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Peters doesn’t regret Lack criticism: ‘That’s just being honest’

Carolina Hurricanes v Nashville Predators

NASHVILLE, TN Ð OCTOBER 8: Bill Peters of the Carolina Hurricanes watches the action against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on October 8, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Sanford Myers/Getty Images)

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Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters made some headlines on Friday when he went on a bit of a rant regarding the play of backup goaltender Eddie Lack this season, basically telling him to make a big save every once in a while.

It was surprising not only because of how direct and sharp the criticism was, but also because of how out of character it was from a coach that has previously avoided such criticism of his goaltenders.

Following the Hurricanes’ 4-2 loss to Arizona on Friday, a game in which Cam Ward allowed three goals on just 21 shots, Peters was asked if he had any regrets about his comments toward Lack.

He did not.

“No. That’s just being honest,” Peters said. “You guys want it to be a competition for starts, and you gotta have competition to be a competition, correct? You know what I mean? I can’t just give people stuff for free, in pro sports that is not how it works.”

What’s odd about this is that neither goalie in Carolina has played well this season.

Part of Peters’ criticism of Lack on Friday morning was that in his last game he allowed four goals only 16 shots, and had a save percentage for the season that would place him near the bottom of the league. And all of that is accurate. But it’s not like Ward has significantly outplayed Lack this season. After Friday’s game Ward owns a .904 save percentage that is currently 46th out of 60 goalies in the NHL and has given up at least three goals in nine of his past 14 starts. In seven of those starts he has given up at least four goals. Since the start of the 2012-13 season Ward’s .906 save percentage is 43rd out of 45 goalies that have appeared in at least 100 games, ahead of only Ben Scrivens and Jacob Markstrom (and oddly enough, five spots behind Eddie Lack).

The point here is that both goalies are struggling and neither one has played anywhere near well enough to give the Hurricanes a chance to win on most nights. To single out the guy that has only played in 10 games this season (and missed significant time to a concussion) while pretty much giving a free pass to the other goalie just seems ... odd. He even went out of his way on Friday to praise Ward for making a timely save on a night he gave up three goals on 21 shots (a dismal .857 save percentage) just hours after ripping apart Lack for giving up four goals on 16 shots. Neither performance is good enough.

Goaltending has been a major issue for the Hurricanes for several years now and things seem to be a lot more even than Peters suggests when he says it’s not a competition.

It is a competition.

Not because both guys are playing well, but because both have been equally bad.