Oh. My. Goodness. Best hockey of the season tonight.
I've been able to see two games so far under the Muller regime, and I have to say I love it. The hockey I saw was absolutely amazing. It was entertaining, it actually used our offensive talents, it's creating a chemistry within the team that I hadn't seen up to this point.
Love love love love love it!
Tonight's game was great. The Canes beat the Canucks 4-3 - and the Canucks are no slouch of a team this season. Drayson Bowman had two goals and the offense overall seemed to be clicking and getting legitimate chances. Cam Ward was amazing. Finally I see the Ward that Caniacs have come to expect - making the tough saves to keep his team in the game.
Everything would appear to be coming together for this team system-wise. Finally! If only this had happened before the Canes were deep into a 'rebuilding season'.
Unfortunately, everything isn't coming together on the injury front. Both Joni Pitkanen and Jeff Skinner are out with concussions - I'm very disappointed, as I always love to see Skinner do his work on the ice. I really hope that they both come back soon. There seems to be a rash of concussions in the league recently, especially those which put players out for long periods of time.
I'm still in awe about tonight's play though. For the first time in a very long while I felt excited watching this team play. I've definitely missed this look from my favorite team.
Showing posts with label Game Recap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Game Recap. Show all posts
Friday, December 16, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Well that wasn't horrible hockey...
Going into my Thanksgiving break, I was not expecting to see anywhere near good hockey. The Canes were coming off of a 4-0 Montreal loss that was by all accounts absolutely horrendous. Paul Maurice's hot seat was positively scalding and it seemed as though the Canes had hit the hardest rock at the bottom.
Now that I'm two games in... well, the hockey I saw wasn't horrible. I won't go so far to say that it was good, but it wasn't terrible.
That being said, I still think Mo should go. Both games that I saw (Friday's 1-0 loss to Buffalo and today's 3-2 win over Toronto) consisted of some of the most boring hockey I've ever seen. There's nothing exciting about this hockey team, nothing spectacular. The offense is, at best, lackluster - consider that there were very few decent chances against Buffalo and that one of tonight's goals was a fluke, not to mention Toronto played bad hockey of their own.
Maurice said after the Buffalo game that "That was the best all-around team game that we've played this year" - if that was the best game this year, then I am certainly glad to have not seen any Canes hockey since opening weekend. I find it appalling that the best game of the year (so far, hopefully) can have the Canes score zero goals and look pretty pathetic on offense. Yes, they did battle a bit more and played defense - something they couldn't do previously - but that does not make them a good team. I saw a very mediocre team on the ice these past two games.
And that's why I still think Maurice should go. I don't see this team getting any better under his reign - leading up to these past two games most of his quotes consisted of not knowing what was wrong, not knowing how to motivate the team... that's not the voice of someone I want leading my team. I suppose there might be some burgeoning optimism for him as coach after these games that didn't completely suck - but this team is going to have to rattle off about a six game win streak for me to feel anything other than doubt about this season.
Not everything is doom and gloom, however. Jeff Skinner still looks amazing - although he does seem to get beat up around the boards a lot. Tuomo Ruutu impressed me with his fire. And... well, that's all I can think of right now. But it's a start. I guess.
Tomorrow is another game, this time in Philly. We'll see if this 'better' play continues and if it can save Maurice's job.
Now that I'm two games in... well, the hockey I saw wasn't horrible. I won't go so far to say that it was good, but it wasn't terrible.
That being said, I still think Mo should go. Both games that I saw (Friday's 1-0 loss to Buffalo and today's 3-2 win over Toronto) consisted of some of the most boring hockey I've ever seen. There's nothing exciting about this hockey team, nothing spectacular. The offense is, at best, lackluster - consider that there were very few decent chances against Buffalo and that one of tonight's goals was a fluke, not to mention Toronto played bad hockey of their own.
Maurice said after the Buffalo game that "That was the best all-around team game that we've played this year" - if that was the best game this year, then I am certainly glad to have not seen any Canes hockey since opening weekend. I find it appalling that the best game of the year (so far, hopefully) can have the Canes score zero goals and look pretty pathetic on offense. Yes, they did battle a bit more and played defense - something they couldn't do previously - but that does not make them a good team. I saw a very mediocre team on the ice these past two games.
And that's why I still think Maurice should go. I don't see this team getting any better under his reign - leading up to these past two games most of his quotes consisted of not knowing what was wrong, not knowing how to motivate the team... that's not the voice of someone I want leading my team. I suppose there might be some burgeoning optimism for him as coach after these games that didn't completely suck - but this team is going to have to rattle off about a six game win streak for me to feel anything other than doubt about this season.
Not everything is doom and gloom, however. Jeff Skinner still looks amazing - although he does seem to get beat up around the boards a lot. Tuomo Ruutu impressed me with his fire. And... well, that's all I can think of right now. But it's a start. I guess.
Tomorrow is another game, this time in Philly. We'll see if this 'better' play continues and if it can save Maurice's job.
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
A frustrating month of hockey
Hmm... it's been almost a month. I suppose I should write something about this team.
Overall, the Canes are 5-6-3 with 13 points - enough to gain them 11th in the Eastern Conference and 4th in the Southeast. This is slightly worse than last year around this time, where the Canes were 7-7-0 and 10th in the East. Oh boy.
I haven't been keeping up with the team as much as normal... but what I've been able to listen to and read about on the internet does not give me warm and fuzzy feelings. Eric Staal, our wonderful captain, is taking after the last captain in that he has the worst plus/minus in the league at -16. (Out of all the things to take after Brind'Amour in, he chooses the plus/minus...) He also only has 5 points through 14 games and hasn't gotten a point in the last five, which is not necessarily the rate that we want our star player to be producing at.
Another alarming trend for the Canes is that they seem to not have enough fire in the game (specifically the last two losses).
The above quote was taken from the recap from the Washington loss on Friday. The part that is concerning to me is the "I don't have an explanation for it" section - he's the coach, he ought to have a reason for why the team plays like crap. Granted, this is coming from someone who was hoping the Canes would completely tank so that Maurice was fired - but it really really frustrates me to be reading these sorts of quotes. Because what happened after the Washington game? The Canes turned around and lost to Dallas in a game that wasn't even really a game after going down early. You would expect to see some change, but apparently that's too much to ask.
I go back to a game two weeks ago, where the Canes lost in a shootout to the Ottawa Senators. The led the Senators in shots the first period, and I actually had a warm and fuzzy feeling about the team. They then allowed Ottawa to score two goals in the second and the team generally plays like crap from there on until five minutes left in the the third when Ruutu scored a fluke goal. I don't think I've ever been so frustrated at a game I wasn't watching. Listening to Chuck K call this game was like listening to every poor game from last season. The Canes can't score and only play at tops 20 minutes of good hockey, hoping that a last minute drive will pull them out of a hole.
Because this team seems like the exact same team as last year, with some cast changes. They're frustratingly inconsistent and seem to be going nowhere. I don't see anything changing, which is not good as the present is not looking particularly positive. I really really hope they get rid of Maurice - I hate to see anyone out of a job, but I really don't see what option the team has. Nothing is different. Nothing is exciting. Nothing is making me want to turn off Pandora and listen to the Canes while I work. I know that waiting for me is a team with a lack of passion, at least until the third period when it could be too late.
So, yeah, that's my bitter monthly update.
Overall, the Canes are 5-6-3 with 13 points - enough to gain them 11th in the Eastern Conference and 4th in the Southeast. This is slightly worse than last year around this time, where the Canes were 7-7-0 and 10th in the East. Oh boy.
I haven't been keeping up with the team as much as normal... but what I've been able to listen to and read about on the internet does not give me warm and fuzzy feelings. Eric Staal, our wonderful captain, is taking after the last captain in that he has the worst plus/minus in the league at -16. (Out of all the things to take after Brind'Amour in, he chooses the plus/minus...) He also only has 5 points through 14 games and hasn't gotten a point in the last five, which is not necessarily the rate that we want our star player to be producing at.
Another alarming trend for the Canes is that they seem to not have enough fire in the game (specifically the last two losses).
"I don't have an explanation for it, but we did not have the fire in order to win that game," Carolina coach Paul Maurice said. "And that's the bottom line. Whether it's your passing, your hitting, whatever it is."
The above quote was taken from the recap from the Washington loss on Friday. The part that is concerning to me is the "I don't have an explanation for it" section - he's the coach, he ought to have a reason for why the team plays like crap. Granted, this is coming from someone who was hoping the Canes would completely tank so that Maurice was fired - but it really really frustrates me to be reading these sorts of quotes. Because what happened after the Washington game? The Canes turned around and lost to Dallas in a game that wasn't even really a game after going down early. You would expect to see some change, but apparently that's too much to ask.
I go back to a game two weeks ago, where the Canes lost in a shootout to the Ottawa Senators. The led the Senators in shots the first period, and I actually had a warm and fuzzy feeling about the team. They then allowed Ottawa to score two goals in the second and the team generally plays like crap from there on until five minutes left in the the third when Ruutu scored a fluke goal. I don't think I've ever been so frustrated at a game I wasn't watching. Listening to Chuck K call this game was like listening to every poor game from last season. The Canes can't score and only play at tops 20 minutes of good hockey, hoping that a last minute drive will pull them out of a hole.
Because this team seems like the exact same team as last year, with some cast changes. They're frustratingly inconsistent and seem to be going nowhere. I don't see anything changing, which is not good as the present is not looking particularly positive. I really really hope they get rid of Maurice - I hate to see anyone out of a job, but I really don't see what option the team has. Nothing is different. Nothing is exciting. Nothing is making me want to turn off Pandora and listen to the Canes while I work. I know that waiting for me is a team with a lack of passion, at least until the third period when it could be too late.
So, yeah, that's my bitter monthly update.
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Opening Weekend Recap
Hockey is finally here, which is great because it means the start of a brand new season, where fans all across the league can forget about the past and look forward to the future and a clean slate.
Or, if you're a Canes fan, you can be horribly reminded of exactly what kept you out of the playoffs last season. Namely the Tampa Bay Lightning beating the snot out of us in our own building.
Yep, it was the same old same old in Raleigh on Friday night, when the Canes lost 5-1 to the Lightning.
The good things:
- Tailgating is amazing, and Friday provided a great day for it. Warm temperatures, sunny skies, and absolutely delicious food on the grill. It was definitely nice to be back and tailgating before the game.
- Jeff Skinner is so awesome. He pretty much created the entire scoring play of the game by himself. He is the shining light among darkness when I think about this game and our chances for the season.
The bad things:
- Eric Staal played like crap. He didn't seem to really be pressing for the puck at all, ever.
- Jussi Jokinen took a stupid penalty that gave Tampa a goal. Unsportsmanlike conduct is always stupid, but shooting the puck at the ref is several kinds of stupid.
- The Canes appeared to give up after Tampa got their third goal. Actually, overall, this game did not have the effort I'd have liked to see from a team that was supposedly still fuming about being knocked out of the playoffs.
Luckily (I suppose), the Opening Night game was not the only one that the Canes played this weekend. They also played last night against the C[r]apitals, losing in overtime 4-3.
The Canes looked a lot better in this one, showing a lot of fire in parts. Eric Staal, for one, picked up his game significantly, scoring the first two goals for the Canes. I'm really glad the Canes were able to play so closely with Washington, as Washington is supposed to be one of the better teams in the East this year. That being said, stupid penalties did the Canes in again, the game winner coming off of a power play goal.
So what do I think of these new 2011-2012 Canes? They look a lot like last year's Canes. Which isn't ideal. During the Washington broadcast I caught Tripp Tracy saying something along the lines of "that's the Cardiac Canes again". And honestly, I don't think that's a good thing. Is a little bit of consistency too much to ask? Apparently so.
So, yeah, I guess Opening Night didn't really put me in an optimistic mood for the Canes this season. But that's to be expected, when the first hockey you see of a team is the same kind of hockey that was a let down last season.
Or, if you're a Canes fan, you can be horribly reminded of exactly what kept you out of the playoffs last season. Namely the Tampa Bay Lightning beating the snot out of us in our own building.
Yep, it was the same old same old in Raleigh on Friday night, when the Canes lost 5-1 to the Lightning.
The good things:
- Tailgating is amazing, and Friday provided a great day for it. Warm temperatures, sunny skies, and absolutely delicious food on the grill. It was definitely nice to be back and tailgating before the game.
- Jeff Skinner is so awesome. He pretty much created the entire scoring play of the game by himself. He is the shining light among darkness when I think about this game and our chances for the season.
The bad things:
- Eric Staal played like crap. He didn't seem to really be pressing for the puck at all, ever.
- Jussi Jokinen took a stupid penalty that gave Tampa a goal. Unsportsmanlike conduct is always stupid, but shooting the puck at the ref is several kinds of stupid.
- The Canes appeared to give up after Tampa got their third goal. Actually, overall, this game did not have the effort I'd have liked to see from a team that was supposedly still fuming about being knocked out of the playoffs.
Luckily (I suppose), the Opening Night game was not the only one that the Canes played this weekend. They also played last night against the C[r]apitals, losing in overtime 4-3.
The Canes looked a lot better in this one, showing a lot of fire in parts. Eric Staal, for one, picked up his game significantly, scoring the first two goals for the Canes. I'm really glad the Canes were able to play so closely with Washington, as Washington is supposed to be one of the better teams in the East this year. That being said, stupid penalties did the Canes in again, the game winner coming off of a power play goal.
So what do I think of these new 2011-2012 Canes? They look a lot like last year's Canes. Which isn't ideal. During the Washington broadcast I caught Tripp Tracy saying something along the lines of "that's the Cardiac Canes again". And honestly, I don't think that's a good thing. Is a little bit of consistency too much to ask? Apparently so.
So, yeah, I guess Opening Night didn't really put me in an optimistic mood for the Canes this season. But that's to be expected, when the first hockey you see of a team is the same kind of hockey that was a let down last season.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Not a happy ending
I guess it's about time I recap the end of the season?
The first round of the NHL playoffs is well under way, two teams having already been eliminated. The Canes are the lucky ones who get an even worse disgrace - not making the playoffs at all.
At the time of my last post the Canes needed to win both games to secure a place in the postseason. They did what was necessary in the game against Atlanta, stomping on the Thrashers 6-1.
Then came the Tampa Bay game. The Canes were required to win due to the Rangers winning earlier in the day. All they needed was a win.
They lost 6-2. And not just lost, they completely tanked, allowing Tampa to get a 4-0 lead to start off the game.
You might think I'm a pretty lame blogger for not posting about this until two weeks after the fact. But, honestly, I really couldn't bring myself to write about it unti now - I'm getting mad even as I think about it.
It's unfathomable to me how a team can lose under pressure so regularly. All they needed to do was win. And they didn't even play a close game. Barely put up a fight. I'm not sure how many teams could lose all the "must-wins" that the Canes had and still be in the playoff race in the last game of the season, but the cards continued to fall in the Canes favor - and they still managed to blow it.
I'm really frustrated with this team. I'm sick of missing the playoffs, sick of having to choose among other teams to hoist the greatest silver trophy in the world (Cheering for the Bruins, by the way). The Canes can't play consistently enough to get anything out of their seasons - they can't win enough to get into the playoffs and they can't lose enough to get a good draft pick.
I suppose I should say all sorts of good and moderately cheerful things about how it was great to see the young team grow and we have a good future, blah blah blah. But I'm not feeling it. I'm going to be bitter about this ending for a while. Because, really, if you're going to raise my hopes and get me to believe in you, at least do me the courtesy of trying to win.
Anyways, the playoffs are actually pretty entertaining. I've been paying attention to the Boston-Montreal one the most because it seems to have the most interesting storyline - man, those fans hate each other. And I'm seeing parallels in the Bruins' two game comeback to our own two game comeback against Montreal in 2006, and who doesn't like being reminded of that?
Unfortunately, I'm hitting that lovely stage of the semester called finals (this post is a break from me panicking about the end of the year), so I'm not sure how much I'll be posting. Maybe once I calm down a bit more I'll put up more analysis on the Canes. I will try and put up something, even something non-Canes related because, really, NHL playoff time is the best time of the year, and there are so many good games going on.
Erik Cole season stats: 26 goals, 26 assists
Chad LaRose season stats: 16 goals, 15 assists
The first round of the NHL playoffs is well under way, two teams having already been eliminated. The Canes are the lucky ones who get an even worse disgrace - not making the playoffs at all.
At the time of my last post the Canes needed to win both games to secure a place in the postseason. They did what was necessary in the game against Atlanta, stomping on the Thrashers 6-1.
Then came the Tampa Bay game. The Canes were required to win due to the Rangers winning earlier in the day. All they needed was a win.
They lost 6-2. And not just lost, they completely tanked, allowing Tampa to get a 4-0 lead to start off the game.
You might think I'm a pretty lame blogger for not posting about this until two weeks after the fact. But, honestly, I really couldn't bring myself to write about it unti now - I'm getting mad even as I think about it.
It's unfathomable to me how a team can lose under pressure so regularly. All they needed to do was win. And they didn't even play a close game. Barely put up a fight. I'm not sure how many teams could lose all the "must-wins" that the Canes had and still be in the playoff race in the last game of the season, but the cards continued to fall in the Canes favor - and they still managed to blow it.
I'm really frustrated with this team. I'm sick of missing the playoffs, sick of having to choose among other teams to hoist the greatest silver trophy in the world (Cheering for the Bruins, by the way). The Canes can't play consistently enough to get anything out of their seasons - they can't win enough to get into the playoffs and they can't lose enough to get a good draft pick.
I suppose I should say all sorts of good and moderately cheerful things about how it was great to see the young team grow and we have a good future, blah blah blah. But I'm not feeling it. I'm going to be bitter about this ending for a while. Because, really, if you're going to raise my hopes and get me to believe in you, at least do me the courtesy of trying to win.
Anyways, the playoffs are actually pretty entertaining. I've been paying attention to the Boston-Montreal one the most because it seems to have the most interesting storyline - man, those fans hate each other. And I'm seeing parallels in the Bruins' two game comeback to our own two game comeback against Montreal in 2006, and who doesn't like being reminded of that?
Unfortunately, I'm hitting that lovely stage of the semester called finals (this post is a break from me panicking about the end of the year), so I'm not sure how much I'll be posting. Maybe once I calm down a bit more I'll put up more analysis on the Canes. I will try and put up something, even something non-Canes related because, really, NHL playoff time is the best time of the year, and there are so many good games going on.
Erik Cole season stats: 26 goals, 26 assists
Chad LaRose season stats: 16 goals, 15 assists
Friday, April 08, 2011
The Canes are zombies. In a good way.
The Canes are apparently like the undead of the hockey world this season. Just when you think they're gone, they come back craving your brains. Brains meaning playoffs, in this extended metaphor.
So, last post it pretty much seemed that the Canes didn't have a snowball's chance in a furnace on the equator if they didn't win against Buffalo. They lost 2-1 in OT. So, therefore, it should pretty much be over, right?
Nope. Guess again. Turns out, by freak circumstances including the Hurricanes shutting out Detroit (Crazy, right?) and the Rangers laying an egg in their game against the Thrashers, the Canes now control their own destiny.
HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?! WHY MUST THERE BE SO MUCH DRAMA?!
Essentially, if the Canes win out (but not in shootouts!) they're in, due to the fact that they have a tiebreaker in the season series over the Rangers. Other, more complicated, scenarios are listed here, but for simplicity's sake I like the first one.
Now there's not much else you can say here. If the Canes want to be in the playoffs, they'll win. If they don't, they'll lose. Simple as that. Yes, somehow the 82 game season boils down to these last two games. Either the Canes find a way to victory and an extended postseason or they don't. Period. End of story.
Do they deserve it? Questionable, considering their repeated inconsistent play. But now is the time to prove that they won't crumble under pressure and that they do deserve a shot in the postseason.
Two games. Atlanta tonight, Tampa Bay tomorrow. Two wins? We'll just have to see. Maybe this team isn't quite dead yet.
So, last post it pretty much seemed that the Canes didn't have a snowball's chance in a furnace on the equator if they didn't win against Buffalo. They lost 2-1 in OT. So, therefore, it should pretty much be over, right?
Nope. Guess again. Turns out, by freak circumstances including the Hurricanes shutting out Detroit (Crazy, right?) and the Rangers laying an egg in their game against the Thrashers, the Canes now control their own destiny.
HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?! WHY MUST THERE BE SO MUCH DRAMA?!
Essentially, if the Canes win out (but not in shootouts!) they're in, due to the fact that they have a tiebreaker in the season series over the Rangers. Other, more complicated, scenarios are listed here, but for simplicity's sake I like the first one.
Now there's not much else you can say here. If the Canes want to be in the playoffs, they'll win. If they don't, they'll lose. Simple as that. Yes, somehow the 82 game season boils down to these last two games. Either the Canes find a way to victory and an extended postseason or they don't. Period. End of story.
Do they deserve it? Questionable, considering their repeated inconsistent play. But now is the time to prove that they won't crumble under pressure and that they do deserve a shot in the postseason.
Two games. Atlanta tonight, Tampa Bay tomorrow. Two wins? We'll just have to see. Maybe this team isn't quite dead yet.
Friday, March 18, 2011
The playoff forecast is not looking too sunny...
Well, the Canes have tanked, haven't they?
Currently they're 9th in the East, two points behind Buffalo with one more game played. 3-4-1 since I last posted, they're not looking too hot.
I was on spring break last week, enabling me to catch a few of the games, both in person and on the television. Let me say, they don't look good. Honestly, they don't look like a playoff team. I'm not sure they have the 60 minutes of passionate play that is required of them each game night. They definitely don't look like a team playing with the season on the line. I was fairly optimistic that the Canes would get into the playoffs, but after seeing them play, I feel like it's a pipe dream.
I mean, really. What playoff-caliber team goes 0-for-28 on the powerplay? The Columbus game was some of the most depressing hockey I've seen in a very long time. 0-for-9 in that one, with long two man advantages. Playoff teams do not do that. Period. End of story. The Canes have had chances, but it seems they want to blow them and miss the playoffs again.
Granted, while the prospects are looking slimmer with every loss, the Hurricanes still do have hope to get into the playoffs. They did beat Buffalo twice in the past three weeks - gaining them precious points on a rival for a playoff spot. But, honestly, with the way this team is looking, I think it'll be a first round exit if they do manage to make it in. This is coming from me, the perpetual optimist - that's how bad of an impression this team left on me last week.
But, I don't want to be too much of a Negative Nancy, so to lighten the mood this clip describes exactly how I feel about the playoffs:
Obviously the Canes have to win most of their remaining 11 games to make it in. It's gut-check time, to use a cliché, and all we can do as Caniacs is wait and see what happens.
Erik Cole stats (1st): 1 assist
(4th): 1 assist
(9th): 1 goal
(12th): 1 assist
On the season: 19 goals, 24 assists
Chad LaRose stats (3rd): 1 goal
(15th): 1 assist
On the season: 13 goals, 13 assists
(16th): 1 goal
Currently they're 9th in the East, two points behind Buffalo with one more game played. 3-4-1 since I last posted, they're not looking too hot.
I was on spring break last week, enabling me to catch a few of the games, both in person and on the television. Let me say, they don't look good. Honestly, they don't look like a playoff team. I'm not sure they have the 60 minutes of passionate play that is required of them each game night. They definitely don't look like a team playing with the season on the line. I was fairly optimistic that the Canes would get into the playoffs, but after seeing them play, I feel like it's a pipe dream.
I mean, really. What playoff-caliber team goes 0-for-28 on the powerplay? The Columbus game was some of the most depressing hockey I've seen in a very long time. 0-for-9 in that one, with long two man advantages. Playoff teams do not do that. Period. End of story. The Canes have had chances, but it seems they want to blow them and miss the playoffs again.
Granted, while the prospects are looking slimmer with every loss, the Hurricanes still do have hope to get into the playoffs. They did beat Buffalo twice in the past three weeks - gaining them precious points on a rival for a playoff spot. But, honestly, with the way this team is looking, I think it'll be a first round exit if they do manage to make it in. This is coming from me, the perpetual optimist - that's how bad of an impression this team left on me last week.
But, I don't want to be too much of a Negative Nancy, so to lighten the mood this clip describes exactly how I feel about the playoffs:
Obviously the Canes have to win most of their remaining 11 games to make it in. It's gut-check time, to use a cliché, and all we can do as Caniacs is wait and see what happens.
Erik Cole stats (1st): 1 assist
(4th): 1 assist
(9th): 1 goal
(12th): 1 assist
On the season: 19 goals, 24 assists
Chad LaRose stats (3rd): 1 goal
(15th): 1 assist
On the season: 13 goals, 13 assists
(16th): 1 goal
Monday, February 28, 2011
Trade deadline recap
Well, the NHL trade deadline has come and gone. Not too exciting this season - most of the trades had occurred before today, and there weren't too many superstars being tossed about as in previous years.
Canes-wise, Rutherford continues his mantra of "reduce, reuse, recyle" by bringing back Cory Stillman from the Florida Panthers for Ryan Carter and a fifth round pick. I mean, I guess there are worse former Canes that could come back into the fold. Stillman did manage to score a goal in his first game back with the team, and the Canes didn't really give much up for him, so I guess there's not too much that can go wrong with this trade.
Today the Canes picked up Bryan Allen from the Panthers (I think Florida traded away their whole team over this past week - seriously, there was barely a trade they weren't involved in) for Sergei Samsonov. I think it's a good move, giving some more support on the back end and hopefully giving Samsonov a location where he can be a little more consistent and get more playing time.
Since my last post, the Canes have gone 2-2-1, giving them an overall record of 29-25-9 which is good enough for 8th in the East and 3rd in the Southeast. So, yes, they're just barely squeaking in the playoffs at this point, two points above Buffalo in 9th.
It seems like this team is playing mediocre right now. They have good games (beating Pittsburgh) and bad games, and they often have to have comebacks or let the opposing team get back into the game. Not the most confident of play going into the playoffs. Just the fact that they had a chance to steal 7th place from the Rangers in their game on Tuesday and they failed doesn't give me too much of a warm and fuzzy feeling.
But who knows, with this team, it seems that as long as they can get into the playoffs they'll have a decent shot. This week presents another close to a must win game, in Thursday's game against Buffalo. A victory over them could go a long way to securing that playoff spot.
Erik Cole stats (18th): 1 goal
(22nd): 2 assists
(25th): 1 goal, 1 assist
Chad LaRose stats (18th): 1 goal
(26th): 1 assist
Canes-wise, Rutherford continues his mantra of "reduce, reuse, recyle" by bringing back Cory Stillman from the Florida Panthers for Ryan Carter and a fifth round pick. I mean, I guess there are worse former Canes that could come back into the fold. Stillman did manage to score a goal in his first game back with the team, and the Canes didn't really give much up for him, so I guess there's not too much that can go wrong with this trade.
Today the Canes picked up Bryan Allen from the Panthers (I think Florida traded away their whole team over this past week - seriously, there was barely a trade they weren't involved in) for Sergei Samsonov. I think it's a good move, giving some more support on the back end and hopefully giving Samsonov a location where he can be a little more consistent and get more playing time.
Since my last post, the Canes have gone 2-2-1, giving them an overall record of 29-25-9 which is good enough for 8th in the East and 3rd in the Southeast. So, yes, they're just barely squeaking in the playoffs at this point, two points above Buffalo in 9th.
It seems like this team is playing mediocre right now. They have good games (beating Pittsburgh) and bad games, and they often have to have comebacks or let the opposing team get back into the game. Not the most confident of play going into the playoffs. Just the fact that they had a chance to steal 7th place from the Rangers in their game on Tuesday and they failed doesn't give me too much of a warm and fuzzy feeling.
But who knows, with this team, it seems that as long as they can get into the playoffs they'll have a decent shot. This week presents another close to a must win game, in Thursday's game against Buffalo. A victory over them could go a long way to securing that playoff spot.
Erik Cole stats (18th): 1 goal
(22nd): 2 assists
(25th): 1 goal, 1 assist
Chad LaRose stats (18th): 1 goal
(26th): 1 assist
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Quick Canes weekly recap
A quick briefing on the Canes finishing out the month of January before we go into ultimate All-Star mode here.
Over the past two weeks the Canes went 3-3, leaving them at 25-19-6 on the season. Still 9th in the Conference and 4th in the Southeast. Still one point behind Atlanta for the last playoff spot. No, I did not copy and paste this from the last weekly recap, things just haven't changed much standings-wise.
Things have changed since my All-Star preview. There's been a lot of people dropping out because of injuries and whatnot, Sidney Crosby being one of the offenders. But bad luck for some is good luck for Jeff Skinner and Jamie McBain - Skinner was bumped up from the rookie only team to the regular All-Stars, and Jamie McBain was added to the rookie squad. The Canes are definitely well represented now - and I think I might change my team allegiances from "Team Staal" to "Team Skinner".
The All-Star festivities begin tomorrow! I cannot wait!
Erik Cole stats (24th): 1 goal
(26th): 2 assists
On the season: 13 goals, 15 assists
Chad LaRose stats (18th): 1 goal
(20th): 1 goal, 1 assist
On the season: 10 goals, 10 assists
Over the past two weeks the Canes went 3-3, leaving them at 25-19-6 on the season. Still 9th in the Conference and 4th in the Southeast. Still one point behind Atlanta for the last playoff spot. No, I did not copy and paste this from the last weekly recap, things just haven't changed much standings-wise.
Things have changed since my All-Star preview. There's been a lot of people dropping out because of injuries and whatnot, Sidney Crosby being one of the offenders. But bad luck for some is good luck for Jeff Skinner and Jamie McBain - Skinner was bumped up from the rookie only team to the regular All-Stars, and Jamie McBain was added to the rookie squad. The Canes are definitely well represented now - and I think I might change my team allegiances from "Team Staal" to "Team Skinner".
The All-Star festivities begin tomorrow! I cannot wait!
Erik Cole stats (24th): 1 goal
(26th): 2 assists
On the season: 13 goals, 15 assists
Chad LaRose stats (18th): 1 goal
(20th): 1 goal, 1 assist
On the season: 10 goals, 10 assists
Monday, January 17, 2011
Canes are looking good
Last Sunday the Canes defeated the Thrashers 4-3 in overtime, Erik Cole scoring the most excellent game winner. The above picture is from his second game star nomination - needless to say, this Caniac was rather excited to see her favorite player play an excellent game.
Honestly, though, the Canes should never have allowed Atlanta to get back into the game - up two goals at 3-1 and they just seemed to let off the gas pedal in the second and third periods. And then the game goes into overtime, which gives a division rival a point... but Erik Cole scored, so I guess that makes it all better.
Then on Tuesday the Hurricanes beat the Flames 6-5 in a shootout. The good news is, again, that the Canes got two points, but the bad news is that they allowed the Flames to score three straight goals to tie up the game.
The Canes then lost to the Sabres 3-2 on Thursday, breaking their eight game point streak. Yeah, that stretched back to December.
To finish up the week, the Canes won against the Southeast-leading Lightning 6-4. This was a really fun game to watch - definitely a lot of offense. There were memorable goals on both sides - Chad LaRose coming out of the box to score a power play breakaway goal stands out for the Canes. For the Lightning, well, that Stamkos kid made the Canes look silly, skating straight up the ice and scoring an easy goal.
So this leaves the Canes at 22-16-6, decidedly over .500 with 50 points, good enough for fourth in the Southeast and ninth in the Conference. So, yeah, still no playoff spot, but we have three games in hand on Atlanta and we're only one point behind them in the eighth spot - so the gap has closed and I would say that the Canes are firmly in the playoff race. Providing, of course, that they continue to play as well as they have.
So now that I'm back at school and my period of being able to view games is over, I think I'll give a list of my collected observations over the winter break.
- Jeff Skinner is amazing. Period. End of story.
- Erik Cole also looks really good. And I'm not just saying that because I'm a fangirl. He looks almost back to his 05-06 form - he's driving the net, creating chances and scoring.
- The Canes have serious issues with momentum. They seem to decide to play one and a half periods during a game. This means they start out great and allow the other team to get back in the game after being dominated, or the Canes play like crap in the first two periods and then storm back to victory in the third. Granted, I've become used to this after watching this team for so many years, but it does become frustrating to watch this team go into a defensive shell after they get a two goal lead.
- The call-ups from Charlotte (Dalpe, Boychuk) looked really good. Finally, we have a farm system with useful players!
- The NHL really should consult with me before scheduling games during football season. Missed my half of my team's bowl game and half of the NFL games this past week.
Overall, I'm feeling optimistic for the second half of the season. It seems like things are beginning to click for this team and they're beating teams they need to. This next week will be a test for the Canes, as they play Boston, the Rangers, and Pittsburgh - all teams currently above them in the playoff standings. The points streak has gotten them in the position to compete, now they need to continue their success.
Also, expect an All-Star Game related post sometime soon. In other words, no, I didn't gloss over the fact that Staal and Ward were named our All-Stars this week.
Erik Cole stats (Sunday): 1 goal
(Tuesday): 1 goal
(Saturday): 3 assists
On the season: 12 goals, 13 assists
Chad LaRose stats (Tuesday): 1 assist
(Saturday): 1 goal
On the season: 8 goals, 9 assists
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Canes continue points streak
The Canes managed to get points in each of their three games this week, but I wasn't too impressed with their play in any of the games.
It started with a 4-3 overtime loss against the Panthers. The Canes came out incredibly flat in the first period, and it was a testament to Cam Ward that Florida didn't manage to score more than one goal. The second period wasn't much better, and Carolina only began to look good when they were down by two goals. That being said, it was rather depressing when Bryan Allen scored in overtime, putting to rest any sort of comeback idea.
The next game was also an overtime loss, this time losing by a tally of 2-1 to the New York Rangers. This was one of those games where, despite watching it in its entirety, I don't remember a thing about it. (Except, of course, yelling angrily at my television whenever Sean Avery touched the puck). So I'll gloss over this and go on to the next game.
The Hurricanes managed to win the next game, beating Florida 5-3. Yet again the Canes came out flat and allowed Florida to get out to a quick 2-0 lead. Luckily, Jeff Skinner is on the roster, and he scored the next two in the second to get the Canes back into it. A lot has been said about Skinner, and as far as I can tell, he deserves all the accolades. At times you think that he could be the only person on the ice and still manage to beat five opponents and the goaltender - and make it look easy to boot! Not only can he score, but his assist on Cole's goal later in the game was an absolute beauty of a pass.
So this stretch of games leaves the Canes with 44 points, which at this point is good enough for 9th in the East and 4th in the division - 5 points behind Montreal for the last playoff spot, but with two games in hand. Our record is 19-15-6 - finally above .500! And, yes, I furiously just knocked on some wood after that statement. The Canes have fixed themselves a nice little points streak, but I think they could definitely look better. They struggled early in both games against the Panthers, who are not exactly leading the league. While it is wonderful that they can flip a switch and get themselves back in a game, the question remains as to why the switch wasn't "on" to begin with.
This next week has games against Atlanta and Tampa, two divisional rivals who always give us problems - okay, what divisional rival doesn't? - and Buffalo and Calgary. Hopefully the Hurricanes will continue to get points out of these games - although I would prefer that they do it in a slightly more convincing fashion.
Erik Cole stats (Monday): 2 assists
(Friday): 2 goals
On the season: 10 goals, 10 assists
It started with a 4-3 overtime loss against the Panthers. The Canes came out incredibly flat in the first period, and it was a testament to Cam Ward that Florida didn't manage to score more than one goal. The second period wasn't much better, and Carolina only began to look good when they were down by two goals. That being said, it was rather depressing when Bryan Allen scored in overtime, putting to rest any sort of comeback idea.
The next game was also an overtime loss, this time losing by a tally of 2-1 to the New York Rangers. This was one of those games where, despite watching it in its entirety, I don't remember a thing about it. (Except, of course, yelling angrily at my television whenever Sean Avery touched the puck). So I'll gloss over this and go on to the next game.
The Hurricanes managed to win the next game, beating Florida 5-3. Yet again the Canes came out flat and allowed Florida to get out to a quick 2-0 lead. Luckily, Jeff Skinner is on the roster, and he scored the next two in the second to get the Canes back into it. A lot has been said about Skinner, and as far as I can tell, he deserves all the accolades. At times you think that he could be the only person on the ice and still manage to beat five opponents and the goaltender - and make it look easy to boot! Not only can he score, but his assist on Cole's goal later in the game was an absolute beauty of a pass.
So this stretch of games leaves the Canes with 44 points, which at this point is good enough for 9th in the East and 4th in the division - 5 points behind Montreal for the last playoff spot, but with two games in hand. Our record is 19-15-6 - finally above .500! And, yes, I furiously just knocked on some wood after that statement. The Canes have fixed themselves a nice little points streak, but I think they could definitely look better. They struggled early in both games against the Panthers, who are not exactly leading the league. While it is wonderful that they can flip a switch and get themselves back in a game, the question remains as to why the switch wasn't "on" to begin with.
This next week has games against Atlanta and Tampa, two divisional rivals who always give us problems - okay, what divisional rival doesn't? - and Buffalo and Calgary. Hopefully the Hurricanes will continue to get points out of these games - although I would prefer that they do it in a slightly more convincing fashion.
Erik Cole stats (Monday): 2 assists
(Friday): 2 goals
On the season: 10 goals, 10 assists
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Canes are looking great against bad teams
It looks like the Canes are looking a little streaky at this point in the season. A four game win streak, followed by a three game losing streak, and now we're in the midst of stringing three wins together.
Win #1 came Tuesday against the Maple Leafs. The Canes really didn't look that spectacular in this one, trading goals with the Leafs in the first period. Which wouldn't be too bad except, come on, it's the Leafs. The News and Observer had an interesting article about Rutherford actually going down to talk to the team during the second intermission - somehow I suspect that "come on, it's the Leafs" was an extremely tame version of what was being said.
Perhaps the talk from the GM will have lasting impressions on the season - a convincing win came in the next game, 4-0 over the Ottawa Senators. This is the second blowout this season against the Sens, however, this time the opposing team was not coming off of an emotional day. No, I'm not entirely sure why Ottawa was so lame this time around - although Brian Elliott in goal looked absolutely horrendous. Or perhaps the Canes just looked really good? Either way, Cam Ward earned his second shutout of the season.
Win #3 came as a 6-3 win against the lowly New Jersey Devils. The Canes came out on fire in the first period, opening up with a quick 4-0 lead. Zac Dalpe earned his first NHL goal in the period, although Martin Brodeur had already been pulled by that point. Let's just say that Brodeur looked nothing like he used to in net.
After the marvelous first period, the Canes came out slow and sloppy in the second, only notching five shots on net. Their play probably would have been an issue in any other game - but it's pretty hard to play worse than the Devils this year, and the Canes recovered well in the third period.
So the Canes have fixed themselves a nice three game win streak... against teams that are 10th, 13th, and 15th in the Eastern Conference. Which is good, as it signals that the Canes are beating the teams that they should - and besides the Toronto game, they're beating the teams quite handily. Their upcoming schedule for this week isn't quite as easy - two games against the Panthers, who aren't that great but seem to give the Canes trouble, and one against the Rangers who are currently 6th in the East. Hopefully the Canes can continue their win streak and gain the four points that would put them tentatively in the playoffs.
Erik Cole stats (29th): 1 goal
On the season: 8 goals, 8 assists
Chad LaRose stats (1st): 2 assists
On the season: 6 goals, 8 assists
Win #1 came Tuesday against the Maple Leafs. The Canes really didn't look that spectacular in this one, trading goals with the Leafs in the first period. Which wouldn't be too bad except, come on, it's the Leafs. The News and Observer had an interesting article about Rutherford actually going down to talk to the team during the second intermission - somehow I suspect that "come on, it's the Leafs" was an extremely tame version of what was being said.
Perhaps the talk from the GM will have lasting impressions on the season - a convincing win came in the next game, 4-0 over the Ottawa Senators. This is the second blowout this season against the Sens, however, this time the opposing team was not coming off of an emotional day. No, I'm not entirely sure why Ottawa was so lame this time around - although Brian Elliott in goal looked absolutely horrendous. Or perhaps the Canes just looked really good? Either way, Cam Ward earned his second shutout of the season.
Win #3 came as a 6-3 win against the lowly New Jersey Devils. The Canes came out on fire in the first period, opening up with a quick 4-0 lead. Zac Dalpe earned his first NHL goal in the period, although Martin Brodeur had already been pulled by that point. Let's just say that Brodeur looked nothing like he used to in net.
After the marvelous first period, the Canes came out slow and sloppy in the second, only notching five shots on net. Their play probably would have been an issue in any other game - but it's pretty hard to play worse than the Devils this year, and the Canes recovered well in the third period.
So the Canes have fixed themselves a nice three game win streak... against teams that are 10th, 13th, and 15th in the Eastern Conference. Which is good, as it signals that the Canes are beating the teams that they should - and besides the Toronto game, they're beating the teams quite handily. Their upcoming schedule for this week isn't quite as easy - two games against the Panthers, who aren't that great but seem to give the Canes trouble, and one against the Rangers who are currently 6th in the East. Hopefully the Canes can continue their win streak and gain the four points that would put them tentatively in the playoffs.
Erik Cole stats (29th): 1 goal
On the season: 8 goals, 8 assists
Chad LaRose stats (1st): 2 assists
On the season: 6 goals, 8 assists
Monday, December 27, 2010
Canes can't power back after penalties
Things haven't quite gone the Canes way the past two games.
Back before the Christmas break the Hurricanes lost 3-2 to Montreal, and last night they lost by the same score to the C[r]apitals. Both were games that the Canes could have won, and both featured questionable calls by the referees.
For the Montreal game, things were looking up when Erik Cole scored the second Canes goal of the night to put the team ahead by one. Then, nine seconds later, he hit Jaroslav Spacek from behind which earned a five-minute major boarding penalty - the Canadiens scored two goals on that powerplay and never looked back. I'm not entirely sure that the hit deserved a major penalty, but certainly the hit and the call cost the Canes the game.
For the Washington game, the questionable call came in the first period. Tim Gleason received a five minute major for charging and a game misconduct after a clean hit on Mathieu Perreault. It looked pretty rough in real time, but the replay obviously shows Gleason hitting with the shoulder pad, not the elbow... and definitely not charging across the ice for the hit. Looks like the refs were penalizing the amount of blood on the ice from Perreault's broken nose, not the actual play.
The penalty didn't have quite the obvious effect on the game that Cole's did, although I'm sure the Canes would have loved to have Gleason's services later in the game. My peeve for the game was the lackluster effort given in the last few minutes of the game - the Canes were only down by one and had ample opportunity to try for a goal, but it just didn't seem like they had the necessary jump in their step.
So, for those of you keeping track, yep, these two losses do mean that the Canes are back at .500 on the season, 10th in the East and 4th in the Southeast with 34 points. This three game losing streak essentially negates whatever had been gained by the four game winning streak, and the Canes are back where they started.
For me this is frustrating, because the past few games are the first good look I've had at the Canes this season - actually viewing them in action - and I have to say that they're not that bad of a team. They do have the talent to score, but apparently just can't get it done. They're light years ahead of how they looked last season... but if that only means a .500 record, how much better is that? It certainly isn't enough to gain them a playoffs spot, and if they can't make the playoffs, how different is that from last season?
Upcoming this week are back-to-back games in Toronto and Ottawa, then home against the Devils New Year's Day. Hopefully these are all easily beatable teams - if they're not, I will be doubting how serious a playoffs berth can be. However, beating the other bottom dwellers could signify the beginnings of a nice win streak - but hopefully my optimistic side isn't betraying me too much.
Erik Cole stats (23rd): 1 goal
On the season: 7 goals, 8 assists
Chad LaRose stats (23rd): 1 goal
On the season: 7 goals, 6 assists
Back before the Christmas break the Hurricanes lost 3-2 to Montreal, and last night they lost by the same score to the C[r]apitals. Both were games that the Canes could have won, and both featured questionable calls by the referees.
For the Montreal game, things were looking up when Erik Cole scored the second Canes goal of the night to put the team ahead by one. Then, nine seconds later, he hit Jaroslav Spacek from behind which earned a five-minute major boarding penalty - the Canadiens scored two goals on that powerplay and never looked back. I'm not entirely sure that the hit deserved a major penalty, but certainly the hit and the call cost the Canes the game.
For the Washington game, the questionable call came in the first period. Tim Gleason received a five minute major for charging and a game misconduct after a clean hit on Mathieu Perreault. It looked pretty rough in real time, but the replay obviously shows Gleason hitting with the shoulder pad, not the elbow... and definitely not charging across the ice for the hit. Looks like the refs were penalizing the amount of blood on the ice from Perreault's broken nose, not the actual play.
The penalty didn't have quite the obvious effect on the game that Cole's did, although I'm sure the Canes would have loved to have Gleason's services later in the game. My peeve for the game was the lackluster effort given in the last few minutes of the game - the Canes were only down by one and had ample opportunity to try for a goal, but it just didn't seem like they had the necessary jump in their step.
So, for those of you keeping track, yep, these two losses do mean that the Canes are back at .500 on the season, 10th in the East and 4th in the Southeast with 34 points. This three game losing streak essentially negates whatever had been gained by the four game winning streak, and the Canes are back where they started.
For me this is frustrating, because the past few games are the first good look I've had at the Canes this season - actually viewing them in action - and I have to say that they're not that bad of a team. They do have the talent to score, but apparently just can't get it done. They're light years ahead of how they looked last season... but if that only means a .500 record, how much better is that? It certainly isn't enough to gain them a playoffs spot, and if they can't make the playoffs, how different is that from last season?
Upcoming this week are back-to-back games in Toronto and Ottawa, then home against the Devils New Year's Day. Hopefully these are all easily beatable teams - if they're not, I will be doubting how serious a playoffs berth can be. However, beating the other bottom dwellers could signify the beginnings of a nice win streak - but hopefully my optimistic side isn't betraying me too much.
Erik Cole stats (23rd): 1 goal
On the season: 7 goals, 8 assists
Chad LaRose stats (23rd): 1 goal
On the season: 7 goals, 6 assists
Monday, December 20, 2010
Things are looking up... or at least above .500
The past two weeks were pretty kind to the Canes - in the six games since my last post, Carolina went 4-1-1. Yes, that means that finally the Canes have had a win streak and managed to get above .500 on the season.
Let's recap:
- Canes lost to the Stars 2-1 in a shootout. No one scored in the SO for the Canes.
- In their next game the Canes were finally victorious in the shootout, winning 2-1 over the Blues. Jussi Jokinen scored the only goal in the shootout.
- Canes won 4-3 over the Panthers in a come-from-behind victory. They had gone down three goals early in the game - Ward was pulled from goal after letting two goals in the first two minutes. But, for probably the first time this season, they didn't give up and they powered back for the victory in regulation.
- The Canes also came from behind the next night, winning 3-2 in a shootout over the Atlanta Thrashers. Cam Ward was a complete beast in this one, stopping 45 shots on the night.
I actually watched the game against the Ducks (finals are over, haha!), and I think that the 4-2 win was entertaining enough to earn its own bulleted section of the post. So, my observations:
- The end of the game was INSANE. Yeah, that's the only word that even begins to describe what happened. Three successive penalties called against the Canes resulting in a full two minute six-on-three that the Canes had to kill off. Yes, that's six-on-three due to the fact that Anaheim pulled their goalie. First time in a long time that I've been on the edge of my seat to watch any sort of hockey that the Canes have played. Cam Ward was absolutely stellar to keep the Ducks from scoring more than one.
- Speaking of Ward, he looked amazing. AMAZING. If he can keep up this kind of play, the Canes definitely have a chance for the playoffs. He is a top-notch goalie and he definitely showed all of his skill in this game.
- As for the penalties called to put Cam Ward in the position to have to make those saves... Joe Corvo pretty much lost his mind going after Corey Perry (although he deserved it, but let's just say that Corvo has to be a little less blatant in roughing next time if he doesn't want to get called). Brandon Sutter I guess closed his hand on the puck - debatable, but I'll give the ref credit. Eric Staal's crosscheck, however, was nonexistent. Definitely absurd that the refs should call something like that when a team is already down two men. Talk about trying to decide the game.
- I loved that Corvo went after Perry after he scored the empty netter. Not so happy that Perry started something because his team lost, but I'm glad that Corvo stuck up for himself and didn't just take the crap.
- Eric Staal had a natural hat trick. Yeah, kind of an afterthought after the excitement at the end. But his first goal particularly was a beauty - Staal just took the puck straight up the side during a powerplay - a very pretty goal, although I'm sure the nonexistent Anaheim defense would think otherwise.
So, with this win, the Canes had a four game win streak. That ended pretty ignominiously with a 5-1 loss to the Lightning tonight. Let's just say I'm not crying that this one wasn't televised.
So where does this leave the Canes? They currently have a 15-13-4 record and 34 points on the year, good enough for 9th in the East and 4th in the Southeast. So, if you're keeping track, same as it was last post. The good news, or at least, what could be good news in the future - the C[r]apitals no longer have a stranglehold on the division. Thanks to their recent struggles, they are actually third in the Southeast. In our position it probably doesn't mean much - we're eight points behind them - but hopefully the Canes will continue to win and take advantage of our rival's poor play.
Upcoming this week is Montreal, who is leading their division, and the aforementioned C[r]apitals. I'm hoping for a continuation of the good play of the past two weeks - hey, the Penguins recently went on a twelve game tear, why can't the Canes do the same?
Erik Cole Stats (Dec 15th): 1 goal
(Dec 18th): 1 assist
(Tonight): 1 assist
On the season: 6 goals, 8 assists
Let's recap:
- Canes lost to the Stars 2-1 in a shootout. No one scored in the SO for the Canes.
- In their next game the Canes were finally victorious in the shootout, winning 2-1 over the Blues. Jussi Jokinen scored the only goal in the shootout.
- Canes won 4-3 over the Panthers in a come-from-behind victory. They had gone down three goals early in the game - Ward was pulled from goal after letting two goals in the first two minutes. But, for probably the first time this season, they didn't give up and they powered back for the victory in regulation.
- The Canes also came from behind the next night, winning 3-2 in a shootout over the Atlanta Thrashers. Cam Ward was a complete beast in this one, stopping 45 shots on the night.
I actually watched the game against the Ducks (finals are over, haha!), and I think that the 4-2 win was entertaining enough to earn its own bulleted section of the post. So, my observations:
- The end of the game was INSANE. Yeah, that's the only word that even begins to describe what happened. Three successive penalties called against the Canes resulting in a full two minute six-on-three that the Canes had to kill off. Yes, that's six-on-three due to the fact that Anaheim pulled their goalie. First time in a long time that I've been on the edge of my seat to watch any sort of hockey that the Canes have played. Cam Ward was absolutely stellar to keep the Ducks from scoring more than one.
- Speaking of Ward, he looked amazing. AMAZING. If he can keep up this kind of play, the Canes definitely have a chance for the playoffs. He is a top-notch goalie and he definitely showed all of his skill in this game.
- As for the penalties called to put Cam Ward in the position to have to make those saves... Joe Corvo pretty much lost his mind going after Corey Perry (although he deserved it, but let's just say that Corvo has to be a little less blatant in roughing next time if he doesn't want to get called). Brandon Sutter I guess closed his hand on the puck - debatable, but I'll give the ref credit. Eric Staal's crosscheck, however, was nonexistent. Definitely absurd that the refs should call something like that when a team is already down two men. Talk about trying to decide the game.
- I loved that Corvo went after Perry after he scored the empty netter. Not so happy that Perry started something because his team lost, but I'm glad that Corvo stuck up for himself and didn't just take the crap.
- Eric Staal had a natural hat trick. Yeah, kind of an afterthought after the excitement at the end. But his first goal particularly was a beauty - Staal just took the puck straight up the side during a powerplay - a very pretty goal, although I'm sure the nonexistent Anaheim defense would think otherwise.
So, with this win, the Canes had a four game win streak. That ended pretty ignominiously with a 5-1 loss to the Lightning tonight. Let's just say I'm not crying that this one wasn't televised.
So where does this leave the Canes? They currently have a 15-13-4 record and 34 points on the year, good enough for 9th in the East and 4th in the Southeast. So, if you're keeping track, same as it was last post. The good news, or at least, what could be good news in the future - the C[r]apitals no longer have a stranglehold on the division. Thanks to their recent struggles, they are actually third in the Southeast. In our position it probably doesn't mean much - we're eight points behind them - but hopefully the Canes will continue to win and take advantage of our rival's poor play.
Upcoming this week is Montreal, who is leading their division, and the aforementioned C[r]apitals. I'm hoping for a continuation of the good play of the past two weeks - hey, the Penguins recently went on a twelve game tear, why can't the Canes do the same?
Erik Cole Stats (Dec 15th): 1 goal
(Dec 18th): 1 assist
(Tonight): 1 assist
On the season: 6 goals, 8 assists
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Special Double Issue!
I didn't do a weekly recap last week NOT because I was lazy, but because I wanted to provide my loyal readers with a special double issue - twice the amount of information packed into one week!
(Don't you hate when print magazines pull that crap? I do. But I wouldn't be too optimistic that the next post will be next week - unfortunately college has these things called exams...)
So, let's enter the time machine and recap what's happened since the day before Thanksgiving:
- Canes lost to the C[r]apitals 3-2, despite coming back and scoring two goals in the third period to tie it up.
- Canes won 3-0 over Boston. They looked pretty awesome, which was surprising, as the Canes have generally looked like crap when they play against teams that are above us in the standings this season. Cam Ward also walked away with his first shutout of the year. All three goals came on the power play, which was remarkable because at the time Boston had the best penalty kill in the league.
- Canes lost to the C[r]apitals 3-2, despite coming back. And, no, I didn't get lazy and just copy the first bullet - this game the Canes lost in a shootout. Canes haven't been looking too good in shootouts of late - almost no goals scored in them. I'm hoping this isn't like two seasons ago where the Canes had an abysmal time in the shootouts. I'm too lazy to look up the exact facts, but I believe Rod Brind'Amour had the only shootout goal for about three-quarters of the season. Isn't it sad that I'm just hoping that this season isn't as bad as previous ones?
- Canes then lost 4-1 to the Stars, a game where I just kind of shook my head listening to Chuck Kaiton described the rapid succession of goals for Dallas early in the second period.
- Canes won in OT over Colorado 2-1, the winning goal being scored by Brandon Sutter.
- Finally, the Canes lost 5-2 against the Predators last night. Depressing fact: Cam Ward has not won a game against Nashville in his career.
So where does this leave the Canes? They're currently 4th in the Southeast and 9th in the Conference with 25 points. However, they're not really that close to the 8th place Thrashers who have 31 points, and their record is decidedly mediocre at one game under .500. Pretty much, if you were to look up "meh" in the dictionary, the definition would certainly reference this team. They play decently, but most of the time not amazing - but they're definitely not anywhere near as poor as last season. Really, I think they need to go on some sort of win streak, just to get them over the hump of being a .500 team.
Will it happen this week? They play Dallas again and the Blues after a long five day break. I wouldn't be surprised if we continue our crappy play against them, but hopefully the Canes will win over the Blues. So, nope, I'm not predicting anything remarkable this week.
Erik Cole stats (Nov 28th): 1 goal
On the season: 5 goals, 6 assists
(Don't you hate when print magazines pull that crap? I do. But I wouldn't be too optimistic that the next post will be next week - unfortunately college has these things called exams...)
So, let's enter the time machine and recap what's happened since the day before Thanksgiving:
- Canes lost to the C[r]apitals 3-2, despite coming back and scoring two goals in the third period to tie it up.
- Canes won 3-0 over Boston. They looked pretty awesome, which was surprising, as the Canes have generally looked like crap when they play against teams that are above us in the standings this season. Cam Ward also walked away with his first shutout of the year. All three goals came on the power play, which was remarkable because at the time Boston had the best penalty kill in the league.
- Canes lost to the C[r]apitals 3-2, despite coming back. And, no, I didn't get lazy and just copy the first bullet - this game the Canes lost in a shootout. Canes haven't been looking too good in shootouts of late - almost no goals scored in them. I'm hoping this isn't like two seasons ago where the Canes had an abysmal time in the shootouts. I'm too lazy to look up the exact facts, but I believe Rod Brind'Amour had the only shootout goal for about three-quarters of the season. Isn't it sad that I'm just hoping that this season isn't as bad as previous ones?
- Canes then lost 4-1 to the Stars, a game where I just kind of shook my head listening to Chuck Kaiton described the rapid succession of goals for Dallas early in the second period.
- Canes won in OT over Colorado 2-1, the winning goal being scored by Brandon Sutter.
- Finally, the Canes lost 5-2 against the Predators last night. Depressing fact: Cam Ward has not won a game against Nashville in his career.
So where does this leave the Canes? They're currently 4th in the Southeast and 9th in the Conference with 25 points. However, they're not really that close to the 8th place Thrashers who have 31 points, and their record is decidedly mediocre at one game under .500. Pretty much, if you were to look up "meh" in the dictionary, the definition would certainly reference this team. They play decently, but most of the time not amazing - but they're definitely not anywhere near as poor as last season. Really, I think they need to go on some sort of win streak, just to get them over the hump of being a .500 team.
Will it happen this week? They play Dallas again and the Blues after a long five day break. I wouldn't be surprised if we continue our crappy play against them, but hopefully the Canes will win over the Blues. So, nope, I'm not predicting anything remarkable this week.
Erik Cole stats (Nov 28th): 1 goal
On the season: 5 goals, 6 assists
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Shootouts galore!
I think I must be some sort of shootout magnet. Three out of four of the games I have managed to watch this season have gone to a shootout - I suppose I must apologize to those who dislike the practice, expect December and January to have a lot of shootouts if current trends continue.
But let's rewind to Wednesday, when the Canes made a trade. They acquired Ian White and Brett Sutter from Calgary for Tom Kostopoulos and Anton Babchuk, Sutter being waived the next day to be sent to Albany. (For those wondering, Sutter is current Cane Brandon Sutter's cousin). Having seen him in action, I can say that White is a smallish defenseman who looks to be pretty solid in the defensive zone - he stepped in pretty well in a pairing with Joni Pitkanen both Friday and Saturday.
I'd say, from this early vantage point, that it's a good trade for the Canes. White seems like a good defenseman, who would certainly be an upgrade from Anton Babchuk's flightiness (I'm not too sad to see him and his seasons in Russia go, although his slapshot might be missed.) Kostopoulos is a good character guy, but not a core part of the Canes team. And I won't miss struggling to spell his name while blogging.
Also on Wednesday the Canes won 7-1 over the Ottawa Senators. Generally a win of this goal differential would be something I'd celebrate, but it doesn't seem right to be cheerful, as the Senators had attended the funeral of the assistant coach's daughter earlier that day.
So let's move on to the two games I was able to view, one on the television, and one in person. The former was a 5-4 shootout loss to the Penguins. I thought the Canes played extremely well in this game, constantly battling back from being down a goal. They really played up to the Penguins level, which I was certainly not expecting, having seen the boxscores from the previous week. They also got a point in the standings, in spite of the refs (and the War Room in Toronto), who showed that they could use a new contact and hearing aid prescription. A goal in the third period was allowed for the Pens where the whistle was clearly blown before the puck crossed the goal line. Luckily, the Canes were able to come back once again so that the call didn't cost them the entire game.
The next shootout loss was last night against the Predators. Where the Pittsburgh game was offensively powered and fun to watch, the Nashville one was defensively driven and kind of a snoozefest.
Interestingly, the same three shooters were chosen for both shootouts - Jeff Skinner, Jussi Jokinen, and Patrick O'Sullivan. Skinner and Jokinen I understand, but I just do not understand the choice of O'Sullivan. Granted, he didn't get to show his stuff in the shootout against Pittsburgh, but I wasn't impressed last night. I somehow get the feeling that Paul Maurice keeps writing down "8" thinking Matt Cullen's on the bench, and then is somewhat disappointed when he realizes it's a different guy in the jersey.
Anyways... a more successful week for the Canes than the previous, I'd say. I was very impressed with the play against Pittsburgh - definitely gives me hope for playing well in other close games this season. Currently the Canes are 9th in the East and 4th in the Southeast with 20 points - movin' on up. Up next for the Canes are the C[r]aptials on Wednesday and the Bruins on Friday - not easy matchups in any sense. Hopefully they can play like they did this past Friday and maybe get a win out of one of them.
And my final thought for this post: Make sure you're voting for the All-Star Game! I'm officially on the Paul Bissonnette bandwagon!
Erik Cole stats (Wednesday): 1 assist
On the season: 4 goals, 6 assists
Chad LaRose stats (Wednesday): 2 goals, 2 assists
On the season: 6 goals, 6 assists
But let's rewind to Wednesday, when the Canes made a trade. They acquired Ian White and Brett Sutter from Calgary for Tom Kostopoulos and Anton Babchuk, Sutter being waived the next day to be sent to Albany. (For those wondering, Sutter is current Cane Brandon Sutter's cousin). Having seen him in action, I can say that White is a smallish defenseman who looks to be pretty solid in the defensive zone - he stepped in pretty well in a pairing with Joni Pitkanen both Friday and Saturday.
I'd say, from this early vantage point, that it's a good trade for the Canes. White seems like a good defenseman, who would certainly be an upgrade from Anton Babchuk's flightiness (I'm not too sad to see him and his seasons in Russia go, although his slapshot might be missed.) Kostopoulos is a good character guy, but not a core part of the Canes team. And I won't miss struggling to spell his name while blogging.
Also on Wednesday the Canes won 7-1 over the Ottawa Senators. Generally a win of this goal differential would be something I'd celebrate, but it doesn't seem right to be cheerful, as the Senators had attended the funeral of the assistant coach's daughter earlier that day.
So let's move on to the two games I was able to view, one on the television, and one in person. The former was a 5-4 shootout loss to the Penguins. I thought the Canes played extremely well in this game, constantly battling back from being down a goal. They really played up to the Penguins level, which I was certainly not expecting, having seen the boxscores from the previous week. They also got a point in the standings, in spite of the refs (and the War Room in Toronto), who showed that they could use a new contact and hearing aid prescription. A goal in the third period was allowed for the Pens where the whistle was clearly blown before the puck crossed the goal line. Luckily, the Canes were able to come back once again so that the call didn't cost them the entire game.
The next shootout loss was last night against the Predators. Where the Pittsburgh game was offensively powered and fun to watch, the Nashville one was defensively driven and kind of a snoozefest.
Interestingly, the same three shooters were chosen for both shootouts - Jeff Skinner, Jussi Jokinen, and Patrick O'Sullivan. Skinner and Jokinen I understand, but I just do not understand the choice of O'Sullivan. Granted, he didn't get to show his stuff in the shootout against Pittsburgh, but I wasn't impressed last night. I somehow get the feeling that Paul Maurice keeps writing down "8" thinking Matt Cullen's on the bench, and then is somewhat disappointed when he realizes it's a different guy in the jersey.
Anyways... a more successful week for the Canes than the previous, I'd say. I was very impressed with the play against Pittsburgh - definitely gives me hope for playing well in other close games this season. Currently the Canes are 9th in the East and 4th in the Southeast with 20 points - movin' on up. Up next for the Canes are the C[r]aptials on Wednesday and the Bruins on Friday - not easy matchups in any sense. Hopefully they can play like they did this past Friday and maybe get a win out of one of them.
And my final thought for this post: Make sure you're voting for the All-Star Game! I'm officially on the Paul Bissonnette bandwagon!
Erik Cole stats (Wednesday): 1 assist
On the season: 4 goals, 6 assists
Chad LaRose stats (Wednesday): 2 goals, 2 assists
On the season: 6 goals, 6 assists
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Weekly Recap: Let's just pretend those last two didn't happen
I'd be concerned if we lost by a significant margin to Edmonton, and the other two are toss-ups - hopefully we'll go 2-1 this week.
That was my hopeful prediction last week. The good news? We didn't lose to Edmonton, instead steamrolling them 7-1. The bad news? We got steamrolled by the two other teams we played - 8-1 by the Flyers on Thursday and 7-2 by the Canadiens on Saturday.
This is just depressing. Hooray, we can beat the second-worst team in the league. But, apparently, we can't hold a candle to anything close to the top of the standings. The Canes didn't just lose, they were demolished. The comparisons to last season are already forming in my head.
So let's talk about something else, why don't we? This past week the NHL released their new All-Star game format, which will debut in Raleigh. Essentially, instead of having East and West teams, or even North America/The World teams, the teams will be picked by two players sometime before the Game. Think high school gym floor hockey when you were picked second to last because you were both a girl and unpopular despite your superior knowledge of the game. Yeah, they're doing that in the pros.
Not entirely sure I like the concept - I hope it's pulled off well if only for the fact that this is the game that's being played in Raleigh. The best positive I can draw from the situation is that, with no conference-based teams, we don't have to worry about the NHL implementing a MLB-style All-Star Game where home field advantage is giving to the winning league. But it does nothing for for cheering on geographical rivalries. I mean, how do you decide who to cheer for? Motley group of All-Stars #1 or motley group of All-Stars #2? Probably whichever team @BizNasty2point0 is on. (If you don't know what I'm referring to, just click the link and find the awesomeness. And follow me on Twitter while you're at it.)
Back to the Canes. They currently have 16 points, placing them 4th in the Southeast and 11th in the East. They play Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and Nashville this week. They're getting Patrick O'Sullivan back from healthy-scratchness, and they picked up some random dude (Troy Bodie) off of waivers from Anaheim today. Not sure if either of those will help, but something has got to start the turnaround for the Canes this week.
This is just depressing. Hooray, we can beat the second-worst team in the league. But, apparently, we can't hold a candle to anything close to the top of the standings. The Canes didn't just lose, they were demolished. The comparisons to last season are already forming in my head.
So let's talk about something else, why don't we? This past week the NHL released their new All-Star game format, which will debut in Raleigh. Essentially, instead of having East and West teams, or even North America/The World teams, the teams will be picked by two players sometime before the Game. Think high school gym floor hockey when you were picked second to last because you were both a girl and unpopular despite your superior knowledge of the game. Yeah, they're doing that in the pros.
Not entirely sure I like the concept - I hope it's pulled off well if only for the fact that this is the game that's being played in Raleigh. The best positive I can draw from the situation is that, with no conference-based teams, we don't have to worry about the NHL implementing a MLB-style All-Star Game where home field advantage is giving to the winning league. But it does nothing for for cheering on geographical rivalries. I mean, how do you decide who to cheer for? Motley group of All-Stars #1 or motley group of All-Stars #2? Probably whichever team @BizNasty2point0 is on. (If you don't know what I'm referring to, just click the link and find the awesomeness. And follow me on Twitter while you're at it.)
Back to the Canes. They currently have 16 points, placing them 4th in the Southeast and 11th in the East. They play Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and Nashville this week. They're getting Patrick O'Sullivan back from healthy-scratchness, and they picked up some random dude (Troy Bodie) off of waivers from Anaheim today. Not sure if either of those will help, but something has got to start the turnaround for the Canes this week.
Erik Cole stats (Tuesday): 1 goal
On the season: 4 goals, 5 assists
Chad LaRose stats (Tuesday): 1 goal
(Thursday): 1 goal
On the season: 4 goals, 4 assists
Monday, November 01, 2010
Weekly Recap - Canes apparently can't score at home
Yesterday was the end of the first month of hockey (perhaps the only good thing of fall, in my opinion - temperatures really shouldn't ever go below 70). October has left the Canes at an even .500, 10th in the East and 4th in the Southeast Division with ten points. In other words, leaps and bounds above last year (do you sense a theme this year?), but overall not spectacular.
This past week we saw the Canes first two games at the RBC Center, and, uh, let's just say that it may not be a bad thing that tonight's game is on the road against Philadelphia. Goose eggs were lain in both the opener against the C[r]apitals and Saturday's game against the Penguins.
Perhaps the Washington game wasn't as bad as the 3-0 score would allow you to believe - I was able to view it thanks to living in C[r]apital country. The first goal was kind of a fluke, Cam Ward being run over outside the crease (and, yes, unfortunately he was outside of the crease, resulting in no goalie interference). Niklas Backstrom put Washington up by two just over midway into the third and then sealed the game with an empty net goal. Michal Neuvirth also looked really good for being Washington's fourth goalie or some similar absurd number.
However, while the game was closer than the score would indicate, I didn't really see anything to write home about from a Canes' perspective. Jeff Skinner continues to impress, but not much else really stood out. Pretty lackluster for a home opener performance, to be honest.
Speaking of Jeff Skinner, he really broke out in Friday's game against the Rangers. Skinner scored two goals and had an assist on Erik Cole's game winner. He seems to be a player that whenever he's on the ice he does something noticeably beneficial to the team (Granted, I've watched all of two games, but the point still remains that this guy looks to be a beast).
Finally, to wrap up the week, the Canes lost by another 3-0 tally at home to Pittsburgh. Let's just say that our current 0-2 home record is not really thrilling this Caniac right now. Yes, it is extremely early in the season, but I, and I think most of the Caniac Nation, would prefer the Canes to not become a road-only team. Especially when I think back to the season we won the Cup - let's just say that the 31-8-2 home record definitely helped. But I think that might be reading way too far into things.
But attempts to improve the home record (or, heck, score a goal at home) will have to wait until Wednesday against the Islanders. Tonight the Canes face Philly away - a Daniel Briere-less Flyers team as Briere was suspended three games for cross-checking an Islanders players straight in the mouth. Look at the YouTube video if you, like me, love to dislike Briere (and Carcillo as well). Hopefully the Canes can stay away from any Flyers thuggery and continue with their good away record.
Erik Cole stats (Thursday): 1 goal, 1 assist
On the season: 2 goals, 4 assists
This past week we saw the Canes first two games at the RBC Center, and, uh, let's just say that it may not be a bad thing that tonight's game is on the road against Philadelphia. Goose eggs were lain in both the opener against the C[r]apitals and Saturday's game against the Penguins.
Perhaps the Washington game wasn't as bad as the 3-0 score would allow you to believe - I was able to view it thanks to living in C[r]apital country. The first goal was kind of a fluke, Cam Ward being run over outside the crease (and, yes, unfortunately he was outside of the crease, resulting in no goalie interference). Niklas Backstrom put Washington up by two just over midway into the third and then sealed the game with an empty net goal. Michal Neuvirth also looked really good for being Washington's fourth goalie or some similar absurd number.
However, while the game was closer than the score would indicate, I didn't really see anything to write home about from a Canes' perspective. Jeff Skinner continues to impress, but not much else really stood out. Pretty lackluster for a home opener performance, to be honest.
Speaking of Jeff Skinner, he really broke out in Friday's game against the Rangers. Skinner scored two goals and had an assist on Erik Cole's game winner. He seems to be a player that whenever he's on the ice he does something noticeably beneficial to the team (Granted, I've watched all of two games, but the point still remains that this guy looks to be a beast).
Finally, to wrap up the week, the Canes lost by another 3-0 tally at home to Pittsburgh. Let's just say that our current 0-2 home record is not really thrilling this Caniac right now. Yes, it is extremely early in the season, but I, and I think most of the Caniac Nation, would prefer the Canes to not become a road-only team. Especially when I think back to the season we won the Cup - let's just say that the 31-8-2 home record definitely helped. But I think that might be reading way too far into things.
But attempts to improve the home record (or, heck, score a goal at home) will have to wait until Wednesday against the Islanders. Tonight the Canes face Philly away - a Daniel Briere-less Flyers team as Briere was suspended three games for cross-checking an Islanders players straight in the mouth. Look at the YouTube video if you, like me, love to dislike Briere (and Carcillo as well). Hopefully the Canes can stay away from any Flyers thuggery and continue with their good away record.
Erik Cole stats (Thursday): 1 goal, 1 assist
On the season: 2 goals, 4 assists
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Western Roadtrip Recap
So, the Canes finished up their yearly October roadtrip last night, and I saw or listened to exactly none of them, so let's just do a brief recap.
The obvious stat after this period of time is the record. Currently the Canes have a 4-3 record, which isn't really that great... until you consider that last season the Canes got their fourth win 21 games into the season. From that perspective, the Canes are absolutely amazing this season. Also, considering that the Canes opened up overseas and then went straight into the Western Conference road trip, traveling something like 15,000 miles, I think that their record is spectacular.
Going back through the games, the Canes lost to Ottawa, lost pretty badly to the Canucks, won against the Sharks, lost to the Kings, and finally won last night over the Coyotes in OT.
Obviously, the bright parts are the wins against the Sharks and Coyotes, although the Sharks have not started out as great as last season, having not won a game at home yet. But even the losses don't look too alarming to me - the LA game sounded close and I'm not surprised that the Canes lost to the Cup-favorite Canucks. Perhaps the game against Ottawa should be a win, but, again, I'm just happy that the Canes weren't blown out. Last year definitely does put a perspective on losses.
The best news to me is the distribution of scoring. So often last year, our offensive production (and therefore wins) depended on a few people being able to score *cough*Staal*cough*. This year, we seem to be more well-rounded in the scoring department, only two people on the roster having not notched a point. This is especially shown in the San Jose game, where eleven different Canes got on the scoreboard. A specific player to commend (beyond my two favorites whose stats are at the bottom of the post) would be Eric Staal, who after a slow start in Helsinki, has stepped it up, with 6 points in 5 games. I do think it is a good sign for our season that he is currently at the top of our leaderboard in points.
But just because the road trip is over, doesn't mean that it gets any easier for the Canes. The home opener this Wednesday is against the C[r]apitals, who are never easy to beat, then they must play the Rangers and then the Penguins in a back-to-back. If the Canes can play with Washington and Pittsburgh, then I think we might actually have a worthwhile team this year. If not, well, I'm not pinning the whole season on two games - I just won't be as blindly optimistic.
Erik Cole stats (Oct 14th): 1 assist
(Oct 19th): 1 goal
(Oct 20th): 1 assist
On the season: 1 goal, 3 assists
Chad LaRose stats (Oct 19th): 1 goal, 2 assists
(Oct 20th): 1 goal
On the season: 2 goals, 2 assists
The obvious stat after this period of time is the record. Currently the Canes have a 4-3 record, which isn't really that great... until you consider that last season the Canes got their fourth win 21 games into the season. From that perspective, the Canes are absolutely amazing this season. Also, considering that the Canes opened up overseas and then went straight into the Western Conference road trip, traveling something like 15,000 miles, I think that their record is spectacular.
Going back through the games, the Canes lost to Ottawa, lost pretty badly to the Canucks, won against the Sharks, lost to the Kings, and finally won last night over the Coyotes in OT.
Obviously, the bright parts are the wins against the Sharks and Coyotes, although the Sharks have not started out as great as last season, having not won a game at home yet. But even the losses don't look too alarming to me - the LA game sounded close and I'm not surprised that the Canes lost to the Cup-favorite Canucks. Perhaps the game against Ottawa should be a win, but, again, I'm just happy that the Canes weren't blown out. Last year definitely does put a perspective on losses.
The best news to me is the distribution of scoring. So often last year, our offensive production (and therefore wins) depended on a few people being able to score *cough*Staal*cough*. This year, we seem to be more well-rounded in the scoring department, only two people on the roster having not notched a point. This is especially shown in the San Jose game, where eleven different Canes got on the scoreboard. A specific player to commend (beyond my two favorites whose stats are at the bottom of the post) would be Eric Staal, who after a slow start in Helsinki, has stepped it up, with 6 points in 5 games. I do think it is a good sign for our season that he is currently at the top of our leaderboard in points.
But just because the road trip is over, doesn't mean that it gets any easier for the Canes. The home opener this Wednesday is against the C[r]apitals, who are never easy to beat, then they must play the Rangers and then the Penguins in a back-to-back. If the Canes can play with Washington and Pittsburgh, then I think we might actually have a worthwhile team this year. If not, well, I'm not pinning the whole season on two games - I just won't be as blindly optimistic.
Erik Cole stats (Oct 14th): 1 assist
(Oct 19th): 1 goal
(Oct 20th): 1 assist
On the season: 1 goal, 3 assists
Chad LaRose stats (Oct 19th): 1 goal, 2 assists
(Oct 20th): 1 goal
On the season: 2 goals, 2 assists
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Good start in Finland!
Well, we're 2-0 after two games in Helsinki! Which already means that this season is better than last season - is the cure for a bad start to play two games overseas? Not for the Wild, haha.
But, let's continue.
I was not able to view the Thursday game, which the Canes won by a tally of 4-3. But, viewing was not necessary to tell that Brandon Sutter had a great game, scoring two goals in the season debut. Babchuk and Jokinen scored the other goals for the game.
I was lucky enough to be able to see the Friday game, which the Canes won in a shootout 2-1. My thoughts:
- Minnesota came out with a jump in their step, as evidenced by their early goal. They controlled most of the first period, and were out for blood - several scrums after the whistle and a fight by Tom Kostopoulos.
- The Wild lost their step in the final two periods, which ultimately benefited the Canes. The Canes had something like six straight minutes (a double high-sticking minor and a minor called after that) on the penalty kill in the second period that the Wild squandered. Had Minnesota been able to connect, that could have been deadly for Carolina.
- Cam Ward is the man, at times holding the team's collective head above water. Without him, the Canes would have easily lost the game.
- Jeff Skinner is the real deal. Not only did he score the only shootout goal (and look pretty sweet while doing it), he was an integral part of the play that led to the Canes' regulation goal scored by Tuomo Ruutu.
So, overall, I think it was a successful overseas venture for the Canes. Hopefully the jet-lag won't kill them too much as they come back to the States - after a game against the Senators, they head out West to face the Canucks and Sharks, teams who are both expected to do very well this year. Major test to start off the season? I'd say so. Although, if these two games are any indication, if Cam Ward continues to play well, we definitely will have a good chance at winning.
Erik Cole stats (Thursday): 1 assist
But, let's continue.
I was not able to view the Thursday game, which the Canes won by a tally of 4-3. But, viewing was not necessary to tell that Brandon Sutter had a great game, scoring two goals in the season debut. Babchuk and Jokinen scored the other goals for the game.
I was lucky enough to be able to see the Friday game, which the Canes won in a shootout 2-1. My thoughts:
- Minnesota came out with a jump in their step, as evidenced by their early goal. They controlled most of the first period, and were out for blood - several scrums after the whistle and a fight by Tom Kostopoulos.
- The Wild lost their step in the final two periods, which ultimately benefited the Canes. The Canes had something like six straight minutes (a double high-sticking minor and a minor called after that) on the penalty kill in the second period that the Wild squandered. Had Minnesota been able to connect, that could have been deadly for Carolina.
- Cam Ward is the man, at times holding the team's collective head above water. Without him, the Canes would have easily lost the game.
- Jeff Skinner is the real deal. Not only did he score the only shootout goal (and look pretty sweet while doing it), he was an integral part of the play that led to the Canes' regulation goal scored by Tuomo Ruutu.
So, overall, I think it was a successful overseas venture for the Canes. Hopefully the jet-lag won't kill them too much as they come back to the States - after a game against the Senators, they head out West to face the Canucks and Sharks, teams who are both expected to do very well this year. Major test to start off the season? I'd say so. Although, if these two games are any indication, if Cam Ward continues to play well, we definitely will have a good chance at winning.
Erik Cole stats (Thursday): 1 assist
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