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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
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
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
Sorry, guys. I've been a bad blogger of late. Unfortunately I have been positively swamped and I haven't been able to keep up with a rapid rate of games this past week.
So, let's kick it back 8 days to the Canes OT W over Pittsburgh 3-2. They won the game on a wicked shot from Jamie McBain with about a second left in overtime. Considering the fact that McBain has 6 points in 7 games with the team, I'd say he's looking to be an asset on defense.
Then the Canes lost to Buffalo at home the next day 5-3. Buffalo scored three goals in 7 minutes in the second to turn the tide their way. I wasn't able to catch any of this game, but any loss to the Banana Slugs Sabres leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
The Canes also lost to the Lightning 3-2 in overtime. I wasn't happy with the outcome (St. Louis only 29 seconds into OT), but I was extremely pleased when both Erik Cole and Chad LaRose scored within 20 seconds during the second period.
Tuomo Ruutu's season ended on Thursday with shoulder surgery. He had apparently been playing through the pain for a while, and he's expected to be out 4-5 months. I guess it's a good thing that we're not in the playoffs - his loss would be devastating.
Then came the Canes victory over the C[r]apitals in a shootout - a game I got to watch! And let me just say that I find it amazing that we can play Washington like this and then lose immediately afterwards.
An interesting theme of the game was rookie defensemen scoring. The Canes came out fast in the first period with a nice shot by Jamie McBain, and then followed it up with Bryan Rodney's first NHL goal about seven minutes later. Getting a 2-0 lead in the first is always a good thing when you're going up against the best team in the East. For the C[r]apitals, John Carlson also scored his first goal, although unfortunately it had to be the tying goal in the third.
Then came the hero of the night - Chad LaRose won the game by scoring on his first ever shootout attempt. After much jubilation my reaction was: Seriously? This guy has never had a shootout attempt in his career? I mean, a few seasons ago you would have thought that the Canes would've tried anything to get a shootout goal.
Maybe this means LaRose will be a regular in the shootout rotation? Doubtful - but wouldn't that be awesome?
And then, after that great win against Washington, the Canes lose 4-0 to the menial Thrashers. I guess they felt they should keep someone's playoff dreams alive, since their poor play crushed ours in November.
So what did we learn after this week? The Canes like to either win in a tight OT/SO game, preferably beating a giant, or they like to be blown out by teams.
Oh, and, despite my fervent adoration for Chuck Kaiton (he's the man!), watching games on TV is still superior (for both attention span and remembering what happened). Even if I do have to put up with the Washington announcers.
Erik Cole stats (Tuesday): 1 goal
On the season: 9 goals, 3 assists
Chad LaRose stats (Last Saturday): 1 assist
(Tuesday): 1 goal
On the season: 7 goals, 10 assists
A lot of games have happened in the past week, and once again I find myself apologizing for a late recap. Unfortunately they don't schedule physics test around breaks in the hockey schedule.
Let's go back to last week, where the Canes, coming off of an overtime win over the C[r]apitals, also managed to somehow pull out another overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning by a tally of 4-3. I say "somehow" due to the fact that the Canes came out extremely sluggish and got behind 2-0 only 6 minutes into the first period. It looked like the Canes were feeling effects from playing hard the night before, but luckily they snapped out of it with goals by Whitney and Boychuk to end the period 2-2.
The Canes kept it close, and Brian Pothier knocked in a quick goal in the overtime period to win the game (off of a nice pass by Ray Whitney - Ray is certainly shining especially bright now that there's little other starpower on this team).
Before I go on to the next recap, let me vent a little. Hey, Pittsburgh fans who attended the game at the RBC Center (there were a lot of them, probably because the game was matched up against ACC basketball involving a team wearing blue...): Wearing Steelers gear does not equate to wearing Penguins gear. Yes, I get it, all of your city's teams have the same colors. But maybe you could wear paraphernalia for the game which you're actually attending? I'm especially talking to the people waving the football-specific Terrible Towel. If you want to show up and cheer for the opposing team, that's cool, but maybe you could at least try and look like you didn't stumble into the wrong stadium?
So, of course, with back-to-back wins against Washington and Pittsburgh, some people immediately get the idea that this is a playoff team and we can run the table, blah blah blah. For those of you who think that, please look at the next two games as evidence to the contrary: A 4-0 beatdown against Phoenix and a 5-2 loss to the Bruins. Both were poorly played games against teams the Canes needed to beat to keep their playoff hopes *snort* alive. The Canes especially needed to play well against the Bruins, as Boston is holding on to the 8th seed - but apparently only Erik Cole got that memo, contributing both goals for the Canes.
But, not a team to quit, which after this season I'm not sure is a good thing anymore (goodbye, good draft pick... although I seriously doubt we could have out-tanked the Oilers for the number one...), the Canes pulled out another win against the C[r]apitals, winning in overtime 4-3 in a wild one last night. It looked like Chad LaRose had put the dagger in with 1:35 left, but Washington had to score with 9 seconds left to send it into OT, where Ray Whitney scored the winner.
I understand optimism, and most of the times I am hopelessly optimistic when it comes to my sports team, but let's be real. The Canes are not a playoff team. They do not deserve to be in the playoffs. If by some miracle from above they make it in, it says more about the weakness of the rest of the Eastern Conference than it does about this team. Yes, apparently they are kryptonite to the C[r]aptials this year. But for every win against Washington, there's a blowout to an opponent they should have beaten. This season is not something that I'll want to look back on, and I don't want to extend the misery with an ill-conceived playoff run. Harsh words, perhaps, but true ones.
(Playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs?)
Erik Cole stats (Last Thursday): 1 assist
(Tuesday): 2 goals
On the season: 8 goals, 3 assists
Chad LaRose stats (Thursday): 1 goal
On the season: 6 goals, 9 assists
So I'm smack in the middle of my Spring Break, and I will say that I am enjoying the nice weather around here. Some nice hockey too, believe it or not.
Starting with last week, the first game after the trade deadline, the Canes increased their winning streak to seven with a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. Manny Legace had a shutout going until former Cane Matt Cullen scored on him.
Of course, every good thing must eventually end. The Canes lost the following game to the Florida Panthers 4-1. Of course, this is the first game in a month and a half where I had actually seen the Canes, and of course they were horrible.
I would also like to find out the stats of how many goals Cory Stillman has scored against us since going to the Panthers. It seems to me as if he has scored in almost every game - apparently he was taking notes while he was with the Canes.
The Canes rebounded by beating the snot out of Atlanta 4-0 on Sunday. It was the first shutout of the season for the Canes - which is incredibly depressing.
Tonight the Canes played an excellent game against the Washington C[r]apitals, forcing them to overtime. And, oddly enough, the last regulation loss for the Eastern Conference-leading team came against the Canes. Can you believe that? Are we the kryptonite to the C[r]apitals? That's actually kind of beast.
I was extremely surprised while watching this game. The Canes were playing with Washington - an action-packed end of the third period with many chances on both ends. I hadn't seen that kind of good hockey from the Hurricanes in an incredibly long time - and to think that this is happening with a good bit of our team traded away!
Hopefully the Canes can keep the mojo going for tomorrow night's matchup against Pittsburgh - I look forward to booing Sidney Crosby and his Canadian gold medal. Go America!
Chad LaRose stats (Thursday): 1 goal
(Wednesday): 1 assist
On the season: 5 goals, 9 assists
So there's been a whole new decade since I last posted, but I'm having a nice chill break so I don't really care much. The Canes went 1-0-1 against the Rangers over the New Year, which, let's face it, is one of the better records of this season.
On New Year's Eve, the Canes lost 2-1 at the RBC Center. Neither team played very well, so when the Rangers went ahead in the third I don't think the Canes had anything to counter it with.
Then the Canes won in overtime two days later by the same score. Ray Whitney scored the game winner in that one.
In between was the NHL Winter Classic, which was awesome as normal this year. First fight in an outside game between Dan Carcillo and Shawn Thornton - seriously, would you have believed a Flyers-Bruins game without a fight?
After the game the US Olympic team roster was announced. No Canes made the team, although I personally think that Tim Gleason should have made the roster.
More recent news is the announcement today that Eric Staal will likely miss the next two games with personal leave for the death of his sister-in-law. I'm sure our thoughts are with him.
The next game is tomorrow against the Predators.
Canes win Game 3 in overtime 3-2.
Jussi Jokinen is proving that he is the clutch-est player around. Yes, of course he got the key OT winner - with the way his playoffs are going, who else would it be?
And I'm trying to think of what to say for the rest of this post, but my mind just keeps turning back to Jokinen and how completely awesome he's been. A game-winner in .2 left in regulation, a game-tie-er in Game 7, and now another game-winner in OT. Dang, this guy is clutch.
As for the rest of the team, they played pretty well last night. The first period and some of the second was a little sloppy - they let Boston get out to a 1-0 lead. But the Canes came on in the late second, scoring two goals in less than a minute to get the lead. (Sergei Samsonov got his first playoff goal on a nice shot).
Oh, and by the way, the refs were absolutely horrible in this game. Couldn't call an obstruction penalty if their life depended on it. Look, I understand that you don't want to slow the game down unnecessarily with marginal penalties - but that doesn't mean you shouldn't call the blatant stuff!
The Canes then played pretty good in the third, but still let in a Bruin goal for them to tie it up. The game went to overtime, but luckily the Canes were able to stick to the overtime-is-only-for-winning rule.
Jussi Jokinen - just wow. Rutherford is looking like a genius for picking this guy up.
Game 4 is tomorrow at the RBC Center. Hopefully the Canes can win it - it would be nice to go back to Boston with a 3-1 series lead!
Canes lost 3-2 in overtime in Game 3 last night.
Okay, Canes, I'm going to make a rule right now. If you go into overtime, win. If you're going to lose, please at least do me the decency of losing in regulation, so I don't lose an hour of sleep in the process of watching you crap out. Thank you.
Ugh.
Well, this game was okay. Not enough to win, obviously, but not horrifically bad, either. Definitely not near the control that they had of the second game. Power play was positively horrific, although the Canes managed to cut down on the stupid penalties taken.
Chad LaRose scored, which was cool. So did Ryan Bayda, representing the fourth line, which didn't play too bad.
I feel like there's nothing to analyze - both teams played hard but that's about it. And the Canes didn't win, which makes it miserable to watch them play so hard and then fail in the end. Because there's no big excuse to pin the loss on. All the Canes need to do is play just a little bit better, and the game is theirs.
Here's to playing a little bit better in tomorrow's game.
Chad LaRose: 1 goal
Playoffs: 1 goal, 1 assist
Well, that game was a lot better. Canes won the second game against Jersey 2-1 in overtime.
This game had everything the first game lacked. The Canes came out with a fire in their step, and created a huge physical presence from the first minute. The only problem was that the huge emotional burst translated into a lot of stupid penalties taken by the Canes, one of which led to Jersey's only goal.
But, really, I'll take a few penalties in exchange for the fast-paced, in-your-face style of game that was played last night. It was very exciting to watch, and was extremely close throughout.
And, of course, props to Tim Gleason, scoring his first goal of the year to win the game in overtime. Talk about great timing!
I feel really good about this series coming to the RBC Center at 1-1. The Canes got of their postseason jitters out in the first game, and if they can carry the momentum and firey style of play into tomorrow's game, then I really think that we'll be heading back to Jersey with a 3-1 series.
*knock on wood* Of course, this is dependent on the Canes coming out as hyped up as the fans in the stands tomorrow. If the Canes slip back into the Game 1 lethargy, then it won't be very easy to win (or as fun to watch, for that matter).
Game 3 is tomorrow at 7:30!
Well, the Canes played two games this weekend, neither of which I really paid attention to.
The first one was a 4-2 loss to the Bruins. I saw bits and pieces of this game, and I can say that the Canes were playing well in the first, but then the Bruins kind of turned on the gas in the third period.
The second one was a 3-2 overtime win against the Canadiens! I didn't see any of this one because, well, I'm just not cool enough to have the NHL Network. But it sounds like the Canes played well!
Yeah, that's all I've got for you today. Tonight the Canes play the Wild, then they're off until Friday against Atlanta.
Happy Holidays, everyone!
Canes won 2-1 over the Panthers in overtime last night.
Last night was completely awesome for me, as I not only got to attend the game, but I also sat in the lower bowl. And I was really close to the ice:
And, if you don't think that's close to the ice, then you have much better seats than I usually do. Jealous!
The only problem with said seats is that I don't really like the end section that low - it's sometimes hard to judge what's going on down at the other end.
Anyways, I thought the Canes played pretty well. I really appreciate Tuomo Ruutu that close to the ice - I saw a lot more of the fighting for the puck along the boards and the physicalness that he plays the game with.
Justin Williams scored his first goal since coming back from injury, and it was a power play goal as well! That goal was the deciding factor until the third period - Cory Stillman came out of the penalty box into a breakaway.
Canes played well in the overtime, Joe Corvo scoring the OT goal. I imagine it looked something like this shot, taken in the second period:
Except that the goal was scored on a backhand. Whatever. Use your imagination.
Anyway, the point is that the Canes won against a division rival and took over 8th place in the East. YaY Canes!
The next game is on Saturday, away against the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins.
Canes lost in OT 2-1 to the Flyers last night.
They didn't play too bad, I thought. Again, they came out with more enthusiasm than in some past games.
Sadly, that didn't stop them from giving up a stupid shorthanded goal in the first period. Defensive turnovers are not fun to watch, especially on your own power play.
Wade Brookbank fighting is always fun to watch, though. I managed to take the following snapshot:
Which is, coincidentally, the only picture I took at last night's game. I got tired of taking pictures of empty ice due to my camera's slow shutter speed.
Anyways... the third period was a very good period to watch - very exciting. Probably could've been less of a sloppy period, but I don't care, it's always fun to watch chances on both ends of the ice.
Sergei Samsonov had an excellent power play goal, knocking one in a pretty much vacant net. This allowed the game to go into overtime!
Which was absolutely completely lame. Not necessarily for the Canes play - but for the way it ended. It was one of those things where I'm looking at the jumbotron at a very creepy clip of a dancing Santa Claus and then - BAM! The puck's in the net. Pretty much right off of the faceoff Jeff Carter just blasts one by Michael Leighton. It was a fair goal - but it's not fun having such an abrupt end to the night, especially when the Canes had been doing well in the third and overtime periods.
Oh great... I just actually *read* the article I linked to (versus just skimming it). Looks like Wallin might be out for today's game with an ankle injury. Not good. We already were only playing with six defensemen, two of them having been called up from Albany for injuries to Gleason, Seidenberg, and Kaberle.
Won't this team ever be healthy?
Game is this afternoon against the C[r]apitals.
Soooo... The Canes went 1-3 over my Thanksgiving break... Not very good.
First, the Canes lost to Florida 3-2.
Then they lost to Philadelphia 3-1 (while wearing their third jerseys... making them 2-2 on the season with them... I'm not exactly sure why I'm continuing that stat, other than now that I've started, I certainly can't stop...)
Then they won in Philly 3-2 in overtime. I saw the first period of that game (while eating a delicious cheesesteak), which was merely an okay showing by the Canes. I also saw Wade Brookbank's fight, which was an excellent fight to watch, the referees letting them go at it for quite a bit. Don't think either one won the fight, though.
Sergei Samsonov scored in the overtime period.
Finally, they lost 4-1 to the Ducks yesterday. About the time of puck drop I was lamenting the Washington Redskins' slow shuttle system to take us back to our parking spot all the way on the other side of I-495. Yep, I went the Giants-Redskins game on the way back from Pennsylvania - froze my butt off in the stupid mist, too (although my six layers of clothing did keep me moderately warm...)
Anyways... Canes lost Cam Ward to a groin injury in that Ducks game - he'll be out for the next three games and Justin Peters will be called up to back up Leighton.
Good news on the injury front (unexpected news as well) is that Justin Williams of all people will more than likely be back on the ice sometime this week. And this is after busting his Achilles' tendon in training camp. ("Busting" being the proper medical term in cases such as these.) Good news - we could definitely use him out on the ice. I just hope he doesn't get injured from coming back too fast.
Next game is on Thursday against Pittsburgh.
Chad LaRose stats (Monday): 1 goal
(Wednesday): 1 goal
On the season: 7 goals, 2 assists
I have some overdue game recaps for you, my loyal readers.
First: Canes won 1-0 over Blues on last Thursday. The goal in that one was scored in Tuomo Ruutu, which I didn't see because I went to bed in the middle of the second period. I did realize in this game that, if you happen to be in a bad mood, John & Tripp on FSN South will absolutely cheer you up with their (sometimes useful, sometimes not) blabbering and random factoids.
Second: Canes lost 3-1 to the Oilers Saturday. I was receiving text messages about the score under a dinner table, so I can't really say how the Canes played in this one. I think Matt Cullen got injured, but I can't find an article easily to back that up, so whatever.
Third: The Canes picked up their first third jersey win 6-3 against Toronto. I watched this game, but can't really remember much except that the Canes started out looking like crap, but then they did a massive scoring flurry in the last four minutes of the second period to take the lead. Very good.
Then last night, the Canes won again against Toronto, this time in overtime 5-4. They should have won it in regulation, having gotten out to a 3-0 lead so quickly in the first, looking like they had completely demoralized the Leafs.
But nooooooooo, the Canes decided to mail it in, so the game had to be won by The Secret Weapon, Nic Wallin. Which was incredibly lucky.
So the next game is Thursday at Washington.
In random news: Brind'Amour, Staal, and Whitney made it onto the All-Star ballot.
And Marty Brodeur will be out 3-4 months after elbow surgery to repair a torn biceps tendon. And the description of what happened completely makes me cringe:
Brodeur extended his arm trying to make a save and ended up tearing the tendon that connects the bicep to the elbow off the bone.
Owie! And that completely sinks the Devils chances this season, a bummer for them - because Brodeur is one heckuva goalie.
Chad LaRose stats (Sunday): 1 goal, 1 assist
(Tuesday): 1 goal, 1 assist
On the season: 4 goals, 2 assists
Canes are 2-0 after their first two games. They won their opener on Friday 6-4 and won last night in overtime against Tampa 4-3.
What disturbs me about both of these wins is the crappy start the Canes got off to. Down 2-0 to Florida and 3-0 to Tampa, they had to power back to get the wins.
Which, I suppose, is setting a better precedent than getting off to a bad start and losing, but I really would rather the Canes come out strong and finish strong.
I didn't think Ward (who played Friday) or Leighton (who played Saturday) looked very good. Both let in some goals that they should have stopped.
Dan LaCouture proved why the Canes gave him a contract, scoring one on Friday. Brandon Sutter also got his first NHL point in that game - he's looking good so far.
Eric Staal looked good in the Tampa game, scoring two of the four goals, including the OT winner.
If the Canes can stop digging themselves a multi-goal hole, I think they look to be in good shape for the season - although the real test will be against Detroit tomorrow...
So apparently I missed a pretty good game last night. Game 3 went into triple OT, after the Pens scored two in the first, let in three consecutive and were ~35 seconds away from watching the Red Wings lift the Cup when Maxime Talbot saved the day. Then Petr Sykora won it in triple overtime.
But, I wasn't watching (didn't want to see the Red Wings win, as the Pens performance on Saturday didn't leave me with a lot of hope), and I wouldn't have stayed up for it anyways.
This game does increase the probability of me tuning in tomorrow, but considering all the games I've watched the Pens have lost, and all I haven't they've won...
In other news: Sami Kapanen, the Cane from long ago, has announced his retirement today. He was a fast little skater, and was a part of that special season of 2001-2002.
John Tortorella will not be coaching Tampa Bay next year, being canned from the job today. I'm happy because I thought he was a little arrogant and I didn't like his coaching style - but that happiness depends on the Lightning hiring someone that will enable the Canes to win. Not that having only one line on their won't help with that, it just is beneficial to the Hurricanes if the Lightning can pick up someone moronic.
And rumors are that Barry Melrose, the guy known to me as the ESPN hockey analyst that wears pinstriped suits and gets very little face time since the network dropped hockey games, will be taking the job. Which sounds weird because it doesn't look like he's coached in the last ten years, but it's just a rumor... But, hey, if he makes his team lose to the Canes, I'm all for it.
Which, now that I think about it, is pretty much my outlook on anything that happens in the NHL. Don't steal my players, don't beat my team, anything else is cool. And, if you can hurt Buffalo in any way, that's doubly fine.
Onwards to Game 6!
Y'know they really shouldn't have ominous headlines like this one on the Canes website:
Why? Because it sends speed readers like me into a tizzy thinking "NOOOO!!!! Rutherford traded them? Wait... it's past the trade deadline... Oh, we're playing Chicago tomorrow... oops"
Anyways... the last game was against Buffalo, which the Canes won 4-3 in overtime. The "reason" for me not posting earlier is because I really wanted the title of this post to stay at the top of my blog for as long as possible.
Riiight...
Well, the things I remember about this game are:
- Cam needs to save more easy goals
- Canes looked awesome in first, sluggish in rest of game
- 0-for-7 in regulation on the power play? ¡Ay Caramba!
- Buffalo fans are punks.
Next game is tomorrow against Chicago.
Well, Mick McGeough proved once again why he is the worst ref in the NHL in last night's 2-1 OT win over Jersey.
Tuomo Ruutu (who missed warmups, but still made the game) got stabbed in the face by Patrick Elias, and left a trail of blood leading back to the bench that could be blatantly seen from the third level. He needed 40 stitches to sew up the laceration.
McGeough - GET SOME CONTACTS!
Grr...
Anyways, game was great for the Canes. They had some really good cycles against the Devils - and didn't really let them score, as Bret Hedican (I think it was him) inadvertantly knocked the puck in the net.
However, the game was not great for Tim Gleason, who got hit head first into the boards by Jersey's Mike Rupp. Scary looking when he tried to get up - almost had none of his own support skating off the ice. Only update on him I can get is that it's a head injury (duh), probably a concussion.
At least Wade Brookbank got Rupp back, totally kicking his arse later in the period.
Sergei Samsonov looked awesome, scoring both of the goals for the Canes.
Jeff Hamilton was sent down to Albany before the game.
I thought Ruutu played really well. He came out and had a huge hit on some Jersey dude, and looked to be a tough player - maybe a touch of scoring? He did get an assist on Samsonov's first goal.
As for Eaves (who also made his debut) - meh. Granted, he only had 6-ish minutes, but he did nothing spectactular.
Canes are looking great (Better than Ottawa, who fired their coach today). Tomorrow's game is against the Rangers.
Canes won last night in OT 3-2.
The overtime period was absolutely unnessecary - Toronto scored a goal with 11 seconds left in the game to tie it up, forcing me to lose sleep and watch the OT.
In which Brind'Amour scored the winning goal, so it's all good.
I had a semblance of a post thought up in my mind, but it's all gone now. Probably because there's two Pittsburgh games coming up very soon, and I always look forward to those. (Boo Orpik!)
But here's an oddity for you: Jeff Hamilton was waived Wednesday, but still played for the Canes last night because Matt Cullen was out with vision problems after his concussion that wasn't a concussion but really was a concussion.
I get the feeling I'm not communicating very well today. I'm calling it Pittsburgh Anticipation Syndrome. I really love watching those games. They're always exciting and fast-paced and I get to boo Orpik.
Today the Canes traded David Gove for a Joe Jensen from those self-same Penguins. I guess it's a depth move.
Next game is tomorrow against (guess who?) the Penguins! I can guarantee I will be booing Orpik from the comfort of my own home.
