Red & Black Hockey

Entries with the tag: Joe+Corvo

Canes bury Bolts, narrow gap in East

by David Lee on 02/20/09 at 10:11 PM ET
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On Friday night, Carolina did something they haven’t done in a while: they won at home. They took a 2-1 lead into the third period, then got two five-on-three goals from Joe Corvo to seal the deal. At the end of the day, Carolina won 4-1 and finds itself only one point behind eighth place Buffalo in the East.

Eric Staal scored in the first period on a similar shot to one of his goals on Thursday. Wrist shot from the left circle, high to the blocker side. In the second period, Jussi Jokinen scored a “Finn-tastic” goal against his former club, and it proved to be the game-winner. This was Jokinen’s first goal in a Hurricanes sweater.

When the Lightning took three consecutive minor penalties in quick succession in the third period, it gave Carolina back-to-back five on three sequences, and Joe Corvo scored with one-time blasts from the top of each circle just 39 seconds apart.

Carolina will stay at home to face Colorado on Sunday afternoon. Carolina is two games into a six game stretch out of which I said they need to get ten points. They’re perfect so far.

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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Joe+Corvo, Tampa+Bay+Lightning,

Corvo’s new sticks making all the difference

by David Lee on 12/18/08 at 10:29 PM ET
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Earlier this week, Hurricanes defenseman Joe Corvo switched to a different kind of stick that is lighter but denser. He scored the game-winning goal on Tuesday against the Canadiens with a howitzer from the point. On Thursday, he scored an absolute highlight reel goal in overtime for his second straight game winner. It’s gotta be the sticks. He says he’s only got two more of the new sticks, but he’s just gonna have to order some more.

In Tuesday’s post-game teevee coverage, the Canes broadcasting team teased him about the new sticks, and he claimed that they gave him an additional 5mph on his slapshot. But it wasn’t his patented slapshot that won the game on Thursday. Frankly, he looked like Alexei Kovalev with the fancy maneuver. First he eluded a defender at the top of the right circle, then dragged the puck from his forehand to the backhand and lifted a finesse backhanded wrist shot from the slot into an essentially empty cage. Very impressive stuff from a rearguard. I’ll post a clip when I can. It’s a must-see goal.

Justin Williams also tallied a goal for the Canes, his first of the season. In seven games back after his Achilles tear, he has three (1/2) points and is really starting to look comfortable out there.

With the win, Carolina lays claim to eighth place in the East. More importantly, the pieces are really starting to fall into place. Since bringing Chairman Mo back into the fold, the Canes have gone 3-1-3 and have now earned standings points in six consecutive games.

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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Florida+Panthers, Joe+Corvo,

Hurricanes top Sens, Laviolette passes Tortorella

by David Lee on 11/07/08 at 09:44 PM ET
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On Friday, the Hurricanes used two third period goals to beat the visiting Senators 2-1. The win was coach Peter Laviolette’s 163rd behind the Carolina bench and his 240th overall NHL win. He is now the winningest US born coach in NHL history.

I realize that this accomplishment pales in comparison to Scotty Bowman, who won a like billion games and nine Stanley Cups. I also realize that the Detroit Red Wings invented the sun and the moon, but that isn’t my focus.

Playing in just his fifth game, goaltender Michael Leighton picked up his fourth win and has continued to be impressive as a backup.

Joe Corvo, playing in his second game against his former team, got the game winner.

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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Joe+Corvo, Michael+Leighton, Ottawa+Senators,

Canes defense remains a mystery

by David Lee on 09/29/08 at 05:28 PM ET
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The Hurricanes have trimmed their training camp roster to 33 players, and with the regular season just 10 days away, there are still quite a few lineup issues to be resolved. The most intriguing issue is the blueline. There are still nine defensemen in camp, and only three of them—Joe Corvo, Tim Gleason and Joni Pitkänen—are guaranteed roster spots. And this doesn’t count the enigmatic and AWOL David (aka ”Avi”, aka ”Snuggles”) who has not shown up for camp and claims he is still concussed.

The News&Observer has opened the floor for the debate: How will the defensive pairings be filled out? Everybody agrees that Gleason, Pitkänen and Corvo are in the top four. The debate is about who among Anton Babchuk, Tim Conboy, Frantisek Kaberle, Josef Melichar, Dennis Seidenberg and Nic Wallin will play every night, who will be a healthy scratch, who will be relegated to Albany, and finally who will be traded to Los Angeles. To make matters more confusing, free agent Bryan Rodney is among the last men standing after another round of cuts on Sunday.

Filed in: Carolina Hurricanes | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Anton+Babchuk, Bryan+Rodney, Carolina+Hurricanes, David+Tanabe, defensemen, Dennis+Seidenberg, Frantisek+Kaberle, Joe+Corvo, Joni+Pitkanen, Josef+Melichar, Nick+Wallin, Tim+Conboy, Tim+Gleason,