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

Man, it's boring around here

Well, it's been a while since I posted... primarily because there has been absolutely nothing interesting going on.

But to make it up to my loyal readers, here's a picture of an astronaut raising the Stanley Cup:

See, it's an away jersey because it's on the moon! Get it?

This is the reason you should not let me get near image editing software of any kind.

Anyways, I suppose some things have gone on, just nothing that is even remotely Canes related. Kovalchuk's contract was rejected by the NHL, but that story has dragged on far past its fifteen minutes in the spotlight (more like a three hour epic movie), so I'm pretty much uninterested. Other than that debacle, not much has gone on in the league, making for a pretty boring summer all around.

And, unfortunately, summer for myself is ending (although the offseason will continue to drag on) with a trip to college tomorrow. What does this mean for this blog? Well, I'm not entirely sure. Last year I attempted to post continual game recaps as I always did, but I think I fell short a little bit in that. This year I'm thinking maybe a weekly recap with the occasional post when something major happens. The goal is to give relatively timely updates and maybe increase the quality of said updates. But the season is still far away, so I'll see how that plan shapes up when it gets here...

And I'll definitely try and post more hockey and/or space themed clip art. Because that's looking awesome up there...

Canes beat the snot out of Calgary

Canes won 6-1 last night against Calgary.

If this is the result we get with Cole in the lineup - why did we trade him away in the first place?

While Cole looked absolutely, completely spectactular with a goal in his first game back, Ray Whitney was the true star of the night. Whitney notched a hat trick and his 300th career goal.

The Canes were amazing in this game - exploding with a three goal flurry towards the end of the first period, and Calgary was never able to recover. The Canes got 34 shots, and most of them were solid chances, not the far away flinging the puck at the net like they can be prone to do.

And there were fights! Dennis Seidenberg got in one, of all people, after he postively crunched Eric Nystorm in a check. And then there was the Tim Conboy one, of which I got a picture:
An awesome picture, if I do say so myself.

Anyways, I was completely blown away by the quality of the thrashing the Canes put on Calgary, and I certainly hope it carries over to Tampa Bay tonight.

Erik Cole stats: 1 goal
With the Canes: 1 goal

Chad LaRose stats: 1 assist
On the season: 14 goals, 10 assists

Glen Wesley Night!

Last night was Glen Wesley Night and the Canes had a really nice ceremony to raise the number two to the rafters. And I was lucky enough to attend!

It was very similar to Ron Francis' ceremony - hosted by John Forslund, there was a video montage of Wesley's career, then some gifts given to Wesley (a ski trip, his first and last game scorecards, a painting (which I took a picture of, but Wesley doesn't show up at all because my camera apparently doesn't like to focus in the dark)). Then Wesley himself spoke, thanking pretty much everyone who had helped him to play hockey (family, friends, coaches, fans, etc.).

Then came the actual raising of the banner, which Wesley and his family attached so it could be lifted:


As you can tell from the above picture, the seats weren't really in the best place for banner photography - my camera also doesn't like to focus on thin floating rectangles, apparently.

Then came the actual game. Which is totally not worth talking about compared to the achievements of Glen Wesley.

I mean, seriously Canes? A 5-1 loss to the Bruins the night you're honoring a teammate? What, was this your way of showing how great Wesley was - by showing what our defense has become without him in the lineup?

The game wasn't that bad in the beginning - the Canes even scored first. But then they just couldn't connect on anything after that (I swear these guys don't know how to lead a pass so someone can keep skating instead of doubling back to get the puck), Cam let in a soft one in the second.

And then the Canes just had a meltdown in the third period. You realize the combined score of the last three home games is 15-2 against? Yeah, I seriously don't think we're going to make it into the playoffs. And guess what? Even if we squeeze in the 8th spot - guess who we'll get to play? Boston, the team which has kicked our butt for four games this year.

Such pessimism... that's definitely not in my nature. But optimism is like a gas tank - every once in a while you have to fill it up with something to keep going. And 5-1 losses at home are like gashes in the fuel line.

Next game is tomorrow against the Islanders. Just win or something, okay?

Canes win in OT!

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.

An abrupt end to the game

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.

Well, the third jerseys are 0-1 on the season...

Canes lost in their third jersey debut to the Red Wings 3-1.

I thought the all-black theme was actually kind of cool when they stepped out on the ice with just spotlights and everything. I attempted to catch this neat-o effect with my digital camera, but I instead captured something resembling bread mold spread on my camera lens:


The third jerseys aren't something I would want every night... but every once in a while is fine. (My dad absolutely abhors them... just thought I'd throw that out there.)

That is, they can wear the third jersey as long as they play better than they did last night. I can see why Detroit is the reigning Cup champion - crisp passes, a near-brilliant power play - even Ty Conklin managed to not give one up behind the net to Rod Brind'Amour this time around.

The Canes, on the other hand, looked sloppy. And, for the third straight game, they didn't take advantage of early opportunities and found themselves down early. And this time they didn't come back... not a reliable strategy, especially playing against a team as loaded as Detroit.

And I have two words for Cam Ward: REBOUND CONTROL! Argh! You'd think his pads were made of rubber, with the way the pucks were bouncing all over the place.

The Canes have a brief break, playing next on Friday in LA - they're heading off on their annual State Fair road trip.

Canes earn first preseason win

Canes went 1-1 against the Flyers this weekend.

They lost the first game 4-2, the Flyers being all emotional and whatnot because this was their last game at the Spectrum before its demolition, and they had all kinds of ceremonies and stuff.

Then there was today's game, which the Canes won 1-0. It was a lot more exciting than the score makes it seem - the Canes missing on tons of chances with an open or semi-open net. The Canes played a heckuva lot better than they did in the only other time I've seen them play this preseason (that being Wednesday). Staal, Cullen and Walker were some of the regulars in this game - Cullen didn't play the last two periods because he was hit hard and they were holding him out for "precautionary reasons". Samsonov was the one who scored the goal for the Canes.

I took my new digital camera to the game, and came back with 31 pictures. Most of them were blurry or pictures of the jumbotron so I could judge when in the game I took the pictures.

Anyways, this is the best picture of a string showing Scott Walker's fight with Nate Guenin.

And this is a random picture of Brandon Sutter. I have no idea when or why I took this (I think I was aiming at something else), but it's the best one of the bunch.
I debated taking a picture of the blood across the ice when Josef Melichar was struck by a high stick, but I didn't want to seem overly morbid.

And, the Canes have sent some people back down to juniors/Albany after this game. I'm bummed that Casey Borer didn't make it, and also Jakub Petruzalek, just because I think his name is completely awesome to say out loud a few times (try it!).

Making it through this round of cuts is Bryan Rodney, a defensemen who played really really well in today's game.

Next preseason game is Thursday at Nashville.