NHL 25/26 Thread

[Cobra Mgr]

Well, it was nice while it lasted.........

A disastrous weekend saw the the Canes lose 2 big leads in Florida & 4 players injured. Seth Jarvis was tripped (uncalled) on a sprint to the goal in OT & ran chest 1st into the goal post. He is listed as "week to week" & on injured reserve.

Jaccob Slavin was hurt as well in the Panthers game & is listed "week to week" on injured reserve as well.

And Monday, Jordan Martinook & William Carrier missed practice. So they have called up Bradley Nadeau & Joel Nystrom for tonight's rematch w/their daddies, the Florida Panthers.

[Cobra Mgr]

I would say "unfrikkin'believable" if it wasn't that I've seen this on repeat over & frikkin' over again.

Canes got out to a 2-0 lead headed into the 3rd period. And w/about 5 minutes to go, they were losing by 3. Third straight game they've been demolished in the 3rd period. Carolina tried Andersen in goal for the 1st time in almost 3 weeks & he was nothing short of abysmal.

Canes need to do something at the deadline. It is clear Florida can just coast for 40-50 minutes & then just dominate the Canes @ their leisure. As much as I like their depth, it needs to be traded for some attitude & toughness. There is no evidence that as they are currently constructed, that the Canes will have anything but a short exit if they face the Panthers again.

[Cobra Mgr]

Florida v Tampa has to be the most heated rivalry in the NHL right now.

[Cobra Mgr]

This is when you know your opponent is tired of your crap.

[Cobra Mgr]

I swear I've never seen the likes of this.........

K'Andre Miller went missing Saturday in the Canes game vs the Red Wings.

Now Pytor Kochetkov re-injured his "lower body injury" that has put him on IR twice already. Now he is going on IR a 3rd time & having season ending surgery.

Canes now have to hope the equally injury prone Frederick Andersen can somehow stay healthy while maintaining some semblance of a NHL caliber goalie. While also hoping Bussi is not a flash in the pan.

So they've had, what, 2 days? of having all on their projected roster healthy & available?

[Cobra Mgr]

Hurricanes are in deep doo-doo. They can no longer protect a lead.

12/19 Up 3-0 on Florida...lost 4-3
12/20 up 3-0 to Tampa....lost 6-4
12/23 up 2-0 to Florida...lost 5-2
12/27 beat Det 5-2
12/29 beat NYR 3-2
12/31 lose 5-1 to Pitt
1/1 up 4-2 to Mtl....lost 7-5
tonight up 3-0 on Colo....lost 5-3

Lost 6 of 8 and only one did they not have a 2 goal lead.

[Cobra Mgr]

I still don't get hockey

[Cobra Mgr]

Luke Hughes did not have a good night.

[Cobra Mgr]

Haydn Fleury took a nasty fall into the boards

[Cobra Mgr]

Hockey culture is so strange. Reaves fights Olivier

Here's why.

[Cobra Mgr]

Big win tonight over Anaheim. Simply because the Canes finally won w/Freddie Andersen in net. It was their 1st Freddie victory in over 2 months. 5-2, & the 1st goal wasn't Andersen's fault. The Canes fell asleep & virtually had a 4 on 1. Chatfield's 1st goal of the year proved to be the game winner.

[Cobra Mgr]

[Cobra Mgr]

This the Harlem Globetrotters?

[Cobra Mgr]

Columbus fires HC Evason, installs Rick Bowness

[Cobra Mgr]

Praise be!

Canes finally broke thru a short handed Florida Panthers team w/a 9-1 blowout. A loss last night would have been devastating to the fan base's confidence. If they couldn't beat the team that handed them 2 blowout series losses in the playoffs, that had 2 3rd period comeback wins vs them this season, that was missing Tkachuk, Barkov, Marchand & Seth Jones, then the psychological hold the defending champs have on Carolina would appear iron tight.

Canes took a 3-1 lead into the 3rd. The game was going pretty much like the 1st 2. Carolina looked like the better squad thru the 1st 40 minutes. It was that final 20 that had been the decider. Not just vs Florida, but a number of skates this year. This time though Carolina was able to turn up the pressure instead of have getting put in the cooker themselves. They took advantage of a number of Florida penalties & their red hot power play cashed in. Three goals w/the man, sometimes 2 man advantage doubled their output & the route was on. When the final horn blew, Canes had tripled their 2 period tally.

Nikolaj Ehlers led the way w/a hat trick & 4 points. Six other Canes provided the other goals. Each forward got at least one point. Bussi stopped 15 of 16 shots.

Right now, the Canes have to find some consistency. They lead the MEtro by 5 points & are tied for the East lead w/Tampa & Detroit. But they are 7-7 in the last 14. They scored 9 tonight. And got shut out last game vs St.Louis. Game before, they trailed the Wings 3-0 thru 2, then came back to tie to get cheated out of a point in OT. But many games, it has been the exact opposite where the Canes dominate the 1st 2 periods to allow a comeback.

Some of this can be put on the goalie situation. Having to play Andersen more has meant a porous defense. Not to mention Ghost & Slavin have been dropping in and out of the lineup. But Andersen has been slightly better of late. If Bussi can maintain & if the Canes can return to being a +.500 team w/Andersen in goal, Canes should continue to vie for the #1 seed in the Cup playoffs.

The offense has been a little bit more lethal. The top 3 lines are becoming equally dangerous. Canes doesn't have anyone in the top 25 in scoring. But only the Avs have more w/20 pts. Ehlers & Svechnikov are proving to be consistent playmakers. Stankoven has shown he can handle the center position.

BTW, the East playoff race is cray cray. Five (Panthers, Caps, Sens, Devils, & Leafs) who made the playoffs last year would be out if the season ended today. But each of them are no more than 5 pts behind the final spot. The Rangers look like they are the only team w/o a credible shot of making a run for the postseason. Which could mean the most important place to look as the trade deadline approaches is the bottom of the West. There are going to be few sellers. But w/such an iffy situation in the standings, it could also mean few buyers. Many may choose to sit with what they have, especially if they are in the early stage of a rebuild, or know they are in the final stages w/their current core.

[Cobra Mgr]

Turns out the NCAA football championship wasn't the most interesting sport event in S Florida tonight.

[Cobra Mgr]

I don't think Rod Brind A'mour could have asked for a better 4 days. Six points in about 60 hours time.

Friday, they got a huge gorilla off their backs by blowing out Florida. Then had to fly to Jersey for a game the next day. Svechnikov got a hat trick in a 4-1 win. More importantly, Freddie Andersen held the Devils to the single goal. He seems to be coming out of his death spiral. Which means he can regain confidence & the team can gain confidence in him.

Yesterday afternoon, the Canes were back on home ice vs the hot Sabres. Carolina got a 2-1 victory in the best game of the 3. Canes were not at their best. Svech remained hot w/his 5th goal in the 3 game set. The last 4 were all directly set up by Aho. But the star of the game was goalie Bussi.

It didn't start out that way. 1st shot of the game got through him. Wasn't a necessarily difficult puck to stop either. But from then on, he turned in save after ridiculous save. Even though the Canes were getting more shots, Buffalo was getting much better quality chances as Carolina was off defensively. And give credit to Buffalo cause they were very good and hard to keep up with. There was a period in the 2nd half where they tilted the ice. And they basically dominated the 3rd.

But Bussi was a wall. Tage Thompson in particular had to be frustrated. It should have been a monster day for him if not for the Bus. For Carolina though, it was an important thing to see. Biggest weakness for them in the past was needing a goalie who can be a mistake eraser. Canes haven't had a goalie who could win them a game or two in the playoffs when the defense wasn't in sync. Gives us fans more confidence that this season can end different.

Bussi highlight #1
Highlight #2
Highlight #3

[Cobra Mgr]

Carolina is 9-1-2 in their last 12 after an improbable comeback last night vs the Mammoth. The Hurricanes became just the 3rd team in history to win in regulation a game they were down 2 goals w/less that 2:00 to go. Gostisbehere & Svechnikov each scored twice w/an assist.

Svech started the scoring for the Canes & also ignited the comeback w/a PPG during a double minor & the goalie pulled. "Ghost" then tied the game :32 later, once more w/the goalie pulled. The Captain, Jordan Staal, then finished of a stunned Utah team w/a tip in off a Martinook ricochet.

Bussi had one of his poorer outings, yet came away w/his 20th victory, the fastest goalie to do so in NHL records. Three of the goals he shouldn't get full blame for. The first occurred when Ghost fell & turned over the puck, setting up Yamamoto's rush down the ice for Utah's 1st score. "Bus" probably thinks he should have stopped it. The 2nd came on, essentially, a 3 on 1 counter attack by Utah. Walker lost his stick on a slash that went uncalled. Almost simultaneously, Stankoven was tripped by a Utah stick. That essentially left a lone D to defend rushing skaters. A 3rd goal came after 'Ghost" again turned the puck over & Utah quickly got it in the nets.

(This is why I thought Ghost shouldn't have been 1st star. He had 3 points & still had a -1 rating. His mistakes directly led to 2 goals & he was on ice for all 4. Svech should have gotten it.)

Canes have opened up a 6 point lead in the Metro. And trail only the red hot Lightning & Avs for the best record. Four games remain until the Olympic break.

And seriously, it will be hard to get two better logos on the ice at the same time than what was in Raleigh last night.

[Cobra Mgr]

Rangers send Panarin to LA for a prospect & 3rd rounder