FanNation - The Republic of Sport

The Hurricanes played their best hockey of 07-08 in the first month and (approximately) the last month of the season - in between they were spotty .  That's right, the team played better after Brind'amour went down than they did most of the season with him in .  By that point in the season (of Brind'amour's injury), due to all the injuries, and the resulting call-ups and late season trades, the flavor of the team had changed; and, (perhaps shocked by the loss of their captain) the team apparently found themselves in a more effective dynamic than they had through most of the season .  Without Brindy, Whitney, Williams, Stillman, Commodore, Ladd, etc., they found a way to get it done .  That says a lot about coaching and players . 

Cam Ward was more consistent and played better in general after Leighton was called up and won a game - maybe that's maturation .  I didn't think Ward was ready to be a No. 1 after the Cup Season and neither did some of the experts - if they wanted to win more games, maybe they should have brought Ward along more slowly, rotating him with a seasoned A-list goalie . 

Soft D corps ... I don't know about that .  In the games I saw this season, most of the breakdowns of defense occurred amongst offensive players .  All you had to do was watch the games or look at the plus/minus .  Staal, for example, who was on fire the final month of the season, seemed uninspired through the middle stretch - carrying a double digit negative plus/minus and foundering on scoring .  The major shortfall of the defensemen was on offense - the team wasn't getting as much production out of Kaberle and the others weren't so much that kind of quick offensive-minded d-man this system wants - thus the trade of Commodore for Corvo . 

This year's team lost more time to injury than most clubs in the NHL, and yet only missed the playoffs by one win .  It's the way the one win was missed that causes the grief .  Playing some of their most effective hockey of the season coming down the home stretch, the Hurricanes sputtered at the end just enough to miss post-season .  So they lost to the Caps, in DC, ... well Ovechkin & co. were white hot toward the end of their Cinderella season and with Huet playing that well behind them, the loss is understandable. 

The Lightning and the Panthers on the other hand, ... not so much .  The thing that the last three games of the season have in common is the early return of the injured veteran players: most notably Williams (ACL) and Whitney (leg cyst surgery) .  They were suddenly deemed ready to play for the last Caps game .  Williams went right back out in the first period with back spasms and Whitney seemed slow - bobbling passes on what had become a lightning-quick breakaway offense when the replacements were in there .  Whatever process made that decision happen needs to be reviewed and revised accordingly . 

I am curious to know whether it was a coaching decision, GM's call, or did the owner stick his nose in .  If it was the coach, it seems a very questionable call, not having secured a playoff spot yet, and him being right there on the bench seeing how well the replacement bolstered team was functioning - to yank parts out and hammer now-unfamiliar ones back in .  If it was the GM, it is understandable to want the high dollar assets in place coming down to the wire - but it's still a bad call .  If it was the owner sticking his fingers in the pie, then he needs an attitude adjustment .