Are the Canes a circus act at this point?

Coming up tonight, in Buffalo, Carolina Hurricanes final game before winter vacation. Some guys might be going to the Magic Kingdom, I don't know. It does feel like it's been a Disneyland ride over the last few days and the final game of this portion of the schedule will be on TNT tonight. Darren Pang will be on color commentary there, at Panger40 on Twitter. Sir, I appreciate your time.

It's an honor to have you on the program. What have you seen from the circus that is the Carolina Hurricanes the last week or so? Well, I guess what I see is a team that's on a roll. Not many teams are able to come back like they came back.

The 15th come from behind win. That second in the NHL, that shows a lot of gumption, just a lot of inner strength. I mean, a lot of teams just kind of go away softly into the night and give up on a game. But I thought, you know, last night's game was really entertaining down by that much change the lines in the third period and roar back.

And it just seemed like just watching on TV and listening to Tripp Tracy talk about the crowd that was there and the energy that was there, you know, for a Tuesday night game. So we're happy to have Carolina on TNT with Buffalo tonight. We think it's going to be an outstanding hockey game, the last game for both teams before they get on the break. I think you'll see some goals. Buffalo can score.

You know that. I keep telling Kevin Adams is a friend of ours. And Kevin has constructed a very entertaining club up there. They're just, I think, seasoning and maybe a couple of veteran pieces away from being a legitimate playoff contender. And frankly, they're inside the top eight in terms of points percentage right now.

Darren Pang is joining us here. Here's the thing about what we've seen from the Hurricanes, like, because it's not just last night where they come from 4-1 down in the third period of force overtime and win it. They did it to San Jose. They're down two with two minutes to go after an empty net goal. Ajo scores off the faceoff and then they tie it with 11 seconds left. And Martin H wins another game, his third overtime winner this year.

There's there's something weird going on. And I don't think that they have played to their full capabilities yet. Wow, that's quite a statement, because that's a hell of a record at 33, what, nine and eight and, you know, winning 74 percent of your games. And, you know, you people that watch a team all the time likely look at a team with probably a more cynical eye than, you know, than a guy like myself that, you know, goes out and does some national games and basically does, you know, some some heavy watching of the last couple of games, at least, which is that's what I do before I do a national game is I just bear down.

I just I just put on the the air pods and I just grind it out. And all I see is a team that works their tails off. Their stops and starts are phenomenal. Their discipline team. Do you know how many teams in NHL still don't want to defend and we're you know, we're almost in what we're in February now, like we're at a point now where you you figure out what your team is all about. I mean, if you're one of those teams that just lollygags around or or swoops through the offensive zone or doesn't stop through the neutral zone, that's what you are. But Carolina impresses me because of the simplicity of hockey is still discipline and hard on sticks and straight lines and stops and starts and finishing your checks. And that's what I see with Carolina.

I love watching them play and I love the structure of the team. And I also love the fact that, you know, Roddy Brindamore, he acts, asks a lot of his players, demands a lot of his players. And so when it's not going well, he can look them in the eye and he can make a change or sit them on the bench or change the lines like he did in last night's game to get a spark going. And and that's I think that's all players ever asked for in this league is just an honest look in the eye from your head coach and and then, you know, be true to your word. And I think that's what Roddy does so well for the Hurricanes.

He's the he's a player's coach who coaches like he wanted to be coached, I think, as a player and, you know, coaches or teams take on the personality of their coach. I don't think there's any more evidence of that when you watch this team play. They play just like essentially the hard work and the care that he put into the that he put into the game.

I think they do, too. When I say they're not clicking on all cylinders, Andrei Svechtikov doesn't have a goal in 14 games, although I think he's played pretty well of late. Seth Jarvis has just two in his last, I think, 19 or 20.

Tevo Taravanen just scored his fifth goal last night. So there's a lot of pieces that haven't produced, but they are they are playing very well. They're also undefeated without either Sebastian Ajo or Jacob Slavin in the lineup. Make sense of that. That's that's an incredible number that tells you that everybody else picks up the slack whenever there's somebody out of the lineup. But, I mean, you know, you still watch Jarvis play and you see, yeah, maybe the goals aren't going in right now and it's tougher in your second year. But it's the work ethic. It's the determination down low.

And it's all the grunt work that has to be done. I like the fact that he put Taravanen on that fourth line last night and put them in the middle between two Wiley veterans. They end up scoring a huge goal in the game. But, you know, sometimes like a guy like Taravanen is a good example of a guy that we all know, he's a highly skilled guy and he's a good skater, but you can get on that wing and kind of be stuck. And, you know, you have to go back to the center ice position.

You have to work at, you have to be a 200 foot player. You get skating by the end of your 48 second shift, your gas. Whereas when you're on the wing, sometimes you can maybe conserve some energy and sometimes you're not in the play and the play doesn't come around you and you stay up and down your boards and then you get off the ice and nothing really happens. So that's it was a great call by Roddy to get him back to center ice and he had a good third period. So I'm not sure because they didn't skate this morning in Buffalo. You know what he does if he keeps the lines like he started last night's game or if he keeps the lines like he ended last night's game. So we'll find out at game time. Yeah, I think my hunch is that he'll keep the lines as he started the game last night. Couple more minutes with Darren Pang before we have to let him go. TNT tonight, 730 start.

Canes and the Sabres should be fun. Your thoughts on Jordan Stahl, who for years was like, why can't he score? He's got 14 goals right now. And the tip in last night was just spectacular. Unbelievable tip. And in fact, I actually wasn't sure at first glance if Martin might have tipped that in beforehand. But regardless if that old double I formation, you're talking about the great Tom Brady retiring.

And here I am using some football analogy, the guy that never played football at all. But I just saw them both in front of the net and both with their good hands. But you know, let's face it. That line with Boston and Martin Nook and installed date. If you're another team or you're another set of defensive on the other team, do you think that Tate's Thompson or or Yo store, you know, that defensive partner, let's say Darlene, do you think they really want to defend against that line tonight? Cause that's hard work. You know, that that's getting the puck down deep, that's stopping and starting and cycling and moving. And I mean, it's exhausting. Even if they don't score a goal, it's exhausting. It takes a lot of energy out of the opposition. And what it does is it sets up the play for the next line. Even if they don't score, it sets it up for the all whole line or, or talking the Emmy line.

So no, very impressed. And I love the way rod like really uses that line and puts them up against the other teams best on so many nights. I did it to bird, the Bergeron group against Boston on Sunday.

They do it all the time. Darren paying TNT. I appreciate your time, man. Have fun tonight. Should be a, should be a fun game again. I love Buffalo. So I think the, I think the sabers are on the rise.

Me too. Always entered. They were always good and cage Thompson. We're calling them TNT because his middle name's Nathaniel and he has been a, a menace on, on TNT. So he's obviously a player to watch for. No question about it.

Dara Pang. I appreciate your time, man. And hopefully we'll do it again. My pleasure. Okay. Right.