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!

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!