Red & Black Hockey

Strong netminding from rookie Justin Peters gives Canes win over Isles

by David Lee on 02/07/10 at 01:32 PM ET
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In a season where not much has gone right, the Canes can be happy that they’ve played very well in the 2010 portion of this season. They can also be happy that with a 2-0-2 record against the Islanders, they earned six of eight points in that season series. It’s not much, but it’s something.

They can also be happy that young goaltender Justin Peters, who made his NHL debut on Saturday, has a bright future ahead of him. He made 34 saves to earn his first big league win. He looked confident in nets, even if he looked shaky in the post-game interview. Cam Ward is out with a back injury, and although we don’t know the specifics, I’d be surprised if he comes back before the Olympic break. Peters might get one of the three starts before the break, and possibly more after the break. Depending on Cam’s exam on Monday, and depending on the Hurricanes’ desire to put him back out there, it might be next season before Ward suits back up. Either way, the Canes are going to have to find a way to get Cam Ward more rest than he’s been getting over the past three seasons.

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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Jussi+Jokinen, Justin+Peters, New+York+Islanders,

Miller has bad night as Canes squeak by Sabres

by David Lee on 02/06/10 at 12:57 AM ET
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The Hurricanes started this week with a four game win streak and were about to embark on a four game road trip. The Oilers and Flames showed the Canes what the Alberta Advantage is, then the boys flew across the continent to New York for a back-to-back at Buffalo and Long Island.

Cam Ward was added to the list of injured players and Manny Legace got the start in nets. He picked up a 4-3 win against Ryan Miller, who did not perform well. He allowed a couple of uncharacteristically soft goals including the game winner from Jussi Jokinen. One that he saw all the way, but didn’t stop. No traffic, no screen, no re-direction. Nothing. Hopefully it was just a hiccup and not a sign of things to come for Ryan Miller. I say this with reference to his role on team USA for the upcoming Olympic games.

Eric Staal continued his pace, picking up a goal and an assist to stretch his points scoring streak to 11 games. He’s recorded 14 (10/4) points in nine games since being named captain of the team.

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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Manny+Legace, Ryan+Miller,

Gleason, Whitney named to team USA

by David Lee on 02/04/10 at 06:04 PM ET
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On Thursday, Hurricanes fans were expecting news about two defensemen. We were expecting a trade announcement involving the San Jose Sharks and Niclas “The Secret Weapon” Wallin. That hasn’t come yet, and still stands as only a rumor. I suspect something is happening though, because the team announced that forward Jiri Tlusty has been reassigned to Albany. Does this mean the team is on the verge of multiple trades? We’ll soon find out.
The other news came as expected. Canes 27-year old defenseman Tim Gleason (Clawson, MI) and Ryan Whitney (Boston, MA) from the Ducks were named to team USA as a replacements for Paul Martin and Mike Komisarek. Whitney, who is no relation to Carolina’s Ray Whitney, will turn 27 during the tournament. Both players were expected to have made the team in the first place and they’ll make very nice additions to the team.

Team USA begins is preliminary round play on Tuesday February 16 against Switzerland. They’ll also play Norway and Canada in the first week of the tournament.

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Tags: Olympics, Team+USA, Tim+Gleason,

Canes recall Goertzen, Corvo deemed “probable” for Wednesday.

by David Lee on 02/02/10 at 08:59 PM ET
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On Monday night, the banged-up Hurricanes lost 4-2 to the banged-up Oilers. The Hurricanes, though, played the game with only 17 skaters. The injury to Sharpie left the team with only 11 healthy forwards and six healthy defensemen. I’m not sure why, but the team didn’t recall a Rat to fill the roster on Monday.

For Wednesday’s game, the team has dipped into the Albany reserve. Zach Boychuk? No. Jerome Samson? No. Drayson Bowman? No. How ‘bout Chris Terry? Nope. They went with Steven Goertzen. Who?

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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, injuries, Joe+Corvo, Steven+Goertzen,

Team USA blueline injuries pile up

by David Lee on 02/01/10 at 09:15 PM ET
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For Team USA, the opening game is two weeks away, but already they’re having injury concerns on the blue line. This could be good news for Canes defenseman Tim Gleason.

Today, Devils defenseman Paul Martin withdrew himself from the Olympics due to an arm injury. Martin, a Minneapolis native, suffered a broken left forearm early in the season, and has suffered setbacks in the healing process.

Although nothing has been announced, it looks like Mike Komisarek (West Islip, NY) is too banged up with a shoulder injury to play for team USA. This means that two players will get called up to replace them.

My opinion is certainly biased, but it seems like Tim Gleason (Clawson, MI) should and will be one of the replacements.

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Tags: Team+USA, Tim+Gleason,

As Canes get healthy, they suffer another injury

by David Lee on 02/01/10 at 06:22 PM ET
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Tonight’s matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and the Carolina Hurricanes is not only two of the worst teams in the league, and not only a rematch of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals. It’s a game between two of the most banged-up teams in the league. The Oilers have lost 306 man-games to injury (which is most in the league) while the Hurricanes have lost 217 man-games (third in the league).

Carolina has started to get some of their regulars back Before they can talk about Joe Corvo, Erik Cole, Tuomo Ruutu or Scott Walker coming back, they’ve unfortunately had to add a player (back) to the injured list. Chad ”Sharpie” LaRose suffered an “upper body injury” in the Hawks game and is not on the four-game road trip.

The team has not announced any call-ups from Albany, and they have not been using any healthy scratches, so I have no idea what the game plan is for tonight.

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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, Edmonton+Oilers, injuries,

Canes hot streak continues

by David Lee on 01/30/10 at 09:32 PM ET
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On a rare snowy day in Raleigh, the Hurricanes welcomed one of the best teams in the league in the Chicago Blackhawks. Andrew Ladd and a few other Hawks had a slumber party at Eric Staal’s house, but the Canes weren’t as kind to the visitors once they got inside the RBC Center. Carolina stretched their winning streak to four games with a 4-2 victory. With tonight’s result, the Blackhawks have not won in North Carolina since a 4-1 victory on January 14, 1998. Jeff Hackett was the goalie for the Hawks that night.

A big storm came through on Friday night, dumping at least eight inches of snow on most of North Carolina. Everything was business as usual at the RBC Center, though. NC State played a basketball game and the Canes game went on without a hitch. The crowd was a sparse 7000, but those who drove through the ice and snow were treated to a great game.

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Tags: Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Chicago+Blackhawks,

Bubble teams fail to show up against Canes

by David Lee on 01/27/10 at 10:33 PM ET
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For the second straight game on Wednesday, the Hurricanes faced a team on the Eastern Conference playoff bubble. For the second game in a row, that bubble team took the Canes too lightly. And for the second straight game, the Hurricanes emerged with a 5-1 win.

On Sunday, it was the Bruins who came to the RBC Center but were not ready to play. Like the Canes, they are a team with four regulars out of the lineup, but their effort was horrible. Carolina played well, but it should also be noted that Boston stank. They skated for about five minutes of the first period, then fell completely apart.

On Wednesday, the Rangers stunk up their own barn with a sad performance which will temporarily knock them out of the top eight.

Eric Staal netted another two goals tonight, bringing him to 17 on the season and seven in four games since being anointed captain. Despite his detractors in Caniac Nation, he’s on fire and looking more like the Staal of 2005/06.

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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, New+York+Rangers,

Staal continues to flourish in new role

by David Lee on 01/25/10 at 07:40 PM ET
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When the Hurricanes named Eric Staal captain last Wednesday, there was an unrelated but simultaneous shift, moving him back to his natural position of center. All he’s done in the three games since then is score five goals, and for the first time all season, he has a three game goal streak. More importantly, he looks fully healthy and is shooting the puck with authority.

As an added bonus, his teammates are finding him in open ice with great scoring opportunities. And he’s not missing. In the last three games, he’s recorded 14 shots and has scored on five of those shots. I’ll take that any day of the week. With 31 games left, he needs 15 more goals to keep his streak of 30+ goal seasons alive. He’s up to speed, and I think he’ll make it. Just.

Alex Oveckin, and Dany Heatley have already hit the 30 goal plateau for the fifth straight season. Ilya Kovalchuk has done it for the seventh straight season. Jerome Iginla hasn’t yet, but will. When Iggy hits 30 goals, it’ll be his ninth straight NHL season hitting that mark. At 12 goals and currently as cold as ice, Henrik Zetterberg is going to have a tough time extending his streak of four seasons of 30+ goals.

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Tags: Alex+Ovechkin, Dany+Heatley, Eric+Staal, Henrik+Zetterberg, Ilya+Kovalchuk, Jerome+Iginla,

Staal captaincy gets off to roaring start

by David Lee on 01/21/10 at 09:58 PM ET
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Carolina made a captaincy change on Wednesday, removing the -in waiting part of Eric Staal’s title and officially giving him the C. On Thursday, things went very well for him in his first game as the Cap. He scored a goal in each period. Carolina beat the Thrashers 5-2, and Staal’s empty netter in the closing minute capped off his tenth career hat trick.
His big night also makes him one of the hottest players of late. In his last ten games, he’s accrued 17 (7/10) points. Now that he’s got 13 goals, it seems like he has a chance to reach the 30 goal plateau for the fifth consecutive season.

Staal has some detractors, but I love the captaincy shift and I really like him as a player. I don’t understand how fans can find much to dislike about a guy who has played at exactly a point-a-night for the last five seasons. Sure, he’s streaky. Sure, he always starts slow. Sure, his defensive skills are still a work in progress. He’s still a premier player who is really good in the clutch. And now that he’s officially the captain, I think we’ll see more of that “put the team on his shoulder and take over the game” stuff. I know it’s just one game, but he sure did that tonight.

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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal,

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About Red & Black Hockey

David Lee is a restaurant manager with an unused degree in political science. He can be found at Carolina Hurricanes games, Scrabble tournaments and indie-rock shows. Sometimes, all in the same day.

David has contributed to CBC.ca for their Stanley Cup playoff coverage in 2006 and to the New York Times Slapshot blog for theirs in 2008. Red and Black Hockey was founded in July of 2005.