The Ducks came into Raleigh the most points in the NHL and left with a loss. The Canes cannot take too much credit for toppling the king of the mountain. The Ducks had lost 2 in a row coming in and also were playing the 2nd half of a back-to-back. And to be honest, I think the Ducks were the better team overall especially during the 1st 2/3 of the game. But sometimes when things are going well, you catch a break here or there, play solid enough hockey and find a way.
This current run of productive Canes hockey is exactly what they were unable to do last season – win by playing a sound and solid game that gives them a chance to collect points almost every night. Last season, even the good times were more the result of just firing on all cylinders, and over the course of a long NHL season that sees ebbs and flows, it is just nearly impossible to sustain that level of play especially when injuries and slumps take their tolls.
Maybe most telling about how much better this team is system-wise defensively is that Brett Bellemore can be thrust into a top 4 role as a pretty inexperienced NHL player, perform as well as he has of late and it actually just seems normal and not something rave on and on about in a post-game write-up. He like everyone else just continues to do his job.
As I noted above, Friday’s win was much more “find a way” than “run with it” but it counts exactly the same in the standings. I was incredibly impressed with how much the Ducks took it to the Canes early especially coming off playing Thursday night. And I think very little if any of it had to do with the Canes compete level which has been very consistent of late. I have watched Anaheim a couple times this season, but I still did not realize how physically dominant they were playing behind the end line. Any time they could force a puck battle in 1 of the corners or behind the net they did. And much more often than not, the Ducks came out of those scrums with the puck. And the grinding and grinding eventually led to scoring chances. But just as the Canes have done most of this year, they avoided costly breakdowns and mostly gave Peters a decent chance. And just as has been the case in the past 2 weeks, Justin Peters rose to the occasion.
–I LOVE the shootout (he said sarcastically). I still vote against the skills competition to decide games, but it was fun to win 1.
–Justin Peters. 2 goals against was a very good effort in this game and deserving of the win he picked up. Anaheim had the better of the chances most of the night, and Peters had arguably his best night of the season in terms of making 10-bell or at least 7 or 8-bell saves. And good for him winning the shootout. As well as he has been playing in real hockey, I could not help but think he might be fighting it a bit in the shootout on the heels of going 0 for 3 against Minnesota just a week ago. He just continues to show more levels of mental toughness in etching his mark on the Canes 2013-14 season.
–Chris Terry. Good for him too scoring the shootout winner. With Jeff Skinner nearing return, his days in Raleigh might be numbered, but he too etched a mark on the team’s 2013-14 season scoring a shootout goal that led directly to a point in the standings. And good for Riley Nash also contributing by scoring the all-important 1st goal.
–Drayson Bowman. He had jump in his step all night and looked good when he moved up to the top line. That was a great recovery on that goal after missing the net on a great chance from point blank earlier in the shift and then going aggressively to the net with the puck for a goal scorer’s goal.
–Tuomo Ruutu. He quietly score sheet-wise contributed to Friday’s win. He was 1 of 2 players right in front of the net on the Canes shot that almost squibbled in in the 1st period and set the screen that gave Fasth no chance on EStaal’s goal (on Semin’s shot) and somehow managed not to get hit by the shot. In the face of struggling a bit finding his top level and the score sheet, you can clearly see that he is choosing the path of working harder, banging more bodies, fighting for pucks, etc. rather than taking on a defeatist attitude. Here is hoping that a lucky break or 2 can spring him loose.
–3rd place. The gap is small. The standings are bunched. The Rangers have a game in hand. But that is where the Canes sit in the standings right now which is a very good place to be.
–Gerbe/JStaal/Dwyer. Despite not making it onto the score sheet, this was again the Canes best line. Jordan Staal was a force carrying the puck through the neutral zone and inside the offensive zone. The line did also generate some decent scoring chances, but just did not get rewarded. And they spent a high percentage of their shifts matched up against Getzlaf and Perry who did not score on them at even strength.
–Rough night for penalty kill. The Canes penalty kill had a rare tough night. They struggled to win and clear the puck and mostly lived in survival mode until they ultimately did not survive when a cross ice pass to Dustin Penner resulted in a Ducks goal. And there was also the penalty kill in the 2nd period where the Canes could not get the puck far enough down the ice to change defensemen for the entire 2 minutes leaving Hainsey and Bellemore marooned in front of the net with no skating legs to do much more than park in front of Peters to provide another layer of goalie.
After a very successful 4-0-1 home stand, the Canes get nothing easy schedule-wise. 3 out of the next 4 are on the road. The 1st is tomorrow against a rested St. Louis club coming off whooping Colorado on Thursday night. Then the Canes see Boston twice with Detroit in the middle. But with the new defense as a foundation, the team continues to have the ability to stay in games good or bad and collect points in the standings.
The Blues will present a big challenge tomorrow, but that can wait for tomorrow’s game day preview. Tonight we get to enjoy the conclusion of a great run at home.