Red & Black Hockey
Entries with the tag: Eric+Staal
Road trip starts badly for Canes
by David Lee on 10/21/09 at 11:27 PM ET
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The Hurricanes continued their annual late October extended road trip in desperate need of a win. The Islanders were a winless team, but have been playing good hockey. Unfortunately for the Canes, this was the night the Isles finally got into the win column. After falling behind 3-1, Carolina mounted a third period rally to tie the game, which was ultimately settled in the shootout. The home team converted all three of their shootout attempts, while the Hurricanes succeeded just once.
It was a night to celebrate Ray Whitney, who was playing in his 1000th NHL game and his 300th as a Cane. Unlike last Wednesday, when he lit the lamp twice, he failed to light the lamp this time. Eric Staal got off the schneid, but it wasn’t enough to lead the Canes to victory.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Joni+Pitkanen, Jussi+Jokinen, New+York+Islanders,
Staal misses practice, but is expected to play
by David Lee on 10/13/09 at 08:39 PM ET
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Eric Staal left practice early on Monday with some “tightness” and didn’t participate in Tuesday’s practice, according to official team reports. The nature of this tightness isn’t known, but the captain-in-waiting is not expected to miss Wednesday’s clash with the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins.
Joni Pitkänen, who has played in all of one period of action this season, also sat out. He’s still being troubled by soreness in his knee after off-season surgery. Right now, there’s no time table for his return.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Joni+Pitkanen,
Malone’s hat trick beats Canes
by David Lee on 10/11/09 at 11:12 AM ET
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On Saturday night, the Hurricanes played the back end of their second back-to-back set, and for the second time, they lost. This time it was Ryan Malone and the blue-clad City of Tampa Lightning. Based on his success this season, Malone would love to play the Canes every night
I didn’t get to watch this game, as I had to fill in at work for one of my lazy employees. Also, I missed an unannounced concert by my favorite musician because I found out about it too late. For that show, I would have made something else happen at work. Anyway, I avoided any exposure to the game while I was at work, I went home to watch the DVR. Just as I was about to sit down to that, a friend IMed me and accidentally spoilt the game for me. Not a good night for me.
The Canes managed to get the power play rolling, and the 5-2 score suggests that it wasn’t close, but it was.
Filed in: | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Rod+Brind'Amour, Ryan+Malone, Tampa+Bay+Lightning,
Canes lose ugly game. Cole hurt.
by David Lee on 10/03/09 at 09:55 PM ET
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On Saturday night, the Hurricanes traveled to Boston and left with a lot of cuts, bruises, and possibly a break. They also lost the game 7-2 to the Bruins.
The first period did not go well, as the Bruins jumped out to a 3-0 lead on goals by Marc Savard, Michael Ryder and Blake Wheeler. After that, it went from bad to worse as Cam Ward was chased, no fewer than five different Hurricanes players ended up getting cut. One was Eric Staal, who left the game, bloodied, in the second period after being hit in the ear by a teammate’s slapshot. Erik Cole suffered an ugly-looking knee injury late in the game. Carolina managed to score two goals, but if you’re a Canes fan, there really isn’t anything good to take from this game.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Erik+Cole, Marc+Savard,
Staal: The Next Generation
by David Lee on 09/23/09 at 08:20 PM ET
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Eric Staal sat out of practice today. Not because of some injury or illness that would have us all worried. Nothing like that at all. His wife Tanya gave birth to the couple’s first child—a boy—on Tuesday, and he spent the day with her and their newborn son.
Parker Lucas Staal won’t grow up with a makeshift hockey rink in the back yard. He won’t grow up working on a sod farm either. He will, though, have a destiny that Hurricanes prospect Brandon Sutter knows all about. A father and uncles who were all not only players, but star players in the NHL. A name to live up to. Some would call it a cross to bear. Awfully big shoes to fill.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal,
Canes season ends, questions begin
by David Lee on 05/26/09 at 10:52 PM ET
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On Tuesday night, the Penguins defeated the Hurricanes 4-1 to complete the series sweep. The Penguins will advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the second year in a row where they will most likely play the Red Wings. The rematch of last year’s final will probably pan out the same way, thanks to Sidney Crosby’s taunting of the hockey gods.
After the presentation of the Prince of Wales trophy, the Penguins captain lifted the prize and skated around with it a little. This is, of course, very bad in the eyes of the hockey gods. The Tampa Bay Lightning got away with that gaffe in 2004 and the New Jersey Devils just a few years before that, but it’s generally considered a Plexico Burris to lift the POW.
Hats off to the Pens, who were far and away the better team throughout the series. Even when Carolina was able to play their own game, and even when they were able to contain Crosby and Malkin, the Penguins were way too good. Especially M-A Fleury, who was absolutely remarkable tonight.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Marc-Andre+Fleury, Pittsburgh+Penguins, playoffs,
Hurricanes dump Boston 4-1, get stranglehold on series.
by David Lee on 05/08/09 at 11:00 PM ET
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On Friday night, in front of a packed RBC Center crowd, the Hurricanes seized control of the Eastern semifinal series with Boston. They won the game 4-1 behind two goals from Eric Staal and now have a commanding 3-1 series lead. Game five will be Sunday night in Boston.
Eric Staal scored his eighth and ninth goals of the postseason and has passed some guy named Ron Francis on the franchise postseason scoring list. He stands alone as the most prolific Hurricane in postseason play.
For the second game in a row and the third in these playoffs, Jussi Jokinen got the game-winning goal, his sixth of the second season. The newfound crowd favorite added two assists and earned the first star of the game.
Read on for full details including a great highlight…
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Jussi+Jokinen, playoffs,
Ward, Canes shut out Bruins.
by David Lee on 05/03/09 at 11:36 PM ET
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On Sunday night, the Hurricanes played a much better game than they did on Thursday. In the end, the score was 3-0. The series is now tied at one and has become a best of five series where Carolina has the home ice advantage.
Cam Ward was absolutely on fire, completing his fourth career postseason shutout. Eric Staal decided to take things into his own hands, and as I said before, things can get ugly when that happens.
Now, it would be crazy for Carolina to break their arms patting themselves on the back. Carolina was indeed very good tonight, but the fact of the matter is that the Bruins were sloppy. At times, they were flat out bad. They looked like they were at McGreevy’s getting hammered until the wee hours this morning. If that’s indeed the case, a special thanks goes to their wonderful bartender Amanda.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, Eric+Staal, Matt+Cullen, playoffs,
Canes win thriller, advance to conference semis
by David Lee on 04/29/09 at 12:25 AM ET
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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 ....
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Tags: Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Jussi+Jokinen, New+Jersey+Devils, playoffs, Ray+Whitney, Tuomo+Ruutu,
Ward, Whitney and Staal force game seven
by David Lee on 04/26/09 at 11:26 PM ET
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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....
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Tags: Cam+Ward., Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, Eric+Staal, New+Jersey+Devils, playoffs, Ray+Whitney,
Jokinen beats buzzer
by David Lee on 04/21/09 at 11:01 PM ET
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Holy cow! A miracle at the RBC Center!
Jussi Jokinen deflected the game-winning goal with two tenths of a second left. The last time I saw anything like that was when Kevyn Adams scored a shorthanded overtime goal with one tenth of a second left at Atlanta on March 5, 2004.
Carolina dominated the first 39 minutes of the game, building a 3-0 lead. Eric Staal and Ryan Bayda scored one minute apart in the opening frame to give the media (and Carolina fans) what they wanted: a game where Carolina took the lead. The Canes also did what every Canes blogger was begging them to do: they shot the puck. And they established a forecheck and offensive pressure. And they forced New Jersey to take penalties. And they got physical. And they neutralized Parise/Zajac.
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Tags: Brian+GIonta, Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, Dainius+Zubrus, Dennis+Seidenberg, Eric+Staal, Jussi+Jokinen, New+Jersey+Devils, playoffs, Tuomo+Ruutu,
Canes crush Isles, continue to roll.
by David Lee on 04/07/09 at 09:57 PM ET
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On Tuesday night, the Islanders didn’t bother showing up to the RBC Center, as the Hurricanes cruised to an embarrassingly easy 9-0 victory. In fact,. the Isles only mustered 12 shots on goal for the entire game, compared to Carolina’s 57. The differential of 45 SOG is a new franchise record.
Eric Staal notched his fourth hat trick of the season, scoring three goals and adding one assist. This was the “one more big game” that I’ve been promising out of him. Tuomo Ruutu scored two. Dwight Helminen, Scott Walker, Rod Brind’Amour and Frantisek Kaberle scored one each.
Cam Ward earned his 39th win and his fifth shutout of the season. The former sets a new franchise record.
This is Carolina’s ninth straight win, which ties a mark that was set twice during the 2005-06 Cup-winning season. It is also a franchise best twelfth consecutive home victory.
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Tags: Cam+Ward., Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, New+York+Islanders,
Carolina sets new franchise mark
by David Lee on 04/02/09 at 10:11 PM ET
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On Thursday night, the Hurricanes won their seventh straight game and their tenth in a row at home. The latter is a new franchise record. The final score was 4-2, with Eric Staal and Rod Brind’Amour each scoring one and Chad LaRose notching two, including the game-winner.
Simultaneous with the start of the game, Chad LaRose was featured on the NHL Network’s “A Day in the Life”. Most of the program surrounded him antagonizing Sean Avery in the March 9 game between these same two teams. It was a big day for the little guy.
Carolina has now leapfrogged Pittsburgh and Philly into fourth place. The Canes have 93 standings points and four remaining games. They still haven’t guaranteed a playoff spot, but this makes it almost a certainty.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, Eric+Staal, New+York+Rangers, Ray+Whitney,
Staal joins elite club
by David Lee on 03/09/09 at 07:00 PM ET
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Last week, Eric Staal scored five goals and added four assists in three games. He was named the NHL’s first star of the week. Those five goals helped him join an extremely elite club.
There are only five players, including Staal who have scored 30 or more regular season goals in each of the last four seasons. Dany Heatley, Jarome Iginla, Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Ovechkin are the other four. Vincent Lacavalier (28), Henrik Zetterberg (26) and Olli Jokinen (23) are all likely to hit 30 this season and join that elite club.
Hats off to Eric for this accomplishment.
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Tags: Eric+Staal,
Staal, Canes destroy Tampa
by David Lee on 03/07/09 at 09:24 PM ET
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On Saturday night, the Hurricanes scored a season high nine goals in a rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Eric Staal had a career high six (4/2) points, which matches a franchise mark set by Ron Francis back in the Hartford days. Carolina did all its scoring in the first 40 minutes, then eased off the throttle, settling for a 9-3 final.
Staal’s six point night was huge, but his first line mates also had huge nights of their own. Tuomo Ruutu pitched in with five (2/3) points and Erik Cole had four (0/4). 15 points out of the top line is one heck of a night. There was way too much scoring to enumerate the goals, but it was one shorthanded goal, two power play goals and six even strength markers. When it didn’t matter, Tampa scored two unanswered goals in the third.
On Carolina’s current three-game winning streak, they’ve scored 20 goals and given up just six.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Erik+Cole, Tampa+Bay+Lightning, Tuomo+Ruutu,
Back in Black --- Canes host Avs
by David Lee on 02/22/09 at 12:19 PM ET
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Today the Hurricanes will be hosting the Westerm Conference cellar dweller Avalanche. They may be in last place, but they’ve won four games in a row even without Joe Sakic, Paul Stastny and J-M Liles. They’re also the only team that Carolina has never beaten. The last time the Whaler/Canes beat the Nordique/Avs was thirteen years ago. On February 9, 1996, the Whale beat the Avs 3-2 in overtime. The Avs were a machine that year.
Carolina will be wearing the alternate uniforms today. In eleven previous outings wearing black, Carolina is 4-5-2. Incidentally, the two overtime losses wearing black were both on the road.
The key to this game will be for Eric Staal to be active. The earlier the better. When he is, good things happen. The Canes are 16-2-1 when Staal scores at least one goal. He has two consecutive multi-point nights.
Tim Conboy, who can play defense or wing, will remain in the lineup. Brandon Sutter will most likely be a healthy scratch.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Colorado+Avalanche, Eric+Staal,
Ward, Canes shut out Sabres
by David Lee on 02/15/09 at 09:02 PM ET
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One night after looking like the worst team in hockey, the Hurricanes came out and got an impressive and crucial road win by shutting out the Sabres 3-0.
Eric Staal was a one-man wrecking crew in the first period. He scored a power play goal by grabbing a puck out of the air, gloving it legally to himself, then firing a shot from the high slot. It hit a Buffalo player on the way in and got past Miller.
Later, with a delayed penalty in hand, Staal worked his way through a trio of matadors and fired a shot from the low slot off Miller. Chad LaRose pounced on the rebound to make it 2-0. Staal had the primary assist and Anton Babchuk got the other.
As bad as Carolina looked in the previous two games, they came out with a ton of jump in the first period and set the tone of the game.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal,
Staal good to go
by David Lee on 02/07/09 at 03:54 PM ET
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On Thursday night, Eric Staal wasn’t on the ice or even on the bench when Carolina stunned San Jose with a shootout win. He played the first two periods, but stayed in the dressing room after the second intermission with what was reported as a “lower body concern”. Later, we learned that it was, specifically, a hamstring issue.
The Caniac nation held their collective breath, fearing that the iron man might miss his first game since March of 2004. We all let out a sigh of relief when it was announced that the captain-in-waiting is “Staal good” to play in Phoenix tonight. After a stress test and a morning skate, Staal and coach Paul Maurice deemed him perfectly fit.
“Staal is fine,” (Paul Maurice) said. “He feels 100 percent ready, wants all his minutes and doesn’t want a reduced role.”
With his clearance to play, Staal’s 307 game streak will remain active.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal,
Staal, Ward lead Canes over Pens
by David Lee on 01/20/09 at 10:40 PM ET
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On Tuesday, the Hurricanes used a 32-save outing by Cam Ward and Eric Staal’s 20th goal to outlast the Penguins 2-1 and catapult themselves back into the top eight in the East.
All season long, it’s been Good Canes/Bad Canes. Tonight, the “Good” Canes showed up and won their second straight game as they head into the ASG. Early in the game, it looked like Bad Canes, as they fell behind 1-0 early, then squandered a lengthy five-on-three in the first period. Carolina recovered with a gorgeous power play goal late in the first, then the game-winner by Staal at 8:01 of the second.
To finish the game, Carolina killed a four minute high-sticking minor that ended up being a six-on-four power play.
For the second straight night, Tuomo Ruutu did some of the unglamorous things very well, and deserves a boatload of credit.
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Tags: Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Tuomo+Ruutu,
Canes lose fourth in a row
by David Lee on 01/16/09 at 02:34 PM ET
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On Thursday night, with a nearly full house, the Hurricanes lost a very exciting game 6-4 to the Leafs. The game was pretty much a microcosm of the Hurricanes season. Long stretches of disappointment punctuated with brief but intense moments of inspiration. It was also one of the most intense regular season games I’ve ever attended.
The Canes stood around for 37 minutes while the Leafs built a 4-0 lead. Then they got a fluky goal from Matt Cullen with about two to play in the second. The Canes came out on fire in the third, completely owning the first 12 minutes of the period. On second period markers from Tuomo Ruutu, Eric Staal and Scott Walker, Carolina climbed all the way back to tie the game. And then the wheels fell off.
Carolina gave up a four-on-three power play goal to Tomas Kaberle late in the third, then an empty netter from Jason Blake. It completed the hat trick for Blake and closed the scoring out at 6-4.
It was another painful loss, the fourth in a row. However, some good things did happen, even if that only lasted 14 minutes.
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Tags: Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Jason+Blake, Ray+Whitney, Tim+Gleason, Toronto+Maple+Leafs,
Canes climb to seventh
by David Lee on 01/03/09 at 01:55 PM ET
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With a 2-1 win over the Blues on Friday night, the Hurricanes moved out of a two-way tie for the eighth spot in the East and into sole possession of seventh place, leapfrogging Buffalo and Pittsburgh in a single bound. Both teams have a game in hand, and both will be in action this afternoon. Carolina will be in Tampa tonight, hoping to fortify their position.
Carolina’s top line of Eric Staal flanked by Sergei Samsonov and Tuomo Ruutu had their second consecutive five point night. Staal scored the game’s first goal while Ruutu and SerSam had two assists apiece. On New Year’s Eve, SerSam had 2/1 while Staal and Ruutu had one assist each. Tonight, they will have a chance to have another very productive night against a bad Tampa team. There are no easy games, but the Bolts are just not very good.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Sergei+Samsonov, Tampa+Bay+Lightning, Tuomo+Ruutu,
Canes sneak by Habs, Staal emerging
by David Lee on 12/17/08 at 08:39 AM ET
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On Tuesday, the Hurricanes took advantage of 11 power play opportunities, cashing in on three of them to defeat the visiting Canadiens 3-2. In the process, Eric Staal potted two goals and Sergei Samsonov earned two assists.
Slowly but surely, Staal is getting back to where he should be. And so are the Canes. There’s no denying that this has been a sub-par season for the Canes in the win column and for Staal on the stats sheet. In the past six games, Carolina has earned seven standings points. For the first time all season, they’ve earned at least a point in four consecutive games. Eric Staal has a four game point streak, which is also a first this season. In those four games, #12 has seven (4/3) points, including two two-goal games.
It’s great to see Staal coming to life because thus far this season, that old saying is perfectly applicable. “As Staal goes, so go the Canes.” When he scores, the Canes are 7-0-1.
Sergei Samsonov is also coming to life. In the last six games, he has six (2/4) points. He, too, is getting to the kind of production he was giving the Canes last season.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Montreal+Canadiens, Paul+Maurice, Segei+Samsonov,
Canes win critical SE match. Another defenseman gets hurt.
by David Lee on 12/07/08 at 09:28 PM ET
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On Sunday, the Hurricanes hosted the Southeast leading Capitals for a twilight matinee that was the back end of a back-to-back for each team. Carolina needed to win this game in regulation to avoid falling eight points behind the Caps. A regulation win is exactly what they got. Late goals by Eric Staal and Ray Whitney gave the black-clad Hurricanes a 3-1 win over their rival and the first win in the second reign of Chairman Mo.
For the first time in 13 games, the Canes scored first. Reason enough to celebrate. For the first time in six home games, they won. Even more reason.
Although the game ended well, it was not without a price. Anton Babchuk left the game midway through the third with what appeared to be a shoulder or chest injury. He will now join the ridiculously large group of injured defensemen that includes Frantisek Kaberle, Tim Gleason, Nic Wallin and Dennis Seidenberg. Brett Carson was just called up from Albany, but this almost certainly will necessitate the recall of another Albany rearguard.
Still, though, there was plenty of good to go around.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, MIchael+Leighton., Ray+Whitney, Washington+Capitals,
Canes smash Yotes, Staal ends slide
by David Lee on 11/21/08 at 11:25 PM ET
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On Friday, the Hurricanes crushed the visiting Coyotes 5-2. Coach Wayne Gretzky’s comments about Eric Staal in the Raleigh paper this morning turned out to be kind of eerily prophetic. Not only did Staal snap his eight game goal scoring skid, but he had a hat trick and the game’s first star.
Added to that, Carolina kept Olli Jokinen off the scoresheet.
I predicted that Staal would come off the schneid tonight by getting “a cheap one”. I was wrong about that, but I’ll gladly take the three goals. None of them were cheap.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Phoenix+Coyotes,
Jokinen, Yotes come to Raleigh.
by David Lee on 11/21/08 at 04:28 PM ET
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On Friday, Olli “Cane Killa” Jokinen and the Phoenix Coyotes will be in Raleigh for the first of two meetings between the teams this season. Phoenix has won the last four games between the teams and the Yotes are the only Pacific Division team who the Hurricanes have not beaten post-lockout.
Carolina was thrilled to see Jokinen traded away from Florida over the summer, as he has absolutely owned the Canes historically. In 50 career games against the Hurricanes, the Finn has 52 (20/32) points, which is the most points any player has scored against them.
Shutting him down will be priority number one for the Canes. On the other side, Phoenix is very aware of Eric Staal’s slide. They’re hoping to keep him on the schneid, but when a very good player is on a cold streak, coaches get nervous. So says Wayne Gretzky, anyway.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Olli+Jokinen, Phoenix+Coyotes,
Hurricanes win rough game on the Island
by David Lee on 10/25/08 at 11:31 PM ET
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On Saturday, the Hurricanes needed some big-time heroics from goaltender Cam Ward to hang on to a 4-3 victory. Although he was on the bench for the two previous games, he wasn’t the least bit rusty. He made 57 saves, including a stop on a penalty shot with less than one second to play in regulation. He was easily the game’s first star by anyone’s account. Except, of course, the Islanders radio network, which picks the “official” three stars. Somehow, they left Ward off the card entirely. Although the game ended well, it wasn’t all pie and cake for Carolina.
The Hurricanes got off to a good start, pushing off to a 2-0 lead early in the first. The last time the Hurricanes led a game 2-0 was March 28 of last season in a 7-1 win over the Thrashers. Throughout the second and third periods, the Canes committed one penalty after another, putting themselves perpetually on the PK. The good news is that the defense responded well to that, killing seven of eight penalties. But there was bad news They gave up a shorthanded goal, and they lost two players to injury.
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Tags: Brandon+Sutter, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Chad+LaRose, Doug+Weight, Eric+Staal, injuries, New+York+Islanders,
Canes down Ducks
by David Lee on 10/20/08 at 01:43 AM ET
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On Sunday night, the Hurricanes needed some heroics from goaltender Michael Leighton in order to squeak out a 3-1 victory in Anaheim. The Canes took three of a possible four points in California, getting the six game road trip off to a good start.
Michael Leighton got his second start of the year, and he was much better than he was in his win against Tampa. Partial credit on that goes to better defense in front of him, denying second chances. Mostly, though, the credit is his for having better rebound control and better awareness.
Rod Brind’Amour and Eric Staal got key goals late in the game, and Ryan Bayda continued his impressive campaign by scoring his second goal of the season.
Filed in: Carolina Hurricanes, NHL Hockey | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Anaheim+Ducks, Brandon+Sutter, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Michael+Leighton, Nic+Wallin,
Carolina wins another wild one
by David Lee on 10/12/08 at 12:23 AM ET
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For the second time in as many nights, the Hurricanes dug a hole for themselves in the first period. For the second time, they climbed all the way out. This time, they needed overtime to do it, but they beat the Lightning 4-3.
On Friday night, Carolina got scoring from a bunch of unlikely sources. Tonight, they brought out the big guns. Matt Cullen had one marker, Rod Brind’Amour had one, and Eric Staal had two, including the game-winner.
Carolina was very sluggish and undisciplined early on, but as the game wore on, they were the team with all the jump and none of the penalties.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes.+Tampa+Bay+Lightning, Eric+Staal, game+recap, Joni+Pitkanen, Michael+Leighton,
Canes close preseason with win
by David Lee on 10/05/08 at 06:16 PM ET
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After losing the first three exhibition games (and looking bad doing so) the Hurricanes rattled off three straight wins to finish the preseason. Carolina will start playing games that count on Friday with a home game against the Panthers.
Eric Staal and Ray Whitney scored today for a 2-0 shutout over the Preds. Cam Ward went the distance, making 31 stops with both teams pretty much fielding the “A team”.
For the first time all preseason, Rod Brind’Amour played. He skated 19 shifts for a total of 15:04 of ice time. He took just 13 of the faceoffs, compared to 17 taken by Brandon Sutter. This was pretty much the plan: to use him sparingly.
Filed in: Carolina Hurricanes | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Brandon+Sutter, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Joni+Pitkanen, Patrick+Eaves, preseason, Rod+Brind'Amour,
