GDT: Tampa @ Canes

[MisterDobz]

Enough is enough, 9 more games until the playoffs.

 

[Svechhammer]

Also, this is who the Canes are at this time of year. This quality of play has little to do with injuries and more to do with a 4 year trend of completely collapsing offensively when the playoffs approach. At this point, this is the identity of the Canes... Regular season beasts who go into a shell when the playoffs hit.

 

[HisIceness]

Enough is enough, 9 more games until the playoffs.

9 games? Can we just not and say we did?

 

[User13452]

Also, this is who the Canes are at this time of year. This quality of play has little to do with injuries and more to do with a 4 year trend of completely collapsing offensively when the playoffs approach. At this point, this is the identity of the Canes... Regular season beasts who go into a shell when the playoffs hit.

can’t recall the last time Jarvis kk or necas scored

 

[The Faulker 27]

You know what? I choose optimism.

C’mon boys, we can still win this!

 

[Canes]

Like yeah we're technically the 2nd best team in the league as of now and we just played 2 of the best teams in the league and somehow got 3 points out of it playing like shit, but something just feels off. And I know once you make the playoffs crazy things can happen in the playoffs, like us coming out of nowhere to go to the ECF in 2019. But at this point I am just hoping to win a series and/or not get embarrassed.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Eh, if we can clean up down the stretch we've got against weaker teams and win the Metro I think we can handle the Isles or Pens pretty handily even in our diminished state. Once you hit the Rangers or the Devils, it gets dicey. Maybe we get past the Devils due to their playoff inexperience. But then you're hitting the Bruins in all likelihood, and I don't see any chance of getting by them this year.

Honestly I’m down with pinning my hopes to another division banner. That’s anticlimactic but something not to be taken for granted in a 32 team league. After that, just take whatever playoff results as a bonus.

Also we’re acting like they’re much worse than they are. Tampa’s a 3-time finalist and it’s about to be April. They played really well.

 

[User13452]

We stand next to no chance if the Powerplay looks like it did again tonight.

Well Detroit just scored 6 on Pitt. Looks less likely that Pitt will finish first in the wild card

 

[tarheelhockey]

View attachment 677770

You know, I learned my lesson in 7th grade church league basketball. Single game elimination in the playoffs, we were the lowest seed playing the top seed. We were down by 10 with 3 seconds left when we committed a flagrant foul on a guy who turned around and said “what the **** man??” which drew their third technical foul of the game. In that league, 3 technicals was an automatic forfeit. We won on a flagrant foul down 10 with 3 seconds left.

Where I’m going with this is, we can still win if we prove Tampa has to forfeit this game.

 

[Canes]

TB was finishing checks until time expired, and the Canes…hugged them gently into the boards, if any contact was made at all.

Well that's another thing that makes Tampa, Tampa. And the Canes, the Canes.

I know grit/toughness/physicality/goonery/whatever you want to call and lacking it is kinda divisive issue though.

 

[hblueridgegal]

I enjoy being relevant. It certainly does beat the Dark Ages of this franchise. I'm just starting to kind of get Barry Trotz in Nashville vibes from this team. We play very sound, fundamental hockey. But when we predictably can't score it wears on you.

I often wonder if it gets old for the players? If you're not really empowered by management to win the whole thing vs what your peers have roster wise, it seems like a malaise would set in at some point about the situation.

Longer term, wouldn't you want to try something different if you have a champion's mindset or even go elsewhere to simply play another style after a while?

 

[Svechhammer]

Honestly I’m down with pinning my hopes to another division banner. That’s anticlimactic but something not to be taken for granted in a 32 team league. After that, just take whatever playoff results as a bonus.

Also we’re acting like they’re much worse than they are. Tampa’s a 3-time finalist and it’s about to be April. They played really well.

Agreed. Get the Metro banner and call it a good season. Our realistic hopes of playoff success died with Svech's injury. Crazy shit could happen, but it's incredibly unlikely and given our experience in recent years, was already likely to end in disappointed frustration.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

I dunno what's going on, but I am tired of watching them do nothing for 40+ minutes every night. Thank God Thursday's game is on ESPN so I don't have to sit through another one.

 

[User13452]

I often wonder if it gets old for the players? If you're not really empowered by management to win the whole thing vs what your peers have roster wise, it seems like a malaise would set in at some point about the situation.

Longer term, wouldn't you want to try something different if you have a champions mindset or even go elsewhere to simply play another style after a while?

This is the only thing I’m worried about with Aho when his contract is up. He’s very competitive and wants to win but if we aren’t gonna go all in once is he gonna get frustrated and maybe go somewhere else? It must be super frustrating for him to have martinook on his wing yet again

 

[Svechhammer]

Well that's another thing that makes Tampa, Tampa. And the Canes, the Canes.

I know grit/toughness/physicality/goonery/whatever you want to call and lacking it is kinda divisive issue though.

Tampa has a winning mentality that you can see play out but have difficulty describing it in tangible form.

This is the 4th year in a row where our offense is running dry at the end of the year. It's like we have the opposite of whatever trait it is that Tampa has.

 

[tarheelhockey]

If you're not really empowered by management to win the whole thing vs what your peers have roster wise, it seems like a malaise would set in at some point about the situation.

This was constructed to be a cap team. Pacioretty blew out his Achilles twice in six months and then Svechnikov blew out his ACL.

Sucks, but what we’re experiencing right now is not by design.

 

[Canes]

I often wonder if it gets old for the players? If you're not really empowered by management to win the whole thing vs what your peers have roster wise, it seems like a malaise would set in at some point about the situation.

Longer term, wouldn't you want to try something different if you have a champions mindset or even go elsewhere to simply play another style after a while?

Hard to say as none of us are in the locker room but I will say when the scoring dries up, it does seem like guys start doing the 1000 yard stare, looking around for a guy who will be the guy. And I hate to say that because it makes it seem like we don't have some very good offense hockey players, we do. Just maybe not like the teams who win Cups.

 

[SliceNDice92]

No reason with the schedule upcoming they shouldn’t win the division 5-4 record should secure it

After that performance expectations should be low.

 

[hblueridgegal]

This was constructed to be a cap team. Pacioretty blew out his Achilles twice in six months and then Svechnikov blew out his ACL.

Sucks, but what we’re experiencing right now is not by design.

True but one of them had an injury prone history - kind of like a used car with miles, sometimes you're rolling the dice. All that aside, to me, it is more of a situation of working your hiney off extra hard season after season due to a certain style of play and to compensate for a lack of talent in some areas. Then, coming up short repeatedly, would grow old.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Also, this is who the Canes are at this time of year. This quality of play has little to do with injuries and more to do with a 4 year trend of completely collapsing offensively when the playoffs approach. At this point, this is the identity of the Canes... Regular season beasts who go into a shell when the playoffs hit.

Collapsing..

Final 10 games with playoffs "Approaching" this time of year:

21-22: 8-2-0, 4.0 GF/GP (vs. 3.38 GF/GP on the season)
20-21: 5-3-2. 2.9 GF/GP (vs. 3.12 GF/GP on season)
19-20: There was no "playoffs approaching/this time of year" stretch of the season as the season was cut short by Covid in early March.
18-19: 6-4-0, 3.0 GF/ GP (vs. 2.96 GF/GP on the season)

So the only season where the team had a drop in offense the last 10 games heading into the playoffs was 20-21, where it went from 3.12 Goals/Game on average to 2.9 during the last 10. 18-19 the offense the last 10 was the same average as the entire season.

 

[LakeLivin]

I know a lot of you won't believe it until you see it, but I'm betting the Borg brings in another legit "non-depreciated" top 6 forward this summer. And re-signs Patches to add more scoring mid season.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

I’d rather the goal scoring be dried up for a long stretch of the regular season than a short stretch in the playoffs. With our injuries I don’t have much expectations but I still think we can make a little run and should take care of either wild card team in the first round.

 

[LakeLivin]

Collapsing..

Final 10 games with playoffs "Approaching" this time of year:

21-22: 8-2-0, 4.0 GF/GP (vs. 3.38 GF/GP on the season)
20-21: 5-3-2. 2.9 GF/GP (vs. 3.12 GF/GP on season)
19-20: There was no "playoffs approaching/this time of year" stretch of the season as the season was cut short by Covid in early March.
18-19: 6-4-0, 3.0 GF/ GP (vs. 2.96 GF/GP on the season)

So the only season where the team had a drop in offense the last 10 games heading into the playoffs was 20-21, where it went from 3.12 Goals/Game on average to 2.9 during the last 10. 18-19 the offense the last 10 was the same average as the entire season.

Silly BBA; those are just facts. The important thing is: What does it feel like?

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I’d rather the goal scoring be dried up for a long stretch of the regular season than a short stretch in the playoffs. With our injuries I don’t have much expectations but I still think we can make a little run and should take care of either wild card team in the first round.

There's no doubt the team's task is daunting. The Metro was already a dog fight, but losing Patches and Svech, along with inconsistent goal tending makes it even more difficult. Whatever team we face may be coming in with momentum (like the Canes did in 18-19) and if their goalie out duels ours, which is very possible, it will be a tough out. My expectations are in check but I'm going to enjoy it either way because it's still a good team.

 

[Sens1Canes2]

Honestly I’m down with pinning my hopes to another division banner. That’s anticlimactic but something not to be taken for granted in a 32 team league. After that, just take whatever playoff results as a bonus.

Also we’re acting like they’re much worse than they are. Tampa’s a 3-time finalist and it’s about to be April. They played really well.

Was a completely different team that was in Ottawa the other night. They were much tighter tonight.