Same old, same old

Well, the firing of Laviolette didn't spur the Canes on to victory - they lost 5-2 to the Pens last night.

Granted, they did come out with somewhat more of a spark than they had in games past. But it was nowhere near what is needed to win, especially against a loaded team like Pittsburgh.

I will say, though, that Tuomo Ruutu definitely ate his Wheaties before the game - he was on fire, crashing the net and just being where he needed to be. Sergei Samsonov, playing on the same line, also was pretty good. (They had a goal and an assist between them).

However, Josef Melichar played on the opposite end of the spectrum, being pretty much directly responsible for two of the Pens goals. Needless to say, I'm not that disappointed that he was sent to Albany today, and Casey Borer and Tim Conboy were recalled.

Justin Williams played pretty well for his first game back from injury - probably better than some of the Canes who are perfectly healthy.

Next game is tomorrow against the Flyers.