CANES SHUT DOWN AVALANCHE
Carolina
The Canes, looking for some sort of an advantage over the heavily favored Avalanche, went with a hunch and broke up all four of their lines.
The key was identifying the Avalanche's top line of Peter Forsberg, Alex Tanguay and Daniel Alfredsson and utilizing the last change. The normally quiet Kris Draper took the ice with his new linemates Jay Pandolfo and captain Shane Doan and made some big noise against one of the league's top lines. It was a move that ended up making head coach Joel Quenneville look like a genious.
"Doan is probably second only to Kovalev for offensive wingers on the right side of our team," said the coach. "So putting him on a checking line could have possibly hurt our offensive chances. I felt that we needed to really put an aggressive line, one that competes hard with the oppositon and try and force the issue with the big line. I threw Emiger and Wallin together to capitalize on their defensive abilities and simply told them to not let that line score. Well, they didn’t and Doan even scored one of his own on them. I'm very proud of the way the guys played."
The top line of Cory Stillman, Mike Fisher and Alexei Kovalev got two goals and the speedy line of Kyle Wellwood, Jeff Friesen and Brian Gionta also got a goal from their newly acquired speedster.
"We knew we had to shut the line down five on five. They got a short handed goal and on a miscue, Forsberg double shifted and we had a mismatch out there with Tim Brent's line, but overall, I think everything worked out for the best."
With Brian Gionta netting a goal in his first game, it is likely he will remain in the lineup. Scott Parker, the Sherrif of Parkingham, is currently out, but is slated to return soon. Whether or not he can take the spot of Gionta's is yet to be seen.
"Little Brian gives us a great speed dimension that Walker and Parker cannot match," said Quenneville. "I think he and Friesen both had excellent games and were key to maintaining the momentum. Once they were buzzing around, the Aves were not able to find an answer for them. It is likely Gionta will play the next game."
The Canes are off today and rumours continue to swirl about a possible deal.
In the junior ranks, the Hurricanes finally had a big win. Junior Lessard, the newly acquired right winger had another two point night and Nigel Dawes, the smallish winger added three assists. Brandon Reid, the captain of the Carolina junior squad, now centers the two in a line that seemed to be the difference. Jeff Tambellini, Jeff Carter and Ryan Getzlaf also had a good game for the Hurricane squad.
With a bit of momentum of their own, the Canes look to continue their success tonight.
The Canes, looking for some sort of an advantage over the heavily favored Avalanche, went with a hunch and broke up all four of their lines.
The key was identifying the Avalanche's top line of Peter Forsberg, Alex Tanguay and Daniel Alfredsson and utilizing the last change. The normally quiet Kris Draper took the ice with his new linemates Jay Pandolfo and captain Shane Doan and made some big noise against one of the league's top lines. It was a move that ended up making head coach Joel Quenneville look like a genious.
"Doan is probably second only to Kovalev for offensive wingers on the right side of our team," said the coach. "So putting him on a checking line could have possibly hurt our offensive chances. I felt that we needed to really put an aggressive line, one that competes hard with the oppositon and try and force the issue with the big line. I threw Emiger and Wallin together to capitalize on their defensive abilities and simply told them to not let that line score. Well, they didn’t and Doan even scored one of his own on them. I'm very proud of the way the guys played."
The top line of Cory Stillman, Mike Fisher and Alexei Kovalev got two goals and the speedy line of Kyle Wellwood, Jeff Friesen and Brian Gionta also got a goal from their newly acquired speedster.
"We knew we had to shut the line down five on five. They got a short handed goal and on a miscue, Forsberg double shifted and we had a mismatch out there with Tim Brent's line, but overall, I think everything worked out for the best."
With Brian Gionta netting a goal in his first game, it is likely he will remain in the lineup. Scott Parker, the Sherrif of Parkingham, is currently out, but is slated to return soon. Whether or not he can take the spot of Gionta's is yet to be seen.
"Little Brian gives us a great speed dimension that Walker and Parker cannot match," said Quenneville. "I think he and Friesen both had excellent games and were key to maintaining the momentum. Once they were buzzing around, the Aves were not able to find an answer for them. It is likely Gionta will play the next game."
The Canes are off today and rumours continue to swirl about a possible deal.
In the junior ranks, the Hurricanes finally had a big win. Junior Lessard, the newly acquired right winger had another two point night and Nigel Dawes, the smallish winger added three assists. Brandon Reid, the captain of the Carolina junior squad, now centers the two in a line that seemed to be the difference. Jeff Tambellini, Jeff Carter and Ryan Getzlaf also had a good game for the Hurricane squad.
With a bit of momentum of their own, the Canes look to continue their success tonight.
posted by Lohaus at 11:24 AM
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