Hurricanes' First Place is Slipping | Here's What Must Change

First place feels great until you look down and see seven teams breathing on your neck. We’re riding the high of two statement home wins and asking the bigger questions: what’s truly sustainable about Carolina’s surge, and what must change to keep it rolling through spring?

We start with the bright spots. Shayne “Ghost” Gostisbehere has been more than a power play specialist; he’s driving five‑on‑five offense by attacking the middle and still holding up defensively while Slavin heals. We dig into why a Slavin‑Ghost pairing could convert expected goals into real ones without sacrificing structure. Seth Jarvis continues to hunt high‑danger ice, pile goals, and set the tone for how our forwards should play: cut inside, shoot early, and force chaos. Jordan Staal quietly resets our identity with faceoff wins and net‑front muscle, and he may even help jumpstart PP1 by securing the opening draw.

Goaltending gets a fresh twist with Brandon Bussi’s right‑catching surprise run, but we add context on shot quality and the smart cap‑savvy steps to keep depth intact once everyone is healthy. On the back end, rookies Alex Nikishin and Joel Nystrom are accelerating the learning curve—strong reads, quick releases, and enough poise to earn real minutes together. That internal growth matters while the Metro race tightens and every shift counts.

Then we go straight at the pain point: the power play. The process is broken, not unlucky—too static, too scripted. We make the case for positionless motion, faster exchanges, and shooting with intent to force recoveries. The penalty kill’s underlying numbers are solid and should rebound as pairings stabilize and the crease settles. Up front, the second‑line center slot is the swing factor; if you want 2C production, you need 2C minutes or a lineup rethink that adds forecheck gravity and interior chances. With a four‑game homestand against beatable teams, banking points while fixing habits is non‑negotiable.

Highlights:

• Gostisbehere’s on‑ice tilt and possible Slavin pairing
• Jarvis scoring from high‑danger areas
• Bussey’s right‑catching wrinkle and contract path
• Jordan Staal’s faceoff edge and PP draw role
• Rookie blue line growth with Nikishin and Nystrom
• Five‑on‑five goals pace versus special teams drag
• Why the power play needs motion not new spots
• PK process strong, finishing and goalie variance lag
• Second‑line center minutes and production gap
• Homestand target: bank points and refine habits

If this breakdown hits, tap follow, share it with a Canes fan who yells “shoot,” and drop a review telling us your one change to fix the power play.

Chapters

• 0:00 Stakes In The Metro Race
• 2:38 Ghost’s Two‑Way Impact And Usage
• 7:26 Jarvis’ Hot Streak And Top‑Line Fit
• 13:42 Bussi’s Surprise Run In Net
• 18:37 Jordan Staal’s Influence And PP Look
• 24:21 What’s Working: Five‑On‑Five Offense
• 29:02 Rookie Blue Line: Nikishin And Nystrom
• 38:39 What’s Broken: Power Play Stagnation
• 45:03 PK Process, Goaltending, And Fixes
• 50:31 Sputtering Second Line And Aho’s Urgency
• 56:41 The Rumor Mill And Roster Needs
• 1:01:01 Four‑Game Homestand Priorities And Wrap

Transcript

SPEAKER_03: 1:04

Well, after two big home wins versus the Jets and the Flames, the Carolina Hurricanes have moved into top spot in the Metro, moving ahead of second place New Jersey Devils with a game in hand. What a race it is. Only six points separate the first place Kanes from the eighth place Rangers in the division. But the Kanes have received great news recently as most of the walking wounded have returned, with only star defenseman Jacob Slavin still on the men. Despite their success, there are still areas of concern for the Kanes. What's been working well for the Kanes? What's not working? And what do the Kanes need to do to stay atop the East? As always, joining me to talk about this some more, Aaron and Katie. Ladies, lots to talk about. Absolutely. Let's do it. Okay, so I thought we'd spend a few minutes and talk about some of the players that have stood out for us. I mean, one of the guys that I know we've all liked has been Shane Gostasper. The ghost, he's been on a tear this year. He's got 18 points in 16 games. That's amazing. I think if you extrapolate that over the year, it's a big number. In any case, uh he's been doing it both ways, defensively and offensively. He's a plus nine, he's looking good. What are you seeing with uh with Shane, Aaron?

SPEAKER_02: 2:34

Well, you know, like you said, he's just been getting it all done. And um the the encouraging thing, I mean, we know that uh Ghost is a tremendous offensive defenseman, and and you know, that's been his game forever. But with uh the extended absence of Slavin, as well as the rotation in and out of some of the other guys that have been coming back in, um, he's had the opportunity to do more, and he's got the opportunity to show that you know he's capable of playing, I would call it a responsible defensive game. He's never going to be a shutdown defenseman. That's not his role, and it's not something that he can do well, it's not where his talents lie. But he certainly isn't being a liability most of the time. Now, he has been on the ice for the goals against that you would expect from some of the high event stuff that happens when he's out there, especially depending on which line he's out there with, because that's also a big factor. Um, but the high event stuff is still coming, tilting in the team's favor. He's producing more than is being given up when he's out there, and you want that, you know, with a high event player. The question that a lot of people are raising on uh X and right now, and I think it's a fascinating discussion, is does he get a shot next to Slavin when Slavin comes back? We know that Jacob Slavin can cover for the occasional defensive lapses of a strong offensive partner, and we know that Slavin himself doesn't produce a lot offensively, but certainly creates the environment for a lot of expected goals, and and Ghost might be the one to turn some of that into actual goals. So I mean, I know that there's a lot to think about with that. They had Walker up with Slavin originally, they may be more comfortable going back to that, but he's making a case for himself, and that's kind of exciting given everything that's been going on on the blue line this year with the Kanes.

SPEAKER_03: 4:19

Well, that's interesting because we did see uh Shane was playing some big minutes. Um he's averaging uh, I think over 20 minutes a game. He's a guy that uh, again, um he could play his offside, which is uh would be a critical point uh to what you're saying, I think, Aaron, and that uh you know he could be a guy that could move up with Slavin. That's an interesting thought. And you know, one of the things though that it's interesting how this has all played out for Shane because he was uh he was really doing great on the plus-minus, and he had two games where for whatever reason he really uh he kind of fell on his sword. He was a minus six over two games, which was really unusual. Um, and now he's bounced back and of course had a great game last game, but he's delivering the offense, and many nights we're seeing him make actually some highlight plays in terms of uh his defensive acumen. He made a couple, I think, the other night as well. So he's uh he's definitely trying to be a lot more that way. What are you seeing with him, uh Katie?

SPEAKER_00: 5:19

Well, if you look at his hockey vis chart, the one that I pulled had to do with his finishing because it combines his 5v5 and uh power play opportunities. And the red area where he is having the most success is when he comes down into the zone between the circles and gets shots off. He's scoring a lot from there, and when he's not scoring, he's creating rebounds and other opportunities for his um for his partners out there for the for the forwards and his D partner for five on five. And that's part of what's really helping the Kanes generate offense because we all know that just the shots from the point are not nearly as effective. They have less chance of getting through to the goalie, um more chance of either being slowed down or captured by the defensive team and sent back the other way. But when he gets those couple strides and gets that momentum going downhill, particularly in between the dots, he is creating a lot of fantastic opportunities for the Kanes, and they really need him to do that. And they have a structure that allows him to be aggressive in that way because you have the forward falling back to cover for him or his D partner five on five to to watch his back.

SPEAKER_03: 6:37

Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_00: 6:38

Like you mentioned, there there were a couple games there where it didn't work out quite so well. Um, one of the games there was six goals scored in the game, and he was on the ice for all of them. The ones for and the ones against. So it it can get like it can get a little uh high event, like Aaron said, but more often than not that t that tips in the Kane's favor. And I think as he gets his legs under him after having come back from injury, more and more we'll see that because I think the majority of the scoring before he got hurt was um the few power play points that they got. And I think it's I think it's balancing out now. He's definitely still kind of helped give the power play a little hope. Um but uh it's balancing out. He's he's coming up with more five-on-five plays, which is good because you know there's tighter spaces, there's not as many opportunities. So look looking forward to seeing his production. And I think point per game, he's right up there with Kale McCarr in tops for the he is actually he's right in the top five, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_03: 7:42

Uh points per game. Uh interesting. I mean, you talk about um you know moving to the center. We've talked about this a lot in terms of uh on the point, you know, being able to move laterally over to that center area where you've got, I mean, it's much tougher for the goalie to to make the saves. And you know, you think about Kale McCarr, you think about uh Quinn Hughes, you think about some of the guys that do that so very well. And he's been doing it well this year, I think. Um he's really impressed me with uh with the way he's he's seeing the ice. He's seeing the ice extremely well. And he's made a number of uh of you know just wonderful passes. Like the other night, the the beautiful setup for uh for Jarvis, um, one of his goals was I mean, it was just ideal. So he's making great plays, he's he's jumping in, and as you say, I think one of the the key things for the canes is that they do play a style where you know the forward will drop back. And if that happens, of course, that gives uh that gives uh Shane the the green light to do whatever he does and does best. So I I like what he's doing this year. I'm always concerned with Shane because uh of the injury bug and things he's had in the past. He's you know, he gets going like this where he's a house of fire. Gosh, the next thing you see, he's uh you know, there's something he's derailed and he's on the sideline. But but he's definitely been getting it done. He's got five points his last four games. That's not bad at all. So hopefully he can continue this. And and it's kind of an interesting part of you know the hurricane scoring, and we'll talk a little bit about that in a few minutes, but he's definitely a key part of that. Now, next up, we can't talk about players getting it done without talking about this guy, and that's Seth Jarve. Man, uh, you know, Jarve is uh, you know, obviously he's focused right now on playing his game as well as he can because he wants to be a member on Team Canada. You know, that's a huge discussion right now, and he's kind of on the bubble. We don't know where he sits right now, but uh for sure he's trying to make a case, and of course getting a hat-trick the other night wasn't a bad uh bad move in that case at all. Um and he's been he's been flying. He's got five goals his last five games. He's got 15 goals in the year, so he's really getting it done. Aaron, thoughts on uh Seth Jarvis?

SPEAKER_02: 9:56

I think he just needed to get back to because he had that little lapse there where he wasn't putting up the points. I think he just needed to get back to the simplicity of the game that he plays because when he plays that simple game, he's he can put up points like nobody's business, and we've seen him doing that. Um I think that um that line is coming together. You know, we don't see um everything that they're doing, you know. But uh, and as much as you know, we we may say, well, Aho can can do a little more and Svetnikov has his ups and downs, but having those two players allows Jarvis the freedom to do some of the things that he does out there. You know, he's he's not doing it alone. This isn't a solo act. So I think that his success is a reflection of how well that line is working, even if the other two players have been a little quieter. Um and then just to sum it up, I would say um there was a Keynes fan that had a sign the other day that was, you know, featured in a little picture that that popped up on X, and it was, I just hope Seth Jarvis has fun, you know, as their their sign for the game. And you can tell that when he's when he is in that zone, he is having fun out there, he's celebrating his goals and he's feeling good about himself. And I think that whenever you see um Jarvis in that mindset, you know, where as seriously as they all take it and as hard as they all work, where he's capable to just enjoy the moments and really, you know, treasure those experiences, getting that hat check and everything else, you know, that's when we see Jarvis at his best. So if he can stay loose like that and keep having fun, I think that the Canes are going to continue to see the best version of him.

SPEAKER_03: 11:26

For sure. And and you know, he's a guy that uh he continues to show that he's got you know elite talent. He's on track for like a 40 goal year. Uh he's made this, I guess he's adjusted his stick, as we've heard. He's got a little bit of a hook or whatever it is on the end of his stick, and it seems to be working. So sometimes uh a little tweak like that can go a long way. And I know he did do a lot of work in the offseason with some special training, uh, which he was working on to uh to affect the skating, and certainly that seems to be helping as well. What are you seeing, uh Katie?

SPEAKER_00: 12:01

Well, if uh we pull up the hockey viz chart for his shots taken at 5v5, and it looks very similar for other situations as well, but we can see that the majority of his shots, whether it's goals scored, saves made by the goalie, shots missed, are in the high danger areas. And that is something that is unique for most of the canes forwards. We know that they play like I mentioned with Ghost, a little bit more of a perimeter game, trying to get the fact through, create the rebounds. But Jarvis is the one that does drive to those high danger areas, and it's part of why he has been successful, more successful scoring goals for than any of the other canes, is because he gets in close, he gets his shot off quick, he's deceptive with how he works his shot. It depends on if there's defenders nearby. He has so many tools in his toolkit that when you when he gets a chance in close, there are more than one way for him to um for him to score and to to be successful. So I think that's very encouraging. I still want to see him doing more of that, especially with Aho and Svetch wanting to make the pretty pretty dangly plays and the fancy passes. He needs to be kind of the lunch pail mentality of get puck, shoot puck, score goal, rinse and repeat. That's I think I think there's another level to his game that he hasn't quite embraced there. And I hope he does get to the point where he just decides that he is going to start putting rubber on the goalie as frequently as he can.

SPEAKER_01: 13:39

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03: 13:41

Yeah, and I mean, interesting. The other night uh Trev Tracy was saying that uh he thought Seth might be the next captain of the Canes, which I thought was an interesting uh kind of a weigh-in from him because we, you know, up until now it's been kind of a foregone conclusion that it would be Sebastian Aho. But Seth is uh, you know, he's he's actually, you know, he's obviously he's a character as an individual, but he's one of those rare players that plays uh just a tremendous 200-foot game. And as he builds out his offensive game even more, I mean, he becomes he becomes a player that you can really build around. So I uh I'm excited with what he's doing, and gosh, I hope he hits 40 goals this year. Awesome for the Kings to have a 40 goal guy. Um, okay, so talking about the other side of things, and we've talked about this uh gentleman a number of times, and I think gratefully so. And uh he's not on waivers or he's not going anywhere soon, I don't think, uh Katie. So we'll probably have to uh put up with him for a little bit longer. And that's the bus man, Brandon Bussey. Now, Bussey uh he did a he's gone back in and did a back-to-back, which was great, uh really playing outstanding hockey. And one of the things about Bussey that we see that I really like is that he makes saves that are almost circus saves. Like he makes saves that you know you love to see them, but so often we've watched in the pucks in the net. So I think he's been a guy that's been able to make some of those saves and play very, very well. Um what are we seeing with uh Brandon Bussey, Aaron?

SPEAKER_02: 15:17

I think his enthusiasm for where he is right now, living in the moment and just loving what's what's happening, you know, when he's been an AHL guy all this time and then just coming into the NHL and doing this. Um it's it's one of the most endearing things because you know, a lot of guys would not be able to relax and just enjoy the moment as much as he is. And he has that humility to say that, you know, whatever they want from him is still what he wants to give them. He's not looking to be having all these back-to-back starts, and he's not expecting to be this guy that they rely on so heavily. Um, and I think that that's just, you know, that's exactly what the canes need from him because you know, it is still early and it is still a relatively small sample size. Now it's a very encouraging sample size because of how well he has done. And getting his first uh shutout was also very um exciting. So that was a great uh um thing, milestone for him to hit this early in his career as an NHL goalie. So um I think that uh there are some Keynes fans that are, I think, jumping the gun a little bit as far as how excited they are about him. But um, but he does bring some unique um talents to his role. And I think that being a right-catching goalie is one of those things that it gives him an advantage. You see other teams that have that the goalies that that catch on the opposite side and and how how often they stymie the the guys that even can shoot all the time. You know, there it's not just the Jordan Martinooks who can't score on him, it's the Austin Matthews who can't score on him, you know. And and that I think that's the kind of thing that if his talent is is uh nurtured and if he becomes a reliable, um, I could see him becoming a reliable backup goaltender. And you know, that would be a great career advancement for him at this point in in his uh journey in the NHL world. So I love what we're seeing. I'm glad that the Kanes have him because I do think that right now they need that um extra person with uh Kachekov having battled through um injury so much this season, a little more than I think was expected. And then, you know, um the the situation with Freddy. So really, really good stuff from Brendan Bussey. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03: 17:24

Yeah, having three goaltenders, uh, you know, we wondered how it might work, but so far it's uh it's been a blessing for the Canes for sure. Katie, what are you seeing in terms of the way that things are are breaking down for Bussey?

SPEAKER_00: 17:37

Um once again, if we go back to my handy-dandy hockey viz, there is a chart that shows where his saving is, where he's making a lot of his saves. And you'll notice the blue right around the crease. So he's doing a good job on those high danger chances, which is kind of typical for the Canes goalies the past few seasons. It seems like uh the Canes have had a good high danger save percentage comparative to the league, regardless of the goalie that you're looking at. So it's nice that he's continuing that trend. Um to his right, there is a little bit of a red area where it shows that that might be a place that teams might start exploiting a little bit more because he's giving up. Um but again, that's kind of been the trend for the Canes goalies. If you look at Kochekov and Anderson, they also seem to be giving up goals in that mid range a lot more. Um, one area of caution, if you also look at this, when it shows the um shot quality, it shows that the shot quality other teams are getting on him are not high quality shots. If you compare it to Anderson, there's almost a 20-point difference in the other way. So people like like Aaron cautioned, we need to not go crazy about thinking that we can just trade Anderson somewhere else because Busy's here to save the day. Anderson has really, really faced a lot tougher challenges when it comes to the goaltending than Bussey has. And eventually those things are gonna even out because you know Freddy's gonna get his starts along with Busy, and then when Kochekov comes back, he'll be getting his starts as well. So we just need to see how things play out. Um like Tom alluded to. I think eventually Busy will go on waivers, but not until after January 1st, where they can renegotiate a new contract for him, the kind of contract that is long enough and has perhaps a year or two in there that is an NHL only deal. That even if he goes down to the AHL, he's still paid his NHL salary. That that's the sort of contract that makes teams not interested in claiming him off waivers and would allow him to go to Chicago and still be the uh put you know press button in case of emergency goalie if something were to happen to Piotr and or Freddie. Because I think eventually the Canes are gonna be making a move here and they're gonna need every little bit of cap space they can get in order to round out this team, come trade deadline time. So they're not in a rush. It's I I definitely don't think it's gonna happen before January 1st where they can negotiate that new contract and make it kind of a poison pill for other teams. But he is he his story is so great. He is such a fun interview to listen to. And I do hope he sticks with the organization at one level or another, not just the rest of this year, but moving forward.

SPEAKER_03: 20:33

Yeah, I mean, uh it's a great story. He's won five in a row. He's coming in and and uh I think really you know, shoring up the goaltending. Good stuff with Busse, and let's hope he can continue to ride this wave that he's got going for sure. Um I had an honorable mention I wanted to throw out because uh this guy I think steps up and just keeps doing it. Uh, and you know, we keep wondering you know, when's the the battery gonna go? But uh of course I'm talking about Jordan Stahl. Um Jordan was on a bit of a tear. Uh he had uh he had a number of goals in a few games, and and then of course he went down and was out uh with an illness for a period of time, but he's back. And it just, you know, watching the canes without him, you just saw how critical that uh Jordan Stahl is to the team. And particularly in the face-off dot, of course, he's been leading the canes by a large margin there, 57.5 percent. Um, and that's been an area of real challenge this year for the canes. So it's great to have him back. What are we seeing with uh with Jordan Stahl? Katie?

SPEAKER_00: 21:40

I think he's just leading by example. He's going in. Um I I like to joke sometimes when it comes to scoring opportunities. He has concrete in his gloves because it seems like he's so clunky with the way that he maneuvers the puck. But he's actually gone against that grain for some of these goals that he has scored and looked like he's turned back the clock a little bit. So those have been nice, especially the ones where he's been more aggressive and cutting towards the net and using that little flick to get the puck to go. And that's been good to see. And of course, we had the interesting wrinkle in practice today where he was put for on for some reps with power play one, which um I think is in part due to face-off issues on the power play. The canes have not been doing a good job uh winning the initial face-off when they get a power play, and then there's also the benefit of having his big frame in front of the goal in order to help with the screening and stuff like that. So Brenda Moore suggested it might just be uh, you know, trick up their sleeve that they can pull out once, you know, once here, once there. But I'd uh Stahl's doing really well. I'd like to see it and see how it goes because it could be that little wrinkle that helps to jump start the power play and get them out of the basement.

SPEAKER_03: 23:00

Well, as you said, uh you know, he he scored a couple of goals where I had to look and say, that can't be Jordan Stahl. Exactly. And uh and doing some good work. And you know what? We've seen him on the power play before. Um, you know, in past years, we've seen uh Jordy on the power play, and and you know, he does give you that big body. He's a guy that can win the face-offs, and for sure uh the power play has struggled because we haven't been winning those draws. And you know, it's just like you know, when uh you know, start of a period or you know, going into overtime or whatever, uh you know, he always leans on on uh on Jordo. So um anyway, we'll follow it, see how it goes. Um Aaron, what are your thoughts about uh Mr. Stall?

SPEAKER_02: 23:48

Well, one of the interesting things about his stats right now, and I was just double checking because I wasn't sure if I had that right, but he does have he has seven goals so far this year. But he only has two assists. So right now he's rocking a 24% shooting uh uh percentage, individual shooting percentage of his on ice isn't bad. But you know, um I think that that's you know gonna balance out. He's gonna he's gonna stop getting so many goals, but he will be contributing on the assists on some of the um plays that are going on on his line, you know. Um so that's that's actually kind of fun. And I wonder a little bit about the effect of Will Carrier on Stall's goal scoring, because Carrier is not a scorer himself, but he certainly does facilitate it for his teammates, you know. Um and and I think that he has done that, you know, a little bit this year too. Um and as far as the the the uh the the power play, I think you're you're exactly right. Uh I know that um I think it was Corey Lavalette or or or possibly Ryan Henkel, one of them said that looked like the play with that they were developing involved Jordan taking the face-off and then getting off the ice for Jackson Blake to get out, just to kind of maybe bolster those face-off wins. Um and of course, the the only danger with that is you know, it would have I think that you would not want to do it um on a play where where um Jordan has you know to get off quickly because that would be the that would be the drawback. On the other hand, if the play started turning the other way, who else would you want there but Jordan? So, you know, I think that it could work in their favor. I'd love to see what they do with it just because we're all dying for them to do something with the power play. I know we're gonna talk about that later, but um it was interesting to see them try that today. So it kind of gave us all of a good chuckle out there.

SPEAKER_03: 25:27

Well, for sure. I mean, they've they they haven't changed up much on the power play. Um and you know, throwing a guy like Jordan out there, you know, he's he's got the hot hand. Uh they I looked at the extrapolation of his numbers, he would end up with 23 goals and seven assists. So that's cool.

SPEAKER_01: 25:46

So he'd still he'd still have his usual 30 points. It would just be a strange balance.

SPEAKER_03: 25:51

That's an interesting uh combination for a Sarah. Um okay, so yeah, interesting stuff around Jordo. I think he's I think he's playing great hockey for the canes. You know, one of my concerns, and I've said this over and over again, though, is you know, as the season goes on, he's being called upon to do a lot of heavy lifting, and that line, that line continues to play hard minutes. And you know, it's a long season. So let's hope that as you know, we get towards the end of the season, we don't see you know uh a situation where he's you know he's played up. So we'll see how that goes. Um, so now let's move on to what's working well in our minds. One of the things that blows my mind is the scoring of the canes. You know, if you you know we watch the games and we wonder, you know, how do they cobble these wins together? They are sitting fifth overall in goals scored per game. They're sitting at 3.4, which is really surprising. Uh to me, it's it's a bit of a shock. Now, they did get off at the start of the season, they did get off with some a lot of high-scoring games. It's not been so good recently. Uh they've seen that uh, you know, they've seen a lot tougher scoring goals. And we've seen as an example uh, you know, some of the lines just not getting it done like they were earlier. So we'll talk a little bit about some of that. But again, um what do you think it is that led to you know this success? And and can they get back to the success uh and stay up there as one of the highest scoring teams in the league? Katie?

SPEAKER_00: 27:21

I think part of what's led to their success is even though we'd like to see more of it, they seem to have a greater commitment to shooting. You can't score if you don't shoot. Um and they're getting some more um transition in their in their game and um really pressuring. There's not as much dump and chase as there uh, especially from the uh the Aho line and the Stank Open line. They seem to really be pushing the pace, going up the ice, and um I think that's helping a lot because teams are expecting the canes to just gain the red line and dump it in and go to the four-check and try to win it back and cycle and you know put it up high to the point and do what they do all the time. And some of that, some of that's still working, some of that's still definitely embedded in their DNA. Yeah. But it's it's more balanced. And I think that that uh those extra tools and their toolkit are making them more dangerous.

SPEAKER_03: 28:20

You know, we talk about that blue line and we talk about the next man up and and that whole mentality. And I gotta say this is that uh some of these young defensemen have come in, they played big, big minutes, and I think they've really, you know, they've really come in and made a difference. And of course, at the top of the list is Alex Nikishan. Um and you talked about Nikkeishan's great speed in that play that we saw uh against the Flames, and that was, you know, we hadn't seen him really do that before, but he's continuing to show a lot of you know plays and moves that uh only you know top talent can do. And of course, uh at the same time, he's he's learning the game. And interestingly enough, we saw he sat out a game, and of course, that created a monster stir uh on the X crowd. Of course, uh they were not happy at all to see uh Nikishan on the sidelines. What are we seeing with uh Alex? And do we are we pleased with his uh his growth so far, Katie?

SPEAKER_00: 29:19

I'm definitely pleased with his growth so far. It's it's been a work in progress, um especially in a few a handful of the recent games. You've seen he's been trying some stuff and it's worked really well sometimes, but there have been other times it has turned in to an on-man rush back in the other direction. But I think also the Keynes are as a team are actively trying to support him better so that those opportunities are fewer or they're at least better covered when they do go in the other direction in order to give him more confidence in going for those types of plays. And man, he came close in that Calgary game a couple of times. That was phenomenal. Um, the one thing I would like to see more from him is I just have not seen enough of that big slap shot of his where he just really wound up and let let fly and let go. And I I hope he's getting some reps in practice getting that shot off because it's one of his biggest weapons. And we just have not seen enough of that from him this year.

SPEAKER_02: 30:27

Um, I would agree with Katie. I want to see him in general. I'd like to see him shooting more when he has the opportunities because you know he does have such a heavy shot even when it's not the slap shot, you know. So at the very least, he's gonna make guys think twice about blocking the net, you know, um blocking shots. He's gonna he needs to he needs to use that shot as a weapon a little bit more, I think, in those situations. Um and that was the kind of game, you know, Calgary again, going back to that game again. Um, that's exactly what the flames are doing. They're, you know, collapsing in front of the net, getting in all the shooting lanes. So that's when you want someone like Nikishan to step up and say, Okay, you can be there, you know, but do You really want to be. But uh but you know, he that will come with time. I I think that that's just a matter of you know figuring out um his his timing on some of that because the game is played at such a faster speed, you know, in the uh NHL than anywhere else. Um and yeah, as far as the controversy on X over him sitting out, you know, I think that it was a justified one because he was at that time a plus 14.

SPEAKER_04: 31:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_02: 31:31

Um and you know, the the the mantra that Rod Brindamore preaches is that people need to earn their ice time and they need to, you know, do play in such a way that they, you know, and and I think that sometimes it's not clear to even the player themselves, well, why am I sitting if other players below me or you know have have given up a lot more or been more of a liability or you know, don't have are they not producing, you know, what what is what are the standards here, you know? And I think that as long as that's being communicated well, these things can be really good learning experiences for players. Um as long as they understand. It doesn't matter if we understand, you know, because we don't, we're not the ones, you know, we don't know who's maybe getting over a little bug, or you know, as as we've had that one go through the room, and we don't know, we don't know if there's a particular series of a player being told don't do this, and then the player does it anyway and doesn't stop doing it and seems to think that that's the right thing to do, that maybe there's a little correction there. But um, he's not a typical rookie, and I I think that it's important, even while we acknowledge that he's a rookie and we while we acknowledge that he needs to learn the game, you're not gonna get the same, I think, results from too many punitive measures against someone who is as established in the professional hockey world as Nikishan already is. So that's the balancing act, and I'm sure they're doing a good job of that. But it it certainly did create a tempest, like you said.

SPEAKER_03: 33:04

We saw um the Athletic came out with their uh Calder rankings so far, which is kind of fun. Uh Matthew Schaefer, of course, is uh is at the top of the list. He's he's something else, and he's an incredible young player. Uh, but Alex was number two, which is kind of fun. And not far down the list at number six was uh Yoel Nestrong, okay, who I want to talk about right now. And I think that's a great, great, great story. Uh, you know, Yoel came over after playing in the SHL for the last five years. He comes over as a 23-year-old. He's going to go to Chicago, heads down there, he's good to go. Plays his first seven games, and the next thing you know, he's with the Hurricanes. And I don't think he has looked out of place at all. Um, he has been rock solid back there. And the thing I like about him is his hockey IQ. I mean, he he thinks the game extremely well. And you can see he's got challenges with size, for sure. Uh, you know, there's some big guys coming in on him. But uh, but he finds a way to get leverage or get the puck or make something happen. And uh, and I think you know, he's just uh he's earning the minutes, and he's been getting penalty kill time, a whole bunch of stuff. And you sit there and go, wow, you know, he's still out there. Uh he's doing it. So, you know, obviously I'm impressed with UL. Um, Katie, what are your thoughts on UL Nestrum?

SPEAKER_00: 34:25

Oh, I definitely agree with everything you've said about him. And I think part of what shows that Brindamore is growing in confidence in both Nikkeishan and Nystrom is that recently they have been paired together. If Brindamore did not have confidence in both of those players, they he'd be putting them with a vet in order to help kind of cover, support, teach the system to um to the two of them. And so I think it's really cool getting to see um Nikitian with his size and his presence, and then Nistrom with being a little bit more nimble uh with his skill set and how well that they have complimented each other out there um over the past little bit. That's that's really been what stood out to me. Aaron.

SPEAKER_02: 35:11

I would agree, and I would say the only thing I would add is that um I think we're all, you know, we've seen uh Nick uh Nistrom come so close on multiple occasions to getting that NHL goal. And you know, I really hope, I mean, um I'm I'm thinking that the plan is going to be for him to return to Chicago once Slavin is uh is fully back. Um but I would really love to see him get that goal before he goes back because he's been I mean he's been on the doorstep on multiple games where it's been by a hair off the pipe, you know, which how many times have we done that this season? Um so so the canes in their in their uh interesting entanglement with the post lately, but you know. Um I think that if if he gets that, I mean, whether he gets it or not, he's gonna go to Chicago with a lot of confidence and he's gonna have every reason to to be looking forward to his next opportunity. And that opportunity will be there, it will.

SPEAKER_03: 36:09

So well, a couple of interesting things. I mean, he I think I said this before. He sometimes reminds me of Brent Burns because as soon as it comes back, he's shooting it. Like he gets it away so fast. Like it's it's it's true. Is that right? He's a bit smaller now, but okay. He's firing it. And I mean, the other thing, uh, I mean, for sure, I mean, for sure, with yeah, it's not Burns for sure, but for sure, I mean, he's he's definitely um, you know, he's he's got the confidence of the coaching staff because he has gone in in lieu of Mike Riley uh in this last couple of games. So I mean, I find that interesting where you know the guy that's the veteran and you know was really brought in to do this uh is sitting on the sidelines and he's got uh he's got Yuel Nistro in there. So he's definitely uh he's definitely got the confidence of the coach. And one thing that has really been, I think, impressive for him, and a lot of folks have talked about this, is he picked up the system very quickly. Um like he's obviously he's a smart player, he he just picked it up and ran with it. He he seems to know where he should be. And you know what he does, and I don't know if you noticed this, but he's been out on a number of two-on-one breaks uh where you know he's back, he's the lone person back. And one thing he does extremely well is he'll pick up the one forward and let his goalie, you know, handle the the player he should be handling. And you know, he's not trying to get in the middle of it, and then there's a pass to the guy that's open and he taps it in the back. He's doing it extremely well. And you know, they they really haven't been beaten when he's done that. So you can see that uh, you know, he's thinking the game well and uh he skates well, he does everything uh, you know, I think extremely well. And it's gonna be tough to send him down. You know, that's one of the things that, you know, as you look at the canes D, it's gonna be great to get Slavin back, but boy, I I'd love to keep Nistrom up there. He's doing a great job. Some things that aren't working, we're not gonna spend a lot of time on this one because it's been beat to death is the power play. Uh the canes are sitting right now at 13.7% success. The leader is Pittsburgh at 33.3. You can do the math. It's a disaster. Um, the fact they're winning with a power play that's uh so anemic is is actually quite surprising. Now, they've had a little bit of success recently, as you know. Um, and last year they were actually, they didn't do all that great last year. They were 18.7% in 25th. So they have not had the magic on the power play. And this is something that you know, as they've gone into the playoffs in particular, where special teams are the game, uh, they really decide uh who the winners are gonna be normally. Um, this is not good. So that's why they're gonna start throwing some stuff against the wall, I think. And that's maybe why Jordan will be out there, and who knows who else. But uh they they have, you know, they just have not got the magic. Any thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_00: 39:16

Um I guess my main thing is even though they've scored three power play goals in the past four games, we don't need to take that as a sign that things are going the right way. At least two of them have been a result of happenstance and not their process. There was the one, I mean, it was a beautiful goal where Ehlers fed Svechnikov for the power play goal, but it was on the rush. That's not part of the normal power play process when they're setting up and and working their system. And then there was another one where the buffalo player ran into his own goalie and caused the net to be wide open for ghosts to shoot into. Once again, that's not because the Keynes process was good, it's because the Buffalo um players ended up getting in each other's way. So I they they've got to figure out something. And at this point, I I just I don't know what the message is. I don't know if the message is the problem or if it's the players just being stubborn, thinking that if they keep hammering away doing exactly what they've already been doing, that somehow the the law of averages is going to break in their favor. Um but I don't think that's gonna happen. Bad process is going to lead to bad results time and time again. And sometimes you'll fall into the lucky goal like they got these past few games, but that it's the exception that proves the rule. So something's gotta give in. Maybe, maybe having stall out there will light the fire. But even then, even then, that feels kind of like a gimmick until you get the power play guys to commit to shooting the puck quickly and not just looking for that perfect pass, that perfect play.

SPEAKER_02: 40:58

Agreed, a hundred percent. And um, you know, it's it's funny because two things that you said really um sparked something in my memory. One is, you know, when you talk about just hammering away and hoping that that that you know the things will change, that's kind of been their strategy forever at five on five. And it's like we said, it's changed this year with the with the rush goals and things like that. But how many times in the past years have we heard uh Rod Bretamore say that, you know, if they get enough chances, they're gonna get some lucky bounces, you know, and not looking at the quality of chances. And I think that that's where some of the stuff behind the scenes has been tweaked to allow better quality of chances. Um for the power play itself, though, um I was watching and listening to the Montreal Canadiens game the other night. Um, and you know, the the Haves, now this is not the one against the Evs, because obviously they did not do well against the Evves, but it was a pre- one of their previous road trip games where they did do well and they did um win the game. But they were being complimented by the broadcasters about the power play in particular because there was so much movement that um they said it's it's they don't really have positions. They play positionless hockey on the power play. And I had not noticed this myself. I just knew the Habs were doing better this year on the power play, but I didn't know why. Um and it's it's it you know, as they explained it, they said they don't come in with an umbrella format, they don't come in with one of these point, you know, formats or one of these other well-known schemes and setups. They just skate in and start skating around in circles, like you know, the Harlem Globetrotters passing the puck to each other, one to the other, and they're scoring quite well. And in fact, even in a uh power play where they didn't score, the announcer made a point of showing that they had had seven shots on goal while the first unit was out there, and the first unit was not out there for the entire time. After about a minute and 15 seconds, they switched up and put the second unit out there. That's what the Keynes are lacking. They're not moving enough, they're so static on the power play. They they get up there and then they just kind of hang back and everybody finds their spot. Well, this is my spot and this is your spot, you know, and and they're you know, they have the ability. And I was actually thinking about this, Katie, in terms of the aves and their struggles on the power play. The aves have the players to do what the haves are doing and do it better because they're so fast. They have so many fast players, especially on that first unit, to just get in there and and swirl around and mix it up and never be in one spot for more than a couple of seconds. You know, there's almost no penalty kill unit in the world that could stop the aves if they played that way. And they're not. So again, why? But it's an interesting story.

SPEAKER_03: 43:39

And you know, we've talked about this a lot. The power plays that are successful are in motion. End of story. There's no question about it. I mean, you look at Montreal, they've also got Cole Hudson, who's unbelievable back in the point. Lane. Yeah, and and for sure. But but I think I think you've hit it right on the head with any power play that I see that's really magical, they are moving like crazy. And and they're you know, they're getting they're making things happen, and you know, they're finding that open opportunity to go cross ice or whatever the case is because everybody's moving around, they're all jumbled up.

SPEAKER_02: 44:17

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03: 44:18

So so so that's definitely, and you know what? We talked about this for so long. I don't think there's going to be a quick fix. Um and I think it has to do with the personnel and the way they're structuring the power play. That's a much bigger discussion, but we'll leave that for now because I wanted to talk about the penalty kill. Right. Um, you know, special teams. I keep talking about special teams and I keep saying how important they are. The Canes have historically been right near the top. Last year they were second at 85.11%, and this year they're sitting 19th at 79.7 percent. The leader is Buffalo at 88.9. Look, you gotta be able to kill penalties. And yes, for sure, we're missing Jacob Slavin. But look at there's still, you know, uh 18 players or whatever that are out on the ice, and uh, and you know, they've got to go get their job done. What's going on with the PK?

unknown: 45:14

Okay?

SPEAKER_00: 45:16

Well, as always, I kind of like to go to my hockey vis charts and I looked at it, and unlike the power play where the process is bad, the process is actually good on the penalty kill. They have, if you look at that value up there, it says that they're a negative 10% on the PK. And defensively, you want those numbers to be in the negative. The bigger the negative, the more effective the defense is, the less effective the offense is. So in this one, I think perhaps there have been a couple cases of bad bounces, bad luck, or the process has been good and the other team has just managed to get through them a little bit more. I do think the Kanes are not quite as aggressive as they normally are on the PK, that they sit back just a touch, they're just a little bit tentative, and that's in my mind, that's almost entirely due to the fact that they have had to switch up so many defensive partners on the PK. Um Stahl and Martinook are still doing their thing out there. Aho and Jarvis are definitely getting their time as well as you know making lots of plays up the ice. I'm kind of surprised they only I think they only have one shorthand of gold to show for it. Yeah. But um more of those, I think, will come as as time moves forward because they've had so many good looks. So I I honestly think it's just kind of a combination of the unfortunate bounce here and there and just a little bit of tentativeness with the D-pairs having been mixed up so much. But now that we have all of the top six back save Slavin, that's gonna start to settle down and look better. And I think as they get more and more confidence that the those penalty kill numbers are gonna start to tick back up because the process is already there.

SPEAKER_02: 46:59

If I could add just one thing, there's the old mantra about your best penalty killer is your goaltender.

SPEAKER_04: 47:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 47:05

And that has been a factor that we haven't really talked about because we've already kind of touched on goaltending. And, you know, certainly that's not something that's gonna affect them down the road. But with the situation they've had, with uh Kochekov in and out with injury, with um both Anderson and and Bussey having some good days on the PK and some not so good ones, I think that that's another artifact. You know, I do think that what Katie said about the defensive pairs having to switch so much is a bigger factor because you know, you really rely on knowing who your partner is and what they're doing, you know, in those kinds of special team situations. Um but to a certain extent, the goaltending having been a little bit shaky here and there has not helped the VK. And that's that's gonna that's gonna get better because, you know, like Katie said, the process is there, everything's working the way it should be, but the goals are going in when they shouldn't be. And and a couple of times I think we can look back at game tape and say, that one was on whoever was in the net, they they should have had that and they didn't. Because there's been at least a couple of power play goals scored where that's been the first thing Trip Tracy has said. He'd like to have that one back. And whenever Trip says he'd like to have that one back, you know that he knows what he's talking about.

SPEAKER_03: 48:15

So you're absolutely right. They are a key part of that PK and uh will be important. I just want to touch on one last thing here, um, and that is the what I call the sputtering offense concern. I've had this for a while. The canes started fast, I mentioned before. You know, we're starting to see things like uh, you know, the second line has really, really struggled lately uh to get anything going. Um for sure, uh Logan Stankhoven uh haven't seen much from him and Jackson Blake. He had that all-world game, and then kind of he's not done much since then. Um and you know, you see these small guys, they're getting pushed around, they're not getting room. And it concerns me as we move along in the season and we get into these tougher games, and boy, it seems like every game right now is almost a must-win because the the uh division is so tight. I mean, it's unbelievable. You watch these games, and these teams are just fighting, you know, tooth and nail to try to win these games because everything is important. Um just not seeing it. And and you know, you the face-off concerns with Logan and so on, and and you know, some of the days I think that uh Sebastianaho's almost missing in action. He gets a point here and there, but you know, again, uh smaller players, it's tough slugging. What do we think as we look forward to you know this the the the next part of the season and some of the challenges we're seeing offensively? Aaron?

SPEAKER_02: 49:43

Well, like you said, Jackson Blake um has been a little bit quiet lately. He has not had a point, I believe, in five games. Yes. But the bigger concern is, you know, as far as production goes, is Logan Stankhoven, because um Stancoven has had no goals in the last 10 games and only two points in the last ten games. And when production like that falls at 2C, as we know from years past, that starts to impact the top six in their ability to score. So the center on the second line needs to be driving some offensive play. Now I know we're calling it the second line. We still know that how Rod Brindamore numbers his line. And that is actually something else that I think I should point out in fairness to Logan, because I know that Rod is still 100% on board the Stancoven is our two C guy, you know, train. That is that is where he's parked his his uh you know, his supplanted his flag. Um but he's not getting the ice time that he was getting in the beginning. At the beginning of the season, um the Stancoven line was getting um right was right there under Aho's line, and then the stall line followed that, and then the fourth line followed that. And that was, you know, an encouraging sign to those of us that really want there to be an actual 2C on this team. Not just two, you know, you have we have our we have our Aho line and we have our stall line, and then we have two interchangeable bottom six lines that we don't really label and we don't really number because they're both, you know. We we've seen how that's worked before. It's never gotten them through the playoffs, you know, it's never gotten them deep into the playoffs because that's when you're starting to do those matchups against other teams very defined, very high identity lines, and and it doesn't, it doesn't go well. So I'm disappointed that Stancoven's not getting the ice time that he was getting in the beginning. I'm disappointed to see his ice time fall, you know, into that area where he's kind of neck and neck with stall in terms of you know minutes played, at least before the stall went out with the uh illness. Um, because if you want production from that line, it's the same thing I've always said. And I I you know, you guys know me. You know that I'm gonna, it doesn't matter who's occupying 2C. It has nothing to do with the specific player there. If you want your 2C to produce like a 2C, they cannot do it if they're playing 15 or 14 minutes a night. It's not gonna happen because you can't get those levels of production with that kind of ice time across the board unless you have the kind of player who is just more than capable of doing that, and that those are rare. Now they're playing with one of those guys, they're playing with uh Nikolai Ehlers, and he is one of those guys who managed to produce 60 points while playing a little below 16 minutes a game. But I don't think it's fair to expect Logan Stankoven at his age to be able to produce like that on that line with so with with the ice time dropping, you know. And that could be a factor for Blake, too. I haven't looked as much as his at his TOI, so I don't know how much ice time he's getting right now. But you want these guys to score, they gotta be out there, and they gotta be out there for some good lengths of shifts, not just a number of shifts, but they need to be out there long enough to create that havoc that we were seeing in the first part of the season because you know they were wearing other teams down, and we want them to do that. So that's my concern.

unknown: 52:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 52:50

I think part of it is I just I want to see a little bit more bulldog come out and somebody on one of the top lines to take control of a game or take control of a shift, even, and put their head down and say, I am going to drag this team kicking and screaming into this game so that we can win the game or tie the game or whatever it is. And it just feels like they're waiting for somebody to do it, but nobody's actually wanting to be that person. It needs to be Aho to start with. Um or Jarvis at least. It really should be Aho. And like you said, Tom, there is something off about Aho. We were hoping he was gonna bounce back for what we kind of felt was like a quiet year last year and be that more uh present offensive threat. You know, we at the beginning of the season, we were predicting a 90-point season for him. And I'm not sure that he's gonna get that because he's too passive. If he is gonna be a leader, he's wearing that A on his chest. If he is gonna be a leader, he needs to bring out the dark elf magic. And we're getting that intensity that we know that he has and pull the team kicking and screaming into some goals and into some points in the standings. And I don't know where that switch is on in him and what it's going to take to bring it uh to the forefront. So he's doing that, but the canes don't have that person. You can go through every single team in the league and you can talk about who is gonna be the one uh dragging them, kicking and screaming into a game with uh a ton of intensity. And who's where's the intensity on the canes? There there isn't any, and especially in the forward core, and they need to get that figured out quick, otherwise it's gonna be another rinse and repeat season of hey, great statistical regular season, but can't pull it off in the playoffs.

SPEAKER_03: 54:51

Well, you know, it's actually it's a it's an interesting, it's an interesting segue into uh a new feature we're gonna do on a regular basis, and that's something we're gonna call the rumor mill, because uh I think right now the canes are in a situation where this team, frankly, is not good enough to win the cup. I don't I don't see the lineup strong enough. I think there's you know some of the things you're talking about in terms of uh you know that edge, that you know, that willingness to take the team into the fight and so on. We just don't see enough of that. And of course, we talked repeatedly about size concerns for the Hurricanes. And, you know, in talking about that second line, I think questions are gonna start to rise if they haven't already as to whether Logan Stankhoven is really the guy that's gonna get it done. I think the Canes are asking him to do a lot, and he's been he's given it a valiant fight. And I I really like Logan. But I gotta say this, I just don't think, I don't think he's ready to take that spot. And I think you know what's happening is the self-fulfilling prophecy, as you said, Aaron. He's now he's his ice time is getting diminished, and so then it becomes a like a you know, just a it's a bad situation all around because he doesn't get the opportunities with his linemates to get it done, they're not getting it done. Blake, man, I thought this guy's gonna have a huge year. Now he's quiet, really quiet. And again, as we get into tougher games, you wonder how the the you know a line as small as their line is gonna do. So, you know, there have been a lot of discussions going on in the rumor mill these days. Of course, the canes are always involved in it. We had a bit of a you know, a bit of a situation that popped up on uh Andrey Svechnikov. Uh for some reason a whole bunch of noise came out that you know when Svetch wasn't playing early in the year or wasn't playing well, you know, he would be willing to move to another team. Well, this is you know, where would that come from? Like that's kind of crazy. Um and of course, you know, then you get uh guys like uh David uh Panyota coming out and saying, well, yeah, Svetch is the guy that they would probably include in a deal for a blockbuster, you know, premier player. So, you know, you've got all this noise going on around the canes. And you know, then the other day we heard that Don Waddell was uh visiting the Canes and hung out in the he's probably up at the food court and checking up with the guys. Uh anyway, Waddell was in town, and what's he looking at? And is there a possibility of some discussions going on with a team like uh like Columbus? Okay, um, just wrapping up, an interesting thing that we heard today, which really threw me off, just gonna mention it, was uh Cal Foot signing in Chicago. That's weird. Don't get it. Anyway, we'll move on. Um wanted to uh go to closing thoughts. Uh we've got uh this is the big seven-game homestand for the Canes. We're two and one right now. We got four big games coming up. What do we think uh as we wrap up? What are our thoughts? Katie?

SPEAKER_00: 57:54

Um I think that the canes need to be very uh intentional about going and winning all four of them. That these are teams that have struggled, teams that um are on the outside looking in for a big um for the most part, and you gotta you gotta bank the points when they're in front of you. You can't go and play the division leaders until it's your turn to play them. And so you they need to bank these points, they need to get themselves in a good position in the standings, refine their habits, um improve in the areas like the special teams that they're struggling in, so that when they do meet those harder opponents, they're ready and they're giving themselves the best chance to pull points out of those matchups.

SPEAKER_03: 58:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 58:44

I agree with you that they should absolutely try to win these games. These are games they should win. I think I will be happy, relatively speaking, if they get three of four.

unknown: 58:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 58:55

And even if the if the if they if they maybe the fourth one, if there's maybe an overtime loss rather than a regulation loss, you know. I just looking at the at who they've got, you know, the leaves are certainly not in good shape right now, and the canes should beat them, but every game with the leaves is weird, as Steve Dangle says. Every single game between the Canes and the Leafs ends up being weird. So you have to allow for that weirdness. Um the Predators, uh, if they can't beat the Predators at this point, I would be very worried about them. Um the Sharks are kind of a funny because the actually pulled some incredible wins out this so far this season. I don't think the Canes will have too much difficulty handling them, but it's gonna I think it's gonna come down to who's in net for that game because it's gonna be really important that whoever's in net can stop uh Smith and Celebrini. So um and then uh the the Blue Jackets uh they did a nice job last night in their win. And uh it all depends. A lot of again, we're talking about net. Uh if Elvis Merzleakin is in the zone and if he's the one playing. He can be very hard to beat. So I would like the to the Canes to work on you know not shooting everything into Merzlikens' crest because that's kind of what they've tended to do in the past. They're gonna have to get in there, they're gonna have to get some net front traffic and you know just make some havoc happen because that's the only way you're gonna do that. Again, if if it is Mersleakins in net, and we have no way of knowing this far out. But yeah, so that's where I look at all four, and I say they should win all four, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's one game that they just can't get it done. So we'll see what happens.

SPEAKER_03: 1:00:28

Well, you know, historically the canes have uh, you know, they've laid a goose egg in some of these games that uh we fully expect they should win. And uh so that's the challenge. You know, the Preds, they won a few games in a row. They started to get their mojo going. That scares me. Uh with uh with the sharks, I've watched the sharks a lot this year. Uh they're the real deal. And one of the things that scares me is Askarov. Uh oh yeah. I've watched him on some nights, he just steals the game. And so if uh if Ned's in there, I'm good. If Askarov's in there, I'm not so good. Although I don't

SPEAKER_01: 1:01:03

No, sometimes Ned has that um, you know, revenge game mindset going.

SPEAKER_03: 1:01:07

Yeah, but and actually he's been playing quite well this year. But yeah, they're a fun team to watch, so that'll be a great game as well. But yes, uh I think the Canes have to they have to really in order to stay where they are in the standings and and hold their position, you know, quite nicely, they've got to win these games. These are muscling games for them. And you know, as we look at that, at that standings with just six points between them and the Rangers, uh, you know, who are bringing up the bottom of the of the division. Um boy, I'll tell you, this is frightening. This is really frightening. And it can change in a hurry. We're seeing some teams like Washington, they won four in a row, they moved way up in the standards. Okay, so they're right behind us. And so now you've got, you know, you've got folks starting to get their mojo, and you always have to worry about, you know, you know, so the Rangers, even the Rangers at times seem like they're gonna do something serious. So, you know, it's tough. And you just gotta be smart about it. In any case, we'll be watching closely. It'll be a lot of fun. We'll be all over this. Uh, hopefully we can uh we can look back at these games and say, hey, that was uh job well done by the hurricanes. But uh yeah, it's uh kind of a work in progress season, and uh I think that's how it's gonna go for a while. They're gonna win some and and then lose some as well. So, anyway, um as always, ladies, it's been great talking hockey and uh lots to talk about these days, and I'm sure that as the season goes on, we're gonna have more and more because uh boy, it's uh it's a great, great season this year. It's just so much fun, and all these games are so meaningful. Uh, you just you're on the edge of your seat the whole time. So it's it's great stuff. Anyway, uh for those of you who've been watching or listening, of course, we're delighted you spent time with us. If you have uh any uh questions or comments you want to make, just leave those down below. If you'd like the episode, please press the like button. And of course, if you want to be alerted of future episodes of Storm Tracker, please press the subscribe and the bell buttons, and we'll get uh the information out to you on those just as soon as they're available. 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 Storm Tracker.