By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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Not that preseason games ever have any relevance to the regular season, but this year might be more important to Canes fans than past years. For one thing, tonight and Friday are the only two chances to see the Canes in action at the RBC Center before the home opener on October 27th. (In case you forgot, there's the little issue of a multi-continent road trip involved in the meantime.) For another, there are some unfamiliar names on the backs of the red jerseys in the building tonight.
Foremost among those unfamiliar names is a guy Caniacs will likely get to know pretty well in the coming season. Fresh off signing his entry-level contract at a press conference earlier today (the only press conference I can remember the team holding for a rookie signing his first contract), Jeff Skinner will debut tonight plaing wing alongside Patrick Dwyer and Chad LaRose. The other names in the lineup are a mix of people you know and some new names. There's going to be some adjustment in looking at the unfamiliar numbers on the ice, but you'll be well-versed with these guys by the time they get back from Finland.
We're going to be here for all of it (well, except for the Finland part), so join us as we begin Puck Drops' 4th season tonight...
1:50 1st: Some nice pressure down low from a combination of Jon Matsumoto and Drayson Bowman, helped out by a helpful rebound from Florida's Scott Clemmensen. The Canes had about four great scoring chances from the low slot and were generating a ton of pressure for about 25-30 seconds.
2:56 1st: And the first power play of the season goes to the Canes. Florida's Mike Duco bowled over Cam Ward with no one around, and it was an obvious interference call. Tom Kostopoulos took exception and jawed at Duco on the way back to the bench, with Jay Harrison coming in for backup and hip-checking Duco at the blue line.
3:45 1st: Panthers lead 1-0; Gudbranson 1 (Matthias) Didn't take long for the Panthers to hit paydirt. Tuomo Ruutu was sent off for interference, and off the ensuing faceoff Erik Gudbranson fired a rifle shot from the near circle that flew past Ward and into the back of the net.
5:39 1st: Now a 3-0 lead; Santorelli 1 (Callahan) (pp) 4:56, then Timmins 1 (Grant, Gudbranson) 5:39 The bottom is falling out of the Canes' defense, six minutes into the preseason. Santorelli absolutely undressed Anton Babchuk in the far circle, freezing Ward and firing it home while Ward was helpless to stop it, then the goalie lost sight of the puck on the third goal and the trash was cleaned up in front of him by Scott Timmins after a double-deflection. An ugly set of sequences, no two ways about it.
15:20 1st: The officials have been, to put it politely, letting the boys play tonight. Things could get a little heated if they keep up. Tuomo Ruutu was just railroaded into the near boards by Rostislav Olesz and Ruutu made note of the guilty party, probably for future reference. The Canes' D has loked a little more solid, but it's still a very obvious work in progress.
End 1st: Things have settled down a bit. It's a good thing this game doesn't count, because there would be a lot more bellyaching in the locker room otherwise. The shots were a deceptive 13-11 for the Panthers, but while the Canes had a couple of good chances the ice was tilted toward Cam Ward for long stretches of the period.
3:44 1st: Canes on the board, Babchuk 1 (O'Sullivan, Kostopoulos) (sh) And that's what we expect from Anton Babchuk, isn't it? Rather uninspired play for 33 minutes, noticeable by his lack of defensive awareness, then pop up out of nowhere (on a penalty kill, naturally) and convert a 2-on-1. Saw it coming, didn't you? Patrick O'Sullivan was the setup man for the odd-man rush, feeding Babchuk with a nice tape-to-tape pass in the high slot that Babchuk roofed over Clemmensen's glove to put the Canes on the scoreboard.
10:40 2nd: Should have been 3-2 if not for some bad luck. Riley Nash took a turnaround shot from the bottom of the near circle that surprised Clemmensen and had him beat, if not for the near-side post getting in the way. The puck slid parallel to the goal line from one side to the other, an unfortunate break that the Canes deserved better from.
15:00 2nd: Great pressure from the Canes, particularly Tom Kostopoulos and Drayson Bowman. Kostopoulos twice tried to feed Bowman from behind the net and if not for some great reflexes by new Panthers goalie Jacob Markstrom, he'd have had the Canes' second of the night. As it was, Kostopoulos is showing some nice hands tonight, which is a good sign for the Canes' necessary scoring depth this season.
End 2nd: It was better, which is faint praise given how long stretches of the first period went, and we're learning more about exactly how the new players are adapting to Carolina's system. Patrick O'Sullivan and Riley Nash have looked particularly good, and I'd think at this point they're likely to play a good number of games with the Canes this season. Shots in the period were 10-9 Canes, who trail 22-21 overall.
3:20 3rd: Another what-might-have-been moment in front of Markstrom. This time, Tuomo Ruutu was the unlucky party. Markstrom bounced a rebound to the left side of his net and Ruutu was right there to clean up, but he was unable to elevate it over Markstrom's glove and it ended up buried under a Panthers defenseman for a whistle.
9:44 3rd: Paetsch scores to make it 4-1 Panthers And don't tell Tim Gleason this is a meaningless game. After Nathan Paetsch scored on a one-timer from the right side of the far circle, Gleason and Tristan Grant went at it behind the net and the Canes somehow came out with a power play on a four-minute roughing penalty to Grant while Gleason was only handed a single minor.
10:50 3rd: Patrick O'Sullivan's unlucky night continues, as he whiffed on a silver-platter puck at the top of the crease with Markstrom well out of position. He could easily have had a three-point night if things had gone according to plan in the game.
End 3rd: At least the Canes showed life in the third period, outshooting the Panthers 13-2 in the final frame. It didn't matter, though, as they weren't able to get another one past Markstrom for a 4-1 final. Paul Maurice said after the game that he almost expected the weary legs that the team saw in the first period, given how much excitement was in the locker room before the game and the pace of training camp up to this point. More to the point, he said that if the team was up to speed from the opening faceoff that they hadn't worked them hard enough in camp.
There's obviously not much you can take from a game like this, but it has to be said that there are certain players who did their best to stake a claim to a roster spot, foremost among them Patrick O'Sullivan. He was bar none the best Hurricane on the ice tonight, and it's a fair argument to say that he was the best player for either team. It will take some serious competition from elsewhere to keep O'Sullivan off the opening night roster.
Click for audio from O'Sullivan and Jeff Skinner. Maurice's press conference is attached.
Back at it Friday night when the Nashville Predators come to town.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
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Good to see that Patio did well. It would be nice to have someone who considers himself to be a native son on the team.
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