By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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The Olympics started last night, but don't tell the NHL that. They're still playing games through tomorrow, so the Canes' Olympians will have to wait to get to Vancouver.
Not that they're complaining. The Hurricanes are riding a season-high four game winning streak and look to build on it tonight as they welcome the New Jersey Devils to the RBC Center. The Devils made a splash a few weeks ago, acquiring Ilya Kovalchuk from the Atlanta Thrashers and making a statement that they expect to play deep in to the playoffs.
For the Canes, Justin Peters makes his second start, after opening his NHL career with a win on Long Island last Saturday night. Aside from the addition of Zach Boychuk, who was called up this morning after the Canes traded Matt Cullen to Ottawa on Friday, the Canes' lineup remains the same as it was in their Thursday win over Buffalo.
Can the Canes keep up their strong play of late? We're about to find out...
3:11 1st: Peters has had his hands full so far. The Devils have put three shots on him and they've had two great opportunities out of goal-mouth scrums to knock the puck in under Peters' pads to take the lead. As he's quickly finding out, there's a bit of a difference in offensive firepower when you cross the Hudson going west.
8:23 1st: The Canes have looked great killing a Joni Pitkanen interference penalty, and Peters has done what he's needed to do. As an aside, what does it say about the state of the Devils' defense that Kovalchuk is manning the left point?
9:10 1st: Jussi Jokinen looked to give the Canes a lead on a power play, but referee Stephane Auger ruled it no goal because Jokinen parked himself in the crease and prevented Brodeur from getting over to make the save. I know it won't pacify the folks in the stands who booed Auger mercilessly, but it was the right call; Brodeur has the right to make the save in the crease and if he isn't allowed to make the save the goal doesn't count.
16:47 1st: Canes take a 1-0 lead; Boychuk 1 (Sutter, Carson) We've been wondering when Zach Boychuk would finally break the ice and score his first NHL goal. Turns out the fifth recall of the season was the charm. Boychuk backhanded a puck into the crease, and it pinballed around a bit before being knocked in by the Devils' Anssi Salmela over Brodeur, who was face-down on the ice trying to stop the puck. I'm sure Boychuk won't complain too much, though.
End 1st: With a few seconds left, Boychuk nearly put a second goal on the board but his backhand went just a bit wide. The Devils didn't have a shot in the final 3:30 of the period, and only took one shot in the final twelve minutes. Shots in the period were 8-7 Devils, but that's quite deceiving; after the Canes killed off a Yelle hooking penalty at 10:24 they owned the rest of the period.
1:00 2nd (TZ): The Canes have 24 fewer points than the Devils, and they absolutely look like a better hockey team. There's one problem: the Canes started their season in 2010, the Devils started theirs in October of '09.
(BL: Yep...sounds about right. It's rare that I'm speechless, but this is one of those times. And yes, Taylor is in the building tonight, so you know what to do if the Canes blow the lead.)
4:06 2nd: And the Canes continue to own the Devils, outshooting them 3-1 early while earning a two man advantage...
4:34 2nd: Canes lead 2-0; Whitney 18 (Staal) (pp) TZ: Just don't get rid of him. Come on! Please don't take the Wizard.
5:34 2nd: Canes lead 3-0; Whitney 19 (Gleason, Jokinen) (pp) TZ: Don't take the damn Wizard! YOU CANNOT TRADE RAY WHITNEY!!!!
OK, so the president of the Ray Whitney fan club has had his say. I disagree, but that's an argument for another day. Either way, Whitney has given the Canes a 3-0 lead with a pair of power play goals. The first was created on a takeaway by Eric Staal in the neutral zone, who skated in and set up Whitney with a perfect one-timer in the far circle. They don't make 'em much better than that.
For the second, Tim Gleason's point shot bounced off the post to the right of Brodeur, and he was unable to cover it before Whitney marched into the crease and slammed it home from about a foot. Can't complain about that, and for the second straight night the Canes start the game 2-3 on the power play.
13:30 2nd: The Devils look like they're skating in circles, with the exception of a Zubrus chance that went wide just after a Carolina power play expired. The Devils have taken four straight penalties, are down 3-0 and look for all the world like a one-and-done team in the playoffs. It has to say something that they're 2-3 since they traded for Kovalchuk, doesn't it?
15:30 2nd: Staal with a breakaway that goes nowhere. We've seen this before, no? Amazing that a guy who's so talented is so lacking at one-on-one situations, but there's a reason he rarely sees the shootout before the 4th or 5th round, and that was it.
17:25 2nd: Kovalchuk has had two straight possessions where he had the puck roll off his stick in the midst of a perfect scoring chance. Peters has been good so far, but it's been the Devils' own offensive ineptitude that's kept them scoreless.
End 2nd: Don't let the 9-7 shot differential in favor of the Canes fool you. Like the first period, it's a wonder it wasn't more of a difference, as the Devils struggled to get even one good scoring chance. Peters has opened his NHL career with a .980 save percentage in his first five periods...can't ask for more than that.
TZ: Who's had the better career, Justin Peters or Marty Brodeur? (I vote for Peters, as long as the sample size is the last week or so.)
3:27 3rd: Canes lead 4-0; Jokinen 22 (Whitney, Staal) TZ: What a great pass by The Wizard. DO NOT TRADE THE WIZARD!!!
Don't worry, we'll have a debate about this up on PD sometime during the Olympic break. Anyway, Jussi Jokinen gives the Canes a four-goal lead thanks to a sweet pass from that Whitney guy everyone keeps talking about. The goal came a few seconds after Whitney himself nearly fired the puck in off a deflection in front of Brodeur.
3:35 3rd: And Brodeur's night is done. The incomparable Yann Danis is now in net for the Devils. What is it about the Canes that they're Brodeur's Kryptonite?
6:25 3rd (TZ): Tom Kostopoulos just had every piece of his manhood stolen. (BL: Yep. Matthew Corrente just destroyed him in a fight.)
7:00 3rd: Hey look, Staal misfired on a breakaway.
7:26 3rd: Devils on the board, down 4-1; Parise 28 (Kovalchuk) Probably too late, but see what happens when the immortal Yann Danis enters the game? Zach Parise collected his own rebound and scooped a shot over Peters at the near side of the net to end any hopes of Peters earning a shutout. Shame; he's certainly played well enough to earn one.
11:04 3rd: The Devils nearly cut it to 4-2, but Brian Rolston's attempt to redirect the puck into the net was kicked in, nullifying the goal and keeping the Canes up by three. I think the fans would have started rioting in the stands if the goal had been allowed to stand, because everyone in the building was incredulous when Auger signaled that it was a goal on the ice.
17:02 3rd: Devils cut it to 4-2; Rolston 17 (Zajac, Langenbrunner) (pp) Rolston did eventually get his goal, courtesy of a nice feed from Travis Zajac on a power play. Not much Peters could have done on that one; the pass was just outside his stick and was perfectly placed on Rolston's stick.
End 3rd: Jussi Jokinen (remember, the guy who wasn't good enough to be on the Finnish Olympic team? Yeah, him) scored an unassisted empty-netter at 18:31 to seal the game, and the Canes enter the Olympic break on a season-high five game winning streak after beating the Devils 5-2. Shots in the third were 14-10 Hurricanes, and the Canes outshot the Devils 31-25 overall.
Postgame: The most fun you can have in this business is when you cover a locker room the night a player scores his first career goal. Zach Boychuk was all smiles after the game, and you can tell just by the tone of his voice that he's not only thrilled to score his first, but to have it come against the winningest goaltender in NHL history makes it that much sweeter. If this was Ray Whitney's last home game with the Canes, and he was blunt in not wanting to talk about it after the game, he certainly gave Jim Rutherford a nice going-away present by raising his already high trade value even higher.
The trade deadline is March 3, the Wednesday after the Olympics end and a day after the Canes start their post-Olympic schedule in Toronto. The Canes' four Olympians are headed to Vancouver to start the hockey competition on Sunday, and the rest of the team gets a week and a half off before they return to the ice on February 24.
Click for audio from Boychuk, Whitney, Justin Peters and Jussi Jokinen. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
We're going to take a few days off here at PD, but we'll be back with a few features over the break. (You can expect that a do-you-or-don't-you trade Whitney debate will be on the docket.) Also, we're targeting the week of February 21 for another Canes Country Call-In, so stay tuned for further details on an exact date. We're back at the RBC Center when the Canes welcome Matt Cullen and the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, March 4, so join us then and enjoy your time off.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Game 60: Hurricanes 4, Sabres 3 (OT)
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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Ah, Buffalo. The only city that can make my hometown of Cleveland feel good about itself.
The Canes host the Sabres for the first time this season tonight, and while the players have generally moved on from the animosity that marked their 2006 Eastern Conference Final matchup the fans sure haven't forgotten. Sabres games always bring out the best in the RBC crowd, and we expect no less tonight.
Matt Cullen has been the target of some persistent trade rumors, culminating in a report overnight that Jim Rutherford plans to trade Cullen before the Olympics. The NHL roster freeze goes into effect tomorrow at 3pm, so Rutherford will have to move quickly. A trade does not appear to be imminent, as Cullen will be in the lineup for tonight's game. There are no other roster changes for the Canes, with Manny Legace in net again; Justin Peters is projected to start Saturday's game against New Jersey.
The Canes go for 4 in a row tonight, and here we go...
2:13 1st: Sabres lead 1-0; Roy 15 (MacArthur) Might as well add a second assist to Andrew Alberts on that one. An ill-fated clearing attempt bounced right onto the stick of Clarke MacArthur in the far circle. MacArthur centered to Derek Roy, who was being checked by Eric Staal and didn't get a clean shot off, but it was enough to wiggle through Manny Legace's pads and into the net.
4:55 1st: It seems pretty obvious that the Sabres have a game plan: pressure the puck carrier, no matter where or who he is. They've been all over the Canes defensively thus far and the Canes have no counter for it.
6:40 1st: And it should have been 2-0 there. The Canes have been victimized by some terrible turnovers in the early going, and MacArthur wound up with the puck on his stick and no one anywhere near him in the slot. He had all day to outwait Manny Legace, but Legace somehow scrambled to make the save and keep it a one-goal game.
14:01 1st: Sabres lead 2-0; Hecht 13 (Connolly, Montador) For all the trouble the Canes have had in their own zone tonight, it's a simple case of bad luck that has them down 2-0. Tim Connolly's shot attempt glanced off Legace's stick and right to Jochen Hecht along the far boards, and Hecht took a lazy shot that had no chance to go in until it took a strange bounce off Steven Goertzen's leg and past Legace to give the Sabres a two-goal lead.
16:29 1st: Canes on the board, down 2-1; Sutter 14 (Samsonov, Ruutu) Now that's a play you might never see again. Sergei Samsonov's shot from the point was blocked in the low slot by Andrej Sekera, but Brandon Sutter fished the puck out from underneath Sekera and took advantage of the Sabres' failure to recognize the situation, firing home a shot from seven feet over Ryan Miller's blocker.
19:58 1st: Canes tie it at 2; Whitney 17 (Jokinen, Pitkanen) This team has something for goals with a second left on the clock. Ray Whitney was on the receiving end of a nice touch pass from Jussi Jokinen in his usual spot at the bottom of the circle, and Whitney beat the clock by 1.1 seconds to tie the game. Unreal.
End 1st: The Canes looked for long stretches like a team that was going to get absolutely manhandled by the Sabres, then they go out and score two goals in the final 3:30 of the period. Go figure. Shots were 13 apiece, but the Sabres had a significant lead until the Canes went on a tear late in the period.
5:20 2nd: Lots of up-and-down action to start the period, with the Canes looking like they didn't leave their legs in the dressing room and the Sabres generating a ton of pressure in the offensive zone. Only thing that's a bit strange? The crowd, which was really into it early in the game, seems to have died a bit in the second period.
9:55 2nd: Canes lead 3-2; Yelle 4 (Sutter) This is a really bizarre game sometimes. Not ten seconds earlier, the Canes somehow failed to score on a three on none. That's right, a THREE ON NONE. So, of course, what happens on the Canes' next rush up the ice? Stephane Yelle, he of three goals on the season, wires a wrister high to Miller's blocker side to give the Canes a 3-2 lead. No, I can't figure it out either.
12:10 2nd: Continuing with the theme, Roy nearly tied the game for the Sabres again on a pinball bounce that Legace had no prayer of catching if it had bounced in the right place, but Roy couldn't get a stick on it and the garbage was cleaned out of the crease by the Canes' defense.
14:20 2nd: Eric Staal skated to the bench in some pain after appearing to hurt his left arm but he didn't miss a shift. We'll keep an eye on it, though.
16:30 2nd: Steven Goertzen just missed shoveling home his first of the year at the top of Miller's crease but he couldn't get his stick on it before it was intercepted and sent out of harm's way. The Sabres' defense has been rather porous this period, and Miller has looked a bit shaky.
End 2nd: The Canes had their way with the Sabres most of the period, but only had one goal to show for it. Shots were heavily in Carolina's favor, leading 14-9 for a 27-22 lead overall. The teams will begin the 3rd at 4-on-4 courtesy of matching slashing penalties to Derek Roy and Jussi Jokinen late in the 2nd.
4:18 3rd: Twice in this period the Canes have knocked the puck right on net and Legace had to be on the ball to bail out his team from a potential own goal. With some of the things the Canes have gotten away with tonight, it's a wonder they're leading, but then you see them play the way they did for long stretches of the 2nd and wonder why they're only up by one.
12:53 3rd: Sabres tie it at 3; Roy 16 (Vanek, Butler) Eventually you figured that the Canes' defensive problems would burn them, and so they did. The Canes failed to jump on a loose puck behind the net, and Derek Roy took a sharp-angle shot that bounced off Joni Pitkanen and into the net. Legace did everything he could to scramble over, but it was asking a bit much of him to stop that with no help from his defense.
17:00 3rd: Since the goal, the Canes have been all over the Sabres' zone, but the Sabres have managed to keep most of the Canes' shots to the perimeter and they've been relatively easy saves for Miller. Seems like the Sabres are content to play for overtime.
End 3rd: We're headed to overtime. Sabres outshot the Canes 10-6 in the third.
1:47 OT: Canes win 4-3; Samsonov 12 (Sutter) And with that, a wild game comes to an end. Steve Montador was the culprit of the hour for the Sabres, as he slipped behind the net and handed the puck to Brandon Sutter on a silver platter. Sutter quickly centered to Samsonov, who fired it home under Miller's blocker and set off a celebration as the Canes won their fifth straight on home ice and their fourth straight game overall.
Postgame: Not really a surprise that the Canes were in a jovial mood. They have 22 games left, and their recent streak has brought back a glimmer of hope that they might be able to miraculously pull out a playoff spot; they're now ten points out with 22 to play, certainly still unlikely but at least the Canes still have something to play for. If they catch fire down the stretch, who knows?
Tonight marked Brandon Sutter's first three-point game of his career, Paul Maurice's 400th win as a head coach, and Tuomo Ruutu notched his 200th point with his assist on the opening goal of the game.
Click for audio from Stephane Yelle and Sergei Samsonov. Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes will wrap up their pre-Olympic schedule with a Saturday night tilt against the New Jersey Devils. We'll be here; hope you'll join us as well.
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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Ah, Buffalo. The only city that can make my hometown of Cleveland feel good about itself.
The Canes host the Sabres for the first time this season tonight, and while the players have generally moved on from the animosity that marked their 2006 Eastern Conference Final matchup the fans sure haven't forgotten. Sabres games always bring out the best in the RBC crowd, and we expect no less tonight.
Matt Cullen has been the target of some persistent trade rumors, culminating in a report overnight that Jim Rutherford plans to trade Cullen before the Olympics. The NHL roster freeze goes into effect tomorrow at 3pm, so Rutherford will have to move quickly. A trade does not appear to be imminent, as Cullen will be in the lineup for tonight's game. There are no other roster changes for the Canes, with Manny Legace in net again; Justin Peters is projected to start Saturday's game against New Jersey.
The Canes go for 4 in a row tonight, and here we go...
2:13 1st: Sabres lead 1-0; Roy 15 (MacArthur) Might as well add a second assist to Andrew Alberts on that one. An ill-fated clearing attempt bounced right onto the stick of Clarke MacArthur in the far circle. MacArthur centered to Derek Roy, who was being checked by Eric Staal and didn't get a clean shot off, but it was enough to wiggle through Manny Legace's pads and into the net.
4:55 1st: It seems pretty obvious that the Sabres have a game plan: pressure the puck carrier, no matter where or who he is. They've been all over the Canes defensively thus far and the Canes have no counter for it.
6:40 1st: And it should have been 2-0 there. The Canes have been victimized by some terrible turnovers in the early going, and MacArthur wound up with the puck on his stick and no one anywhere near him in the slot. He had all day to outwait Manny Legace, but Legace somehow scrambled to make the save and keep it a one-goal game.
14:01 1st: Sabres lead 2-0; Hecht 13 (Connolly, Montador) For all the trouble the Canes have had in their own zone tonight, it's a simple case of bad luck that has them down 2-0. Tim Connolly's shot attempt glanced off Legace's stick and right to Jochen Hecht along the far boards, and Hecht took a lazy shot that had no chance to go in until it took a strange bounce off Steven Goertzen's leg and past Legace to give the Sabres a two-goal lead.
16:29 1st: Canes on the board, down 2-1; Sutter 14 (Samsonov, Ruutu) Now that's a play you might never see again. Sergei Samsonov's shot from the point was blocked in the low slot by Andrej Sekera, but Brandon Sutter fished the puck out from underneath Sekera and took advantage of the Sabres' failure to recognize the situation, firing home a shot from seven feet over Ryan Miller's blocker.
19:58 1st: Canes tie it at 2; Whitney 17 (Jokinen, Pitkanen) This team has something for goals with a second left on the clock. Ray Whitney was on the receiving end of a nice touch pass from Jussi Jokinen in his usual spot at the bottom of the circle, and Whitney beat the clock by 1.1 seconds to tie the game. Unreal.
End 1st: The Canes looked for long stretches like a team that was going to get absolutely manhandled by the Sabres, then they go out and score two goals in the final 3:30 of the period. Go figure. Shots were 13 apiece, but the Sabres had a significant lead until the Canes went on a tear late in the period.
5:20 2nd: Lots of up-and-down action to start the period, with the Canes looking like they didn't leave their legs in the dressing room and the Sabres generating a ton of pressure in the offensive zone. Only thing that's a bit strange? The crowd, which was really into it early in the game, seems to have died a bit in the second period.
9:55 2nd: Canes lead 3-2; Yelle 4 (Sutter) This is a really bizarre game sometimes. Not ten seconds earlier, the Canes somehow failed to score on a three on none. That's right, a THREE ON NONE. So, of course, what happens on the Canes' next rush up the ice? Stephane Yelle, he of three goals on the season, wires a wrister high to Miller's blocker side to give the Canes a 3-2 lead. No, I can't figure it out either.
12:10 2nd: Continuing with the theme, Roy nearly tied the game for the Sabres again on a pinball bounce that Legace had no prayer of catching if it had bounced in the right place, but Roy couldn't get a stick on it and the garbage was cleaned out of the crease by the Canes' defense.
14:20 2nd: Eric Staal skated to the bench in some pain after appearing to hurt his left arm but he didn't miss a shift. We'll keep an eye on it, though.
16:30 2nd: Steven Goertzen just missed shoveling home his first of the year at the top of Miller's crease but he couldn't get his stick on it before it was intercepted and sent out of harm's way. The Sabres' defense has been rather porous this period, and Miller has looked a bit shaky.
End 2nd: The Canes had their way with the Sabres most of the period, but only had one goal to show for it. Shots were heavily in Carolina's favor, leading 14-9 for a 27-22 lead overall. The teams will begin the 3rd at 4-on-4 courtesy of matching slashing penalties to Derek Roy and Jussi Jokinen late in the 2nd.
4:18 3rd: Twice in this period the Canes have knocked the puck right on net and Legace had to be on the ball to bail out his team from a potential own goal. With some of the things the Canes have gotten away with tonight, it's a wonder they're leading, but then you see them play the way they did for long stretches of the 2nd and wonder why they're only up by one.
12:53 3rd: Sabres tie it at 3; Roy 16 (Vanek, Butler) Eventually you figured that the Canes' defensive problems would burn them, and so they did. The Canes failed to jump on a loose puck behind the net, and Derek Roy took a sharp-angle shot that bounced off Joni Pitkanen and into the net. Legace did everything he could to scramble over, but it was asking a bit much of him to stop that with no help from his defense.
17:00 3rd: Since the goal, the Canes have been all over the Sabres' zone, but the Sabres have managed to keep most of the Canes' shots to the perimeter and they've been relatively easy saves for Miller. Seems like the Sabres are content to play for overtime.
End 3rd: We're headed to overtime. Sabres outshot the Canes 10-6 in the third.
1:47 OT: Canes win 4-3; Samsonov 12 (Sutter) And with that, a wild game comes to an end. Steve Montador was the culprit of the hour for the Sabres, as he slipped behind the net and handed the puck to Brandon Sutter on a silver platter. Sutter quickly centered to Samsonov, who fired it home under Miller's blocker and set off a celebration as the Canes won their fifth straight on home ice and their fourth straight game overall.
Postgame: Not really a surprise that the Canes were in a jovial mood. They have 22 games left, and their recent streak has brought back a glimmer of hope that they might be able to miraculously pull out a playoff spot; they're now ten points out with 22 to play, certainly still unlikely but at least the Canes still have something to play for. If they catch fire down the stretch, who knows?
Tonight marked Brandon Sutter's first three-point game of his career, Paul Maurice's 400th win as a head coach, and Tuomo Ruutu notched his 200th point with his assist on the opening goal of the game.
Click for audio from Stephane Yelle and Sergei Samsonov. Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes will wrap up their pre-Olympic schedule with a Saturday night tilt against the New Jersey Devils. We'll be here; hope you'll join us as well.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Game 59: Hurricanes 4, Panthers 1
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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It's been a busy few days for the Carolina Hurricanes. First, they get the news that franchise goaltender Cam Ward will be shelved for an indeterminate length of time with a bad back, then replacement Justin Peters marches in and wins his first game by only allowing one goal to the New York Islanders. Stalwart defenseman Niclas Wallin, the longest-tenured Hurricanes defenseman and one of only three players remaining from the 2002 Stanley Cup Final team, was traded to San Jose on Sunday, signalling that the long-anticipated rebuilding project has indeed begun.
Today, with owner Peter Karmanos in town for one of his regular visits to Raleigh, the Canes announced that they will begin next season by facing the Minnesota Wild in a pair of games in Helsinki, Finland, next October. Finland, of course, is the home country of the Canes' Joni Pitkanen, Jussi Jokinen and Tuomo Ruutu, who returns to the lineup tonight after a monthlong absence with a shoulder injury...
...on the night where the Canes are giving away a Ruutu bobblehead doll. Gotta love coincidences.
Aside from Ruutu's return, the lineup remains the same as the group that beat the Islanders 3-1 on Saturday. Zach Boychuk was returned to Albany after Saturday's game to make room for Ruutu.
The Canes go for three in a row tonight against an old rival. Can they get the homestand off on the right foot? We're about to find out...
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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It's been a busy few days for the Carolina Hurricanes. First, they get the news that franchise goaltender Cam Ward will be shelved for an indeterminate length of time with a bad back, then replacement Justin Peters marches in and wins his first game by only allowing one goal to the New York Islanders. Stalwart defenseman Niclas Wallin, the longest-tenured Hurricanes defenseman and one of only three players remaining from the 2002 Stanley Cup Final team, was traded to San Jose on Sunday, signalling that the long-anticipated rebuilding project has indeed begun.
Today, with owner Peter Karmanos in town for one of his regular visits to Raleigh, the Canes announced that they will begin next season by facing the Minnesota Wild in a pair of games in Helsinki, Finland, next October. Finland, of course, is the home country of the Canes' Joni Pitkanen, Jussi Jokinen and Tuomo Ruutu, who returns to the lineup tonight after a monthlong absence with a shoulder injury...
...on the night where the Canes are giving away a Ruutu bobblehead doll. Gotta love coincidences.
Aside from Ruutu's return, the lineup remains the same as the group that beat the Islanders 3-1 on Saturday. Zach Boychuk was returned to Albany after Saturday's game to make room for Ruutu.
The Canes go for three in a row tonight against an old rival. Can they get the homestand off on the right foot? We're about to find out...
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Game 58: Hurricanes 3, Islanders 1 (from Long Island)
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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Nothing like a road trip to New York in February, eh?
The Canes enter Nassau Coliseum tonight for their fourth game in six nights and their second straight game. After dropping the Buffalo Sabres last night, the Canes made the short flight to Long Island for what will be a memorable game for one Justin Peters. On his third recall of the season, Peters will see his first action in the NHL as he makes his first career start against the Islanders tonight.
The downside, of course, is that Peters wouldn't have received a recall if not for an injury to Cam Ward, and it's not good news for the Canes' #1 goaltender. Ward has returned to Raleigh after suffering a back injury during the western Canada swing early in the week, and his season could be over as a result. We'll see what happens as things develop, but we're likely looking at a Legace-Peters tandem for the rest of the season.
As for the arena, I'll be honest: I wasn't expecting much. Much has been made of the age of the Nassau Coliseum and it certainly looks like the nearly 40-year-old building that it is, but it's a very intimate arena that certainly isn't a complete disaster. That said, however, I'm sitting about ten feet from Canes radio broadcaster Chuck Kaiton, which says something about the era in which the arena wasn't designed. Media accommodation certainly wasn't high on the list.
We'll see soon whether Justin Peters can remain undefeated in his NHL career after tonight's game...
3:30 1st: The Islanders are really doing their best to make Peters feel uncomfortable in the first few minutes. They've been controlling the play for most of the first few minutes, and the defense has done a good job of letting Peters see the puck to give him a chance to make a save.
5:00 1st: Now there's something you don't see every day. The Isles played the puck with a high stick, but instead of touching it (and earning a whistle) Jon Sim let it sit just outside the blue line and burned about four seconds off the clock before the officials blew the plane dead. Reminded me of a punt where the kicking team surrounds the ball downfield but never touches it.
7:45 1st: The Isles are really doing their best to set up and redirect shots just outside the crease, a good plan for success against a goaltender who's just getting his feet wet in the NHL. No luck yet, but the Isles are outshooting the Canes 6-2 and it seems like more of a deficit than that.
11:15 1st: Freddy Meyer bailed out his goaltender in a big way. Rick DiPietro lost track of a puck and it was close to bouncing in the net, but Meyer cleared it out of the zone with his glove. Dangerous play, though, because Meyer was in the crease and closing a glove on the puck in the crease results in a penalty shot.
14:32 1st: Canes lead 1-0; Jokinen 20 (Pitkanen, Staal) Go figure: the Canes started pouring on the speed through the neutral zone and it led to a goal. Joni Pitkanen had no one near him along the far wall and centered to Jussi Jokinen who was crashing the net in front of a pair of Isles defenders. Jokinen tipped the puck home through DiPietro's legs to put the Canes up by one.
16:40 1st: Bizarre sequence at the near post of the Canes' net. John Tavares was camped out by the post and Peters thought he had covered the puck, but fortunately for him Tavares was unable to elevate the puck over his shoulder when it popped free under Peters' pads.
19:35 1st: Awful play by Sergei Samsonov. In his attempt to create a play with Blake Comeau draped all over him, he not only forced himself into a turnover, but then hooked Comeau on his way out of the zone. Not a stunning series of events there.
End 1st: The Canes had some stretches where they looked pretty good, and then they had others that made you wonder if they missed their flight from Buffalo. Shots were 11-8 Islanders, but it sure seemed like the Isles had the vast majority of the good opportunities.
1:42 2nd: Peters was the beneficiary of some serious beginners' luck with a quick whistle from referee Eric Furlatt. Peters had covered the puck but Matt Moulson dug it out from under his glove and poked it into the net. Furlatt initially looked like he was signaling goal, but then waved the goal off saying (correctly) that the whistle had blown and the play was dead. Bad luck for the Isles, who probably should have been awarded a goal but remained scoreless.
7:45 2nd: Rod Brind'Amour had a two-goal lead on his stick in the far circle but double-clutched instead of one-timing on a power play, and as a result DiPietro was able to get over and make a tough save to keep it a one-goal game. If Brind'Amour fires that puck cleanly on the pass, the Canes are up 2-0.
9:12 2nd: Eric Staal is lucky he wasn't hurt on a really dumb play by Mark Streit, who took about four forearm shivers to the back of Staal's head, the last of which drove Staal's head into the boards and earned Streit a roughing penalty.
9:25 2nd: Isles tie it at 1; Nielsen 8 (Comeau) (sh) And there's your first-game jitters from Justin Peters, who to this point has been solid. Peters lost the puck behind his net, and Blake Comeau picked up the garbage, centering to Frans Nielsen who fired it home high to Peters' glove side. Not quite a thinking play there, but we'll give Peters a pass since he's been facing a barrage in this period.
12:14 2nd: OK, we can officially forgive Peters for his puck-handling misadventures. An unbelievable save on Jon Sim kept the game tied; Sim had a wide open net to shoot at, but Peters somehow swiped his arm out in a snow-angel fashion and kept the puck out of the net. I don't think the fans in attendance believed what they saw, because I sure didn't.
15:36 2nd: Canes lead 2-1; Dwyer 5 (Sutter, Boychuk) Gotta be honest...I missed this one because I was, ahem, disposed in the mens' room. I hear it was a goal, though, and the scoreboard certainly seems to indicate so.
End 2nd: Things got a bit testy behind the Canes' net after the horn, as the Canes felt the Isles were taking a few too many liberties with Peters by crashing the net late in the period. Nothing came of it, though, and the Canes headed to the locker room up by a goal again. Shots in the period were 13-9 Islanders, who extended their lead overall to 24-17.
1:14 3rd: Peters has certainly done his part tonight. The most recent robbery was a Frans Nielsen breakaway created after a lazy pass from Andrew Alberts to no one in particular was intercepted and fired ahead to Nielsen, who had a breakaway from the blue line in. Nielsen deked to his forehand, but his low attempt was rebuffed in nice fashion by Peters.
7:35 3rd: The boobirds are coming out on an Isles power play, as the fans are getting a bit restless with the Isles' inability to generate anything at all with the man advantage. (Say, sound familiar?)
10:08 3rd: The Isles have gone offside on four straight possessions, and I'm surprised the fans haven't been harder on them than they have been. Once is understandable, but four times in under two minutes? Yeesh.
12:12 3rd: DiPietro was way out of his net to play a puck, along the boards outside the near circle, and Tom Kostopoulos steamrolled him as DiPietro somehow managed to send the puck around behind the net. The fans weren't happy that Kostopoulos wasn't given a goalie-interference penalty, but really, when a goalie comes that far out to play the puck, it's hard for anyone to argue that he isn't fair game.
16:00 3rd: The Canes are really having trouble getting the puck deep in the zone, and the Isles are throwing everything they can at Justin Peters, who will need to earn it if he's to get his first win in his first NHL game.
End 3rd: And he did indeed. Joni Pitkanen salted it away with an empty-netter in all but name, as DiPietro hadn't made it to the bench for the sixth attacker yet and Pitkanen nailed the empty cage to make it a 3-1 final. Shots in the third period were 11-8 Islanders, who outshot the Canes 35-25. If not for that puck-handling miscue behind the net, Peters' first win would have been a shutout, and he certainly earned any and all accolades tonight.
Postgame: Paul Maurice said that the first game for a goaltender is much more difficult than the first game at any other position, since you're on the ice the entire game and can't be worked in on the fourth line at any point. That makes Peters' win all the more impressive; he was the best player on the ice for either team, and it certainly looks like the Canes have a keeper if this game is any indication. A very, very impressive debut that makes the injury to Cam Ward, while not minor, certainly a bit more tolerable.
Everyone in the locker room was effusive in their praise for Peters, none moreso than Maurice, who was as happy as I've ever seen him after a game. He'd have gone on all night, but the Canes have a flight to catch, and I can assure you they're extremely happy to be sleeping in their own beds tonight after a long, long week.
Click for audio from Jussi Jokinen, Patrick Dwyer and the man of the hour, Justin Peters. Maurice's press avail is attached.
Back to work in the friendly confines of the RBC Center on Tuesday night when the Florida Panthers come to town. If you can't make it to the game, join us and we'll keep you updated.
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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Nothing like a road trip to New York in February, eh?
The Canes enter Nassau Coliseum tonight for their fourth game in six nights and their second straight game. After dropping the Buffalo Sabres last night, the Canes made the short flight to Long Island for what will be a memorable game for one Justin Peters. On his third recall of the season, Peters will see his first action in the NHL as he makes his first career start against the Islanders tonight.
The downside, of course, is that Peters wouldn't have received a recall if not for an injury to Cam Ward, and it's not good news for the Canes' #1 goaltender. Ward has returned to Raleigh after suffering a back injury during the western Canada swing early in the week, and his season could be over as a result. We'll see what happens as things develop, but we're likely looking at a Legace-Peters tandem for the rest of the season.
As for the arena, I'll be honest: I wasn't expecting much. Much has been made of the age of the Nassau Coliseum and it certainly looks like the nearly 40-year-old building that it is, but it's a very intimate arena that certainly isn't a complete disaster. That said, however, I'm sitting about ten feet from Canes radio broadcaster Chuck Kaiton, which says something about the era in which the arena wasn't designed. Media accommodation certainly wasn't high on the list.
We'll see soon whether Justin Peters can remain undefeated in his NHL career after tonight's game...
3:30 1st: The Islanders are really doing their best to make Peters feel uncomfortable in the first few minutes. They've been controlling the play for most of the first few minutes, and the defense has done a good job of letting Peters see the puck to give him a chance to make a save.
5:00 1st: Now there's something you don't see every day. The Isles played the puck with a high stick, but instead of touching it (and earning a whistle) Jon Sim let it sit just outside the blue line and burned about four seconds off the clock before the officials blew the plane dead. Reminded me of a punt where the kicking team surrounds the ball downfield but never touches it.
7:45 1st: The Isles are really doing their best to set up and redirect shots just outside the crease, a good plan for success against a goaltender who's just getting his feet wet in the NHL. No luck yet, but the Isles are outshooting the Canes 6-2 and it seems like more of a deficit than that.
11:15 1st: Freddy Meyer bailed out his goaltender in a big way. Rick DiPietro lost track of a puck and it was close to bouncing in the net, but Meyer cleared it out of the zone with his glove. Dangerous play, though, because Meyer was in the crease and closing a glove on the puck in the crease results in a penalty shot.
14:32 1st: Canes lead 1-0; Jokinen 20 (Pitkanen, Staal) Go figure: the Canes started pouring on the speed through the neutral zone and it led to a goal. Joni Pitkanen had no one near him along the far wall and centered to Jussi Jokinen who was crashing the net in front of a pair of Isles defenders. Jokinen tipped the puck home through DiPietro's legs to put the Canes up by one.
16:40 1st: Bizarre sequence at the near post of the Canes' net. John Tavares was camped out by the post and Peters thought he had covered the puck, but fortunately for him Tavares was unable to elevate the puck over his shoulder when it popped free under Peters' pads.
19:35 1st: Awful play by Sergei Samsonov. In his attempt to create a play with Blake Comeau draped all over him, he not only forced himself into a turnover, but then hooked Comeau on his way out of the zone. Not a stunning series of events there.
End 1st: The Canes had some stretches where they looked pretty good, and then they had others that made you wonder if they missed their flight from Buffalo. Shots were 11-8 Islanders, but it sure seemed like the Isles had the vast majority of the good opportunities.
1:42 2nd: Peters was the beneficiary of some serious beginners' luck with a quick whistle from referee Eric Furlatt. Peters had covered the puck but Matt Moulson dug it out from under his glove and poked it into the net. Furlatt initially looked like he was signaling goal, but then waved the goal off saying (correctly) that the whistle had blown and the play was dead. Bad luck for the Isles, who probably should have been awarded a goal but remained scoreless.
7:45 2nd: Rod Brind'Amour had a two-goal lead on his stick in the far circle but double-clutched instead of one-timing on a power play, and as a result DiPietro was able to get over and make a tough save to keep it a one-goal game. If Brind'Amour fires that puck cleanly on the pass, the Canes are up 2-0.
9:12 2nd: Eric Staal is lucky he wasn't hurt on a really dumb play by Mark Streit, who took about four forearm shivers to the back of Staal's head, the last of which drove Staal's head into the boards and earned Streit a roughing penalty.
9:25 2nd: Isles tie it at 1; Nielsen 8 (Comeau) (sh) And there's your first-game jitters from Justin Peters, who to this point has been solid. Peters lost the puck behind his net, and Blake Comeau picked up the garbage, centering to Frans Nielsen who fired it home high to Peters' glove side. Not quite a thinking play there, but we'll give Peters a pass since he's been facing a barrage in this period.
12:14 2nd: OK, we can officially forgive Peters for his puck-handling misadventures. An unbelievable save on Jon Sim kept the game tied; Sim had a wide open net to shoot at, but Peters somehow swiped his arm out in a snow-angel fashion and kept the puck out of the net. I don't think the fans in attendance believed what they saw, because I sure didn't.
15:36 2nd: Canes lead 2-1; Dwyer 5 (Sutter, Boychuk) Gotta be honest...I missed this one because I was, ahem, disposed in the mens' room. I hear it was a goal, though, and the scoreboard certainly seems to indicate so.
End 2nd: Things got a bit testy behind the Canes' net after the horn, as the Canes felt the Isles were taking a few too many liberties with Peters by crashing the net late in the period. Nothing came of it, though, and the Canes headed to the locker room up by a goal again. Shots in the period were 13-9 Islanders, who extended their lead overall to 24-17.
1:14 3rd: Peters has certainly done his part tonight. The most recent robbery was a Frans Nielsen breakaway created after a lazy pass from Andrew Alberts to no one in particular was intercepted and fired ahead to Nielsen, who had a breakaway from the blue line in. Nielsen deked to his forehand, but his low attempt was rebuffed in nice fashion by Peters.
7:35 3rd: The boobirds are coming out on an Isles power play, as the fans are getting a bit restless with the Isles' inability to generate anything at all with the man advantage. (Say, sound familiar?)
10:08 3rd: The Isles have gone offside on four straight possessions, and I'm surprised the fans haven't been harder on them than they have been. Once is understandable, but four times in under two minutes? Yeesh.
12:12 3rd: DiPietro was way out of his net to play a puck, along the boards outside the near circle, and Tom Kostopoulos steamrolled him as DiPietro somehow managed to send the puck around behind the net. The fans weren't happy that Kostopoulos wasn't given a goalie-interference penalty, but really, when a goalie comes that far out to play the puck, it's hard for anyone to argue that he isn't fair game.
16:00 3rd: The Canes are really having trouble getting the puck deep in the zone, and the Isles are throwing everything they can at Justin Peters, who will need to earn it if he's to get his first win in his first NHL game.
End 3rd: And he did indeed. Joni Pitkanen salted it away with an empty-netter in all but name, as DiPietro hadn't made it to the bench for the sixth attacker yet and Pitkanen nailed the empty cage to make it a 3-1 final. Shots in the third period were 11-8 Islanders, who outshot the Canes 35-25. If not for that puck-handling miscue behind the net, Peters' first win would have been a shutout, and he certainly earned any and all accolades tonight.
Postgame: Paul Maurice said that the first game for a goaltender is much more difficult than the first game at any other position, since you're on the ice the entire game and can't be worked in on the fourth line at any point. That makes Peters' win all the more impressive; he was the best player on the ice for either team, and it certainly looks like the Canes have a keeper if this game is any indication. A very, very impressive debut that makes the injury to Cam Ward, while not minor, certainly a bit more tolerable.
Everyone in the locker room was effusive in their praise for Peters, none moreso than Maurice, who was as happy as I've ever seen him after a game. He'd have gone on all night, but the Canes have a flight to catch, and I can assure you they're extremely happy to be sleeping in their own beds tonight after a long, long week.
Click for audio from Jussi Jokinen, Patrick Dwyer and the man of the hour, Justin Peters. Maurice's press avail is attached.
Back to work in the friendly confines of the RBC Center on Tuesday night when the Florida Panthers come to town. If you can't make it to the game, join us and we'll keep you updated.
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