Mailbag #29: Back To The Big City

RALEIGH, NC. -Happy Memorial Day Weekend, Caniacs.
Lest we not forget the meaning of the day, before we go about our business. With that in mind, hopefully it's a long weekend for those reading and everyone is excited for Saturday's Game 6 at Madison Square Garden. In case you missed it, the NHL announced at 1:10 a.m. that the start time will be 8 p.m.
Why'd they wait so late? Because if Edmonton and Calgary had needed a Game 6 for their series, the Canes and Rangers would have started earlier than 8 p.m., being that the Battle of Alberta's tentative contest was already locked in for a 9:30 EST puck drop.
Instead, as we know now, the Eastern Conference series will be the only NHL contest on national television (ESPN), kicking off what will be a trend until the Stanley Cup is awarded.
Now that you're all up to speed, let's get to some questions.

(Please Note: Some questions have been edited for clarity.)
How's Jarvy doing? - @SusanMo56266341
He's a tough kid, huh?
He spoke to reporters this morning at the airport before the team took off for Newark and you could see he was still in some pain. He admitted he didn't sleep much last night and that it feels like someone is someone constantly pushing his teeth into his mouth. Doesn't sound fun.
Fortunately, he didn't lose any teeth, but the front four up top are all bent in and he'll get X-Rays in a couple of days.
Make no mistake though; he'll be in the lineup tomorrow.
"He looks like a hockey player, old school," Rod Brind'Amour said this morning. "He's got a lot of that grit in him. He didn't even want to come out of the game. That's why you love him."
The 0-12 streak was broken last night, but do they switch up the PP units to get more/better chances? - @Heit\_
Well, ironically enough, they tried this for Game 4 in New York. Nino Niederreiter came up to the top unit while Teuvo Teravainen was bumped to his spot on the other group.
Then, for Game 5 they switched back and who scores? Go figure, Teravainen. So, while I think it's never 100% out of the equation, I doubt we will see any more personnel changes to the units, at least during this series.
With how quickly the Canes scored on our power play for Turbo's goal does that infuse confidence in the units for them to start, ahem, storming through the remaining playoffs? - @Tom\_Hannigan237
You have to hope, right?
Not only getting one, but how they got it. Pretty flawlessly executed, huh? Heck of a pass by Jarvis.
People don't forget though that the Stanley Cup-winning Bruins team in 2011 finished with the worst power play among all 16 teams in the playoffs at 10.8%. So while not scoring on the man advantage can be frustrating, it's not the ultimate death.

Do you think that this game kick-started the big boys who've been quiet for the majority of this postseason? Svechnikov, Teräväinen & Trocheck? - @OneTrueZach
Same answer as the above - you have to hope, right?
A little confidence can go a long way.
Specific to Svechnikov, Brind'Amour also had some thoughts to share on him this morning. Are we expecting too much from him?
"We all do. He's still just a young guy trying to figure it out. He plays a hard game and it's a hard game to play and be on the score sheet every night. We just expect that whenever he gets a chance, it should go in. He works hard every shift. He's been playing well, he just hasn't had the puck go in often, but when it does, it's nice to see. He has that ability to score at any time and that's what makes him so special."
A good reminder that he's only 22.
What do the Canes need to do to get the win in MSG tomorrow night and break the road curse? - @imchasey123
Shout-out to Chasey for not saying, "Can the Canes win at MSG tomorrow?" Of course they CAN.
As far as the success at home and struggles on the road, well, Brind'Amour appears to have had enough of talking about it.
"It's such a non-issue. It's all I hear about. We haven't played poorly on the road. Our game has been fine. There's been a couple things that have been squirrely, penalties, five-on-threes, all of a sudden those games get tossed away. They could happen at home and it would be the same thing. Every game takes on its own kind of life. There's a way we want to play and there's a way they want to play. We're playing good teams and that's how it goes."
Now, as far as things that I'll point out for the Canes to be successful? (Here you go,

)
1) Discipline
They've now allowed a power play goal in three straight first periods. Avoiding that would help their odds.
2) Strong Defensive Structure
If they can hold New York to just five shots on goal in each of the first two periods once again, that would be nice.
3) Have The Motor Running Right Off The Bat, A.K.A. - Establish A Forecheck, A.K.A. "Get To Our Game"
Another reason why the Rangers weren't racking up the shots? They couldn't get out of their own end with the puck. The first ten minutes of the third period last night were a master class. If you ever want to see what the Canes players and coaches mean when they say "our identity" or "play our game" - just go watch that.
You're welcome for cutting through some of the hockey cliches and code words.
Should Kochetkov relieve Raanta or is this a "if it's not broke, don't fix it" situation? - @tice\_nc
Stick with Antti Raanta.
No reason to take him out. He's made a point to say that
he likes the consistent flow of playing every other day
and he's been performing well. Absolutely no reason to take him out.
There are only two goalies left in the Stanley Cup Playoffs that have played six games or more and have had a better save percentage than Rants. Jordan Binnington and Andrei Vasilevskiy. You know what those guys have both won within the last three years? Stanley Cups. Raanta has been outstanding and if anyone tells you otherwise, don't be afraid to tell them that they're wrong.

Closing Up Shop

Let's be frank, I might be in danger if I got out of here without providing some sort of an update on Frederik Andersen. Here's what the head coach said this morning when asked if he's close to backing up.
"Yeah. Every day he's getting closer, but he's not an option."
So that's that. He did travel with to New York once again though. I think it's fair to expect he'll be a member of the traveling party from here on out.
Thanks to all for another fun week of questions. Be ready to go for 8 p.m. tomorrow!
Not a member of Twitter? We're always happy to take questions at [email protected] as well!
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