So if you throw out Game 1 as a total disaster and say the Canes have more or less played even with the Devils in Games 2 and 3, you're still looking at a must-win Game 4 — and I would argue, the Canes are going to need to substantially outplay the Devils in at least one game to win this series.
Cam Ward's been great, but the Canes are relying far too heavily on him. Give the guy a goal or two to play with, please!
I don't know what Paul Maurice and the Hurricanes talked about at today's video session, but here's what I would have put on the agenda:
1. Get more traffic on Martin Brodeur. I can only remember two times Brodeur seemed bothered in this series: Eric Staal's screen on Tim Gleason's OT goal in Game 2 and Erik Cole's penalty (and yes, it was a penalty) in Game 3. In 2006, the Canes rattled Brodeur from the start. They need to get in the crease and get him off his game, even if it means taking a penalty or two.
2. Fix the power play. New Jersey is an excellent penalty-killing team and the Devils have adjusted to Carolina's power play, taking away the points and slowing down the Canes in the neutral zone. Three games in, we're still waiting for Carolina's answer. Getting the puck to Staal or Ray Whitney on the half-boards would draw in the defense and fix the first problem. It's up to players like Joe Corvo and Joni Pitkanen and Matt Cullen and Staal to get the puck up the ice more quickly and fix the second.
3. Find an answer to New Jersey's forecheck. The Canes are spending too much time pinned in their own zone. Advantage: Brent Sutter.
4. Play with more aggression. I'm not talking about hitting people or taking penalties, not necessarily. I'm talking about taking the game to New Jersey. Right now, the Canes are trying to out-New Jersey the Devils. That's not going to work. The Canes need to be more aggressive with the puck and more aggressive on the power play, and that doesn't necessarily mean compromising anything in the neutral zone or without the puck. But it does require a shift in mentality from "we're going to play as well as these guys" to "we're going to play better than these guys."
5. Get Dennis Seidenberg back in. If Anton Babchuk's not going to get the opportunity to shoot the puck on the power play, and the Devils have so far taken that away, then there's no reason to put up with his defensive errors when a resolute shot-blocker like Seidenberg is available.
Luke has worked for The N&O since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist in August 2008. A native of Evanston, Ill., he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at (919) 829-8947, @LukeDeCock on Twitter or 
Comments
I agree with Luke that the
Tue, 04/21/2009 - 14:03 — mokimanoI agree with Luke that the Canes must dominate and take control of at least one game in the series to get in the head of Brodeur and the Devils...tonight is the time to have that game! This team is three games deep into the playoffs and they have still not shown anywhere close to their best hockey that they are capable of playing...most thought this would be a long, hard fought 6 or 7 game series and it's looking to shape up that way. No need to press the panic button quite yet, momentum is a dangerous thing in hockey...if the Canes can score early and get that crowd behind them they can take control of a game like tonight! Roster changes...Seidenberg deserves to come back in...Kaberle or Babchuk needs to come out, but that depends on Maurice and how he plans to use either of those two on who stays in and who sits out.
7th Man
Tue, 04/21/2009 - 10:29 — GoShelfThe 7th man needs to get a little more involved. The Devils are probably indifferent about coming to Raleigh, they need to hate coming to Raleigh, especially Brodeur. He needs to hear all night long "B-R-O-D-E-U-R, B-R-O-D-E-U-R, and so on. I remember Edmonton used to do it to Eddie Belfour for 3 periods back in the late 90's and by the 3rd period he was rattled. I feel obligated to make the experience for the opposing team as miserable as possible. Duke/Carolina/State fans do it to each for all of the collegiate athletics season, why not do it together for someone we collectively hate, seems simple.
If the Canes had won game 3,
Tue, 04/21/2009 - 09:31 — twinfanIf the Canes had won game 3, would we be having this conversation? Despite looking disorganized, they only lost on an overtime goal. GET ORGANIZED and you'll win game 4. There were times they didn't know where the other teammates were going. SHOOT THE PUCK and stop passing so much. especially when you are 15 feet in front of Brodeur. Defense generally wins these series and the Canes look good here. In game 3, they simply looked like a team in training camp. DON'T GO SO WIDE. Many shots were from too deep an angle to be able to score and finally GET IN FRONT OF THE NET and block Brodeur or keep their defense busy. Then maybe that will free up Boom-Boom Babchuck to put some rifles on net. Just my opinion.
lineup changes
Tue, 04/21/2009 - 09:23 — HockeydogHere is my fix for game 4. Pitkinen out and Seidenburg back in.
I disagree with the above statement that Kaberle is not a threat to score. He's not as offensive minded as Pitkinen but he is not the potential liability either. And he can move the puck. He's also been there and won a Cup, so he knows what it takes in the playoffs.
Forward line changes.
Move Cole to Cullen and LaRose. Gives that line speed to spare and may open the ice for Cole as Cullen and LaRose can also back off the defense with speed. Move Whitney up with Staal and Ruutu. Brings some play making to that line.
Swap Jokinen and Brind'Amour. No Brindy bashing here. Roddy is just a better fit for Walker and Bayda, and Jussi would really compliment Sammy and Eaves- who has played very well in my opinion. This would also make the Devils think harder about which line their checking line wants to go up against.
Staal- Whitney-Ruutu
Cullen-Cole-Larose
Jokinen-Samsonov- Eaves
Brind'Amour- Walker-Bayda
Kaberle in, Pitkinen out?
Tue, 04/21/2009 - 09:58 — fvanaschActually, that's crazy. Kaberle should be in the press box. He's way too soft in many respects. He won't shoot, and the opponents know it, so they don't play him tight and they aggressively cover the real threats minimizing our chances.
I can count on one hand the number hits he delivered or took over the course of the season. If he's not skating backwards, he's poking the puck and rolling away from a hit. (Did his shoulder ever really heal or is he still being protective of it now that it has? <Shrug> I don't know. Just trying to rationalize.)
I will say that I'm not blaming him for Sunday's loss or anything like that. If he was really one that could step up, we would have seen it prior or after he was put on waivers. There were lots of teams looking for decent defencemen at the trade deadline and no one wanted him even if we paid half his salary. So, evidently, I'm not the only one questioning his value.
Tonight is probably the most important game of the year for the Canes now. Do I want to see someone in there that hasn't proved himself unquestionably worthy? I think Pitkinen and Seidenberg have done that.
Sorry Frankie. You are a really nice guy and I enjoyed our chat during Casino Night, but I think you'll be sitting out tonight.
Pitkinen's
Tue, 04/21/2009 - 12:32 — Hockeydogbest game is way better than Kaberle's no doubt. But Frankie has the ability to move the puck a bit and is not the potental liablity as he doesn't gamble as much as Pitkinen. As long as Pitkinen reads the play well and doesn't cause an odd man rush I'd rather see him in than Kaberle. Tonights game is the series if the Canes don't win it, so my choice was based on who is less likely to give the game to the other team. I hope Pitkenin plays the game of his life if he's in there, that would be the best case senario.
Traffic
Tue, 04/21/2009 - 08:48 — RipskinnyAgree 100% on need of net-front traffic, especially on PP. Put Ruutu in front, a al Holmstrom of the Red Wings, with Samsonov or Whitney setting up Stahl or the point men. And shoot the puck - too many extra passes.
Disagree on Babchuk. He's big, great reach, boomer shot, and yes, occasional positioning gaffes. Leave him in, put Seidenberg in too, for shot-blocking, and sit Kaberle, who is too small and no threat to score.
Dump & chase from center ice more on 5 on 5 and on PPs to get past NJ center-ice trapping and blue line walls. Dump it in and let Ruutu, LaRose, et al go after it. Change it up on whether you'll D & C or skate it in. Center ice blue line is open a lot. Keep 'em guessing.
What we're seeing is why the Canes fired Maurice for Laviolette in the first place - a little too much defensivemindedness at times with Maurice, especially during tight games/series. That's why Brodeur rebounds are falling on empty ice in front of the net - forwards are playing back for defense. Playing for one goal defensive wins generally works over the long reg season, but you don't have enough recoup time in a 7 game series when it works against you.
The Net
Tue, 04/21/2009 - 07:34 — LainiencThe Canes are significantly more successful when they: drive the net; put traffic in front of the net; have players around the net for rebound opportunities. Numerous rebound chances have been missed due to lack of net presence. Granted, Brodeur will try to abuse whomever is standing in his crease, particularly if its only one player so he needs to be tag teamed. Overall physicality is always helpful. I agree with 'abramsdoug' regarding Babchuk and would be more inclined to swap Pitkanen with Seidenberg. In any case, there's no reason the Canes shouldn't win this series. GO CANES !
I don't understand a few things
Mon, 04/20/2009 - 21:16 — MrKnockoffLike how Pitkanen plays 29 minutes???? The stat sheet only credits him with 2 giveaways, but he looked like a turnover waiting to happen. That, and he seems to pick the wrong time to carry the puck deep...which has increasing ended up with a bad angle shot quickly being turned up ice to be dealt with by an unlucky forward and Babchuk. And Luke is absolutely right about our power play woes, I just don't know how they fix it.
Oh, and...
Mon, 04/20/2009 - 20:07 — whirligigSHOOT the puck! This team has always relied on rebound chances and gritty goals. Yes, we need much more traffic in front, but until Staal and Cole actually start converting on their highlight reel efforts (which are mostly positive) we are going to have to actually get some shots on net to make something happen. It seems that too often no one is there to capitalize, or we aren't shooting when we should be.
ps is anyone else watching the Caps Rangers game on VS? It's like one of their camera men called out sick, and they were left with one camera (only in the rafters). I respect the cheap seats, but jeez i can't even see the numbers on their backs.
YES ... SHOOT THE PUCK !
Tue, 04/21/2009 - 11:33 — ynotagainToo many of the Canes who should be scoring are not even getting shots off. In Game 3 Cole only had 1 shot; Ruutu only had 1 shot, while Sammy and Brindy had NO SHOTS ! This has to change tonight ! I enjoy watching Cole's power move to the net and Ruutu banging a devil into the boards BUT I'd rather see them focus on putting more shots at the net, and INTO the net. Same with Sammy; followed by traffic in front of the net for the rebound goals. And yes, Frankie should get the night off.
One more fix
Mon, 04/20/2009 - 19:56 — GoShelfAgreed, great assessment. I would also add: Stop Zach Parise; I don't understand why we can stop Ovetchkin, Crosby, Kovalchuk, etc. and Zach Parise is giving us fits. He's really the only guy in their lineup we really have to key on, maybe Patrick Elias too, but the rest of their guys shouldn't hurt us. They've always had 2 or 3 key guys and the rest of their lineup is pretty average. They're well coached and they play within their system.
Things to Fix
Mon, 04/20/2009 - 19:53 — abramsdougI agree completely that the Hurricanes have to get traffic in front of the net. It has been an area of overall weakness for the Hurricanes this season; but was much improved with the return of Cole. The power play is a related issue in that the Hurricanes tend not to thrive on physical play; and with the aggressiveness of the Devils on the power play, the best response is to have the puck driven to the net. The tone of the play does have to change. The Hurricanes need to out skate the Devils. I respectfully disagree with respect to Babchuk. Although he is not error-free, in my view his strengths vastly outweigh any risk of imperfect judgment.