They scored.  We scored.  They scored.  We scored.  We scored again.  That's how the first 12 minutes went and the score was 3-2 at the end of the first period.

Eric Staal needs to get off his ass and start acting like the stud player we know he is!  Don't let Crosby and Malkin steal the spotlight!  Staal has 6 shots on goal in 2 games now, and has failed to notch a goal in the last 5 games now.  No surprise that the CAnes are 1-4 in that stretch.

I can't really fault Cam Ward for the goals scored tonight - Pittsburgh's goals didn't look particularly cheap to me - maybe one of them.

I really think we played 30 minutes of hockey tonight.  After about the middle of the second period, the Penguins stepped it up and we didn't have much, if any, puck control the rest of the game.

Oh, and our power play sucked.

Both of these games coming up in Raleigh are MUST WINS.

See you there!

GO CANES!

Boston may have scored first, but Carolina outplayed them for 60 minutes plus last night en-route to their 3-2 overtime win.  Shots on goal were 41-23 - including a 2-1 advantage in regulation (38-19).

And once again, Jussi Jokinen puts the finishing touch on a game-winner.  Samsonov did most of the work for that goal, but thank goodness the NHL values assists nearly as much as goals.  That line did a fine job last night!

We've got a 2-1 series advantage now, and Friday's game is huge!  I hope to see you there!

Check out the highlights...

I don't know about you, but I'm glad John Forslund has enough respect that he's able to do the national play-by-play on Versus for his own team.  I think he's a fine objective broadcaster, and maybe it was just last night because the Cam Ward really was standing on his head, but he sounded just a tiny bit more excited about the saves that Cam was making

The canes looked good, getting the opening goal from Joe Corvo (SCORVO!) with assists from Eric Staal and Erik Cole (Cole's first point of the playoffs)... then a shorty by Matt Cullen, beautifully set up by Chad LaRose, who has probably been one of Carolina's best players in the playoffs so far.  LaRose is definately earning his next contract.  And then the empty-netter by Eric Staal to seal the deal.

CamWard made some great great saves - especially in the third period.  Watch these highlights, and I'll see you at the game on Wednesday!

CANES WIN! CANES WIN!

Jussi Jokinen saved the day again, scoring at 18:40 in the third period to tie the game, one which I was *starting* to lose hope.  But I figured as long as we're only one goal down, we can still tie it up.  And the Canes put on a puck-possession show, and a real great team effort.  I mean, if they could award a third assist on that goal, it would go to Sergei Samsonov for his "on the ice" keep-in that led to the goal.  I think it was Samsonov, at least.  Just amazing.

And then Eric Staal's goal was just unreal.  From the team effort to the one man show, Staal put the puck where it needed to be, and it was a thing of beauty.

So in miracle fashion, the Canes once again eliminate the New Jersey Devils from the playoffs.

Now we're stuck playing Boston, thanks to those New York Ranger schmucks who couldn't close the deal.

GO CANES!

I've never seen anything like it.

I'm not sure anyone else has either.  I mean, statistically it's bound to happen every once in a while.

Carolina scored the winning goal tonight with no time left on the clock.  We scored, the horn sounded, I looked up and the clock read all zeros.  The play was reviewed of course, and they determined it crossed the line before time expired I guess.  I'd love to see that replay. 

I've seen goals scored with 0.2 seconds left, where a faceoff was required, but the game ended with the scoring of this goal tonight, and it was amazing.

Sure, Brodeur was complaining that Ryan Bayda interfered with him.  I don't know if that's true or not but hey, if the refs didn't see it, it didn't happen.  Of course it probably means we'll get a goaltender interference call on Thursday, but that's pretty common when we play the Devils.  I've come to expect it.

Carolina totally dominated the first two periods, going 15-7 shots-on-goal after one period, and 37-17 after two periods.  We took a 3-0 lead late into the second period, but a terrible defensive lapse (again) in our zone led to a short breakaway and essentially an easy goal with like 20 seconds left in the second period. 

But in the third period, the Devils came out to win, and tied it up and really outplayed us the entire period.  At least for the first 15 minutes.  I noted to Bob that at 16 minutes into the period, we'd only had 5 shots.  We ended up with 9 shots to New Jersey's 12, and a game total of 46-29.

As for goal scorers being goal scorers, Eric Staal had another goal tonight, with an assist from Tuomo Ruutu (and Dennis Seidenberg), but the rest of our goals came from Ryan Bayda (his second of the series), Chad LaRose (his second of the series) and the game winner from Jussi Jokinen (I love that name).  But Matt Cullen and Sergei Samsonov still have only 1 point each.  Rod Brind'Amour and Erik Cole have none.  And Ruutu got his first point of the series tonight.  These guys need to produce more, and I hope they will.

Game 6 is now guaranteed for Sunday.  I'll see you there!

Go Canes!

Ray Whitney is the only Hurricane with 2 points in this series so far. 

Our top line, Staal, Cole, and Ruutu, have a single point combined (Eric Staal's lone goal).

This has got to change.  Our stars need to carry this team to get past the Devils.  We're not going to win games when we're not gettin production from our top 2 lines.

They played good last night.  I was feeling good about the game right up until New Jersey finished it.  I felt like we had the momentum, the crowd was in it, and I was sure we were going home happy.

But now we're down 2-1 and the Canes *MUST WIN* Tuesday night.  If they go back to New Jersey down 3-1, they're not coming back.  At least not to play any more playoff games.  I just don't think they'll pull off a win when New Jersey can finish it at home in game 5.

I didn't blog about Game 1 because I didn't see a whole lot to talk about that was positive.  I wasn't overly worried though, and predicted a 2-1 win in Game 2.  I have co-workers to back me up on that!  I figured we'd have some kind of goaltending duel in Game 2, and that's what we got.

I felt like New Jersey "out-chanced" us, but Cam Ward really played good and the game was much more evenly played.

Looking forward to the noise in the RBC Center Sunday night!  I'll be tailgating with some friends before the game.

GO CANES!

All good things must come to an end.  We knew the winning streak was going to end.  I don't think the Canes played particularly poorly other than taking too many penalties.  But then, I didn't see the third period (I shouldn't have even been at the game because I was feeling awful).  Yeah, I left after two periods, with the Canes trailing 4-0.

But, as the title says, there is a silver lining.  Several, actually.

First, the New York Rangers won last night, mathematically eliminating Buffalo (and Florida) from the playoffs.  So even though we couldn't eliminate them personally, they were still eliminated, and that's something that nearly all Hurricanes fans can smile about.

Related to that, the Rangers beat Philadelphia in regulation, so we are still tied with Philly - and now also with Pittsburgh - with 97 points - and Philly has a game in hand.

If we win Saturday against New Jersey, we can finish in 4th or 5th place.  If we lose on Saturday, we could finish in 4th, 5th, or 6th place.  To take 4th, we'll have to win and have Philly lose one more *OR* lose and have Philly lose twice and Pittsburgh lose their final game.  Seems unlikely since Philly plays the AHL Islanders Saturday night, but anything could happen.

If we lose and Pittsburg wins and Philly wins one of their last 2... we'll end up in 6th place.  And even that might be a silver lining because we'd end up playing New Jersey in the first round.

I'm glad Leighton got some playing time last night.  I think Ward will probably start against New Jersey, and to be honest, if Leighton gets much playing time in the playoffs, it won't be a good thing.  I'd like to think that Leighton's season is over.

Oh, one last thing - Philly could potentially drop to the 6 spot if we beat New Jersey, Pittsburgh wins their last game, and Philly loses two.  That seems to be the least likely scenario, so I think we're definately looking at a Philly or New Jersey matchup in the first round.

Go Canes!

So yeah.  Nobody is playing better hockey than the Carolina Hurricanes right now.  No goalie in the NHL is playing better than Cam Ward.  And no team is worse than the New York Islanders.

Such a combination pf ingredients led to a 9-0 beating in the RBC Center tonight.  At the end of 2 periods, it was 6-0 with the Canes leading 33-8 in shots on goal.  At one point in the third period, Carolina had 8 goals, and New York still had only 8 shots.

You certainly hope to not have a let down against a team that you know you can and should beat.  That didn't happen tonight.

Carolina's clearly got their eye on the prize, and that prize is home ice advantage.  Something they can attain if they win out and Philadelphia loses one of their final 3 games in regulation.

Hey, nice work tonight by the top line with Eric Staal getting the hat trick (damn, there went another hat!) and Ruutu chalking up two of his own, and 4 assists for Cole.

Oh, and Frank Kaberle decided to show up and score his first goal of the season tonight!

See you Thursday!  Go Canes!

Well, it lived up to expectations.  There were probably 1/4 Penguins fans there. (good people, not like Buffalo fans).  Penguins scored first, but Canes took a 2-1 lead before letting them tie it up.  The game went to OT and Antom Babchuck won it 1:11 into the OT.

Couple of big saves by Cam Ward really helped I think... Sidney Crosby had a clean breakaway in the first period and failed to score, then later in the game, Malkin was awarded a penalty shot (I knew it was gonna be a penalty shot as soon as I saw our guy dive in front of him), and Ward stoned him too. Pittsburgh looked pretty good and had a TON of quality scoring chances, and Ward made a lot of great great saves.

I was a little concerned early on because the Canes seemed to be giving away the puck a lot but they settled it down in the second period.

So, Carolina clinches a playoff spot, and are tied with Philadelphia at 95 points for 4th place but Philly has a game in hand still.  Canes play the Islanders on Tuesday - I think we might see Michael Leighton in net.  Then Buffalo on Thursday and at New Jersey on Saturday.

If you attended last night's Canes v. Rangers game, you know what I mean.

The building has been loud in the last few weeks, with the fans smelling a playoff run.  But nothing like last night after Chad LaRose and Rod Brind'Amour scored back to back goals 30 seconds apart to give the Canes a 4-2 lead.  It got playoff loud.

Hey guys, we appreciate what you're doing.  That's what that noise said.   That was the Canes 7th straight win, and 10th straight at home - a new franchise record.

I was a little concerned that they'd come out a little flat after 4 days rest, and while the shots on goal may have made it appear that way, I think our guys came out a little wired and over agressive - which is good.  It just meant we got a lot of penalties - 4 in a row in the first period.

by the end of the second period, with the Rangers leading in shots 31-13, I felt damn lucky for the Canes to have a 2-2 tie.  And for that reason, I felt like Cam Ward should've gotten one of the three stars.  He stopped 36 of 38 shots, and kept us in a game that could've easily gotten out of hand by the end of the first period.

Canes sit at 93 points now.  Florida's maximum is 97, if they win their last 5.  Even if they win 3, and tie us for points, we get the playoff spot.

If they lose tonight, and we win tomorrow, it's over.  We'd have 95 points, and the most Florida could get if they won their last 4 would be 95... and we'd have the tiebreaker (win total)

Let's hope that happens, then maybe we can get Michael Leighton in for one game.  Forslund thinks that'd be a good idea.. to have our backup goalie actually seem some game action for the first time in 6+ weeks... I agree.

Well, let's hope it works out that way.

Go Canes!

Ray Whitney scored in overtime to give the Canes a 3-2 victory in Sunrise, Florida. 

This win was huge.  Florida needed this win much more than we did, but in the end, we got the 2 points and now occupy 5th place, with a 6 point lead over the 8th and 9th place Canadiens and Panthers.

We've got 7 games left.  If we can win 3, we're in the playoffs.  Go on a 5 game losing streak and we might be in trouble.

Go Canes!

We had 3 tickets in the VIP Club Ledge tonight that I bought from someone on craigslist.  These are the seats in the club level south end (where the Canes shoot twice) that have the little TVs, which is damn nice for someone with vision as bad as mine.  We got each got a free sandwich with sides (I had a BBQ sandwich with chips and slaw) and 2 free drinks.  Karen used my regular season ticket to get in and then we "worked it out" so she was sitting there with us (Emily sat on laps the whole night).

Anyway, the Canes really got dominated in the first period, and even though they had 2 power players, they only had 4 shots in the entire period.  A Caps goal was waved off due to a hooking penalty, and the first period ended in a 0-0 tie.  Canes took a 1-0 lead in the second but Washington tied it up with a late period goal.  Pitkanen, Babchuk, and Corvo scored in the third to put the game away.

Washington had a 4 on 3 power play with under 2 minutes to go in the game because Brindy boarded someone (it was a legit call), so they cleared their goal for the 5 on 3.   After about 40 seconds or so (I think) in the zone, Corvo managed to clear it right towards the empty net, and it went in just as a washington player was getting to it for the clincher.  Way to go, Scorvo!

The energy in the arena tonight was awesome - true playoff atmosphere - and there were a LOT of Caps fans there - as always for a Saturday night.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

Florida and Montreal both lost tonight, so we're now in 6th place with 85 points.  The Rangers have 84 points and 2 games in hand, Montreal has 81 points with 2 games in hand, and Florida is in the 9 spot with 80 points and 2 games in hand.

I still think 93 points will get us in, which means we need 4 wins in the last 8 games - but I'd much rather see us get 5 wins (or more) and get to 95 points.  I don't want to be the 8 seed and match up with Boston in the first round!

GO CANES!

Box Score

I missed most of both games this weekend due to other obligations, and Monday's game wasn't on TV and my clock radio - the only radio in my house - doesn't get 99.9FM.  I hate that.

But I did tune into FSN last night for the Canes-Sabres game, and wow, what a fun game!  2 periods of exciting, somewhat stressful hockey that ended with a 2-2 tie, and then an offensive blowout in the third period with the Canes scoring 4 goals for the 6-2 win.

Bret Hedican came to play, scoring a goal and getting two assists.  Eric Staal had a goal and two assists too.  And Jeff Hamilton made an amazing slapshot that I don't think anyone could've stopped by any manner of skill, it was like a rocket.

No time to go into further detail but the Canes are now 6-1-3 and looking mighty fine.  They've gotten points in 9 of 10 hockey games, and have a nice 7 point lead in the southeast division.

See you at the game Friday night!

GO CANES!

Box Score

In a game of goaltending excellence, Cam Ward and the Hurricanes came out on top again.  Carolina came out and completely dominated the play of the first two periods, outshooting Montreal 30-8.   But thanks to some incredible play by Habs goalie Cirstobal Huet, Carolina clung to a mere 2-1 lead going into the second intermission.   Montreal came out skating and shooting in the third, putting up 16 shots and also commiting no penalties (something they had done a lot of in the first two periods), but Cam Ward made amazing save after amazing save.  Chad LaRose, still getting extra playing time due to the injury to Ladd, was rewarded with an empty net goal at 19:44 to seal the deal.

I will admit, Montreal got screwed with about 3 minutes to go by a badly missed call at center ice that would've put Montreal on the power play.  Not saying that would've scored, because Cam *WAS* stopping anything and everything they threw at him, but the refs definately blew a call there.

It's tough to go on a long road trip, and one that includes 3 games in Canada is never easy, but the Canes are surviving so far with a 3-1 record.  They flew home last night after the game (I assume) to sleep in their own beds as they don't play again until next Friday.  Having won 3 straight, I'll bet Laviolette will give them today AND tomorrow off, before they start practicing again to get ready for the last 2 games of this 6 game road trip at Pittsburg and Philadelphia Friday and Saturday night.

Hopefully by then, Mike Commodore will be healthy and ready to skate again, but the defense has definately held up so far.  Knock on wood!

Box Score

Carolina waited for Ottawa to come home, and then knocked them from the ranks of the undefeated with a 5-3 victory.

Chad LaRose found himself playing on the third line, and took advantage.  Although he didn't score any goals, his gritty play directly led to goals by Matt Cullen, Rod Brind'Amour, and Erik Cole.  LaRose ended the night with 3 assists and got the #1 star.

Speaking of Erik Cole, I mentioned the other day how I thought he'd been playing well but just couldn't buy a goal - well, he got two of them tonight and they were beauties.  One of them was basically on an empty net because Martin Gerber had just made a huge save on Eric Staal who almost knocked it in from the left side.  Gerber slide across to make the save and slide right out of the crease while the puck rebounded to open ice on the right side.  Cole skated up and knocked it in the net, going past a defender who looked like he was going to the ice for the block but didn't make it in time.  By the time Gerber got to his feet after the save on Staal, the puck was bouncing out of the net.

The game itself was beautiful.  Just an incredible amount of speed and skating.  Lots of back-and-forth action,  We led Ottawa 4-1 late in the third period but it wasn't a "dominating" performance, in fact I thought that Ottawa might've been playing a little better they were just being stymied by Cam Ward.  They made it interesting with late goals at 16:16 and 18:11, but Eric Staal sealed the deal with an empty netter at 19:01.

Staal now has 8 points (5/3) while Cole has 4 points (1/3).  12 points through 5 games.  Looking good so far for my prediction of 180 points between the two.  Keep it up, guys!

The Canadian Tour continues Saturday night when the Canes take on Montreal.

GO CANES!

Box Score

I didn't watch it in HD, but it was a beautiful game nonetheless!  Toronto took a 1-0 lead early on a power play goal, but Justin Williams tied it up about 2 minutes later with a very nice goal where he just plain beat the goalie but lifting the puck up high from about 8' out.  Cory Stillman added a power play goal to take a 2-1 lead and the Canes never looked back.

Toronto played sloppy, and Carolina played aggressive - especially on the power play - sometimes going with the someone unconvential 5 forward lineup.  Matt Cullen added a power play goal in the second period, followed by a full strength goal by Ray Whitney for a 4-1 lead, and the Canes added three more goals by Scott Walker, Jeff Hamilton, and Eric Staal to round out the game.

Toronto's goal was one of those 5-4 goals that was really a 5-3 goal because the 4th skater had just gotten on the ice.  Yet another goal you can't really blame Cam Ward for.

It was good to see Bret Hedican back on the ice (19 minutes) and Cory Stillman too for the first time this season (20 minutes).

A note about Erik Cole - he can't buy a goal right now!  He and Staal had a great 2 on 1 opportunity in the second period (I think) and Cole got off what was practically an empty netter that went off the post.  He had another opportunity earlier in the game on a wide open net but his shot went wide.  He led the team with 5 shots on goal tonight, but just can't seem to light the lamp.  He's looking good otherwise - skating well and such.  I'm sure it'll happen for him.

Next up, the undefeated (4-0) Ottawa Senators on Thursday.  Ottawa is getting great goaltending from one Mr. Martin Gerber who currently has a 1.73 GAA and a .949 save %.  Good numbers,

Gerber.  Where have I heard that name before? =)

GO CANES!

Carolina 4, Pittsburg 1 - Box Score

Friday night, Carolina took on Pittsburg at home, looking for their first win of the season.  They came out skating strong and never really looked back, scoring twice in the opening period (both by Eric Staal) and twice in the second period (Andrew Ladd and Jeff Hamilton).  Pittsburg came on strong in the third, giving it all they could, but only managed a power play goal to break the shutout.  Realistically, it was a 5 on 3 power play goal, but the two man advantage had just ended, so the 4th skater was back on the ice but wasn't yet involved in the play.

Cam Ward looked fan-freakin-tastic in goal again, and made some incredible saves.  He was the #1 star of the game, and deserved it.  The lineup worked, with Jeff Hamilton assisting on both of Eric Staal's goals as well as getting his own goal.

Washington 2, Carolina 0 - Box Score

Unfortunately, the first road game of the season didn't go quite as well.  Washington dominated the puck offensively for most of the game.  Carolina managed only 2 shots in the first period, and 9 shots in the second period.  Overall, they were outshot 33-23.  They came on pretty strong with 12 shots in the third period, and had some great scoring opportunities, but simply couldn't get the puck past Olie the Goalie.

John Grahame looked pretty darned good in the net, saving 31 of 33 shots.  I've got no complaints there.  Can't win games when your team doesn't score.

The good thing about this game was that Carolina only took 3 penalties, although they did give up a power play goal.  And we were 0-4 on the power play ourselves, which kinda sucked.

Part of this loss was just a hot goalie, but part of it was also the Canes inability to control thep puck - especially in the first period, where they were just completely dominated.

Next up - game 2 of this long 6 game road trip - the Canes take on the  Toronto Maple Leafs.  Look for former Hurricane Bates Battaglia!

The game is on Versus tonight, so don't look at Fox Sports South and assume it's not on!

GO CANES!

Box Score

I'm kidding, of course.  And in now way am I implying that we did it on purpose in the 2006 Stanley Cup run either.

Good and bad from last night.  The bad - Carolina played sloppy, taking a lot of penalties.  We're the ones that are supposed to play disciplined hockey and outskate the opponents, but we took 3 penalties to Monreal's one in the 3rd period, and the overtime penalty to Niclas Wallin was the backbreaker that gave Monreal the game.

The penalty kill unit gave up all three Montreal goals, while Carolina's power play only scored once in 7 opportunities.

Things actually looked good early - Carolina scored on the first power play, and looked pretty good on the second - shooting the puck a lot, which was good.  They had a 19-10 shot lead at one point, but really started to lose puck control midway through the second period.

Cam Ward made some awesome saves and looked pretty good for the most part.  Giving up 3 power play goals in 40 shots for the night really isn't his fault.

Here's hoping that they'll play a little more disciplined against Pittsburg Friday night, because they can't afford to go on the penalty kill all night again against the Penguins, who have a lot of firepower up front.

Sadly, last night's game was NOT a sellout, but it was close (99.7% officially).  I think Friday night's game will be though, Pittsburg always draws a big crowd.

Go Canes!

I wish I could be blogging under happier circumstances, but Edmonton wanted game 5 more than the Canes did last night I think.

Maybe the team had a lack of focus because of the intense pressure on them to close out the series at home, who knows.  But the crowd was even tense from the beginning - especially after Edmonton scored 16 seconds into the game.  Later in the first period we took the lead 2-1 but then gave up 2 more goals to go down 3-2 by the end of the first.  It was a crazy period, and almost seemed like we were gonna see a lot of goals.

things settled down after that but the crowd was pretty quiet during the second period until Carolina tied up the game, and even after that you could tell there was a nervous tension hanging over the crowd.

Personally, I figured going into the third period tied 3-3 was good for the Canes, who had DRAMATICALLY outscored their opponents in the playoffs during the third period, something like 28-5.  Unfortunately, they only managed 2 shots on goal in the third period, and also took the only two penalties in the period.  I do wish they tracked "zone time" like they used to, because I bet we didn't spend more than 5 minutes of the period in the Edmonton zone.

The defense must've played well though because Edmonton only had 5 shots in that third period, but they definately controlled the pace.

I was pretty excited when we got the power play in overtime, but that excitement was quickly crushed along with the spirits of 19,000 others who fully expected CAROLINA to score on the power play that had been so successful all evening (3 power play goals).

But Cory Stillman made a soft pass to Eric Staal while he was being converged upon, and Staal wasn't able to get the puck.  Instead, we had a rather sudden breakaway opportunity from the blue line for Edmonton, and the puck whisked into the net, and shocked the crowd.

I don't really know who to blame.  Cory Stillman and Eric Staal both took the blame in the post-game interviews, but I'm just as tempted to blame section 334, who started yelling "WE WANT THE CUP" in the first period.  The Cup is going to come to Raleigh, I'm very confident of that, but I'm not cheering for it in the first period of the FIRST elimination game.

I could also blame Joe Ovies for the lack of mojo (pardon the pun, Morning Mojo listeners) - Mr. Ovies did predict an overtime game.

But then again it could've been my fault.  I didn't listen to "BEEP BEEP" before the game - although I did hear it earlier in the day.  I'm not sure if that was good enough.

Ultimately, I think the Canes simply didn't have the focus required to put Edmonton away.  They faced a huge amount of pressure to close out the series at home in front of their own fans - a celebration that certainly would've been something to remember.

the pressure on Saturday though is going to sway heavily towards Edmonton, because Carolina isn't going to have nearly as many distractions that the potential home ice celebration may have had.  And I know the Canes do NOT want to play game 7 back in Raleigh!  As much as I wanted them to win it on home ice, I even more so do NOT want to see them play another game in the RBC Center until the 2006-2007 season begins.

See you Saturday at the RBC Center!

GO CANES!

Another early score for Edmonton, but this time followed up immediately by a Carolina power play, and a power play goal 30 seconds in.

Carolina took the lead, took no penalties in the third period, and held on for the win by holding Edmonton to 5 shots on goal in the third.  There were many more shots than that, blocked, missed, etc. 

How about that Cam Ward?  They interviewed him on the ice SECONDS after the game, and he was calm and cool as if he'd just been sitting in the hot tub or something.  He has no measurable heart rate!

Canes take on Edmonton at home tonight, and PLEASE GOD LET THEM RAISE THE CUP AT HOME!

GO CANES!

I didn't get a chance to blog about the dominating performance the Hurricanes had in Game 2 at home, which is a shame, but oh well.  Moving on to Game 3.

I wouldn't say that Carolina played poorly.  On the contrary, the defense played very well, and the goaltending was excellent, and the penalty kill was especially good.

Unfortunately, Edmonton got (most of) the breaks.  Their first goal - early in the first period - went in off a deflection.  You know when the puck changes direction on its way in, it's awfully hard to stop.  Edmonton's second goal - the game winner - was a fluke goal that probably could have just as easily been called goaltender interference (and personally, I think it SHOULD have, but i'll admit to some level of bias).

Most importantly, Carolina was 0 for 6 on the power play, and I think that's what really did them in.  They didn't seem to be hitting anyone real hard, and they didn't have a whole lot of sustained pressure in the offensive zone.

So Edmonton makes it a series!

Game 4 is tonight and I'm hoping to see our Canes return to form and put on another show of how hockey is supposed to be played.  I still maintain that the Canes are a much better team and if both teams played their best, the Canes would win.

But we'll see what happens!

GO CANES!  BEEP BEEP!

I've been a pathetic excuse for a blogger lately, haven't I?  Didn't even blog the amazing Buffalo series.  Game 7 was *AWESOME* by the way.

Carolina came out with not much forecheck last night and committed too many penalties in the first period, but thanks to the Caminator (Cam Ward, of course), they survived the period with only a 1-0 deficit.

Things didn't improve in the second, as Carolina fell behind 3-0.  Uh oh.  Only 5 teams have overcome a 3 goal deficit in the Stanley Cup Finals.

At about 8:42 PM, I realized that I hadn't listened to Beep Beep yet, and so I listened, and 30 seconds later, the Canes scored their first goal, making it 3-1.

After that, Carolina took control of the game with a second goal early in the third, and the game tying goal not much later, and then a go-ahead goal not much after that.  Edmonton came back to tie the game but then Bergeron shoved Andrew Ladd into Roloson, and essentially caused injury to his own player.  Roloson is out for the series.  He's done.

And then came Rod.  Thank God for Rod.  He started the scoring and finished it by stealing the puck and scoring on a wraparound that saw Ty Conklin (is that his name) on the wrong side of the net.  5-4 Canes with 30 seconds to go and that's how it ended.

It was an amazing comeback, and probably a devastating loss for the Oilers.  I predicted Canes in 5 and I'll stand by that prediction because I think Edmonton will have enough to win a game at home but that's about it.

I really want to see the Canes hoist the cup - and I'd love it if they did it in front of the home crowd.  Plus, not having a game 7 would save me $150, so it has to be game 5.

GO CANES!

Box Score

Josef Vasicek returned to the Canes lineup last night after missing 59 games following reconstructive knee surgery, and he wasted no time getting into the action, getting 2 goals and 2 assists, earning him the NHLs first star.  Welcome back, Big Joe!

I wish I could've been there last night!  Lots of fights, and the team showed plenty of toughness - although Craig Adams got into a fight and really just embarassed himself.  More power to him though.  If you're willing to drop the gloves when you get your ass kicked every time, well I can respect that.

And although it took overtime to finally put away the Caps, the important part is that we got 2 points and kept pace with Ottawa, who still leads us by 3 points for the #1 seed in the eastern conference.

Game 2 of the three game mini series versus Washington will take place Wednesday night, followed by the third game on Friday - also at Washington.  It's a strange season!

GO CANES!

Box Score

The Carolina Hurricanes wrapped up the southeast division championshp last night with a 3-2 win over the streaking Florida Panthers.  The Panthers, who had beaten the Canes twice in Florida a few weeks ago had won 7 games in a row.

It looked at first like we were gonna get more of the same - Florida scored first and early.  The Canes continued to be somewhat sloppy with the puck but Martin Gerber did the job keeping most of the pucks out of the net.

Craig Adams goal was one of the coolest I've seen all year - mostly because it involved just downright embarassing Roberto Luongo.  Adams had a breakaway rush on Luongo but it looked like Luongo was going to get to the puck before Adams could get to it and shoot it.  Well, he did, but Luongo does have a weakness, and that's playing the puck.  Luango went to backhand the puck harmlessly to the corner, and he basically whiffed on it, leaving the puck there for Craig to fire into the net.  It was awesome.

Carolina plays tonight at Atlanta - another team on the outside of the playoffs looking in.

GO CANES!

Box Score

The Hurricanes made 50 shots on goal for the first time since 1989.  And they only got one of them past Washington's backup goaltender, Brent Johnson.

They actually hit the post quite a few times, but overall I thought their legitimate scoring chances were limited, and most of the those 50 shots on goal were pretty easy saves for Johnson.

And the worst part was that the Canes were absolutely SLOPPY with the puck.  Washington had 15 takeaways according to the super stats.  Many of those takeaways led to odd man rushes, some of which ended up as goals.

Carolina was outshot 8-4 in the first few minutes and went down 1-0 very early in the game, were up 3-0 by the middle of the second period.  And when Carolina finally did score to make it 3-1, Washington wasted no time getting that goal back, scoring barely a minute later to make it 4-1.

And then to top off the evening, Washington scored a shorthanded goal in the final two minutes.  Nice.

I thought the effort wasn't there - even though they put the shots up.  Their sloppy puck play said to me they weren't prepared.  I hope they turn it around tonight against Florida.

Thanks to Tampa Bay's win last night, we still need another win to clinch the southeast division title.  I hope they pull it off tonight!

GO CANES!

Box Score

After starting out February 1-3, and riding a 2 game losing streak going into their final game before the Olympic break, I think it was important for Carolina to win this game.  Sitting on a 3 game losing streak for 2 weeks wouldn't be good.

Well, thankfully, the Canes agreed with me.  After putting on a pretty pathetic performance Friday night versus the worst team in hockey, our guys came out strong and played a really solid game against Buffalo, one of the better teams in the league.

Even "The Secret Weapon" Niclas Wallin got in the game with his career high 3rd goal of the season.  For the uninformed, John Forslund always refers to Wallin as "The Secret Weapon whenever he scores.  I think he had a game winning goal in the Stanley Cup playoffs back in 2002.  Wallin and Doug Weight lead the team in shots on goal with 5 a piece.

Martin Gerber and the defense gave up a few shabby goals late in the second period (at 16:58 and 17:55), but Carolina came on strong to basically dominate play in the third period, outshooting Buffalo 12-5, and that continued in the overtime 7-1, but Ryan Miller managed to get his team to the shootout, where unfortunately for Buffalo, the Canes went on to win their 6th shootout victory in 7 attempts.

I think the loss to the Pens on Friday may have helped refocus this team and reminded them that they've got to show up to win these games.

Sunday's game was preceded by a nice Olympic ceremony honoring our 2006 Olympians - Eric Staal (Canada), Frank Kaberle (Czech Republic), Martin Gerber (Switzerland), Eric Cole (USA), Bret Hedican (USA), Matt Cullen (USA), and of course, Coach Laviolette (USA).

See you after the Olympics!

GO CANES!  GO USA!

Box Score

Who says lightning never strikes the same place twice?

Carolina dropped to 1-3-1 against division rival Tampa Bay with a 5-3 loss.  The Canes actually played pretty well, outskating and outshooting the Lightning.

We just got some bad breaks.

Two Carolina goals deflected off of Hurricanes sticks.  Eric Cole ("Mr. Penalty Shot") totally beat John Grahame on his penalty shot but hit the post.  And holy cow, if Grahame can string together a few games like he played last night - stopping all 28 shots that he faced - then Team USA might actually have a chance!  Grahame made some awesome saves.

As a side note, Eric Cole was incredible last night.  That guy is FAST!

Hopefully, Carolina can rebound tonight against the lowly Penguins in front of what should be a nearly sold out crowd.

GO CANES!

Box Score

No losing streaks for the Canes!  After dropping Friday night's contest in New Jersey, the Canes rebounded on Superbowl Sunday in a come-from-behind effort that ended in an overtime shootout.  Even the shootout went to overtime!

Once again, I couldn't watch this game, but I did listen to a lot of it.  The overtime period was incredible, with the Canes getting non-stop pressure and all 7 shots in the overtime.  I think Chuck K was about to go into cardiac arrest!

Carolina because the first team to hit 80 points, and remains atop the league.  They now get 3 days rest before playing their final game of this 4 game road trip on Thursday.

GO CANES!

Box Score

The Canes message boards were starting to get a little crazy.  People were asking questions like "Will the Canes lose again?"

Of course they will.  And they did last night.

I didn't get to watch the game, but I listened to some of it, and from what I could tell, the Canes got thoroughly outplayed.  And let's face it, New Jersey won 3 Stanley Cups with Martin Brodeur minding the net, and clearly he's still doing a fine job.  At least on his good nights.

The Devils retired Scott Stevens number last night.  You gotta respect Scott Stevens for playing hard every minute of every game.  He was one of the game's greatest hitters.  As a Canes fan, I dutifully booed him every time he touched the puck over the last few years because I - like most in the arena - remembered the hit he put on Ron Francis in the first round of the 2001 Stanley Cup Playoffs that knocked him out of the lineup for 3 games.  Clean hit, probably, but that's not really relevant.  He took out our captain.

And as Carolina did for Ron Francis night, the Devils put on a great performance for Scott Stevens night.

As for the Canes, they're starting to get healthy, and i hear Matt Cullen may be back on Thursday.  Not bad for a guy that broke his jaw 9 days ago.

The Hurricanes take on Boston tomorrow afternoon on Superbowl Sunday.

GO CANES!

Box Score

Carolina has won all three games that they've played against the Montreal Canadiens this season, starting on New Years Eve when they put up 5 goals against Jose Theodore, a goaltender who had traditionally stumped the Canes.

That first game was the only one he finished, as he gave up 5 goals in 28 minutes on January 23 when the Habs were beaten soundly 7-3, and in tonight's contest he lasted only 25 minutes before giving up his 5th goal and being pulled from the game.

Erik Cole got a hat trick and an assist, Eric Staal added two goals, plus one each from Kevyn Adams, Craig Adams, and Niklas Nordgren.  Ray Whitney notched 3 assists too.

I didn't get to watch this one but I did listen to a lot of it while I was bowling.  These guys are only gonna get better when Doug Weight joins the team on Friday when the Canes travel to New Jersey.

GO CANES!

Box Score

I don't have a whole lot to say about last night's game, other than I'm glad we won.

Carolina was THOROUGHLY outplayed in every aspect of the game - except for goaltending - in the first two periods.  Somehow, the canes managed 3 goals on 12 shots through the first two periods, while the Islanders threw the puck at the net 29 times and scored only twice.

Well, the win makes 9 in a row - matching the Canes longest winning streak ever, a record set earlier this season.

Hopefully, they can make it 10 against Washington on Saturday.  Washington is not good.  They've only won 16 games.  Of course that makes them better than the St. Louis Blues, whom the Canes struggled against.

Still, I predict a whooping!

GO CANES!

Box Score

The Comeback Canes did it again.

Trailing 1-0 at the end of two periods, and down by two goals TWICE in the third period (2-0 and 3-1), the Canes rallied to tie the game with goals by Matt Cullen, Oleg Tverdovsky, and Erik Cole to tie it up in regulation.  With no scoring in overtime, the game went to the shootout - where the first two shooters for each team each scored and the third shooter did not.

So the shootout itself went to "overtime".  Rod Brind'Amour was our fourth shooter, and he put it past Philly's goalie, then Martin Gerber stood up and stopped Jeff Carter's shot for the win.

Once again, the Canes reside in the #1 spot in the entire NHL with an 8 game winning streak, one point ahead of Ottawa and two ahead of Philly.

The streaking Atlanta Thrashers - 7-2-1 in their last 10 - are still 16 points behind Carolina (who is currently 8-1-1 in their last 10)

The New York Islanders are coming to town on Thursday.  I don't have tickets in my mini-plan but I might go anyway!

GO CANES!

Box Score

I'm not sure how many cheap shots on our players Predators goalie Tomas Vokoun thought he could get away with, but apparently, he went one cheap shot too far.

Vokoun may have been upset the way Carolina players were coming into the crease hard during the first period, but time and again I saw him bring up his stick on our players, and on top of that, he took numerous cheap shots, swings, shoves, etc, against our guys after the fact.

Well, about 2 and a half minutes into the extra inning, he got busted, and the penalty - a 10 minute misconduct - resulted in a penalty shot.  Frank Kaberle took the puck low and slid it between Vokoun's leg for the winning goal.

Great crowd tonight, over 18,000 apparently!  And I've heard that the Sunday afternoon game is nearly sold out already too.

That's a great crowd, when you consider last Friday's game against New York was only attended by just over 14,000 people.  And Nashville doesn't draw fans, so tonight (unlike Tuesday) it was all Carolina fans.

Carolina's 62 points means that we now have the best record in the NHL!  Philadelphia also has 62 points but they have 1 fewer win and 2 more losses (both in OT) so our winning percentage is better.

Sunday afternoon, the worst team in the NHL comes to the RBC Center - the St. Louis Blues at 10-27-5.

GO CANES!

Box Score

Last night's game was huge! Internationally broadcast on OLN in the United States and TSN in Canada. I heard some people say it wsn't on in Detroit - I wonder if they only looked at FSN Detroit... can't imagine any reason why it wouldn't be on OLN up there...

Carolina came out strong in the first with 3 goals before Yzerman put the Wings on the board. Period 1 ended with the score 3-1 Carolina. The Wings scored another in the second period, and that was the end of the scoring. But it sure wasn't the end of the excitement.

Carolina only outshot Detroit 12-11 in the first period but made 3 of them count for goals - not a good period for Legace! I also felt like Detroit dominated the puck in the entire second period although THEY only outshot us 8-7 in that period. It seemed like they had more puck control though. Most of the third period was kinda back and forth, no real sustained puck control by either team for the first 15 minutes of the third. Only 2 penalties were called, and I feel like a lot of old school clutching and grabbing was NOT being called.

In the end, Frank Kaberle got a minor hooking penalty with 1:42 left in the game. With the faceoff at center ice, Legace stayed in goal until Detroit quickly gained possession and control, and then skated off.

What ensued was the most exciting and hair-raising 90 seconds of hockey I've ever seen. It was both 90 seconds of hockey time and 90 seconds of real time. No penalties, no stoppages. Detroit fired it at the net over and over and over again, and several times, Carolina tried to clear but failed.. once the puck was somehow blocked in, and once it was stolen away from Brind'amour who was trying to skate it out... they finally cleared it with about 25 seconds left and Detroit brought it back in the zone and again controlled the puck and shot it without mercy.

I think Gerber stopped 8 shots in the final 90 seconds... and there was a LOT of activity around the goal. Even as the seconds expired, Detroit was working the puck right around the crease.

The horn blew, Gerber put a glove (fist?) in the air, and the crowd went nuts.

The building was sold out, and I'd say there were at least 4,000 vocal red wings fans there. Of course, the "Let's Go Red Wings" chants had to always be countered by our own, so the atmosphwere was ELECTRIC.

I'm glad we won! It was a great game.

Box Score

Thanks in large part to last night's #1 star, Craig Adams, the Carolina Hurricanes rebounded from a 0-2 deficit to score 5 straight goals and hold on for the win, 5-3.  Adams had 2 goals and an assist and is now half way to his career high of 18 points.  Only that year, he was also -10 on the ice and so far this year he is +8.  That's probably due in part to the fact that the 2005-2006 Carolina Hurricanes are a much better team than the 2002-2003 Carolina Hurricanes were.

I hate it when Carolina plays on Tuesday nights because that's when I bowl (I got a 247 last night!).  I did get to listen to most of the last 10 minutes of the game.  I have not yet watched the replays on TV so I don't know what the goals looked like.

Carolina took only two penalties last night.  Attendance was a meager 11,340 - and I'll be there weren't even that many people there, but i heard the crowd was loud once Carolina started scoring.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are up next with Sergei Federov coming into town.  Is he still with Anna Kournikova?

GO CANES!

Box Score

Although the Kings dramatically outshot the Canes 37-22 - including 18-6 in the third period - Carolina jumped out to a 3 goal led and held on for the win last night.

Like all west coast games, I didn't stay up to watch it but I did record it and watch Carolina's goals.  Erik Cole's second goal was a beauty.

We're now 3-1-1 on the road trip with one game to play before coming home for a nice long homestand.  And the Canes are still in first place!

Saturday night the Canes play at San Jose.  The Sharks have been red hot since acquaring Joe Thornton from the Bruins, winning 4 straight and scoring 21 goals in those 4 games.

Methinks they're due for a loss!

GO CANES!

Kevin Adams is an offensive juggernaut!

Okay well maybe not, but he did get his second hat trick of the year (and for his career) last night in Carolina's 6-2 win over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.  Carolina followed it up with a shorthanded goal by Brett Hedican, and third period goals by Justin Williams and Eric Staal for the final tally.

I didn't get to watch the game (west coast games are just way too late for me!) but I did watch it in "high speed" this morning, and the goals were beautiful.

This brings us to 5 points for the 6 game road trip with 2 games left against Los Angeles and San Jose.

GO CANES!

Box Score

I think it was important for Carolina to start this road trip on a positive note AND get a win versus the Thrashers, who seemed to have had the Hurricanes number in the first two games of the season series, outscoring Carolina 14-2.

Unfortunately I didn't get to watch or listen to most of the game due to my Tuesday night bowling league. I was able to listen to the second half of the third period, and I thought I was going to get home in time to watch the overtime, but Carolina scored only 32 seconds in. I was only 2 minutes from my house. Oh well, no complaints here.

It didn't exactly start out well for Carolina, with Cam Ward giving up 2 early goals. Less than 4 minutes into the game and we're down 2 goals. But Ward settled down, and the Canes fought back and took the game to overtime for the 2 points. I wish they hadn't given up a point, since Atlanta is in our division, but 2 points is better than one or none, so it's all good.

Hard to believe that Kaberle led the team in shots with 5. Carolina only managed 23 shots on goal.

Now the team heads west for 5 games against the West - Dallas, Phoenix, Anaheim, Los Angeles, and San Jose. In that order, amazingly enough. It's a pretty travel-friendly road trip except for the back to back with Dallas and Phoenix.

GO CANES!

Box Score

Someone forgot to tell the Atlanta Thrashers that we're better than they are.

Atlanta scored three times in the third to break a 2-2 tie (after the Canes battled back from a 2-0 deficit), including a late game empty-netter.

We're off to Atlanta for the first of a 6 game road trip.

GO CANES!

Box Score

Among the most exciting things about this game was the fact that numerous injured players were back in the lineup tonight, including captain Rod Brind'Amour, Glen Wesley, and Andrew Hutchinson.  Unfortunately, Cory Stillman and Oleg Tverdovsky were out with new injuries.

Although I think Carolina played the third period and the overtime period a bit flat (I felt lucky to get to overtime!), Gerber managed to keep the Leafs out of the net enough to get us to the shootout, where he stood up and said "No" twice while his opponent allowed two Canes to score in the shootout (Radim Vrbata and Matt Cullen).

The game was a sellout.  The first sellout of the year, I think, besides opening night.  Nice to see a big crowd!

With the Lightning's 8-2 loss to the Devils last night, Carolina's division lead returned to 4 points with 3 games in hand, and our 31 points ties us for third in the East.

Atlanta comes to town on Sunday before the Canes head out on a six game road trip.

GO CANES!

Box Score

With the injuries piling up, and the league's best team in town, the Carolina Hurricanes put together a great effort to take the Senators down to the wire in last night's matchup at the RBC Center.  Ottawa's 5th goal was actually an empty netter so the game was very close at the end.

Unfortunately, Carolina's special teams failed to do the job, going not only 0 for 5 on the power play, but giving up a short handed goal as well (I guess making them -1 for 5!)

Coach did some interesting things last night.  In particular, he put Craig Adams on the scoring line with Erik Cole and Eric Staal - and he was rewarded!  Adams had a great night, getting a goal and an assist.  I guess coach just wanted to inject some energy into the line - especially since Cole (who likes to hit people) is hobbled a bit.

It was an exciting game, which I only saw the final 7 minutes of, but listened to other parts.

On a side note, last night's attendance, considering that lower level seats were "buy one get one free" was pretty pathetic.  Fewer than 14,000 fans showed up.  Sunday's game was poorly attended too.

We get a few days off before Toronto comes to town on Friday.  Hopefully we'll start seeing some guys BACK in the lineup.  I'd especially like to see Rod Brind'Amour and his face-off prowess back.

GO CANES!

Box Score

When the Carolina Hurricanes rattled off a string of wins like we've never seen before, we all knew it would end.  They weren't going to win 9 out of every 10 games for the entire season.

Well, the injuries have piled up, and with so many guys out of the lineup, the Canes took on Tampa Bay at home for the second game in the season series, and the results ended up being the same as on opening night in Tampa - with a 5-2 Tampa win.

I was at this game - for two periods - and Carolina came out skating strong in the first period for about 5 minutes, but after that, they really seemed kinda tired.  At one point, they were defending a 5 on 5 situation like it was a Tampa Bay power play - 5 Canes in the middle and 4 Tampa players around the outside passing it around looking for a shot.

The power play was off last night too.  I think during one of our early power plays, we didn't even manage to get a shot.

The injuries have really decimated the Canes lineup.  The loss of Rod Brind'Amour is really hurting us in the faceoff circle.  We only won a third of the faceoffs in this game.  And we really need to get Glen Wesley back.  Plus, Niclas Wallin and Josef Vasicek are out too.

Injuries do more than take specific players out - they mess up your chemistry and your rhythm.

Andrew Ladd was called up from Lowell and played 14 minutes yesterday in fine fashion.  Though he only got one shot on goal, he got 3 hits and a takeaway, and his plus/minus rating was a 0 for the evening.  He played pretty well.

Ottawa comes back to town Tuesday night - buy one get one free if you bring 2 cans of food!

GO CANES!

Box Score

I didn't get to watch this game because I thought it wasn't on TV.  The program guide on Time Warner said that FSN was showing the Oklahoma-Texas Tech game at 1 o'clock on Saturday afternoon.  So I didn't even tune to that channel to check.  Apparently, the hockey game *WAS* on.  We did listen to some of it on the radio but most of our afternoon was spent watching Michigan give the Ohio State Buckeyes the game in the final 5 minutes, so I was a little distracted.

From what I could tell, Carolina didn't really show up until the third period and by then it was too late.  They did manage a late flurry of shooting, got 2 goals, and emptied the net for the final minute or so of play but were unable to get the puck to go in for the game tying goal.

The injuries... more on that later.

Next up, Tampa Bay comes to town for a rematch!

GO CANES!

Box Score

When Kevyn Adams scored his second goal of the night, I said to myself "Wouldn't it be cool if he got a hot trick?"

Well sometimes dreams come true, and I had to explain to my mom why everyone was throwing their hats on the ice - she's learning!  Adams had a great night, and just had the scoring touch tonight.  Not only was it his first hat trick ever, but it was his first multi-goal game since 2001.  He stepped up the pace in Rod Brind'Amour's absence, to say the least.

Eric Staal picked up another goal for his 30th point of the season, and Martin Gerber had a great night in the net again, making some incredible saves.

One interesting note - the game went nearly 14 minutes before the first penalty was called.  Carolina only took 4 penalties the whole game, while New York got called for 8 - including 3 straight in the 3rd period (after starting the period with a minute and a half left on a second period penalty!)

Both teams head back to New York for the second game in the home-and-home at 1pm on Saturday.  I'll be watching the Michigan-Ohio State game but flipping back to check on the Canes game.

GO BLUE!  GO CANES!

Box Score

Some Carolina fans - myself included - were pleasantly surprised (but not shocked) tonight as the Carolina Hurricanes bounced back from Saturday's ugly defeat to beat the Senators tonight 2-1.  I think the Senators may be one of the best teams in the league.  They have only 4 losses, and two of them have been at the hands of our beloved Canes.

I missed the first 30 minutes of the game, but thanks to the DVR I did see both Carolina goals.  Ray Whitney had a beautiful goal shortly after the opening faceoff of the second period.  I don't know how you get right in front of the goalie like that unobstructed, but he did and put the puck where Hasek wasn't!

Mike Commodore got his first goal in 89 games (wow!) in the waning seconds of the same period as Eric Staal - on the ground - pushed the puck back to Commodore, then stood up and blocked Hasek's view.  Commodore threw the puck at the new and it went in - after going right through Staal's legs, I think!

It was a great game to watch, although I'd like it if the Hurricanes had controlled the puck a bit more.  The third period was pretty heavily in Ottawa's favor in terms of puck possession.  But the final score is all that counts, and even more important is the fact that Carolina continues to win games without giving up points to their opponents by doing so in regulation.

Next game is Thursday @ the New York Rangers.

GO CANES!

Box Score

So I'm tooling around Disney's Pleasure Island, knocking back a few tequilas with some friends, when the phone rings.  It's my sister, who is attending the hockey game of which I am speaking.  She tells me it's 5-0.  Well, no lead is insurmountable.

Or is it?

She calls me back when it's 6-0, and then again at 7-0, at which time I tell her not to call me anymore.  I can't bear it!  She calls one more time to tell me that we've scored and it's now 9-1... but then cries "Oh no they've taken it away!"

Did I pick a good one to miss?

Let's put this game behind us.  Bring on the Senators!

GO CANES!

Box Score

Another defensive struggle pitting Martin Gerber against Roberto Luongo, and Gerber and the Canes came out on top once again.

I was out of town and didn't see this game unfortunately.  I was in Orlando, where I seriously considered driving to Ft. Lauderdale to see the game, but couldn't justify it.  And in Orlando, the local sports channel was showing the Tampa Bay Lightning instead (understandable since Tampa is only 1 hour away while Ft. Lauderdale is 4 hours)

GO CANES!

Box Score

I've seen a fair amount of hockey in the last 4 years.  Not a ton, but I've attended probably 40 games and watched numerous others.  And I have never seen a penalty shot (outside of highlight reels).

Until tonight.

Eric Cole, in the third period, had two clean breakaways where the scoring chance was denied from behind illegally, and a penalty shot was awarded.  The first one resulted in a goal on a beautiful shot.  The second shot went wide, but it was that first penalty shot that ended up being the game winner - Carolina's 4th goal of the night.  Justin Williams finished off the Sabres with an insurance goal on an empty net in the final minute.

Martin Gerber had an amazing night, facing 44 shots and turning away 41 of them.  Buffalo dominated the puck just about the entire night, getting shot after shot after shot - especially in the second period where they outshot the Canes 22-3.  They were 0-22 in that period, while we were 1-3.  I guess that's what counts!

Buffalo played with intensity, but they couldn't solve Martin Gerber.

The last 7 game winning streak by the franchise was in 1985, and it was ended by Buffalo that year.  The results were different tonight, and Carolina set a new franchise record with 8 consecutive wins.

GO CANES!

Box Score

Rod Brind'Amour helped Carolina stay perfect at home with the first goal of the game - which turned out to be the game winner.  The game was scoreless going into the third period.  Niclas Wallin added an insurance goal to seal the deal for the final score of 2-0.

Staal was quiet tonight but he did manage an assist on Wallin's goal, and I was happy about that.

The crowd was decent.  I don't know how many people were there because the attendance hasn't been posted yet.  Not as many as the Philly game last Friday, but still pretty good.  Maybe 17,000.  It was a pretty quiet crowd though until the scoring started.  REALLY quiet.

I don't know if the Canes were flat - I mean they did outshoot the Panthers in the first period and played great defense, but there just wasn't a lot going on.  A few breakaways, but this game was definately less exciting than others.

Well, at least we didn't trail in this one!

The Canes head north to Buffalo for a meeting on Wednesday, then back south to Florida for Friday's game before coming back home on Saturday for their first meeting with the Trashers.

GO CANES!

Box Score

I didn't actually throw a hat when Eric Staal scored his third goal of the night.  I wasn't wearing one.  But a lot of people DID throw their hats.  Erik Cole owes every one of those people a new hat!

And he owes Eric Staal a steak dinner or something.

I think it's ironic that last Friday, Staal got a hat trick that the crowd didn't get to celebrate, and last night, the crowd celebrated a hat trick that Staal didn't get.

If you didn't see it, there was a breakaway, with Cole driving towards an empty net.  HE WAS HOOKED, and then he was called for diving.    In the process, he passed the puck to Staal who put the puck in the net.  The horn blew.  The refs didn't immediately wave off the goal.  In fact it was a good 2-3 minutes before we realized that there was no goal.

Cole has a reputation for diving, and he may have done so last night.  But he *WAS* hooked, and there should have been a call against Toronto as well for the hook which led to the dive.

Well, Staal continues to impress, and the Canes continue to win.

Next up, the Hurricanes host the Florida Panthers at home on Saturday.

GO CANES!

Box Score

I can almost guarantee that Eric Staal is going to win the NHL Player of the Week award this week.  He followed up last night's hat trick with 4 big assists tonight in helping Carolina one again erase a 2 goal deficit in the third period for a 5-3 win.

I didn't get to watch the game because I was at my folks house watching the Michigan-Northwestern football game.  I did switch back and forth and had the DVR going to I saw a few of the goals.   You'll have to give me a bit of a break here, I've been a Michigan fan for my entire life, and they only play 12 games a year =)

Oh, tonight's game was on INHD on Time Warner Cable - it looks so beautiful i high definition - although the sound was off.

Now we get a few days off before comingback to the RBC Center on Thursday and Saturday for games against Toronto and Florida.  We can always count on a lot of Maple Leafs fans at the RBC Center when Toronto comes to town.

GO CANES!

Box Score

A game in Raleigh with many highs and lows ended on a high note, as the Canes finished off the Flyers with 5 goals in the third period to once again come from behind for an 8-6 victory.

Cam Ward had an off night - as did the Canes defense - but they still managed to win, and I think that is a Good Thing.

One of the games goals was mis-credited but the injustice was corrected and Eric Staal ended with a hat trick (which means some lucky $@#$@ got a free John Deere tractor).

Have you ever had a VIP parking spot?  Not a pre-paid reserved spot, but a bonafide VIP spot?  I did tonight.  My sister and her husband, who work for SAS, got to sit in the SAS suite tonight, and they were giving a VIP parking pass to go with their tickets.  So naturally, we carpooled.   Our parking space was so close to the arena I could practically spit on it from my car!  It was about 5 spots away from the box office.  Very nice.   I guess when you own a suite, you get to park up front.  I always thought those spots were for players wives, family, girlfriends, etc.

Allegedly, tonight's crowd was about 18,000 - a good count, but there were "regulars" around me who were not there tonight - numerous people with 24 game plans, and I'm sure others.  I'd say the crowd was more like 16k or 17k, and a good 2,000 of them must've been Flyers fans.

I've heard that Flyers fans are the worst kind of fans, but maybe that's just in their own arena.

The Canes travel to Pittsburg for another game against the lowly Penguins.  Hopefully Mario did all his scoring last night and won't have anything left for tomorrow!  The Hurricanes are bound to lose sooner or later, but I dont' think it will be the Penguins.

GO CANES!

Box Score

I just finished writing several paragraphs complaining about tonight's game not being on TV, but then I decided that's not what I want to write about, so this sentence will be the end of my complaining.

Eric Staal (2 assists) and Matt Cullen (2 goals) were big players in tonight's come-from-behind victory, and since I couldn't be at the game, I had the pleasure of listening to our hall of fame broadcaster Chuck Kaiton.  His broadcasts really are a joy to listen to.  As the pace of the game goes, so does the pitch of his voice.

These Hurricanes are proving to be a resilient bunch, wiping out a 3-1 deficit to take the game to overtime where the won it "in regulation".   That makes me happy, I'm glad the shootout exists, but I'll take a regular "legitimate" overtime win over a shootout win any day.  That's good fodder for an entry about shootout options at some point in the future.  Someone I know suggested that it would be at least as relevant to the game of hockey for the players to settle the game with a hand of Bridge.

Be that as it may, the crowd sounded good tonight.  The box scores don't list attendance yet.  I expect with the number of Bostonians we have around here, there were probably a fair number of "enemy" fans at the game.

The Canes re-take first place in the Southeast Division, and improve to 4-0 at home, 6-2-1 overall.

Next up, the Philadelphia Flyers come to the RBC Center on Friday at 7pm.  IT's magnetic schedule giveaway night!  If great hockey wasn't enough incentive, that should help make your decision.  Friday night is hockey night!  Philly is 4-2-1 and will be playing Florida tomorrow night while the Canes get a night off.

I'll be there, and I hope you will too!

GO CANES!

Box Score

So, like I've said before, I'm a 24 game mini-plan holder.  Which means I did NOT have tickets to last night's game.  At least not as part of my package.

This was a big game.  Carolina is skating well, and Ottawa is... was.. undefeated.  I didn't want them to come into our house with 8000 people there on a Monday night that only consisted of season ticket holders.   So I stopped by the box office on my way home and picked up a pair of seats in the mezzanine.  I've always wanted to sit in the mezzanine, I just haven't.  Gotta say they're cool seats.

The game last night started out shaky, with Martin Gerber giving up two weak goals in the first 3 shots of the game.  And then he did what hockey enthusiasts refer to as standing on one's head.  Gerber stopped a nearly continuous barage of the next 43 shots.

The crowd of 12,113 was a bit lax in the first period, but I think the crowd often goes as the game goes - and with only 9 shots and a 2 goal deficit, the first period wasn't great.  But the Canes put us back in the game pretty quickly in the second period and then tied it up and the crowd was alive.

I'm really glad I went.   I will say that I think the Senators were the better team on the ice last night but sometimes, all you need to win is a goalie - and Gerber sure did the job last night.

Next up - the Boston Bruins come to the RBC Center on Wednesday at 7pm.  I won't be going, so I'll expect you to go in my stead.  I can't pull off 3 games in one week ;)  You know, wife and kids and stuff.

Boston is 4-5-1 after a shootout loss to the Leafs last night.

GO CANES!

Box Score

The Canes played a road game tonight against the team I affectionately call.. The Crapitols.  Washington has a terrible team.  They commit a ton of penalties, and they've given up more points per game than every other team in the league except Pittsburg.

Carolina dominated the play almost the entire night, and after Cam Ward went out with what is hopefully a minor injury (he was back on the bench by the second period), Martin Gerber came in and kept the Craps outta the net entirely for the team's first shutout of the season.  Gerber only had to stop 17 shots, but he made some excellent saves.  Kolzig on the other hand faced 41 shots.  I guess allowing 4 goals on 41 shots isn't terrible.

On a side note, I was just looking at the box score on NHL.com, which listed the game as final but didn't have the correct numbers for shots on goal.  Looks like I'll be referring to ESPN for box scores.

This week should be fun.  I've got tickets to Friday's game as part of my 24 game plan, but I think I might like to go see the Canes hand the Senators their first loss of the season on Monday.

GO CANES!