Carolina Hurricanes’ Stellar Start: Key Player Contributions and Strategic Goalie Rotations Explored!

Tom Ray (00:02.716)
Well, the Carolina Hurricanes are off to a great start this year and they’ve been on the road. And of course, last year, this was a big challenge for them. They struggled on their West Coast road trip, in fact, went two and four and had 30 goals scored against them during that time. And it was really a breaking in period for Dmitry Orlov. And he was partnered, I think we recall with Tony D’Angelo for a good part of that and their numbers were just horrendous. They had a combined minus 15 on this trip. So we’re very curious to see how it was gonna go this year. Of course, the Canes have made numerous major moves this year. Of course, we talked about Pesce leaving, we talked about Shea leaving. Of course, Teravainen is gone, Noesen has gone, playing well in New Jersey and others.

A lot of folks thought this was gonna be a challenge for the Hurricanes this year, but it’s gone extremely well. So I thought we’d spend some time today and talk a little bit about how it’s going, what surprised us, what’s exciting with this team, what are we looking for to kind of improve a little bit as we go forward? And then how do we see things as the start of the season, each of us kind of looking at what do we think the Canes have done so far? So lots to talk about.

And of course, joining me, stormTRacker Insiders, Erin Manning and Katie Bartlett. Ladies, hello.

Erin M (01:26.068)
Hi there.

Katie B (01:27.426)
Bye!

Tom Ray (01:29.138)
So lots to talk about, but before we get started, I thought I’d just spend a minute and highlight you, Erin, with some exciting news with your recent announcement that you released a new book, and it’s called Twist. It’s part of your Wizards series. Wizards, yes. Wizards, let’s shift. Yes, thank you. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about it, and I understand this is your 19th book. That’s amazing.

Erin M (01:55.91)
Yeah, I’m a self-published author. I’ve been publishing books since 2012 and I started writing fantasy and science fiction for young adults ages 11 and up. There’s a lot of different types of books in that genre, but I gear mine towards, you know, being something family-friendly that anyone in the family can read because, you know, there are, with the older range of that reader’s kind of getting into the teenage and actual, you know, young adult years,

Some of the books are not geared for the younger readers and it can be hard to find some that are family appropriate. with this new series, I have a series that follows the magical adventures of a young boy named Rogan who discovers that he is not the magical loser he thought he was, but is actually a very important and powerful person in his country and a key piece to fighting some very powerful enemies that

the leaders of the country have. So it’s been fun to develop the story and to bring people along for Rogan’s journey of self discovery. As he learns that he’s a lot more powerful than he thinks, but that his sense of humor and his love of mischief can get him into more trouble than he thinks.

Tom Ray (03:14.81)
That sounds amazing. Now, where can folks get a hold of these books?

Erin M (03:19.912)
Primarily, my main channel of distribution is Amazon because I do use Amazon’s self-publishing platform, the Kindle Direct. It’s actually fantastic platform. I really recommend it to anybody out there who’s got a novel they really want to get going because you don’t have to be a technological genius to figure out how to publish through Amazon’s platform. But then Amazon makes expanded distribution available. So technically, bookstores could order it if they wanted to.

That would be people by request. some of the other Barnes and Noble, some of the other online stores do have them as well.

Tom Ray (03:58.211)
Now this follows another series, I think, was it Ordinary Sam? that who it was?

Erin M (04:01.786)
Yes, The Adventures of Ordinary Sam is another fantasy magic series and that one was fun for me. That one is fully complete. It’s five books already complete and out there. The fun part for me with that one was I had always wondered, we always hear stories of someone who has a magic adventure in another land, you know, and then they come home and that’s that. I wanted to start the story after he comes home. So Sam, the story begins when Sam finds himself back home in the ordinary world.

but he remembers a year full of magic adventure in a kingdom no one’s ever heard of and a magic powerful object that seems to have found its way back with him. So that was a lot of fun too. And there’s a talking bird named Kitrit in that one. And I love having a talking bird character. So this one is more, I think this one appeals really well to the younger age of my audience. So, and I’ve got some people that absolutely love that series and have let me know that, which is the great thing. You know, I joke about having tens of readers, you know, but.

Tom Ray (04:44.817)
No!

Katie B (04:46.35)
Thank

Erin M (04:57.932)
I love having readers that are passionate about my books, even if they’re not the most numerous group of readers in the world. So it’s been fun.

Tom Ray (05:06.16)
Listen, I think it’s amazing and awesome and congratulations on your new release and we’re going to definitely be following you closely in the months ahead. And, you know, what I don’t know how you do it all with all the time you spend on the hockey world and of course with writing as well.

Erin M (05:09.962)
Thank you.

Erin M (05:19.778)
I’m going with some hockey fiction right now, so we’ll see what happens with that.

Tom Ray (05:25.248)
that is really cool. Well, absolutely. again, thanks for joining us here, that’s awesome. That’s awesome news. So let’s talk a little bit about the hurricanes. So surprising and exciting. Let’s talk about the Defense Corps first. Who wants to kick it

Katie B (05:46.126)
I’m big into the D as I’ve said multiple times in the past episodes. I don’t know what it is about defense, especially because I think so much of what Carolina is successful with starts with their defense. The defense really drives their entire identity and without their defense, their offensive systems don’t make work or don’t make sense or have more struggles. And without the defense also puts a lot more pressure on the goalies.

Tom Ray (05:52.432)
Hahaha

Katie B (06:16.132)
It’s really that pivotal nexus in the Canes game plan. Obviously, Slaven and Burns have been a top pairing just like we’ve been used to the past couple of seasons. They’ve been great.

Orlov and Chatfield have been steady to start, no real surprises there with them. But everybody was keyed in on what about Walker and Gostisbehere? Is this ghost Walker pair going to make Canes forget about what we’ve lost on the blue line? And I definitely think that they have done that and more. This pair.

has had chemistry from the get-go, which really has surprised me, pleasantly, very pleasantly surprised me, but I thought they were gonna be too samey-samey, and they have it. Walker has taken up the mantle of being that more stay-at-home type mentality, guarding the blue lion, really letting ghosts.

Tom Ray (06:55.398)
Yes.

Katie B (07:15.47)
play into his offensive skills and talents. that’s been the best part of the blue line, right? Ghost. Gostisbehere has been…phenomenal. And he has been phenomenal five on five. And he has been extra phenomenal on the power play. It has been so good to have him back. And if this is what the start of the season looks like with him, I

Tom Ray (07:25.404)
Hahaha!

Erin M (07:29.821)
.

Katie B (07:40.798)
think that we can expect even more as he gets reacclimated to the team and the team gets reacclimated to him. I really think he is going to have a standout career year and I can’t wait to see how that unfolds.

Erin M (07:56.448)
I would definitely agree with that. Everything you just said there and you know, his in particular, mean, one of the things I think you notice when you watch him is that he just makes decisions so quickly with that puck. You know, he’s not just the movement of the puck to get it into the zone on the power play and just, or even at five on five, but the fact that he just always seems to know when to take that shot and when to pass it along to someone who’s got a little bit better lane or a little bit more open.

Tom Ray (07:57.01)
Karen?

Erin M (08:24.767)
It’s just so instantaneous. And I think we’ve seen in the past that some defensemen who have quarterbacked the Kings power plane, I’m thinking back a couple of years now, but we’ve had different people up there. Not all of them have been the quickest to say, I’m not gonna take this big booming shot from the blue line. I’m gonna see who’s closer. I’m gonna use a little deception, maybe make it look like I’m taking that shot. I love the fact that Ghost seems pretty confident to do that, to be deceptive. He’ll get into the lane.

Tom Ray (08:34.727)
best.

Erin M (08:51.143)
And then as everyone immediately rushes to cover him, he finds the open man, and he’s just doing it really, really well. It’s fun to watch.

Tom Ray (08:59.826)
Well, it is, and know, a couple of things. We talk about the fact that Orlov and Chatfield have moved up to the number two pairing. So they’re getting, they’re playing more minutes and they’re currently sitting at a plus two combined, which I think is excellent. And you know, again, they’re finding their way. And I think Chatfield, and I know this was discussed in the game last night, Chatfield starting to really get his mojo now. You can see it. He made several plays that were just outstanding.

And again, he, you know, he had to kind of find his way along the path of being a second pairing guy and getting some tough minutes. So he’s really, really starting to show that. And the other guys, the Walker/Gostisbehere group, the thing about Walker that I really liked is that, you know, he’s just a smart player. Like he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He gets the puck and moves it smartly.

And again, he’s been very strong in the D zone. So I think they’re a plus one combined as well. So I think that’s great. Gostisbehere, you guys have talked about him. He’s been amazing. He’s had a 65 point year before in 2017-18. So he’s going to rack up the points. Now, something I think you mentioned maybe on X, Erin, is the number of shots that they had on the power play. That was insane.

Erin M (10:21.138)
Insane. 24 shots and it’s the most since 2019 when the Toronto Maple Leafs had a power play in a game that had 26. But not since 2019 has anybody even come close to that. So that’s just crazy when you think about what that means.

Tom Ray (10:23.506)
Yeah, what was it? 24 something. Yeah.

Katie B (10:24.376)
So,

Tom Ray (10:39.858)
But I thought it wasn’t at the mouth for the Canes since 2008 or something. It’s amazing. Yeah, no, I was just going to mention, but I think the point about that, and that’s amazing, that’s an amazing stat, is the way that this power play is moving the puck. I mean, it’s astounding. It’s incredibly crisp. And there’s no question in my mind that it’s being driven by a ghost.

Erin M (10:42.974)
Yes, for the Canes it’s the most since 2008, They haven’t done that.

Katie B (10:44.227)
Yes.

Tom Ray (11:07.846)
I mean, he’s driving the bus. And we talked a lot about this in the off season when we talked about the decor and the feeling that, I mean, he’s a different type of player quarterback than his Burns. mean, Burns is that shoot first guy. He just wants to get on a stick and fire it. And Ghost is a guy who’s thinking, okay, he sees the ice well. So he’s looking around to see who’s gonna, and he and Aho seem to have a really nice kind of,

Erin M (11:24.53)
Yes.

Tom Ray (11:37.404)
just a nice way to work the puck around to get somebody open on the other side or whatever the case is. So he gets to the center of the ice. He does that regularly. And I think the power play is going to be a tremendous point. Now, the other thing, and speaking of that is, of course, the penalty kill has been outstanding as well. And that’s a different discussion. But I think that’s where Burns and Slavin have really stepped up. And I was watching, particularly last night, I was quite impressed with Burns. I thought he

just played a tremendous solid game back on the blue and they were playing hard minutes. They were getting the tough situations. And of course, what did did Tripp call Slaven? It’s a defensive guru or something.

Katie B (12:19.79)
Guru. Yeah. The two-on-one guru. The two-on-one guru.

Erin M (12:20.7)
Guru. Mm-hmm. You have one guru. That was it.

Tom Ray (12:24.082)
Yeah, that’s right. But Slaven is the best in the game defensively, there’s no question, and he showed that again last night. But those guys, again, doing their job and doing it well. And I know we had some concerns starting off the season with Brent Burns, but I think he’s looking solid.

Erin M (12:45.71)
Mm-hmm.

Katie B (12:46.956)
think not playing on the power play is going to be really good for him. He can focus his energy on the penalty kill and on five on five and find his ways to contribute there and just taking a little bit of that wear and tear off of him hopefully will work out over the entire course of the season and have him just in perfect form once the playoffs roll around.

Erin M (13:10.509)
And that’s really key to where having that second unit basically be just sort of a backup. I mean they were

They got a few turns last night because of the four minute high sticking penalty and some of those things. But they’re out there for such brief shifts for the most part. It’s one of those, it would be great if they managed to produce something, but no one’s really expecting it. And so I think that also takes some pressure off because they’re not out there for a long time. know, he doesn’t have to be dragging the puck into the zone three or four times over the course of a minute and a half, because you know, they’re not gonna be in that situation very much.

Tom Ray (13:20.101)
It did.

Erin M (13:47.614)
And I think that once Jackson Blake has been on the power play I was noticing this last night to the second unit did get some really good chances I think that when Jackson Blake has been out there because he’s kind of to me It seems like they’re kind of got him in that net front roll right now and if if if That chemistry builds just a little bit more I could see some goals going in from burns his point shots, you know in the rebounds They’re just they just haven’t had a lot of reps there. They haven’t had a lot of time together

Tom Ray (13:56.018)
You’re dead.

Tom Ray (14:13.362)
Well, I think, yeah, no, but I think with Blake, and that’s an interesting comment, Erin, is that Blake has no reluctance to handle the puck and make something happen. Like he’ll grab the puck and skate all around. He’s very comfortable with that. Finding the open guy. think he’s showing, he was showing a lot of confidence doing that on the power play. And I think that that’s great. So I think the D side, I think,

Erin M (14:23.978)
not at all.

Tom Ray (14:39.666)
for a lot of folks who felt like the loss of Shea and Pesce was gonna be devastating to the Hurricanes, I think at this stage in its early days, but the indications are that this decor is gonna be just fine. moving on to goaltending, I was looking at some of the numbers and it turns out that Freddie Anderson is number one in the league right now and same percentage and also in his…

goes against average. his numbers are unbelievable. And he played another strong game last night. So the goaltending, I think it’s in great shape. Your thoughts?

Katie B (15:18.286)
I’ve really enjoyed the goaltending. If you remember last season, you talked about, what was it, 30 goals or something they had given up early in the season. A lot of that had to do with the inconsistent goaltending as well as the play in front of the goaltenders. know, Kochetkov had started off the season down, I think, Syracuse or whichever minor league team he had been lent to since we were affiliated with Chicago last year.

Tom Ray (15:26.481)
Yeah.

Tom Ray (15:40.144)
Yes, yes.

Erin M (15:40.47)
That was it.

Katie B (15:46.146)
And then he came up for a little while and he was, I mean, it was rough for him too. When he got called up and they got sent back down, they got called back up, it was this big yo-yo and the health and everything. It’s just made such a world of difference to have.

him and Anderson up together. They’re both healthy. They’re both feeling good. The team’s playing well in front of them, which gives them a lot of confidence to be tall, to play forward, to make themselves a big target in that crease.

Tom Ray (16:04.262)
Yes.

Tom Ray (16:17.18)
Big.

Katie B (16:20.14)
with those two things combined, the play in front of them and their health and knowing what their role is going to be. Because I think Rod has been very clear that they’re going to go back to what worked at the end of the regular season last year with doing the rotation, a start for Freddie, a start for Pyotr back and forth, trusting both of them to do what they need to do to get the job done.

It’s looked really, really good. know Pyotr had that one kind of shaky game against St. Louis, but it was, in all fairness, a back to back. He was fresh with the team in front of him. I think just lost their legs a little bit. you know, that can, that can, you know, that there’s the difference of a goal, right? Goal or two right there. So, you know, it is what it is early days. But other than that, they just, they’ve looked so good and I fully expect Rod to keep this up because the more rest Freddie gets, the

Erin M (16:48.85)
.

They were not yeah

Tom Ray (17:11.303)
Yes.

Katie B (17:11.488)
less likely it is that he’s going to deal with some sort of significant injury as he has in the past and the more consistent playing time that Piotr gets, the better he’s going to perform. So it’s the best of both worlds and hopefully the Canes can continue this moving forward for the entire season ideally.

Erin M (17:31.465)
I would agree with that and I would actually say that your comment made me think of something, when you really think about the beginning of last year, you had a team that was really struggling to connect to its identity for reasons that still kind of.

back by, you know, it’s baffling it to think about what happened last year, because they didn’t have a lot of new additions. It was really just more love and bunting. But for some reason, they just couldn’t click as a group. And then on top of that, you had Freddie, whose health condition was made known around, it was sometime between the sixth and 10th of November, I believe. And then, you know, Antti Ranta, who was

Tom Ray (17:53.202)
They did not.

Tom Ray (18:08.08)
Yeah.

Erin M (18:12.275)
clearly struggling as well. then like you said, Pyotr coming back and forth from Syracuse, not from Chicago, and just, you not necessarily getting the playing time there either because you know, so he’s getting called in and maybe he was a little bit cold, not quite up to speed. It was really a cascade of all those things that led to what you were saying, Tom, about how just how many goals against they had last year, that because it wasn’t normal for the Canes. And I think that

Tom Ray (18:14.182)
Peace to

Tom Ray (18:34.844)
Bye.

Erin M (18:38.656)
Looking at it now, seeing this group click so well so early, it’s like what happened? But it’s good to see this.

Tom Ray (18:45.554)
Well, yeah, and I think with Freddie, rest is key for him. He’s made huge saves look easy. mean, he’s just, it’s like a beach ball coming at him. It’s easy for him. And I think this is great to see because the way the Canes are gonna play, and I think they’re showing it with the scores, they’re lower scores for the most part. And they’re gonna have to have a solid D, solid goaltending.

Katie B (18:51.724)
Yeah. Yeah.

Erin M (18:56.722)
Mm-hmm.

Erin M (19:08.498)
Mm-hmm.

Tom Ray (19:12.942)
They don’t have the offensive guns at this point that they’ve had in the past. So I think that’s a good sign. And I’m a stand up with the goaltending. I think they could be among the top pairs if they’re healthy all year. I really think they can be and look forward to that. So then we move to the forward side. Now, you know, lot of things are kind of.

You know, in change here over the last two or three games, we’ve seen a lot of different changes with Rod Brind’Amour trying to find the combinations that work. But the one that I wanted to really focus on today was that second line. And this has been a discussion for a long time. Of course, Kotkaniemi centering for Eric Robinson now and on the right side, Martin Necas. So again, you know, a lot of question about Koke Niami. Can he get it done? A lot of question about Necas because of what went on in the summer.

What are our thoughts about that second line? Where do we think that is? Do you want to kick it off, Erin?

Erin M (20:09.168)
Sure. I think that there’s been a couple different, like you said, there’ve been a couple different combinations. They started with Roslovic on that line, but Roslovic has been up and down between the top line, you know, even in the camp and the preseason. So I like what Robinson brings on the line because he’s got a lot more speed than I think people give him credit for. And that speed matching natures has been really fun to watch.

Tom Ray (20:32.626)
respect.

Erin M (20:36.184)
I think with Kotkaniemi, he’s had a fantastic start in most ways. He still needs that first goal. I think once the first one comes, it’ll be all right. his points have been fine. His assists have been fine. He’s looking a lot more poised to me on the ice. And that, think, is something that comes with the maturity factor. And you can see the areas where

there occasionally there have been times when Rod will put that fourth or that second line out and you’re thinking, okay, with Necas with Kotkaniemi, he’s still he’s putting them out there and saying this is a big moment in the game and I’m trusting this line to get it done. So that means a lot to both of them, I think. But the star of that line undisputably is Martin Necas and what he has managed to do over these first few games, it has been so much fun to watch.

A little bit quieter game from him last night, perhaps, but probably understandable considering how big the game before was. But he’s just been everywhere. He’s even without putting up a lot last night, he did still pick up an assist on the power play. And he’s just, you know, he’s involved in everything. He’s not holding back. He’s not trying to, you know, direct traffic completely himself. He’s just very involved in all the plays. So that’s been fun to watch.

Tom Ray (21:35.207)
Yes.

Katie B (21:55.018)
It’s been nice seeing Necas not try to do it all himself. He does seem to be a little bit more aware of his line mates and communicating with them. That one goal he had a couple games ago where he and Robinson just drove into the zone and Robinson found him for the tap in. I want more of that. That is something where they could just start picking defenses apart if.

Tom Ray (22:10.32)
Yeah, that was a beauty.

Erin M (22:16.131)
Mm-hmm. Yes.

Katie B (22:21.778)
those two are able to get synced together plus the support of KK alongside them because the speed of Necas is really what’s going to get that motor and production going, especially five on five. So that is very encouraging. And like Erin said, KK’s contributions have been there too, but they’ve been a little bit more subtle.

Tom Ray (22:33.436)
Yes.

Katie B (22:46.622)
And I think as we see the season go along, he’s still going to continue playing a really good defensively responsible game. He’s going to be their safety valve in case Natchos and Robinson do get caught a little too deep in their zone. And he’s done well with that. And his physicality is starting to come out a little bit more. He seems a little bit quicker to the puck. just.

All the fundamentals seem to be there with KK. And I think as soon as he starts trusting his fundamentals more and more, the offensive production is going to come along. Like Erin said, as soon as he gets that first goal, it’ll be a domino effect and start working there. And then back to Necas, the other thing is the power play. He has set up shop.

Erin M (23:15.178)
.

Erin M (23:28.614)
Tom Ray (23:29.084)
Yes.

Katie B (23:31.636)
once they’re in the zone in that left face off circle, which is exactly what I wanted to see from him. He has such a lethal shot from there. He scored, think, a couple of power play goals from there, at least one, but I think maybe it’s been two. I want, with the way that Ghost is being successful up at the top of the zone and the others have moved it around, I really hope that…

Tom Ray (23:43.152)
Yes. Yes.

Erin M (23:47.149)
.

Katie B (23:56.342)
they start finding Necas just a little bit more because his shot is just so good from that particular spot and I want to see them keep taking advantage of it so that their power play continues red hot like it’s been.

Tom Ray (24:10.13)
Well, interesting on that, on the power play side, and you’re right on, think, Katie, on that. Ajo has been the guy getting most of those types of shots. Like he’s been putting himself in a position to wire it. And I’ve been really surprised because he’s been really taking advantage of that. So that’s great. But we do know that Marty Necas really loves it on that left side where he can get an advantage against the goaltender.

course, his play on the power play has been wonderful. I think he’s been working quite nicely with his teammates out there. And I think this is just a demonstration of the fact that he wanted to be on that number one power play and he’s taking and running with it. So that’s all great. I wanted to mention about KK just for a minute. He’s a plus three and his defensive work has been really outstanding. He’s been coming back into his own zone. He’s been helping out. He’s been bringing the puck up. And I think

you know, as you say, the offense is going to come a bit of a, know, again, as their line gets chemistry. And I think that’s always the big question with the second unit. And we’ve talked a little bit about this in the past, but, know, Necas just is kind of a freewheeling guy. likes to do his own thing. And you’ve just got two new guys with, actually you’ve got a new player on the left side with, with Eric Robinson, just there are a couple of games. So, trying to find some chemistry with those guys. I think if they do that, the offense is going to come. you know, a couple of plays that that Kotkaniemi made last night, he made one at the blue line where he got the puck in, it was on a power play and he got it over to Burns. It was a wonderful play. And it’s just, I mean, he sees the ice, he knows what’s going on out there. And I think the biggest single difference is what we talked a lot about this summer was he got into a bad place last year, confidence wise.

And at the end of the year, we recall he was really struggling. He just did not have confidence in his game. He’s showing a lot of confidence right now. When you see him go up the ice, he’s definitely out there making something happen. So I’ve got high hopes for KK this year, and I think the start is very positive. And hopefully he can continue. If he gets that first goal, that’ll be great.

Erin M (26:25.906)
Absolutely.

Tom Ray (26:27.75)
So I think, yeah, I think definitely, you know, those folks are coming through for the Canes. You know, when you take a look at the lineup, it’s hard to really find some areas of concern. I mean, we, you know, we looked at some of the players that we thought we might see something. And again, a couple of them, had talked a little bit about previously a couple of them that, that jumped up last night were Jack Drury and Andre Svechnikov. So, you know, it’s kind of interesting how this works. But let’s take a look at.

at that fourth line because I think that’s an interesting place to look. That was a bit of a concern. mentioned Drury got off to a bit of a slow start. You know, we’re wondering about Jackson Blake. Now they put William Carrier back there. What are our thoughts about that fourth line? Are we okay with that? Do we feel there’s some opportunity here? What are we thinking?

Erin M (27:17.031)
Well, I think that, you know, it is funny because whenever it seems like whenever you really focus on an area where you think, gosh, that person or that group could be doing a little bit more. A lot of people were saying, gee, the fourth line just isn’t that much of a factor, but OK, it’s the fourth line. You know, they don’t play a lot of minutes. It’s no big deal. They’ll get they’ll get it together. And then they come out against the Kraken last night and just absolutely took over the game. They were so dominant.

Tom Ray (27:43.611)
You

Erin M (27:44.444)
They were just incredible the entire time. I think apart from Jarvis’s breakaway, they were the story of the game. And Jarvis’s breakaway was a huge story on its own. But for these three guys, mean, with Seth Jarvis, you know that’s gonna come. He’s gonna have those moments. He’s gonna be that way. For a fourth line of players like Drury and Blake and Carrier, you’re still putting that together. Carrier’s only been, what was it, his second game with them?

Katie B (27:55.819)
it’s.

Tom Ray (28:09.564)
Yes.

Tom Ray (28:13.88)
took a couple of games. Yeah.

Erin M (28:14.684)
Yeah, a couple of games. And you had said, Tom, that you thought perhaps he might be a better fit on the fourth line than on Stahl’s line because he used to play the fourth line in Vegas. certainly he seems like he’s doing great with them. But what a thing to see the three of them combined like that. And Blake just, every time I think, well, gee, he is young. Should he really be in playing in Raleigh all year? But then he’ll have a game like this. And I think I see exactly what they see.

I see exactly why they put him in there in the first place. He’s just got an incredible hockey IQ and that when you have that, everything else comes into place. So I was excited to see them play so well. What about you, Katie?

Tom Ray (28:47.559)
Yeah, he does.

Katie B (28:54.842)
yeah, that was fantastic. And I definitely had some concerns there for a while. If you recall the past couple of seasons, Drury’s best chemistry came with Mason because it had carried over from their time together in Chicago. And so the question was, how was Drury going to do without his go-to guy glued to his side? And I think perhaps Jackson Blake might become that new go-to guy for Drury once they start really figuring each other out. Because like you said,

Tom Ray (29:04.87)
That’s right.

Tom Ray (29:13.361)
Yes.

Katie B (29:24.648)
Erin, his hockey IQ is really, really good, but he also has a really, really high work ethic, which is perfect in a Rod Brind’Amour system. He is not afraid to go to the dirty areas, to be tough on pucks and grind it out, to do the hard four check.

Erin M (29:36.99)
Absolutely.

Katie B (29:43.116)
because that’s the first thing a fourth line has to do, right? Is make sure that the other team doesn’t get possession of the pucks, give your big guys a bit of a breather, create some good energy that the top lines can feed off of and get off the ice with no harm done. But.

Erin M (29:44.742)
yeah.

Katie B (30:01.728)
our fourth line has a real potential to be more than just a basic plug and play fourth line. And so that’s what I’m excited for. think Carrier is going to really help stabilize just the presence so that they don’t get too lost on the ice, have that good.

for checking and defensive responsibility and that’ll open up a little bit more for Drury and Blake to go to work and create some scoring opportunities because that goal by Drury was so crucial in that time of the game because the Canes had dominated the game but were only up one nothing and that means that one weird play, one mistake tied the game at that point and so their goal allowed the Canes to say, okay, we’re good.

Tom Ray (30:34.706)
It’s me.

Erin M (30:35.175)
Absolutely.

Tom Ray (30:40.945)
Yes.

Tom Ray (30:46.726)
Yes.

Katie B (30:50.658)
We’re fine, we’ve got this and move forward and that goal ended up being the game winning goal. So huge from them. Can’t wait to see how they end up building on this because what a weapon, what a weapon for the Canes to have.

Erin M (30:57.6)
Absolutely.

Tom Ray (31:04.498)
Well, for sure. And a couple things, you know, we talked about Jack Drury and the faceoff circle. His numbers are outstanding and he’s been at the top for the Canes, I think, the last couple of seasons. So that’s a great thing when you’re on a fourth line like that where they can get control of the puck. I noticed, I mean, they got a number of faceoff wins last night and it was kind of a group effort where, you know, the puck would come loose and I think Blake got it one time and maybe Carrier and the other one.

and finding a way to get it back to the point and keep the play going. The other thing you see with Jackson Blake is, you know, if you watched him in any of the kind of the college action, he was dominant and he would take the puck and he would control the play. I mean, he’s used to doing that. He’s got no concern with, you know, taking that puck and running with it and making smart moves. And that’s the thing I’ve been watching is, you when he starts to do that, does he get himself into a world of hurt or what happens, right?

So far, he’s been pretty successful with it and he’s been able to find a way to get the puck to someone else and keep the play going. And I think that’s exciting and I think one of the values of a guy like Jackson Blake, if he can hang in there and they can continue to bring him along as they are, is they do have an offensive weapon on that line. Because he’s definitely a guy that can put the puck in the net and he can make smart plays like he did on that beautiful Drury goal. So I think Blake’s a guy that we’re gonna wanna see more from.

Erin M (32:19.563)
Uh-huh.

Tom Ray (32:30.033)
Now, the other thing, of course, we know is that on the road, the Canes did not have the opportunity to get favorable matchups. Okay, so heading back home, they’re going to be able to do some good work for guys like Blake and Carrier and Drury because in some cases they were up against the best lines. And, you know, that’s the matchup that the opposing team wanted. So the other thing that happened was of course their minutes were diminished because again,

Couldn’t get the matchups, so there would be situations where they’d skip a shift. In fact, you’d see it. so I think heading back home, we’re gonna see a little bit more from that fourth line. I just hope they keep them together. This is my hope is that they’ll keep Carrier on that line and they’ll continue to work with Drury and Blake. And I think those guys can definitely have a factor. But it’s one of those things where you just hope that Rod will.

Katie B (33:12.494)
Thanks

Tom Ray (33:25.712)
Just hang in there with them, them get some synergy together and let’s see how goes.

Erin M (33:30.985)
I think that I agree with you for the most part, but the one thing that does intrigue me is that there is possibility, like you said, when they’re at home and Rod controls the matchups, he may occasionally want to put Jackson Blake on one of the top two lines because he is so good offensively and he is, you know, those passes are just gorgeous and the threat that he can manage to create. So I think that just as a way of rounding out to see what they have with him, you know, that they may say, you know what?

Tom Ray (33:52.618)
sure.

Erin M (33:59.509)
We get to control the matchups. We get to build the stall line first and then put everybody else where we want to. So I wouldn’t be surprised. My little joke. Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if if broad decided to give him some second line or first line ice time here and there. So apart from that, though, I agree with you. And especially I agree about Carrier because I think the one thing that I noticed last night, I don’t know if you guys noticed this, too. He does not have Robinson’s speed, but that’s a better fit.

Tom Ray (34:05.254)
Hahaha

Katie B (34:05.652)
Thank

Tom Ray (34:28.058)
No. Yeah. Correct.

Erin M (34:28.639)
with Drury because Drury’s not super fast either. And I think that maybe Robinson was too fast for that line and that may have been why they moved him up in the first place. So just thought.

Katie B (34:40.355)
Good point.

Tom Ray (34:40.572)
No, I agree. I think you’re right. again, we know the Lions are going to change over time and that’s just the nature of the beast. There’ll be injuries, there’ll be Rod Blendemore, as he’s called on occasion, playing with the Lions and so on. But I think this line certainly has the potential and I’ve been pleased with him. The other guy that, you know, we talked a little bit about and kind of hoping he would go to the next level is Andre Svechnikov.

Katie B (35:07.393)
Sweatshits

He’s had a good, I guess, I guess that’d be the best word to use, start to the season. He’s had his points. Before last night, he had the one five on five goal early and he’s had a few assists here and there. But for someone who’s supposed to be your power forward, who’s supposed to be one of your scoring superstars, it just felt a little wanting. yet last night really helped with that. That power play goal was fantastic with the zone entry and

the passing that happened between the different players and ended up on Andre’s stick and he just finished it. Wonderful and I hope that that will help build his confidence and help

Tom Ray (35:42.908)
Yes.

Katie B (35:50.548)
give him a boost because if the Canes are going to be successful not only this regular season but pushing into the postseason, Svec is going to have to be a big big part of the scoring. He needs to be somebody that when he gets on the ice alongside Ajo and whoever else is playing up on that top line that game they go

Okay, here he comes. We’ve got to be perfect or we’re going to get burned. And even that might not be enough. Like that needs to be the mentality in the back of the defense’s head is watch out. Here he comes. He, you know, he’s, he’s so good that if we’re not playing our A plus game, he is going to make us pay for it. That’s the kind of fetch I want to see. want to see him really, really hungry, not waiting for the opportunities, but going out and creating and making his own opportunities.

Erin M (36:14.49)
Mm-hmm.

Erin M (36:40.89)
I would agree 100 % and I agree. think that the power play goal is going to help spark him a little bit offensively because sometimes it’s just that matter of trusting your shot, trusting that you can actually. I mean, we know that the Canes are a high volume shooting team. The downside of that is that they’re low finishing, but sometimes that gets in your head that it’s good enough to do as long as you’re getting your shots on goal. doesn’t matter if it goes in or not, you know, because that’s how the system seems to be organized. So you want someone like Svech to reject that mentality and not think of shooting as the goal but scoring as the goal. And I mean, it’s not like they don’t all think that anyway, but I think there can be some hesitation, especially for someone after everything he went through with the injury and coming back from that. I think that there’s still been some on and off hesitation about shooting versus passing. And you don’t want him to be a pass first guy. You don’t want Andre Svechnikov to be a pass first guy. You want him to be…

I’m gonna take it to the net. I’m gonna lower my shoulder and drive the net. I’m gonna have my way with the defenders in front and just get them out of the way. I mean, and we saw that last night because he was in what Tripp Tracy called beast mode. He went into beast mode. And I love when he does that because that’s the physical nature like Kitty was saying too. It’s part of the big whole power forward package. You want him to be, have that snarl, be a little bit nasty, be a little bit physical and you know.

Tom Ray (37:49.34)
He wasn’t beast mode yet.

Katie B (37:49.645)
this.

Erin M (38:05.57)
and then also shoot and score. I mean, I think that it’s kind of astonishing to me that he’s been able to do that without taking as many penalties as he has in the past. So that’s a sign of maturity too, that he’s, you know, it’s not either or. It’s not either I hang back and I’m deferential and I don’t get in trouble and I don’t end up in the box, or I go into beast mode and I sit in the box half the game, you know, because I think before for him,

That was kind of the trade-off, you know? It felt like every time he would elevate to that level, he would get it called for the stupidest things. you know, that comes with maturity, too. I think it does. It’s just learning how far you can go without going too far, especially when the refs are watching. So.

Tom Ray (38:47.548)
Yeah, I agree.

Erin M (38:52.014)
But we want that.

Tom Ray (38:52.483)
I mean, I think, I think fetch, frankly, he has a lot more to give and he’s got to. mean, he was a second overall pick. I mean, he was extremely highly ballyhooed when the Canes got him. His early years were very, very promising and he just hasn’t taken that next step. And I think he’s got to really, as you say, he’s got to grab it and run with it.

And the other thing we’ve seen with him is he gets in these streets, he’ll get hot and he’ll get really hot. And maybe he’ll find that and he’ll start to drive those numbers and that’s what he really needs to do. He’s got to get that confidence back up. But he’s on a great line. I think those three guys are working well together. With Roslovic sitting up there now, I’ve been impressed with that line. Of course, Ajo, he played 23 minutes last night. It’s incredible. So, he’s definitely, he’s carrying his weight.

Erin M (39:21.101)
Yes.

Erin M (39:42.07)
Mm-hmm.

Tom Ray (39:45.98)
for sure, and he’s off to a great start for the hurricane. again, we’d like to see a little bit more from Svetch for sure, but that’s a good thing because the Canes are doing this winning without him driving the bus. So that’s a very good sign. Okay, so.

Katie B (40:01.4)
One thing that might be good on

One thing just really quick that might be good on that top line is I don’t remember if it was Mike or Tripp who mentioned on one of the broadcasts that Roslovic is a shooter. He is always looking to shoot, looking for that opportunity. And that’s part of where I think Rod, why Rod put Roslovic up on that line is he has some speed, but he’s also willing to shoot. So perhaps being on that line, Svech, that’ll rub off on Svech a little bit and watch Roslovic shooting more and the opportunities he creates.

Erin M (40:13.609)
Katie B (40:33.198)
through his shot and if both of them are doing that with Ajo being the facilitator between the two of them that could end up being a really effective top line but they just they need that little bit of extra mojo and and and communication between the three of them and that could really take off but again Roslovic is shooting a ton get get Svech to shoot as much as Roslovic does and the goals are gonna start to go up

Erin M (41:01.806)
Absolutely.

Tom Ray (41:02.674)
Well, Roslovic, he hit a post last night. I mean, it was a goal. All they had to do is get it an inch to the left and it was in the net. He’s hit a number of posts. Yeah. he can really shoot it. There’s no question. And he can shoot it quickly. So that’s it. He scored 22 goals one year with Columbus. So, we know he can put the puck in the net and he’s definitely showing that and, you know, working the wing with Ajo. That’s beauty. I mean, it’s a great combination. So, yeah, lots of excitement there. Now.

Katie B (41:10.367)
So loud.

Erin M (41:11.779)
Yeah.

Erin M (41:26.276)
Mm-hmm.

Tom Ray (41:31.056)
Are there areas for improvement? This is a tough one. mean, the Canes are five and two in the season. They’re four and one on the road trip. Gosh, is there anything that we should be thinking about in terms of areas of improvement? Thoughts?

Erin M (41:46.349)
Well, this is a little nip. sorry, go ahead. You go first.

Katie B (41:46.998)
I I just read that. I was just thinking on the defense other than Goss despair. There’s just been an Orlov empty net last night. There hasn’t been a whole lot of goals produced from the defense. And that’s something we have gotten used to the last few seasons. was, you know, Burns was producing goals. Slaven would chip in with a couple here. There we’d go to Chatmando every now and again.

Tom Ray (41:59.302)
Yes.

Erin M (42:11.503)
I miss Chatmando, too.

Tom Ray (42:12.922)
Of course, Brady Skjei, I mean, he scored a ton. Yeah. Yeah.

Katie B (42:15.842)
We’re just used to getting more goals from the defense. And so right now, like I said, other than the empty netter from Orlov, the only D-man who has scored so far is Ghost. And granted, he’s been doing great on that. He has multiple goals.

Tom Ray (42:29.564)
discuss.

Katie B (42:34.506)
I really think that I’d like to see, I’d like to see a little more from Walker. I think he has it in him. He’s probably just getting used to the system and making sure he has his, he’s mining his P’s and Q’s on the defensive end first. But there was a play that he did last night where he did a bank pass out to the forward and then he moved up.

the ice and the forward passed it to another forward who went deep in the zone. I think it was carrier and but he didn’t see Walker. Walker was wide open. He had just split the D zone made it all the way through the neutral zone and was up there like another forward on that rush. It was fantastic from him and once the Canes forward start getting used to that where Ghost is going to be the offensive driver once they are established in the offensive zone, but Walker is going to give them a lot of

Tom Ray (43:08.518)
Yes.

Katie B (43:23.968)
often a lot of offensive options when it comes to being in on the rush while entering the zone. So I’d like to see that obviously Burns doesn’t have a goal yet it’d be nice to see him get on that goal sheet as well and I think you know Orlov and Chatfield they’ll contribute their handful of goals here and there but I think that it that that would be my one area is just more offensive production especially from the goal side of things from the defense outside of ghost.

Tom Ray (43:29.009)
sure.

Tom Ray (43:37.958)
Yes.

Erin M (43:51.996)
Yep, I agree 100 % and I mean when you look at It’s not just the goals. I mean so far I think Chatfield and Walker are the only two skaters who don’t yet have a point this season You know, we have a goalie who has a point this is in Kachyakov.

Tom Ray (44:05.393)
Yes.

Katie B (44:09.28)
Yes.

Tom Ray (44:09.394)
That was a great setup, by the way. That was a beauty.

Erin M (44:12.512)
Pyotr Kochetkovgot his first NHL assist and I was so excited when I realized it was his first because I could have sworn he would already scored at least one, but no, his first NHL assist. But because of that, yeah, you do look at the defense and say, okay, we know that they’re doing great defensively and there’s absolutely, mean, Burns in particular, we already talked about that, you cannot criticize anything he’s doing defensively whatsoever. He’s been fantastic. But yes.

The Canes system is built on some of those really timely goals coming from defensemen. And right now, I know Ghost is carrying the weight of that, especially on the power play. But as the season progresses and the opposing teams get more more tape on Ghost, that’s when we’re really gonna need to see the rest of the defense kicking in with that, because that has been a feature of the Canes since, you know, as long as I can remember that.

the defense produce goals and the forwards make way for them to do that a lot. hopefully they can get that going because it’s always fun too because you know when the D’s are pinching and that actually happens it’s just exciting.

Katie B (45:24.14)
Yes.

Tom Ray (45:24.646)
Well, and again, I think the shot volume is coming. I mean, there’s no question Burns, I think, had five or six shots last night. So he was definitely in there. A couple of points, a couple of points. We did talk about Walker, you know, and there’s been discussion about this as well. I Walker’s not unlike Orlov and Burns before him. They’ve got to figure out this Cane’s way of playing and it’s not the easiest thing. And I’m sure he’s putting a lot of his concentration on the defensive side of the game.

Erin M (45:32.888)
yeah.

Erin M (45:47.748)
Right.

Tom Ray (45:52.454)
And once he kind of gets his mojo with that, I think you’re going to see him show what he can really do offensively because we know he’s got it there. He can fly and he’s a guy that likes to get into the rush as well. So I think that’s going to come. Same thing with Chatfield. As I mentioned earlier, think Jaylen’s been kind of cutting his teeth on this second pairing idea and being a little bit more conservative. And I think as he started to show the last couple of games, he’s starting to feel more comfortable and he’s really starting to

you know, make things happen out there. And he’s a guy that with those wheels, he can, he can cause a lot of damage for sure. So I’m, I’m, I’m with you on the offensive side, but I think it’s great that to this point, it hasn’t been a big concern. The numbers are excellent win-wise and so on. And most importantly, they’re taking care of their defensive game. And that’s, that’s where Rod, everything starts with bring the more as you know, and, it’s going well. So look,

They’re off to a great start. My goodness, what an easy show when you can talk about a team that’s playing like the Hurricanes are, right? But let’s have some fun right now. And as we kind of wrap it up, a couple of different things I wanted to throw out there. If you had one word to sum up the Cane season so far, what would it be? We’ll start with you, Erin. What’s your word?

Erin M (46:56.658)
you

Erin M (47:13.513)
You know, it’s funny, it’s changed a few times because I had different things on my mind. That’s my prerogative as a woman, I can change my mind. But the word that I really am intrigued by right now is, think, unified. When you look at how they were at the beginning of last season, it seemed like everybody had a different page from a different playbook and nobody was really, the team didn’t have that cohesiveness. And you look at what they’ve been able to achieve so far through these first, you know, however many games.

Tom Ray (47:17.01)
Tom Ray (47:38.887)
Yes.

Erin M (47:43.496)
And you’re not seeing that even though there’s all these new additions, even though the core players have left. I mean, last year, I keep coming back to that, how different it was and just the sense that they weren’t all on the same page and the talks about that from the team themselves that there were people that were not buying in. That was the phrase we kept hearing all the time. People aren’t buying in.

Tom Ray (48:09.595)
Miami, yeah, that’s exactly right.

Erin M (48:10.51)
we have buy-in and we have a very unified buy-in. Everybody’s bought in so much so and then you know don’t know if you guys saw the video from this morning from Rod Brindemore from the locker room last night. He and well there were a lot of goal horns so but he was extremely happy with how last night’s game went. He said as much to Ryan Henkel in the post-game interviews

But he also said it, reiterated to the team that this is exactly how he wants them to play. I don’t remember that moment coming that earlier at all really, during the first part of the season last year. There was so much more of the, you know, they were losing so many games and when they were winning it was oftentimes a scramble. And so, I mean, they’re unified. And I love that because that’s one of the things that characterizes a team that doesn’t rely on a couple of stars.

but on everybody chipping in and working hard together. So that’s my word. What about you, Katie?

Tom Ray (49:09.116)
Yeah. Well, that’s interesting. And just to comment on that is, is, you know, Eric Tulsky and you know, I love Eric Tulsky. he, he picked players that he thought were going to be Carolina hurricane players. There’s no question. It has been mentioned on the broadcast. A lot of folks have talked about this, but you know, you wonder why these folks are buying in, why they’re able to get into the system quickly and make a difference is because they

They are picked, they were hand picked by Tulsky. And he picked them based on certain things that through his deep analytical mind was the combination that would work with the Canes. And I think that’s one of the reasons it’s happening. yeah, kudos to Eric and certainly so far so good with these new players. Katie, what’s your word?

Katie B (50:00.046)
I think I’d say purpose driven. There’s a hyphen in there, so it still counts as a word. But it just feels like every time a player is out on the ice, he knows what his purpose is and he has a drive to fulfill that purpose. Whether it’s for checking or attacking or defending or breaking up plays in the neutral zone or for the goalies, tracking the puck or something as simple as playing the puck.

Tom Ray (50:02.93)
you get a hyphen.

Erin M (50:03.658)
you

Katie B (50:28.494)
play by the goalies behind the net. Even Kochetkov, who can go on adventures sometimes, has been really, really solid and stable in the choices he’s making when he’s playing the puck. And it’s not just that he’s playing it safe. He has had a couple of really

Erin M (50:32.392)
Okay.

Tom Ray (50:34.631)
Yeah.

Katie B (50:43.946)
strong clears out of the zone that I mean it takes some smarts and some some drive and some purpose to make those decisions and to execute them as well as he has and so every single player is just they are playing with drive they are playing with purpose they are

doing the little things which are resulting in the big things. And I’ve loved seeing that, especially as Erin said, so early in the season and having that already be a feature of their game. Because once they settled into that style of game back in December last year, I think they had the best record from the middle of December on to the end of the season. so…

Tom Ray (51:14.609)
Yes.

Tom Ray (51:25.603)
they were they were the best team. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Katie B (51:30.958)
That’s the thing is other teams are going to have their mountains and their valleys and they’re just gonna up and down, up and down. I think.

Erin M (51:35.745)
Yep.

Katie B (51:39.904)
I think the canes are going to plateau, but plateau in the absolute best way possible where they’re just going to hit their stride and they’re just going to keep going with it. And they’re not, it might be a little dip, but it’s not going to be much of one because they are so consistently driven to do all of the little things that makes them who they are and gives them their identity as the hurricanes.

Tom Ray (51:46.534)
Yeah.

Erin M (52:00.835)
Absolutely.

Tom Ray (52:03.378)
I totally agree and the word that I picked kind of fits in with that and that’s bullish. I’m extremely bullish on this team and the reason is, and I’ve talked about this so many times, is the way that Rob Brind’Amour coaches a team, he can take a cast and as long as he’s got enough talent in there, they can go an awful long way. And he’s got some outstanding players to build around as we know. I think, again,

Katie B (52:09.666)
Yeah.

Tom Ray (52:29.786)
A lot of folks were kind of wondering in the off season, we had some fun with ESPN saying they didn’t think they were going to make the playoffs and other people thinking they were going to be way down. And that brings us to the next part of the discussion. that’s, know, how do we think they’re going to stack up in this Metro division? That’s back to the whole thing about, you know, the season preview and, you know, all these changes and these new guys. And if you put the guys gone on the left side and the new guys on the right side, wow, that doesn’t look so good.

Katie B (52:38.953)
you.

Erin M (52:57.571)
Thank

Tom Ray (52:59.026)
How does this all work, right? And where do we think they’re going to stack up in this group? How do we think they’re going to do? How about you kick it off, Katie?

Katie B (53:10.402)
I’d say so far it’s looking like it’s going to shake out kind of how I expected where there’s gonna be a very clear top three between the Rangers, the Devils and the Hurricanes. And then the rest are gonna kind of figure their way out. I Washington’s had a hot start but I don’t think they can sustain it. Pittsburgh’s had a disaster of a start and I don’t know if they’re gonna be able to recover from that. The other Metro teams, the Islanders or the Islanders and the…

Erin M (53:22.831)
.

Tom Ray (53:25.874)
Yeah.

Katie B (53:40.568)
the Flyers are gonna be what the Flyers are, same with Columbus. So really think it’s gonna be a three team race to the finish. And within that, I think our biggest competition is still gonna be the Rangers. The Devils are exciting. They are exciting for all the good reasons and for all of the bad reasons too. And so because of their lack of consistency,

Tom Ray (53:59.74)
On the bad reasons.

Erin M (54:00.051)
You

Katie B (54:06.798)
I don’t know that they’re going to be able to keep up with the Rangers and the Canes. So I really think the battle for this season is going to be which one can outlast the other. It’s going to be Rangers, Hurricanes or Hurricanes, Rangers 1-2 atop the Metro by the time the season’s over.

Erin M (54:25.093)
I would agree 100 % with that and I actually took a look last night at and I mean, I just want to preface this by saying I didn’t have a chance to look back at it and I was, you it was very late after the game, but I took a quick look at the standings in just overall, you know, in the NHL and the standings in the Metro specifically. And of course you have to look at points percentage. I know a lot of people like to look at number of wins this early on, but you know,

Tom Ray (54:25.65)
That’s easy.

Katie B (54:40.47)
Yeah.

Erin M (54:54.911)
You have to look at points percentage because they’ve all played such vastly different games. I mean the Devils have played what 11 or 12? Yeah, something like that Yeah Yeah, so so I think that the standings have The Rangers top of the metro right now in the hurricane second and I really think they’re gonna finish exactly like that I would not be at all surprised if that’s exactly how it shook out now if something drastic happens to the Rangers if just Sturken is

Katie B (55:01.294)
11.

Tom Ray (55:01.958)
They played 11 games. They played 11 games. I’ve got the standings right here. Yes.

Erin M (55:23.838)
injured or something unfortunate like that happens then that could change but apart from an injury to Igor Shostorkin I don’t see how the Rangers slide that much. It’s possible that the Hurricanes could come out on top of them but I think you’re still going to be looking for that differential the goal differential in the scoring you know because I think that I think the Rangers just have so much more offensive weaponry and that’s the reality for finishing but

Tom Ray (55:48.57)
they do.

Erin M (55:52.444)
I wouldn’t be surprised to see them finish. If you took a snapshot of those standings today and we get to the end of the season, I wouldn’t be surprised if it looked fairly similar to that for most of the teams, except like you said, Washington, because I don’t really believe that that’s gonna last.

Tom Ray (56:08.23)
Yeah, they’re an interesting case for sure. And I kind of agree with both of you on the caps. I just don’t think they’ve got the staying power. you look at the interesting start for the Devils, of course, a lot of concern early on. Of course, they won the two games over in Europe, and that was great, but they were a Buffalo. So they got off to a great, start, but they have really been sour lately. And their defense has just been leaky.

I think the key with them, and we’ve talked a lot about this in the past, is they definitely got some offensive weapons, but their game is not structured anything like the Hurricanes. And particularly when you head into playoff action, the Hurricane style is really the right kind of style to play. And I think that’s a good thing for the Canes going forward. Yeah, I agree with you, the Rangers, they’re the pick of the litter right now. But I think the Canes will be close.

And I think that’s exciting. in the other part of this Eastern group, of course, Florida is off to a great start as well. So, you know, it’s the same suspects. think, again, Canes off to a great start, their win percentage is very, very high. So looking good in the Metro right now. And for some of those folks who thought the Canes were going to be well down, I think this is a harbinger of what to expect for the year. So it’s pretty exciting stuff. Any closing words?

Erin M (57:32.312)
I just want to add one thing, which is that we’re talking about all these things. We’re looking at where they’re standing. We’re looking at, you know, how they’re doing overall as a team, the number of wins that they’ve had. And we’re doing this against the backdrop of what is usually their most grueling road trip of the year, because it’s long. It’s a lot of travel miles. And, you know, when you think about the fact that they haven’t even been home yet for more than just those first two games.

Tom Ray (57:48.86)
Yes.

Erin M (58:00.962)
I mean, how can we not be excited about what it’s gonna look like in a month from now, know, barring anything again, really unforeseen, because anything can happen in hockey, but I think we’re gonna look back at this beginning and see it as, you know, sort of the prelude of what was coming in terms of their ability to take over and dominate games on a level we haven’t even seen them do yet. Because when they can get those matchups, we know that that’s something that Rod Brind’Amour is really good at doing.

in those home games, there’s a reason why people used to have the perception back when he first came in, the Canes, they can win games at home, but not on the road, you know? And that’s not true under Rod Brind’Amour. It hasn’t been true under him from the very beginning, you know? But before his time, that was sort of a thing that got said. this is a road trip. This is a difficult, lengthy, lots of air travel, lots of changing from one hotel to another one in another city. And, you know, they just did it.

between two countries, which that still doesn’t make sense to me. Why did they send them from Edmonton to Seattle and then back to Vancouver? you know, that schedule. But I mean, this is a terrible schedule and they’re thriving. So that’s what’s got me excited.

Katie B (59:04.468)
Yeah.

Tom Ray (59:06.534)
back to Vancouver. Yes.

Tom Ray (59:11.494)
Yeah. Well, it’s a good point. And I think I saw a graphic last night that Rod Brind’Amour, one of the current coaches, is the most winning. He’s the winningest coach on the road right now. And I think ever, I think he might be ever. It’s an amazing number. But, you know, they’re at home. They’re just incredible with that crazy crowd and the mad cane acts and so on. They’re just really difficult at home.

Erin M (59:25.976)
Yes.

Erin M (59:40.889)
it

Tom Ray (59:41.618)
And as you say, he handles the matchups well. So I agree with you. And I was going to mention something along those lines that, you know, this is a tough road trip and last year it was brutal and it hurt. And there was, you know, dissension and all kinds of things going on and big meeting of the players, you know, with, who was speaking out and getting them turned back around. and, look where they ended up last year. So yeah, I think, I think they’re off to a great start. They’re not going to, I don’t think they’re going to continue at this rate. mean, I think they’re, they’re going to level off a little bit, which is fine, but.

They’re showing that they can win and they can win demonstrably. They’re out shooting the opposition two to one in virtually every game. I mean, it’s insane. And that’s the other thing about last night’s game, which was kind of surprising, is that, yeah, they’re getting towards the end of the road trip. Yeah, they still had a lot in the tank. And that’s good stuff. So yeah, I think all good points. Katie, any closing comments from your side?

Katie B (01:00:38.594)
Just to piggyback on what you said with the shots, a lot of times when a team is losing, they’ll start pouring on the shots. And so you talk about, well, it ended up being 29, 24, but the 24 was score effects because of a team being behind. Well, yesterday the Canes kept the Kraken even with their lead where you expect the Kraken to increase their shot totals. They kept the Kraken under 20 shots for the entire game. I think they finished with 18, 19 shots, something like that.

Tom Ray (01:00:52.796)
Yes.

Tom Ray (01:01:07.762)
19.

Katie B (01:01:08.861)
Which yeah, which really is impressive because the Kraken were pressing. They were trying to find scoring opportunities and that was that happened in Calgary and that happened I think in Pittsburgh as well with the other when they got the the lead. You know, I meant and they were fighting back. So there wasn’t that.

Erin M (01:01:15.297)
yeah.

Katie B (01:01:28.716)
That doesn’t happen there, but when in the games where they’re leading, they’re not allowing teams many opportunities to get back in. You’re not seeing those score effects, shot totals in the Canes games that you would see in a lot of other teams games where they’ve won because they were able to hold on till the end. So if they can keep that going, I think that the Canes are just going to be a force because I would say they’re clicking on almost all cylinders.

Tom Ray (01:01:58.374)
Yeah, know.

Katie B (01:01:58.944)
on this road trip. Get them clicking on all cylinders and it’s going to be so much fun as a fan to watch. It’s going to be great.

Erin M (01:01:59.787)
Mm-hmm Absolutely

Tom Ray (01:02:10.492)
Well, for sure. you know, I think they’re a little bit ahead of where I thought they’d be at this point. So that’s kind of exciting news, too. So, yeah, definitely lots to look forward to. They’ll finish off the road trip in Vancouver. Any predictions on the Vancouver game?

Erin M (01:02:26.081)
Vancouver has been historically pretty hard for the Canes on the road and it’s funny because it’s not that way at home someone was pointing that out on X earlier that it’s not like they just struggle against Vancouver as a team but specifically against Vancouver in their home arena in Vancouver But we’ve almost always the Canes have almost always ended up playing that game because it’s usually only one a year at the end of this road trip, so

There have been seasons, I know in the recent past we’ve had seasons where they’ve come in and they’ve already had to make some call-ups or do go 11-7 or something because of injuries or because of illnesses. People pick up a lot of illnesses on these road trips too, as I’ve been hearing from other teams. So I don’t know that we can say, just write this one off, it’s gonna be too hard. I it’s gonna be a very hard game, no question, because the Canucks are not an easy team to play against. But I think the idea that, the Canes never win,

Tom Ray (01:03:09.428)
yeah, yeah, for sure.

Erin M (01:03:25.456)
in Vancouver has been an artifact of certain past realities that don’t seem like they’re present on this road trip. Everybody seems healthy. Everybody seems like they’re, you know, clicking together and in a good place. There’s not a lot of people learning the new systems and the ones that are doing well. So I’m thinking at the very least, they’re probably gonna take this one to overtime and they might win it in overtime. So I’m gonna go for an overtime win. That’s gonna be my prediction.

Katie B (01:03:56.078)
I think it’ll be close, but I think they win it in regulation. Vancouver is not in sync right now as a team. They’re doing okay, but they’re not. think, is it Pettersen who’s their star scorer? There were rumors last year that he was gonna get traded for Necas. I think last night he got his first goal.

Erin M (01:03:59.316)
You’re getting say regulation.

Erin M (01:04:04.294)
Okay, I haven’t watched.

Tom Ray (01:04:12.262)
Yeah.

Trying to, yeah, thinking he was coming to the Hurricanes for half of our team, yeah, so.

Erin M (01:04:19.293)
You

Erin M (01:04:23.227)
well.

Katie B (01:04:24.044)
Like there had been comments I had seen. If it wasn’t his first goal, there were a lot of comments about he’s just not scoring, he’s not doing what he’s needing to do. apparently, he’s a little off, the team just seems a little out of sync. I definitely know that there haven’t been all of the Quinn Hughes chirpers in the comments when it comes to Makar, that there have been in the past. And so Hughes must be getting off to a slow start as well. So hopefully.

the canes can just help to continue the connects woes. And so I don’t think it’ll be, I don’t think it’ll be as convincing as the Seattle win was, but I do think that they’ll win in regulation. Yeah.

Erin M (01:05:01.99)
think they’ll pull it off. I’m all for that. I’d love to be wrong.

Tom Ray (01:05:05.49)
I’m all for that. I guess I’m looking at a four-two road trip, which I think would be amazing. If they somehow manage to beat Vancouver, that would be surreal. But I’m expecting the Canucks to give them quite a tough goal. And I think it’s going to be hard for the Canes to win this one. But we’ll see. If you guys are right, that’s awesome.

Katie B (01:05:18.734)
5-1 for this road trip would be amazing.

Erin M (01:05:30.802)
Well, we’re going to be the optimists.

Tom Ray (01:05:33.244)
Okay. And that’s fine. And I’m just, I just know that the Canucks are grumpy right now. So, and it’s in their barn. So it’s, you know, it’s going to be a tough one for us.