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!

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

After 2 periods of "bore you to tears" hockey reminiscent of the old clutch and grab NHL, Carolina finally broke out of the doldroms with 3 goals in the third period to beat the Devils for the second time this season, 4-1.

And when I say "bore you to tears," let me tell you, the first two periods were awful!  Carolina had only 11 shots on goal in the first two periods combined.   The second period featured 11 shots on goal total from both teams.  A second period which featured 7 penalties, including a full minute of 5 on 3 for Carolina - and the shots just weren't happening.

Carolina's third period started out with the first NHL goal by rookie Chad LaRose - his 4th point in 6 games.  LaRose is making the best of his trip to the bigs - he wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for all the injuries.

That goal apparently sparked the team, because Eric Staal put his 22nd goal if the season in the net only 19 seconds later, and Erik Cole added an insurance goal in the final 5 minutes to seal the deal.

Carolina has won 3 straight and 5 of their last 6.  They've got a 5 point lead on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who come into town on Tuesday  in what is known as a 4 point swing game.  if Carolina wins, the lead stretches to 7 points, and if we lose, it drops to 3 points.

We haven't beaten Tampa Bay yet this year, so now's the time!

GO CANES!