Canes are heading to the island for Game 3

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Call clickgrainger.com or just stop by. Grainger. For the ones who get it done. Hurricanes practiced. They practiced at 11 today, so they are now off the ice. Tony D'Angelo assumed the position of Brett Pesce in Carolina's defensive rotation playing with Brady Shea. And I am here to tell you that there is nobody that has worn a Hurricanes uniform over the last, maybe since Alex, since Alexander Semen. Who creates more anger and chatter on Twitter than Tony D'Angelo.

Nobody. It's fantastic. I've just been accused of being a Tony D'Angelo apologist. Well, he's a good guy. I like Tony.

Yeah. Tony's an offensive defenseman, but what people don't get, and this is what I was told by Eric Cole. Tony was brought in as a replacement for Dougie Hamilton, right?

This is what Eric Cole told me. He said, what people are going to find out is that he is way more competitive as a player. Not necessarily better, but more competitive as a player than Dougie Hamilton. And I watched him that year, and I agree. I'm not saying he's better than Dougie. I never said that.

But as a competitor, yeah. I like Tony. I like the way he fits. I don't like him better than the other six that they have when healthy, but I like the way he fits here. Shane Willis, part of the Hurricanes television broadcast crew.

The pregame show, during the game, after the game, and then he goes home and goes to bed. Shane Willis, how you doing, man? I'm great, Adam. Thanks for having me on.

I appreciate you carving out some time before you guys leave for Elmont, New York. So would you agree that Tony D'Angelo creates more, I don't know, chatter than almost anybody, pro and con? Like there are pro Tony people, and then there are anti Tony people.

The only person I could come up even close to it is Alexander Semen when he was here. Yeah, I mean, I think Tony brings a ton of flavor to the table, and the way this series is going, and you never want to see a player get injured, and the situation arrives, but the luxury the Carolina Hurricanes have is a veteran like Tony D'Angelo, who brings a little spice into the lineup where this series could take a turn, and what the Islanders tried to do last year. I think it's a perfect fit to get into the lineup, and yeah, sure, there's going to be a ton of people that are like, we don't like Tony D'Angelo.

To me, it's very similar to everyone saying, I don't like Tom Wilson. If he was on your team, you would like Tom Wilson. So anyone that's a Carolina Hurricanes fan with Tony D'Angelo, you should love the fact that he's about to step into this series, and what I think could play a huge factor in him. I like Tony.

I think Tony will help them. It makes it a lot easier that, even though you are a goalscorer, Shane, and we're going to get to that in a minute, but I want to start on the blue line. The difference in Dmitry Orlov over the last three months versus the first three months, I thought he was okay for the first three months. Not $7.7 million a year good, but I think in the last three months, he's looked like that top four elite level defenseman. He's been phenomenal, and I agree with you, Adam, and the way he's playing, the confidence he has with the puck.

He's got that little, what I like to call a shimmy shake. He does the blue line and seems to shake his defender to get those shots through and create the offense. That's what you expected and wanted from Dmitry Orlov, and we've always talked about jumping into the system and playing the man-on-man style and in-your-face style that Rod Brindlemore wants is difficult, and I think his comfort level continues to go through the roof, but so does his confidence. And the other factor in, when you see a player that leaves a lineup and now you're down to five defensemen, I really look at the games where Dmitry Orlov's minutes have been elevated has really when he played his best.

So every player, I talk to other people, whether you're a forward or defense, the more time you're coming over the boards, the more into the game you are, the more settled in you are, and every time Dmitry is elevated with minutes, he seems to play even better, and he's getting that right now. He definitely had last game with only five defensemen. Yeah, and even in Game 1, something that jumped out to me was there was the smallest gap between a defenseman who played the most minutes and a defenseman who played the fewest minutes. Brady Shea played 20 minutes and 30 seconds. Jalen Chatfield played about 17 and a half minutes. Only a three-minute gap. First time all year, the gap has been that small.

It was just super impressive. Shane Willis is joining us here on the Adam Gold Show. Tomorrow night, Canes, Islanders, Game 3. Before I get to the forwards, wasn't it predictable that the Islanders would eventually get chippy after the Martinuk goal, where it started all that physicality that I thought Carolina was bringing more of, actually, than the Islanders, whatever the hit totals say. I thought the Islanders got a little chippy and frustrated and dirty at the last minute or so of that game.

We're going to see more of that on Thursday. Hey, it's Adam Gold, and I'm in studio with my friend Coach Pete DeRuda with the Capital Financial Advisory Group. Is it ever too soon to seek out you and your expertise?

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Call 888-843-0013, 888-843-0013, or text ADAM to 600-700. I think you'll see them try and elevate physically, but I agree with you. The end of the game, in game two, with as much frustration from blowing a three-goal lead, that comes out the wrong way. I agree with you in a chippy, not needed type of way, but you're also trying to set a tone for the next game. You're trying to stir things up, but I do believe at the start of game three, you'll see an elevated physicality piece. Not the chippy, after the whistle kind of stuff, but I think they will be trying to throw the bodies around a little bit more, but on the flip side, I think this is a perfect game when you see, obviously, a lot of checks being thrown. Stefan Mason's in a fight.

He's in a scrum at the end of the game. Coke and the Emmys in that throwing his physicality around. To me, it's one of those games that I go back to people and be like, remember when you all talk to, say, the Carolina Hurricanes aren't physical enough? Well, kind of how do you like us now? Because the Hurricanes have elevated that part of their game, and every time I talk about the Hurricanes and why they're the favorite, not only in the series, but when you look at the Stanley Cup run, they've added all those pieces and continue to grow and continue to mature and add to their games. And I think it's in the perfect spot right now when it comes to physicality, and I think the Hurricanes will welcome and be prepared if the Islanders try and play that style. And if they cross the line, one of the top power plays in the league for the entire regular season will step up and have to get the job done to make them pay. Yeah, and that top power play unit has, what, two power play goals?

One power? Two power play goals already in the series. All right, we found out today the Islanders announced it'll be Ilya Sorokin in game three for them, which means they're going back to essentially their guy. Do you think it'll be Anderson? I mean, you may know or may not. Do you think it'll be Anderson or Kachetkov in game three? I think it'll be Kachetkov. Well, I definitely do not know.

I'm not in that inner circle of finding things out, but a lot of people have had different discussions each way. Do you want to get peered into this first round? But when I look at the window, the extra day makes me kind of think you're going to go with Freddie again because the rest portion is there. I talked about this in the pregame show just the other night where Rod Bernable had the luxury where everyone was worried about having three goalies here with Spencer Martin, but I thought they did a tremendous job in allowing these guys to rest on a nightly basis, not even sit on the bench.

Completely nightly reset and get away from the game, and part of that goes back to for this very reason that now you could go hit Freddie Anderson every game if you wanted to. I'm sure it's a tough decision because he's dialed in. So do you go to Freddie in game three, but Piotr in game four, which is the one day in between? I don't think there's a wrong decision. Freddie has been playing so well in the first two games.

I thought he won those games kind of different ways. And so to me, there's not a reason to change the Piotr because of Freddie's play. I thought he's been great, but if you do fully confident that he's able to get the job done as well with how he plays a game of the season. Yeah, I think with the Thursday night, Saturday afternoon, almost morning, two o'clock start, I think we'll see both goalies for Carolina. It just depends on which one Rod wants to start first. Personally, just the way I look at it, I think it'll be Piotr and then Freddie, but either way would probably work fine.

All right. Now, let me ask you about, there's a lot of guys who have played very well, but for me, Carolina's best forward through two games has been Seth Jarvis. What has excited you about his game? Well, Seth has been tremendous in my mind for the entire season. I think coming back into the season, you could tell he put the work in in the offseason of what he needs to do. But the way he is playing the game right now, and I have numerous people text me after he scored the second goal of the game and been like, wow, this guy's developed into, you know, where he's looked at in the all star voting this year is like, he could have been that extra fan vote in.

Yeah. Well, at this trajectory trajectory, that Jarvis is not going to be a fan vote. He's going to be in the All-Star game next year because that's how he's playing right alongside when he was playing with a whole again. So, and I love his demeanor. You can see he still has that you from us of having fun, but the work ethic and the way he's playing, I mean, physically the hit he throws on Dawson and one, um, the way he works around the net, the way he's shooting the puck. He's got everything you need.

He's got every single tool. You have to have to be an elite level player in this league and he continues to show it. And now everyone always has that question because young players have a great regular season and then the playoffs come around. And they're like, wow, he wasn't as good touch hours has gotten better. I think in these first two games of the playoffs with what he's doing, and then you have to also factor in situationally you're down three, one it's on his stick. He makes no mistake. Like elite level sniper shot to score to make it three, two to energize this building and then take it a step further where he's playing with all home again.

So get shifted. He has no issue with that because he loves playing with Jordan Martin. Like, you know, he always, he said after the game, he, this guy helps me get out of my slump, play with these two guys. His body's banging around.

I'll just, I'll play with anybody. And I just love his mindset on a daily basis. And obviously a skill level in the way he's playing is, you know, all star level for sure right now for Roberta.

Yeah, he's, it's always fun. He is just walking. He's a good time walking, but he is a tremendous player. The other guy, if it's not Seth is probably Andre and that physicality that they didn't have a year ago in the lineup. It's back and I love even though Andre's got, he doesn't have a goal. I think he has a couple of assists.

I think he has been as impactful of forward as they have had on the roster. For the ones who work hard to ensure their crew can always go the extra mile and the ones who get in early so everyone can go home on time. There's Grainger offering professional grade supplies backed by product experts so you can quickly and easily find what you need.

Plus, you can count on access to a committed team ready to go the extra mile for you call click ranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. Completely agree and completely under control. I think as a young player and what Andre comes in with that physicality, he wants it so bad. You know, he wants to be that guy. And I think that's where he got himself. Maybe in a little bit of trouble if you will, when he's just, you know, getting going out of the way to make those contacts now completely in the control, knowing his game, playing inside the system.

And really doing it right. Six shots in game one, um, game two, just as strong. And as you said, doesn't have a goal yet, but the way he's creating on that line gives it a different dynamic, right? against one, especially got a little bit different dynamic than having Jarvis there to create room.

But I agree. And when you look at what the hurricanes have built and you look over the last, you know, this being year six of last five years, um, set Jarvis not as long, but a little bit longer of what they've learned in these situations, right? Playing against the Bruins, playing against the cat, all of those series now has the confidence level. As I sat in the corner last game, people around me at three, nothing, everyone's going crazy. And I'm like, would you all just relax?

And they're like, what are you talking about? I'm like, what period is our best? It's the third period because of how these guys work away from the ice and everything they do. I'm saying this game is tied and they win in overtime. Then they score a tie.

They're like, I can't believe you just, you just call that. I looked at a guy in the corner who was on our ice crew and I said, they're probably going to win it right now. And Martin goes and scores at nine seconds later to win the game. But that is the demeanor. And when you look at confidence and the mental side of where this team is at, you know, the words that Kuznetsov spoke, who has only been here, you know, a short period of time, but gets it. He's a champion.

He gets it. We didn't play good enough. We would be a veteran game too. And it doesn't matter what the score is.

Their best will beat you at any moment. I loved Kuznetsov's bench interview with Hannah Yates after the game one win. Like to me, Freddie Anderson was the best player in the game. Freddie should have been first star, but I'm glad that it was Kuznetsov because that bench interview was so eye opening to what I'm sure everybody in that locker room felt. And also to him, because I think everybody knows the talent.

And if you get that talent locked in and he is locked in, then I think it's just their lineup is so much better. Shane Willis, I appreciate your time. Have a safe trip. I'll see you in a couple of games. And maybe there won't be a game five. It probably will, but maybe there won't be. And we can all rest.

You never know. And again, I love what Kuznetsov said because you know they were going to be ready for game two. And then, you know, some of the questions that were coming to Mike and I for our podcast yesterday were, how do you turn that game off?

Like it was so exciting to win, you know, five, three in that kind of fashion. I said, it goes back to these guys. They probably, you know, whooped it up for a few minutes inside the locker room, but then completely shut it off because I said, nothing is handed out.

There's not an award handed out after two games. Right. And that locker room knows it from the leadership down to the to the last, the youngest guy in that room. And they all know it. And they know game three is going to be just as hard, if not harder than game one and two. And that's been their preparation factor for these last two days. Yeah, they're they're two of 16.

That's that's how far they have left to go. Shane Willis, I appreciate your time. My man will talk to you soon. Thanks, you got it. Without the ones like you who work tirelessly to keep things running, everything would suddenly stop hospitals, factories, schools and power plants.

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