Red & Black Hockey
Entries with the tag: Atlanta+Thrashers
Canes lose critical game
by David Lee on 03/01/09 at 11:28 AM ET
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On Saturday night, the Hurricanes squandered a two-goal third period lead and ended up losing 5-3 to the Thrashers. Carolina had already gotten some outside help when Florida and Buffalo both lost, but they missed the golden chance to climb into the playoff bubble by giving up four third period goals.
Now, the Canes are faced with a tough task. Starting Tuesday, they will play seven games in twelve days. Five of the games will be on the road. Five is also the number of playoff teams included in that stretch. It will be imperative that the Canes get no less than nine of the 14 points. One of the main obstacles to that endeavor is that two of those games are against the division leading red-hot Capitals, and both of those games are on the road. They’ve only lost seven home games. Another one of those road games is against the Blackhawks, who are currently fourth in the West and have only lost five regulation games at home. The flip side of that is that they’ve also lost six home games in overtime.
After this important stretch, the canes will have eight of their final eleven at home. Seven of the final eleven are presently in the playoffs. It’s not going to be easy.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes, playoff+picture,
Canes-Thrash tonight.
by David Lee on 02/28/09 at 04:44 PM ET
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Carolina will visit Atlanta tonight and have an excellent chance to move inside the playoff bubble. The Panthers have already lost today, which means that Carolina can jump inside the bubble with a win regardless of what Buffalo does on Long Island.
Brandon Sutter, who scored three goals during a two-game “conditioning stint” with Albany was supposed to be recalled for tonight’s game, but inclement weather caused his flight to be canceled. This means he’ll stay with the Rats for their first home game since the bus crash.
The Hurricanes will have a chance to jump as high as sixth place tonight, so Caniacs will do a lot of channel changing during teevee timeouts. The important games are Buffalo @ Islanders and Colorado @ Rangers.
Sergei Samsonov, who is dealing with an “upper body” injury will be a game-time decision for the second straight game.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes, playoff+picture,
Cam Ward Wins Goaltender Duel
by David Lee on 01/31/09 at 11:04 PM ET
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On Saturday night, the Hurricanes again had a “must win” game at home against the hapless Thrashers. With goals by Matt Cullen and Ray Whitney and a shutout by Cam Ward, they got the job done. The 2-0 win was the third shutout of the season for Ward and the 101st win of his career.
I’ve seriously got to tip my hat to Atlanta netminder Kari Lehtonen. Without his brilliant play, it could have easily been 8-0.
Cam Ward was sharp in the shutout, but he only faced 19 shots. Lehtonen faced more than that in the first period alone.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Kari+Lehtonen, Matt+Cullen, shorhanded+goals,
Canes end 2008 with a bang
by David Lee on 01/01/09 at 12:46 AM ET
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On Wednesday night, the Hurricanes defeated the visiting Thrashers 3-1 to move into sole possession of the #8 spot in the East. Cam Ward had a sleepy game in net with some solid defense in front of him and a huge game from the top line. Meanwhile, Carolina’s defense did an excellent job of shutting down Atlanta’s top line. Ilya Kovalchuk was able to break a nine game goal drought, but that was it. Todd White and Bryan Little each assisted on the goal, but both were held to zero shots on goal.
Sergei Samsonov potted two hard-working goals while Eric Staal and Tuomo Ruutu each had a single assist. To finish it off, Joe Corvo scored a blistering power play goal as some third period insurance.
This closes the 2008 portion of the 08/09 season. I vowed to withhold judgment on Paul Maurice: redux until the team has played 20 or so games under him, and I intend to keep that promise. I’m beginning to think that it’s not too soon at all, but I’ll still wait.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes, Paul+Maurice, Sergei+Samsonov,
Canes skid extends to three games
by David Lee on 11/15/08 at 01:09 PM ET
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On Friday, the Hurricanes went down to “Blueland” and were beaten by Atlanta 3-2. The Hurricanes were plagued by some of the same things that hurt them in their previous two embarrassments, but they managed to make this one look better.
The defense really hurt the Hurricanes in this game. Perhaps it’s safe to say that the D lost the game for the Canes.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes,
Carolina thrashed by Thrashers
by David Lee on 11/10/08 at 07:21 PM ET
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On Sunday, the Thrashers came to Raleigh and completely embarrassed the home team in a 5-2 romp.
The scoreless first period was the most boring hockey I’ve watched in quite some time. The game came alive in the second period, but Carolina was only there for about five minutes. Ray Whitney scored a nifty breakaway goal at 5:50 to give the Canes a 2-1 lead, but it was a steep downhill road after that. Offensively, defensively, and most importantly, in net.
Cam Ward has been shaky for most of this young season, and it was certainly no different against Atlanta. Not to discredit the Thrashers, but Ward had a very manageable puck bounce off his chest and roll down his back. He had horrible rebound control, often sending stuff back into the slot instead of covering or sending to the corner. He let in one soft goal. Sure the defense let him down once, but he wasn’t anywhere near the top of his game. He only faced 22 shots and let five of them in. That makes for an abysmal 0.773 save %. I think he’ll sit on Wednesday against the Caps.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes,
Thrash visit Carolina
by David Lee on 11/09/08 at 10:19 AM ET
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On Sunday, the Atlanta Thrashers will visit Raleigh for the first of six meetings between the two teams this season. This is the second of five consecutive Sunday home games for the Hurricanes. The 3:00 game will fall into the untelevised abyss, as neither the Hurricanes nor the Thrashers network is covering this one.
Last season, the Hurricanes were 6-1-1 against the Thrashers, and have won the last six games in a row.
Atlanta got off to a slow start this season, but they are on a three game winning streak during which they have scored 14 goals.
Carolina’s Captain-in-waiting Eric Staal was very good against this division foe last season, scoring 16 (7/9) points in the eight games. Hopefully, this will be just what the doctor ordered for him. To say he’s been on the schneid would be an understatement. He has just nine (5/4) points through 14 games, which is a pace of just 53 points for the season. He’s had eight games without a scoring point, including the last three in a row.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes,
