, even though some folks are banged up, and we'll talk about that a little bit later. Final person we'll talk about, I think, is a heart and soul guy. He jumped in front of a shot to block it, got injured the other night, came back last night and played another, you know, lunch pail type game and that's Jordan Martinuk. Now I know, katie, you had some thoughts on Jordan. What were you thinking about with Jordan Martinuk?
Speaker 3:I just love the joy that he seems to be playing with. This is his time of year, this is passion, this is hard work type of hockey. It's in the details and it's doing everything you can to help your team win, even if it's not the showy, flashy scoreboard type highlights that he gave us in the New Jersey Devils series. He shift in and shift out.
Speaker 3:You never doubt martin nook is going to give you anything less than 100. He is there no matter what, and sometimes you see it in the shot box, but a lot of other times it's just in the work along the walls or the little chip passes to his line mates. Whatever it might be, he is out there driving play and setting the tone and a lot of times creating the momentum so that when there is a line change, the other lines can come in and take advantage of that momentum and create results in the process. So he is just such an underrated part of this team in spirit and in practice, and I'm so glad that he is here because I think he keeps them on the straight and narrow. I think he keeps the other players on the straight and narrow. No one gets too high, no one gets too low, and it's thanks to Martinuk.
Speaker 2:I would agree with that and I would say that it's funny. But it seems like every year in the playoffs this is the time of year when the commentators and pundits out there remember that you know Martin Hook was actually put on waivers at one point and you know they like to point that out. I think to me it's just an example, another example of the kind of leadership that he brings to the team, because he, that was not a decision that the team made lightly, it was not something where they were really willing to risk losing him. They did it very strategically, you know, knowing that other teams that might be interested would be in the same cap situation that they were trying to alleviate as well. But at the same time, there's always a risk when you put someone on waiver, so someone is going to take that gamble. So the fact that he was willing to do that, because he was trying to, you know, make sure that the team had the room they needed for the greater good going forward.
Speaker 2:You know that's the kind of leadership you can't really put a price tag on, because the young guys see somebody who's willing to go all the way to whatever the team needs, and just you know, when you talk about what makes the difference between success in the playoffs and failure in the playoffs, it's 100% effort, it's 100% execution.
Speaker 2:It's doing the things you don't feel like doing in the moment. And you know that's in the third period, when you know you've been battling all game and you just don't want to take that extra effort to get the puck out or to do whatever it is you have to do. And you know I think that we've seen that a little bit from some of the players on the other team you know, and you know you'll never see that from Jordan Martinuk and you will see that resonate, like Katie said, through the lineup, because if he's going to do it, then who isn't going to do it? You know, if Jordan Martin is willing to be 100 percent, then anybody who's sitting there at you know 97 percent is going to feel like they better do a little bit better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that big shot block. The other night Freddie was incredibly complimentary to him and said you know, it's just incredible, Like that's fantastic stuff, complimentary to him and said you know, it was just incredible, like that's fantastic stuff.
Speaker 1:And you know how many times do we see Jordan Martinuk diving to get pucks out of the zone and a penalty kill or something. He, you know, he just puts everything into it and and he's a great guy in the room. They love him, he's, he's. You know folks wondered why did we re-sign him in the off season? We had so many other players that we could sign and why do we bring back Martin? I think that whole question has been answered very clearly. He's playing great hockey Now. A lot of folks playing very, very well. Some folks we think can do a little bit better.
Speaker 2:Erin, what do you got in your mind?
Speaker 2:Well, since you probably want me to start with uh kk, I'll start with kk. Um, you know, the funny thing is is that we can talk about um uh kokuniemi needing to produce more, perhaps offensively, um, but he's played very well defensively. He's definitely played very physical game. There's not been, you know, he hasn't been making the kinds of mistakes that you know he would have made in the past in the playoffs, so I mean, there's nothing really there that you can point to and say he's not doing, you know, a decent job. I think I'd like to see him score, because I know he can score in the playoffs. I think that that's been the biggest frustration this season is seeing him not really scoring as much as I believe he can, but you never know why a player might be struggling in that area, and so you just say, well, ok, I'd like to see that. One thing, though, that I think should put this into context is that you know, right now he has he does not have a goal yet in the playoffs.
Speaker 2:He has three assists and they've played nine games that could be improved on. Yet in the playoffs he has three assists and they've played nine games that could be improved on. But you also have to look across to the other side of the ice, because right now Capitals fans are extremely angry at Pierre-Luc Dubois, because Pierre-Luc Dubois also has zero goals and three assists in nine playoff games and he's making a lot more money and he is also an unquestioned, bona fide 2C. You can't look at Dubois' regular season stats and say that there's any doubt there. He had 66 points this season. So I feel like for KK it's like, yeah, we hold him to a higher standard because we know he's capable of more. But I don't necessarily think that when you look at center performance in these particular playoffs, and especially in this series, you know he's doing what he needs to do for the most part. Yeah, okay, what he needs to do for the most part.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, katie, anybody else that?
Speaker 3:we'd like to see, maybe contribute a little bit more. Oh, if you're talking points, there's only one forward that hasn't notched a point yet, that's played multiple games, and that's Carrier. Yes, you know we can debate all night long whether or not it's something you expect out of him. I don't think that offense is his calling card. His calling card is a hard-checking game. Lots of hits really wear the opponent down and in that case I think he has been particularly successful. I would like to see more of a net front presence from him. Going back to what Aaron was talking about with kk, kk has made his presence known as a net front um. He has really been working to provide screens, including including on ghost's goal last night. Part of the reason ghost was able to score that goal was because of kk's net front. I would like to see more of that from carrie um, and whether he's playing on the third line or the fourth line well, what we call.
Speaker 3:You know we don't number the lines here, but whether he's playing on Stahl's line or the so-called fourth line, which is currently KK's line. I just want to see him get to the net front a little bit more, because when he's greasy there he seems to be more effective, whether it's directly effective for him or effective better for the those around him, being able to create and produce opportunities, because he's tying up defenders and taking away the goalie's eyes and that sort of thing. So around the edges he's been great. I'd like to see him be a little bit more greasy net front and get some more opportunities there, regardless of which line he's on. But it'll probably come. I'm you know, it's not that he's been playing poorly. I just think that there's a another level where he can get to. That would make the Canes even better than what they're, than how they are right now.
Speaker 2:I think that's true, katie, and you know, one thing that it might be with with uh Carrie himself is that, um, I think that we forget how good Logan Thompson has been in this series and some of those kinds of goals in particular can be harder to get when the goaltender is really on fire, because I know I think it was it was either game three or game four I felt like Carrie had a really good opportunity off of uh when Stahl got the puck to him kind of in that slot and Thompson was just right there, you know. So if the goaltender is as good as the two goaltenders in this series have been, some of those types of goals, some of those depth goals coming from the greasy net front type of presence, may not happen as often. So maybe we'll see it soon.
Speaker 1:Well, when you talk about hits, he's 18th in the playoffs right now with 36 hits. Eric Robinson is actually 16th with 38 hits. So he's got a few more than Carrier, which is great, and he's been certainly doing some heavy lifting for the Canes as well. But the one thing I was kind of looking at with Carrier and it also kind of goes back to our discussion on Jordan Martin because that line which is really their first and foremost, they're out there to shut down the top lines on the other team, for sure, but that line can also chip in with some offense and I think you know we need to see more from them. Carrier did do he made a great move where he went behind the net and I've seen him do that a lot. He used to do that quite a bit with Vegas. He would get behind the net, then come around the side and then you know either shoot it or pass it to somebody who's in the crease and deflect it in.
Speaker 1:So he needs to get that confidence back and, of course, he came back from an injury that kept him out for an extended period, so we have to give him a little bit of time to kind of find his way. But the other member of this line, to me as well, could deliver some more, and that's Jordan Stahl. Stahl has just one assist so far in the playoffs. He's been strong in the faceoff dot on some nights, on other nights not so good. I'm looking for more from Jordan. Erin thoughts on Jordan.
Speaker 2:I think that Jordan Stahl's contribution to the playoffs in particular is so much focused on defense that we you know, we kind of when we look at offensive stats, we're not always going to see them leaping to the to the front. But I would say that, yeah, in in the past, jordan Stahl has probably managed to impact offense a little bit more, and it depends on I think that was kind of the point of having Seth Jarvis on that line. It just, for whatever reason, wasn't really working well, at least in this series. So I don't think that you can necessarily do that in the playoffs, where you just import a scorer down to Stahl's line and it works, because then you're losing something from the defensive side sometimes. So I'm happy with the configuration of the line. I think that they should start chipping in.
Speaker 2:Martinuk has certainly been chipping in. So there's that. I think that sometimes for Stahl too, though, it's just getting that floodgate open. And, yes, his assist so far in the playoffs was on Spech's empty netter, and that's fine. Playoffs was on Spets's empty netter, and that's fine. But maybe just a couple of those shifts where he overlaps with one of those lines could get him going, because we've seen that before too, and once I think, stahl.
Speaker 2:For me it seems like all of his scoring always seems to happen in bunches and in a really short sample size. You're not going to necessarily see that as much, but I would love to see it. If that empty net assist kind of got him, you know, maybe thinking I should be doing a little bit more here, then that would be great for the team, because his line we know they grind the opposition into dust, they hold on to the puck. They have the best puck possession stats usually on the team. I haven't looked, but you know, generally speaking they're right up there at the top or near the top with puck possession. So we want them to be able to produce at least a little bit, just because of all the zone time they're getting. So hopefully that'll happen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree and I think, uh, you know, uh, we saw him at at some point this season where he was smoking hot. He had four or five goals in a short period of time. Yeah, again, it's a long season for Jordan, we know, and of course he's aging as well and I think it's going to be critical to find ways to, you know, give him some off periods as well in terms of, you know, on ice time and just some of the tougher situations. And I like that when they had Mark Jankowski in because he could do some of that PK work as well. And I think that's something that, with Burns and with Stull, they're going to have to manage very closely.
Speaker 1:And we need Jordan Stull, of course, to be on top of his game, because he's critical against these top lines. For sure. If, by some measure, the Canes end up playing a team like Toronto, as an example, a guy like Stowe up against Matthews and Werner and the rest of them would be huge. I thought we'd have a little fun. We looked at the X-Factors heading into the series and I thought let's see how we're doing. Um, now, katie, you talked about special teams and the head coach battle. Um, how do you think we're doing with that?
Speaker 3:well, we already touched on special teams, so obviously we're great it's considering that we're first of the current teams left in the postseason in both power play and penalty kills. So well done, boys.
Speaker 1:That was definitely fantastic.
Speaker 3:The coaching has just been on another level, like we've always known that.
Speaker 3:Rod is a really good coach, but it seems like this playoffs he and his staff have hit another level in the decisions that they're making the matchups.
Speaker 3:They're creating the tweaks to the lineup that they've making the matchups. They're creating the tweaks to the lineup that they've had to make, both as far as who's playing as well as how the lines and pairings are configured, you know, moving Svetch up to the top line and then moving Jarvis up to the top line and getting Roslevic between Hall and Stankoven and where they're playing Carrier. And, of course, my favorite one that I mentioned earlier is the time that Walker has gotten to play with Slavin. I just have been over the moon with that duo and how that has worked out and produced for the Canes. It just seems like they have that. Brendamore and his staff have their hand on the pulse of the canes and of the game and of what they need to do in order to maximize the opportunity for success, and I just want them to keep, keep riding this as far as they can, because it has been wonderful with how it's worked out so far.
Speaker 1:Yeah, fantastic, fantastic job, job by Rod, for sure. Now, erin, you talked about discipline and physicality.
Speaker 2:I think that they're doing extremely well in both of those areas too. The penalty kill has been extremely good, but they have not had to work as much as they did in the regular season. There have been some lengthy calls. We had some four-minute minors for high sticking and that kind of thing, but a lot of players that we would normally see with that little revolving door going in and out of the penalty box are keeping their discipline, keeping focused, not committing the stick infractions, not committing the retaliatory penalties, which is, of course, the one thing you don't want to do. You know goading, being goaded into, you know taking a swipe at someone or whatever the case might be. And I mean they're playing the Capitals. I mean you don't necessarily expect them to take a lot of retaliatory penalties against the Devils, but the Capitals are one of those teams that can kind of play that game where they get you off your game and get you angry and make you do these things, and so that's. They've been tremendously mature. And then this goes all the way down to, you know, some of the longest, youngest players in the lineup.
Speaker 2:The physicality has also been extremely good. You know, I think that last night's game was the first of the four games that we've played against the Capitals where the Capitals actually did, in fact, out-hit the Canes by two hits, by two hits, so matching the Capitals hit for hit all the way through and even exceeding them in most of these games. You know, nobody would have expected that, because everyone has this idea that the Canes are just soft, and what we're finding out is that they're not soft, they're strategic. They didn't do this in the regular season because you shouldn't have to do this in order to win. In the regular season, you shouldn't have to target guys and go after guys and be hitting, throwing hits randomly, and they're still not doing that.
Speaker 2:They're just hitting very strategically when they need to get the puck back, you know, and that's it. They're not. Nobody's got a target on their back in this series, at least not on the capital side, and they don't have to. That's not. It doesn't have to be this very personal, dirty kind of game. It can be, you can be physical, you can elevate the hits. You can elevate and not just the hits too, because we look at that as the number that we use as our proxy for how physical a series is. But how many times is it? Just a question of finishing a good check, making sure that you're taking that extra effort to get the puck cleared, or that extra effort to get the puck cleared, or that extra effort to get the puck off the wall. That's physicality too, and I think that the Canes are underrated in those areas because we don't have stats for measuring that.
Speaker 1:Well, you look at the hits numbers, they are fifth right now in the playoffs with 319. So they're definitely they're doing exactly what you said, erin, and a couple of things that come to mind. Look, brent Burns the other night he just pummeled Alex Ovechkin. How many times did we see him? He just crushed him right. And you're just sitting there cheering, you're going. This is great Because, you know, again, ovechkin has been, you know, a thorn in the side of the Canes and he tried to get, you know, very physical last night as well. And the other guy that, of course, has been trying to take the Canes off their game is Tom Wilson, and the Canes have just sat there and looked at him and smiled and said you know, do whatever you want to do.
Speaker 1:We've got to move on and win this game. So I agree with you. I think they've definitely been disciplined. No-transcript.
Speaker 3:So that's, all good stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:So the odds right now to win the Eastern Conference are very strongly in favor of the Canes, as you would imagine. As I mentioned at the start of the podcast, the Canes have not lost when they've been up 3-1. In fact, eight times they've won the series when they've been up 3-1 in the series and they're going to go for a ninth. And it's generally accepted that the Canes will win this series and it's also accepted by the oddsmakers right now that the Canes will actually win the Eastern Conference. So a lot of folks are still, you know, promoting the Canes and we've even seen them in a number of different odds makers saying they're going to win the Stanley Cup. So, you know, kind of an interesting situation when we look at the start of the year and we had some fun with that when some folks were saying, hey, if they make the playoffs, that's a good year for the Canes. And I want to give a shout out to Eric Tulsky, as I usually do in these situations, because this Canes team reflects him and his staff and the great work they've done this year.
Speaker 1:He had picked these folks when the Rantanen deal went down. You know he wanted Logan Stankoven, he wanted to pick up Taylor Hall and now he signs Hall to a three-year deal. He wanted to keep Freddie and he signs Freddie on a team-friendly deal for next year. I mean, you just go on and on with these things and of course, the ultimate is Jacob Slavin and the deal that he was able to put together with Jacob. So lots of excitement as we go forward. Okay, they've got to win the next game, or one of the next three games, to win the series. What are we looking for? What do we expect? How do we feel about the situation now where it's going to go? Why don't you kick it off, erin?
Speaker 2:Well, I think that Spencer Carvery is a really good coach, and I've never wanted to underrate him at all in this series. I think he has done a very good job with his players. I think he continues to done a very good job with his players. I think he continues to do a very good job with his players. They're going to be back on home ice. They're going to be more motivated to try to get this win. It's not going to be the easiest game in the world Thursday, yeah, but barring anything really unforeseen though, I think that this game is the Canes game to take.
Speaker 2:I do think that they're going to have that same mindset that they did when they were playing game five against New Jersey. Now, granted that game, they were already at home, and the motivation was that they didn't want to go back to New Jersey. But the problem, I think a lot of teams sometimes get into that mindset of oh well, you know, it doesn't matter, if we lose this one, we'll go finish it at home. You never want to do that when you're at game five. You never want to do that, and the Canes, specifically, are not going to want to do that.
Speaker 2:They're going to be looking to close this out, because the games that they want to win down the road in Raleigh are more important than bringing this series back to Raleigh. So they're ready to close it out. They're ready. They certainly the way they were talking in the interviews I know you touched on that, tom already they're very focused on the task at hand. So if they go in there with that mindset, if they can get a good start which is very critical, I think, to how these games have gone, then they may be able to undo whatever work that Spencer Carberry has done. Because my honest opinion is I don't think that the Capitals have been able to match the Canes' conditioning. There's been a lot of commentary about how, you know, various players have looked like they're completely gassed, completely out of breath on the bench and by the end of the first period, not by the end of the third, if the Canes can continue to keep that level of intensity going, then the game is theirs to take. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And again, do you think, are you expecting any changes going into this next game or do you think it's lineup as we've seen it?
Speaker 2:I personally think they're going to stick with the same lineup. I think it's hard to change a winning lineup and you don't have a losing lineup. But even beyond that, we have seen Rod tweak a winning lineup before, and certainly barring injury. We always have to say that because we don't know for sure the status of every player. It could be that somebody might have to sit out, but if no one is injured, I think they will at least go into Game 5 with the same lineup.
Speaker 2:Because the thing with the concerns about Jankowski versus Roslevic and I've heard those concerns yeah, roslevic has in these last two games at home game three he played just about a minute and change less than Kotkaniemi. Yeah, game four, he played, I think, four seconds more. Yeah, they're playing equal deployment, even though the lines are numbered. However, they're numbered. So Rod has that opportunity. If for some reason, roslevic becomes a defensive liability in game five, he can easily swap those two centers. Again, he can easily move Roslevic to someone's wing if he wants to. There are so many opportunities to reconfigure the lineup without having to bring Jankowski in. And I think you want to save Jankowski and keep him ready to go for whatever the next series is, because that's when it could get very critical, depending on which of the Florida Panthers or the Toronto Maple Leafs emerges victorious, because that's going to be a big question. So for me, I think they stay the same. What do you think, katie?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I don't see any reason to change. Don't mess with a good thing. And, like I said earlier, I think Rod will want to see how Rostovic responds in a situation with this new line and in the other team's barn where they probably are going to be targeted against the other team's top line on certain occasions at the face-off dot, and how Rod can get the line changes on the fly to counteract those matchups. But I think this is a good opportunity for Rod to see what he's got with this line on the road and potentials for it down the road. But other than that, unless again unless someone's injured the D is going to stay the same, the other lines are going to stay the same, freddie's going to stay in net.
Speaker 3:It's great. I mean we all want to get to game five. That's just how excited I am, because we want the Canes to close this out. We're excited for them. They played so well. But I think we're all willing to be patient to give them this extra day of rest, because it's good all around, from Freddiereddie on up to the, to the guys who are that we know are nursing things, like chatfield and martinook we know we're a little banged up to other guys who, I'm sure are banged up.
Speaker 3:We just don't know about uh, their, their, uh, their bumps and bruises.
Speaker 3:But so this extra day will be good for them a couple more nights in their own bed before they head back up to Washington.
Speaker 3:It'll be great. And like you said, aaron, I think if the Canes can get through definitely the first 10 minutes, if not the first period, even, or with the lead, I think they are going to just wear the Capitals down and they are going to be able to take this game, because the Capitals just cannot keep up with the speed and the stamina that the Canes have developed throughout the entire season and it's just part of who they are, just follows in Rod Brindamore's footsteps. And so the biggest danger is if they play from behind. The Canes are not a good team playing from behind, so if they can keep it even or get the lead and build on that and make the Caps chase them, yeah, they'll wrap it up in five. But if they let the Caps dictate things from the start and get that energy and break through early, then it's going to be more of an uphill battle and I mean they can do it. We saw game five with new jersey that they you know they.
Speaker 3:They spotted new jersey a bit of a lead there and and managed to make it happen, but I I'd rather they not do that again.
Speaker 2:Let's not do that again.
Speaker 3:If they just went ahead and, you know, just took it to the caps from puck drop and asserted their dominance once again. That's what I think we would all like to see.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and to quote Mr Brandon Moore, they need to start on time. They need to come out and, right from the get-go, take the crowd out of the game and take control. And you know Freddie's going to be incredible. He's going to be that, you know strong, you know steady guy back in the net that we know we can count on and that makes a big difference Every time he's out there. Now you have a chance to win. So, yeah, it's going to be exciting. You know there's some interesting things going on.
Speaker 1:Of course, the Jankowski discussion is a raging one, and should be. He played very, very well when he was in there. Now Rosie, as RBA would call him, he's getting a lot of positive response as well. They like what he's doing. He's making a difference. He was huge in that goal last night by Taylor Hall. So that's a great situation to be in.
Speaker 1:And another one which we're having some fun with is that Alexander Nikeshin was in warm-up last night and that caught a lot of folks off guard. We know that Chatfield is hurting right now. In fact he struggled a bit last night. So we'll have to see how that plays out. But Rod did say that he fully expects that we're going to see Mr Nikishin at some point in the playoffs. So that, I think, was a very strong positive statement for those of us who have been waiting to see Alexander. For those of us who have been waiting to see Alexander and I would not in any way, shape or form be concerned if he jumps into the lineup as well based on the fact he's been around for a while now. So I think he's starting to feel a little bit more comfortable as well, and in fact, I saw him in a conversation with Andrei Sveshnikov and Kane's owner, tom Dundon, the other day and he had a big smile on his face. So I think that's a good sign.
Speaker 1:It's going to be fun to watch this as the Canes continue on their run. For those of you who've been watching or listening, obviously the three of us are delighted you've been here and spending time with us. If you like this episode, please press the like button. If you have comments for Aaron, katie or myself or just some things to say about the Canes, we'd love to hear from you for sure in the comments section down below, and if you want to be alerted of future episodes of Storm Tracker and have a chance to follow the Canes as they go through this playoff run. Please press the subscribe button and, of course, of course, the bell, and you'll be alerted to future episodes. As always, we thank you so much for spending time with us and look forward to getting together with you real soon, right here on StarCraft.
