My Top Three Reactions To The Opening Day Line-Up Or Lack There of

We’re here. It’s the day we have been waiting for since the final horn in Florida. The Hurricanes have not yet set their Opening Day Line-Up. As of this writing that is to be a game time decision. It would appear head coach Rod Brind’Amour has adopted the Hurricanes new #causechaos moniker rather quickly. With that in mind here are my top three thoughts ahead of tonight’s game.

Three: Tony DeAngelo’s spot is not secure, as of this writing. If TDA is not in the line-up, good. I see that is a clear point. We can put this to bed with some finality. For all the pre-season hype, we know where he is going to stand, or sit as the case is. Sure, the Hurricanes brought him back for his offensive capabilities, but he is not a top of the line defensemen. And that is his primary job. Carolina is showing that his defensive liability is too much to stomach and I think this is the correct call. Jalen Chatfield is too good to be sitting in the pressbox. His ability to be paired with anyone on the squad and be productive is evident. His starting over DeAngelo is a good call.

If Tony DeAngelo is in the line-up, good. we can finally put the mess behind us and see if he will live up to standards. Or at the very least start to. No, I have not reversed my stand on his defensive liabilities. No, I have not reversed my position that there are better defensemen on the Hurricanes. I am merely ready to get the hype over with, and see just what is going to happen. I have written before that DeAngelo had better put up 20 goals or more, with 5 or more coming on the power play or I for one won’t be impressed. Unless he hits 60 or more points, I think the Hurricanes will have wasted their money, and a ton of capital with a large swath of their fanbase. No amount of squiggly lines, charts, graphs and hot air can convince me like goals and assists. If those are not coming in for Tony DeAngelo, then there is plenty of room in the pressbox. But, that can start to change tonight. If DeAngelo comes out with his game face on and cuts out the defensive mistakes, it’ll be the first game of what had better be many.

Two: Frederik Andersen in net is actually a good thing. This is going to come as a shock to anyone that is reading this, BUT, I think this is the right call. It is time for “Mr. Andersen” to fish or cut bait. Pytor Kochetkov is in Syracuse waiting his turn with another team’s AHL squad. Yaniv Perets is in the ECHL. If Freddie Andersen is going to take the net for himself as the top goaltender, it has to start from game one. There is just too much talent behind him.

If, and that is a big one, he is able to command the game and show that he is dominant like he was in the playoffs, then he had better do so today. And it had better be evident from this point forward. Otherwise, the Hurricanes need to slide him out of the way and let the young players vie for the top spot. Antti Raanta is where he is, but Perets or PK could easily be the top netminder

One: No Andrei Svechnikov is a good thing. If the Hurricanes learned anything from last season, it should have been that rushing back is not worth the risk. Especially this early in the season. It could have been that Svechnikov plays tonight and plays like his pants are on fire, but that is too much of a risk for me. A rushed back Svech reinjured and out a full first half of the season or potentially whole season is not worth Game One. Top of his game Andrei Svechnikov can wait just a couple of games. The Hurricanes are just too good to be running the risk.

Are the Hurricanes are making some bold statements with the Opening Day Roster? Will we see anything really remarkable? We’ll have to see at puck drop!