NEW COMBOS, NEW RESULTS?
Carolina
After the acquisition of Henrik Zetterberg, the Carolina Hurricanes started to do a little line shifting to inspire some much needed offense.
Star forward Dany Heatley, who has been seen as nothing less than a disappointment since being acquired in the offseason from the Atlanta Thrashers, has struggled to find any sort of chemistry with anyone on the team.
Center Tim Connolly has shown flashes of explosiveness, but overall has not delivered the sort of playmaking ability as advertised either.
The trio were assigned one another for the last game but overall, their ability to maintain pressure and sustain any sort of offensive attack were put in question. The three didn’t seem to click.
“It might just be a chemistry issue so we will go with what I think will work,” said head coach Joel Quenneville. “Zetterberg has a lot of overall offensive skill and has shown he can deliver when need be. I think his gifted swagger along with Connolly should make for an interesting combo for us and I will keep them together. I thought that maybe this time we should add a veteran power forward in Brendan Shanahan. The hope is the two creative guys can spark some goals from Shanny and I guess we shall see.”
Dany Heatley has found himself, for the first time this season, demoted to the second line, or as Quenneville likes to call it, Line 1B.
The talented right winger will join the young power forward and future scoring sensation Rick Nash on the wing. Mike Fisher has since been moved to center and with his defensive presence and powerful shot, the trio could make life difficult for the opposition.
“I have told Dany that I need more from him,” said Quenneville. “He is the face of our franchise, like it or not, and he needs to produce. There is no dancing around that, he needs to put up numbers. He can be a good defensive guy, he can win the battles, but we pay him to be the guy and up until now, he has not delivered at a level we need him to.”
Heatley has felt the pressure all season long and has been unable to shake that slump that has plagued him all season long.
“I know I need to be better,” said Heatley. “I know I can produce at a higher level that what I have and maybe working with Fish and Nasher will bring me some life. I really don’t know, but this has been a frustrating time for me. I am new to here and the fans are expecting big things from this team, as they should. I hope I can spark us somehow.”
The Canes have made a lot of deals this year to get the right blend of talent and as of now, the squad looks fairly solid. The new combinations should hopefully spark a change in the feeling in the dressing room. As of now, morale is low, and rightfully so. The Canes have flushed away a lot of talent this season and a positive streak is just what the doctor ordered.
After the acquisition of Henrik Zetterberg, the Carolina Hurricanes started to do a little line shifting to inspire some much needed offense.
Star forward Dany Heatley, who has been seen as nothing less than a disappointment since being acquired in the offseason from the Atlanta Thrashers, has struggled to find any sort of chemistry with anyone on the team.
Center Tim Connolly has shown flashes of explosiveness, but overall has not delivered the sort of playmaking ability as advertised either.
The trio were assigned one another for the last game but overall, their ability to maintain pressure and sustain any sort of offensive attack were put in question. The three didn’t seem to click.
“It might just be a chemistry issue so we will go with what I think will work,” said head coach Joel Quenneville. “Zetterberg has a lot of overall offensive skill and has shown he can deliver when need be. I think his gifted swagger along with Connolly should make for an interesting combo for us and I will keep them together. I thought that maybe this time we should add a veteran power forward in Brendan Shanahan. The hope is the two creative guys can spark some goals from Shanny and I guess we shall see.”
Dany Heatley has found himself, for the first time this season, demoted to the second line, or as Quenneville likes to call it, Line 1B.
The talented right winger will join the young power forward and future scoring sensation Rick Nash on the wing. Mike Fisher has since been moved to center and with his defensive presence and powerful shot, the trio could make life difficult for the opposition.
“I have told Dany that I need more from him,” said Quenneville. “He is the face of our franchise, like it or not, and he needs to produce. There is no dancing around that, he needs to put up numbers. He can be a good defensive guy, he can win the battles, but we pay him to be the guy and up until now, he has not delivered at a level we need him to.”
Heatley has felt the pressure all season long and has been unable to shake that slump that has plagued him all season long.
“I know I need to be better,” said Heatley. “I know I can produce at a higher level that what I have and maybe working with Fish and Nasher will bring me some life. I really don’t know, but this has been a frustrating time for me. I am new to here and the fans are expecting big things from this team, as they should. I hope I can spark us somehow.”
The Canes have made a lot of deals this year to get the right blend of talent and as of now, the squad looks fairly solid. The new combinations should hopefully spark a change in the feeling in the dressing room. As of now, morale is low, and rightfully so. The Canes have flushed away a lot of talent this season and a positive streak is just what the doctor ordered.
posted by Lohaus at 2:30 PM
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