A win!

Canes got their first win under Paul Maurice (well, at least the second time around) with a 3-1 win over the C[r]apitals yesterday. (3-2 in the 3rd jerseys!)

Canes played pretty well, I thought. They scored first for the first time in... 13 games, I think. Ray Whitney notched two goals and Eric Staal got a goal, something that hasn't happened in a while either.

The bad news is that Anton Babchuk is probably out with some sort of elbow/arm injury. Yes, yet another defenseman went down. But, according to this article, we should be getting Seidenberg back for Thursday, so I don't think the Canes will have to call up any more people from Albany.

Thursday's game is against the Flyers - fourth game in three weeks against them. What is up with that?

Thanksgiving was not very kind to the Canes record

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

A win!

So I'm writing down on all of these college applications and scholarship forms that I started my own blog, when it suddenly occured to me that I want to actually, y'know, update said blog.
Of course, the last time I posted was only Saturday, so really this is the normal turnaround for me.

But this is not what I'm supposed to be rambling about. What am I supposed to be rambling about?

Ah, yes, the Canes. They won! Granted, it was a shootout win, but any win is good to stop the losing slide they had been on.

And, now that I think about it, any shootout win is a thing to celebrate, considering the unsuccess rate^† of recent ones.

Anyways, I didn't actually see the game, as, yet again, the game was not on TV. But it looks like the Canes went down by two goals early, then powered back to tie it.

And Wade Brookbank got a goal! YaY! Maybe this will end up getting him some more ice time...

And the Canes were wearing their black jerseys, pushing that particular record to 2-1 on the season.

Next game is tomorrow against Montreal. Maybe we can now have a regulation win?

^† Best phrase evah!

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.

[Back] In Black

Well, today was the day the Canes third jerseys were revealed. (Photo gallery here!)

My overall thoughts: Could've been worse. But it could've been better.

And to make my official critique even better, I MS Paint-ified two pictures from the above photo gallery.
The worst infraction on this jersey is the grey boxes on the bottom edge of the jersey. I really liked the edging on the original jersey - little hurricane watch signs all in a row. But taking the color out of them takes away the symbolism there - it's not a hurricane watch, just a box with another box in it.

The second infraction are the elbow stripes. They don't really do anything to enhance the jersey. They're just kind of there. (Which is actually what I said about the shoulder piping on the original jersey redesign last year... Now that I look at that post I find it very bizarre that the most comments I've gotten on a post came from an argument about Erik Cole's hair.

Then again, knowing me, I really shouldn't be too surprised at that.)

The alternate logo on the front of the jersey is different to be sure. Not bad, but something that it will take a while for me to get used to seeing.

The saving grace for this jersey is the name and number on the back. I absolutely LOVE the way the red with white edging sticks out against the black.

So, all in all, what I said in my last post still holds true. I'm not going to buy it. I'm going to use the $115 to apply to a college or two.

Or save gas for a pilgrimage to Edmonton. What-ever.

The 3rd jersey better not be ugly...

It was announced today that the third jersey would be revealed on Sept 10.

I'm approaching this new jersey with caution. I love the red jerseys and I don't want to be another team with a boring main color of black. But I'm not against having an alternate - as long as it's not ugly. If it's ugly, I ain't buyin' it.

Actually if it's rather good looking, I won't buy it either. But that's from a pure monetary standpoint. And it's not from a boycotting I'm-not-falling-for-your-ploy-to-get-more-merchandising-moola standpoint either. I'd just rather use the $100 to buy gas. Or to buy about 15 minutes worth of class time at college.
I have a perfectly servicable jersey at home. Why would I buy something else? Especially when that jersey was what I was wearing when the Canes won the Cup. Take that third jersey!

Third jerseys aren't necessary. I think I'll put that down as my official stand on the topic.

Anyways, I'll stop my rambling for tonight. The training camp roster is here - hockey season is on the way!