By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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The first Live Blog Road Trip for the 2009-10 season heads to Ohio as the Canes face the Columbus Blue Jackets for the only time this year. Here's hoping that this year's first road trip yields better results than the first one last year did, when the Canes blew a 2-0 lead to the Atlanta Thrashers in the final ten minutes of the game and lost the game 3-2, prompting this immortal question from your humble reporter: "Coach.........what happened?"
No matter the outcome of tonight's game, the Canes will provide a compelling storyline. Either they get off the schneid and finally tally a win for the first time in nearly a month, or they will lose twelve in a row for the first time since they've been in North Carolina. Either way, it's bound to be an eventful night in central Ohio.
The Jackets aren't the pushover that they were a few years ago. They made the playoffs last year for the first time in franchise history, and they currently sit tied atop the Central Division with the Chicago Blackhawks. Former Hurricane Mike Commodore, who has bounced in and out of the lineup with various injuries this season, reenters the lineup tonight to face his former mates. Former Jackets captain Ray Whitney, however, did not make the trip to Columbus and won't be in the lineup tonight. Paul Maurice is expected to skate the same lineup as he put out yesterday against Toronto, and hope for better results. (Don't we all?)
Will the Canes break the streak? We'll know by the end of the night...
Pregame: Paul Maurice is sending out his fourth line to start tonight. Think the coaching staff might be sending a message there?
1:07 1st: It didn't take long for the Canes' first good chance, a point-to-point passing play that nearly resulted in a goal for Matt Cullen. Tim Gleason's point shot was off the mark but caromed to Zach Boychuk, who tried to center to Cullen a few feet away in front of the net. If Cullen got good wood on the shot he would have scored though Jackets goalie Steve Mason's legs, but he flubbed on the shot and Mason scrambled to make the save.
2:55 1st: Big kick save for Ward on the Jackets' first shot. Defenseman Jan Hejda fired a shot from the left point that was screened in front of the net, and Ward had to be quick to kick the shot out of harm's way at the last second.
6:50 1st: An extended shift in the Canes' zone nets the Jackets nothing on the scoreboard, but they sure came close with Ward down in the crease and about three shots taken that were deflected by the Canes' defense before they came into the crease. As Chip Alexander said to me, those are the types of shots that had been going in for the Canes' opponents. Has the tide finally turned?
7:35 1st: Michael Leighton is now in the Canes' net after a very scary moment in front of the Canes' net. Rick Nash tried to cut across the crease and he fell over while trying to make his move, but his skate cut the back of Cam Ward's leg and Ward was down on the ice in obvious pain, with a good bit of blood on the ice. Ward's night is through, and we may have seen the last of him for a long while depending on how bad the injury is.
9:05 1st: Carolina takes a 1-0 lead; Cole 1 (Cullen) Still obviously in shock over seeing their goaltender helped off the ice, Erik Cole gave the Canes the lead for the second straight game. Matt Cullen stole the puck from a Jackets defender and wired a pass across the slot to a wide-open Cole in the far circle. Cole's one-timer was right on the money, and Mason had no chance to stop the high shot.
15:10 1st: Another flurry in the Canes' zone that started with a crunching check behind the net that saw Zach Boychuk get plastered. The game has settled down since the Canes' goal, but it's still way too loose in the defensive zone and the Canes are really playing with fire.
19:58 1st: Just before the buzzer, Mason made a save off a Corvo slap shot that he didn't see until the very last instant. The shot stung the Jackets' goaltender, who got a visit from the trainer but stayed in for the last second-plus of the period.
End 1st: Given the circumstances, it's a minor miracle the Canes are up by one. The Jackets looked good in the offensive zone, though, and the Canes will need to avoid repeated Chinese fire drills if they want to skate out with a win, because there were more than a few in the first period. Shots in the period were 9-6 Jackets, who will begin the period down two men for 1:38.
1st intermission: Update from the Canes' PR staff...Ward's been taken to the hospital for observation. Needless to say, his night is done.
2:00 2nd: Canes manage one shot on the 5-on-3 and don't look particularly good in so doing. They've gone four straight games without a power-play goal, and they're well on their way to number five.
6:07 2nd: Lots of up-and-down action so far in the period, and the Jackets again are being allowed to take their choice of shots deep in the Canes' zone. The Canes' defense is doing a good job of allowing Leighton to see the shots, but at the expense of tight checking in the defensive zone Sooner or later, they're going to get burned, so it's incumbent on the offense to give the team some breathing room.
7:15 2nd: Samsonov was unlucky enough to get the puck in the low slot with no one near him and Mason out of position, but his back was turned to the net and by the time he turned around Mason managed to cut the angle off and scramble to make a save.
15:52 2nd: The Canes are now 0-3 on the power play, although their latest one looked a little more lively. The best chance came after the power play ended, when a rebound bounced right to Niclas Wallin in the high slot. Wallin's slap shot was handled without a problem by Mason, who hasn't had to make any real tough saves so far tonight.
End 2nd: Canes got really lucky on a late Columbus power play, after Gleason lost his stick and the Jackets weren't able to capitalize. Sure could be a lot worse now, as the Canes have a propensity to give up those late goals and feel sorry for themselves in the locker room after the period. If they can hunker down and win this game it will be a boost on the order of Leighton saving the day in San Jose last season. Shots in the period were 12-9 Hurricanes in the period, and the tally was knotted at 18 apiece in the game.
:50 3rd: Jackets tie the game at 1; Filatov 2 (Dorsett, MacKenzie): There ya have it. The Jackets are on the board courtesy of a bad rebound giveaway from Leighton right to Nikita FIlatov, who beat Leighton on the near side low to put the Jackets on the board. What happens in the next 18 minutes will really show the character of this team, giving up an early-third goal after your #1 goaltender goes down. Not an easy assignment for any team, let alone one with as many confidence issues as the Canes.
2:55 3rd: Jackets take a 2-1 lead; Boll 1 (Stralman, Mason)
3:31 3rd: Jackets take a 3-1 lead; Nash 11 (unassisted)
I don't even know what to write.
7:40 3rd: Leighton with a glove save off a deflection of a Nash shot. First good thing that's happened for the Canes this period, and that includes yet another power play that did next to nothing. The meltdown continues, and it was all too predictable.
10:08 3rd: Cullen sent hard into the boards by Rostislav Klesla in a scary looking play similar to the hit that broke Erik Cole's neck in 2006. Cullen stayed on the bench, and Tim Gleason politely informed Klesla that his action was not appreciated. Cullen stayed on the bench and looked OK, thankfully, but given how this game has unfolded would anyone be shocked if he suffered the same fate as Cole?
12:09 3rd: Canes cut the lead to 1; Gleason 1 (Jokinen, Boychuk) It's a shame the Canes don't get credit for a power-play goal, as Tim Gleason's bomb from the left point hit paydirt behind Mason just one second after Klesla's penalty ended. To their credit, the Canes have been much more aggressive in the offensive zone as the period's gone on, and they've put themselves in a position where they can steal a point if they can keep the pressure on the Jackets.
End 3rd: No real chances for the Canes to speak of late in the period, as Mason earned the first star in fairly easy fashion. Obviously the biggest issue for the Canes is the injury to Ward, which was described as "significant" by coach Paul Maurice and will prevent him from flying home with the team tonight. The Canes have been the lucky beneficiary of some unbelievably bad luck and now face the prospect of digging out of a 12-game winless skid without their top two players.
Postgame: Every Cane I talked to in the locker room looked like he had seen a ghost. The team's confidence, already shaky at best, is now completely shot and they're going to be without Ward for an extended amount of time. I'll update with more as I find out in the morning, but all indications are that Ward won't see any action for at least a couple of months.
Click for postgame audio from Michael Leighton and Zach Boychuk. Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes will try to snap the skid Wednesday at the RBC Center, as Justin Williams and the Los Angeles Kings come to town. The future, in the meantime, is anything but bright for this bunch. Best case scenario: Michael Leighton turns into Scott Clemmensen and fills in to backstop the Canes back into the playoff hunt. But given what we've seen so far, do you expect that? More to the point, does the team expect that?
Back at it Wednesday. See you then.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
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