Red & Black Hockey
Entries with the tag: Carolina+Hurricanes
Carolina’s playoff hopes buoyed
by David Lee on 03/29/11 at 08:42 PM ET
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On Tuesday night, the Hurricanes got a boost to their slim playoff hopes, but there is an asterisk. The Sabres lost 4-3 in regulation to the Maple Leafs and the Hurricanes grabbed a huge 3-2 win on the road at Washington. This two-point gain puts Carolina just three points back of the Sabres, and Sunday’s showdown looks really huge right now. The only unfortunate thing is that Carolina’s win came via the shootout. Carolina has two fewer ROW wins than Buffalo, so as of right now, a potential standings tiebreaker would go to the Sabres.
Jussi Jokinen scored a power play marker in the second and Jeff Skinner scored a huge goal early in the third. In the shootout, Skinner scored in the top of the first. The Caps missed their first two shots, then Tuomo Ruutu iced it for the Canes with a successful shot in the top of the third.
Cam Ward made 38 saves to give him 2006 saves on the season. He’s just the sixth goaltender since the lockout to record more than 2000 saves in a single season.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Jeff+Skinner, playoffs, Washington+Capitals,
Injuries not a problem for Carolina this season
by David Lee on 03/28/11 at 07:29 PM ET
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For the six previous seasons running, Carolina has had a lot of difficulty with injuries. They dealt with well over 200 man-games lost for all of those seasons and were over 300 for at least the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. There were catastrophic injuries to key players. There were season-ending surgeries. There were freak injuries. There were illnesses. There were so many different ways in which so many different players missed significant time. They had to rely heavily on the Albany River Rats to restock the team when they all went down with injury at the same time.
This season, miraculously, there have been very few injuries, and there was never more than one key player out at the same time. In years past, when the Canes would miss the playoffs, it was easy to lean on the excuse “well, they had a ridiculous amount of man-games lost” or “our team was almost entirely made up of AHL players” or just “we were decimated with injury”. This season, they can’t use that, and they’ll have to invent something else.
In years past, I used a picture of a pig for each player to mark the corresponding spot on the pig where the player was injured, and I tallied the man-games lost by each player that way. I’m dispensing with that this season, and I’ll just go with a short list of who was injured and for how long.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, injuries,
Cole paces Canes to important win, but Buffalo offers no help
by David Lee on 03/25/11 at 09:28 PM ET
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On Friday night, the Hurricanes were again in “the most important game of the season”, and they emerged with a huge 4-3 regulation win over the Lightning. Jeff Skinner scored his 26th of the season, Eric Staal scored his 30th and Erik Cole added two. Cam ward made 18 saves. Unfortunately for the Canes slim playoff hopes, Buffalo also won its game. With eight games remaining, the Hurricanes remain three points behind the eighth place Sabres.
For the first time since the Truman administration, the Hurricanes tallied two power play goals in the same game. The power play has been one of many weak points for them this whole season, and it will probably be the one thing that we blame if/when the Hurricanes end up on the outside of the playoff mix.
Carolina has now won three games in a row, but the harsh reality is that they’re going to have to be blazing hot down the stretch. “Warm” won’t cut it. They’ll probably need to get twelve of the sixteen remaining points available. Every game matters, and they’d like some outside help from the Sabres, or even the Rangers. The Canes are five points back of the Rangers with a game in hand.
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Tags: Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Erik+Cole, Simon+Gagne, Tampa+Bay+Lightning,
LaRose, Ward pace Canes to big win
by David Lee on 03/22/11 at 08:44 PM ET
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At this point in the season, the Hurricanes have to view every game as a “must win” and they know that they are also going to need some outside help to get into the playoffs. They entered play Tuesday night three points behind the eighth place Sabres. The Canes held up their end of the deal with a 4-3 win over the visiting Senators.
Cam Ward made 36 saves and Chad Sharpie LaRose had two goals to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 third period lead. The Sens scored a late goal to make it a one-goal game, then they prevented Sharpie from completing the hat trick. The regulation win temporarily put the Canes just one point back of the Sabres, who were playing in Montréal, but the Canadiens didn’t do Carolina any favours. Buffalo ended up winning 2-0, maintaining their three point lead over Carolina.
Carolina will be off until Friday, when they will play a back-to-back home-and-home with Tampa. Buffalo’s schedule will be much lighter: a Friday/Saturday home set against Florida and New Jersey. In order to stay in contention, Carolina will have to win at least one of those Tampa games, and obviously they prefer to win both. New Jersey has run out of luck, out of steam and out of time. They’re not going to roll over for Buffalo, but they now know that their miraculous run is over and that they’re not going to make the playoffs.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, Jeff+Skinner, Ottawa+Senators,
Canes win in OT, will watch Buffalo
by David Lee on 03/19/11 at 05:57 AM ET
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On Friday night, the Hurricanes had to come from behind to beat the Islanders 3-2 in overtime. That gives them 76 standings points, and crucially, 29 “Regulation or Overtime Wins”. They are now tied with Buffalo in standings points and ROW, but the Sabres have two games in hand. Carolina is idle until Tuesday, when they will host the last place Senators. This weekend, the Sabres have home games against Atlanta and Nashville. The Canes players and fans are hoping that the Sabres lose both games in regulation. Carolina, by virtue of earning more points versus the Sabres (four) than the Sabres have earned against the Canes (three) would have the tiebreaker and would jump back into eighth place.
After the Senators game, the Canes have a back-to-back home-and-home with the Lightning, a road game in DC and a home game against the Habs. During that same stretch,the Sabres will play at Montréal, back-to-back home games against Florida and New Jersey and finally at Toronto. That stretch certainly plays in the Sabres favor, so the Canes will have to steal some points.
Once again, Cam Ward was great, and for the first time in a while, the Hurricanes showed some fight. When they were pushed against the ropes, down a goal late in the third, they answered back, forced overtime, and won it the way they needed to—during timed play.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Jeff+Skinner, Joni+Pitkanen, New+York+Islanders,
Reimer shuts the door on Carolina
by David Lee on 03/16/11 at 08:40 PM ET
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On Wednesday night, the Hurricanes had a glorious chance to climb within a breath of the eighth place Buffalo Sabres. One day after beating the Sabres on the road, Carolina was in their own barn hosting the Maple Leafs. Carolina knew that a win would put them in a standings points tie with the Sabres and that this would force the Sabres to win their next game on Saturday. Carolina also knew that the Leafs were breathing down their neck. At this point in the season, when you’re two points out of eighth, every game is the most important game of the season. This certainly was that.
The Canes got out to a 1-0 lead with—believe it or not—a power play goal in the first period. Unfortunately, that Chad LaRose goal was the only one for the home team.
Dion Phaneuf leveled the score at 19:01 of the first of his two power play goals on the night. Midway through the second, he potted another power play marker just six seconds into a hooking penalty against Carolina’s Brandon Sutter. Unbelievably, Tyler Bozak of the Leafs scored again just twelve seconds after Phaneuf. And that’s all it took.
Leafs netminder James Reimer had an outstanding night, making 36 saves to lead his team to victory.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Dion+Phaneuf, James+Reimer, Toronto+Maple+Leafs,
Ward, Canes snap skid
by David Lee on 03/15/11 at 09:11 PM ET
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On Tuesday night, the Hurricanes were in an absolute must win situation on the road in Buffalo. It wasn’t the prettiest game in the world, but they got the job done with a 1-0 win to snap a four-game losing streak. It keeps their slim playoff hopes alive.
Brandon Sutter scored the game’s only goal at 19:18 of the first. Cam Ward made 40 saves including 22 in the first period alone.
With the win, Carolina closed to within two points of the eighth place Sabres with 12 games remaining. A regulation loss would have put them six points back, and it would have spelled the end of all realistic playoff hopes. It wasn’t all sweetness and light, though. While the Canes are thrilled to have gotten two points, they should be disgusted in their continued power play woes. They were 0-5 on the power play tonight. They have now gone six games without a power play marker. They’re zero for their last 27 on the man advantage, dating all the way back to March 1. This is not how a playoff team plays.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, New+Jersey+Devils,
Canes get bad break, lose to Caps
by David Lee on 03/12/11 at 01:08 PM ET
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On Friday night, the Hurricanes visited the Capitals for the fifth of six meetings between the teams. The Caps won 2-1 to make their record against the Canes this season a perfect 5-0.
I didn’t get to see the game because I was partaking in some rock and roll fun. Something went awry with my DVR, so I didn’t get that either. I got the second period of the radio broadcast and I saw the highlights, but nothing else. It was a goaltending duel between Cam Ward and the Capitals’ flavour of the month Braden Holtby with the latter getting the upper hand.
After a scoreless first period, Tuomo Ruutu scored late in the second to send the Hurricanes to the room with a 1-0 lead. Until this game, Carolina was 21-0 when leading at the second intermission. Unfortunately, Alex Ovechkin scored in the first minute of the third, then Matt Hendricks scored the eventual game-winner.
Carolina was victimized by an unfortunate blown (pun intended) call by referee Chris Lee. However, the blown call had nothing to do with the fact that Carolina didn’t outscore the Capitals.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Derek+Joslin, Jamie+McBain, Washington+Capitals,
Canes/Thrashers go to overtime again
by David Lee on 03/09/11 at 09:31 PM ET
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For the fourth time out of five meeting this season, the Hurricanes and Thrashers needed extra hockey to determine a winner. In every previous game, the Canes emerged victorious, and it was Erik Cole who scored the overtime winner twice. This time, the celebration was on the other side, as Tim Stapleton scored the overtime winner for Atlanta. It was the winger’s second goal of the season. The single standings point puts Carolina at 72 points, which ties them with Buffalo, but the Sabres have tiebreakers, so they get eighth place.
This was a game from which Carolina needed to emerge with two points. While there are still 15 games to play, these are the games that they have to win. No questions asked. You have to beat all of the teams below you in the standings and steal some points from the teams above you in the standings. Now they will have to make up for this loss by winning on the road against the Capitals on Friday.
With 21 games to play, I said that the Hurricanes were going to have to treat their remaining schedule as if it was three series of seven games and that they would have to “win” each of those series. After six games of the first “series”, their record is 3-2-1.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes, Erik+Cole, Tim+Stapleton,
While idle, Canes fall to ninth
by David Lee on 03/07/11 at 11:00 PM ET
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At the end of Thursday’s games, Carolina was in seventh place in the East with a tough game ahead of them and a few days off after that. On Friday, they got smoked in Chicago, and dropped to eighth because the Rangers won their game. Buffalo won back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday. The Rangers demolished the Flyers on Sunday. All of this means that the Rangers are in seventh, the Sabres in eighth and the Hurricanes are on the outside looking in.
Coach Paul Maurice said
“We had a terrible night yesterday and we didn’t play at all”.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, New+York+Rangers,
McBain propels Canes to seventh place
by David Lee on 03/03/11 at 09:32 PM ET
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On Thursday night at the RBC Center, the Hurricanes and Sabres played a playoff-style game that had huge implications for both squads. The Sabres twice had a one-goal lead in the second period, but each time, the Canes answered back. The game was knotted at two after 60 minutes, and it took a scant 26 seconds of overtime for the Canes to win it 3-2.
Rookie defenseman Jamie McBain tallied the game winner with a blast from the right point with a screen from Eric Staal in front of the goal. Ryan Miller never saw it. It was McBain’s fifth goal of the season and his second career overtime game-winner.
It was a sweet win for the home team, and to make matters even better, the Rangers lost in regulation. This means that Carolina has 71 points and the Rangers 70. Carolina is now in seventh place and still holds a game in hand against the eighth place Rangers. The Canes would have preferred to have gotten this thing done in regulation to create some space between themselves and Buffalo, but the most important thing is that they got the two points.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Jamie+McBain, New+York+Rangers,
Canes win, close in on seventh
by David Lee on 03/01/11 at 09:52 PM ET
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On Tuesday night, the Hurricanes won a critical game against the Panthers, earning two standings points and maintaining their slim two point cushion over the ninth place Buffalo Sabres. Carolina got a goal and an assist from Cory Stillman, and the game-winning goal from Eric Staal. Cam Ward, who has started the last 23 games in a row, made 41 saves to earn his 27th win.
Meanwhile, the Sabres defeated the Rangers 3-2 in regulation. The game put Carolina fans in a tough spot because they needed both teams to lose the game in regulation. Since this can’t happen, the next best thing was a regulation decision, and that’s what happened. The bad part is that Carolina was unable to create distance between themselves and Buffalo, but the good bit is that the Canes gained ground on the seventh place Rangers. With a game in hand, Carolina is now just one point behind the Blueshirts.
The Sabres have two games in hand on Carolina as they head into Raleigh for an epic game on Thursday. For both teams, two points is the only acceptable outcome.
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Tags: Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Cory+Stillman, Eric+Staal, Florida+Panthers,
Bryan Allen bolsters Carolina’s blueline
by David Lee on 02/28/11 at 06:03 PM ET
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On trading deadline day, the Carolina Hurricanes made a pretty big move that should make their defense much better, and they didn’t give up much to do it. They traded the mercurial winger Sergei Samsonov to the Panthers for gritty stay-at-home defenseman Bryan Allen. Allen had to wiave his no-trade clause to make the trade happen, and is under contract through the 2011-12 season with a cap hit of $2.9M. Samsonov, on the other hand, is set to become an UFA this summer.
Samsonov has had a rough go this season and, with the addition of Cory Stillman, he became an expendable left wing.
As fate has it, Carolina and Florida will play each other tomorrow night in Raleigh.
We like this very much because it addresses an immediate need heading down the stretch and into the playoffs. It also takes care of the “defensive defenseman” need for next season.
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Tags: Bryan+Allen, Carolina+Hurricanes, Florida+Panthers, Sergei+Samsonov,
Canes lose in Montréal
by David Lee on 02/26/11 at 09:42 PM ET
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On Saturday night, Carolina went to la belle province, where they have had success in the past. They didn’t have success tonight, falling 4-3 in regulation. It looked like the Canes were going to earn at least a point, but Andrei Kostitsyn scored the game-winning goal at 16:07. Meanwhile, the Sabres earned one point in a shootout loss to the Red Wings. Now, the Sabres are just two points behind the Hurricanes for the eighth and final playoff spot in the east, with two games in hand. The only saving grace there is that the Sabres had a lead in their game with less than a minute to play, but gave it away and only earned the single point. Watching the post-game interviews, neither Ryan Miller nor Lindy Ruff was happy with the single point.
For about the millionth time in a row, Carolina’s power play was an area of concern. They were 0-4 on the power play, including a four minute double minor. On the other side, Carolina was only penalized once and les Habitants cashed in with the game-winner in that scenario.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Montreal+Canadiens,
Will Stillman help Carolina to the playoffs?
by David Lee on 02/24/11 at 06:00 PM ET
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The rumours and unconfirmed reports are official now. Cory Stillman has been traded back to Carolina in exchange for the injured Ryan Carter and a fifth round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Stillman, 37, whose salary this season was $3.5M, is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He has 23 (7/16) points in 44 games this season, including a goal and an assist against Carolina on January 3. He has six (1/5) points on the power play.
When Carolina dealt away defenseman Ian White’s $3M contract, basically in exchange for Derek Joslin, I suspected that something was up Jim Rutherford’s sleeve. Frankly, I expected something a little younger, but I think this will work just fine. In that magical 2005-06 season, Stillman was a huge cog in the wheel during the regular season with 76 (21/55) points. Then he pitched in with 26 (9/17) in 25 playoff games, helping the Canes win the Cup.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Cory+Stillman,
Stillman back to the Canes
by David Lee on 02/24/11 at 05:37 PM ET
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According to a reliable source about a minute ago, the Hurricanes have made a deal that will bring Cory Stillman back to Carolina. No details yet.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Cory+Stillman,
Canes blow late lead, then lose in shootout
by David Lee on 02/22/11 at 10:19 PM ET
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On Tuesday night, the Hurricanes had a great chance to leapfrog the New York Rangers in the standings and move into seventh place in the East. With two minutes left in the game, they had a 3-2 lead, and it looked they were indeed going to claim the regulation win and seventh place. Instead, they gave up a late goal, then were beaten in the shootout. The single point is pretty cool, but it isn’t at all what the Canes were hoping for.
Carolina defenseman Jay Harrison scored his second goal of the season in the first period, but he inadvertently tipped the game-tying goal into his own net at 18:10 of the third. Wojtek Wolski was credited with that goal, and he also “scored” the game-deciding goal in shootout.
Jussi Jokinen scored two third period goals for the Canes and Cam Ward made 43 saves.
Carolina will be off until Friday, when they host the Penguins.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Jussi+Jokinen, New+York+Rangers, Wojtek+Wolski,
Huge game for Canes/Rangers
by David Lee on 02/22/11 at 07:35 AM ET
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Tonight in Raleigh, the Hurricanes and Rangers will meet for the final time this season, and there’s quite a bit on the line. If Carolina can win in regulation, they will move into a points tie with the Rangers, as both teams will have 66 points. The first tiebreaker is games played, and since Carolina has a game in hand, they would move into seventh place in the East.
So far this season, the Hurricanes have gone 2-0-1 against the Blueshirts, and the only other game at the RBC Center resulted in a 4-1 win for the Canes.
Both teams have been struggling a bit of late, and now the Rangers are beset with injuries. The biggest injury is the concussion symptoms that star Marian Gaborik is having. He didn’t even accompany the team to Raleigh, so he’s likely to be out for a while.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, New+York+Rangers,
Ward’s glove save on Carle
by David Lee on 02/19/11 at 03:57 PM ET
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During the second period of play on Friday night, Cam Ward made a sensational glove save against Matt Carle of the Flyers. He seemed like he was down and out, but he snared Carle’s shot which was marked for the top shelf. It was absolutely Ward’s best save of the season and should be, at season’s end, one of the best by any goaltender:
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Tags: Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes,
Brind’Amour night a big success
by David Lee on 02/19/11 at 01:46 PM ET
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On Friday night, the Hurricanes sent Rod Brind’Amour’s sweater to the rafters, where it will hang alongside Ron Francis and Glen Wesley. New NHL regulations dictate that sweater retirement ceremonies must take place before the pre-game skate, and the pre-game skate can be no more than 30 minutes before puck drop. So the ceremony was at 7:00 and the game at 8:00.
The ceremony was excellent and Roddy handled it very well. He doesn’t enjoy being the center of attention, but he handled himself and the spotlight quite well. During the pre-game skate, every player from both teams wore special sweaters with Brind’Amour’s name and number. It was appropriate since Brindy played all but a handful of games for the two franchises. Still, I thought it was a display of tremendous class from the Flyers.
Carolina had great jump coming out of the gates, and they got off to an early 2-0 lead. Philly pushed back, killed a ton of penalties, climbed back in it and got an equalizing goal late in the third. It looked like the game was headed to overtime, but Erik Cole brought the over-capacity crowd to its feet with his second game-winning goal in the last three games.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, Erik+Cole, Jeff+Skinner, Philadelphia+Flyers, Rod+Brind'Amour,
Carolina and San Jose swap pieces
by David Lee on 02/19/11 at 12:23 AM ET
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The Ian White question was answered on Friday afternoon, and it was a bit of a surprise. The Hurricanes and Sharks orchestrated two separate deals, and it was they instead of the Canucks who were the Ian White suitor. One deal sent White to San Jose in exchange for the Sharks 2012 second round draft selection. The other sent defenseman prospect Derek Joselin to Raleigh in exchange for “future considerations”. I don’t think Jim Rutherford is done just yet.
I figured that the Canes would get something more substantial than a draft pick for White, but the fact that it amounts to a salary dump makes it look like JR could have a lot more up his sleeve. I don’t want to speculate any more, but I do think that the Canes could use a scoring winger. There’s only ten days left before the deadline, and anything could happen.
There were other more high-profile trades around the league on Friday, and Carolina had some much bigger things going on in their own barn. They retired Rod Brind’Amour’s sweater and hosted the Philadelphia Flyers in a thoroughly exciting game that felt like a playoff matchup.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Ian+White, San+Jose+Sharks,
Whither White?
by David Lee on 02/17/11 at 06:53 PM ET
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There has been some speculation all week long that the Carolina Hurricanes are this close to making a deal that would send defenseman Ian White packing. One of the most popular rumours is that he’s headed to Vancouver, but what comes back this way is a mystery. The Canucks have lost seven of their defensemen to injury and they’re currently holding their blueline together with duct tape and Bondo. Although Vancouver’s front office is vehemently denying any deal with Carolina, this one is getting a hard workout on the rumor treadmill.
In my opinion, Ian White has been one of Carolina’s unsung heroes this season. He doesn’t do anything spectacular, but he does what he does quietly and well. He makes a lot of little plays that don’t show up in the scoresheet, but anyone who appreciates defense appreciates the little things Ian White does. He bails the out-of-position goaltender out. He protects a vulnerable post. He takes away shooting angles. This isn’t sexy stuff, but it’s good solid defense.
The Canucks, riddled with injury, are in need of a solid NHL defenseman, and Carolina may be in a position to sell. But since the Hurricanes are on the inside of the playoff bubble, they’re only going to make a deal if the return is right. Prospects and future considerations aren’t going to be enough. So what do the Nucks have to give?
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Ian+White, Vancouver+Canucks,
Canes road trip continues with added firepower
by David Lee on 02/13/11 at 10:40 AM ET
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On Sunday afternoon, the Hurricanes will play the fourth of five consecutive road games. Today’s opponent is the Atlanta Thrashers, with whom they are in a three dog fight for the eighth and final playoff spot. These next two games (at Atlanta today and at New Jersey on Wednesday) are pretty much “must win” situations. Today’s game is more than that. They need to win in regulation. If they can engineer the two wins, they will have earned six of ten points on this road trip, and everyone will be happy with that. To be honest, people will accept five of ten, but that’s not going to be good enough for me.
The pessimist will say that Carolina has lost five of their last six games. That certainly is true, but a more positive outlook is that they have earned at least one standings point in three of their last four games. They fought hard on Saturday night to force overtime and steal a point from the Lightning, and they can be proud of that.
For at least today, the Canes have recalled Jerome Samson, who is third in the American Hockey League in goals and fourth in the league in scoring. In very limited NHL ice time last season, he didn’t have very much success, but I think he’ll make a difference this time. He’s slotted in at fourth line left wing along with fellow recall Zac Dalpe, who will center that line.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes, Jerome+Samson,
Canes recall Dalpe, Samson
by David Lee on 02/13/11 at 10:08 AM ET
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On Sunday morning, the Hurricanes announced the recall of Jerome Samson and Zac Dalpe from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Zach Boychuk, who has been up and down all season will be reassigned along with Brett Sutter, who was mysteriously recalled to the big team on Saturday.
Samson (Sam-SOH) is leading the Checkers in every offensive statistical category with 54 (26/28) points through 53 games. He was one of two Checkers to appear in the AHL All-Star game, where he notched a goal and two assists. This will be his first recall of the season. He played in seven games last season, earning two assists. He wore the number 67 last season, and it looks like he’ll wear number 71 today.
Dalpe has 36 (16/20) points in 35 games with the Checkers this season. He began the season on the big team, but has been up and down. This will be his third recall. He has appeared in 14 Hurricanes games, notching three goals and an assist. On New Year’s Day, he had the game-winning goal against the New Jersey Devils.
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Tags: Brett+Sutter, Carolina+Hurricanes, Charlotte+Checkers, Jerome+Samson, Zac+Dalpe, Zach+Boychuk,
How many Sutters does it take….
by David Lee on 02/11/11 at 07:00 PM ET
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On Friday, the Carolina Hurricanes recalled center Brett Sutter from the Charlotte Checkers on an emergency basis. Ryan Carter will be out of the lineup for Saturday’s game at Tampa and Sutter will fill his shoes at fourth line center. This will be Brett Sutter’s Hurricanes debut, and he’ll be wearing the number 42. He has appeared in 18 NHL games over the last three seasons, all with the Calgary Flames. He is the older cousin of Carolina’s alternate captain and third line center Brandon Sutter. He’s the nephew of Flames head coach Brent Sutter, who is Brandon’s dad. He is the son of Darryl Sutter, who is the former GM of the Flames.
This is the first time that two members of the second generation of Sutters have played together on the same NHL team. For that matter, they are the only two in the NHL. As far as the first generation goes, I know that Brent and Duane played together to win two Cups for the Islanders. Brandon and Brett are cousins, not brothers. However, they’re Sutters and it’s pretty dang cool to have two of them together.
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Tags: Brandon+Sutter, Brett+Sutter, Carolina+Hurricanes,
Carolina’s PK success comes to a halt
by David Lee on 02/10/11 at 09:41 PM ET
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On Thursday, the Hurricanes lost 2-1 in Philadelphia. Both Flyers goals were third period power play markers and Carolina’s lone goal was off the stick of Tuomo Ruutu.
Carolina hadn’t given up a power play goal since January 24—six games ago.
Cam Ward didn’t have the best of nights. While Danny Briere’s game-winning goal was a very good one, Jeff Carter’s was a bit soft. Ward actually made the stop, but couldn’t control the puck. It fluttered in off his glove for the first goal of the game 18 seconds into the third frame. Ward only made 23 stops and gave up one bad one.
On the other end, Brian Boucher was really good in making 31 saves, including 15 in the third period.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Philadelphia+Flyers,
Despite loss, Jeff Skinner owns the Devils
by David Lee on 02/08/11 at 11:59 PM ET
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Carolina’s rookie Jeff Skinner scored two goals against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night in a 3-2 overtime loss. It’s the second time this season that Skinner has struck twice against the Devils, and if he had his drothers, he’d play against the Devils every single night. Twice he’s played against them, and twice he’s scored two goals.
Eric Staal has played 26 regular season games against the Devils and he has only scored four times against them. Skinner needed only two games to reach that mark.
He’ll only get to see them two more times this season including once next Wednesday at the Rock.
While Carolina emerged with one standings point to start their five game road trip, this is a disappointment. This was a game that the Hurricanes wanted to and should have won. They were hoping for six points on this trip, and that was assuming that two would be taken on Tuesday.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Jeff+Skinner, New+Jersey+Devils,
Sutter and the Canes climb into eighth
by David Lee on 02/06/11 at 11:07 AM ET
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On Saturday night with an opportunity to climb into the playoff picture, the Hurricanes seized the moment. Sort of. While any win at all would do the trick, they would have preferred to have won in regulation against the Thrashers. It marked the third time this season that the teams have played each other, and each game has gone into extra time. Carolina has earned the extra point each time, but it has also allowed Atlanta to get the consolation point. This could come into play at the end of the season.
Both Cam Ward and Ondrej Pavelec were outstanding in nets. Both goalies faced 37 shots. Both made spectacular saves. Both played well enough to win.
Erik Cole’s coast-to-coast play was capped by a wrister from the right circle to win the game for the Canes at 2:48 of overtime. It was Cole who also scored an overtime winner the last time the teams met, and the final score was the same—4-3. Brandon Sutter had a huge goal and a really good night in the faceoff circle. After the jump, I’ll detail the reasons that I had him as my first star. Jiri Tlusty also had a big goal and the Captain scored his 26th of the season to start things off for the Canes.
With the Circus in town, the Hurricanes will now embark on a five game road trip that begins and ends in New Jersey. They’ll hope for six out of ten points on the trip, but will settle for five.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Brandon+Sutter, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Erik+Cole, Ondrej+Pavelec,
Huge game for Canes playoff hopes tonight
by David Lee on 02/05/11 at 04:04 PM ET
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Tonight, the Thrashers come to Raleigh for one of those “four point” games. The winner will be in the playoff picture, the loser out. If Carolina can manage a regulation win, they will be one point ahead of the Thrash. An overtime or shootout Canes win would leave the teams tied on points, but Carolina holds tiebreakers and would move into the eighth spot. Any loss, whether in regulation or overtime, would be unacceptable.
After Thursday’s horrible performance against Toronto, coach Paul Maurice canceled practice to give the boys some time to think about things. Rookie Jeff Skinner didn’t accept this and asked for a net to be brought out. He held his own practice. This might not have been much more than skating and shooting, but it speaks volumes about his character. It’s easy for an 18-year old kid to take the day off and play video games or whatever, but he’s more than just some 18-year old kid. He will, some day, wear a letter on the front of his sweater.
As ugly as Thursday’s shutout loss to the Leafs was, Canes fans should expect a much better performance tonight. The Hurricanes should be angry, hungry and something else that ends in -gry.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes, Jeff+Skinner,
Thomas, Chara beat Canes
by David Lee on 02/01/11 at 11:59 PM ET
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The Hurricanes had a good month in January, then the city of Raleigh shined during the All-Star weekend. Things were looking good for the team as they headed into a very tough month of February. First up on Tuesday night was the Northeast-leading Bruins, who had won the last two games between the teams.
It was a hard-fought game in front of an excellent weeknight crowd of 18,000. Unfortunately, Carolina was unable to earn even a consolation point. The Bruins skated out of there with a 3-2 regulation win. Meanwhile, the Thrashers were beaten by the Islanders, which left the back door open. They’ll have to wait until Thursday night for another chance to creep inside the playoff picture. The Thrashers will be at home against Calgary while the Hurricanes are in Toronto. Following that, Atlanta and Carolina meet up for a “four point game” in Raleigh on Saturday.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Carolina+Hurricanes, Joe+Corvo, Tim+Thomas, Zdeno+Chara,
Hurricanes close out hot January with another win
by David Lee on 01/26/11 at 11:22 PM ET
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On Wednesday, Carolina played their final game before the All-Star break and got a much needed 4-2 win over the Islanders behind two Eric Staal goals. Unfortunately, the Thrashers were simultaneously shutting out the Capitals 1-0, preserving their wafer-thin lead over the Canes for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.
Carolina went 8-4-2 in January and are still out of the playoff picture, but they’re just one point out and hold two games in hand against the Thrashers.
After the break, Carolina has a tough road, as nine of 13 games in February are against teams currently in the playoff picture. Meanwhile, just one of Atlanta’s 11 February opponents is currently in the playoffs. Atlanta and Carolina face each other twice in what will be a very important month.
For now, Carolina can be happy with the way they played in January and specifically the hot play of Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner. Both will be featured players in this weekend’s ASG festivities.
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Tags: All-Star, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Jeff+Skinner, New+York+Islanders,
1000 wins for the Whaler/Canes
by David Lee on 01/24/11 at 09:43 PM ET
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On Monday night, the Hurricanes won a completely wild 6-4 game over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs. It was the 1000th win in the history of the Whaler/Canes history and the 466th since moving to North Carolina. More importantly, the Hurricanes move within one point of eighth place Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the East. Carolina holds two games in hand on the Thrashers, who are on a big downswing.
I think the officiating left a lot to be desired on both sides of the ice, as there were a lot of strange calls and no-calls. There were certainly some iffy calls that went against the Leafs, but Jeff Skinner had a clear goal waved off and Tim Gleason was tossed from the game for returning punches thrown by Nikolai Kulemin at 20:00 of the first period.
This game had strange goals, a shorthanded goal, lots of power play chances, a couple of scrums, a bit of bad blood and a goal explosion in the third frame. Carolina did what they needed to do and have set themselves up for a chance to leapfrog the Thrashers into the playoff picture on Wednesday night.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Brandon+Sutter, Carolina+Hurricanes, Jeff+Skinner, Toronto+Maple+Leafs,
Canes’ second line heats up against Blueshirts
by David Lee on 01/20/11 at 10:04 PM ET
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On Thursday, in the fourth of a tough five-game stretch, the Hurricanes played a sound game against the road-weary Rangers and ended up with a convincing 4-1 win. The five game stretch got off to a great start with a 6-4 win at home against the Lightning last Saturday. That was followed by a lackluster performance in a blowout 7-0 loss at Boston on Monday. The next day, Carolina played a much better game, but still lost 3-2 in regulation to the Bs. They have gained four of the eight available points so far and are still in fair shape, only two points behind the Thrashers with two games in hand. Up next is a Saturday game at Pittsburgh, who will likely be without Sidney Crosby.
Tonight, the newly formed second line of Jeff Skinner / Tuomo Ruutu / Chad LaRose did the heavy lifting. Skinner and Sharpie each had a goal and an assist while Ruutu pitched in with two assists. Jussi Jokinen scored again and Brandon Sutter lit the lamp for the first time in 16 games.
Cam Ward made 39 saves to earn the win.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, Jeff+Skinner.+Tuomo+Ruutu, New+York+Rangers,
Before the break…
by David Lee on 01/15/11 at 01:08 PM ET
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As of Saturday lunch, the Carolina Hurricanes are in ninth place in the East, three points below the playoff cut. They’ve got one game in hand against seventh place Montréal and three games in hand against eighth place Atlanta, both of whom have 51 standings points compared to Carolina’s 48. The Hurricanes have played well over the last few weeks. They’re 6-1-2 in their last nine games and have made up a lot of ground to put themselves in the playoff conversation. The only problem is that only two of those nine games have been against teams currently above the playoff cut.
Starting tonight against the Lightning, the Hurricanes play five straight games against playoff teams, and they’re going to need to get at least six of those ten points to stay in the conversation. The Thrashers are in a free-fall, which may or may not continue, but the Hurricanes would rather take care of their own business.
Even though they’ve been winning, they’ve struggled with consistency and that’s another thing that’s going to have to change if they expect to even qualify for the playoffs. One thing that should change tonight is that they should be less timid offensively.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Charolotte+Checkers,
Canes win a crazy game, keep streak going
by David Lee on 01/11/11 at 10:18 PM ET
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On Tuesday, the Hurricanes won their third straight game and extended their streak to eight games in which they’ve earned at least one standings point. It wasn’t a pretty game, and they needed the shootout to earn the extra point, winning 6-5 against the Flames. At one point late in the second, the Canes had a three goal lead, but the pesky Flames fought back and nearly stole the game in regulation. Although it was nerve-wracking, the Canes got the two points and there’s no harm in giving away one point across conference lines.
Jussi Jokinen, who missed six games with a “lower body concern” returned to the lineup with a bang: he scored two goals and assisted on another. Cam Ward was named to the All-Star roster Tuesday morning, and also returned to the lineup after backing up Justin Peters two games in a row. He didn’t put up All-Star numbers, but he picked up the win, and that’s what matters the most.
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Tags: Calgary+Flames, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Jeff+Skinner, Jerome+Iginla, Jussi+Jokinen,
Peters, Canes win again
by David Lee on 01/09/11 at 05:01 PM ET
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On Sunday afternoon, the Hurricanes won their second straight game, extending their points streak to seven games. Since Boxing Day, they have earned 12 of 14 points and have kept themselves in position to climb inside the playoff picture.
Since Cam Ward is nursing a minor undisclosed injury, Justin Peters got his second start in a row, and although it was closer than it should have been, he got the two points and the Hurricanes are looking good as they hit the halfway mark of the season.
Although the JET line wasn’t paired togethter today, they were again the stars. Tuomo Ruutu had a goal and an assist, rookie Jeff Skinner got his 14th of the season, and Erik Cole notched the overtime game winner. Cole also was at the center of a controversial play that could have been a goal, but instead he was penalized for interfering with a Thrashers defenseman.
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Tags: Altlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes, Erik+Cole, Jeff+Skinner, Justin+Peters, Tuomo+Ruutu,
Canes eat Panthers’ lunch
by David Lee on 01/08/11 at 02:21 PM ET
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On Friday night, the Hurricanes played the Panthers for the second time this week, and it had a familiar theme. The Panthers got off to an early multi-goal lead, then watched it evaporate. On Monday, the Canes stormed back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to force overtime and steal a point with an overtime loss. On December 15, the Canes overcame a three-goal deficit against the Panthers to win in regulation, stealing two standings points. Last night, they were behind 2-0 in the second, but scored five unanswered goals to run away with a win and two stolen points.
Rookie Jeff Skinner was by far the best player on the ice, with two goals, an assist, and a couple of skating clinics. Tuomo Ruutu had three assists and Erik Cole added two goals. The JET line wasn’t together for the whole game, but they collectively had eight (4/4) points.
Justin Peters got the nod in nets because Cam Ward came down with some “undisclosed” concern. He probably would have started anyway, but now it looks like he could get two starts in a row.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Erik+Cole, Florida+Panthers, Jeff+Skinner, Justin+Peters, Tuomo+Ruutu,
Canes gain another point, but lose
by David Lee on 01/05/11 at 11:04 PM ET
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On Wednesday night, Cam Ward and Henrik Lundqvist engaged in a goaltenders’ duel, which ended with a 2-1 overtime win for the home team Rangers. It’s the second straight overtime loss for the Hurricanes, but marks the fifth straight game in which they’ve gotten at least one standings point. They remain in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind Montréal, against whom Carolina has one game in hand.
Carolina will have two divisional games coming up and will hit the halfway point of the season on Sunday with a home game against the Thrashers. By then, the Canes will hope to have leapfrogged Les Habitants into the inside of the playoff bubble.
Cam Ward has been very good for the last couple of weeks, but the Hurricanes are still having trouble giving him any run support.
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Tags: Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, New+York+Rangers,
Ward and the kids shine in Ottawa
by David Lee on 12/29/10 at 10:03 PM ET
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On Wednesday night, Cam Ward earned his second shutout of the season, Zach Boychuk scored two goals and Pat Dwyer scored his second in as many nights to pace the Hurricanes to a 4-0 whitewash of the Ottawa Senators. Erik Cole scored the other goal.
Boychuk was called up two weeks ago to replace the injured Jiri Tlusty and had only notched one assist in five previous games. He potted two goals in the first period tonight and nearly completed the hat trick early in the second. Pat Dwyer has played every game this season for the big team and has now matched his exact point production (7 goals, 5 assists) from last season. He will not, at any point, be reassigned to Charlotte, and he’s pretty much guaranteed that his contract will be renewed over the summer.
Cam Ward, meanwhile, is silently putting himself in the top tier in every goaltending statistical category.
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Tags: Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Ottawa+Senators, Zach+Boychuk,
Canes try to pull out of skid with power play shakeup
by David Lee on 12/28/10 at 12:54 PM ET
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On Tuesday night, the Hurricanes will travel to Toronto, where they will try to pull out of a three-game losing skid. Their opponent for tonight, the Maple Leafs, has been a disappointment to the home team fans. At one point this season, a Leafs fan was so upset with his team that he threw a waffle onto the Air Canada Centre ice. This earned the fan a permanent ban from all events in the ACC and all other venues governed by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Carolina will hope to upset the home crowd tonight, and will be on the lookout for flying Christmas fruitcakes.
I’m on the road and haven’t been able to see any of the action since last Monday, but I know that the Canes have had enough of losing by the score of 3-2.
Tim Gleason, who was exiled to the dressing room for the bulk of Sunday’s game, will be back on the ice, and that’ll be a big boost to Carolina’s blue line. He was sent off for a questionable charging call late in the first period of the game against Washington and assessed a game misconduct. He hasn’t and won’t apologise for the hit, which started a Rube Goldberg-esque chain of events that culminated in Mathieu Perreault lying bloody on the ice. Gleason hit Perreault, who had his stick high, bracing for the hit. The stick snapped and ended up hitting and cutting Perreault’s face. Because of this, he fell face-first to the ice and broke his nose.
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Tags: Brandon+Sutter, Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, Tim+Gleason, Toronto+Maple+Leafs,
If Refs make it to Raleigh, Canes/Caps is on
by David Lee on 12/26/10 at 02:15 PM ET
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Like most of the eastern United States, Raleigh was hit with a snowstorm on Christmas Day. The Hurricanes canceled a season ticket holder event. The game for tonight—against the Capitals, is on. Maybe.
The Hurricanes are ready to go. The Capitals are in town and ready to go. According to twitter feeds, they’re still waiting on the referees to show up. And that could be tricky. Hundreds of flights have been delayed in New York, Washington, Baltimore, etc. I read earlier today that Delta was canceling more than 500 flights and US Air was canceling more than 300. Between the delays, the cancellations, the last minute changes, and the frustration of travel during the holiday, it could spell trouble.
For now, the plan is to play the game. No word on the arrival of the officials.
Whenever the game is played, Carolina will have a slightly different look.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Jamie+McBain, Jeff+Skinner, Paul+Maurice, Washington+Capitals,
Canes overcome two goal deficit for second straight night
by David Lee on 12/16/10 at 09:42 PM ET
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For the second night in a row, the Hurricanes were on the road against a Southeast division opponent. For the second night in a row, they found themselves down by two goals after two periods. Fortunately, for the second night in a row, they climbed all the way back and walked out with a win. Now, for the first time all season, they have won three games in a row, and they capped off a five game road trip by earning seven of ten standings points.
One night after failing to show up, Cam Ward had a pretty remarkable night in nets. He had 45 saves in a shooting gallery and looked great doing it. He was especially sharp in the waning moments of regulation. The Atlanta media couldn’t see fit to award him with one of the stars of the game, but it’s no doubt that he was the best Hurricane player.
Brandon Sutter and Eric Staal scored third period goals to overcome a 2-0 deficit, and Jussi Jokinen and Sergei Samsonov scored in the shootout to secure the two points.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Brandon+Sutter, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal,
Skinner and the Canes climb out of three goal deficit to earn win in Florida
by David Lee on 12/15/10 at 11:53 PM ET
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On Wednesday night, the Hurricanes found themselves in an early 3-0 hole against the Florida Panthers, but they found a way to climb all the way back for a 4-3 regulation win. 18-year old Jeff Skinner had a lot to do with it. He was officially the second star of the game, but by my recollection, he was the best player on the ice.
I was out, ostensibly working, but in reality drinking a limited batch Sierra Nevada beer, so I didn’t watch the game live. I have a bad habit of checking the score, even when I’m DVRing the game, and I did that a lot early. I saw that Carolina had given up three goals in the first six minutes, and I didn’t bother checking any more after that. Much to my surprise, when I watched the DVR, I saw my boys climb the mountain and emerge with an improbable win. It came on the shoulders of Jeff Skinner, Tuomo Ruutu and backup netminder Justin Peters.
Cam Ward, who had been blazing hot in goal in his last ten starts, had a bad night. In just 102 seconds, he allowed two goals on five shots and was replaced by Peters.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Florida+Panthers, Jeff+Skinner, Justin+Peters, Tuomo+Ruutu,
Carolina takes three of four road points
by David Lee on 12/11/10 at 10:55 PM ET
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The Hurricanes had a difficult back-to-back road set this weekend in Dallas on Friday and in St. Louis on Saturday. The Stars are the second best team in the West, while the Blues are one point out of eighth place in the West. Behind some stellar goaltending by Cam Ward, the Hurricanes were able to earn a consolation point on Friday and eke out a shootout win on Saturday.
For the second night in a row, Ward allowed only one regulation goal and emerged as a hero of the game. Jussi Jokinen got the game-deciding goal in the shootout. With the win on Saturday, the Hurricanes are back at .500 for the season. This isn’t any way to make the playoffs, so they’ll need to string together some wins. It won’t be an easy task in the much improved Southeast division.
I wasn’t able to see either game, but I was able to listen to Saturday’s game. I can’t say much about the games, but I know that Cam Ward made some spectacular saves in the overtime period on Friday and that he made 38 stops on Saturday. He and the rest of the Canes will have a well-deserved three days off before playing another back-to-back road set on Wednesday and Thursday in Florida and Atlanta respectively.
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Tags: Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Charlotte+Checkers,
The Kids are Alright
by David Lee on 12/04/10 at 05:23 PM ET
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On Friday night, the Hurricanes hosted the Avalanche for the only meeting of the teams this season, and on the strength of play from the kids, Carolina emerged with a 2-1 overtime win. 18-year old Jeff Skinner showed off some fancy skills when he scored his eighth goal of the season. 21-year old Brandon Sutter potted his fifth just a minute and change into overtime to help the Canes snap a home losing streak that had reached three games. Cam Ward also made 34 saves in what turned out to be a marvelous goaltenders’ duel with Craig Anderson.
Other things went right for the Canes, including an amazing performance by the penalty killers and some strong play be the defense. It wasn’t the prettiest game, but in the end Carolina got two points out of it. That’s all that really matters. There’s no column in the standings for “ugly win” or “tough loss”.
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Tags: Brandon+Sutter, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Colorado+Avalanche, Jeff+Skinner,
Canes snatch consolation point from the jaws of defeat
by David Lee on 11/28/10 at 11:23 PM ET
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On Sunday afternoon, the Hurricanes traveled up 95 North to take on the Capitals. Simultaneously, the respective American League teams were battling in Hershey. Paul Maurice was unable to earn a win in his 1000th game, but the Hurricanes were able to emerge with one standings point.
The Capitals were off and running with two goals in the first period off the sticks of Marcus Johansson and Alex Semin. They dominated the first period, and it looked like it would be a long afternoon for the Hurricanes.
After playing their way back into the game and pulling Cam Ward in the final minute of the game, Eric Staal forced overtime with less than three seconds to go in the game. Overtime solved nothing, and Carolina’s shootout shooters couldn’t find the net. Ovechkin scored in the first round of the shootout, and that’s all they needed.
Meanwhile, the Checkers were thrashing the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears to the tune of 5-2.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Erik+Cole, Washington+Capitals,
Ward, Canes shut out Bs
by David Lee on 11/26/10 at 05:28 PM ET
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On Black Friday, the Hurricanes played a matinee in Boston and came out of there with a very impressive win. It was arguably their best performance of the season and their first shutout. The 3-0 win snaps a three-game winless streak. It was Cam Ward rather than the glowing hot Tim Thomas who stopped 37 shots to post a shutout.
Rookie Jeff Skinner led the way for the Canes with a goal and an assist. Tuomo Ruutu also had a goal and an assist. Jussi Jokinen scored the other goal. All three goals were power play markers as Carolina was a perfect three-for-three with the man advantage.
All of this against the league’s best penalty kill and the league’s best goaltender.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Jeff+Skinner,
Canes and Ducks deal.
by David Lee on 11/23/10 at 06:15 PM ET
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For the second time in as many weeks, the Hurricanes have ended up with a fourth line forward from the Anaheim Ducks. Last week, winger Troy Bodie was claimed off waivers. Today, the Canes acquired center Ryan Carter. He was placed on—and cleared—waivers on Monday. Carolina did not take him off waivers because they needed to shed some organizational contract weight first. This was accomplished when they exchanged two prospects for the NHL centerman. Carolina said goodbye to center Stephan Chaput and right wing Matt Kennedy. Both were in Charlotte this season. Kennedy had just one assist in eight games played while Chaput had three assists in 20 games played.
Carter and Bodie were fourth line mates in Anaheim two weeks ago. Now they find themselves linemates again after a bit of an unusual journey. Carter will wear Tom Kostopoulos’ old number 29. Jim Rutherford says that he will be used on the fourth line with a possibility that he could work his way into the top nine. He quickly added that those types of decisions are for coach Paul Maurice.
Both coach and GM said that the 6’2” Carter will help the Canes with their pathetic faceoff winning percentage. His success rate is just over 50%. He’ll also add a little bit of toughness and the willingness to hit. These are things that were lacking. He should be in the lineup on Wednesday when the Hurricanes host the Capitals.
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Tags: Anaheim+Ducks, Carolina+Hurricanes, Ryan+Carter,
Farewell, O’Sullivan. We hardly knew ye.
by David Lee on 11/23/10 at 04:58 PM ET
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On Monday, the Hurricanes placed forward Patrick O’Sullivan on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to Charlotte. The AHL isn’t the best place for a player with his skill set, but neither is the fourth line or the press box of the NHL big team. The Minnesota Wild claimed the 25-year old, and he will be with the fifth team in the last 20 months.
The skilled winger was signed by the Canes to a minimal contract this summer, but he never caught on. The Patrick O’Sullivan Experiment will now be chalked up as a failure and filed alongside “Carter, Anson”. .
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Patrick+O'Sullivan,
Carolina drops second straight SO decision
by David Lee on 11/21/10 at 04:25 PM ET
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On Saturday night, the Hurricanes played in the back end of a back-to-back, hosting the Nashville Predators. The Canes battled their way to earn one point in Pittsburgh on Friday night, losing in the shootout. Nashville, meanwhile, was coming off an impressive 3-0 road win in Montréal on Thursday.
In the first period, Carolina looked like an exhausted team, as they only managed three shots on goal in the first period. They did, however, score a goal, putting themselves reluctantly in the driver’s seat. Nashville tied it early in the second, and from there on out, neither team wanted to take control of the game. It ended 1-1, and overtime didn’t solve anything. The Preds won in the shootout, and Carolina got their second consolation point in a row.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Nashville+Predators,
