Can Carolina's Balanced Attack Defeat Washington's Star Power?

The Carolina Hurricanes are showcasing championship potential after dispatching the New Jersey Devils in five games to reach the second round of the NHL playoffs for an impressive seventh consecutive year. Now, they face a formidable opponent in the Washington Capitals, who dominated Eastern Conference standings throughout the regular season.

This episode, featuring stormTRacker "Insiders", Erin Manning & Katie Bartlett, dives deep into what made the Hurricanes successful against New Jersey and what challenges lie ahead against the Capitals. 

• Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov elevate their play with Aho tallying eight points in five games and Svechnikov scoring five goals against the Devils
• Jacob Slavin continues to anchor the defense while contributing offensively with a goal and two assists
• Special teams shine with a perfect penalty kill and power play operating at 31.6% efficiency in the first round
• Goaltending will be critical with Frederik Andersen's health status a key factor against Capitals' standout Logan Thompson
• Washington's offensive defensemen Jakob Chychrun and John Carlson present a different challenge than New Jersey's blueline
• The coaching battle between Rod Brind'Amour and Spencer Carbery could be decisive in a series expected to go six or seven games
• Starting strong on the road in Washington will be crucial for the Hurricanes who have struggled away from home

Support the podcast by liking, commenting, and subscribing to stay updated on all our analysis throughout the Hurricanes' playoff run.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Well how about those Carolina Hurricanes.
The Canes have now made it tothe second round of the NHL
playoffs for the seventhstraight year.
After knocking off the NewJersey Devils in five games, the
Canes are firing in allcylinders as they head into the
second round versus theWashington Capitals.
The Caps, who led EasternConference standings virtually

(00:24):
all year, are going to be ahandful.
So join me to discuss whathappened in the Devils series,
some of the highlights of thatseries and what we can expect as
we head into the Caps series.
Storm Tracker Insiders, aaronManning and Katie Burlett Ladies
.
Katie Burlett Ladies yes, okay.
So a great series against theDevils.

(00:47):
Nice to knock them out in five.
Lots of things that were to thegood For sure on the individual
side, some great performances.

Speaker 3 (01:03):
Erin thoughts.
Well, we definitely saw some ofthe players that we talked
about needing to step up andhave big games.
They stepped up and had biggames.
Sebastian Ajo, you know, is inmany ways a leader on this team
that goes beyond the letter hewears on his chest, you know,
and he had eight points in thefive games and you know a lot of

(01:25):
that was recent production.
So you know, he had a couple ofpoints in the first few games
and then, you know, these lasttwo were when, you know, both he
and Andrei Shachakov reallystepped up and started producing
.
And that's something that Iknow that Rod Brindamore had
alluded to in one of hispressers.
That you know, yes, the teamwas playing well, but he needed
to see more on the score sheet.

(01:47):
And if you know Rod Brindlemore, you know how rare it is for
him to say anything like that.
He's usually the one saying, aslong as they're getting chances
, it's good, but no, not in ashort series, you have to have
production.
It has to be on the score sheet.
So we know that, for for SpSpech in particular, his goal
scoring has been fantastic.
He's had five goals and anassist in these games.

(02:09):
So you know we're seeing theAndrei Spechnikov.
I think a lot of us wanted tosee all season and genuinely
think that this was just, youknow, kind of one of those
things where we might end uplooking back on this whole time
period as a whole and say maybethe reason he wasn't having the
greatest regular season wasbecause he was really concerned

(02:31):
about getting to the playoffsand being this player, because
this is his time.
Like he said, this is his time,this is when he can be at his
most impactful.
So it's really great to seethat coming along.
And then you know Jacob Slavin.
What can we not say about youknow, Slavin?
Happy birthday, Jacob Slavin.
As we record this, but it is hisbirthday on Thursday and May

(02:54):
1st.
So, as we record, so he had anincredible series, and here
again we talk about leadershipseries, and here again we talk
about leadership.
He had a goal and two assists.
One of the things the Caneshave been really lacking in the
regular season was productionfrom the blue line.
So there's another sign,another you can check off
another box of things we neededto see.

(03:16):
Well, there it is.
And then the two rookies on theteam, Jackson Blake and Logan
Stankoven, and I know a lot ofpeople think well, Stankoven's
not really a rookie.
He did this last year well,okay, but he still counts as a
rookie because of the number ofgames played, and they both had
productive seasons as well, orseries as well, rather, and it

(03:37):
was nice to see Blake get hisvery first NHL playoff goal at a
very timely moment and animportant one it was really,
really needed him to do it.
So all to the good and lookingforward to seeing more from
those guys.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
Well, interesting.
Just before I pass to you,katie, a couple of thoughts for
me.
One is that Svechnikov, it wasalways stated that he and Ajo
just could not play together.
I think maybe that's changedand you realize that.
I mean they Svets really tookoff when he was moved up onto
that line with Blake and withSebastian Ajo.

(04:12):
And one other thing on JacobSlavin.
And right, you are on Slavin.
He had three minutes and 28seconds per game on the penalty
kill and you know the penaltykill was, to use the term, was
perfect.
So, katie, thoughts on some ofthose players as well.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
I think Aaron hit all of the main points.
It was nice to see them getbetter as the series went along,
but definitely going to need tohave them continue and maintain
that level of production goinginto the cap series.
I don't think we want to be,waiting until games four and
five for them to be picking uptheir production at that point.
So we definitely need to keepthe ball rolling as far as as

(04:55):
far as they're concerned, butall three of those players have
been absolutely spectacular,yeah.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
Now talking about special teams, I just mentioned
that the PK, the penalty kill,was perfect in the series, which
is really something, and Ithought they were just
outstanding.
The power play fourth overallfor the power play during the
playoffs at 31.6%.

(05:22):
Now this is quite a differencefor the Hurricanes at 31.6% Now
this is quite a difference forthe hurricane.
You remember we've had somelaughs as some of the month's
numbers were low, single digit.
So we're really excited to seethis.
What were your thoughts on thepower play and the penalty kill,
katie?

Speaker 2 (05:37):
Let's go ahead and start with the penalty kill,
because it was dynamite.
Not only did the Canes kill offall I believe it was 15 power
plays that the Devils had, theyalso got a shorthanded goal on
one of them.
So the Canes outscored theDevils on their own power plays,

(05:58):
which was nice.
But it was just so impressiveBecause very rarely did you feel
like the devils were truly athreat on the power, on their
power play, when the canes wereon the penalty kill.
Because the canes were so goodat denying zone entries, winning
face-offs, keeping them to theperimeter only giving them the

(06:22):
first shot.
They'd be on the rebound andclearing it out quickly or the
goaltenders would be smotheringthe puck.
There just weren't a lot ofopportunities for the Devils to
get any kind of momentum rollingon their power play.
And I think that's what makesthe Canes penalty kill so
special is that you might get alook, but that's all you're

(06:44):
going to get.
You're not going to get secondand third chances after you get
that look, and it will beabsolutely essential to continue
a high level of success on thepenalty kill moving forward as
far as the power play isconcerned, obviously a lot
better than what we had seen anda lot of it goes back to what
we've talked about before, inthat the power play now is a lot

(07:07):
more dynamic, especially onthat first unit.
Um, one or two of their goalscame with the, with the second
unit, and that was usually ahalls.
That one was for sure a hallstankovin connection I don't
know if it was more than that.
But um, but beyond, beyond that,one or two goals from the
second unit.
That first unit has lookedreally dynamic.

(07:29):
They're making the defense movetheir feet, get out of position
, create lanes, having tochallenge the puck carrier which
opens up somebody elsesomewhere on the ice.
And there was no betterdemonstration of that than the
game five goals that Ajo scoredon the power play.
The one was a five on threewhich they had to have.

(07:51):
You don't win games if you geta five on three for that long
and fail to score on it.
And the Canes just got lookafter, look after, look, because
they were moving around andmaking New Jersey have to follow
them and finally got that passacross from Jarvis to Ajo and he
was able I mean, he had so muchspace in that net to fire that

(08:13):
hook into.

Speaker 3 (08:14):
It was fantastic.

Speaker 2 (08:15):
Fantastic.
Yes, we need Ajo to be shootingfrom that circle a whole lot
more often, because he hasscored a ton of goals,
particularly power play goals,from that circle, so that has
been great.
And then, of course, thefive-on-four that they scored on
when they had the doublehigh-sticking penalty called

(08:38):
when KK got bloodied up there.
Yeah poor guy.
It was very, very similar, justinstead of Jarvis, to Ajo.
It was Ghost Ajo, but againthey were moving it around
ghosted, that little eye-headfake that he had done earlier in
the season to just make thatdefender hesitate a little bit
longer, that heartbeat longer,so that Ajo had that lane and he

(09:01):
was able to fire an almostidentical shot into the net past
Markstrom to win the game.
So they need to keep that up,they need to not be stubborn,
they need to keep the movementgoing and make the penalty
killers move so that they canhave lanes and space and
opportunity.

Speaker 1 (09:19):
Yeah, and I mean, one of the things that I was
impressed on the penalty killside was that it was really by
committee.
We even saw Mark Jankowski andEric Robinson out doing
excellent work on the PK and so,again, giving some of the other
players a chance to get a break.
And in fact, I think JordanStahl was in the penalty box on

(09:39):
one or two occasions and theyjumped in and got it done, which
was fantastic.
And on the power play side, onething that I've been noticing
and I don't know if you've beenseeing this as well, but at the
start of the year I thought thatShane Gossespierre was just, he
was on fire, like he reallycommanded the ice and he was the
guy that was the quarterback.

(10:00):
He was going to make everythinghappen out there and you could
see it and it was happening.
He was directing traffic, so tospeak, and it's taken him a
while to get back to that.
You know, he got injured Thenhe was kind of off his game, but
he's back there now and I waswatching him the other day and
he was just driving that powerplay he really and they wanted
to get him the puck because hewas the man that was going to

(10:21):
make it happen and again he'sseen the ice so well.
So I think you know with himback, you know on fire as he can
be, and then you've got a newshooter which we've seen evolve
over time was Sebastian Ajo.
He's opening up on that rightside and the Canes have
struggled since Marty Natchezleft.

(10:41):
He used to do that frequently,as you know for the Canes, and
then they didn't really haveanyone that could do that get
over in that spot and just driveit home.
And we've been seeing Ajo moreand more getting into that spot.
And we do have, of course, sethJarvis on the other side.
But I think Ajo right now he'sreally got his mojo when that
puck gets over to him and he canopen up so good exciting stuff

(11:06):
on the power play and the PK andthey're going to be critical,
as we know, heading into thisnext series.
You know you look at the lineupand what we're dealing with and
one of the areas I wanted tohead in and talk about the
goalies for a minute.
You know we've got somechallenges with our goalies.
We'll talk about that.
The Caps goalie, logan Thompson, is getting all kinds of

(11:27):
accolades these days.
Kevin Weeks on the NHL Networkdid the top 10 goalies of the
year and he was number two.
So you know that he's in thevoting for top goalie as well.
He had an outstanding seasonand his career save percentage
is 9-1-2.
So this guy, he's the real deal.
Logan Thompson what are wethinking about on the goalie

(11:48):
side, erin, you want to kickthat off?

Speaker 3 (11:52):
Well, I think that you know, when you look at the
two different goaltenders you'retrying to compare, you know,
between the series and who'sgoing to come out on top, and I
think a lot of us feel right nowlike the key to that is going
to be Freddie Anderson, and youknow whether he can start game
one and whether he can, you know, play the series or as much of

(12:15):
it as possible.
Piotr has to.
I think he deserves credit,piotr Kaczekow, for coming in
and taking over a game and thenclosing that one out and then
being able to handle thebusiness in game five.
But there's a shakiness there.
We all see that a little bit.
So you know, as far as if itcomes down to Thompson versus

(12:37):
Kachetkov, that's a differentgoaltending battle, I think,
than if it's Thompson versusAnderson.
So, but I do think that whenFreddie Anderson is healthy and
playing, you know, like we know,he can play, I don't think that
, I don't think I would notnecessarily give Thompson the
edge, because there's, you know,there's something to be said

(12:59):
for when a goalie is having acareer year, you just you don't
necessarily know how long that'sgoing to continue.
You know, if it's, he'sobviously performing better than
he has.
So is that going to go all theway through, or is that going to
have some wrinkles here andthere?
So we'll have to see how thatgoes.

Speaker 1 (13:16):
Katie.

Speaker 2 (13:18):
Yeah, pretty much agree with what Aaron had to say
.
One of the keys, of course, isthat both Anderson and Thompson

(13:38):
were knocked out of games due toinjury in the first round, and
so a lot of what's going to bekey is of keeping other players
away from him, keeping hiseyesight clear, trying to make
sure he doesn't get bumped intoor fallen on top of or whatever,
because if he comes back fromthis I don't know that it would
take a whole lot for that injuryto become a whole lot more

(13:58):
serious and keep him out evenlonger.
So they need to put in a lot ofwork to protect their goalie
longer.
So they need to put in a lot ofwork to protect their goalie,
and I'm sure Washington will befeeling the same about Thompson.
But it would be really good tochallenge Thompson and to
aggravate him.
You think about the way thatSvetch got in Markstrom's head
in the New Jersey series, and soit'd be really good to see him

(14:19):
do something similar where he'sjust in front of the net and
being annoying and, you know,not no attempt to injure
anything like that, but justfrustrating Thompson to the
point to where it puts him offhis game, just enough that the
Canes are able to get production.
And the other thing is too, isthe Canes and the Canadians have

(14:41):
two different offensive systems, and so it'll be interesting to
see how Thompson holds up underthe Canes' high possession game
plan and that sort of thing,because he will have long
stretches in which he has toreally be dialed in or the Canes
will take advantage of him.

Speaker 1 (14:57):
Yeah, one of the things about both Thompson and
Lindgren is that they are rightright hand glove guys, which is
very rare in the NHL, as we know, and that can be kind of a
confusing thing for I think theforwards as well as they're
coming in because they're usedto goalies having their the
glove on their left hand.
So I think the other side of itback to what you were saying,

(15:20):
katie I think the Canes aregoing to be trying to get in
front of the net as much aspossible, to try to get in front
of the eyes of Logan Thompson,to create some chaos in front of
the net, and that's whenthey're most successful.
And that's going to be very keybecause when we talk about the
defensive core, we need them tostart bringing some offense as

(15:40):
well, and one of the ways theycan do that, of course, is if
they can get some folks in frontof the net shaking things up a
little bit, they're going to beable to get those pucks in and
get rebounds, or they're goingto go in off somebody else.
We've seen a lot of goals goingin off players on their own
team.
It's kind of crazy the opposingteam's defenseman or somebody
pushing in front of the net andthe puck goes in off them.

(16:00):
So that's going to be somethingthat the Canes will have to do.
But let's talk about thedefensive cores We've got.
You know, the Canes defensivecore has been outstanding.
I mean, the top six have done agreat job.
We know we're up against a bitof a different defensive team
with the Caps.
They bring a lot of offense.
Katie, what are your thoughtson the D side?

Speaker 2 (16:21):
Well, it's been the same six we've rolled with for
most of the year and they werevery solid against the Devils
and want to see that same kindof play continue.
I think the key for them isgoing to be how they play in
their zone and do their zoneexits.
The few times that they didfind themselves in trouble in

(16:44):
that series was when they hadfailed clears or just barely got
it out, only for New Jersey toturn it right back into the zone
for another attack chance.
So yeah, I definitely thinkthat short amounts of time.
Don't let the Caps set up inthe in their O zone for long
periods of time.

(17:05):
Don't let Ovi spend a lot oftime just sitting in his office
waiting for that puck to get tohim.
They need to be pressuring theoffense for the Capitals and
getting the pucks turned overand getting the pucks safely out
.
Don't try to be the superhero.
Just play smart and play solidand play strong in your own zone
.
I think that's just a recipefor success with the way that

(17:27):
the Canes like to play.

Speaker 1 (17:31):
For sure, and one of the things that I'm seeing on
NHL Edge that was interesting isthat when you compare the zone
time of the two teams, I thinkit comes into play.
There is that the Hurricanes'offensive zone time this season
was 45.1% of the time versus42.3% for the Caps.

(17:54):
In the neutral zone time, 19.2%for the Canes, 16.8% for the
Caps, and then more so in thedefensive zone, 35.6% for the
Canes, 40.9% for the Cavs.
So basically, what they'resaying is that the Canes are
doing a great job of staying outof their own zone and spending
time in the mid zone and alsothe neutral zone and in the

(18:17):
offensive zone of the opposition.
I think that's key and thoseare going to be key elements for
the Canes, because they'llthrow, as we know, they'll throw
everything at this opposingteam, and that's one of the
things they talked a lot aboutin the broadcast was that you
know the Canes are just comingat you all the time.
That's just the way they play.
They're going to just keepcoming, keep coming.

(18:39):
And the challenges that we sawwith the Devils, they just
couldn't deal with it.
I mean it was like relentlessright and it's amazing.
The scores weren't a lot higher.
But if you look at those kindof metrics and you sit back and
you say, okay, the Canes are,you know, the defensive core of
the Canes is a solid defensiveunit, not as strong offensively.

(19:02):
If you look at the Capitals,gosh, they've got Jacob Chikrin.
He had 20 goals and 27 assiststhis year.
Chikrin is dangerous every timehe's on the ice in the
offensive zone.
He's very dangerous.
He's not as good in his ownzone but he is dangerous in the
O zone for sure.
And again, john Carlson he'sbeen with the Caps for a long,

(19:24):
long time.
He's been one of their key guyson that blue and he had another
great year.
He had 51 points.
So this guy, he's still got itin the tank for sure.
And those two guys drive a lotof offense from the defensive
core.
That's between them, almost 100points.
So you know we've got to besmart with that.
The Canes not so much.

(19:45):
I mean we do have Goss to spare.
He had a nice year 45 pointsbut after that it falls off
quite a bit.
And I think it's going to bekey for the Canes to get their
defensive back into theoffensive side of things and try
to get up in that O zone andmake things happen.
And again, the defensive coreis going to be huge.
Any more thoughts on that?

Speaker 3 (20:13):
Erin.
Well, I think you covered itpretty much as far as that goes.
I think that the structure thatthe Canes use, you know, for
defense, for team defense,allows our defensive players to
enter the offensive zone and toget deep on, you know, any
occasion where there's goodscoring chances.
This gives them the opportunitynot just to score themselves
but also to support the scoring.
I think that you know I wouldlike to see some slight

(20:38):
alterations.
I mean, I think we all wouldjust a little bit.
I think that the biggest thing Iwould love to see from the
Canes defense in this series iswhen the defense is taking, when
a defenseman is taking a pointshot from near the blue line.
You know, I would really likethem to be shooting for the
rebound.
You know, it feels like toooften we have some shots that

(21:00):
are obviously intended to goright on net and then they miss
or they go wide or they go overWith the cluster.
Like you said, each of theseseries has featured a lot of
shot blocking, a lot of guysgathered in front of the net.
You get that shot through justa little bit less velocity, a
little bit different angle.
You get it to the feet of oneof your guys and you might have

(21:20):
a goal out of it.
So if I want to see them makeany kind of an adjustment, that
would be.
The adjustment I would want tosee them make is to just be
really selecting their shots totry to get rebounds and not just
trying to get the puck in thenet, because you know in the
playoffs how often does a pointshot from a defenseman beat the
goaltender?

Speaker 1 (21:41):
It rarely happens, only if they're screened and
they can't see it.

Speaker 3 (21:45):
If they're screened but the screen has enough holes
in it to shoot through.
That's the biggest problem, Iknow.
Right now the screens are morelike mosquito netting and it's a
little bit harder to get thoseshots to actually go.
So that's what I'd love to see.
But beyond that, I think theCanes stack up very well on
defense, even if the offensivecontribution hasn't been as good

(22:07):
.
Ultimately, the job is to keeptheir pucks out of our net, so I
think they can do that.

Speaker 1 (22:15):
Yeah, and I think so, and I think, defensively, the
group has been rock solid.
I've been very impressed witheven the work of Shane
Gossespierre, along with SeanWalker.
They've been rock soliddefensively and I think that's
fantastic because that gives theCanes an ability to play these
groups in any situation, and weknow that in Washington the Caps

(22:40):
are going to try to getfavorable matchups.
They're going to try to do that, and so the Canes are going to
have to be on their toes forsure.
Yeah, so defensive core goodmatch.
I think we're going to be rightthere, really pleased with some
of the work of Burns on theoffensive side lately.
He's getting that puck, he'sfiring it.

(23:01):
One of these is going to go in,I think, and that'll be
exciting for us.
But again, I think that'scrucial as well.
So let's talk about the forwardline.
So I mean, there are somereally great things coming out
of this series with the Devilsand a couple of things that we
think might need a little bit ofattention.
So we look at the stall line.

(23:23):
Let's talk a little bit aboutthat for a minute.
And Seth Jarvis Not quite wherewe thought they would be.
Any thoughts on that, erin?

Speaker 3 (23:34):
Well, I think for Jordan Stahl you know he doesn't
have a point Did he record apoint yet?
No, I don't think he did.
He has not recorded a point yethe has no points yeah.
Yeah, so I think that that hadconfused me.
That question came up on X,People were talking about it and
I had thought that he had one,but I believe there was a goal

(23:58):
that was awarded initially toone player and then they came
out and said no, actually it was, and that removed Jordan from
the assist stream, so to speak.
So that's, I think, where wewere getting a little bit
confused.
But, yeah, it's unusual to seeJordan Stahl have such a quiet
game.
It's not the fact that he didn'tput up any points, because we
all know that that's not hisprimary role, especially when
he's playing these heavydefensive matchups, but to me, I

(24:20):
just feel like there's a lotmore that he usually does that
we weren't really seeing fromhim, and you know he did just
recently return from injury.
I know that's a difficultsituation for players sometimes,
Certainly watching the NewJersey Devils some of the press
availabilities today, findingout just how injured some of
their players were by the end ofround one.
You know that's always apotential factor, but I would

(24:43):
like to see, especially sincethey're starting, like you said,
the two games on the road.
I think we're going to needJordan Stahl to be his absolute
best self, and so I'm hoping tosee that.

Speaker 1 (24:53):
Now, Katie, you had taken a look at some game score
comparisons and some numbers outthere that didn't show us
favorably for Jarvis and forStahl.
What do we think they need tobe doing to kind of get back on
track?

Speaker 2 (25:12):
well for stall, the main thing that impacted his um,
his scores on some of thosehockey stack cards were face-off
losses and a penalty taken.
So okay, again, you know, ifthat refers back to what aaron
was talking about, if he's juststill fighting that injury a
little bit, he's probably not asquick on the dot and he's not

(25:33):
as quick on his feet.
Um, I know a lot of peopledon't think of Stahl as a
particularly fast skater, butthat's just because he's not
super explosive.
But once he gets up there hecan move decently or at least
effectively enough to providethe coverage that he normally
does on all of the other I mean,if you think about some of the
speedy guys that he has to coveron the other teams game in and

(25:58):
game out, he can't be, a slowpoke to to manage that.
So, but this game is played atsuch a high level that just even
being off your your skills by afraction can make all the
difference in your level ofeffectiveness, and so that's
probably what's affecting him,and so I'm glad that the Canes
took care of business in gamefive and that we're not looking

(26:20):
at a game six tomorrow night,because the more time that he
can get to rest and to heal andto get back to his normal self
will be fantastic.
We definitely need that.
I don't know that there's asmuch of a stats issue that shows
with.
As far as Jarvis' play isconcerned, he has definitely

(26:43):
been a lot more successful onthe power play and on the
penalty kill than he has beenfive on five.
So that's the main area that Iwant to see improvement from
Jarvis, and I know it's hard.
He started off the playoffseries on the top line and then
got pushed back down to theStahl-Martin line when they

(27:04):
needed to shuffle things up alittle bit, and that's when Svec
got moved up to that top lineand exploded for all of the
production that he has gottenrecently, and so I don't know
that jarvis really cares as muchabout his stats as he does,
just contributing what he needsto contribute on the line that
he's on.
And he wasn't as successful onthat five on five up with ajo to

(27:28):
start the series.
But he did provide a lot ofgood, hard defensive work with
stall and martin Martinuk onthat third line and perhaps with
some of Stahl's troubles.
That's why Jarvis got put down.
There was because they wantedjust someone that had just that
little extra step or that littleextra comfortability in doing

(27:49):
the defensive work, becausewhile Stankhoven was solid, you
know that Jarvis is going to beable to do it just a little bit
better, for no other reason thanfamiliarity.
So, jarvis, like I said, it'dbe great to see some more
five-on-five from him.
Of course, if he's playing onthe stall line it's not as
realistic, but if he's stillproducing on the power play and

(28:12):
the penalty kill and providinggood defense, I'm not worried
about Jarvis.

Speaker 1 (28:19):
He'll be fine.
Yeah, I mean that becomes aninteresting situation because,
as we look at the Capitalslineup, they have two
outstanding lines.
Their two top lines areincredibly strong offensively.
Of course you've got Ovechkin,stroman and Alexey Protas.
Those guys they had 103 goalsthis year so they can really put
the puck in the net.

(28:40):
And then you've got Pierre-LucDubois, who's re-energized his
career, for sure, and he's hadan outstanding season alongside
Wilson and McMichael.
Those guys are dangerous everytime they're on the ice and they
had 80 goals.
So you've got a couple of linesthat you've got to really be

(29:00):
sharp on.
And of course, stahl's line isgoing to get a lot of the heavy
lifting, certainly at home and,to what extent they can, on the
road.
With these guys.
One of the big things we lookat with these two teams, I think
, is that the Canes have alittle bit of a different
approach.
As we know, they do it bycommittee and so they've really
been getting some great workfrom their top line.

(29:22):
You know we've talked a lotabout, you know Ajo's been
getting it done, svets has beengetting it done and certainly
Jackson Blake has been a bit ofa revelation on that top line.
But the bigger thing, I thinktoo for the Canes, is their
balance and Erin how abouttelling us a little bit about

(29:43):
how you see this forward group?

Speaker 3 (29:46):
Well, I don't think that.
The Canes you know, some peopleoften point to the Canes top
line or Ajo, just in general, asthe top center and say, well,
the Canes just have Ajo.
You know, everybody else ismore or less interchangeable.
Everybody else is more or lessdoing the same job.
It's not the same as being aone-line team, because you know,
we've seen that, in fact I justsaw that with the Montreal
Canadiens.
You know, the Habs right nowreally are a one-line team and

(30:11):
that made it a little bit easierfor the Capitals to shut them
down.
But the reason the Canes don't,to me, fall into that same
category is because you have onetop line and then you have
three lines that you couldconsider almost equal to a third
line on every other team.
That's not great if you're justlooking at the second line,
which then we have thatdiscussion, of which one even is
the second line, because Ithink by ice time it's still

(30:33):
Jordan Stahl's line, it still isand it still has been.
So is Jordan Stahl a 2C?
Is he the 2C on this team?
I think you could make thestrong case that he's the
closest thing they have to a 2Cand he operates a lot like how
those of my Habs friends willremember, like how Philip Deneau
used to operate in Montreal.
He was a shutdown center.

(30:54):
Deneau played the second linecenter from the time that Nick
Suzuki started playing the 1C.
So that's not a bad way toconstruct a team.
No, because then your fourthline is also more like a third
line and they get some reallygreat matchups and they can
feast on those, and that helps alot too.
And it also means when you'reon the road, which is what we're

(31:15):
going to be seeing.
To start with, you don't haveone line that's easy to expose.
You don't have one line that isso weak defensively that that's
the line the other team istrying to throw their big guns
out against.
So it's a differentconstruction.
I don't know that it's going tostay that way.
There's a lot of speculationabout whether the Canes are
going to finally go out and geta real 2C.

(31:35):
Yes, but right now it works,and it's worked for seven years
of getting into the playoffs andseven years of winning the
first round in the playoffs.
So whether they need to takethat step to get beyond the
first round is still an openquestion and it will be until
we're done.
So we'll see what happens.
But I don't think that they'reas weak in that sense as people

(31:56):
think.
It's not a question of oh, wedon't have someone to match up
exactly against this line and wedon't have someone.
That's not really how RodRendemore has ever seen it.
His famous repeated comment isthat he doesn't number his lines
, and apart from the fact thatthe Ajo line is clearly the
first line I think that's true Idon't think there is a straight
matchup where you can say well,this is the second line and
this is the third line.

(32:17):
You really don't have that.

Speaker 2 (32:25):
Any thoughts?
Katie, I completely agree.
One thing I'll highlight isfrom the last game.
I really liked the fact thatHall and Stankoven were on a
line together.
They have connected nicely onthe second power play, were on a
line together.
They have connected nicely onthe second power play, either
there or on the bump-up shiftafterwards, because the other
members of other lines haveplayed time and I really like
the chemistry they've developed.

(32:46):
So I hope that that line getsanother shot at things, most
likely with KK at the center,because if they can build on
that chemistry and really getgoing, then perhaps we would
have a little bit more of aso-called second line production
, like Aaron referred to, and ifthe Canes can start layering
their production from theirforward lines, it's going to

(33:07):
make them even more potent anddifficult to deal with as far as
the Caps are concerned.
And then my final thought andit's just real quick is I love
the fourth line with JankowskiCarrier Robinson.
Jankowski had that great workeffort that he put into the

(33:27):
forecheck that led toJackson-Blake's goal during a
line change.
And that line is big, it's fast, it's heavy, it's not afraid to
get into the dirty areas and so, whether they get on the score
sheet or not, you'd love it ifthey did, but as a I mean
so-called fourth line, if that'slike aaron said, are they

(33:50):
really the fourth line?
But as a so-called fourth line,anyone knows um line.
That's not their role.
Their role is to keep puckpossession.
Their role is to tire otherteams' lines out.
Hopefully it's the top line.
They're getting in, they'regrinding, they're keeping the
puck away from them and theirrole is to give the big guns a

(34:10):
bit of a breather.
So when they come out they'refresh and ready to go and
hopefully have already startedtilting the ice in their own
favor.
So yeah, lots to love about theCanes' forward lines and their
balance and their effort and theway they sync together when
they exchange from shift toshift.

Speaker 1 (34:30):
Yeah, and you know you talk about matchups and
that's what we're going to seethe Caps trying to get those top
two lines out there.
You know you talk aboutmatchups and that's what we're
going to see the Caps trying toget those top two lines out
there.
But it's not going to be easyfor them because obviously you
know Stahl's line, we know whatthey can do defensively.
Ajo's line they're excellentwhen they're out against a top
line.
And then I'm intrigued by thisnumber two line, as we call it

(34:51):
right now, or whatever it is,with Kokuniemi, hall and
Stankoven.
Look, hall just signed a newdeal, three years.
He's happy as anything to be aHurricane.
He's going to be puttingeverything he's got into this
and I think that's great.
And he's a guy that can make adifference when he gets going.

(35:14):
We know what kind of player hecan be.
And Logan Stankoven, this guy,he is an incredibly talented
player.
He's doing a lot with the puck.
He's confident, he's gettinggreat shots.
He loves to get into the dirtyareas.
I mean, he's the kind of guythat you know he can make things
happen.
And I'm seeing some verypositive signs from Kokaniemi.

(35:35):
He's laying on the body You'vetalked about that before Aaron,
when he gets into these playoffsand starts playing heavy.
And he's a guy that he'sstarting to feel and act the
part Like.
He's starting to realize, look,I've got a key role in this
hockey club.
I'm not on the fourth line, I'mnot sitting on the bench, I
don't have to look and see ifthe hook's coming out.
You know he's able to get outthere and play his game and he's

(35:58):
a guy that can play.
We know that he's got the talent.
He's shown it before and he'sstarting to get real comfort
with his line mates.
He's starting to feel reallygood about you know, in
particular, taylor Hall.
He talked about him yesterdayon a piece that he did an
interview and he's starting toreally feel good about.
You know what they're able toget done.

(36:19):
And back to that fourth line.
Come on these guys.
If Eric Robinson could get atouch he would score a lot of
goals.
He gets a lot of greatopportunities.
He's making things happen outthere and one guy that's got
more to give and it's going tocome.
You know he missed a huge partof the season and that's William

(36:42):
Carrier.
But we know when the heavyhockey starts to happen in
playoffs.
That's when he really starts toshine.
So I think that line's got moreto give as well.
And don't forget the Canes haveJack Rostelevic sitting waiting
to come in, and you know, if hecomes in he's going to have a
lot of energy as well.
So the Canes forward crew, Ithink, is in the best shape that

(37:04):
we've seen it in a playoff.
I mean, how many times have wegone in?
There have been injuries andgosh who knows what.
So I'm excited about that.
We know they've got some bigweapons.
They've got OV and some others.
We've got to watch them andparticularly on the power play,
ovechkin has feasted on theCanes for years, so we've got to
make sure that, as you saidbefore, stay out of the box and

(37:28):
keep an eye on.
Ovechkin for sure.
Okay, so forward crew, they'redifferent.
They're big scorers, they havean offense, They've got a
machine that can really go andthe Canes are going to have to
be all over their man-on-man.
Taylor Hall was sayingsomething yesterday, but he's
still trying to figure out thedefensive side in his own zone

(37:50):
and we know it's tricky, thiswhole context of how the Canes
play.
But if they get it right and,more importantly, if they start
playing Canes hockey, which weknow is usually in the offensive
zone and heavy on the forecheck, making things happen out there
, everything changes.
So I think that part of it isgoing to be interesting and

(38:22):
again, lots of promise with theCanes forward crew this time out
.
Let's talk about some generalthings just for a minute here.
You know both of these teamshave strengths, as we know they
are.
You know, in some cases youknow the Caps are higher scoring
team than the Canes.
The Canes are a better penaltykill team.
The Caps are better on thepower play through the regular
season, but mostly these teamsare pretty well matched and they
play a very similar game.

(38:43):
One of the things that we'vetalked a little bit about is the
coaches, and this is going tobe an interesting battle.
You've got, of course, RodBrindamore, who's seventh year
in a row taking a team to thesecond round, but you've got
Spencer Carberry, who's seventhyear in a row taking a team to
the second round.
But you've got Spencer Carberrywho's kind of looked upon as
the darling this year.
The coaching staff uh, coaching, uh group what are we thinking

(39:03):
about this coaching matchup?

Speaker 2 (39:06):
it will be very interesting to see how the two
of them go together, becausethey have obviously both
produced success this season andBrynden Moore has the history
of success with his current team, but they're obviously doing
something right because of howwell both teams have played up
until now, and so it's reallygoing to be a chess match
between the two of them.

(39:28):
You know home and away and youknow which lines do you send out
and which situations.
You know how do you try and make, make your line changes on the
fly, get the matchups you want,set your team up to where you
feel like you can take advantageof the other team in a
particular spot in the game, andso it's those little decisions

(39:52):
that, if this, if this seriesends up being as tight as we
think it's going to be, it couldcome down to a few of those
decisions in the game that willtilt in the favor of one team or
another.
So it will be very key, and Imean lots of respect for
Carberry, because last year'sCapitals team looks nothing like

(40:12):
this year's Capitals team.
I mean they lucked their wayinto the playoffs last year,
yeah, um, with that crazy finishat the end of the year where,
um that I think they got it bydefault, uh, and got, then got
swept out of the first round.
So this team is powerful, thisteam is hungry, and you really

(40:33):
have to start with the coach asfar as how that turnaround
happened.
So we'll see.
We'll see if Brenda Moore candraw on his bag of experience to
help overcome the the magiccharms of Carberry that he is
sprinkled on top of the capsthis year.

Speaker 1 (40:54):
I think she covered it, and the only.

Speaker 3 (40:55):
thing that I would add here is that, on top of the
caps this year, karen, I thinkshe covered it and the only
thing that I would add here isthat I think that when it comes
to coaching battles, you know,to me it's always fun to watch
how they make those decisionsand what's going into them and
the level of instinct that youhave and that can be can be good

(41:18):
or bad.
I mean, the more experiencedcoaches have a tendency, I think
, sometimes to default to thingsthat have worked in the past
and not to have that creativeflash of insight that says you
know what that hasn't beenworking, let's try something
else.
So that's you know.
I hope that we will see thatfrom from both sides, where
they're willing to kind of tweakthings and give things a little

(41:41):
bit of an interesting look hereand there.
I think that Carberry definitelyneeds to be praised a lot for
what he's managed to accomplish,because you think about, this
is a team that you know stillhas a lot of veteran players and
and a lot of them are driftingtowards that wrong side of
35-ish not quite that old but toget veterans to buy in is

(42:06):
harder, I think, than to getkids to buy in, and that is a
team that has cobbled togethersome interesting pieces from
other teams, that they made somejudicious trades, so I think
that the GM also needs to becongratulated.
And then just a final thought,going back to Katie's point.
Right now, a lot of people aretalking about a coaching

(42:29):
decision that was made in theKings Oilers series to challenge
a goal and how that went badly.
Yes, I think that this issomething that you know, these
little tiny things, like Katiesaid, they can add up over the
course of the game and turn avictory into a defeat or vice
versa.
So it is going to be really funto see how these two match up,

(42:49):
as you know, going head to headagainst each other.

Speaker 2 (42:52):
And one thing I want to add that Aaron made me think
of with some of the adjustmentsis one of the key adjustments
that Brendamore made in thatDevil series was his line tweaks
.
He didn't go full Blendamoreand just put it all into a mixer
and see what the mixer spitsout.

Speaker 3 (43:12):
No, first line Martin Nook.

Speaker 2 (43:14):
No first line, thank goodness.
No first line.
Martin Nook, although the waythat Martin no martin was
against the devil beginning ofthe series, that would have been
a temptation right.
I mean, he was right in thosefirst couple games, absolutely.
But you know, just just movingspetch up to that top line yes,
that was a big it was.
it was big, but he had to waitfor the right time.

(43:35):
I don't know that it would havebeen that successful if he had
started off right, becausethat's what's happened before
and has had a certain level ofsuccess before.

(44:00):
But no, I trust my rookie, Itrust what Blake brings to that
line.
What he brings to that line isimportant.
I'm going to leave him up therewith the change and then I'm
going to pull Jarvis and useJarvis wherever, and I'm part of
that.
Jarvis, like we, like Imentioned before, he's kind of a
fix-it-all player.
You can put him anywhere.

(44:24):
But so you know that is adecision that had to be made.
You know when to bringJankowski in.
So Rod seems to be making thedecisions and they're working
out in the Canes' favor.
They have helped the Canes andnot hurt the Canes.
And I didn't watch the Capitalsseries.
Maybe, erin, you'd have alittle insight.
I don't know if Carberry wasever in a position where he felt

(44:44):
like he needed to tweak hislineup and, you know, maybe he
is put in that position with theCanes series if he hasn't.

Speaker 3 (44:51):
I think that is something that's really
interesting, because I don'tthink there was ever really a
point that the Habs did manageto win a game at the Bell Center
.
I think that that was kind oflooked at as well.
That was bound to happen.
You know, they're not going tohave that crowd and that energy
and not win at least one.
So they did, and but the onlythere were no, if I wasn't
paying a lot of attention towhat their lines were doing, but

(45:13):
I don't think there was anyreally big alterations going on
because they were losing.
They had missed some people.
They had a couple of peoplethat were out in that game, so
those guys returned and theneverything went back to normal.
So, yeah, that's a good pointbecause, apart from having to
adjust around injuries which issomething you have to do,
everybody has to do anyway Idon't think there was a time

(45:37):
when they felt like a line wasjust being so shut down that
they couldn't adjust, you know.
So that is something that theCanes will have the opportunity
to do.
I would like it if they had theopportunity to force some of
those decisions in these firsttwo games, because being on the
road, it's a lot harder to be inthe position where you have to
force the home team to adapt.
So it would be very interestingto me if they could get that
going.

(45:57):
I know that's going to be thebig challenge, so we'll see.

Speaker 1 (46:00):
Well, I mean, one of the things that I'm excited
about with the Hurricanes inthis playoff run is they've got
depth, and you know there aregoing to be players dinged up.
There are going to besituations where they're going
to need to reach into that depth.
And we've already talked aboutJack Roslevic.

(46:22):
He scored over 20 goals thisyear and we know that he's a guy
that knows the system.
He can come in, he can make adifference.
And how about AlexanderNikitian?
Every day he gets closer tobeing ready and when he's called
upon, that's going to be a lotof fun because he's going to
bring a completely differentkind of player into the lineup
and that'll be fun to see whathe can do.
So I think the Canes are ingreat shape.
They're going to be, you knowfor sure.

(46:44):
They're going to have to callon that depth and in previous
years they just haven't had itand I think this is going to be
a big difference for them.
So, again, it's going to be aninteresting situation and one of
the biggest challenges.
We've talked a lot about this inthe past.
You know heading into theopposing rink more often than
you'd like.
The Canes, of course, aredeadly.

(47:06):
At home.
They have not been particularlyeffective on the road and, as
well, the Capitals have donevery well at home.
So you're going into a very,very hostile situation and
you're going to have to go inand try to win one of these
first two games.
What are we thinking about thiskickoff in Washington and how

(47:27):
that might affect the series,katie?

Speaker 2 (47:31):
Like you said, it's just very important.
The Canes aren't going to getlast change, so the game plan is
going to have to be to take thepace to the Capitals, make the
Capitals make tough decisions.
So I don't want to see them bereactive, I want to see them be
proactive.
I want to see them really pushin the offensive zone to

(47:55):
maintain that puck position,pucks on net.
I mean all the cliches, but thecliches that work because
they're so effective, especiallywhen the Canes are playing the
way that they're able to play.
You think back to that gamefour in New Jersey and just how
well, when they had it turned onthat, they were able to prevent

(48:16):
New Jersey from gettinganything sustained going for any
amount of time.
As soon as New Jersey broughtthe puck into their, into the
Canes, and the Canes would getit off of their sticks.
Go fight for it in the corners,come out of the corners with it
and send it right back down theice for another rush attempt or

(48:36):
dumping in and heavy forecheck,just like the canes like to do
so.
I think that's the key for thecanes on the road is take the
pace and make the, make the putthe caps back on their heels and
make them react to us, ratherthan the other way around.

Speaker 3 (48:52):
Agreed, agreed 100 and the other way around Agreed,
agreed, 100%.
And the other thing I thinkthat is absolutely critical and
this may actually be easier forthem on the road than it has
been at home is that theyabsolutely positively must start
on time.
They have to be ready to gowhen the puck drops, whoever

(49:14):
wins the faceoff, regardless.
You know, if it doesn't go theCanes way, they have to go chase
it down and get it, becausethey've had trouble against the
Capitals before in faceoffs.
It doesn't matter, you have togo get that puck anyway.
I think that in a weird sense,you know, normally I would be
thinking well, this isn't good.
They have to start two games onthe road and the Capitals have
home ice advantage.

(49:34):
But because we've seen themhave those weak starts at home a
little bit too often of themost recent games, I think that
that's just something that, forwhatever reason, it just seems
to have been a problem this yearto have that lackadaisical
attitude and be, you know,thinking that everything's going
to go easily, and you don'tnecessarily think that on the

(49:57):
road.
You think that at home moreoften than you think that on the
road.
So the other thing is they hadhome ice advantage in this first
series, which meant they didn'thave to win one of the two road
games.
But they did, and I thinkthat's important, because I
think that that's where you getthat sense of OK.
No, it's not impossible for theKings to win a road game.

(50:19):
They just did it.
They can do it again.
Maybe they'll surprise everyoneand win both of these.
I mean, stranger things havehappened, especially the way the
playoffs have been going.
You never know, but I thinkthat it should be more than
doable for them to win one.

Speaker 1 (50:44):
So I'm hoping to see that One of the biggest things
that the Canes have done isthey've been able to come back
in some of these games and wedon't want to make a habit of
that.
I mean, coming back from 3-0,okay, that's fine with the
Devils, but I don't think I'dtry that with the Caps.
So I think you know, startingon time is critical.
I think getting to their gamequickly is critical.
The Canes can set the tone.
We know that.
That's really what they're goodat.

(51:05):
When they're out playing theirgame.
They can really create a lot ofhavoc out there.
So let's see how that goes.
But I think this situation is alittle bit different for them.
We talked a lot about it duringthe season.
You know how important was homeice going to be, because the
Canes, of course, have beenincredible at home and they've

(51:33):
just got to take some of that.
You know that home ice magicand do it on the road as well.
So, as we look at the seriesnow, are there going to be some
X factors?
Are there going to be someplayers, some situations that we
think could make a differencein this series?
Katie, what are you thinking?

Speaker 2 (51:48):
Oh, we've already touched on mine.
I think it's the coaching job.
I think all those littleadjustments that have to happen
both in-game and between gamesare going to be so key.
If this series is as close aswe think it's going to be, then
the difference in the games andeven in the series can hinge in
some of those decisions.

(52:09):
The right decision will makethe series be shorter, the wrong
decision could make the seriesgo longer or even be the
difference in winning or losingthe series.
So I'll be very interested tosee the adjustments that Brendan
Moore and Carberry make,because they're two very good

(52:29):
coaches and it's going to bequite the chess match between
them.
Yeah for sure, erin.

Speaker 3 (52:37):
Well, for me I know we touched on this briefly it
comes back to discipline.
On the one hand, they cannottake unnecessary penalties.
It is the second round, thewhistles start to go away a
little bit more, so I think thatthere may be less frequent
calls of the kind that we reallycall ticky-tacky or not, you
know really 100% one way or theother.
But that doesn't mean that theycan play an undisciplined game.

(52:59):
They're going to have to watchout for those stick infractions
and the things that will becalled.
So make sure that that's paidattention to.
But the other thing I know alot of people are talking about
is physicality.
The Canes have a reputation forbeing physically soft.
They're not anymore, but theystill have that reputation.
And the Capitals of course havethe reputation, you know, exact

(53:20):
opposite, that they're bruisersthat they're going to beat you
up and take your lunch money.
You know that's, you know.
I think that that's what a lotof people expect to see in this
game.
So the Canes are going to haveto be able to do both sides of
the physicality coin.
They're going to have to dishit out, meaning that they're not
going to be pulling theirpunches.
They can't shy away from thosehard hits and those checks.

(53:42):
They can't let the Capitalspush them around.
They're going to have to beable to dish it out.
At the same time, though, theyhave to be able to take it,
because that is where this warof attrition comes in on the
physicality side.
When you've got someone of youknow Tom Wilson's coming at you,
or you know any of these guys,and you start hesitating or

(54:04):
trying to get rid of the pucktoo quickly because you don't
want that hit, that's whenthings can get a little dodgy.
So I mean kudos to the Kings.
This year, they have not beenthat team that shies away from
contact.
I think that their physicalityas a group has improved, and
some of that has been because ofthe new players that have come
in.
So and I mean I know that wehave Dmitry Orlov on- the

(54:27):
defensive side, who is very wellknown for his ability to
deliver some pretty bruisinghits on his own regard.
So you know, stay balanced.
If you take it and dish it out,don't sit back on either side
and don't let them rattle youaway from the puck.
That's pretty much it.

Speaker 1 (54:45):
Well and rightfully so, and you know, one of the
things that we like about thisCanes team this year is they've
got size.
They are not a small group.
They can throw all four linescan go out, and there's some
people out there who can, youknow, lay the body on and make
some things happen from a kindof a physicality perspective.
So I'm excited about that.

(55:05):
I think that's a big change.
You know, we for so many yearswe had a group of, you know,
smaller players that you knowjust got pushed around and you
just couldn't fight back.
And I think the Canes have madespecial moves.
Certainly, Eric Tolsky hastried to get some players in
that can make a difference, andbringing in Jankowski and Hall,

(55:25):
they're both heavy players, theygo out and they're in the mix
and they can also get into thesephysical type battles as well.
So all good stuff, Okay, sowe've talked a lot about the
different parts of the teams.
Where do we sit on this?
Who do we think is going to winthe series and how do we think
it's going to play out?
Erin, let's start with you.

Speaker 3 (55:49):
Well, I think we have kind of a group consensus.
I think we all think that theCanes are going to win this and
we're not just saying that ashomers and fans.
The statistical odds right nowfavor the Canes and I think that
surprises some people whohaven't been paying attention to
.
You know both teams, all series, you know all season.
Rather, you might look at theCaps and say, well, they're
number one, you know they'llthis in the Metro.

(56:10):
But the Canes have someadvantages and some weapons that
I think are going to match upreally well.
So the Canes and I personallythink it's going to take six
games.
We would all love it to be donein five.
We would all love the Canes tobe as dominant as they were
against New Jersey.

Speaker 2 (56:28):
I don't think that's realistic.
How about you, katie?
Yeah, I definitely think it'llbe a 4-2 Canes victory, provided
that the Canes have Andersonfor all, if not the majority, or
at least the majority of thegames, if not all of the games.
He just is on a different levelwith his steadiness and the way
that Kochakov has been recently.
I still think the Canes have agood chance to get it done if

(56:55):
Kochakov's in net.
But it'll be a lot harder,especially if he is jittery
early.
But he did.
I mean.
The encouraging thing is he didsettle into both the game that
he came into in game four andthe game that he started in game
five.
So perhaps having those underhis belt will be a blessing in
disguise that if the Canes doneed to call on him at any point
that he will lose thosebutterflies a little bit faster

(57:19):
or just have them gone beforethe game even starts.
But with with Freddie and net, Ifeel pretty comfortable that
the Canes can can pull out a 4-2victory.
And a lot of that has to dowith the fact that the
Washington Capitals were one ofthe top two teams, if not the
top team, when it came to PDO,with their combination save
percentage and shootingpercentage.

(57:40):
And in the playoffs that's justgenerally not sustainable
because the quality ofcompetition that you're going up
against is so much higher.
And so if the Capitals aren'tcapitalizing on those high PBO
levels, then it opens up avenuesfor the Canes to really take

(58:01):
advantage of them and to get totheir game, play their game and
come out victorious in thisseries.

Speaker 1 (58:07):
Yeah, get to their game, play their game and come
out victorious in this series.
Yeah, and you know, goaltendingis so critical in any of these
series and I think you hit thenail on the head with that one.
My X factor really is going tobe goaltending.
Freddie is going to be critical.
To make this happen, he's gotto beat Logan Thompson, and

(58:31):
that's the critical point.
And I'm not sure what we canexpect from Piotr if he has to
come in.
He struggled for an extendedperiod now, so we're asking him
to really get his game back ontrack in a hurry.
So again, I think the Canes aregoing to win this series.
I think it could go the limit.
It might go to seven games.
Think the Canes are going towin this series.
I think it could go the limit.
It might go to seven games.
Hopefully it's six or less.
But I think it's going to be along, hard series and you know,

(58:55):
I think the Canes can do it.
But this one isn't going to beeasy.
So we'll have some fun watchingit, for sure, and keep our
fingers crossed as these gamesgo along.
Anyway, we're going to befollowing this right through all
the playoffs.
It's great that we've got around under our belt.

(59:15):
We know we've got at least fourmore games to go and hopefully
a whole bunch more, and we'll beback to continue to bring the
latest information and thoughtsthat we have on the Canes to to
our Canes fans and and those ofyou that are listening or
watching.
For those of you who arelistening or watching, we'd like

(59:37):
to thank you very much forjoining us today.
As always, aaron, katie and Iare delighted that you've spent
the time with us and if youliked this episode, please press
the like button.
If you have comments for us oranything to say about the canes
or the caps or this series ingeneral, please leave those in

(59:57):
the comment section down below.
And, of course, if you want tobe alerted of future episodes of
Storm Tracker and get a chanceto follow Aaron and Katie as
they tell us what's going tohappen in this series and beyond
, please subscribe and hit thebell button and we'll make sure
you're aware as soon as thoseare available.
In any case, thank you so muchfor joining us today.

(01:00:19):
We look forward to gettingtogether with you real soon,
right here on Star Trek.