GDT: Hurricanes at Islanders | Saturday, 7PM | SportSouth

[Kevin27NYI]

Murphy looked great, good piece for you guys. That fake shot pass was sweet.

 

[Ole Gil]

There are worse things than chipping it up the boards. Our tiny high skilled dman getting clobbered repeatedly being one of them. Not ideal, but big picture, in the teams best interest?

 

[Vagrant]

There are worse things than chipping it up the boards. Our tiny high skilled dman getting clobbered repeatedly being one of them. Not ideal, but big picture, in the teams best interest?

There is a ton of room between always and never, and I don't think I have seen Murphy hit by anyone this year and when you're a defenseman that's exceptionally rare. Part of that is because he's an exceptional skater away from pressure, and the other part is that he's avoiding situations where he might have to take a hit to make a play and instead getting the puck off his stick early and turning the puck over. In those situations where it's either take a bump and make a play or turn the puck over..... he's going to have to take some bumps. That's part of the position and we can't make exceptions because he's really good at other aspects of the game. It's the same rules that Skinner has to play with. Defense wasn't a huge deal early on, but he is now being put in a position where he has to learn and it's going to impact his minutes. I'm just saying that developed habits are harder to break the older a player gets and the further away from developmental ages they are. If you want to coach a change into a player, the best time is as soon as possible.

 

[w e l o s t b o y s]

Damn, not another game till Thursday

bring back the lockout schedule

 

[bleedgreen]

good win all around, hard to nit pick it at all. canes broadcasts have lauding the work of Dave Lewis with the d, and Islanders broadcast did tonight as well. if thats the reason a guy like murphy is playing so much better overall defensively than hats off, it is a big improvement over last season. the improvement in personnel also helps im sure.

good to see komi back in, i think he should be a regular at some point. he's moving well, and is truly a physical player that brings much needed thump in our end.

as for murphy turning it over, if faulk can get past it i think murphy has a good shot of doing the same. he cant be comfortable back there yet, hes dwarfed by some of the forwards trying to break him in half.

 

[Frank Booth239*]

You gonna eat crow about Murphy yet?

If he continues to play like he did the last couple of games, yes.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Sox win, Canes win. Feels good man.

 

[Elsker]

Canes win 6-1.
Ron Hainsey scores 6 goals.

He might not have scored 6 goals last night, but he very well might have prevented 6 goals with 3 shots blocked and 3 attempts blocked credited to him in the Event Summary.

 

[DaleCooper]

Had a great time at the game last night. We've only won 3 times in the 12 away games I've been to, but two were at Nassau. As much hate as it gets, I'll miss that place. Yeah it's a dump, but it's got character and history that is pretty lacking in the sterilized modern barns. I also saw Jim Rutherford at the hotel bar before the game. Good bit of Canes fans in attendance as there were last time I was there as well.

 

[nobuddy]

Had a great time at the game last night. We've only won 3 times in the 12 away games I've been to, but two were at Nassau. As much hate as it gets, I'll miss that place. Yeah it's a dump, but it's got character and history that is pretty lacking in the sterilized modern barns. I also saw Jim Rutherford at the hotel bar before the game. Good bit of Canes fans in attendance as there were last time I was there as well.

I was there as well. Solid showing from Caniac nation. Fun game to be at. I concur about Nassau, it really does feel historic.

 

[djboos22]

Murphy looked great, good piece for you guys. That fake shot pass was sweet.

That was a pretty sharp pass. Better than the goal.

Skinners goal was a beauty also

As well as Murphy played, Faulk played just as well. He played great against JT and made some very smart plays in our end.

 

[Buenos Necas]

Obviously he's not without his faults, but I've been pleasantly surprised with how passable Murphy's 5v5 play has been. Doesn't matter if it's sheltered 3rd pairing minutes, if he can get by 5v5, contribute on the PP like he has, and continue to develop, we've got a special player on our hands.

 

[HisIceness]

When Murphy was called up last season he was playing like a guy that had been in the NHL before. No fear and little rookie mistakes from him.

 

[Ole Gil]

There is a ton of room between always and never, and I don't think I have seen Murphy hit by anyone this year and when you're a defenseman that's exceptionally rare. Part of that is because he's an exceptional skater away from pressure, and the other part is that he's avoiding situations where he might have to take a hit to make a play and instead getting the puck off his stick early and turning the puck over. In those situations where it's either take a bump and make a play or turn the puck over..... he's going to have to take some bumps. That's part of the position and we can't make exceptions because he's really good at other aspects of the game. It's the same rules that Skinner has to play with. Defense wasn't a huge deal early on, but he is now being put in a position where he has to learn and it's going to impact his minutes. I'm just saying that developed habits are harder to break the older a player gets and the further away from developmental ages they are. If you want to coach a change into a player, the best time is as soon as possible.

I have noticed he goes out of his way to avoid physical contact. But he's not Faulk. If he engages in a physical puck battle along the boards, he will lose. The generic ideal situation is to eat the puck, take the hit, and then win the battle. If you can't win the battle though, what is to be gained? He usually positions himself behind the offensive player and goes to work with his stick staying between the puck in the net.

I hadn't noticed the chipping up the boards being egregious, but I'll watch for it next game. I've always thought most dmen do that by default when under duress or impending duress.

 

[Roboturner913]

I'm extremely jealous of this entire post.

Save the Red Sox part, this goes for me, well, pretty much anytime I post here.