The Caniac's Blog

Is this the same team that lost 14 in a row?

2010-03-10T06:22:49-08:00

Seriously. Technically speaking it's not. When the Canes went on that 14 game losing streak early in the season, they were mostly healthy as I recall. Then, as the fatigue of losing set in, they got hurt, and that certainly didn't help.

But then, on January 20, Eric Staal was named captain. Since then, the Canes are 13-4, which is made even more impressive because the Canes are 8-1 since Cam Ward last played, giving up only 16 goals in those 9 games.

Clearly, it's not the same team. Matt Cullen, Niclas Wallin, Aaron Ward, Scott Walker, Andrew Alberts, Joe Corvo, and Stephane Yelle are all gone. 6 of those were important parts of the regular lineup, including four of our top 6 defensemen.

But the Canes are healthy now, and winning games, with timely offense and solid goaltending.

They can still make the playoffs too.

Yeah, I said that.

If you take the total number of points each team currently has, and you project their final totals based on the current number of games played for each team, you can see an approximation of the final standings and, more importantly, the final point totals.

As of today, this projection has Boston finishing in 7th place with 88 points, and Montreal in 8th place with 87 points. So how do the Canes make the playoffs? Finishing with 89 points would probably do it.

Some of you may argue that 89 points is never enough to get into the playoffs. But the Eastern conference is weak this year. Aside from Washington, who is well on their way to winning the President's Trophy (projected to have 121 points), the western conference is dominating. Currently, the western conference teams have 1,125 points, compared to only 1,071 points for eastern conference teams. This disparity, when combined with the dominance of Washington, means that the lower seeds will require less points than usual to get into the playoffs.

The Canes are currently at 61 points. They need 28 more to get to 89 ponts, so that's either 14-3 or maybe 13-2-2 or something like that.

Yeah, it's unlikely. But they're 13-4 in their last 17. Whose to say they can't go 14-3 in their next 17?

Personally, I really can't afford to buy playoff tickets this year, so my wallet will thank them for not making it.

Go Canes!

I think this is worst than 2003 and 2007!

2009-12-02T09:28:59-08:00

Remember the 2002 playoff run that ended with a loss to Detroit in 5 games in the Finals? That was great, wasn't it?

The following year, the Canes went 22-43-11-6 for a league low 61 points. Last in goals for, and 4th to last in goals against in the entire NHL.

2007 was not quite as bad, but they followed up a stanley cup win with an 11th place finish in the Eastern Conference, with only 88 points.

But this.. this is much worse.

At 27 games played, we are 1/3 of the way through the season. And we've got 15 points.

I think we can safely avoid the worst record in NHL history though, the Washington Capitals in 1974 apparently went 5-67-5.

But.. what can the Canes do? Nothing, that I can see. We signed a bunch of guys to contracts, and they're not living up to those contracts. Rod Brind'amour, the captain, is playing 7 minutes a game - and sucking. Take one for the team, Rod! RETIRE!

Rutherford should put the whole team on waivers. At least, anyone with a contract past this year. Nobody would get claimed, but see if there's any interest, then maybe work out some traders where the Canes pay half the salary and get a young player in return. I'd hold onto Staal and Ward, but that's about it. Brind'amour, Whitney, Samsonov, Ruutu, Cole, etc. It's time to start over.

I wonder if there will be a Crosby like character available in next year's draft....

My 2009-2010 Caniac Predictions

2009-10-02T07:24:00-08:00

EDIT 12/2/09 - I'm tempted to delete this entry entirely and just pretend I never made such a prediction, but I'll leave it here for posterity. It is safe to say that the Canes will NOT make the playoffs this year. They'd have to go something like 37-9-8 in their final 54 games to make it to the 97 points I predicted..

The season starts tonight! I've moved from Section 338 "upper corner" to Section 330 "mezzanine", and I'll be there tonight, for what will hopefully be the first of many wins.

I believe that the Canes are a better team than they were last year. I think Rod Brind'amour will be a positive factor again, we brought essentially all of our offensive weapons back, and we've added a few veteran players in Tom Kostopoulos and Stephane Yelle.

More importantly, I think our defense will be better, with Seidenberg, Kaberle, and Babchuk gone, replaced by Aaron Ward, Andrew Alberts, and Jay Harrison.

The team also started out miserably last year and finished strong in the second half after getting rid of Laviolette.

Last year, we had 45 wins and 97 points. My season prediction, 48 wins, 25 losses, and 9 overtime losses for 105 points. We will compete for the southeast division title but not win... and have a 4th seed in the playoffs come April.

See you there!

Dennis Seidenberg Still Unsigned

2009-08-03T07:17:24-08:00

so the Hurricanes defense is pretty well shored up I think. The top 6 will be Aaron Ward, Niclas Wallin, Joni Pitkanen, Tim Gleason, Joe Corvo, and Andrew Alberts. The 7th wil likely be one of Jay Harrison, Anton Babchuck, or one of the River Rats (Conboy). Frank Kaberle's contract was bought out so he's gone.

But what about Dennis Seidenberg? He's still unsigned, which I think is pretty amazing. He's a good player and certainly worthy of someone's roster. He's only 28 years old.

Perhaps he's too costly to be our 7th, but what do you think the likelyhood of going through the season without significant injury to our top 6 defensemen is? Slim to none. And I'd rather Seidenberg be there than Conboy, Babchuck, or Harrison.

Some think that the fact that Seidenberg is not signed (along with a slew of other quality unrestricted free agents) is a conspiracy by the NHL to drive down salaries. I remember the days of baseball's collusion scandal and I'd hate to see that kind of negativity come to the NHL.

I can see good reason the Canes haven't signed him, after all, we do have 6 quality defensemen, and the "get more physical" mentality brought Aaron Ward back instead of re-signing Seidenberg I guess. I suppose its too late to express the opinion that I'd rather re-sign 28 year old Dennis Seidenberg than 36 year old Aaron Ward... but I really do like Aaron Ward (even after the "incident" in the playoffs).

We'll see. I'm sure Seidenberg will land somewhere.

Offseason Notes: Building A Contender

2009-07-27T09:27:23-08:00

so it's late July now, and I think the Canes are just about done making roster moves.

And I, for one, am pretty happy with what they've done.

Let's summarize: They resigned unrestricted free agents Jussi Jokinen, Erik Cole and Chad LaRose to two year contracts, and they signed restricted free agent Tuomo Ruutu to a 3 year contract before going to arbitration. So the offense looks pretty good I think, especially if Brind'amour plays reasonably well. So that gives us Cole, Staal, Whitney, Cullen, Walker, Jokinen, LaRose, Ruutu, Samsonov and Brind'amour, plus new winger Tom Kostopoulous, and our younger guys to fill out thel ineup (Brandon Sutter an the like)

Defensively, we've got Joe Corvo, Tim Gleason, Niclas Wallin, Joni Pitkanen, Frank Kaberle, plus new guy / old guy Aaron Ward, and new guy Andrew Alberts. That's 7 solid defensemen (assuming you include Kaberle as a "solid defenseman), plus Anton Babchuk is still on the team, and new guy Jay Harrison has a two way contract.

I don't know if Babchuck will be sticking around, I suspect the Canes are going to move him somehow, and to be honest I wouldn't mind seeing them add another starting defenseman and just buy out Kaberle's contract, the guy has been worthless for 3 straight years now.

But I suspect they're already over Rutherford's desired salary for the team so we probably won't be adding anyone else.

I like it.

I think we're a definate contender, and I can't wait for the season to start!

Penguins dominate second half

2009-05-21T20:23:27-08:00

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!

We don't win Game 1, we win Game 7!

2009-05-21T10:42:41-08:00

Okay, so I forgot to blog about the end of the last series in my excitement over winning yet another game 7 on the road, and moving on to the third round. Nice work, Canes!

So here we are in the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time in 7 seasons, playing the only team that was as hot, or hotter, down the stretch run than the Hurricanes.

So what if the Canes lost game 1? I mean, how many game 1s have we won this season? New Jersey won game 1... Boston won game 1.

We don't win game 1. We win game 7. I'll take a game 7 win over a game 1 win any day of the week.

As for tonight's game 2 - I'd certainly like the Canes to win - if only for selfish reasons. My beard needs a trim. I don't like hair growing on my upper cheeks!

Go Canes!

Game 7 Cliche: It's anyone's game!

2009-05-13T13:49:38-08:00

The Carolina Hurricanes haven't shown us much in the last two games that would indicate any ability at all to win Game 7. But they did show us plenty in Game 2, Game 3, and Game 4 to that end.

It's said that the hardest game to win is an elimination game. That may be true. Boston was backed into a corner after losing 3 straight. For them, it was do or die in game 5. For us, it was not. For them, it was do or die in Game 6. For us - well, there was certainly a little more pressure because nobody wants to go back to Boston (except Boston players and fans)... but it was not do or die.

In game 7 tomorrow night, it's do or die. For both teams.

I expect we're gonna see a great contest. Last time Boston faced a game 7, they got blown out by Montreal. Of course, that was IN Montreal.... Boston came back from trailing 3-1 - just like in this series, before winning games 5 and 6.

But this is not the same. Boston is a good solid team, and they're gonna be hard to beat in front of the home crowd, with the home-ice right to last line change.

I hope to see it happen though. I'm not at all ready for hockey season to end. The playoffs are too much fun!

GO CANES!

NHL gets it right, waives Walker's suspension

2009-05-12T07:56:00-08:00

So the big discussion lately has been about Scott Walker's "sucker punch" on Aaron Ward in Game 5. Walker received an instigator penalty, which comes with an automatic suspension when it occurs in the final 5 minutes of the game - subject to review by the NHL office.

He didn’t get the suspension because the intention of the automatic suspension was to prevent a coach from telling a player to go in and beat someone up just because the game is outta hand.

That CLEARLY was not the case here. Ward tried to start a fight with Cullen - a non-fighter. Ward threw an elbow at Cullen’s head, a guy who has a history of concussion problems. Walker reacted to that, defending Cullen, threw a left with his gloves on. Then threw the right.

Ward knew it was coming and didn’t defend himself because Ward is a wanker who only wants to fight guys he can beat up.

It was only a cheap shot because Ward outright refused to defend himself. A sucker punch implies that you’re punching and the recipient didn’t know it was coming… Walker’s right hook was the second punch.

The NHL made the right call here. The one game suspension exists to prevent something.. but not this. Players have to be allowed to react and defend other players.

Jussi Does It Again

2009-05-07T08:01:18-08:00

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...

CAM WARD SAYS NO!!!!

2009-05-04T07:00:50-08:00

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!

Jussi Jokinen, You're My Hero!

2009-04-28T21:04:00-08:00

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!

Hockey's Version of a Buzzer Beater

2009-04-21T20:48:40-08:00

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!

O Stars, Where Art Thou?

2009-04-20T06:40:23-08:00

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.

Tailgating Update

2009-04-18T18:36:31-08:00

So I just read that Jamie Langenbrunner is out for at least the next two games. Some "freak" occurence led to some kind of lower body injury. I suppose they could be more obscure about injuries. At any rate, hopefully that'llgive us a little extra edge, having their captain on the bench.

Looks like we'll be tailgating Sunday afternoon with fried chicken and stuff. I should make some of that famous "Erik Cole" slaw - a recipe I got from another caniac at a tailgate back in 2006. We'll be out by Carter Finley Stadium (where all of the real tailgating occurs).

It's just too difficult to tailgate properly in the paved lots around the arena - the spaces are too small and too "regulated".

I want to hear every one of you making noise at the Game on Sunday (okay, yes, I realize i'm probably talking to a whole lot of nobody)

http://despair.com/blogging.html

"Blogging: Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few"

Canes earn split in New Jersey

2009-04-18T08:10:17-08:00

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!

I might have some extra tickets

2009-04-13T12:59:46-08:00

I might have an extra pair of tickets to Tuesday night's game. Please let me know if you're interested. Upper corner section 338. Face value for Canes fans, 4x face value for Devils fans :)

Playoff Schedule Commentary

2009-04-13T12:57:00-08:00

The NHL announced the playoff schedule, and here it is:

Game	Day	Date	Location	Time
1	Wednesday	April 15	Newark, NJ	7:30 p.m.
2	Friday	April 17	Newark, NJ	7:30 p.m.
3	Sunday	April 19	Raleigh, NC	7:30 p.m.
4	Tuesday	April 21	Raleigh, NC	7:30 p.m.
5	Thursday	April 23	Newark, NJ	7:30 p.m.
6	Sunday	April 26	Raleigh, NC	TBA
7	Tuesday	April 28	Newark, NJ	7:30 p.m.

It really irks me that Game 3 is a Sunday evening game. I can't take my daughter. They should've made it a 5 o'clock or 3 o'clock game, that would've been great.

and Sunday, April 26, I'll be coming home from Myrtle Beach so if they turn that into an early afternoon game I might not be able to go. Might have to get up real early Sunday morning to get checked out!

Go Penguins!

2009-04-11T18:39:36-08:00

So yeah, we lose to New Jersey today - a good game, but we started our backup goalie, probably to make sure the loss didn't leave any lasting impression. Leighton played really well except for two horribly flukey bounces off the boards, and the Canes looked pretty good otherwise, but lost 3-2 in regulation.

So since the Flyers won today, I personally want Pittsburg to win their final game, which is going on right now. This would match us up with New Jersey, and I'd honestly rather play New Jersey in the first round than Philadelphia. Of course, if Pittsburgh loses and we somehow make it to the second round, we'd either end up playing New Jersey in the second round or Pittsburgh - and get home ice against Pittsburgh if they beat New Jersey in round 1, so that'd be okay too I guess. I just think we play better against New Jersey than some other teams - and we've beaten the Devils in the 2002 and 2006 playoffs.

At any rate, our first round matchup will be set in a half an hour or so.

The Silver Lining in Last Night's Loss

2009-04-10T05:57:52-08:00

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!

Holy Crap! Canes destroy AHL Islanders

2009-04-07T20:23:15-08:00

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!

Beep Beep!

2009-04-06T11:46:43-08:00

Canes Clinch Playoffs!

2009-04-04T19:23:59-08:00

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.

There's noise, and then there's Playoff Noise!

2009-04-03T04:59:39-08:00

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!

March Stats Madness!

2009-04-01T05:37:23-08:00

In the month of March, Carolina played some of the best hockey I've seen them play. They lead the league in goals scored with 3.92. They also lead the league in goals allowed at 2.00 (thanks Cam Ward!)

Carolina also is the least penalized team in the NHL for the entire season, averaging only 9:40 of penalty time per game. Of course, the second least penalized team in the Eastern Conference is the Boston Bruins - a team I'd least like to meet in the playoffs. Nonetheless, the disciplined play can only help in the playoffs.

We've still got to get there though.. another win or two should do the trick...

See you Thursday night! Go Canes!

Is there any doubt that this is a playoff team?

2009-03-28T18:28:56-08:00

I'm still on vacation in Williamsburg but tuned into the game tonight on the internet. Nice to see the Canes dominate the second and third periods, tie it up in the third and then take the lead and hold it.

This was the first time in 37 games that the Devils had blown a 3rd period lead.

I'm tired, so that's all I've got tonight!

Canes get a 4 day rest and don't play til Thursday. See ya at the arena!

Canes stop Ottawa Winning Streak

2009-03-26T05:26:37-08:00

I'm on vacation in Williamsburg so I had to listen to last night's game on the internet after we got back from dinner. Sounded like the crowd was really into it. Like me, I'm sure everyone smells playoffs. And now we've got a 5 game winning streak, and the Canes have won 8 straight at home.

Now, we get to let the rest of the league catch up to us in games played. Carolina doesn't play again until Saturday, then not again until next Thursday! That's a lot of time off, so hopefully they won't lose their mojo!

Go Canes!

One step closer!

2009-03-23T19:05:09-08:00

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!

My night in the VIP Club Ledge

2009-03-21T19:17:39-08:00

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!

Huge win over New Jersey

2009-03-19T03:32:50-08:00

okay, that was huge. Nobody else in the east played last night, and the 2 points puts us 3 ahead of Florida and 5 ahead of Buffalo, both of whom have 2 games in hand.

Friday's game versus the Islanders is definately a "Must Win" because we can't be losing to teams like that.

See you there!