Hurricanes Charge Ahead with a 2-0 Lead Against the Devils!

The Carolina Hurricanes have stormed out to an impressive 2-0 series lead against the New Jersey Devils, showcasing why they're legitimate Stanley Cup contenders this season. While the scoreboard tells part of the story, the true strength of this Hurricanes team lies in their remarkable depth and strategic versatility. Carolina Hurricanes' TV Analyst, Shane Willis joins Erin Manning, Katie Bartlett & Tom Ray to talk about that & more on this episode of stormTRacker.

Rod Brind'Amour's squad has found success through balanced contributions across all four lines. Jordan Staal's line has been particularly impactful – with Logan Stankoven scoring twice in Game 1 and Jordan Martinook delivering a momentum-shifting shorthanded goal in Game 2. These veterans aren't just producing points; they're setting the physical tone and demonstrating the playoff mentality required for deep runs.

• Jordan Staal's line has been vital for Carolina, with Stankoven scoring twice in Game 1 and Martinook netting a shorthanded goal in Game 2
• The Svechnikov-Kotkaniemi-Hall line is playing a simplified, physical game but needs to generate more offensive chances
• The Hurricanes defense has been solid, with Gostisbehere and Walker emerging as an effective third pairing
• Freddie Andersen has been outstanding in net, while coaches consider when to utilize Pyotr Kochetkov
• Alexander Nikishin is practicing with the team but faces challenges with language barriers and system familiarity
• The Hurricanes' poor road record (16-21-4) is misleading as many losses occurred during goaltender injuries.
• Carolina enters the playoffs remarkably healthy compared to previous seasons, giving them a significant advantage

Watch Game 3 Friday night as the Hurricanes look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead in New Jersey.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Well, lots to be excited about if you're a
Carolina Hurricanes fan thesedays.
After all, canes have jumpedoff to a two-game lead versus
the New Jersey Devils as theyhead back to the Rock for Games
3 and 4.
Chicago Wolves, led by a numberof Canes' top prospects, have
returned to the playoffs aftermissing last year, and

(00:24):
much-ballyhooed Canes phenom,alexander Nikitian is practicing
with the team, getting ready tojump into the Canes lineup when
called upon Joining me to talkabout that and more.
Star Tracker insiders AaronManning and Katie Bartlett.
And we have a special guest,carolina Hurricanes TV analyst,

(00:45):
shane Willis Howdy.
Everybody Morning.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Tom.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Okay, so I thought we'd talk for just a couple of
minutes about the end of theseason.
The Hurricanes basicallydecided to rest a number of
players.
They didn't fight hard to moveup in the standings which I
think would have been a smartmove to give them home ice
advantage but they decided to gowith some of the youngsters.

(01:12):
What did we think about thatand what did we see in some of
these young players?
Shane, you want to kick it?

Speaker 3 (01:18):
off.
I loved it.
I think it was the right moveand again I have a little bit
more of an inside track becauseI think going into the playoffs
and no matter who you're facing.
Home ice is extremely importantbut, more importantly, health
is even more important and we'veseen over the past few years
the teams that make a deep runand the ones that hoist the

(01:38):
Stanley Cup are healthy teamsand Rod Brendamore is a
competitor and he is not a guythat wants to take anybody out
and players don't want to comeout.
But when you're dealing withsituations as this team was, and
looking ahead, the mostimportant thing is game one.
You knew you had home ice inround one and I think that gave
them the flexibility to pullguys out and say we're looking

(02:02):
at a bigger goal here, somethingthat's a lot bigger than
playing in two final games andmaybe getting past Toronto to
have home ice.
You weren't going to catch theCapitals and I don't think
anybody thinks that the MontrealCanadiens are going to knock
out the Capitals.
So the rest was important.
Health, even more important, ofyour top end players that were

(02:23):
able to rest for that last week.

Speaker 4 (02:33):
Erin thoughts.
Well, well, I have to agree.
And it was so much fun to seethe kids.
Um, I, I think that, um, I wasreally impressed with the
bradley nadeau's release, goodheavens.
I mean, that shot is somethingelse.
It just those are the kinds ofthings that if you're not able
to watch the wolves on a regularbasis, you don't get to see all
the things that they're doingdown there, you don't get to see
how these guys are doing.
So it's always fun, and I thinkthat matters more, like you
said, than the wins and lossesin a couple of last season games

(02:53):
that are already prettymeaningless as far as achieving
any goals for the Canes.
So I have to agree.
And then the rest, like yousaid too, it's, it's.
Uh, that was a question I hadfor you for later, but we'll get
back to that.
So any further thoughts?

Speaker 2 (03:08):
katie um, obviously we've heard a ton about morrow
and nikisha and we're superexcited about them.
Really impressed me with hisway he was able to control the
puck and move it out of his zoneefficiently and even sometimes
into the offensive zone.
So it's it's encouraging toknow that it's not just those
two guys on the back end that wehave in the system, but there

(03:30):
are others that couldpotentially come up and
contribute in the future.
So he was the one thatpleasantly surprised me, because
I'd heard about all of theothers and been familiar with
their game, but I was notfamiliar with him.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
Dominic Fensore.
To me he's incredible.
He played 19 minutes average inthe two games he played.
He's not a big player but boy,he's smart out there and he's
quick.
And the other guy that I thinkreally did well was Skyler
Brindamore.
He was awesome in the faceoffdot and I thought he surprised a
lot of people.

(04:00):
I know a lot of folks on X weresaying, hey, come on what's
with Brindamore?
I thought he held up quitenicely and he's had a great
season in Chicago as well.
So kind of fun to see thoseguys.
Sometimes you don't know muchabout them and we got a chance
to see them firsthand with theCanes.
Okay, so let's move on to theplayoffs and let's talk a little
bit about the forward crew fora minute.

(04:20):
There's some things there Ithought we could touch on.
One of them was let's look atthe Stoll line for a minute.
Those guys obviously are alwayscritical to the Kane success.
First game, logan Stankhovenhad a couple of goals.
What do we see from them?
Do we think they can do more?
Where do we see them in theseries going forward?

(04:42):
Shane thoughts.

Speaker 3 (04:44):
Vital.
I mean this line is extremelyvital.
You saw it in game one, withtwo goals from Stan Coven.
In game two, I look at it aswhere you talk about leadership
with this group because thefirst period was not their best.
It's top to bottom.
Not just that line, and JordanMartinuk talked about it with
Hannah Yates in between periods,and any time you hear either

(05:05):
Jordan Martinuk or Jordan Stahltalk about a bad period, look
out, because you know they'regoing to be the line that starts
the second period and they'regoing to look at the bench and
play this is now how we're goingto play.
So, leadership standpoint, youcannot match what these guys do
on a nightly basis.
And then the effort level ofJordan Martinuk and what he

(05:25):
meant to that game not onlyscoring shorthanded the way he
did, but that entire penaltykill.
And he made a great quote afterthe game, saying the playoffs
are about stepping outside ofyour box and really doing things
you don't like to do.
No one wants to get in front ofa shot that's coming 100 miles
an hour, but he laid out two orthree times throwing his body
around to make sure that puckdidn't get to Freddie Anderson.

(05:47):
And that is the differencebetween elite level players and
teams that make it to StanleyCups and the ones that don't.
It's the ones that are willingto do that, and that line really
brings it to the table on anightly basis.
And for a young player likeLogan Stankoven, what a way to
learn from two players sittingbeside you knowing this is how
we have to do it.
And he is learning vital piecesbesides scoring some big goals

(06:10):
right now.
And I talked with Trip Tracyabout it the other day, saying
that was a little bit like mycareer.
You know, I had the benefit ofplaying with Rod Brendamore and
Martin Gelina and all I had todo was follow their lead, the
way they worked, their effortlevel.
Obviously, their skill wasthere as well, but there were
nights.
I remember being a young playerand you're having that fatigue

(06:33):
factor and everything, and allyou have to do is look to your
right and Rod's looking at yousaying, are you ready?
And your answer better be yes,because they're dragging you
into the fight each and everynight.
I think those two players dothat with Stankoven right now.

Speaker 1 (06:46):
Yeah, no question Now .
Katie, you had some veryinteresting information on
hockey stat.
What did you find out aboutthese guys?

Speaker 2 (06:54):
Well, it's interesting because if you spend
any time on X looking atdifferent posts, you see the
hockey stat cards and if youjust go by those cards, it
looked like Jordan Stahl had anawful game.
He was at the bottom of thecard for the hurricanes, while
martin irk was at the top, andthat's very unusual to have guys
on the same line so far apart.
When you dig into it, it justhad to do with the fact that he
was dinged for that one penaltythat was called on him and the

(07:17):
fact that he lost face-offs.
Um, because he's sure you gottagive credit to he sure.
He sure is really good in theface-off dot and he won a lot of
face-offs.
You take that out and he jumpsfrom the bottom of the stat card
up to the top of the stat card.
So, you can't take those typesof things as gospel.
They're an interesting tool,you can learn a lot from them,
but ultimately, at the end ofthe day, how many points did

(07:39):
Hesher and his line put on theboard?
You know they didn't.
They didn't score, um, they hadto split up.
In fact, they had to split upbrat from he sure, in order to
create any kind of offensiveopportunity for the devils,
because unfortunately, the, theboat the devils are in right now
is they are limited on offensebecause of who's not in their
lineup currently, and so stalland his line made a huge

(08:03):
difference in preventing theother team from getting on the
board.
And so you can look at thestats all you want, but at the
end of the day, you dig into itand you see that Jordan Stahl
and his line have so many moreintangibles that you can't
quantify in a stat sheet.

Speaker 3 (08:19):
It's a great point, katie, and the one point now as
you go into New Jersey isSheldon Keefe will now get his
matchups.
So does this line become moreoffensive and dynamic, because
Jordan Martin loves playingagainst the Devils?
Does Jordan Stahls, as you talkabout those numbers, do they go
up?
Because he's not facingHeischer anymore?
Maybe he's getting anothercenterman and he's dominating in

(08:40):
the face-off circle.
So that line is going to bereal key in game three, as Keith
gets his matchups to where hethinks benefits his team, and I
don't think he's going to putHeischer on the ice with Stahl.
I could be wrong, but I thinkhe tries to shake things up to
avoid that line.

Speaker 1 (08:57):
No, I think you're right.
I think you're right, shane,and for sure, martinuk seems to
have the devil's number, as weknow.
Know, he seems to.
What do you call him, martinuk,gretzky Aaron?

Speaker 4 (09:11):
that was the comment from last year.
The famous broadcast call.
All of a sudden he's WayneGretzky and he scores.
That was such a classic moment.

Speaker 1 (09:19):
So yeah, he's Gretzky Martinuk well, he definitely
takes his game to another leveland I think the good news about
this game was that, you know, Idon't think it was Jordan's best
game and again he struggled alittle bit in the faceoff and if
he can get back to what wenormally see with him, that's
going to help a lot in terms ofpossession time for the

(09:41):
Hurricanes, so I think that'sgood news.
So let's talk about anotherline and this line.
We've had high hopes for Bigline.
You've got Taylor Hall, You'vegot Yosferi Kokuniemi and, of
course, Andrei Svechnikov.
We had huge high hopes forthese guys Starting to show a
little bit Shane.
What are you thinking aboutthese guys?

Speaker 3 (10:03):
The obvious in my mind would be you need more.
And you know those guys willtell you the same thing.
If you ask them, they're likewe have to be better, we have to
give more, we have to createmore chance in the offensive
zone.
The one area where I think Iliked them more in game one,
where I thought they struggledin game two, was more the rhythm
of the game.

(10:23):
And if you go back and everytime I talk to Rod he always
makes this comment go back andwatch, go back and watch.
The hard part for an offensiveplayer like Taylor Hall and
Andre Svechkov is breaking upthe rhythm of your shifts, five
on five, and they come over theboards.
They're playing five on five.
All of a sudden there's apenalty.
So now the line gets broken up.
Svech is on the first powerplay unit.
The other two guys are on thesecond power play unit, which

(10:45):
wasn't getting many touches.
Then the stall line comes out,then the Ajo line.
Now you're back to the Kokonemiline again.
There were times in the secondperiod where I didn't see him
for five minutes because of thestalls going back and forth.
I think that really affectedthat line last game.
So going into game.
Game three and I say this allthe time this team is dynamic

(11:05):
five on five.
If they can stay there, I'm noteven worried about the power
plays at this point.
That allows this line toutilize their speed.
Now will they get a toughermatchup in new jersey?
I go back to that again becauseyou may see sheldon keith put
he sure's line with brat againstthat line yeah so don't get
caught up again of they didn'tget on the score sheet tonight.

(11:26):
They may be called upon to bemore defensive if that line is
their matchup.
So we always want goals.
That line has enough skill todo it.
I really look at the rhythmpart of it because, being an
offensive guy myself, I was onthe power play but I didn't kill
penalties.
So if we kept taking penaltiesI just sat on the bench, yeah,
and you finally get back outthere.

(11:47):
Now you're trying to get backinto the game.
I really felt the rhythm of thegame, for the Cokie Ami line
struggled in game two, but myhopes are still high that they
are a big factor, not only inthis series but as this team
continues to move through theplayoffs.

Speaker 1 (12:02):
Yeah, and Aaron, now you are a big Isbury Kokuniemi
fan.
How are you feeling about hisplay so far, what you've seen in
the first two games?

Speaker 4 (12:12):
I think that from the time he first played in a
playoff game at the age of 19,.
The thing that Kokuniemi hasloved about playoffs is the
physicality and being able to bepart of the hitting parade.
Because during the regularseason he's said before you know
, I can't go around doing thatbecause it takes me out of the
play too much.
You know, if I'm, you know,delivering big hits all the time
, and in the playoffs it's adifferent animal.

(12:34):
Everybody on the line has to beresponsible for hitting and you
know I think I mentioned thatthat line in particular last
game, game two Sveetch had fourhits and KK had five, so nine
between them, and Taylor Halldidn't have to have any.
There wasn't a need for it.
So it's not like that's whatyou.
You know, the bad part aboutseeing those hit numbers means

(12:57):
that they didn't have the puck.
So that's where you've got to.
You know they're hitting to getthe puck back, but at least
it's working and it's effectivein helping to do that.
So that's what you want to seewhen they don't have it, when
they play away from the puck,when the other team has the puck
, that's what you want to seefrom them and I really like
Svechnikov on that line, becausewe've talked a little bit about
his struggles this season.
This has been a down year forhim.

(13:18):
He's playing very simple.
He's playing very simple.
To me it seems like he'splaying a much more simple
direct game in these first twogames of the season, I mean of
the playoff season.
Yeah, I want to see thatcontinue with him.
I want to see that because youknow that's where he's going to
find his biggest success.
It's not the fancy playmaking,it's not the East-West game, but
if he's just playing thatsimple, direct hockey with a lot

(13:40):
of physicality involved, Ithink that it brings out the
best version of AndreiShetchenkov.
And we really need that, wereally do in the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (13:47):
Now one question, speaking of Svetch.
One question that a lot offolks are asking is what's the
issue with Markstrom, with theSvetch and Shane, what are you?
Thinking about that.
That seems to be quite a littletool going on.

Speaker 3 (14:05):
We have fielded that question a lot lately and I go
back I don't remember in gameone or game two, where there was
a bump where they ran into eachother, anything, and I was
trying to think back into theseason.
I don't remember if Markstromwas just losing his temper
because of Svetch being aroundthe net, but I have not seen
anything that jumps off the pageto know why Jacob Markstrom

(14:25):
keeps going after Andre.

Speaker 1 (14:27):
Yeah, that was very noticeable.
Yeah, and from Andre'sperspective, this is great If he
can get Markstrom off his game,and that's going to be critical
Markstrom.
You know, shane, when we talkeda lot about, you know, going up
against the Devils, one of thethings we talked about was Jacob
Markstrom.
He's that wild card.
He's a guy that when he is onhis game and is hot, he is tough

(14:51):
, he's extremely tough and hemade a lot of great saves in
these first two games.
So you've got to get him offhis game and I think what Svetch
is doing is right on cue Justget in his face and hopefully
maybe tip a few in while you'reat it.

Speaker 3 (15:15):
Yeah, he was good in both game one and game two.

Speaker 1 (15:17):
In game two, he doesn't get any spotlight
because of how great FreddieAnderson was at the other end.

Speaker 3 (15:21):
Markstrom has been good for them.
There's no question that he'llstart game three.
They go down 0-2, and the worstscenario for a coach is do I
change my goalie now?
What do I do?
And I think he's held them inthis series to keep them even
close in either one of thosegames.

Speaker 1 (15:39):
Yeah, I don't see any possible way that he's not in
game three for sure.
Okay, so one of the lines thatwe've talked a little bit about
is this fourth line, and youknow we were really interested
in the fourth line.
You've got some size, you've gotCarrier back now and he's a guy
that we're really excited about, because you know lots of

(15:59):
experience in the playoffs, hadsome great success with Vegas
and played a very big role thereand, as we've learned, a lot of
folks are pretty complimentaryabout that.
And you've got Eric Robinson,who had a career year.
So you've got a couple of guysthat can get out play heavy.
And we were quite surprised tosee Jack Roslevic moving into

(16:21):
that center spot.
You know, at first glance wethought, gee, that doesn't make
sense, and then took a littlestep back and started to look at
some stats.
Aaron, you saw something on theRoss Libby thing that I thought
was interesting.
When they made the decision togo to him, what did you see?

Speaker 4 (16:36):
Well, the two main things that I hadn't thought
about before because we weretalking about it.
We were looking at hisdefensive stats and saying, are
they going to want to put him inright away in the playoffs or
not?
But his role on the second unit, on the power play, is really
hard to replace.
And then the fact that he's theonly right now he's the only
right-handed center on the team,or right draw center on the
team.
So they need someone who'sgoing to win face-offs on that

(16:58):
side and they need.
He's got I think you had hisstats, tom at 54.1% on draw.

Speaker 1 (17:06):
Yeah, that's in the face-off this year.

Speaker 4 (17:08):
So that's something that you don't want to just set
that aside and say well, youknow, we don't need that because
you do need that.
So I mean, I could see themmaking adjustments as the season
, I mean as the series goes on,if they need to.
But I think that I wasn'tthinking about those things.
And then, once he started, Ithought, well, gosh, yeah, they

(17:28):
would have to put someone elseon that second unit power play
and they would have to havesomeone.
They don't have anyone elsewho's taking right draws.
So that's probably the reasonthe decision was made, Shane
your thoughts.

Speaker 3 (17:39):
Yeah, you're exactly right as I talked to Rod about
it and not an easy decision.
It's kind of a luxury to have afull roster.
This team hasn't seen this overthe past couple years.
But not only the luxury to havea full roster, but to have guys
who are playing as well as MarkJankowski was for this team.
And how hard it is for Rod tohave that conversation saying

(17:59):
I'm going to take you out andput Jack Roslevic in, but your
two points are exactly right.
One, because he's right-handedand that power play unit.
It's tough to give up a guywho's got 20 goals.
It's tough to take a guy out ofthe lineup.
When it comes to playoffs, youhave to score and power plays
are extremely important.
Right now it has worked.
And as we go into New Jersey, Igo back to what I talked about

(18:21):
earlier.
Look at matchups, especially ingame three.
I would assume Rod does notchange anything, but if New
Jersey exploits a matchup withRoslevic at center with one of
their lines, do we see Jankowski, who's bigger and stronger,
coming in game four to try andhandle that matchup?

Speaker 1 (18:39):
in a different way.
Katie, what are your thoughtson that fourth unit?

Speaker 2 (18:44):
Yeah, I don't know that.
I have a whole lot new to add.
Definitely would like to seeJankowski at some point.
I think he's played well enoughfor the Canes that he'll get a
look at eventually.
But don't fix what ain't broke.

Speaker 3 (18:59):
Agreed.

Speaker 1 (19:00):
One thing about Rostovic and yeah, he had, I
think, a career year in thefaceoff.
We talked a lot about hischallenges in the faceoff
previously this year, but he hasreally been firing the puck.
He brings an offensive spin tothat line as well, and just by
virtue of them, being able tokeep play in the offensive zone

(19:25):
and get chances as a fourth lineis fantastic.
So so far I'm with everybody onthis, but I do think we'll see
Mark Jankowski at some point aswe move into the playoffs and
that will give them a verysubstantially sizable line,
adding Jankowski to Robinson and, of course, carrier.
So that's exciting stuff and,as you say rightfully, shane,

(19:48):
it's a great luxury to have.
I think the Canes going intothis playoff round are in pretty
darn good shape from a healthperspective.
So here's an exciting thing.
The Canes have done thiswithout much from the top line.
So we've got Ajo and Blake and,of course, jarvis out there and

(20:10):
we saw some great, great playfrom them as the season wound
down, but haven't seen much sofar.
Shane thoughts.
So Shane thoughts.

Speaker 3 (20:20):
Still creating, still generating.
Obviously, their shift led tothe first goal with Goss's bear
last game and game two to tie itin the second period.
I think they continue tocontrol the puck in different
plays.
I think again.
I go back to the word ofmatchups.
What does that end up being forthis line in New Jersey, and
does it become a better fit forthem, or maybe even a harder fit

(20:44):
?
But those are the scenarios Ithink a lot of people forget to
look at is when we look at thosematchups do they want more,
without a doubt.
I think they've kind of justtaken a step back into where
they were for a few weeks, wherethey're creating and they're
just not finding the back of thenet.
But, as we know, with offensiveplayers, they get one or two
earlier in the game.
They could really take off andexplode, and I almost look at

(21:07):
moments there's never going tobe a game, whether you're in the
first round against a team thatyou're supposed to beat, or, as
the playoffs get longer, howdifficult it is to score, even
for top lines to create and makethose goals happen.
So I would be more concerned Ithink we talked about this
before if they weren'tgenerating opportunity and you

(21:28):
know katie would know best, youknow going into the stats of how
many high danger chances theyhad and looking at game one and
game two.
You know I get those things fedto me through my ear so I don't
have to study as much when I'mon tv.
But I've liked the way theyplayed.
You know they're going tocompete on a nightly basis and
when it comes down to a momentwhen the game is on the line if

(21:50):
it's tied, maybe you're down onethe cream rises to the top.
And we know what Sebastian Ajoand Seth Jarvis do in those type
of moments if it gets late inthe game or even to overtime.
Jarvis do in those type ofmoments if it gets late in the
game or even to overtime.

Speaker 1 (22:03):
Well, I mean, that's an interesting discussion point
we've had this year Seth Jarvis.
Of course we really believehe's doing what we would expect
him to do both ends of the rinkdefensively and of course he
gets that empty netter butsometimes we think that we
should see more from SebastianAjo.
He had no shots the other night.

(22:23):
Yes, they're getting chances,but he doesn't seem to be the
same dominant player that we'veseen in these situations in the
past.
Is that something we'remisreading or is there something
here that we're missing?

Speaker 3 (22:36):
No, but I think also, teams are queuing in on him way
more than they ever have.
Okay, that's true, as a dynamicelite level player, you have to
work harder to find those openspaces, but I think teams, even
if they're not getting theinitial matchup on a start of a
shift defensemen, are jumpingoff the ice to get a certain guy
to match up against sebastian.
And I think you're gonna havecertain years and, trust me,

(22:58):
I've talked to sebastian a lotand this guy competes like no
other and he's as frustrated asanybody at certain moments.
He knows where his numbers are,he knows where he wants to be
and I think that when you lookat this team and if things
progress in a positive light andif they're having the success
to move through the playoffs,sebastian will have to be a part

(23:19):
of that.
He will have to score at somepoints, but it's still by
committee and this team isalways going to win as a group.
It's never going to be a nightwhere we need Sebastian to score
three times.
We need.
Sebastian to have one assist,maybe two assists.
You want him to get those shots.
I almost go back to the powerplay.
I think this weighs on so manyof these offensive guys.
If they can get that thingclicking, that kind of just

(23:42):
rolls into your game five onfive and we're kind of.
We've taken a little bit of acouple steps back to where it
wasn't great again.
So that's the pressure pointfor me going into game.
Three is on the road in someoneelse's building.
The penalty kill is phenomenal.
I'm not worried about that.
Our play needs to score in akey moment.
It needs to be a differencemaker for this team.

Speaker 1 (24:02):
Yes, yes for sure, and you know, we did see some
light at the end of the tunnelon that a few times.
I mean, they were definitelymoving the puck extremely well
and, I think, getting some looksand that's encouraging.
And again, one of the guysthat's driving that and I think
he's playing just really stronghockey right now is Shane

(24:24):
Gossespierre.
Now Goss had an interestingthing.
He scored that beautiful goalthe other night.
But he had an interesting thingto say and was talking about
actually having some opportunitywith the top line and, as you
know, they don't see a lot ofice with the top line just the
way it works out on the D course.
They don't see a lot of icewith the top line, just the way
it works out on the D course.

(24:44):
Now, katie, you had someinteresting data on that,
looking at Ghost and his timewith the top unit.

Speaker 2 (24:51):
What are you thinking with that?
Well, there's a hockey viz chartthat shows players' expected
goals for and expected goalsagainst when they're on the ice
with other players, and so youwant to be further right for the
expected goals for and furthertowards the top, cause they do
it inverse for the expectedgoals against, and Ajo and Goss
despair are in that top rightcorner where they are creating

(25:12):
tons of chances together and notgiving up a whole lot of
chances as a result.
And so I just really found thatquote from ghost particularly
interesting, that he doesn't seea lot of time with Ajo, because
I wonder if perhaps that goalwill perhaps encourage more
opportunities, especially ifthere's a face off in the Ozone

(25:34):
that Rod might take and say, ok,let's go ahead and put Ghost
and Walker out there with Ajo inhis line and see what they can
generate, because that goal,that that line and that deep
pair put together was really,really important and looked
really good, and if you havemultiple weapons out there for
Ajo to feed the puck to, thenall the more opportunities there
are to get on the score sheet.
So I definitely would becurious going forward to see if

(25:58):
we see more of Ghost and Ajo outthere together, since they seem
to create a lot of successtogether.

Speaker 1 (26:03):
Well, they do and you've got, I mean, ghost.
His offense speaks for itselfand we've seen so much from
Walker this year and I don'tknow how many times he's driven
the puck deep into the zone ormade you know great plays to get
good shots and unfortunately hewas thwarted.
But I think those two guys areplaying wonderful hockey for the
Canes as a third pairing.

(26:23):
It's just incredible.
What are your thoughts on thoseguys, shane?

Speaker 3 (26:28):
I think they've been very good for the first two
games and I always go back to.
They're not necessarily tryingto match up the D pairing with
the offensive unit.
The D pairing is determined onwho's on the other side of the
ice, so whoever is getting theAjo line, Tim Gleeson is saying
well, I need Slavin and Burnshere because it's Heischer in

(26:50):
those situations.
But I think Walker andGossespierre have been the
cleanest pairing through thefirst two games as far as D zone
exits and the chances against.
I think they were, you know,some of the lowest of the six
guys, especially in game two,but I love the core of this

(27:11):
group.
All six of them bring somethinga little different to the table
, but both those guys skate sovery well to create chances and
the movement in the offensivezone really helps on the
offensive side of things.

Speaker 1 (27:22):
Well, yeah, and that brings up an interesting
question.

Speaker 3 (27:24):
When we look at the other two pairs.

Speaker 1 (27:27):
You know a lot of concern with Brent Burns.
You know this is another longseason for him.
We've seen different periodswhere he wasn't quite as sharp
as what we would expect, youknow, and we've got Dimitri
Orlov and Chatfield, andsometimes Orlov will make
incredible plays and thensometimes he'll do something
which we're shaking our headabout.

(27:47):
What do we think about the restof the crew?
Are they going to be able toget it done?

Speaker 3 (27:53):
Yeah, I mean I have no problem.
I think of the difficultmatchups that Brent Burns has to
face every night because hispartner is Jacob Slavin.
I might walk into the room andbe like can I play with someone
else or do I have to face thebest players?

Speaker 1 (28:05):
of the other team.

Speaker 3 (28:06):
I don't know if that's ever been a conversation,
but I know how much he does,because the other factor you
have to think of the two guysthat start a penalty kill is
Jacob Slavin and Brent Burns.
What he does on the penalty kill?
Sure, there's mistakes made.
Five on five, that's the nameof the game.
Who makes mistakes?
And sometimes they're magnifiedmore than others in certain

(28:27):
situations, and it's the same asdimitri orlov.
No one's going to play asphysical as this guy is going to
, and when he's on his game he'sup and down the ice and he's
shooting.
Are there nights when he's off?
Without a doubt, but I thinkthat's when everyone's factoring
in and I know we're going toget to the nikishan talking a
little bit, yes, but everyone'slike, oh, I can't wait.
I'm like this kid has neverplayed the national hockey

(28:48):
league and you're going to takeout a guy who's won a stanley
cup and put him in the lightthat doesn't make sense to me of
where people were assuming thiswas going to be a quick flip.
Besides the fact the head coachis all about the system and
where they play.
So orloff and burns are theguys and I always look at.
Experience is huge this time ofyear and in a moment is someone

(29:11):
going to make a mistake.
In the first period, secondperiod, sure, but in a moment
when the game is on the line,I'm in complete comfort with the
six guys that are sitting tothe left on the defensive side
of things.

Speaker 1 (29:23):
Yeah, and I mean they've been there all year, and
rightfully so.
We've talked a lot aboutDimitri Orlov this year and our
general consensus is that formost of the time he is very,
very effective and sure he does.
Every once in a while he'll dosomething we can't figure out,
but that's okay.
Chatfield, I think, has beensolid all year long and we've

(29:45):
asked both of those guys to do alot more this year.
You know their minutes are up acouple of minutes more per game
.
They're playing in the toughestsituations.
So I think they've come throughquite nicely and I guess where
we sit on the decor is that wereally want to see that third
pair take some of the pressureoff those guys.
Uh, they can, they can playmore ice.

(30:06):
I mean, uh, you know when, uh,when sean walker was playing
with philadelphia and I thinkthat was his best year to date
he was playing close to 20minutes a game.
So he can, he can definitelyeat up the minutes.
But um, yeah, let's talk aboutalexander and akishan for a
minute.
So so, alex, in with the Kings.
He's working out with them.
We love the whole kind of sagaof getting him over and signing

(30:28):
him.
We were just delighted, and Ithink you know you look at a guy
like this and all you can thinkof is we can't wait to see him
on the ice, but rightfully so.
As you said, and I think weagree, shane, that you know he's
got to kind of work into thisand there have been some rumors
that he may end up going toChicago for a game Not sure
where that sits, we'll maybe getyour feedback on that but

(30:55):
here's a guy that, for thefuture of the Canes, is going to
be huge and if there's injuries, I would expect we might see
him.
But until such time, as yourightfully say and I think this
is probably the direction we'llsee is that the six guys who
were in the right all year longand have brought the Canes to
where they are will continue todo just that.
And any further thoughts onthat, shane?

Speaker 3 (31:14):
Well, yeah, I have a lot.
I hate to break people's heartsall the time when I get
information, but let's go intothe number one problem of a
player who's going to try andlearn Rod Brittenworth's system.
I mean tremendous player.
Let me start there.
This guy on the base is big, hecan skate and he has a heavy,
heavy shot.
I've watched him in practice.
So skill level, let's beexcited.

(31:36):
Let's be ready to see this guyone day put this jersey on.
Now, from a reality standpoint,the first thing and Eric Tolsky
clarified a little bityesterday saying the player is
not officially signed- They'veagreed to terms but he's not
signed.
So technically he cannot evenplay for Chicago or for us.
Being agreed to terms, acontract has to be signed, which

(31:59):
hasn't happened yet.
I think there's a lot ofbehind-the-scenes paperwork
that's still being done when itcomes to visas and those type of
things.
So that's one hurdle.
The second hurdle, which Ithink is major and I enjoyed
watching it because I loveseeing Rod talk to the new guys
but zero, I mean maybe anegative factor when it comes to
English.

(32:23):
So when you're going to try andlearn a system and play in the
national hockey league but youdon't speak English, it's hard
and I didn't realize thateveryone always talked about a
player coming over to them tothe U S to play and they talk
about hard is for them.
I'm like how hard is it?
It can't be any easier.
Until I went to Europe and Iplayed in Switzerland and no one
spoke English.
Right, you figure out?
You're like, okay, I feel badbecause I always made fun of

(32:43):
those guys.
Why didn't I figure things outfaster?
So the English factor is one tolearn the system, but it's a
difficult system to play.
He has the skill level andability to skate and play in the
system, but it will take timeand there's nothing worse that

(33:03):
if you're going to throw a youngkid and he is a kid in a
situation that's set for failure.
You don't want to see that forany player to start his career.
And I still think becausepeople are like, oh, someone
gets hurt.
I'm pretty sure and tom, we'vetalked about this guy before
scott morrow would havesomething to say about who goes
in the lineup.
Um, as he plays for the wolvesin the playoffs right now as
well.
So extreme excitement forNikitian to be a Carolina

(33:26):
Hurricanes player.
I just like to dial things back, saying it's probably not going
to be in this playoffs unlesssomething drastic happens.

Speaker 1 (33:33):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, I mean he brings, as yousaid rightfully so, he brings
size.
Well, I mean, he brings, as yousaid rightfully so he brings
size, which is something that,as these series get tougher, and
playing in a lot of foreignrinks because of course it looks
like after this series, theCanes may be losing a whole nice
advantage in these series.

(33:55):
Maybe, you know, at some pointwe might see him because of that
.
But I tend to agree with youtoo, shane, that you know we'd
love to see him, but let's notdo something that doesn't make
sense for the team or for theplayer for sure.
Again, our excitement onNikitian is huge, so we'll keep
tracking that one very, veryclosely.
I was kind of hoping he wouldplay with the Wolves at the end

(34:16):
of the season.

Speaker 3 (34:17):
There was a lot of discussion on that that could
still happen, if a contract getssigned and the paperwork's all
where it needs to be.
You could see him with theChicago Wolves if they're able
to move on out of the firstround or here, like you said, if
there's enough injuries.
Some of the best stories areall of a sudden some guy becomes

(34:39):
a playoff hero because he getsthrown into the fire.
I'm not saying this guy's gotenough skill level that it could
happen, but it would take someof those major things to happen
before he gets in there.

Speaker 1 (34:54):
Well, the fortunate thing too, of course, is that
he's got some fellow countrymenwho are there with him, and that
makes a big difference.
Now, katie, you recall acertain player that joined the
Avs at some point and made quitea splash, and you can maybe
talk about that.

Speaker 2 (35:09):
I mean just for a moment.
I'm originally from Colorado,Shane, in case you didn't know,
and so I started as an Avs fanbefore I moved out here to the
Carolinas and have beenfollowing them.
And, of course, Cale McCarrmade his big debut with the Avs,
coming straight out of the NCAAplayoffs and coming in and
scoring a big goal.
So you know two different typesof defensemen, not expecting

(35:32):
them to be the same type ofplayer at all, but for the
storylines it would be fun tohave something along those lines
where he can come in and in a Ithink it was a game five
against Calgary that McCarr.
It would be fun to havesomething along those lines
where he can come in.
I think it was a game fiveagainst Calgary that Makar came
in and scored his big goal.
So it would be very, very funto see something similar along
those lines with Nikitian.
But, like we said before, if itain't broke, don't fix it, and

(35:58):
we would like to see our sixguys stay our six guys and
continue on being strongthroughout the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (36:05):
I mean that's some of the best storylines that always
come out of the playoffs.
In moments like that, I thinkand didn't know you were an Avs
fan before, but you had to.
I mean, being from there, I waswatching the excitement kind of
just the feeling I had lastnight watching Gabriel Aniskog
step on the ice in that building.

(36:25):
I mean it was electric and Ithink you know what it takes as
a player.
You know what it takes to notonly get to the national hockey
league but to face an injurylike he did, to not play for
three years, continue to grindaway.
What a moment for him and hisfamily and that building as a
whole.
It's probably one of thosethings that might have took too
much out of the team.
Knowing that and losing a tightgame like that, I expect them to

(36:49):
bounce back, but what a momentin Colorado last night.

Speaker 1 (36:53):
Yeah, that's exciting .
And now, speaking of Russiansjumping into lineups, of course,
erin, you had the thrill withIvan Demidov joining the Habs
Erin also a Habs fan.
So, yes, we've seen some veryinteresting starts for some of
these players Just reallyquickly, because I know we're

(37:15):
short on time.

Speaker 4 (37:17):
That does kind of go back to Shane's point, though,
because Dominoff speaks Englishvery well and he even speaks a
little French, but he is being alittle bit in these early two
games.
He's been very overwhelmed bythe moment.
The playoffs are huge and it'sa lot when you're coming in and
you've only played a couple ofgames with the team and then all
of a sudden, guess what we getto?
You know, kill each other outhere.
Now it's.

(37:37):
It's a lot for a young playerto adjust to.
So I just kind of, when youwere talking, I was thinking,
yeah, we don't want thatsituation for nikishin, if we
don't have to have it so well.

Speaker 1 (37:46):
And demidov is a younger player, so uh you know
he has a bit more experience,which is good.
Yeah, now I want to hit onemore thing, if we can, with you,
shane, before head off, andthat's the goaltending situation
.
And you know we've beenecstatic with Freddie's play.
He's just been lights out, butwe're wondering when are we
going to see Piotr?

Speaker 3 (38:05):
It's a great question and the water cooler talk.
For the last few days, evengoing into game two, I was set
on Piotr.
I'm like I need to watch Piotrplay.
I want to keep the back andforth going because I'm looking
further down the road.
I'm expecting his team to moveon.
I'm expecting them to move deepinto these playoffs.
So it's hard and that's whythey alternate during the season

(38:28):
and the playoffs are evenharder, even though you get a
day off.
I like to keep everybody freshNow.
Obviously we leave for NewJersey today, where it's a
two-day break, I'm going toassume.
Going into game three, it'sgoing to be hard to take Freddie
out because of what he just did.
But is the fact that game fouris less than 48 hours afterwards
that you go to Piotr in gamefour Just for the rest factor 48

(38:52):
hours and it's Tuesday Again,if you go Piotr in game four,
whichever way it goes, youeither close the series out if
you've won game three or you'recoming back home with a very
fresh freddie anderson.
So I would say game three staysthe course with freddie.
Game four will be the harderconversation for rod and paul
schoenfelder of what do we donow.

(39:13):
It's hard.
I mean as a head coach.
It's hard that a guy that'splaying like he did in game one
and two to say I'm gonna go tothe other guy, especially right
now.
You have everything, thateverything's on the line now,
right to win or lose and move on.
But I do believe peter will beused at some point whether it
turns into a back and forth orit's that one game to give

(39:34):
freddie an extra three days off.
Because I think if you go backto stats, I'm not again, I'm not
a big stats guy, but if youlooked into the window of
Freddie's win losses after threedays rest or two days rest or
just one, what is the difference?
And that plays a factor.
You're going to play theanalytical role of saying
Freddie is unbeaten when he getsthree days off.

(40:00):
So I'd be like I'm'm gonna givehim three days off every week so
he's ready to go.
I think I'm at the at my bestwhen I get three days off.
My boss hasn't bought into thatyet, though, so yeah for sure,
and and uh, but yeah I think weagree.

Speaker 1 (40:16):
Uh, for sure we want to see, see Piotr, I think last
year some of us were not happywe didn't see more of him in the
playoffs and earlier and wethink that that kind of weighed
heavy on Freddie and we saw kindof how it ended.

Speaker 3 (40:31):
Well, and the other factor when you look at Piotr,
you can't have him sit too longRight and then throw him in and
expect him to be sharp.
You have to get him some reps,you have to get him into a game.
So my focus for him wouldprobably be game four.
But again, that's no insideknowledge from my side.
I just think it would be a goodspot to put him in.
You know, closes out the series.

(40:52):
He gives him another littleboost if we've won game three.
Um, but on the flip side, ifyou happen to drop game three
and then you throw him in,there's a lot of pressure
because if he loses, deer's justtied at two.

Speaker 1 (41:04):
Yeah, and you know the other thing, just as we wrap
this point up.
The other thing is he's on theright.
He carried the load a lot thisyear.

Speaker 3 (41:14):
Freddie being out, he had a last couple weeks.
He was off off and he wouldtell you, and he was frustrated,
he was fighting it.
But I agree with you, he'sdynamic and I love his
enthusiasm, I love his energywhen he's in there and he is
really shown in big moments andI said I wish new jersey had a
russian goalie because hedominates those guys at the

(41:34):
other end, if it's just you knowhe'd probably play the whole
flor Florida series because hebeats Bob all the time.

Speaker 2 (41:43):
Yeah, good point.
Well, he definitely has anability to make incredible saves
.

Speaker 1 (41:48):
He's phenomenal in high-danger chances.
As we know, he's one of thebest and he had that stretch.
I don't know if you recall.
He had the four games where hewas lights out.
He had a .99 goals-againagainst average and some kind of
ridiculous save percentage.
So he's shown he can do it.
But, yeah, great with you.
Hey, I know you've got to run,Shane, so we're just delighted

(42:09):
you could spend time with us andwe'll certainly make sure we do
this when you have a little bitmore time as the playoffs
continue.

Speaker 3 (42:15):
Well, I appreciate it .
Enjoy joining the show, enjoywhat you all do promoting our
team and our brand across theairwaves, and we look forward to
game three and hopefullyanother meeting soon when we're
in round two.

Speaker 4 (42:29):
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (42:29):
You got it.
Thanks everybody.

Speaker 3 (42:33):
Thanks a lot.

Speaker 1 (42:33):
Shane, thanks.
I wanted to touch base on onething that we didn't get a
chance to talk to with Shane,and that was this whole concept
of a healthy squad coming intothe playoffs, and, you know,
previous years we've had thoselate-season injuries.
Last year, of course, jesperFoss went out.

(42:54):
In the last game, we had someinjuries with Svetch, you know,
and some other problems thathave come up.
How do we feel about theadvantage that this might be
giving the Canes this year?
Katie, you want to kick it off?

Speaker 2 (43:07):
Well, I mean, you start with the advantage of we
didn't have anybody injured inthe final game of the ones that
played, and we definitelyprotected Ajo and Jarvis and
Slavin and Blake and some ofthose guys which, which is very
good.
There's a part of me when wewere having that conversation
with the Ajo line if perhapsthat's part of the slow start

(43:29):
for the Ajo line is you sit,guys, when they're in a
particular team and they're usedto doing things a certain way
and now all of a sudden they'renot playing.
They're the ones in the pressbox or the ones staying at home
while the rest of the crew goeson a road on the road.
So I wonder if it's just, maybegames one and two they're
shaking off a little rust andnow we'll really get to see the
engine start to go.

(43:50):
The ghost goal kind of got themstarted, got that, that, you
know, wet their appetite forthat and already got that, that,
you know, wet their appetitefor that.
And we'll, now that they'reback in their routine, we'll see
things going.
But yeah, you just, there's no,there's no contest for health,
especially when you look acrossthe other side of the aisle at
New Jersey and what they'rehaving to deal with, because not
only did they start shorthandedand unhealthy with the, with

(44:13):
the injuries they had, they havenow gained injuries, especially
to their back end, and it'sreally, you know, in some ways
it's impressive that they'vebeen able to hang with the Canes
as long as they have because ofthe guys they're having to have
fill in, and I think they'veeven made some more call-ups.
So New Jersey's in a pickle andmakes you appreciate even more

(44:35):
what the Canes have been blessedwith.

Speaker 1 (44:38):
Well, I mean, you look at, you talk about the
injuries there.
Brian Dumoulin, I don't know,did he end up close to 30
minutes or 27 minutes orsomething.
The other night it was insane.

Speaker 2 (44:48):
They can't keep doing that, I mean that's, you can do
that a game, and then you'reyou know you're done, agree with
you.

Speaker 1 (44:54):
I mean, I don't remember the Canes going into a
series with this much depth.

Speaker 4 (45:02):
Well, I think that we've, you know.
The real shocking point to mewas when they showed the
injuries and scratches list atgame one and the only person's
name on the list was Jesper Fosd, who hasn't played all year and
he did the horn he did the hornyes.
The siren.
Yes, so I mean they are.
And we want to go back to kindof what Shane was saying about
that too, that there's really nosubstitute for coming in with a

(45:27):
team that's that healthy whenyou look at the injuries that
have riddled other teams and howthat's going to be an advantage
down the line, you know.
And then, just coming back realquick to what you said, katie,
about the Ajo line, and thenjust coming back real quick to
what you said, katie, about theAjo line, I had one more thought
about them too, and that wasthat just watching again
watching the Habs play and theyoung players, it's amazing that

(46:03):
we don't think about this.
But you know this at JacksonBlake a little bit differently,
and you say, you know he'sreally doing very, very well,
even though the line isn'tproducing, and perhaps some of
what we're not seeing from Ajois that Ajo may be, you know,
trying a little bit to make surethat he's paying extra
attention to where Blake is andwhat's going on.
I mean, we saw him get targetedwith a big hit.
You know, it's just we don'twant him to be put in a
situation where he's going to berun over and that's a lot of

(46:25):
responsibility for Sebastian Ajoto be, you know, looking after
a 21 year old who's have in hisfirst playoffs.
So that was something we didn'teven think about when we talked
about that first line.
But as they click and get backtogether, I don't think that's
going to be a factor goingforward.
It's just, you know, thosefirst couple of games are kind
of a I mean, it's a trial byfire for the young players.
They've never experiencedanything like it.

Speaker 1 (46:46):
So Well, and that's right and, and you know you take
a look at, I mean, I reallysense that with a, you know,
just a different animal.
Now he's played somesignificant games in the past,
for sure, oh sure, the collegeranks and so on, but this is a
different animal and I think youknow you could see, in the

(47:08):
second game he was starting toget a little bit more confidence
.
We know that.
You know, blake is really athis best when he's fearless,
moving the puck wherever hewants to go and finding that
open man, and he started to showa little bit of that.
I think, frankly, that it's allabout what you said, that he's

(47:28):
just got to find his way in theplayoffs.
It's a different game, it's amuch tougher game, you know, and
we still have to take a stepback on that top line and say,
are they going to be big enough?
And that's a concern we've hadfor months and we're going to
see as these series go on.
You know how do they fare andit might be at some point that

(47:49):
they're going to have to putsomeone on that line that brings
a little bit more size.
So you know, brenda Moore isnot afraid to make changes, as
we know.

Speaker 4 (47:56):
Sure, but you know Brenda Moore is not afraid to
make changes, as we know.
Sure, tying that back into theinjury thing, what you were
talking about the remarkablygood health that the Canes have
started the series with and theplayoffs with the important
thing is to keep that going.
So if they feel like that topline is going to get targeted
too much, especially in the roadmatchups, I wouldn't be
surprised if we saw changes made.
So you know we'll have to seehow that goes.

Speaker 1 (48:18):
Well, matchups.
I wouldn't be surprised if wesaw changes made.
So you know, we'll have to seehow that goes.
Well, one of the other thingsyou know, talking about the
depth of the team, is that theycan manage the minutes a lot
better.
Yeah, I mean I thought as anexample, I mean in previous
playoffs and it might get tothis at some point, but the
stall line used to play hugeminutes and you know, yeah, and
you counted on those guys to dothat and I, you know again, the

(48:39):
first couple of games not somuch.
And you've got four lines youcan roll.
There's not a concern with anyof those lines.
There's not a concern with anyof those lines.
And you can see Rod, he wasrolling them right to the end.
He had no concern putting themout over the boards and I think
that's an advantage the Caneshave.
We've talked so much in thepast about a fourth line being a

(49:00):
differentiation in the playoffs.
It's a big differentiator andyou look at teams that have done
well and won the Cup.

Speaker 2 (49:08):
Guess what They've usually had a pretty darn good
fourth line.

Speaker 1 (49:12):
And you know, as we watch the playoffs, it's these
third and fourth liners that youknow seem to show up on the
score sheet.
And you know it's such adifferent game because so much
attention is paid to the topplayers.
You know you've got matchups onthem in home ice.
You've got your top defensiveguys, your top faceoff guys out
there against them, and that'spart of what Shane was saying.

(49:33):
I mean, the attention to Ajo'sline is huge and they're playing
up against some big, heavypeople and they're pushing and
shoving them like crazy.
Now, I loved the discussionabout putting Gostis Fair and
Walker with those guys.
I really could see a differencewith that.
The discussion about puttingGostis Fair and Walker with
those guys.
Okay, really, I really couldsee a difference with that.

Speaker 4 (49:55):
I think that Katie's right, though, like it'll be,
it'll be those moments when youhave a real offensive
opportunity, because what Shanewas talking about with the
matching the defensive pairs tothe other team's line, that's
important to remember.
So like, for instance, ifthere's an icing and it happens,
you know, new Jersey ices thepuck when their fourth line is

(50:16):
out, that's the ideal time toput the top line with Ghost and
Walker out there, and I hope wesee a lot of that kind of
creativity going on, becausethat's exactly when you want
them, you know, because you'vegot the other guy's weaker line
trapped out there, you don'thave to worry about the
defensive matchup as much.
You can just get your offensiveguys out there and try and

(50:36):
score, and I hope that,opportunistically, I hope that
the team starts doing a lot ofthat, because I think that would
be a huge, as we saw from thatgoal.
I think that would be a hugeway for them to get on the score
sheet.
So we'll see, yeah, for them toget on the score sheet.

Speaker 1 (50:48):
So we'll see, yeah, and you know what and we talked
a little bit about this I don'tfeel like throwing Walker and
Gossespierre creates a hugedefensive liability at all.
No, no, I think they've shown tobe extremely strong in recent
months, and particularly Ghost.
I mean he has surprised me withsome of his great defensive
play and again he's just playinghard, he's playing in your face

(51:10):
, he's getting in the gaps, he'sdoing the right kind of thing.
So I think that's exciting.
And you know, I want to see theother guys get less ice time.
They play the heavy minutes, asShane was saying.
Of course the first groupusually over the boards on a
penalty kill is Burns and Slavin, and we know, look Burns, he's

(51:32):
going to be in there, they'regoing to play him.
He's playing 20 minutes a game.
This is going to be hard asthese series go along, and I
think the more that you knowBrendan Moore has confidence in
that third pairing and kind ofbalances out the minutes a
little bit where he can.
I think it's going to be asmart move.
So, good stuff.
Now everything's going great,but the last game didn't start

(51:58):
so well.
It's one of those questionswhere you know Rod loves to
start on time.
As we know, they didn't reallystart on time.
What do we think about that,katie?

Speaker 2 (52:10):
Well, there's a saying out there that both teams
have a say in the outcome, andI just think that New Jersey
came out a little bit moredetermined, a little bit more
hungry, and would we have likedto have seen the Canes give a
little bit more pushback early,sure, but despite letting in the
early goal, they, theyresponded well.
They stuck to their systems,their energy, their leaders

(52:34):
brought the message and backedup that message with their play.
And so there are going to betimes where things don't go
perfectly according to script,and as long as the team doesn't
totally unravel, when thathappens, it's fine.
Get back, you know, get back tothe message, get back to the
basics and move forward, andthat's exactly what the Canes

(52:55):
did.
It's why they were able to pullout a 2-1 win.
That and Freddie, so you know,not too concerned.

Speaker 1 (53:04):
No, I mean I think you're right, and the one thing
you have to remember is I mean,I mean, I think you're right and
the one thing you have toremember is I mean, this New
Jersey team has got some verytalented players.
They've had a pretty strongseason this year.
You know Sheldon Keefe haschanged the look and feel a
little bit of the team.
So they're not you know,they're not.

(53:28):
It's not like you're just goingto have an easy out.
I mean you're going to havesome games where it's not going
to be so easy and heading intotheir barn, you know that
they're going to be firing onall cylinders and they've got
some players who can hurt you ina hurry.
So I think, again, kudos to theCanes for fighting back and you
know a great play by Ghost toget a goal and then, of course,

(53:50):
martin coming through.
So it's going to be from allsides.
You're going to need thecommittee, as Shane calls it.
We've talked a lot about thatwith the Canes this year.
It's going to be by committeeand probably every night we're
going to see somebody differentwhen they're winning stepping up
.
But most importantly, of course, it's going to be goaltending.
But most importantly, of courseit's going to be goaltending,

(54:13):
and right now we have lots ofreason to be optimistic because
Freddie looks outstanding.
He just looks great.
So now, as we mentioned aminute ago, here we go Game
three out to the rock A toughpart to play in, of course.
How do we feel about these nexttwo games?
Do the Canes have to win one ofthese?

(54:34):
Do we think they can Erin?

Speaker 4 (54:39):
I think that they can .
I don't know.
I think you know the waythey're playing.
They should have a chance towin any night, so I think that
they could win both games if itcame to that.
You know, I don't know.
I will say, though, that one ofthe things people forget is
that a sweep is actually a lotharder than you think.
A lot of teams take the firstthree games and then it takes

(55:00):
them until game five or game sixor even game seven to complete,
Because, once the team is, theother team is desperate and
facing elimination.
A lot changes in how they'refocused and what they're willing
to sacrifice in order to try towin.
So the ideal game for me wouldbe for them to win game three.
I would love for them to wingame three, but then whether or

(55:27):
not they win game four wouldjust be up to whether they can
close it out that fast.
One of the things that we'vetalked about is the Canes'
record on the road this season.

Speaker 1 (55:33):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (55:35):
And, as we know, they went 16-21-4 on the road.
That's not a good record.
If you simplify that to justwins and losses, it's 16 wins
and 25 losses.
Yes, so I did a littlesomething last night, way too
late, looking at the statisticsfrom those road losses, just to

(55:56):
see like, where were we in theseason, what was going on, who
were the goaltenders, et cetera.
Okay, they lost one road gamein October, just one.
Okay, that was it.
So that one.
We can even kind of put that oneaside and look at the other 24.
12 of the other 24 games thatthey lost on the road were lost

(56:20):
between the time that FreddieAnderson went out for knee
surgery and then that includesthe time that Pyotr Kuchetkov
was also out with concussionprotocol between November 23rd
and December 3rd, right, andwhen Freddie returned on January
17th.
Twelve of the 24, half of theroad losses took place during

(56:42):
that time and five of thegoaltenders in net for those 12
losses were either SpencerMartin or Dustin Takarski.
Now, when you look at that youhave to say, okay, you know what
.
They're really not as bad onthe road as we think they are.
Some of the late season roadgame losses after they had

(57:04):
already clinched and after theyhad already clinched, home ice
for this first series.

Speaker 1 (57:07):
You can't even count those.

Speaker 4 (57:09):
You can't even look at those.
Those don't even count.
If those five games with Martinor Tarkarski had been played by
Anderson and Kachetkov in theirusual rotation, I think they
would have won those five.
And then you're looking at aroad record that's fairly
similar to what they've doneover the last few years.

(57:29):
You're not looking.
And then you're looking at aroad record that's fairly
similar to what they've doneover the last few years.
You're not looking at thisterrible record.
So I think it's a kind of anarrative that we've all fallen
into, because it used to be athing for the canes, right, it
used to be that they were bad onthe road.
It hasn't been that way forprobably at least the last three
years yes, exactly if they'vebeen just a little bit weaker,
it's probably because of thechangeover between the Shea and

(57:52):
Pesci defensive pairing on thesecond pair and the time that it
took to integrate the newdefensive pairs.
But surprisingly, that firstearly loss in October was the
only road game they lost beforeFreddie was injured.
So I think that realistically,I'm actually more hopeful having
looked at that, because I don'tthink they've been as bad on

(58:14):
the road as we think they have.
I think they were impacted by,you know, substandard
goaltending, and that's nothingagainst Martin and Tokarski.
They're great goaltenders inthe AHL.
They're actually fabulous, youknow but they're not full time
NHL goaltenders and anytime youhave to rely on that, you're not
in the same place.
So I know I went on too long,but it was fascinating to me

(58:34):
that it was that clear, becauseI didn't expect it.

Speaker 1 (58:39):
Yeah, and I agree, and I mean for sure.
The Canes are a team that'sbuilt to be able to be
successful both at home and onthe road.
You know for sure they are, andbecause they play by committee,
because you know you have a lotof different folks who
contribute, that gives you areal advantage.
And I think you're right, Ithink you know.

(59:00):
Yeah, we're looking at it andwe're saying jeepers, that's a
terrible record, but we're notused to that with the Canes,
particularly with the last fewyears, they've been extremely
good on the road.
So I don't know, katie anythoughts.

Speaker 2 (59:13):
Pretty much right there, along with what Aaron
said.
I think they can definitely takeat least one of them Hopefully
it will be game three and reallyput them in the driver's seat
and then, like Shane was talkingabout, if they go up 3-0, it
makes it all the easier to sayokay, let's rest ready, let's
give Piotr a chance on Sunday,and then you're playing with
house money Sunday.
It feels like I mean, you don'twant to take anything for

(59:34):
granted in the playoffs, sure,but the key for the Canes is
going to be to be the hungrierteam.
Even being up to nothing, theywant to be the ones to come out
and say this might not be ourbarn, but we're going to play
like we're in our barn and we'regoing to take it to New Jersey
and we are going to give themeverything we've got and do our

(59:55):
best to overwhelm them.
Because where the Canes aregoing to get themselves into
trouble is to say well, we'rejust going to play our normal
forechecking style and see whathappens and then adjust from
there.
I don't want them to bereactive, I want them to be
proactive in the way that theyapproach the games and I think
if they can be proactive andthey go on the attack, and

(01:00:16):
they're the ones that make NewJersey have to adjust to them.
They will put themselves in areally good position to win at
least one, if not both, of thosegames in New Jersey.

Speaker 1 (01:00:23):
Well, and one of the big things that we're going to
be looking for, of course, isthat they start on time, if they
can get out in front of thegames and I think you're right,
totally on this Katie, that ifthey can get in front of these
games, they make it very, verydifficult for the other guys to
prevail and they get the crowdout of it, and you know that
that's in these playoffs.

(01:00:44):
That's probably one of thebiggest things.
We've talked a lot about.
The manic crowd that goes on in, uh, with the caniacs in in
lenovo center, uh, not so muchin some of the other barns.
They can get, uh, you can, youcan neutralize them in a hurry.
And I think, uh, I think, if,if the canes came in and we know
that the devils are brittle uh,if they can come in and and, uh

(01:01:06):
, boy, get a quick lead in thisnext game, it's going to be
interesting, okay, so let's, uh,let's look at closing comments.
What do you got for us, erin?

Speaker 4 (01:01:16):
I think that we're just uh excited to see what
happens next.
Um, I think for me, I mean, oneof the nice things about um
tomorrow, friday night's game,is that it's going to be at a
reasonable time.
That's something that the Caneshave not had so far, and I've
heard I don't know if this istrue, but I've heard that for

(01:01:37):
the older players it'sespecially difficult to have to
constantly adjust their game dayschedules.
They're just so used tofollowing that routine and
getting that game day, you know.
So there were the usual jokesabout, you know, when the first
period start didn't go so wellabout.
Oh well, it's because they hadto shorten their pregame nap, or
oh, they don't think the gamestarts till seven.
You know, they just kind ofmissed the first hour, yeah, so

(01:02:02):
I mean it's going to be now.
It's a little bit later, I thinkon Friday, isn't it?
Is it 8?
But that's still within therealm of you know.
It's a normal weekend game time, so that'll be nice for those
of us that are watching too,because it's been kind of fun

(01:02:22):
trying to figure out how towatch these early games with
these strange times and EasterSunday and all the rest of it.
So I'm excited, I want to seethem win and you know, I think
it's going to go well.

Speaker 2 (01:02:33):
What about you, katie ?
Yeah, I just, I'm ready.
I'm ready to see what they haveto give on Friday.
They're in a good place,they're building good momentum.
They've from the back forwards,you know, from the goaltenders
to the D.
There's plenty to like and justa few places to nitpick and
improve on, and I think, if theyimprove on those areas, that

(01:02:54):
they are going to be a whole lotmore than the devils can handle
.
So, when, when?
To get through this quickly,decisively, if not in four, no
more than five, because once youget the boys rested up and
prepared and ready to go for thecapitals or the Canadiens, if
they were able to have some sortof comeback miracle, which

(01:03:15):
would be fun, I wish I'd be ableto be a fly on the wall in your
house, erin, if that happened,because I know you would be
absolutely torn having to watchboth your teams play each other.
It's a sweet joy and also veryyep very, the thrill of victory,
the agony, of defeat right, nomatter which team they go

(01:03:37):
against.
If they're healthy and they'replaying well and they've got a
lot of good momentum, then nomatter whether it's the caps or
the haves, I think the canes arein an excellent position to be
very competitive in that series,if not just go ahead and win it
.

Speaker 1 (01:03:52):
Yeah, and you know the advantage the Canes have
right now is, you know, this NewJersey team is hurting.
They could not ask for a bettersituation in terms of, you know
, the fact that, as it's turnedout, some of their key players
are out of the lineup and that'san advantage for the Hurricanes
and I think, as you suggest,the sooner they can wrap this up

(01:04:14):
, that's great and I'm reallyhoping that your Habs, erin, can
lay a beating for a couple ofgames with the.

Speaker 4 (01:04:22):
At the very least, I want them to make it a long
series.
That would be to our benefit.

Speaker 1 (01:04:27):
Yeah at least take it to six games.
Absolutely Sure, I mean.
I fully expect, and we knowwhat it's going to be like in
Montreal.
The folks will just be crazy,and one of the things we've seen
in Canada and I've reallyappreciated this is that they
have as many fans outside at therink looking up at the big
screen as they do inside therink.

(01:04:48):
It's really something to beholdand I expect that we're going to
see the same thing in Montreal.
So hopefully that gives a boostto the team and they can lay a
couple of beatings on the Caps.
And you know, so far, watchingthe Caps, they are definitely
beatable and I think you know ifthe Canes can do a quick
measure, five or six games, wrapthis this up, let's move on and

(01:05:12):
, uh, and you know, get readyfor the caps.
I think that's going to begreat and and then we'll see
where it goes from there.
But yeah, so far, so good.
Uh, we wondered, trailing one tonothing.
Uh, the other night I was alittle bit, uh, taken aback.
Uh, after that first period Iwas kind of anxious a little bit
, but but they showed theirmettle.
And don't forget, a lot ofthese folks have a lot of

(01:05:34):
playoff action, and that's.
The other thing we haven'treally talked about is that
they've got a lot of playoffexperience.
And boy, the ones that havebeen with the Canes for a while,
they're grumpy.

Speaker 4 (01:05:45):
Coming into the playoffs.
The Carolina Hurricanes membersof the roster for this year had
, if my math was correct andthat's always an if had a
combined 1,111 playoff games ofexperience, and to compare that,
the Montreal Canadiens had lessthan 400.
It was like 395.

(01:06:05):
So that is we have.
You know, the Canes are in agreat place with players that
have played in the playoffsbefore and they know what it
takes.
And I think the only otherthing I would add that I want to
see for these next two games inNew Jersey can we please score
some power play goals?
I'd like that very much.

Speaker 1 (01:06:27):
Well, we've talked a lot about special teams in the
past.
We know how important those arein the playoffs to kill the
penalties, which the Canes did,and then get a shorthanded goal.

Speaker 3 (01:06:36):
And they've also had a power play goal.

Speaker 1 (01:06:39):
This is what will separate them from the other
guys, and I think you're right,and I've been encouraged by the
power play, as I mentionedearlier, and for sure, a PK is
as good as it gets.
So we're going to be in prettygood shape and, yeah, can't wait
for Friday night.
I know For the next episode forsure, and as always, ladies, it

(01:06:59):
was great.
It was fun to have Shane onboard with us today and talk,
talk, canes hockey, and I knowwe'll have him back as things
progress here later on in theseries, so that's excellent For
those of you who've beenlistening or watching.
Of course, aaron Katie and Iare delighted you're here with
us.
If you like this episode,please press the like button.

(01:07:21):
If you have any comments orjust want to say hi or you've
got some thoughts about us orthe hurricanes, please put those
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(01:07:41):
available.
As always, erin Katie and Ithank you so much for joining us
and look forward to gettingtogether soon right here on
StrongTrack.