Mailbag #15: Road Warriors

RALEIGH, NC. -Happy Friday, Caniacs.
What a
victory last night in Boston
. If someone had told you in September that the Canes would handle Boston with relative ease in all three meetings this season, what would you say? Perspective is important.

The team has one game remaining on their four-game road trip that's serving as a second half kick-starter and while Tuesday in Ottawa wasn't what the team had hoped for, closing the trip with a chance at 5/8 points is certainly acceptable.
Y'all brought plenty of questions (much appreciated, as always) on Twitter this morning, so here are some answers to a few of them.
(Please note that some questions have been edited for clarity.)
Is it at all worrying that the Hurricanes struggle so much against mediocre teams like Ottawa? - @WeathersWX
Not really, to me. In looking solely at their two losses against the Senators this season, Anton Forsberg made 42 and 47 saves. How many teams are going to get that kind of goaltending performance on two occasions? He definitely also had a little extra chip on his shoulder playing his former team. Why do I say that? Any guesses as to how many 40+ save wins Forsberg has had in his career?

Two of them have come this season against the Canes.
Ottawa's team game has been very impressive as of late though so by no means am I trying to undersell that. For those who watched the broadcast Tuesday, I thought Tripp and Shane did a nice job pointing out Ottawa's 1-1-3 defensive structure, which Carolina did seem to struggle with at times. Teams will take notice of that as we get later and later into the season. But how much "struggle" is there when you can still produce 45 shots on goal? I suppose that portion is subjective. And if they managed to put 45 shots on without "starting on time", what would the game have looked like if they did have the juice from the get-go?
Do we need to be concerned about Raanta as a backup or is his performance in net more a result of us not playing well in front of him? Also, with the trade deadline coming up are there any holes we need to fill with a trade? - @BarronSean
I'm really glad someone asked this.
Antti's 6-3-1 this season. Let's break this down from the start. If the guy who is your number two gets you points in seven of ten outings, we're all pleased with that, right? Very solid output.
Now, let's look at his losses this year.
November 22 @ San Jose: Raanta only gets one goal of support in an overtime loss to the Sharks. That one certainly is not on him.
December 2 vs. Ottawa: The Canes had plenty of chances to win the game, but ultimately, as noted above, Anton Forsberg stole the game for the Sens by making 47 stops. Two of the three goals Raanta allowed were essentially makeshift breakaways. When I look back at that one, I certainly don't peg him as "losing" the game for Canes.
December 12 @ Vancouver: Another 2-1 loss.
February 8 @ Ottawa: The team in front of them admits they did not have their game from the start. Now, with that being said, do you sometimes hope your goalie can help you overcome that? Certainly. But Jordan Staal said post-game that they didn't help him out in there.
So, there you have his four losses. I don't see any reason at all to panic over Raanta. If the injury bug gets him again? Okay, maybe. But performance-wise? Absolutely not.
In regards to the second question, I'm not sure the team has a hole to fill, but I think there's ways they can improve. I found the below quote from President & General Manager Don Waddell interesting. He offered it Tuesday night on Bally Sports:
"We talk about the ways we can improve] every day. There's not a day that goes by that we don't talk about what our needs are. I don't know if we have a strong need, but you always need depth. If you get into the playoffs and have a long run, you're going to need a lot of players. I've always said, if we can upgrade our team, we're going to look at that. We like our team. It's not like we want to trade a bunch of guys away or anything like that. Playoffs are a long run and you can play a lot of games, so you have to be prepared as much as you can for it. I think depth is probably something we need to talk about."
**I've been fascinated how really good hockey teams like the Canes can occasionally have "off" games where the majority of players just aren't bringing the effort required on that particular night. Any theories? - [@johnnybolla
This is an interesting one.
Perhaps I'm incorrect in doing so, but I always look at it through the lens of that we're all human, right? Every time the guys touch the ice they WANT to have the best game of their career, including a hat trick or a shutout on the way to a win. Of course, most nights it's not like that. I don't think anyone mails it in on purpose against a certain team.
Look at it just like you and I. Each day I come to work I want to write the best article ever, but does it happen every day? No. Is either of us mistake-free most days? Nope. I think it just happens. After all, no team has ever gone 82-0 for a reason, right?
Plus, there's something to be said about how any team can beat any team on any given night. While the Sens may be well below the Canes in the standings, the Ottawa roster is filled with world-class players. It's one of the things that makes the NHL great, in my opinion.
Who is your favorite Canes prospect at the Olympics? I'll hang up and listen. - @CanesProspects
We're well in the thick of the Canes season at the moment, but it certainly should not be lost that the team has a 20-year-old prospect representing the Russian Olympic Committee at this year's games. Has anyone actually been staying up for some of these games? 11:10 p.m., 3:40 a.m. and 8:10 a.m. puck drops? Sheesh.
I digress. Not only is Alexander Nikishin, the team's third round pick in 2020, playing at a young age, he's been on the team's top defensive pairing. Between this and him playing a full-time role for his KHL Spartak Moskva club this year, fans of the team who don't have him on their radars definitely need to moving forward. Assistant General Manager Darren Yorke and the Canes scouting staff have done a great job at finding and selecting some of the players that they've successfully nabbed the past few years and some of them already look like they could be wearing red, black and white in the somewhat near future.
Why do Vincent Trocheck's gloves not have logos on them? - @GusIsley**
I love questions like this. Attentiveness is an underrated quality.
Thanks to the assistance of Canes Assistant Equipment Manager

, we have an answer.
Trocheck's gloves are made by STX. STX is not an NHL certified company. What does that mean? Their logo can't be visible on league equipment. Players can still use them, as Trocheck does, the branding just can't be visible. So, there you have it!

That's all for this week y'all. I appreciate those who took the time to ask questions and enjoy the weekend.
Not a member of Twitter? We're always happy to take questions at [email protected] as well!
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