Canes DOMINATED the Lightning on Sunday!

Carolina Hurricanes produced 12 goals in two games over the weekend.

Friday's part of the weekend, right? First one in Arizona on campus. Hey, we just brushed off 6-1 over Arizona because the Coyotes are a shell of an NHL team before the trade deadline dispersion. But when you send two of your top four defenseman and a what your third line center a big physical center when you send them out you're going to be different and they were. But last night at PNC Arena against the in theory angry Tampa Bay Lightning 6-0 in what I believe was the best defensive performance I've ever seen from a Rod Brind'Amour coach team. I think that's a different beast.

Let's talk about it with Corey Lavallett of the North State Journal and the athletic. Is it fair to determine or to declare that as the pinnacle of defensive performances under Rod Brind'Amour? It's either that or the post double injury David Ayers game, right?

Right, sure. It's one of those two. I mean like it's an NHL. I can't even call it an NHL record because I don't know if you would declare it a record. First time in the NHL this entire season that any team had been held without a shot on goal for an entire period and I realize it's picking knits to say well the Brandon Hagel shorthanded try off the post doesn't count as a shot but it doesn't. But that was the first scoring chance of the game for Tampa. Yeah, it was a pretty dominant performance and I mean you know it's not that you know you mentioned Arizona earlier and yeah they're they're plucked pretty pretty bare right now but that's a team that still plays hard too and then yesterday you know Tampa's a team that's that's in a little bit of trouble right now with how they're playing and I think I think we all expected something out of them that they were out of them given that John Cooper had kind of ripped his team after the game the night before in Buffalo but instead the Hurricanes just absolutely smothered them and it was a really really dominant performance that I'm sure the coach the coach was very enamored with.

You know here's what's interesting and Cooper did. He said after the game in Buffalo he said that I always put the best players on the ice who I think give us the best chance to win and he said I didn't believe that they gave us the best chance of winning. Steven Stampko's going to the Hall of Fame, Nikita Kucherov going to the Hall of Fame, Brayden Point certainly trending towards going to going to the Hall of Fame and to take those and they're all still really great players take those three guys off the ice because they don't give us the best chance of winning was sending a message to them that we need more and then we go to this game and it looks it looks the same but you knew that Tampa was going to try but I thought it was as good a game and puck support and communication and just awareness every time you thought Tampa had a chance there was a body or a stick in the way from Carolina. And there were good saves I mean I think it's the first time I've ever seen a game where the goalie pitched a shutout and didn't get named one of the game's three stars which to me was pretty shocking but you know Freddie made some very nice saves too you know especially in that in that third period but yeah I mean overall it was it was a clinic totally and a team that kind of I think showed everybody that hey we may not have added the shiniest new thing to our to our Christmas tree for the right for the stretch run but they think they got better with the guys they added and we haven't even seen one of them yet but obviously you know Shane Gosset's there's not going to average two points a game the rest of the season probably not obviously he's a fit he's a fit and the power play has jumped all the way jumped all the way to 13. I know I just looked at that and is ahead of the devils within a percentage of the Rangers within a percentage point of the the avalanche within a percentage point of Dallas like you know all this concern and it just shows how you know and this is kind of what I've preached all along people who are worried about the power play as long as you're not in the you know bottom five of the league terrible the big key is getting hot at the right time right and I mean this might not be the right time yet but at least there's a glimmer of okay this guy we added is uh you know going to give us a boost yeah what what I have said was it doesn't even matter where you're ranked if your power play can click Corey Lavallee from the athletic and north state journal is joining us here in the Adam Gold show if your power play can click at about twenty two and a half percent split the difference between 20 and 25 and look Edmonton where they are almost 32 percent is on a different level a different planet but where Tampa is number two just over 25 percent if you can split the difference between that and 20 and that is your playoff power play percentage that's fine if you score once one you know one out of every four or five times you get the man advantage the the key and the key for them is avoiding what has happened to them in the last four playoff exits which was that the other team's power play whether it's the Rangers last year Tampa the year before or Boston the other two years they've just been destroyed by those power plays so avoid that and you should be okay uh so you don't think that Shane Gostis bear will direct a power play operating at 78 the rest of the way is that what you're saying Corey Lavallee no probably not but uh he's a threat you know I mean you see what he can do he's not you know he's not only a a good mover of the puck he can really shoot the puck and then he walks the line you know better than just about anybody in the NHL I mean it's he's right up there among the elite guys who can you know cross over carry that puck along the blue line to create shooting lanes and that's invaluable I mean even when he's not scoring goals you know the hat trick goal by Tara Bynum is because he you know gets to the middle of the ice you know gets a pass back and gets a shot that rebounds right right to Tara Bynum oh there's no question he actually you know in kind of a strange way reminds me of a he's a former flyer Shane Gostis bear but he reminds me of a current flyer Tony D'Angelo and his ability to move laterally quickly enough to create shooting lanes it's really not one of Brent Burns strengths Burns has so many other strengths and I think Burns has developed as the year has gone on he's just gotten better and better uh but he does not move laterally as well as Gostis bear and if you can do that you create the movement and then the defense has to react and all of a sudden there's all sorts of lanes up the other part of this and this will be the opportunity for you uh because you and I had a long text conversation uh a couple of days ago uh and I'm not saying you're wrong by the way I don't think I don't know that I'm wrong either but I'm certainly not saying you're wrong only time will tell um yes Barry Kotkaniemi has been on one uh last 21 games 17 points overall he had five points yesterday so it's a little bit concentrated uh but six goals 11 assists in his last 17 games or last 21 games and my question all along was can he be a second line center and I mean certainly that line is certainly produced of late yesterday helps but they've been good yeah and you know he doesn't have to be the guy that drives that line I think that's what you know some people lose sight of a little bit is you know it's okay if he's the third most productive point producer on a line like that I mean it's a there's a lot of talent there obviously table terror mine and is is playing his best hockey right now you know even if we put aside the hat trick yesterday uh and Martin H's has been you know amazing all year so he doesn't have to be this uh you know this driving force there that carries the line he just needs to be smart defensively he needs he's a very good passer he's you know very good with with his lateral lateral passes moving the puck side to side we saw it on the the play where that's left he turns the puck over he quickly gets the puck to natures who then passes to Tara Bynum for the tap in but that play doesn't happen without token yemi and people knock secondary assists but that creates a goal right there um so yeah I mean I think you know what I like about about yes very is I think he's physical he's getting stronger he's got a bit of snarl to him that gets lost in this big smile he's got on his face all the time and uh you know has just really been playing well and he for whatever reason you know what there there weren't points there for him and I don't think he was playing you know as well as he is now but I still think he was playing well when he was centering uh natures and svetchnikov but uh right now it's clicking for him a little more uh I don't know how many five point nights he has um but I think I think you know I think he's a second line center I really do especially when you put him with with really really elite wingers like this and even if in the long haul we look we look five years down the road and he's a third line center instead that's okay like that it's okay yeah no and personally I think that's what he is the third line center uh but if the hurricanes can develop somebody that slots between ajo and him uh that would be really good and who knows maybe ultimately that's martine natures will uh will cross that bridge down the road it won't be this year I'm pretty sure that rod brenda more like doesn't want to move him from where he is and I will bring this is where I'll bring in martine natures and final thing for cori lavalette here's where uh I think you and I depart on what the hurricanes did at the deadline in my opinion they thought that natures would be more than natures of two years ago than the natures of last year they thought we would see jarvis take a step up and he still might but they still went out and got max patchy ready and I know the price was right but they still felt the need to add somebody who could score because they recognized that in the postseason that was a problem and then max patchy ready went down they chose not to replace him for whatever the reason they chose not to replace him and that's where I felt like they kind of let their uh let their wallet and it's not a cheap organization but they won't make a trade in march that they wouldn't also make in july and I think maybe this team particular team deserved that player well I mean I think what we need to preface this with is that they did try to go get that guy they tried they tried the one guy you know they tried to get timo meyer it wasn't that they didn't make a push to get a guy that they thought was a fit for them but then you go after that and it's like who do you go after you know you could go after james van reemsdyke is he worthy of playing in your top six compared to what they have there right now no probably not you know especially the way that top line is playing I think you know you just mentioned seth jarvis and you know he's not piling up points by any means but that line is generating a ton yeah um and you know if that second line is going to with kokoyemi then all of a sudden you know what you're adding is a fourth liner because there's no way rod is taking apart that third line so right yeah you know you make room for timo meyer but who else do you make room for you know if you're if you're looking at the guys who are available out there and everybody loves like I said I mentioned in the beginning everybody loves the shiny new objects and you look at the rangers and they're like oh my god they got tarasenko oh my god they got patrick kane those guys don't play any defense any defense at all and it's going to be a problem for them you know they're we're going to run into spots now could they outscore teams and could they you know have their goalie carry them in the postseason certainly they certainly could but that's not the way this team plays so it becomes a matter of who can you get that's good enough that you think belongs ahead of the guys you have or you know can play on the fourth line and contribute that way and what they ended up doing was saying well you know we already have two guys with double digit goals on defense this year why don't we add a third uh because that's where they're you know that's where their shot generation comes from it comes from the point and then they added puyarvi who will see how he fits in but um you know i think he's an upgrade on the fourth line for now and you know if things go well for him maybe he sees power play time and if what is disheartened with a certain player at a certain time maybe he gets a bigger chance but i think for now you know he's a fourth liner who if he sticks around could if he replaces jesper foss after this year i don't know but um yeah i mean i think the hard part is is to go get something just to get something and then but then when you think about the logistics of it all and where do they fit in and who plays where and all of that and i guess you could put seth jargis on the fourth line if you go out and get yourself you know uh another winger uh is that the best use of seth jargis especially with how he played in the playoffs last year i don't know yeah you're you're way too uh level headed for uh for this corey level at at corey love on twitter uh you need to think more like a fan and be angry all the time that's uh just my observation uh corey man i appreciate your time as always uh i'll see you at the rink on thursday for uh canes and the flyers and we'll have to uh guess whether or not tony d'angelo is going to be in the lineup or not because i mean who knows with john tortorella as the head coach of the flyers i'll see you then man take care all right everybody corey lavellette you