Red & Black Hockey

Entries with the tag: Washington+Capitals

Canes climb to sixth

by David Lee on 03/22/09 at 04:13 PM ET
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On Saturday night, the Hurricanes used a playoff-like atmosphere to defeat the SE leading Capitals 4-1, propelling themselves into sixth place with 85 standings points and eight games remaining. Eighth place Montréal is four points back with two games in hand while ninth place Florida is five points behind Carolina with two games in hand.

Carolina took care of their own business, winning their third straight game and their eight straight home game. Meanwhile, they got some help from other teams in the hunt. Les Habitants did their part by losing to the Leafs and the Kitties did theirs by losing to Columbus. It would have been nicer if Buffalo had beaten Rangers, but at least it wasn’t a three-point game.

The Canes got three goals from the defense including a 190-footer by Joe Corvo into an empty net. The defense also did a great job of denying the middle of the ice, which makes Cam Ward’s job a lot easier. Señor Hot Stick had seven shots on goal, but I don’t remember any of them being great chances.

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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, playoff+picture, Washington+Capitals,

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 destroyed by Caps

by David Lee on 11/13/08 at 07:02 AM ET
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On Tuesday morning, the Canes had a share of the division lead in the SE. By the end of the night, they were crushed 5-1 by the Capitals and they had waved goodbye to their share of the division lead. The way the team looks right now, that may be the last time they are that close to a playoff spot.

Without getting too analytical, the game boils down to this: Washington’s best players did their jobs; Carolina’s best players did not.
Alexander Semin had two goals and three assists. Alexander Ovechkin had one goal and three assists. Niclas Basckstrom had one goal and three assists.

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Tags: Alexander+Semin, Alex+Ovechkin, Carolina+Hurricanes, Washington+Capitals,

Russian duo sinks Canes in DC

by David Lee on 11/06/08 at 10:53 PM ET
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After the Hurricanes swept the home-and-home series against the Leafs, they returned to intra-division play on Thursday with a game at Washington. Carolina played well enough to win for 57 minutes, but lost it in the end.

The upside for Carolina is that they very nearly put together their first 60-minute effort of the season. They’ve played well for a period or two at a time, but have yet to look good for an entire game, despite their seven wins. The downside is that the effort was for naught, as they let a win, then a guaranteed point slip away in the closing moments.

Alexander Semin had the game-tying and game-winning goals in the third period at 17:17 and 19:49 respectively. Alexander Ovechkin assisted on all three Capitals goals.

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Tags: Alexander+Semin, Alex+Ovechkin, Carolina+Hurricanes, Tuomo+Ruutu, Washington+Capitals,

Canes drop preseason opener

by David Lee on 09/24/08 at 11:17 PM ET
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On Wednesday night, the (preseason) puck dropped in Raleigh. Unfortunately for the 2/3 full house, it wasn’t a happy return as the visiting Capitals won the first game of the home-and-home 4-1. Neither team sent its “A” team on the ice, but Washington’s “B” team was a lot better than Carolina’s. LW Tomas Fleischmann led the way for the visitors with two power play markers.

Filed in: Carolina Hurricanes | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Joni+Pitkanen, Nic+Wallin, preseason, Washington+Capitals,