By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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The Chicago Blackhawks are in town for the only time this year, and I'm not in the building. You see, here at Puck Drops HQ in Knightdale, "plowed highways" are but a wishful thought, and while I think I could have made it to the RBC for the game, getting home after dark might be another story and I decided not to chance it.
Shame, because the Blackhawks are a darned good hockey team and I'm going to be stuck watching them on television. From what I'm told, the RBC is split about half and half between Hawks and Canes fans, which we usually only see when the Penguins or Red Wings are in town. This game is the final game of a nine-game road trip for the Hawks, who played in San Jose Thursday night and got in here yesterday before the snow hit.
Chicago is mentioned as a possible trading partner for the Canes as the team heads toward the trade deadline, so it's possible someone we see in a white jersey could be wearing a Canes sweater in a month or so.
Live from my couch, here we go...
6:05 1st: Kris Versteeg undressed Aaron Ward and somehow couldn't put the puck in the net despite having John Madden at the far post unchecked. The first thing you notice about the Hawks? This is a really, really fast team.
9:00 1st: Jiri Tlusty took advantage of some miscommunication among the Hawks' defenders and took a quick shot that Cristobal Huet had a little trouble handling, uneasily kicking it out to the far side boards. Huet looks like he's fighting the puck a little so far, and the Canes are putting all sorts of rubber on the Chicago net.
19:51 1st: Canes lead 1-0; Samsonov 11 (Kostopoulos, Alberts) Former Hawk Sergei Samsonov, whom the Canes plucked off waivers three years ago, put the Canes on the board first by taking advantage of a bad defensive breakdown by the Chicago defense. Tom Kostopoulos drew two defenders to him and while his shot had little chance of beating Huet, the rebound bounced right to an unchecked Samsonov at the near post who tapped home the first goal of the night.
End 1st: An entertaining period that took a while to develop, but once it got going it was a good up-and-down period that entertained the hardy souls that trekked to the RBC tonight. Shots in the period were even, ten apiece.
1:45 2nd: You think something was said to the Blackhawks in the locker room at the intermission? They've been all over the Canes with tons of pressure in the offensive zone nonstop since the start of the period. If not for a Cam Ward glove save of a Patrick Kane shot, this game is tied at 1 right now.
6:46 2nd: Hawks tie it at 1; Hossa 15 (Sharp, Ladd) Marian Hossa isn't a player you'd normally associate with hard work along the boards, but his yeoman's work behind the Canes' net did the hard work in scoring the goal that tied the game. Hossa dug the puck out along the boards and started a give-and-go with Patrick Sharp at the point that ended with Hossa backhanding a shot through Cam Ward's five-hole.
8:30 2nd: And not only did Hossa follow up his goal with a rough spill into the boards in trying to stop Brandon Sutter on a partial odd-man rush, but he suffers the indignity of heading to the penalty box for a hooking penalty as well.
12:10 2nd: The Canes got really, really lucky. Patrick Kane and Troy Brouwer had a two-on-none with both Carolina defenders trailing the play, but Kane's pass for Brouwer was sent wide of the Canes' net. Not too often you see a team with as much firepower as Chicago misfire on a play like that.
17:20 2nd: It seems like every time the Hawks go down the ice, they have an odd-man advantage. A little bit of this can be attributed to defensive breakdowns for the Canes, but the Hawks are by far the most opportunistic team the Canes have met this season. Every time the Hawks head up the ice, they're running with a head of steam.
17:53 2nd: Canes lead 2-1; Jokinen 17 (Staal, Alberts) Well, that was interesting. Ray Whitney ran a bit of legal interference in front of Cristobal Huet allowing Jussi Jokinen to set up shop for a one-timer in the far circle. Even though Jokinen got most of it on the shot, Huet stopped about 90% of the shot. The 10% that got through, though, was just enough to trickle through Huet's pads, and while Huet tried to sell the save it was obvious on replay that the puck was over the goal line before he swiped it out with his glove.
End 2nd: Despite the goal, the Canes were outplayed in their own zone by a pretty significant margin. The Hawks outshot the Canes 16-6 to take a 26-16 lead overall, and they came close to tying it again in the closing seconds of the period.
4:20 3rd: Yet again, the Hawks are really taking the game to the Canes early in the period. The Hawks look like they're on a power play, and it's a minor miracle that the Canes haven't allowed a goal. Cam Ward has been superb, and he had about three saves on a sequence where he had no fewer than six players right at the top of the crease.
7:00 3rd: I have no idea how Jonathan Toews didn't score there. A weird bounce off the end boards came right to Toews, who was on his forehand at the near post but was completely robbed by a quick glove save from Ward and a helpfully quick whistle from Dan Marouelli.
7:30 3rd: Yet again, the Canes are the beneficiary of a quick whistle. Ward made a goal-line save out of a scrum in the crease, despite being completely inside the cage and lunging his left leg out to kick the puck out with it sitting right on the goal line. Ward never had control of the puck, but Marouelli bailed him out with a quick whistle that negated the Hawks' eventual poke of the puck into the net.
7:43 3rd: Hawks tie it at 2; Ladd 11 (Hossa) Third time's the charm for the Hawks. No need for a whistle here, and former Cane Andrew Ladd posts his second point of the night by scoring on a laser shot from the top of the far circle after Hossa stripped Aaron Ward of the puck. Not much Cam Ward could have done on that shot, which had eyes and picked a corner that Ward had no chance of stopping.
9:34 3rd: Canes lead 4-2 after two quick goals: Sutter 13 (LaRose, Tlusty) at 9:08, then Cullen 11 (Kostopoulos, Samsonov) at 9:34 Remember when the Canes were giving up two goals in less than a minute like no one's business? Sure seems like a long time ago. First, Brandon Sutter brought his stick up to about the crossbar level and baseball-batted a high LaRose shot down and into the net through Huet's legs. 26 seconds later, Matt Cullen was in the right place to tip home a Tom Kostopoulos shot from the far boards after Kostopoulos and Samsonov played catch all the way down the right side. At least the Canes are giving their fans a nice reward for coming through the snow to make it to the game.
17:30 3rd: One of the things you get to see at home is the commentary of the TV guys. And Tripp Tracy just made a remark about the possibility of the Canes making the playoffs. Yes, really.
18:02 3rd: Swell time for a penalty. Hawks will finish regulation at 6-on-4, unless they score.
19:12 3rd: Holy cow. Ward should get all three stars after making a save on Patrick Kane with no one anywhere near the Hawks' young star in the low slot. Ward robbed Kane with a quick glove save after Kane had all day to set up shop and pick his corner.
End 3rd: That was an unbelievable game. The Canes head out on the road after holding the Blackhawks to two goals despite the Hawks piling 41 shots on Ward, outshooting the Canes 15-8 in the third for a 41-24 advantage. Not a bad way to reward the fans who made their way to the RBC tonight.
The Hawks continue to struggle in road games against the Canes. Since the RBC opened in 1999, they're 0-4-1 in Raleigh, and their last win against the Canes outside Chicago came in January of 1998 in Greensboro.
No audio tonight, obviously; kind of hard to collect it from your couch. The Canes are back at work Monday night in Edmonton, as the rematch of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final pits two of the three teams that bring up the rear of the league standings. We'll join you on the final leg of the road trip, when the Canes face the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum next Saturday. Be safe out there, and enjoy the snow...
Saturday, January 30, 2010
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