Red & Black Hockey
Steve Chiasson
by David Lee on 05/03/09 at 11:18 AM ET
Comments (0)
May 3 is a sad day for the Whaler/Cane franchise. For that matter, also the Red Wings and Flames. Given the Hurricanes opponent in the Eastern Conference semis, it’s impossible to ignore the historical significance of today’s date. Today is the tenth anniversary of the tragic death of defenseman Steve Chiasson.
After the Hurricanes were eliminated by the Bruins four games to two in the 1999 Eastern quarterfinals, the players flew home, then had a wrap party at Gary Roberts’ house. This went on well into the wee hours of the morning. A very intoxicated Chiasson made a terrible decision to drive himself home, declining rides from teammates and taxis. He never made it. Around four in the morning, his truck flipped over, killing him instantly. ...
Filed in: | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Boston+Bruins, Carolina+Hurricanes, Steve+Chiasson,
Bs take game one
by David Lee on 05/02/09 at 09:16 AM ET
Comments (0)
The Canes and Bruins opened their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Friday, and it was a solid victory for Boston. Just as the Devils did in game one of the first round, the Bruins won game one 4-1. The Bruins have won all five postseason games, and none of them have been close.
David Krejci started things off for the home team at 1:34, tipping a right point blast from Aaron Ward. Michael Ryder got the secondary assist. To me, it looked like Ward’s goal. However, they determined that it was touched by Krejci in the slot, and he gets the credit….
Filed in: | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Boston+Bruins, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Jussi+Jokinen, Marc+Savard, Phil+Kessel, playoffs, Tim+Thomas,
Round two picks
by David Lee on 05/01/09 at 08:45 AM ET
Comments (0)
It’s time to make the picks for the second round matchups. In the first round, I correctly picked seven of the eight matchups, only missing the Ducks ousting of the top seeded Sharks. In addition to getting all but one winner correct, I nailed “Carolina in seven” and “Hawks in six”.
As is my tradition, I’ll compare my picks to those of Maggie the Monkey, who will be retiring after these playoffs. She had a really awful first round, only getting two picks (Boston and Vancouver) correct.
Also, in my goofy series of “if this was indie rock” posts, I got just four of the eight series right. Based purely on which indie rock bands I like better.
So, looking in my crystal ball…
Filed in: | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Stanley+Cup+playoffs,
Canes win thriller, advance to conference semis
by David Lee on 04/29/09 at 12:25 AM ET
Comments (0)
Tuesday night was a do-or-die for the Hurricanes and the Devils. With 90 seconds to play, the Devils had a 3-2 lead in their own building and it looked grim for the Hurricanes. I had already started making mental notes for a Canes eulogy and for a concession letter to the gals at Interchangeable Parts.
But then….
The Canes decided that it wasn’t over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor. Nothing was going to be over until they decided it was. (please click the link if you don’t already get the joke)
Jussi Jokinen, the hero from the uber-dramatic game 4, scored a Finn-tastic (sorry) goal to tie it. The crowd at the Rock and the Devils on the ice were shell-shocked. Their shock turned to horror when Eric Staal fired a shot in from the right circle to win the game at 19:29 ....
Filed in: | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Jussi+Jokinen, New+Jersey+Devils, playoffs, Ray+Whitney, Tuomo+Ruutu,
Game seven: win or go home
by David Lee on 04/28/09 at 08:34 AM ET
Comments (0)
This magnificent series between the Devils and Hurricanes will come to an end tonight. It’s been an evenly matched, well played fun series to watch.
The last three times these teams have played in the postseason (twice in the first round, once in the second), the series winner has gone on to play in the Stanley Cup finals.
Carolina played two game sevens in 2006. Both at home, both were wins. The last time this franchise played a game seven on the road was a 3-2 overtime loss to Montréal on May 1 1992 in the Adams Division semifinal.
More pregame stuff in a few hours.
Filed in: | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, New+Jersey+Devils, playoffs,
Ward, Whitney and Staal force game seven
by David Lee on 04/26/09 at 11:26 PM ET
Comments (0)
On Sunday night, the Hurricanes had their back against the wall in their own building. They responded with easily their best game of the series and a 4-0 shutout over the Devils. The series will move back to Newark for the decisive game seven on Tuesday.
Eric Staal had two goals and an assist. Ray Whitney had the game winner and three assists. Cam Ward pitched a perfect 28 save shutout.
This has been a beautiful series and is about as evenly matched as it could be. Each team has had one easy win. Each team has had one shutout. Each team has had an overtime win. This has been as advertised and then some. It’s a shame that neither team is named “Pittsburgh” or “Washington”, or there would have been more national teevee….
Filed in: | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Cam+Ward., Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, Eric+Staal, New+Jersey+Devils, playoffs, Ray+Whitney,
Do or die in Carolina
by David Lee on 04/26/09 at 02:38 PM ET
Comments (0)
Tonight, the Hurricanes face elimination against the Devils. There is no tomorrow. There is no alternative. Win or stay home. This is actually the way Tuomo Ruutu likes it.
“I kind of like this situation,” forward Tuomo Ruutu said. “You can put everything on the line and you really don’t have to worry about the next game, because if you don’t play well enough there’s not going to be a next game. You play this game like it’s your last game almost.”
from CanesNow.
For Ruutu, it might be the last game of the season, but a segue into a contract extension. The 26-year old Finn is scheduled to become a RFA on July 1. He is coming off his most productive NHL season, scoring 54 (26/28) points in the regular season. He was given a one-year contract last summer and has more than earned his $2.25M salary.
Filed in: | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, New+Jersey+Devils, playoffs,
Off-day: more changes coming for game six lines
by David Lee on 04/25/09 at 05:55 PM ET
Comments (0)
On Thursday, coach Paul Maurice mysteriously replaced defenseman Anton Babchuk with Frantisek Kaberle for game five. It has been my opinion for some time now that Kaberle should have retired after the miserable 2006-07 season. I certainly didn’t want him in the lineup during this regular season, so my displeasure with that move goes without saying.
Due to a “lower body injury”, left wing Sergei Samsonov had to be scratched in favor of Dwight Helminen. I wasn’t too sure about that, and I wasn’t at all happy with the lack of ice time seen by Ryan Bayda. Bayda had been one of the hardest working players in games two through four, yet he only saw 4:14 of ice time. I’m not sure what Mo saw in practice that he didn’t like, but I wasn’t too thrilled with that change.
Samsonov hasn’t practiced and is ruled “hopeful” for Sunday. Matt Cullen also didn’t practice today, but he will play tomorrow. Paul Maurice has indicated that the lines and d-pairings will undergo another change.
Filed in: | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, New+Jersey+Devils, playoffs,
Devils, Brodeur shut out Canes in game five
by David Lee on 04/23/09 at 10:45 PM ET
Comments (0)
I just wrote a game summary that got eaten by my computer. I’ll do my best to recreate it.
On Thursday night, Martin Brodeur tied Patrick Roy with his 23rd career posteason shutout. Carolina was only shut out once during the regular season, and this one is pretty painful. While Martin Brodeur stopped all 44 shots that came his way, an unfortunately forgotten story of the game is that Cam Ward also played a great game.
The lone goal in the game came at 11:22 of the second period, and the rest was all Martin Brodeur.
Filed in: | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, New+Jersey+Devils, playoffs,
in-game commentary—game five
by David Lee on 04/23/09 at 09:36 PM ET
Comments (0)
I don’t own a laptop, and my computer and teevee are on opposite ends of the apartment, so I can’t do any liveblogging, but I’ll do my best to update in at teevee timeouts.
I think Paul Maurice must want to lose the game. I can’t believe he started Frantisek Kaberle. It’s only a matter of time before he shoots it into his own goal or does something else stupid that leads directly to a Devils goal.
Feel free to leave comments
update 1So far the Devils have killed off a penalty and are about to go on a power play of their own.
Filed in: | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, New+Jersey+Devils, playoffs,
« Previous First 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Next »
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.
