The Road to the Cup: Analyzing Carolina's Playoff Matchup Against the Devils

The Carolina Hurricanes find themselves at a crossroads as they prepare for their first-round playoff matchup against the New Jersey Devils. With a concerning 1-5 record in their last six games and shaky goaltending from both Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov, questions loom about whether this is simply pre-playoff rest or a genuine cause for alarm.

• Recent struggles may reflect the team easing off after clinching playoffs and home-ice advantage rather than serious concern
• Goaltending issues are apparent with both Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov posting save percentages below .830 in recent games
• Carolina's potential lineup decisions include whether to start Stankoven or Carrier on the third line with Staal and Martinook
• The Devils matchup favors the Hurricanes at 5v5 play, but New Jersey holds special teams advantages, particularly on the power play
• Alexander Nikishin's potential arrival could provide a significant boost, especially if the Hurricanes advance past the first round
• Home/road disparity (31-9-1 at home vs 16-19-4 away) makes winning the first two games in Carolina critical
• Most analysts predict Hurricanes in 5-6 games if they play to their identity and maintain disciplined defensive structure

Despite their recent struggles, our experts unanimously predict a Hurricanes victory in 5-6 games, emphasizing that Carolina has legitimate Eastern Conference Finals aspirations if they can rediscover their identity and finishing touch. With significant home/road performance disparities (31-9-1 home vs. 16-19-4 away), protecting PNC Arena ice in the first two games becomes crucial to Carolina's Stanley Cup ambitions.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Well, as the Carolina Hurricanes season winds down,
canes fans are wondering willthis be the year the Canes win
it?
All For sure, the Canes are inthe mix, but there's lots of
questions still to be answeredheading into the playoffs.
Will the Canes be able to turnthings around after going 1-5 in
their last six and beingoutscored 25-16?

(00:23):
Will the Hurricanes go withFreddie Anderson in that, as
they did last year, or will theyalternate Anderson and
Kochenkov, as they have?
At the end of the season, whatwill the starting lineup be in
game one?
Who's in, who's out?
And finally, what is the statusof recently signed Alexander

(00:45):
Nikitian?
Will he see action in theplayoffs?
Joining me to talk about thisand more and, of course, a
mailbag segment StormTrackerInsiders, aaron Manning and
Katie Burtler Howdy, hi there.
Well, you know the Caneshaven't been playing well lately

(01:06):
.
In fact, as I mentioned, 1-5 intheir last six and they're
being outscored badly, 25-16.
Goaltending has been a concern,some of the other areas just
not getting it done.
Although there's a question,it's the end of the season.
Are the Canes maybe lighteningup a little bit, getting ready

(01:26):
for the playoffs early, orwhat's been going on?
Aaron thoughts?

Speaker 2 (01:32):
I think a lot of it has to do with, uh, the
lightening up the, the takingthe, the foot off the, the gas a
little bit, you know, um, Ithink that also, um, the canes
have had a couple of people outwith injuries, and then they're
also taking the time to restsome players.
I know that Jordan Martinik wasresting in the game against
Toronto and you so rarely see agame.

(01:54):
If he's healthy, he's in andhe's playing, mr Energy.
So it feels to me like theyhave maybe taken a leaf from
some of the other teams'playbooks and said you know what
?
We've clinched the playoffs.
We've clinched home ice in thefirst round.
The other things may or may nothappen anyway.
You know, trying to get homeice later on in the playoffs is

(02:17):
a very difficult thing to do atthis point.
So why not take advantage ofthe opportunity to rest our
players and make sure that theyare really a hundred percent for
the playoffs?
And I think that when you havethat, you can't tell a team to
turn it off.
I don't think that teams come inand they don't try, at least in
their minds they're trying toplay hard, but you know, when

(02:37):
you have your coach saying youknow what we're going to.
We're going to sit JordanMartin tonight.
We're going to sit Taylor Hallthe other night perfectly, sit
Jordan Martin tonight.
We're going to sit Taylor Hallthe other night Perfectly
healthy guys being kept out ofthe lineup.
It kind of sends a message, Ithink, to me that maybe these
games aren't the ones where youshould be risking injury and,
you know, going pedal to themetal and all of that kind of
thing.
So that's my thinking.
I don't think there's anythingtoo terribly concerning going on

(02:58):
, but I know that you had somedifferent thoughts.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
Well, one thing I was going to mention.
I mean for sure, yeah, they'renot as driven as they have been,
certainly in recent weeks.
But I'm still a little bitperplexed by this question of
where they end up in thestandings.
And we've talked about this inthe past, and you know, the Can
record is so, so dramaticallydifferent at home versus on the

(03:27):
road.
I mean, they've had aphenomenal season at home and
when you look at the series pastthe first one, they could very
well not have home ice advantagein it, and to me that's a
concern and I I wondered whythey weren't thinking look,
they're within striking distanceof Toronto, of you know,
certainly, tampa Bay andFlorida's right there too.

(03:49):
You know, a couple of winswould put them probably in
second overall.
If they had come up big in thatToronto game, that would have
been huge.
So putting them in thatposition would have given them
home ice advantage againsteverybody but the Capitals, and
that, to me, would have been apretty good situation so.
I'm a little bit confused atthat.

(04:10):
I understand you know some ofthe veterans.
In past years we've had somechallenges.
You know in the playoffs withyou know they're kind of tired
or you know we're banged up orwhatever the case.
But I still am a little bitperplexed by that.
What do you think, Katie?

Speaker 3 (04:34):
What's your thinking on all this?
I definitely think that thereis some concern for getting to
the playoffs healthy, but myconcern with the way the Canes
have been playing is the factthat I want them healthy
definitely 100% but the way thatthey've been playing recently
has opened up the door for somebad habits to creep in, Because
when you're not playing yoursystem with the nuts and bolts
tightened, then it leads tomistakes and missed coverages.

(04:56):
And especially the cane systemis such a niche type of system
type of system it's very uniqueto itself and the way that it's
employed that when one piecestarts to kind of rattle around
and not work correctly, then itis a domino effect to the other
pieces.
And we've seen that.
We've seen that with thedefensive failures that have led

(05:20):
to a lot of the goals.
Last night against Toronto, thegaping wide net that was scored
into on multiple of the goalshad nothing to do with Freddie
and his play.
It had everything to do withthe absolute collapse
defensively and missed coveragethat the Maple Leafs were able

(05:42):
to take advantage of.
And so I just that's my bigconcern with how they've been
playing recently is that they'vetaken that breath, They've, as
Aaron said, they've kind ofeased up off of the gas and now
those bad habits and thoseproblems are setting in.
And how long is it going totake them to tighten those
screws back up and get thesystem humming back to where it

(06:04):
needs to be to be effective comegame one?

Speaker 1 (06:08):
And I think that's exactly the way I've been
feeling too.
Katie Well said, and you knowhow fast can they turn it around
?
That's the question I mean.
You know you get into these badhabits.
And the second thing that comesout of this is that the
goaltending has struggled as aresult, and you know what
happens when you get all thesegoals against.
We saw a period where PiotrKociakoff was right through the

(06:29):
roof.
He was incredible.
He had 0.99 goals againstaverage for four games.
He was four wins in a row andsince then he's really struggled
and his numbers are 830 savepercentage in his last six games
and a 408 goals against average.
And then we thought, okay, he'sstruggling, but we got freddie,
because freddie was continuingto play extremely well, and now

(06:52):
freddie, in his last three games, is an 827 save percentage and
a 4.23 goals against.
This is this is not helpingtheir confidence right now, and
that's what I think is.
The other part of it is thatyou know, as we talk a little
bit more about the matchupagainst the devils, one of the
areas that will be a majordiscussion point is going to be

(07:13):
goaltending, and the Cadesgoaltending right now is they're
not playing anywhere close totheir best and and know, in
playoffs goaltending wow, it'shuge.
So for sure, lots of concern.
I mentioned it at the outset.

(07:34):
You know, how are the Canesgoing to turn this back around?
That's going to be the bigquestion.
So if we look at the nextcouple of games and it's back to
kind of the same story, I meanwe'd like the Canes to win a
couple, you know, and exit theseason on a winning situation.
They do have the CanadiensMontreal Canadiens on Wednesday

(07:55):
and, of course, ottawa Senatorson Thursday as a Canadian trip.
So this is kind of fun.
A lot of questions about this.
What will the lineup look like?
Fun, a lot of questions aboutthis.
What will the lineup look like?
Is RBA or Brad Brindamore goingto continue to play extra
players?
Maybe bring some folks up fromChicago, like they did last year

(08:15):
?
They had a lot of collegiansthat jumped in the last few
games, as you recall.
What's going to happen with theMontreal Canadiens?
Is it going to be an importantgame for them?
We'll find out, I guess,tonight, later on and that's big
for you, of course, erin, we'llbe watching it closely.
So what are we thinking aboutthese last two games?
How do we feel about them.
Are they important?

(08:35):
Do the Canes need to really putan all-out effort and try to
win some games, or is it justlet's continue to give the guys
lots of reps?

Speaker 3 (08:45):
Katie.
I think it's a rest the guyskind of road trip.
In fact, I would be verysurprised and, to be quite
honest, somewhat disappointed,if Slavin, ajo and Jarvis do not
just stay in Raleigh and restup and make sure that they are
feeling as good as they possiblycan.
I don't know that anyone isgoing to feel 100% for any team

(09:07):
come come game one of theplayoffs.
I think everybody has their,their nicks and their dings.
But we, we need those three.
Those three are the outside ofthe goalies, the cornerstones to
the canes, their identity,their effectiveness as a team.
And so let them stay in Raleigh, let them enjoy their families
a couple extra days, let themrest, recuperate and then see

(09:31):
what the rest of the team can doand throw down the gauntlet,
say, look, you don't have yourbig boys.
Show me what you got, show meyou can still be a Canes defense
, show me that you can still bea Canes offense, with the four
check and the puck possessionand the shots on goal and the
chance creations and, eventually, some finishing.
Heaven, help us some finishing,please.

(09:52):
Yes, but these games we'relocked in.
They don't mean anything in thestandings.
I don't know that it's going tomean anything, even for home
ice in a later round.
So let's just get back to goodhabits.
Get back to creating, uh, goodhockey, the way that the canes
are designed to create goodhockey and, whether they win or

(10:13):
lose, be in a good space andgood habits, like I mentioned
before, get out of those badhabits, get into some good
habits heading into thepostseason I would agree with
that 100, and I think that it'sinteresting because the three
names that you mentioned, ofcourse, slavin, ajo, jarvis
there are Four Nations guys.

Speaker 2 (10:32):
They did not get a break when everyone else did,
and I think that a couple ofpeople have talked about.
You know how some of the otherteams are noticing that their
players who went to the FourNations have hit that wall a
little bit earlier than you wantto see them hit, going into the
playoffs, and that is why teamsare starting to arrest some of
these players.
So I think that that's actuallyvery crucial, and I think one
of the things that gives theCanes the absolute luxury of

(10:54):
doing that without any questionis that Jordan Stahl, of course,
has just been returned frominjury.
He's only played, I think, fourgames since he's been back, so
there's no good reason forJordan Stahl to not go on the
trip if they want him there tobe that leader, that veteran,
the captain in the room and makesure that, even if you have a
bunch of excited kids fromChicago joining in, that it

(11:16):
doesn't turn into complete chaoson the ice.
So I think that's always goodwhen you can make sure that at
least one of your really strongleaders is able to be part of
that.
So I think that that's exactlywhat they should do Now.
As far as how much it's goingto mean and whether they're
going to be able to win, I knowyou touched briefly on what this

(11:36):
game might or might not mean onWednesday, especially to the
Montreal Canadiens, their minorteam.
As everybody knows, if they wintonight against Chicago in any
fashion, whether they win inregulation or in overtime, they
will clinch the playoffs, andthat is obviously the better
scenario for the Canes to comein to a Habs team that doesn't

(11:57):
have anything to play for and isready to take that little bit
of an in-game rest.
They will see Nick Suzuki,regardless of if players are
resting, because Suzuki is on anIronman streak of his own.
He has yet to miss a game inhis career, so he's not going to
be resting no matter who elseis, but I think that that would

(12:17):
be ideal.
Bring them in, you know, letthem play, let the kids play,
don't worry too much about theoutcomes other than getting
those good habits, and treat itlike you said, tom, I think,
like a glorified practice.

Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah, and I think Bradley Nadeau, a lot of folks
would love to see Bradley get achance, of course, with the
Hurricanes he's been having asensational year in Chicago and
there are some other playerswe'd like to see as well.
Certainly, some defensemen I'dlike to see on the Canes give
them a shot.
Certainly Charles AlexisLegault is down there, dominic
Fensori there's a bunch of goodones, so we'll see Again a

(12:57):
chance for them to get a cup ofcoffee.
But the Canes do expect theyare looking to have Shane Goss's
fair back.
So you know they will continueprobably to play Scott Morrow,
which means somebody can sit out.
We saw Orlov sit out before andI think certainly Slavin could
sit out if they want him to doso.
It will not be Brent Burnsunder any circumstances, don't

(13:20):
worry about that.
The other news, of course, isthat we're hearing that Yusperi
Kokuniemi should be back in thelineup for that trip as well,
and of course it's always funwhen he plays in Montreal.
We'll see how that comestogether for him.
So, yeah, I kind of agree.
I think they're going to arrestsome players.
We'll see who that is, whomakes the trip.

(13:41):
We'll get all that kind ofinformation and of course,
there's always the outsidechance that Alexander Nikitian
would be on that trip.
They're trying to bring himhere.
I think that's unlikely now.
There's some delays on the sideof getting his visas, so I
think that's probably going tobe a little further out.

(14:01):
In any case, we'll keep an eyeon those games and hope that the
Canes, as you say rightfully,Katie, are doing good habits,
and I think first and foremost,I like this I forgot to mention
it's really important to get.

Speaker 3 (14:15):
Kochekov going.
I don't know that Freddie isnecessarily going to play one of
these games.
I imagine they're going toarrest him as well.
Maybe bring up one of thegoalies from Chicago as well,
but I wouldn't.
Dustin Tchaikovsky he doesn'thave too hard of a game against
Montreal.
I don't see why you don't playKochekov in the back-to-back if
it's really going to helpstrengthen his game, because

(14:35):
he's going to have a big gap ifFreddie's the one that starts
the postseason.
So it probably wouldn't hurtKochekov to do the back-to-back.
But he has got to have someconfidence in his game moving
into the playoffs because he'sgot to be ready to step up to
support Freddie in whatever rolethat Rod gives him.

Speaker 1 (14:54):
I think that's true, katie, and I think the situation
is one where Piotr's got tofind his game.
Are we going to see Freddiekind of carrying the load again?
And I think that's a concern,because we saw what happened
last year and all of us arehoping that Piotr can get into
that groove that he can get intowhen he is, he's unbeatable in

(15:20):
the net, so we've got to hopethat he can find his way and
continue to go forward with that.
Okay, so when we talk aboutgoing up against the Devils, a
lot of questions about thestarting lineup.
We've got a number of playerskind of vying for position
heading into the lineup.
Now that Will Carrier is back,clearly that's kind of created a

(15:44):
bit of a situation on theforward lines.
So what are we thinking aboutas we take a look at the lineup
for the playoffs?
Who do we expect to start onthe front line, erin, what do
you got?

Speaker 2 (15:59):
Well, I think that they should probably go ahead.
If you're talking about the topline, I think they should.
No, all the lines okay, yes Ithink they should start with the
um, with the.
They should have uh ajo's linewith blake and jarvis, even
though I have some concernsabout that, the size of that
line going forward into theplayoffs.
They're starting at home.

(16:20):
Brenda moore will control thematchups.
That line has been absolutelydynamite when it comes to
offense generation and actuallyfinishing, like Katie is saying,
you're going to need that linegoing in the playoffs, this is
the time to get them going.
So if there are tweaks madealong the way, maybe in some
road games, if they startgetting taken advantage of, I

(16:40):
don't see why that couldn'thappen, but start them there.
I think the second line we willprobably see Taylor Hall, kk
and I'm thinking Svechnikov isgoing to get a shot there.
I know people have not beenhappy with his play but I think
he's going to get the shot thereand I think that that's a good
place for him to be.
I've liked the third line ofMartin Nookstall and Carrier.

(17:03):
I don't see, but I also seeI've liked the third line of
Martin Nookstall and Carrier.

Speaker 3 (17:05):
I don't see, oh, carrier, oh okay.

Speaker 2 (17:07):
But I also see the value in putting Logan Stankoven
there.
I think to start again at home.
It should be Stankoven.
Yes, I really do.
He's been great on that line.
Carrier, if they need to, theycan put him there in away games
Because, again, you're not goingto get the matchups.
You're not going to want tohave a line where a player is

(17:28):
going to be targeted as maybethe weak point.
So if they feel like that'sgoing to happen, they can
certainly switch those two.
But to start with, I'd putStankovic on the third line and
then that fourth line.
I think I'd like to seeRobinson, jankowski and Carrier,
and I would not be surprised ifJack Roslevic is the guy out to

(17:48):
start.
His defensive play has not beengood.
His possession numbers havebeen terrible.
I think that you know, if he'snot providing the scoring and
finishing, that he was early inthe season.
They really need to mayberotate him in and out as needed
if they need to get somebody outthere just to be a scorer type

(18:08):
and try to get him going again.
But you're not going to want todo that to start the playoffs.
So that's my take.
What do you think?

Speaker 1 (18:16):
Katie.

Speaker 3 (18:17):
I agree 100%.
I wouldn't change anythingexcept my preference is to have
Stankoven on Stahl's lineregardless.
I think that he has just workedso well there and he provides a
little bit of an extra threatscoring-wise If you put Carrier
there it's definitely more of ashutdown line, and they are

(18:38):
going to have all thosepossession numbers.
But you know, unless Martinukhas another series, like he did
against devils the last time,yeah it that that aspect of the
game isn't gonna be there, youmight not need it from that line
up.
I mean, that obviously wouldn'tbe the point of that line.
But I think that that's wherestankoven is the most dangerous.

(18:59):
I think stankoven himself ismore dangerous with stahl and
martin than he would be withJankowski and Robinson.

Speaker 2 (19:07):
Can I give my one little rebuttal there?
It's not really a rebuttal, butthe only reason I put Carrier
there as a possibility.
As things go on, it's notnecessarily going to be
something that we would ever seeagainst the New Jersey Devils,
but you get further into theplayoffs you might start getting
against some of those teamswhere you absolutely have to
have a pure shutdown line.
The Devils are without JackHughes, as we know.

(19:29):
We don't have one of thoselines.
That's just absolutely lethal.
So if you need a shutdown line,I think that you could do that
because I think Stankovic wouldbe surprisingly effective with
Robinson.
You remember how fast Robinsonis and how well he was scoring
on that line with KK and NatchezI don't.
And then you've got Jankowskiwith his surprising ability to

(19:50):
generate offense.
If you have a team where you'reusing Stahl, Martin and Carrier
to shut down the top line onthe other team and then you
spring this fourth line on them,you could have a sneaky way of
getting some goals at somereally valuable times in games,
and I think that Stankovic wouldbe better.
Like you said, he's going to dothat.
Carrier is not.
So if you need that line to notbe the heavy fourth line for a

(20:14):
minute, but to be the sneakyscoring fourth line, you have
the option to switch both ofthose players back and forth as
much as needed.
So I'm thinking it's apossibility.

Speaker 3 (20:22):
But it's a nice luxury to have.
Let's just keep everyonehealthy so that we continue to
have it Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (20:28):
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (20:29):
Well, I think one of the situations we see regularly
in the playoffs, of course, is aline like Jordan Stahl's line
can really kind of rise to theoccasion.
We saw that with Martinuk, ofcourse, and his offensive surges
.
Their play can really define aseries.
And of course, brendan Mooreloves to put them out there

(20:52):
whenever he can because you knowthey're effective and as well
delivering some offense.
And that's one of the reasonsI'm so excited about Logan
Stankoven on that line, becausehe is an incredibly talented
offensive player, there's noquestion about it, and he can
deliver offense himself almost.

(21:13):
So I think he's.
You know they can protect himout there.
They can do a lot of good workto give him the space to do what
he does best.
But he's just growing in leapsand bounds right now with the
Canes on that line, and I agreewith you too, erin.
I mean I think he'd probably bea solid contributor to that
fourth line as well.
But I do like the fact thatthat fourth line also is a heavy

(21:35):
line.
And one thing we've seen fromCarrier and you know we kind of
forget this sometimes this guyhas some real offensive
instincts.
He loves to go to the net, helikes to get in there where the
action is.
He's constantly stirring thingsup and he's got the size.
And you add that to Robinsonand Jankowski and you've got an
interesting mix.

(21:56):
And along with the size of theline, you do have offensive
capability.
We've seen what Jankowski cando when you put the puck on a
stick in the right place, he'sdefinitely able to put the puck
in the net.
So this is interesting and Ithink for the first time as we
look at the Canes going into theplayoffs, they're much bigger.
You've got the Stompa line,you've got the line with

(22:17):
Jankowski, but you've also got areally big line, heavy line,
with Kokaniemi, sveshnikov and,of course, taylor Hall.
Those guys you know we talked alot about them, you know
struggles of Sveshnikov, youknow Kokaniemi has gone how many
20-odd games without a goal.

(22:39):
You know it's kind of toughwhen you look at some of these
numbers, but I think the realityis that they could be a solid
line in the playoffs becausethose are the kind of lines that
make a difference.
They can get in heavy on theforecheck, they can make some
things happen and you do have aguy that can score for sure in

(23:00):
Taylor Hall when he's on hisgame.
And Sveshnikov, if he ever findshis way is another guy that can
score.
So you've got some offensivecapability there and as we look
at you know how the Canes aregoing to stack up against the
Devils.
Again, the Canes have a lot ofbalance here.

(23:21):
Right, you look at the Devils,they've got a couple of lines
that I think they can throw atyou for sure.
They've got, you know, theJesper Brad and they've got Nico
Heischer and they've got acouple of ex-Kanes.
They've got Steph Nason and, ofcourse, brett Pesci on the blue
and they have Timo Meier and afew other guys.
But they're a team that I thinkif you can lock down their top

(23:42):
lines, I think you're in aposition where the Canes' other
lines can outperform the Devils.
A couple of quick points andI'll hand it over to you to kind
of talk a little bit about howyou see this series going.
In the regular season.
The goals against the situationfor the two teams were

(24:03):
interesting.
So the Canes were at 2.74 andthe Devils at 2.64.
So Markstrom and Allen were alittle bit better than the
Hurricanes.
On the power play side you had27.4% for the Devils, only 18.6

(24:23):
for the Canes, and I thinkthat's a critical number.
The Canes again very strong inthe PK, number one overall right
now, sitting at 84.1.
But the Devils not far behindat 82.2.
So if you look at special teams, there's clearly an advantage
here for the Devils.
And how's that going to play inall of this?

(24:46):
Anyway, let's talk a little bitabout how we see this series
going.
Katie, you want to kick it off.

Speaker 3 (24:54):
Obviously 5v5 is going to be key for the Canes
with their possession numbersthat they're going to be able to
produce.
I don't see the Devilsdefensive scheme really being
able to prevent the Canes fromplaying their game five on five.
It's just going to be a matterof the Canes finding that
finishing and going ahead andputting the Devils on the back
foot and having to scramble andplay for behind.

(25:16):
If the Canes can assert theirwill 5v5 to start a game, then
the special teams aren't goingto be nearly as important or
nearly to the devil's advantageas they would like for it to be.
I also think the devils Ibelieve when we were talking
earlier you said that they'dcooled off a little bit on their

(25:36):
power play in the month ofApril, so maybe, maybe there's a
little bit of a lull there thatwill be to the Canes benefit as
well but that the key is reallygoing to be five on five.
The Canes are a team built for5v5 play and so if they can play
their game both on offense andin defense because I think their
defense also matches up wellagainst the Devils the Devils

(25:59):
like to play in transition andthe Canes are really good at
standing teams up at the blueline and clogging the neutral
zone and making it hard to getthose transition plays up the
ice.
When they do happen, if thedefense is locked in and they
give up a handful of chances,then the goalies should be there
to take care of whatever doeshappen to leak through.

(26:20):
So I like how the Canes stackup as long as they can play
their game and drive the play5v5.

Speaker 1 (26:30):
Erin.

Speaker 2 (26:31):
I would agree with that.
I think that I want to say thatone of the keys, really for the
Canes is going to just be toreally lock down and play as
much to their identity as theycan.
And I know that that's kind ofwhat Katie's saying, anyway, I'm
just saying it a littledifferently.

(26:52):
But I feel like sometimes, whenthey suffer against a team like
the Devils, it's because theyget sucked into that transition
game a little bit more.
You know they start wanting todo certain things that they're
not really built to do and youknow they want to counter with a
strike the other way.
You know, and how many timeshave we seen those moments in

(27:12):
games where you know one of thecanes gets a breakaway chance
and we don't even get excited,right, you know, because they're
scoring on breakaways is not,you know, at least a little too
big.
So we don't want to see them getsucked into that.
We don't want to see them losetheir identity and start trying
to play, you know, in adifferent way, to try to
generate more of that highoctane offense, because it
doesn't ever really go well, youknow, maybe an isolated game

(27:35):
here and there.
So, yeah, so that was that.
I think that's important and,like you said, 5v5, that that's
going to be their bread andbutter On the power play.
I think the biggest thing thatthey need to do is, you know, at
the very least and this is thelesson learned from last year,
maybe they're not going to scoregreat on the power play because
the Canes haven't been scoringgreat on the power play.
Don't let it hurt you.

(27:57):
Don't give up chances against,because that was the nail in the
coffin against the you know,the Canes last year in the
Rangers series.

Speaker 1 (28:06):
Yes.

Speaker 2 (28:06):
The Devils have people who can do that too.
Every team does.
They've had some shorthandedgoals this year as well.
They're going to be looking forthose opportunities without
some of their high offensiveguys in the lineup.
Can't let the power play hurtus.
We would like it to help us,but that may be asking too much,
but we can't let it hurt us.

Speaker 1 (28:25):
Well, steph Nason is on their power play now and I'm
sure he's going to have lots ofextra incentive to try to put a
couple in as well.
You know, looking at the Canessituation kind of home on the
road is another interesting kindof packaging situation here.

(28:46):
So obviously the Hurricanes,they are lights out at home.
The last couple of games theyhaven't done as well, but we'll
write that off.
They're generally unbeatable athome and so far the record at
home this year is 31-9-1.
So you love to have them athome.
That's great stuff.
On the road though 16, 19, and 4.

(29:07):
That's not good and I suspectafter these next two games it's
probably going to be even worsethan that.
But that's okay, that's fine.
That's not a good situation.
But on the other hand, theDevils not as good at home 19,
16, and 5, but they are good onthe road 22, 16, and five.
So again, you know, this isanother one of those things

(29:29):
where you just want to make surethat on home ice you just take
care of business.
You do not want the Devils towin one of the first two in
Carolina.
That would be a very, very,very concerning situation.
So you know again, what arethey going to do about this?

(29:49):
I mean, we've talked a lotabout their challenges on the
road.
I mean, how do they changethings up?
And we've heard some differentthings from Brenda Moore and
others.
What do we think they need todo now to kind of start winning
some games on the road?

Speaker 3 (30:06):
I mean, doesn't it just go back to exactly what we
talked about?
They've got to play to theiridentity.
It's harder with the matchups,and so I think perhaps you need
to distill it down to its mostpure essence in order to absorb
some of the disadvantages youget with not getting to choose

(30:27):
the matchups and that sort ofthing and having the home crowd
cheering for the other team.
But other than that, I mean,that's just, it's going to be
the key, the key to the canesentire postseason is playing to
their identity, and no, no moretrue than on the road, for for
sure.

Speaker 2 (30:45):
I think that you're right, but I also think that
there's an interesting thingthat we sometimes don't think
about when it comes to thematchups, and it's in the series
Against the Devils in 2023,.
Rod Windermore made a switch.
Yes, rob.

Speaker 1 (31:03):
Rindermoor made a switch.

Speaker 2 (31:03):
Yes, and that switch was that at home he had, I think
he had Stahl, martinuk andJesper Fast.
But when the Canes werestruggling on the road in one of
their early games against theDevils, he switched Stahl and KK
.
Okay, because it was Svechnikovand Natchez on KK's line.

(31:28):
That line was getting exposed,so he switched the two centers
and the end result was that youhad two lines that were capable
of producing as well as capableof playing the defensive way
that the Canes were playing.
That's not going to benecessary.
That specific swap's not goingto be necessary this time.
But that's one of the reasonswhy I talked about possibly
swapping people like maybeCarrier and Sankoven, but just

(31:49):
being willing to make thoseadjustments, maybe even on the
top line.
If the top line, if Blake Ahoand Jarvis aren't as effective
in their barn, maybe moveSvechnikov up there, maybe put
Blake down, maybe, I mean maybeput Jarvis down.
I mean like Katie's talkedabout one jarvis on the second
line forever.
But you know, um, try, don't beafraid to make those adjustments

(32:11):
, because I think when you lookaround the league, at coaches
and how they handle matchups inthe playoffs, one of the things
they do is adjust lines.
I mean katie, I don't know howmany different versions of your
top six in for the abs thatteams can see.
There's so many configurations.
It's not two set lines that goout there every single game and
every single time in theplayoffs.

(32:32):
So I know that rod rindemore iswilling to do it because he's
done it in the past.
I think last year there was.
They didn't have as muchfluidity.
There wasn't.
There were not as many piecesyou could move last year in the
playoffs.
And I think that that actuallyhurt them a little bit, so I
want to see more of that.

Speaker 3 (32:50):
But in small doses.
I think where Rod gets introuble is when is when he just
decides that he's going to, youknow, down the roster.
Yeah, the blend of more effect,like you said it's, it's those
very strategic little flips thatare the ones that make the
difference.

Speaker 2 (33:07):
When it has worked for Rod Lindemore, it's when he
comes into the game alreadyproactively deciding that this
is how the lineup is going to be.
And we see the lineup come outbefore the game and we say what?
But that's exciting, that'sfine.
That means they've thought itthrough and they've identified
maybe a strength or a weaknessthat needs to be moved around.
But not in the middle of a gamewhen you're already down by

(33:30):
three goals and you just startthrowing people out together.
You know, mixing up the pairsand everything else.
That almost never goes well.

Speaker 1 (33:40):
Well, he's shown in the past that he can do a tweak
here and there that can make abig difference.
Oh, absolutely, and you knowwe've often heard Trip Tracy on
the broadcast very impressedwith moves that Brynden Moore
has made and those changesslight changes have really, you
know, led to some pretty goodsuccess.
The other thing that I'm kindof looking at right now, of

(34:00):
course, is in these playoffs,defense cores are really
critical.
In these playoffs, defensecores are really critical.
The Canes are going to becounting on the Orlov-Chapfield
pair hugely to play big minutesand tough minutes and I think
you know they're definitely ableto do it.
They did it last year and oneof the things I wanted to
mention about this was thatDmitry Orlov seems to take his

(34:24):
game to another level in theplayoffs and I think the Canes
are going to need him to do that.
He's going to be critical toany success they have.
Of course, and again, you know,sean Walker continues to impress
and I thought Shane GossettSparrow was playing maybe his
best hockey of the season beforehe went out.

(34:47):
He was playing very strongdefensively, along with, of
course, continuing to bring hisoffensive game.
So key situation to watch willbe the decor.
We don't have Pesci.
He's going to be in the otheruniform this time.
That's kind of interesting, butwe'll see how that all plays
out for sure.
Okay, so wrapping up thatseries discussion.

Speaker 3 (35:17):
What are we concerned about, if anything with the
Devils, I think Markstromgetting hot.
That's really the only thingfor me that's going to make this
a close series.
As long as the Canes don't justfall apart on their own and
hand it over to the devils on asilver platter, markstrom is a
very streaky goalie yeah and soif he is on a bad streak then
the canes will be able to takeadvantage of him quickly and

(35:40):
often.
But if he gets on a hot streakhe's going to be like they saw
last night against Wall and it'sgoing to frustrate them because
they're going to get chanceafter chance and he's going to
turn them all aside and it'sgoing to get them off their game
.
So that's my biggest concern iswhich version of Markstrom are
we going to get in the playoffs,because he could derail the

(36:04):
Canes' plans pretty quickly.

Speaker 1 (36:08):
Aaron any concerns with the Devils.

Speaker 2 (36:11):
I would agree with Katie that Markstrom getting hot
is probably the biggest riskfactor, because the Canes
struggle as it is sometimesagainst you know?
I mean, how many times have wejoked that there's, you know, oh
, there's a brand new goaliecoming in tonight, so you know,
just can expect the canes tolose.
I mean that we, we joke aboutit, but it's, it's, it's been a
thing.
So if marksham is high, ifyou're talking about a high

(36:32):
caliber goalie who's on a hotstreak, it's going to be even
harder for the canes to findthat finishing and get those
goals.
So, um, that's, I think that'sthe number one concern.
If I had anything, I would goback to something, a point we
already made, which is thedevil's transition game.
There have been a lot of times,I think over the past year to
two years, when it seems likeone or two quick goals in

(36:56):
transition completely derailsthe canes, like Katie said,
trying to dig out from behindthat hole.
And you know, when a goalie issitting at one end of the arena
facing very little, not evengetting shots, you know, and
then all of a sudden you've gota powerful transition,
two-on-one breakaway comingthere that way, and you know

(37:17):
they haven't even seen anyaction in five or 10 minutes.
You know that seems to havebeen a very big Achilles heel
for the Canes goalies across theboard going back, you know,
last year's playoffs and evenbefore that.
So that's.
My other concern is that theyneed to be really on their game
to stifle the Devils transitiongame, because if they don't,

(37:37):
they could be looking at gameswhere they're having to dig
themselves out of a hole andthen trying to do that against a
hot Jacob Markstrom.
It was just that much harder,so you don't want that.

Speaker 1 (37:49):
And it appears that Dougie Hamilton could very well
be back for the Devils.
So another ex-Cain trying tolay a beating on the Hurricanes.
So it'll be interesting.
I thought before I ask youyou're thinking about where the
series will end up.
I just read a couple of seriespreviews from some folks.

(38:09):
Daily Faceoff said this theCanes who broke down the New
York Islanders in conferencequarterfinal matchups in 23 and
24 should have no problemrepeating that trick against the
toothless devils.
They've got the Hurricanes infive games, daily face-off, so
these guys usually have a prettygood idea of what they're

(38:29):
talking about.
Bvm sports says well anticipatedas a competitive encounter, the
odds lean heavily in favor ofthe hurricanes.
Okay, and then, finishing itoff, uh, sportsbettingdime says
With likely home ice advantage,superior depth, dominant

(38:50):
possession metrics and a massiveedge in 5-on-5 play, the
Hurricanes should control thisseries.
While the Devils have elitetalent in Bratt and Heischer,
the absence of Jack Hughessignificantly limits their
offensive ceiling.
So there again, selectinghurricanes.

(39:10):
So Aaron James.

Speaker 2 (39:14):
Oh, of course.
Okay, of course I mean I ambecause, honestly, I think that
we all know that we can't be toococky, right, you know you
can't sit there and say it's a,it's a shoe and it's a definite
thing.
We've talked about what ourconcerns are, and our concerns
are real.
They're not going to go awaythroughout the playoffs.
But, barring some kind of epiccollapse on the part of this

(39:36):
team, barring, you know, rodRindemore deciding to, you know,
take a vacation and leave themin charge in somebody else's
hands.
I don't see Rod Brindamoreallowing them to lose to these
New Jersey Devils and not put upa fight.
So, yes, anything can happen.
Yes, it's going to be, I think,the biggest one of the
challenges we didn't talk about.

(39:57):
The refs don't tend to swallowtheir whistles as much in the
first round as they used to, andif penalty calling is as
chaotic as we've seen in theregular season I'm not sure if
that's the word I wanted, butit's about right.
Yeah, that would be the onlyreason that I would change my

(40:20):
opinion, but other than that,I've got canes and I think I'd
like to say canes in five.

Speaker 1 (40:26):
Yes.

Speaker 2 (40:27):
I think I'm going to say Canes in five.
Yes, I think I'm going to sayCanes in six Okay, good.

Speaker 3 (40:32):
Katie, if the Canes come out and they play the way
that they should and thatthey're supposed to, I do think
it'll be Canes in five, but ifthey have a bit of a slow start,
if they stumble a little bit,they could drop a game that they
should have won, and then againCanes in six.
I don't see it going seven.
If it were, though, they havethe advantage of that seventh

(40:54):
game at home Awesome.
But I do think that the Canesjust you know, barring something
strange happening arepositioned really well.
They match up well with theDevils Since the beginning of
the season.
This was really the first-roundmatchup I wanted, just not
because I think it's a guaranteeor a slam dunk.

(41:14):
I just think the Canes game andthe way they play matches up
well with the Devils, and theway the Devils play, even with
Jack Hughes in the lineup, Ithink that they will take them
on, which is why I'm thrilledthat the Rangers are out of the
playoffs, because, as much as Ihate them, they seem to have the
Canes number when it comes toplayoff time, and so it's not

(41:36):
something we're going to have toworry about.
I think the Canes didthemselves a favor by
eliminating the Rangers theother time.
So yeah, I.
So I guess I think I'll say, aslong as the Canes play, the
Canes way.
Canes in five.
Okay, I'm kind of on the samemind.

Speaker 1 (41:54):
I think it could very well be six, but hopefully it's
five.

Speaker 2 (41:58):
Erin, oh, I was just going to say they also have, you
know, wayne Gretzky-Martinuk,who seems to find a new year
every time against the devilsand, uh, you know the on the on
the new jersey devils side.
Um, there's a lot of fans thathave tagged kokanemi with the
label of devils killer, andthey're not completely wrong.
He has 13 points in 19 careergames against the devils, and

(42:21):
five and five in the playoffs,so he plays better against the
new jersey Devils than any otherteam.
There have been jokes about howhe would be a 60-point 2C if he
only ever had to play the Devils, because that's the pathway
he's always done.
So if that continues, we'll bein good shape.

Speaker 1 (42:39):
Right.
So, yeah, I think, totally onboard with what you're saying.
I think the Canes just have toget to their game, and you know,
to use a couple of RodBrindamore, you know standard
comments.
One is they have to start ontime.
And that's back to what you'resaying, katie.
They've got to come out andthey've got to get that first
goal and then they've got to getto their game and they've got

(43:00):
to play the way that.
You know, canes hockey is built.
So, assuming they get to thatand they can do all that, this
should not be a difficult seriesfor them at all.
I expect they'll come out ontop.
Now, one of the wild cards and Isaid a little bit about this at
the outset is AlexanderNikitian.
Now, a lot of excitementrecently with Alexander.

(43:22):
I mean huge excitement withfinally getting his release from
SKA and being signed by theHurricanes A two-year deal.
The first year has started now,so he's got one more year in
his contract.
A team-friendly deal, becauseit's an entry-level contract,
which is great, but a lot ofquestion as to whether he's

(43:42):
going to make it over and evenplay in the playoffs.
I mean, there's lots ofdifferent stories about what
people expect.
My feeling is that this isgoing to be an interesting
situation playing out as theCanes go, and I think it'll have
a lot to do with eitherinjuries or the way the Canes
are going.
He's a great guy to have onyour bench to just drop in

(44:03):
that's for Dernsher.
He's a great guy to have onyour bench to just drop in
that's for Dernsher.
But let's spend just a minuteand find out a little bit more
about Alexander Nikitian.
Eric Tulsky said this aboutNikitian.
He said he sees the ice welland has a good shot.
He's provided a lot of offensefor SKA.
What I think is going to servehim particularly well in this
transition is that he skatesvery well and has the ability to

(44:27):
gap up and close out, which isimportant for our players.
Okay, he also said he's sixfoot four in physical.
He's one of the most ferocioushitters in that league, and so
that's an element that will behelpful in our lineup.
Can you imagine a big guy likethat coming in and, you know,
laying the hits on in thisseries?
Wanted to mention a comment fromMcKean's, which I think is also

(44:49):
pretty interesting the way thathe's able to leave a huge
impact with both his skill andphysical play in all zones and
all situations is so rare.
I mean, these are, I mean,you're talking about an
incredible player.
One other thing I wanted to sayas we go into this was some

(45:14):
information that Anya had placedon X recently, and I thought it
was pretty interesting stuff,and one of the big things that
we heard in his conversation wasthat he has been playing for a
team that actually has been verysimilar in their approach to
play to the Carolina Hurricanes,and this is something that Eric
Tulsky talked a little bitabout.
Some others have as well, butSKA was trying to emulate the

(45:40):
way the Canes played to a largeextent, and I think this is huge
because it's going to help himwith, you know, with his ability
to transition to the Hur extent, and I think this is huge
because it's going to help himwith, you know, with his ability
to transition to the hurricane.
So here's a guy that even TrippTracy and he said he had been
chatting with him I thought wasinteresting, and he's just
effusive on what he's sayingabout Nikitian.

(46:02):
He was all over it saying thisguy is just, you know, he's
incredible in so many words.
Do we expect to see him in theplayoffs?
And if so, what do we thinkwe're going to see with
Alexander Nikitian?

Speaker 3 (46:18):
I don't expect to have Rod put him in the lineup
over the other six if they arehealthy, okay, because they have
been playing all season, theyknow the system, they've been
playing with each other, theyknow the reads, that sort of
thing.
But the playoffs are what theplayoffs are, and the likelihood
of our six guys getting throughone or more series completely

(46:39):
healthy is very unlikely.
And so if one of them needs abreak or is injured and has to
miss a few games, I wouldn't besurprised if that's when
Nikitian gets his chance, eventhough Mauro has been up and
playing with the team.
I think that the experienceplaying in a professional league
like the KHL for as long asNikitian has, and all of the

(47:00):
other intangibles that he brings, would mean that he would get
the nod over Morrow initially.
So I think we will see himeventually.
I just don't think he's goingto be chosen over one of the
proven, tested and true guysthat they've been working with
all season long.

Speaker 1 (47:19):
Erin, what are your thoughts about Nikishan?

Speaker 2 (47:21):
Well, I'm tremendously excited about him.
I think that we want to.
I know the excited about him.
I think that we want to.
I know the Canes want to handlethis in the right way.
Like Katie said, you don't wantto throw him in cold in a
playoff game if he hasn't had achance to come in or get settled
or situated.
I do think it's possible,depending on how games are going
and where we're at in theplayoffs, that he could come in

(47:43):
even if someone wasn't injured,because if it's the first or
second and where we're at in theplayoffs, that he could come in
even if someone wasn't injured,because you know if it's the
first or second game at home ofa series and you know they want
to just bring him in.
I mean, why not?
I'm lucky because I mean beinga Habs fan and a Canes fan, I
get to be excited about tworeally exciting Russian players.

(48:04):
I'm a Canes fan.
I get to be excited about tworeally exciting Russian players
and I'm going to use thepronunciation that I'm hearing
from all the broadcasters inMontreal right now Just Ivan
Demidov.
I don't know if that's actuallyhow he wants his name
pronounced, but I know we'llfind that out along the way.
But I've been keeping my eye onthe scoreboard because the Habs
are playing right now it is 2-0in the first period against

(48:26):
Chicago and Demidov has a goaland an assist in his first
period with the MontrealCanadiens.
I would love to see that fromAlexander Nikitin because we
know he's going to be so goodand it's not just offense that
he's good at, but we know howgood he is in that role,
especially on the power play.

(48:46):
So that's where I would say ifthe Canes decided to bring him
in in the playoffs, they mightdo it just to spark the power
play, and that's whether or notShane Gossespierre is healthy or
injured because he is down onthat.
I'm just assuming they wouldn'twant to bring him in higher
than third pairing.
But I could see a situationwhere they go to Ghost and

(49:07):
knowing how important he is tothe team and how valuable and
say listen, we really need thispower play to get going.
We're going to bring him inAgain in an early game.
You're not talking a game fourthat they absolutely can't lose
kind of a situation.
We're talking about a game oneor a game two and just let him
do what he does on the powerplay and see how that can change

(49:28):
things for the canes, becauseit could get down to where
special teams have to be a rolehave to have a role.
So, not having that weapon inyour arsenal, I don't think
you're going to leave him in thepress box if they're in that
kind of situation.

Speaker 1 (49:41):
So that's, that's my thinking well, I think the play
that Ivan Demidov is showing inhis immediate kind of
contribution to the Canadianssuggests that you know Alexander
Nikitin, who is arguably thebest defenseman in the KHL and
has been for a while, can have avery, very significant impact.

(50:03):
And where I'm looking at thisis that OK, the first series,
yeah, it looks like it's fine.
Go with what you've got andthat's good.
But if they can get AlexanderNikishin a game or two in the
first series and he's ready togo in the second series where
you don't have home iceadvantage and you're up against
a big, tough team in theWashington Capitals, I think he

(50:25):
would be a tremendous addition.
And I don't see him sitting onthe sidelines very much in that
situation.
And yes, we like Ghost and he'sbeen a great contributor this
year and so on.
But you're talking about adifferent quality of player and,
for sure, if Brindamore thinkshe can pick up the system

(50:47):
quickly enough and if you puthim on the third pairing
alongside Sean Walker, he'sgoing to be just fine.
I have so much anticipation ofhim playing because I think he's
going to have the same kind ofimpact that Demodog is.
He's an incredible player.
I think this is what a lot offolks are struggling with.
He is an incredible hockeyplayer.

(51:09):
He might be the best overallplayer outside the NHL right now
, I mean he's that good, and Imean to have him sitting up in
the press box to me.
Are you kidding A 6'4" you knowincredible player?
I mean I'm sitting there going.
Are you kidding?
I don't think so.
And yes, I'm sorry, ghost, ifyou have to sit it out, but this

(51:30):
guy has something else.

Speaker 2 (51:31):
So I'm hopeful he plays, I'm hopeful we get a
chance to see what he can do,and I think he will play at some
point If he can get here andthey can get the Visa stuff
straightened out.
You know, I mean there is stilla tiny possibility that we
could wake up to some obscureemoji from Eric Tulsky that

(51:51):
tells us that he's on his way toMontreal.
I mean, we could have one ofthose things that we're sitting
there wondering.
You know, gee, why is he?

Speaker 1 (52:00):
sending out a.
It's going to make a smileyface, or something.

Speaker 2 (52:03):
Yeah, and really he's on a plane and he's actually
going to take place, take partin the games, wednesday or
Thursday.
You know, I know that that waswhat Tulsky said was his
preference.
What he wanted to do was toeither get him into one of those
two games in Canada or, if thatcan't happen, if they can't get
the Canadian visa worked out intime, play him in Chicago.

(52:25):
So I don't think that they'vegiven up on the idea of getting
him here in time to play games.
I think they had to backtrackthe conversation a little bit
just to avoid people thinkingit's a done deal and he's
already here, because, you know,anybody who's ever done
government paperwork knows it'sjust, it's up to them.
So I think we're going to seehim.
I wouldn't be surprised if he'shere next week.

Speaker 1 (52:46):
That's just my gut instinct, that's nothing well, I
I've been uh getting ready towatch him with the uh wolves if
he plays with the wolves,because I'll definitely want to,
that would be exciting.
Uh, check him out because Ithink that's going to be fun.
But ryan barnes, who you knowis his agent with cortex uh was
on daily face off today and wassaying that, yeah, they're

(53:07):
working hard to bring him in.
There's a lot of complexity toit and you're dealing with
governments so it's not as easyto kind of just get it through
as quickly as you want.
But he was also very, verypositive in all of his comments,
of course, about Nikitian.
So big stuff.
He could be a factor for theHurricanes If he gets in.

(53:30):
He brings more size, he bringsmore toughness and you can never
have enough of that in theplayoffs, as we know.
So kind of an exciting time,and we'll keep an eye on this
one to see how it all plays out.
But, yeah, it's great that theCanes can add a player like
Alexander and Keishon withoutgiving anything up.
I mean, it's amazing, it's justphenomenal, it's phenomenal.

(53:51):
So, okay, time for mailbag.
We've got some interestingquestions.
I thought I'd throw these outand see what we say about it.
X.
Cody at Cody Complains saidwhat piece of advice would each
member of the pod give to theteam or RBA to help make it past

(54:11):
the second round of theplayoffs?
So a bit of a problem for theCanes in the past, getting deep
in the playoffs.
What are we thinking the Caneshave to do this time around to
get past the Caps and continueon, katie?

Speaker 3 (54:26):
Bring the physicality .
I think they can get past theDevils without a whole lot of
physicality, because that's notthe Devils game.
But I think the Caps, as we'veseen, play a very physical game
and they try to get under yourskin.
So I think if they're going toget past the Caps, they still
need to stick to their identity.
They don't need to let the Capstry to goon them out of their
way of playing hockey, but theystill have got to be physical.

(54:54):
They've got to play the sameway they played against the Caps
two games ago, not other timesand rise to the occasion while
still being who they are.

Speaker 2 (55:00):
Yeah, erin, I agree with that, assuming the opponent
is the Caps.
So my take is going to bewhoever your second round of
court is, don't underestimatethem, because if, by chance, the
Montreal Canadiens actuallypull off this unbelievable
situation and defeat theWashington Capitals, the one

(55:25):
danger for the CarolinaHurricanes would be to do the
same thing that the WinnipegJets did in round two in 2021,
to go in thinking that it wasgoing to be a shoe in a walk in
the park and then you know, asyou remember you may not
remember the Habs actually sweptthe Jets in that second round.
So don't underestimate.

(55:46):
If, by chance, the MontrealCanadiens make it into the
playoffs because I can't saythat they officially have yet
and if they defeat theWashington Capitals which is not
as impossible as you mightthink, the way the Capitals have
been playing these last fewgames I mean, they've been
riding such an emotional high,centered around Ovechkin's goal
scoring record and, all of asudden, that's not going to be
there anymore.

(56:06):
So it's going to be aninteresting situation.
Sudden, that's not going to bethere anymore.
So it's going to be aninteresting situation.
If they can play spoiler and ifthey win, then the Canes'
biggest job will be.
Do not underestimate the teamyou're facing, regardless of who
it is, and that really it holdstrue for the Caps as well.
They can't underestimate theCapitals just because they have
beaten them a time or two, youknow.
So if it's the Caps, don'tunderestimate them either.

Speaker 1 (56:30):
And again through the regular season.
The Canes sometimes do that andwe've seen them go in and play
against a team.
That should be an easy win forthem, and they come out on the
short end.

Speaker 2 (56:38):
So good comment.
Exactly, yeah, exactly.

Speaker 1 (56:43):
And that's the concern.
But yeah, I definitely hopethat, among other things, that
the Canadians really play hardagainst the Cs, take it to at
least seven.
I think that would be wonderful, and if the Cavs win, great.
But at least they would havehelped us in terms of playing

(57:05):
hard against the Cavs.
Canes and Dogs had a question atKsubat68.
He said do you think there'sany hope in seeing really good
Smetch in these playoffs?
I just don't see anything inthe last 10 to 12 games that
would make me think he's goingto be a significant contributor.
In fact, I was looking at thelast 12 games.

(57:26):
He had one goal and two assists.
So yes, I don't think any of ushave seen very much on that.
Canes and darts Erin, what doyou think?

Speaker 2 (57:37):
I think that the playoffs are a funny situation
in a lot of ways.
You know, you see players thathave been sleepwalking through
the season and all of a suddenit's like they hear the bell in
the ring.
You know, I don't know what itis specifically that can get
some players really hyped up forthat moment.
But it does exist and we'veseen it with certain players on

(57:59):
the Canes in the past playersthat are not all that
outstanding in the regularseason that seem to find that
extra gear.
I think that Svec in his pasthas been that player.
I know we didn't see as much ofthat last season, although he
certainly wasn't bad Find thatextra gear.
I think that Svec in his pasthas been that player.
I know we didn't see as much ofthat last season, although he
certainly wasn't bad in lastseason's playoffs, but I still

(58:19):
think he was maybe a little bitless of the aggressive physical
guy that we've seen in theplayoffs in the past and I think
that that's natural.
Coming back, in the year afterthat he missed them due to that
torn ACL injury.
In the year after that hemissed them due to that torn ACL
injury.
If he can get the mindset goingand if he can kind of revert
back to that player that he waswhen he was scoring and just

(58:39):
doing all of those things in theplayoffs prior to that injury,
then I think he can be a factor.
It's not about him doing anyone specific thing, I don't
think.
I think it's just about findingthat belief in himself.
I think that's been the missingingredient all season, and it's
not just a general confidenceissue, it's more the I can do
this, I'm this player, I'm thisimpactful guy.

(59:01):
I want to see him believe thatbecause he can be and we need
him to be.
So that's my hope.

Speaker 3 (59:09):
I would pretty much agree, and I think it's going to
take a lucky bounce orsomething like that, something
that is going to be the triggerthat it's like okay, I've worked
, I've done this, I took my shotor I made my pass and it worked
.
Yes, I can do it again.
This is a repeatableperformance that can happen if I

(59:31):
just keep at it.
So he needs he needs to have asuccess or a couple of successes
in series.
Try and produce that success.
Then that's going tounfortunately create a domino
effect in the other way andreally handcuff him.
So these first couple of gamesagainst the Devils are going to

(01:00:04):
be really key for seeing whichSvetch we are going to get these
playoffs.

Speaker 1 (01:00:09):
Well, we recall he was second overall in the draft.
This guy was hugely, hugelyimpressive at that point,
started off great with the Canesand sort of the last year or
two.
He just hasn't been the sameplayer.
I'm hopeful that you know on aline with Kokuniemi and Taylor
Hall a couple of big guys.

(01:00:30):
They can open up some space too.
He's going to get a chance todo some of the magic and maybe
he'll do a lacrosse goal orsomething like that and we'll
have some fun with that.
But but again, I think he'sgoing to be key and even if he's
not scoring and you know we'veseen a lot of this where he can
go in and he can make adifference by laying on the body

(01:00:50):
, by getting in and playingheavy, he can do a lot.
And the concern I generallyhave with Sveshnikov is that if
he's not playing particularlywell, he takes a lot of
penalties that are not goodpenalties, often in the
offensive zone, often insituations that really are not
necessary, and in this type ofplayoff situation those kind of

(01:01:13):
penalties could be your deathknell.
So he's got to be smart, he'sgot to stay away from bad
penalties in that regard, andI'm like you, katie, I think a
little bit of success for him isprobably going to be the key.
He's just got to have a bit ofsuccess.
Feel good about himself, thatline needs to do that.
Just got to have a bit ofsuccess.
Feel good about himself, thatline needs to do that.
They need to get a couple ofgoals and start to, you know, do

(01:01:36):
some of the things they can doand all of a sudden, you know,
it'll be like a huge weightticking off his shoulders.
So yeah, one last question forMailbag.
Xcody again comes back.
Xcody Complains and he'stalking a little bit about next
year, which is kind ofinteresting.
And he said if the pod couldonly choose one of this

(01:01:57):
offseason, which do they sign?
So he's talking about, you know, trying to fix some areas on
the canes.
Number one a top winger for AjoOkay, that's interesting.
Number two a legitimate 2C,since it seems KK will likely
replace Stahl at some point.
And then three, a goalie topair with Piotr Kociakoff

(01:02:19):
instead of a Freddie extension.
And then he says a bonusquestion go-to snacks at the
games.

Speaker 3 (01:02:27):
So that's, funny.

Speaker 1 (01:02:28):
What do you think?
A top-line winger, a 2C or agoaltender?
What's our thinking on?

Speaker 2 (01:02:34):
that, aaron?
Um, what do you think?
A top line winger, a 2c or agoaltender?
What's our thinking on that,erin, what do you got?
Well, my thought when I readthat question was that, even
though these are all pieces, Ithink that they could certainly
use.
Um, I, I wouldn't be surprisedand I know that there's been
some disagreement here but Iwouldn't be surprised if they do
have to start really thinkingseriously about a goaltender,
and it's not because there's nota shining candidate available.

(01:02:56):
They might have to makesomething happen and they're
going to have a ton of cap spaceand they're going to have teams
that maybe didn't do what theywanted to do this year.
So there may be some goaliesthat are looking quietly, have
already gone to their teams andsaid you know what, I don't want
to stay here.
So we don't know who might beavailable or if some people
might come along that the Caneswould be able to get, but I

(01:03:19):
don't see them.
I know we've talked about wouldthey just re-sign Freddie and
all this.
I still think that that's goingto be something that they're
going to have to take a goodhard look at going forward,
because the Keene system reallydoes depend on not just a really
good goaltender, but a specifickind of goaltender who can
handle that simultaneous I don'tknow conundrum of low shot

(01:03:41):
volume and high danger, you know.
So they're going to needsomebody else, I think long term
.
And so if they have theopportunity to do that with all
this cap space, I say they gofor it.
What about you, katie?

Speaker 3 (01:03:53):
I mean.
The answer that I want to giveis I want to see how the
playoffs go first and thendecide what the priority is,
Just because life is reactionary.
That way you learn a lot in theplayoffs about the character
and the makeup of your team.
The thing that makes me nervousis if they don't re-sign Freddie

(01:04:16):
and they go after anothergoaltender, I worry that Piotr
actually goes in, whatever tradethat they make, because if a
team's going to give up agoaltender unless they have
somebody in the wings from theirminor league system to bring up
to replace that goaltender,they're going to want somebody
in return.
I mean, when the Avs did theirbig goalie trade for both

(01:04:36):
Blackwood and Wedgwood, theysent a goalie in the other
direction.
So I imagine it would have tobe the same thing.
And Freddie's a UFA, so he'snot a trade piece.
It would have to be Kochekov,and so then you get the okay.
So you're bringing in somebody.
Now who's backing him up?
Are our guys in the minorleague system ready?

(01:04:57):
And so that's kind of where Istumbled at with bringing in
somebody.
If it's through trade andthere's nobody UFA, that is
better than Freddie as far as abetter goalie, just in general,
as well as being not injuryprone, I mean you could talk
about some of the others thatare out there, but they're just
as injury prone as Freddie is.
So I guess because of that,because I don't want to see

(01:05:22):
Piotr going to another team andbecause of the limited options
out there, I'd probably go the2C route.
I like KK and I think he's good, but Ajo needs help offensively
, he just he needs help.
And again, the options outthere are few and far between.
But that's where I think theCanes are in a better position
to actually land somebodysignificant through trade.

(01:05:43):
There's not a 2C available thatfits the Canes as a UFA, so I
think they'd have to go traderoute.
But they have a lot of youngpieces and I know I ruffled some
feathers on mine suggestingthat Nadeau would be one of
those pieces.
that goes the other direction,but it would have to be somebody
like Nadeau.
If you're getting back alegitimate 2C that is going to

(01:06:04):
help them, now you are going tobe trading a young player that
is ready for an opportunity on abuilding developing team and
somebody like Nadeau would beattractive to the team and make
them willing to come to thetable and negotiate.
So, whether that's somebody, mydream is Larkin.
Everyone tells me he's notleaving Detroit, but for a

(01:06:26):
chance at the Stanley.
Cup that he hasn't had since hisrookie season.
You know, certain things couldbe stranger.
You know, maybe they makeanother run at Pettersson out of
Vancouver.
I mean, who knows what theydecide to go for, but some
things I think Ajo needs supportand that would be the big swing

(01:06:46):
that I would go for.

Speaker 1 (01:06:49):
Yeah, a couple of comments.
I think the big question withthe Canes goaltending is is
Piotr Kociakop going to be anumber one, a Like is he going
to be the goaltender of thefuture?
And I think that comes back toyour comment, katie is that if
they don't think he's going todo that and they're concerned
about the window, do they make adeal for a guy like Ilya

(01:07:13):
Sorokin or somebody like that?
I'm just throwing a name outthere Is that the kind of deal
that they go for?
A goaltender that is a proventop line goaltender?
And that's a question.
As far as free agentgoaltenders we've talked about
this there's not much out there.
I don't see them making a deal.
If they did pick up anothergoalie, they could obviously

(01:07:34):
sign somebody as a backup or asa second goalie.
That's not a problem, they'reout there.
But I think the bigger questionfor the Hurricanes is who's
going to be their go-togoaltender, and that I think the
last couple of seasons we'veseen, you know, indications that
Piotr could, but then we seeindications that he can't and I

(01:07:54):
think you know that's going tobe the big question in the
offseason from my viewpoint.
And back to your point too,katie, I think it's true we're
going to see how these goaliesdo.
If Piotr comes in and lightsout, then I guess the question's
answered.
But I think you know that is aquestion and questions answered.
But I think you know that is aquestion.
And the 2C I've been all overthat.
We've talked about it numeroustimes.

(01:08:16):
As far as I'm concerned, that'sa must-have.
That's not even a discussionpoint anymore.
They've got to have a 2C, it'sgot to be done.
And you know, a player we didn'ttalk about who's going to be a
free agent is Sam Bennett.
Sam Bennett is a heck of acenterman and again he's been on
a championship team.
He's a guy that can score goals.
He's got 25 goals this year.
He's a very solid two-waycenterman.

(01:08:37):
So I think Sam Bennett would bea huge add if you're going to
do a free agent.
I'm all over, of course, eliasPettersson.
I think he would be the idealcenterman for the Canes.
He's had a terrible year.
They could buy low and, yes, apackage that would include
someone like Nadeau and draftpicks and some other players
might get it done Certainlyprobably Kokuniemi, but they've

(01:09:00):
got to do something big.
This offseason We'll talk moreas the offseason is on, for sure
, as we get more indication onthat, but it's going to be fun
to see what happens and again, alot of it comes down to what
happens in the playoffs, youknow right now a lot of the
folks are signed for next yearon the Canes, most of their

(01:09:21):
lineup is set.
I mean, that's the interestingthing.
If you go up on a whiteboardand start looking at who's got
contracts next year, a huge partof the Canes are already signed
.
So you know there's not a lotof open spots, which means
they're either going to movepeople that are on the roster or
they're going to move some ofthese prospects if they think
they can upgrade next year aswell.
So lots of good fun.

(01:09:42):
Anyway, we'll talk more aboutthe offseason as we get to that.
We got lots of excitementcoming with the playoffs for
sure, and the three of us feellike we've got a real super
chance of continuing on in thesecond round after knocking off,
hopefully, the Devils.
But that's going to be a lot offun.
Closing comments Erin, what doyou got?

Speaker 2 (01:10:06):
Well, I think that we're all kind of at that point
where we've hit regular seasonfatigue.
We're as bad as the players.
I know I've had a hard timeeven finding time to watch the
games that I've missed over thelast few days.
So we want the real games tostart, and the playoffs are the
real games.
The playoffs are the test ofeverything.

(01:10:27):
Like you said, you know, youdon't trade known quantities and
known factors for unknown ones,and right now you have some
players that have very bigquestion marks next to their
name, and some people wouldinclude Andrei Svechnikov in
that conversation.
So, you know, I don't think thatwe need to get too far ahead of
ourselves in discussing whatthe Canes might or might do in
the offseason, like you said.

(01:10:55):
So let's watch and see, becauseI think there will be a lot of
revelations as far as you know,players that may be here longer
than we think, and then playersthat may, you know, be part of a
trade or, you know, just end upleaving the team.
So I think the biggest commentI have is, after all of the doom
and gloom from the mainstreammedia about how the Canes might
not even make the playoffs,whether they win any of these

(01:11:19):
last, either of these last twogames or they don't.
They have still had atremendous regular season,
considering all the upheaval,considering all the players they
lost, and you know, I thinkthat we can be proud that they
put this much effort in for thislong, because certainly
Brindamore's system does notmake that easy.
And now we get to see are theygoing to get rewarded for all

(01:11:41):
that hard work in the postseason?
I really hope that they will,because I think that they
deserve it.
They've worked so hard to gethere on a team that lost so many
important pieces last year.

Speaker 1 (01:11:56):
Well said.

Speaker 3 (01:11:59):
For me, it's just.
I'm excited.
I love where this team has beenthis season, even with all of
the peaks and valleys, and thatthey've maintained their
identity throughout and I hopethat that identity continues to
shine through in the postseason.
However far they get and I knowI've seen a lot of comments
that this was a rebuilding yearand however far they get, and

(01:12:20):
that's great.
Honestly, I'll be disappointedif they don't make it at least
to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Speaker 1 (01:12:26):
And.

Speaker 3 (01:12:27):
I had high expectations from the beginning.
I thought this team was goingto be better than a lot of other
people were talking about, and,yeah, I know we lost some
pieces, but we gained somereally good pieces as well and
we have some of the bestbuilding blocks that this team
has had and they're growing intothemselves.
I mean, this year was just afantastic year for Jarvis,

(01:12:48):
especially considering he had ashort injury stint and moving
around the lineup, but man, heand Ajo and Blake have just
exploded and I'm excited to seewhere they're going to go.
So I'll be honest, I'm notlooking for them to do anything
worse than Eastern ConferenceFinals.
They should make it there.

(01:13:08):
Do anything worse than EasternConference Finals?
They should make it there.
And if they don't, I think thatthey missed an opportunity,
because this team is talentedenough and is good enough and
has a path where they veryrealistically can get there.

Speaker 1 (01:13:20):
Exactly, and you know , right from the get-go I've
been saying the same thing.
I expect the Canes to go verydeep this year and you know
again, a testament to the goodwork of Eric Tulsky and his crew
, bringing in a lot of playersthat have really significantly
contributed to the success thisyear, and, of course, rob

(01:13:40):
Rendemore and his coaching staffonce again doing an outstanding
job and the Canes playing theright way most nights.
So it's kind of exciting.
In any case, we're going tofollow this.
This is going to be a lot offun.
We'll be here throughout theplayoffs and I'm sure we'll have
lots to talk about as this allunfolds, and it'll be exciting
for sure.

(01:14:01):
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