Carolina Hurricanes: Three takeaways from first loss of season
Carolina finally suffer their first loss of the regular season at the hands of the officials of this game, but the win is credited to the Florida Panthers. While there were a lot of calls that were just missed or phantom calls, Carolina did not deserve to win this game either. They have struggled a lot in the last 3 or 4 games, and it just came to a head in this loss to the Panthers.
Carolina’s slow start allowed the Panthers to jump ahead 4-0 at the end of the first period and never really have to worry from there. With the Penalty Kill struggling too, there was just nothing going on in the early part of this game for the Canes. In the 2nd period, Carolina tried to fight back but it was way too little, too late.
Florida hand the Canes their first loss of the season, and the Canes now have to learn from their mistakes as their next game isn’t any easier. Traveling across the state to take on the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning was a daunting task already. But now, with Carolina’s weaknesses exposed in the biggest game of the season, it becomes a lot tougher.
We’re here to talk about how the Carolina Hurricanes can learn some lessons from this loss to help avoid the same fate against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was a horrid performance from the Carolina Hurricanes, but before we can move on, we need to understand where the Canes can become stronger for their next game. This is a performance that just wasn’t good enough.
Sebastian no-show
I think that to say Sebastian Aho is fighting his mind right now is like saying the grass is green. Aho came into this game pointless in his last three and this game just seemed to show that he’s not quite right. With three or four open net chances, Aho just could not get the puck to go in. He could have sparked a Canes comeback in that 4th period alone but was never really confident.
By the end of this game, I was screaming at my TV asking for Aho to be taken off the ice. This is not something you want to say about the best player on the team. He’s not right. Either his confidence went down the toilet or he’s playing hurt because this is not the version of Sebastian Aho we have all come to know and love.
He couldn’t keep up with Florida’s lines, he couldn’t get the puck on net or when he did it was straight into the middle of the Panther logo. It was Sebastian Aho not looking like Sebastian Aho and that’s really concerning. Perhaps the extended break between this game and the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning will do him some good.
If Aho is playing hurt, and I have no information on whether he is or not, he needs to be taken out of the lineup and rested. He did not look right, and he hasn’t really looked right for a few weeks. We all want nothing but the best for Sebastian in terms of his health and performance and something right now is clearly wrong.
Aho is so important for the Carolina Hurricanes because he is the best player on the team. What separates the good teams and the bad teams in this league is often talent level. Hard work will only get you so far, but if your team is inferior in terms of talent, you’re going to have a tough time and Carolina found that out with their best player not quite at the races.
We wish nothing but the best for Raanta’s health
Carolina’s netminders were far from being to blame in this game and when Antti Raanta was blown up by a Florida healthy scratch who was forced into the game because of a late injury. There was a 5 minute major on the play and Raanta was taken straight to the Canes dressing room, and the team has already called up Alex Lyon from the Chicago Wolves.
I waited until the eve of the Tampa Bay Lightning game to write this hoping we would get an update on Raanta, but as of now, we have no idea. Raanta has not had a lot to do and to see him get hurt in only his second game as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes is heartbreaking. Obviously, we all want nothing but the best for a great guy and a great goaltender.
Now, there was a 5-minute major called on this play and the Panther who hit Raan
ta was given a game misconduct. I don’t know that was the right call, but it was a penalty. This reminded me a lot of the hit in the Zamboni driver game against Toronto where there was only a 2-minute minor called on the hit after being reviewed down from a major.
For me, the difference here was that the Panthers’ player led with the elbow and made first contact with the head of Antti Raanta. You can make the case Raanta put himself in a vulnerable position, and to a point he did, but you can’t hit a goalie like that, to begin with. Not only was it a charge with an elbow to the head, but it was also on a goalie that forced him from the game.
Vincent Trocheck haunts the Panthers some more
Let’s let the third takeaway be a positive here. Vincent Trocheck continues to haunt his former team. His powerplay marker cut the lead to 4-2 midway through the 2nd on the major assessed to Ryan Lomberg. Trocheck pushes himself to the point per game mark again after a rather quiet hot start to the season, and the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native could genuinely be the first-line center here soon.
Given the struggles of Aho that I talked about earlier, Trocheck’s performances genuinely raise the question of pushing him up to the 1C. Now, I wouldn’t do that because I’d argue that his sheltered role away from big defenders does aid his totals, but they’re certainly not only because of being sheltered and he could do a job. More so, it could give Aho a chance to regain his confidence before moving back up.
Trocheck’s numbers against Florida continue to impress as he haunts his former team. We know how talented Trocheck is and we know that he is a very capable player. He’s shown a lot of signs of getting back to that 70+ point total he once hit with these very same Florida Panthers, although injuries have rather derailed his career in terms of becoming a true star forward.
Carolina did not play well enough to win this game, but the scoreline was harsh on them. They were not good enough to win, but this shouldn’t have been anything more than 2-1 or 3-1 Florida with the empty netter. Anyhow, that’s it for this one, we’ll be back soon with the keys to the Tampa Bay game, but until then, thank you for reading, and LET’S GO CANES!
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