By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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And here we are again. It's like we never left...
OK, not quite, but it's great to be back in our old stomping ground above section 323. Opening Night always is tough to call, especially when the team's first game is at home, since the team can sometimes come out too amped up and find themselves trailing before they realize that the puck has dropped. It's still one of the best days on the calendar, and it's always an exciting night to cover.
That said, let's get moving. The Philadelphia Flyers are tonight's guest, one of the few teams given legitimate Stanley Cup hopes before the season starts. Even though they bowed out in the first round of last year's playoffs, the Flyers did plenty in the offseason to give themselves a better than fighting chance this year, adding Chris Pronger to bolster their blue line while bringing back 46-goal scorer Jeff Carter to lead the offensive attack. Needless to say, the Flyers won't be anyone's idea of an off night.
The Canes, though, will look to get in the head of Ray Emery, who returns to man the Flyers' net after a season's sojourn in Russia. They made fewer changes than just about any other Eastern Conference contender, and after a season of tinkering around the edges it's time to see what GM Jim Rutherford has wrought.
And here we go...
:20 1st: It didn't take long for the first test of the season. Simon Gagne and Mike Richards skated in on a partial two-on-one after a turnover at the Canes' blue line, and a sharp kick save from Cam Ward kept the game scoreless.
3:15 1st: The Canes still don't have their legs under them. (Remember what was said earlier about wobbly legs on opening night at home?) The Flyers so far have had three great scoring chances, and while Cam Ward's kept them in the game the guys in front of him need to get on the ball.
Lines, by the way, are a little different than we saw in the preseason:
Cole-Staal-Whitney
Jokinen-Cullen-Ruutu
Samsonov-Brind'Amour-LaRose
Walker-Yelle-Kostopolous
6:40 1st: I know it's a little skewed because Joni Pitkanen isn't playing, but seeing Aaron Ward and Tim Gleason manning the points on a power play isn't quite what you would expect to see. All is forgiven if they score, though, and Gleason nearly set up Jussi Jokinen on a redirection in front of Emery.
8:30 1st: Cam Ward is certainly earning his newly-signed cash tonight, turning aside a great chance from Matt Carle as well as the followup shot from Simon Gagne with a poke check. He's been money so far, turning away eight shots in the first ten minutes.
10:00 1st: Again, Ward bails the Canes out with an impressive save. This time, it's Jeff Carter doing the honors, with a shot on a nearly-open net that Ward somehow stopped and held for a faceoff. The way the Flyers are playing, you'd think it's only a matter of time, but Ward is singlehandedly keeping his team in the game so far.
11:27 1st: The "ref you suck" cheer starts early, and if you had the under you probably win. A wild scramble after Emery failed to clear the puck out of the crease led to a broken play where Eric Staal looked to roof home his first of the year...but referee Chris Lee noticed that Andrew Alberts used his hand to pass the puck to Ray Whitney and blew his whistle on an illegal hand pass even before Staal took his shot. The home fans weren't happy, but it was unquestionably the right call.
12:49 1st: And if you had the under on the first fight of the year, you probably win that too. Tim Gleason took exception to an illegal hit by Daniel Carcillo on Whitney, and a short fight ended with a no decision and Gleason hit the showers with an instigator penalty. We'll see him in the second period. The instigator penalty also cost the Canes a power play, since Carcillo was headed to the box for a boarding penalty as it was.
14:42 1st: Andrew Alberts just leveled Jeff Carter on the far boards. Heard in the press box: "I think the physical guys are living up to their reputation." (Can't disagree.)
16:15 1st: Ward stones James van Riemsdyk on a close-in shot from about four feet with no defender in sight. Hate to sound like a broken record, but he is the reason this game is still scoreless.
17:56 1st: Public Enemy No. 1 in 29 NHL cities, Chris Pronger, takes a penalty for holding, and he gets serenaded with Bronx cheers on his way to the box. Glad to know that some things never change.
19:02 1st: Samsonov nearly scores on a nice cross-ice pass from Staal, but the puck gets caught in his skates and Emery has time to set himself to block the shot.
19:30 1st: Now the cheers from earlier might be somewhat justified. Sergei Samsonov takes a double-minor for high sticking Braydon Coburn when Samsonov's stick never came up and it was his glove that contacted Coburn. We're still looking to find the stick work that led to the penalty.
End 1st: Shots in the period were 15-8 Flyers, which doesn't tell the whole story of how thoroughly the Canes were outplayed in the period. Cam Ward's earned that contract extension so far. The Canes have a lengthy penalty killing stretch to start the 2nd period, so they'll need to hunker down defensively and give Ward some help if they want to kill it off.
:25 2nd: Flyers 1, Canes 0; Carter 1 (Briere, Hartnell) Can't say this wasn't seen coming. After somehow keeping th epuck out of the net on a Scott Hartnell shot, Ward lost control of the puck while falling backward, and Carter poked the puck through Ward's legs to give the Flyers the lead on the first of the two high-sticking minors. The Flyers remained on the power play...
:47 2nd: Flyers 2, Canes 0; Richards 1 (Gagne, van Riemsdyk) ...and 22 seconds later, Mike Richards tipped a Simon Gagne shot home to put the Flyers up by two. Both penalties ended up burning the Canes, and there wasn't much Ward could have done on either one.
3:25 2nd: It's nice to see the Canes' fourth line with some pressure, and to their credit they haven't backed down after the two quick goals. Tom Kostopolous took an off-balance shot that Emery had a bit of trouble handling, but the Walker-Yelle-Kostopolous combination had some great zone time and got the Canes' top-line players a bit of a breather.
5:35 2nd: Staal nearly has his first again, but he beats Emery (who was screened by Erik Cole on the play) and the puck hits the far-side post. If it wasn't for bad luck...
6:52 2nd: Brind'Amour shoots wide to the short side with Emery out of position and an open net in front of him. Canes have to start burying some of these chances at some point, don't they?
10:30 2nd: The Canes are showing some jump, helped by two straight power plays, but still no luck in denting Emery, who's made the saves he's needed to so far.
13:11 2nd: Aaron Ward makes 18,680 of his closest friends cringe by blocking a slap shot off his right leg. But did you really think he was headed to the dressing room? No way...he's still on the bench and doesn't look any worse for wear, but you know he'll feel that in the morning.
14:35 2nd: Claude Giroux nearly made it 3-0 but his one-timer missed the mark by a few inches and trickled through the crease behind Ward without doing any damage. Canes caught a huge break there.
End 2nd: The Canes looked better in the period, outshooting the Flyers 8-7 (Flyers lead overall 22-16), but they still find themselves staring at a pretty big hill to climb in the 3rd. If they play the way they did in the 2nd they'll be in good shape to get at least one, but it might be a long twenty minutes for the home fans.
4:14 3rd: A Danny Syvret slashing penalty gives the Canes yet another power play. If they want to make something happen, now's the time to do it...
5:40 3rd: ...and Sergei Samsonov whiffs on an open net. Fantastic.
8:15 3rd: The Canes are doing everything they possibly can to score, but they aren't getting any bounces. Ruutu whiffed on an open net a few seconds after the power play expired, and now the Canes face a four-on-four with Jokinen and Coburn in the boxes for various and sundry offenses.
9:20 3rd: Still nothing. Staal shoots wide after a Cole shot takes a long rebound off Emery's pads.
12:00 3rd: Paul Maurice is looking a bit pensive on the bench. Can't imagine why.
12:55 3rd: Matt Cullen took an off-angle shot that redirected off Chris Pronger's skate, beat Emery...and hit the post. That's the night in a nutshell, folks.
14:04 3rd: The Canes get their seventh power play of the night as a gift from Braydon Coburn, who cleared the puck into the seats. Again...can't let these go by the wayside.
16:04 3rd: 0-for-7 on the power play. If you want a reason the Canes likely will fall in the season opener, look no further than that statistic.
End 3rd: The Canes end the night 0-for-8 on the power play. That's all you need to know. They had their chances, but the power play needs to improve in a hurry to give them a chance. Ray Emery earns a shutout in his return to the NHL, stopping all 28 shots the Hurricanes fired at him.
Postgame: Paul Maurice said after the game that he thought the Canes played better after the two goals in the second period, but unfortunately better wasn't good enough. We knew going in that the Canes wanted at least a split of the first two games, and now they need to go into Boston to face a Bruins team that not only has baggage left over from last year's playoffs, but was demolished on home ice by the Washington Capitals on Thursday night. It won't be an easy two points there either.
It was pointed out after the game that this is the first time the Hurricanes franchise - going back to the Whalers days, 30 years ago - has ever been shut out in their opener, an ignominious feat that this year's Canes most certainly have no desire to hold.
Click for audio from Andrew Alberts and Eric Staal. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes will be back on the ice tomorrow night in Boston, then return home to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night at the RBC Center. We'll be back then, so until Tuesday, take care.
Friday, October 2, 2009
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