Gold: Canes host Predators

By Adam Gold radio host 99.9 the Fan

Friday night’s game at PNC Arena against the Nashville Predators feels like a bit of a gut check for the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s not just because the Hurricanes have but three points out of a possible 10 since the All Star break, though that is certainly part of it. It feels important because the Canes haven’t really played well enough consistently to keep pace with the other top teams in the NHL.

And, if you purport to be one of the league’s best – a bonafide Cup contender – then we’re at a point in the season when you should be cranking out performances that leave no doubt about that status. Currently, the Hurricanes have been falling short of that.

Since the break the Canes have coughed away a point in Toronto, left two on the ice in Ottawa, blasted the Bruins, turned over two to the Wild and failed to hang on to both against Florida. In these 5 games Carolina has played about 7 or 8 good periods.

Included among those is definitely NOT the 3rd period against the Panthers. Sure, the Canes scored early in the frame to move in front, 2-1. The first three or so minutes for Carolina were excellent. Nino Niederreiter and Jordan Staal hounded Florida captain Alexsander Barkov behind his own goal, forced a turnover and Staal got the puck to Tony DeAngelo above the left face off circle. DeAngelo’s shot deflected off the skate of Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling and in for the lead.

Unfortunately, that was the last of the good. Florida controlled the puck the rest of the way, to the point that the Hurricanes attempted just 3 shots over the final 16 minutes of regulation, none over the last 10:12. If you think about it, it’s a credit to how good Carolina was defensively that Florida’s league-best offense didn’t score until they pulled goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

It was a heartbreaking goal to allow, with 49 seconds left in the 3rd period.

Then, the final insult. Right off the overtime face off, Aaron Ekblad got loose behind Teuvo Teravainen took a stretch pass and beat Frederik Andersen for the game-winner, 16 seconds into the 3-on-3.

Sorry to spend so many characters picking at a fresh scab. But, tonight is the time to start healing. Tonight needs to be the start of the best that the Hurricanes have to offer. And, interestingly enough, the last time the Canes had a sustained stretch of poor results – a 6-game run of 1-4-1 play – they responded with a 4-game winning streak and wins in 9 of 10 games.

Let’s hope Carolina responds in a similar way starting tonight.

You know what would go a long way to helping the Hurricanes be the best version of themselves? A little production from the right side of the forward lines. Right now, the Canes are getting almost nothing from that position on the top three lines and it’s putting a drag on their ability to elevate above the other contending teams in the East.

Jesper Fast, Seth Jarvis and Martin Necas are each without a goal in their last 10 games. The only RW to produce a goal during this stretch has been Derek Stepan. Now, Fast isn’t here to score a bunch of goals, so his drought is not alarming in the least. In fact, Jesper is about where he has always been in terms of offensive production in his career. He’s on pace for 30 points and he’s not even playing in a top-6 role, as he was with the Rangers.

The other two players…?

Jarvis has zero goals and just one assist in Carolina’s last 10 games. His 8 goals and 10 assists has him on pace for a 39-point season if he were to play all 82. We know that he won’t thanks to not playing the first few weeks and a brief Covid-19 pause, but that’s been his level of production this year. Now, he just turned 20 years old a couple of weeks ago and 39 points for a rookie is not terrible at all.

But, he’s playing in a spot in the lineup that needs production. If he was playing in the bottom half of the forward group it wouldn’t matter as much. But, he isn’t. We can cut the rookie some slack, for sure, but the Hurricanes are, last I checked, trying to win a Stanley Cup.

As for Necas, electrifying speed, incredible skill, and one of the best wrap around goal scorers in the Milky Way.

But, just 1 goal in his last 18 games, plus a puck management/decision-making nightmare the last month have seen his ice time cut considerably. Consider Necas’ first 25 games. 7 goals and an average of 17:16 TOI. The next 18, 1 goal 15:46 TOI. That’s basic, for sure, but it’s an indication that Martin’s game isn’t where it was last year.

You can’t have his skill, play with Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Andrei Svechnikov and Vincent Trocheck all year and be 8th on the team in points. A season ago, Necas posted 41 points in 53 games to rank 5th in that category and was two points from being tied for 2nd. He’s now 20 points short of second place in fewer games.

My point is simple, especially as we approach the trade deadline. Necas and Jarvis either must both start producing goals or the Hurricanes have to address that position through a trade.

The Predators have dropped 3 in a row and are 4th in the Central Division. They’re 28-17-4 on the year and in playoff position in large part because of All Stars Roman Josi and Juuse Saros. Josi leads the Preds in scoring with 48 points. Saros has 24 of Nashville’s 28 wins and is among the league leaders in goals against (2.45) and save percentage (.924).

It’s also been a resurgent year for the likes of Matt Duchene, Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen, who have combined for 60 goals this year after teaming up for just 25 all last season.

The odds…

Carolina -175 (ML). O/U: 6 goals.

Coverage begins on 99.9 the Fan at 6:30 with Storm Watch starring Alec Campbell. Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy follow with the live play-by-play just after 7:00. Make sure to follow the Canes Corner Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. A new episode drops the #MorningAfter every Hurricanes game.