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!

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.

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 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!