What’s the most important thing about this home opener matchup between the Canes and Devils?

Uh, all right. Let’s talk about tonight. Uh, so I’ll just I’ll leave it like open for you. We have uh we have new players, we have old players in new places, and this is year eight of the Rod Bindmore era. So, as you’re getting ready to deliver your opening remarks tonight, Mike, what are they? Uh quite simply, it’s we know what the expectations are on this team and it’s the first step of a journey that we’re all hoping ends in mid to late June for the Carolina Hurricanes because of how this team is constructed, because of the new additions and how they should really blend in well to this core group that’s here. Uh this to me is, you know, how we can say it’s one of 82. opening night. While it in the big picture is one of 82, this is the special one of 82 because everything is new again. All of the hope is renewed. All of the things that you want to think about, you can get to this game. And we’ll see if that happens here tonight for the Canes. But I really do believe that the moves that they’ve made have put them in their best position to get over the hump and get to the Stanley Cup final. And then when you get there, we’ll see what happens. Yeah. You know, it it you know, I don’t know about uh like the the matchup against the Devils. It is interesting. I asked this of uh Rod downstairs because we saw the battle of Alberta to start the game start the season for Edmonson and Calgary. You don’t often see the the bad blood. We should have Tampa and Florida open up the season against one another, especially based on what we saw in the last two preseason games. But these are arguably the two best best teams in the metro and maybe in the regular season. These are these are the two teams that will fight it out a top the uh the entire conference if you uh if you think about the fact that the Metro isn’t nearly as strong as the Atlantic top to bottom. Uh so it’s a really good test for everybody. Yeah, I I don’t disagree with that either. And I’m not I’m not trying to disrespect the Washington Capitals, but you know, I don’t think anybody saw that Capital season coming what they had last year and a lot of things fell into the right place for them. Uh if I just look at the rosters, I think that Carolina and New Jersey are the top two teams in the division and then uh Washington should be third. Uh because then there’s a whole bunch of I don’t know. Uh that includes the rest of the metro. I don’t know about Philly. I don’t know about Columbus. I don’t know about the Rangers. And after how they opened, I really have questions about the Rangers. You know, same same thing with Pittsburgh. So there’s a lot of I don’t know. And and there’s some of that in Washington’s game. I do know this for Carolina and New Jersey. If they’re healthy for 82 games, they should be the top two teams in this division. So, I do like opening up against this team and kind of set of setting that tone. And I I actually like the first two games for Carolina or in division at home before they go on that long that long swing. But these teams know each other really well. Jersey will tell you they weren’t 100% in the playoffs, so maybe there’s a little added chip on their shoulder for this one. But, you know, the Canes walk into tonight’s game, Adam, I I think it’s again, it’s so early, but you can set a tone in the division with a win over New Jersey if you’re Carolina going, “Well, you know, you now have your roster close to 100%.” And we we still can beat you. So, that’s what’s on the table here tonight for this game. Uh, you know, if if whoever loses, the season’s not over, clearly, but whoever wins can walk out of the game feeling really good about themselves early in the season. Mike Maniscalo joining us here. 7:30, just by 7:38 opening faceoff and uh radio uh coverage on the radio here in Raleigh begins at 6:30 with the pregame show. Um and it is a radioonly game because ESPN is bothering us tonight. Um let me ask you about the two new guys. We haven’t seen Keandre Miller play in a preseason game. We know how good he can be. What do you think is it? I mean, everybody’s talking about this could be another Brady Shay because of obvious things. Uh, mobile defenseman comes from the Rangers. Um, but could he be better than that? Yeah, I I think he can because he’s coming with I think a little bit more established in his time in the NHL than what Brady Sheay had. And that’s nothing against Brady Sheay. I I mean I will I’ve got all the time in the world for Brady Sheay and I would put him on my team any any day of the week that ends in Y. But the thing about KAR Miller is you look at how the the game is defended today and he’s kind of like Jacob Slavven, he’s built for how you want your defenders to be, but he also can play with snarl and he can hit. We, you know, everybody likes to transpose numbers from one team to another. You know, the Canes don’t play the same way. They play similar, but they don’t play the same way as the Rangers have during Miller’s career. But he would lead the team in hits every year that uh he’s been in the league if he played for Carolina. So, that’s one thing for me, Adam, watching him in training camp. We didn’t get a chance to see him in a game as you pointed out, but his footwork, and I’m not talking about his skating ability. His skating ability is very good, but when you’ve got those plays where you’re a defenseman where you got to chop your feet and get over laterally and make plays, his footwork is excellent. And I think that you know there there will be saying all of this there will be an adjustment period to play for this team. There always is uh for defenseman but when he gets really comfortable on that back end uh he is going to put up better offensive numbers than he did in New York. And I think that the the quality of defense that he has brought will just get better too because of the group that he has around him. Uh yeah, and I I love the pairing with Jaylen Chatfield to start the season. Um look, down the road, we all hope that Alexander Nikeshan forces his way into Carolina’s top four and then we’ll see where it uh where it goes from there where you got to have Nikeshan playing, you know, 20 21 22 minutes a night. Uh but for right now, Miller and Jaylen Chadfield, Slavven and Shawn Walker, and it’s a total adjustment period for Shawn, who’s going to go from playing against, you know, bottom uh bottom six uh forwards uh to playing against big boys, playing with Jacob Slavven. But Carolina’s got a really good mix on their top two pairs, and I’m looking forward to Miller and Chatfield. All right. Uh we’ll close with this, Mike Manuscalco. Carolina needs blank to be their best player this year. Uh, wow. Um, you know, the easy one would be Sebastian Aaho just because of driving that line with Nick Eers and Seth Jarvis, but I’m going to go with Andre Svetchnikov. If you can get a monster season that we have been predicting for a while from number 37, uh, the Canes become a matchup problem for everybody in the league. I agree. I It’s funny. Here’s the thing that I think about Aaho and I think ultimately down the road, two years from now, I think we’re going to be talking about Seth Jarvis as their best player. But AO consistently and I’ve always used the the uh the comparison of Nick Backstrom uh in Washington is that you know now unfortunately Nick had injury issues that really ended his career earlier but he was just so steady and good and he made everything easier for Alexander Ovuchkin but Aaho’s I know what I’m going to get from Aaho and in many ways I know what I’m going to get from Jarvis but if Andre has the type a year that he is capable of having. It doesn’t have to be, you know, 40 goals and, you know, 85 points. But if he’s always noticeable, and I talked to Rod about this, if he’s always noticeable, Carolina’s in good shape. That’s the way I look at it. Yeah. I mean, it again, that’s that’s a good point. it it doesn’t need to be a 50 goal season, but if he has 30 goals and 35 assists, you know, he’d be cracking the 30 goal mark for the first time, that that’s good. That that’s a big thing for this team. And one more thing on Alexander Nikian. Yeah, there’s the the line that the kids say, let him cook. I’m going to paraphrase this or I’m going to try to remold it. Let him bake. Give him time to come up to temperature here in the National Hockey League. and then he’s got all the tools in the toolbox, Adam, when he learns how to to fix everything, he is going to be that player who gets that top four minutes. But right now, just let him let him figure out what the NHL game is like. He had the taste in the playoffs, which is a different animal. But this is going to be the first few months of the season really big for him. But, um, I I will I’ll put my money back on Andre Sashnikov if he has that 30 35 or 30 40 season. Like I say, I don’t know if I’m on the other bench, how do I match up against the Carolina Hurricanes if everybody else? Because Aaho and Jarvis and Eers, they deliver. You know, you’re at this point in your career. These are their their numbers. If you can get that second line with Stan Coven and Blake and Setchnikoff and Swednikov really being the engine that drives it, Kane’s become a huge headache for everybody in this league. No doubt about it. Mike Manuscalo, uh, I’ll be I’ll be clear of your workspace by the time you get here. All right. Thank you very much. I’ll be looking for chairs by the time I get there. Thanks, man. I appreciate your time.

Mike Maniscalco, Carolina Hurricanes Play by Play, joins the Adam Gold Show to discuss the Canes home opener against the New Jersey Devils and what’s at stake, even with it only being game one. Which guys are going to be key for the Canes to get their first win tonight? The Carolina Hurricanes need *who* to be their key player this season?

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