Panthers 3, Canes 0

Also, Brind'Amour had 18 minutes and did not register a single shot on goal. He is also -11 on the season (-2 last night).

Canes Country brought up a good point in their recap. Without Sutter, the Canes' veterans would have be shut out for 3 games in a row.

My take is that there is a mismatch between some of the players and the Maurice/Francis style of play.  The key to the Maurice/Francis style is attacking the puck and hard checking.  That approach requires the forwards to generate offensive chances.  Each forward has to take the beating of driving the net and attacking from the "dark places" in and around the net.  Additionally, each forward has as much defensive responsibility as offensive responsibility.  The approach rewards tough, hard-checking forwards like Ruutu; but is not necessarily every NHL player's cup of tea.  At this point we have a mixed up team.  Some players like Ruutu, Cullen, Jokinen, Gleason, Sutter, and Pitkanen seem to have adjusted to that system.  Whitney seems to be the kind of cerebral and self-driven professional athlete who could adjust well to any coaching system.  On the other hand,  Aaron Ward,  Brind'Amour, Wallin, and LaRose seem very, very uncomfortable; and are not showing particularly productive numbers thus far.  Corvo seems to be struggling somewhat this year as well; but he seems more attuned to the system than some of the other players mentioned.  Staal has been hurt, so I can't really judge how the system works for him.  Some fans seem to believe Samsonov is not providing maximum effort, but I respectfully disagree.  I think he is trying hard to step up his game and the play of others on his line.  With a mismatch between players and coaches,  something has to give -- either the mismatched players get traded or the coach is fired.  I can't see Jim Rutherford firing the coach for a myriad of reasons; so I expect some trades soon.  I do think if Jim Rutherford revamps the team and the team as revamped doesn't improve,  he will have no choice but to find another coach.  As a fan, my hope is that Maurice's system will work and that the team will improve this season and next season.  Now that Sutter and Boychuk are both activated we should get an insight into whether or not their speed and quickness will allow them to take advantage of the strengths of the system.  If Sutter and Boychuk shine, we can conclude part of the problem is an issue with some veterans of the Laviolette system not fully adhering to the Maurice/Francis system.