By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
The Canes return to the RBC Center after taking three of a possible four points from two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. After shutting out the Boston Bruins on Friday, the Canes stole a point from Washington when Eric Staal scored with 2.2 seconds left on Sunday afternoon, falling in a shootout but at least earning the point.
Tonight, their third game in four nights sees the Dallas Stars come to town for the only time this season, and as Paul Maurice said earlier today, if you watched the Nashville game last Saturday then you know what to expect tonight. The Stars bring a suffocating brand of defense to town, led by a couple of old friends: former Lightning Brad Richards and former Thrasher Kari Lehtonen, who has played well against the Canes when healthy -- which hasn't been all that often. Although the Stars were scarcely mentioned behind the Sharks, Kings and Coyotes prior to the season, it's their 27 points that lead the Pacific Division, a testament to how well the team has played without franchise linchpin Mike Modano, who left for Detroit in the offseason.
The Canes, amazingly, have lost only four man-games to injury this year, and they field a full lineup again tonight. The Stars, meanwhile, will be without the services of resident pest Krys Barch, but are otherwise healthy.
Here goes...
1:45 1st: The Canes nearly got caught on a bad turnover deep in their own end just under two minutes into the game. A weird bounce off the boards bounced off Ian White's skate and right to Jamie Benn, who fired a shot that was blockered down by Cam Ward in a good reactionary save.
5:50 1st: I'm not sure what happened while I was on vacation, but the Canes sure look like they practiced their passing while on the power play. An early Karlis Skrastins tripping penalty was killed off, but not for a lack of effort - the Canes' passing was spot on, with crisp passes all over the place that they just failed to convert a couple of times.
9:55 1st: The shot board says that the teams are even at 6 shots apiece, but the Stars' chances have all been solid scoring opportunities with most of them coming from right in front of Cam Ward that have forced Ward to be on his toes with some great saves so far.
10:40 1st: Stars lead 1-0; Neal 9 (Eriksson, Woywitka) And the Canes finally get burned in their own zone. Loui Eriksson skated behind Ward with little problem and convinced Cam Ward that he was going to wrap the puck around, but he instead fed James Neal at the bottom of the near circle who one-timed the puck over Ward's glove on a shot that looked like it handcuffed Ward a bit. Still, the Canes' defense had no excuse for playing the Stars so passively.
13:40 1st: Could have easily been 2-0 as Eriksson snuck behind the pairing of Jamie McBain and Jay Harrison to get off a surprisingly quick shot that Ward just barely swatted away with his stick.. Not the greatest period for the Canes' defense thus far.
16:15 1st: Looks like the Canes got a stern talking-to at the TV timeout, and it's paid dividends on their first two shifts since. They've been all over the Stars' net with some great scoring chances, including a Brandon Sutter tip chance that just slid by his stick on the near side of Lehtonen.
End 1st: The Canes started with some good pressure late in the period, but when the Stars got the puck back in the Canes' zone the home team still looked rather lost and way too overreliant on Cam Ward. Shots were 12-10 Carolina in the period, but that's misleading when you consider that most of those 10 Stars shots were above-average to great scoring chances.
1:50 2nd: The Canes' power play hasn't struck yet, but it's come close a few times with a great chance a second ago when Lehtonen failed to cover the puck and Jeff Skinner fed Joni Pitkanen for a wide open shot with Lehtonen way out of position...and, of course, Pitkanen shot the puck into the side of the net.
2:46 2nd: Stars lead 2-0; Ott 5 (Benn, Daley) Eleven seconds after the Jeff Woywitka high-sticking penalty was killed off, a broken play resulted in a two-goal lead for the Stars. Jamie Benn stole the puck behind the net and faked Ward out by looking like he was going to skate it around to the far side of the net, but instead he pulled up on a dime and fed Steve Ott at the top of the crease who took advantage of Ward being out of position and doubled the Stars' lead.
4:16 2nd: 3-0 Dallas; Neal 10 (Grossman) A clear from the blue line by James Neal bounced off the boards to Ward's right, and the puck went through three players and right back to Neal who one-timed it home on a shot Ward had no clue was coming. Yet again, the Canes are letting down after a power play, and it looks like they're trying too hard and giving the Stars all sorts of chances to come back the other way.
7:57 2nd: Canes pull to 3-1; Staal 12 (unassisted) If the Canes were going to get back into this game, they were going to have to strike quickly and they did just that. Eric Staal harassed Nicklas Grossman at the Carolina blue line and went off on a breakaway, blasting a wrister past Lehtonen's glove from fifteen feet to put the Canes on the board.
9:45 2nd: James Neal was interfering with Tuomo Ruutu two-thirds of the way down the ice, finally dragging him to the ice and earning himself a hooking penalty, while Ruutu took a diving penalty. Um...if you say so, Brad Meier.
15:41 2nd: Neal nearly had himself a hat trick with a perfect deflection in front of Ward on a Dallas power play, and Ward stopped it but he thought it was past him, looking behind him as the referee's whistle blew.
18:49 2nd: Tuomo Ruutu somehow manages to get a shot off, Bobby Orr-style, while flying through the air after drawing a Skrastins hooking penalty. If he'd have scored there, you'd have seen it on SportsCenter.
End 2nd: The Stars outshot the Canes 13-5 in the period. Yeah, that sounds about right. The Canes will have :49 left on the Skrastins hooking penalty when the third period starts.
3:21 3rd: Stars lead 4-1; Benn 6 (Ribeiro, Morrow) No surprise the Stars made it 4-1 after they killed off the Skrastins penalty. All four of the Stars' goals have been directly after they killed off a penalty, and they are getting some serious pressure early in the five-on-five sequence immediately following a penalty. No question the Canes have been back on their heels a bit, but they've not done a great job of collapsing around Ward when they've needed to.
6:24 3rd: Tim Gleason levels Adam Burish with a hip check in front of the Canes' bench, and the predictable line brawl ensues with Gleason right in the middle of the fracas. In the end, Gleason got four minutes for roughing but Dallas sent three men to the box, handing the Canes their fourth power play of the night.
13:30 3rd: Not much to speak of after the Gleason nonsense was sorted out. TO the Canes' credit, they haven't allowed Dallas many easy looks at Ward following the power play, but it's a bit late for compliments like that when you're already down by three.
16:05 3rd: Story of the night: a great shot from Jamie McBain at the right point ricocheted right to Jeff Skinner in the near circle, and Skinner fanned on a wide open net.
End 3rd: Nothing doing for the Canes late and they fall to the Stars in Raleigh for the first time since 2003. Shots were 11-10 for the Canes in the 3rd period, but the Stars led overall 33-28 in the game.
Postgame: A lot of frustrated faces in the Canes' locker room after the game, including a few players who understandably wanted nothing to do with talking to the media after a night like that. Even the normally mild-mannered Paul Maurice let a four-letter slip during his press conference. It's obvious the Canes didn't have their legs tonight, and it showed from the opening faceoff. Blame it on the schedule if you want, but Dallas was also playing their fourth game in six nights and they showed up. Full marks to them on what was a very frustrating night for the home team.
Click for audio from Tuomo Ruutu and Eric Staal. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes get tomorrow off, and they don't take the ice again (for a game, anyway) until Friday when the Colorado Avalanche come to town. We'll be back then, and hopefully you will as well.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Game 18: Hurricanes 7, Senators 1
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
There are some nights we have issues coming up with what to write in this space before some games. Tonight isn't one of those nights.
We've already recapped this afternoon's trade that sent Anton Babchuk and Tom Kostopoulos to Calgary for Ian White and Brett Sutter. Neither new Cane will be in tonight's lineup, as Sutter is being sent to Charlotte and White will need to clear immigration before joining the team. He will likely meet his new team on Friday in Pittsburgh.
The Sens enter tonight's game with heavy hearts. Earlier today, the team took part in a memorial service at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa honoring Daron Richardson, the 14-year-old daughter of assistant coach Luke Richardson who died tragically on Sunday. They are in the midst of an four-game road trip, and hadn't planned to return to Ottawa before the end of the trip, but the events of the past week required them to return to the city. They just flew into Raleigh this afternoon, and had no time for a morning skate. Given the circumstances, it's hard to know what to expect from the Sens tonight.
Brett Carson has been recalled from Charlotte (and his recall was our first clue that something might be brewing tonight) to take Babchuk's spot in the lineup and keep the seat warm for White. Patrick O'Sullivan will also see his first game action in three weeks, taking Kostopoulos' place on the fourth line. The Canes' healthy extra will be Troy Bodie, newly acquired from Anaheim, who will play on Friday in Pittsburgh.
It's been a wild day, and we haven't even gotten to the game yet. That will come soon enough...
3:55 1st: The Canes have had the better play early, and it's nearly paid dividends a couple of times. Jussi Jokinen had a five-hole chance on Sens goalie Brian Elliott slide off his stick just before shoveling it in, but as a reward for his effort Jokinen lost an edge and went careening into the end boards to the left of Elliott. Ouch.
4:25 1st: Canes lead 1-0; Gleason 2 (LaRose, Samsonov) And playing the role of the offensive defenseman tonight in lieu of the traded Anton Babchuk? If you had Tim Gleason in the pool, congratulations. Sergei Samsonov sprung Chad LaRose with a perfect pass at the Canes' blue line, and LaRose and Gleason had a perfect 2-on-1 set up as a result. Gleason took a pass with a second to set up, and he didn't miss with a top-shelf wrister over Elliott's glove.
10:15 1st: The Canes have had time lately to practice their power play, and it's showed on the first man advantage of the night. They're doing everything they can to create odd-man advantages down low...
10:41 1st: Canes lead 2-0; Staal 7 (Jokinen, Pitkanen) (pp) ...and another of those odd-man situations caught Elliott cheating and Eric Staal shoveled it home off a Jussi Jokinen pass through the five-hole. It was Staal's second good chance of the power play; a few seconds earlier Jokinen tried to hit him on a long cross-crease pass that was in the neighborhood but got caught in Staal's skates.
12:00 1st: Staal nearly had his second in 70 seconds on a clean breakaway off a shorthanded faceoff. He shot it wide, but credit to Erik Karlsson who played it perfectly and messed Staal up just enough to throw him off without taking a penalty.
12:40 1st: A great shift by Brandon Sutter and Patrick Dwyer nearly gives the Canes a shorthanded goal. They earned a standing ovation for their work, and it was well-deserved; the Sens were completely turned around in their own zone despite having the man advantage.
15:06 1st: Not to find fault in a team that's up by 2 and playing very well tonight, but the Sens' Ryan Shannon absolutely bulldozed Cam Ward with no response from anyone, save some polite shoving by Brett Carson. Not exactly a perfect way to stick up for your goaltender, though Shannon did take a goalie-interference penalty.
16:05 1st: Canes lead 3-0; Staal 8 (Jokinen, Corvo) (pp) Eric Staal potted his second of the night and #201 of his career on another rebound cleanup at the top of the crease. Just like last time, it was set up by Jussi Jokinen, this time on a slap shot from the blue line. Jokinen's had a quietly effective game tonight, so he may be turning the corner after all.
16:25 1st: OK, things got weird all of a sudden. Chris Neil did what he does best, antagonizing the opposition and trying to take some liberties with Jeff Skinner, which prompted Jay Harrison to jump in and earn matching roughing penalties with the Sens' Matt Carkner. So what I said about not sticking up for your guys earlier? Retract it a little bit.
16:46 1st: 4-0 lead for Carolina; LaRose 5 (Gleason, Staal) With the sides even at 4, Chad LaRose scored on a similar play to Staal's second goal, shoveling the puck in past Elliott's outstretched stick to bring a quick end to Elliott's night.
End 1st: It's painfully obvious that the Sens are, understandably, not at all engaged in this game. It's almost tough to enjoy the fact that the Canes are up 4-0 and outshooting the Sens 16-5 given the circumstances. Milan Michalek took his frustrations out on LaRose as the period ended, earning a four-minute roughing penalty to offset LaRose's two and give the Canes a power play on fresh ice to start the second period.
1:35 2nd: A dumb penalty by Eric Staal, for boarding Daniel Alfredsson deep in the Canes' zone while the Canes attempted a breakout, was matched by a dumber penalty to the Sens' Jesse Winchester, who stood up to Staal and dropped the gloves to get a piece of the Canes' captain, earning a roughing penalty in the process.
6:30 2nd: And that's the Joni Pitkanen that scares everyone at the RBC. A no-look backhand pass from just outside the crease ends up right in the breadbasket of Chris Campoli, who was the most unfortunate man in the building when a sure goal jumped over his stick.
14:50 2nd: Not nearly the shell-shocked Sens that we saw in the first period, and they're starting to skate better than they have all night. No surprise that it took them this long to get their legs under them.
15:55 2nd: Staal has had two separate shorthanded breakaways tonight and hasn't converted either one. He could easily have a hat trick...or one more.
End 2nd: The Canes had a 2-on-1 with a few seconds left in the period, but Pascal Leclaire kicked out Jussi Jokinen's bid for a five-goal lead with two seconds to go. Shots were 8-6 Sens in the period, indicative of how they played late in the period as the Canes retreated to a defensive shell.
1:26 3rd: Canes lead 5-0, free queso for all! LaRose 6 (McBain, Staal) A few seconds after a section to my left started a "We Want Queso" chant, Chad LaRose delivered the goods on his second of the night. Every goal the Canes have scored tonight, except the Gleason game-opener, has been a rebound that wasn't covered, and it's good to see the Canes getting in position to take advantage of the Sens' goalies' inability to cover the puck.
9:00 3rd: Their fourth good shorthanded chance of the night, Brandon Sutter hit the post on the short side of Leclaire. The chances the Canes have had while down a man have been incredible.
9:31 3rd: Sens on the board, down 5-1; Alfredsson 8 (Gonchar, Kuba) (pp) A few seconds later, a Jason Spezza screen in front of Cam Ward gave Daniel Alfredsson plenty of cover to roof a top-shelf shot over Ward's glove hand. Beautifully placed shot, and the Sens deserved one; they've controlled play for the last 15-20 minutes of game time.
13:44 3rd: Canes up 6-1 on a Staal hat trick; Staal 9 (Samsonov, LaRose) Any doubt this was coming? LaRose made a great pass to Samsonov to spring Samsonov and Staal on a 2-on-1, and Samsonov fired a perfect pass that Staal one-timed past a helpless Leclaire to put the Canes back up by five.
15:54 3rd: To no one's surprise, it's 7-1: Ruutu 4 (Cole) Another laser one-timer puts the Canes up by six, and this time it's Tuomo Ruutu doing the honors. Ruutu was left unchecked at the top of the slot and after a turnover behind the net that Erik Cole collected, he found Ruutu all alone for a rocket of a shot high to Leclaire's glove side.
End 3rd: No more scoring, and no doubt the closing horn couldn't come soon enough for the Sens, not even considering the final score. Shots in the third were 11-6 Sens, who trailed 28-24 overall.
Postgame: Honestly, the story tonight wasn't the Canes' beatdown of the Sens. It was the fact that the Sens even showed up mentally for any of the game, never mind carrying play from the end of the second through about 12:00 of the third.
In talking to longtime Ottawa Sun writer Bruce Garrioch in the press room after the game, the pain of the day was evident in him describing the day as "terrible. Just terrible." The memorial service at Scotiabank Place went for two hours, with friends of Daron Richardson taking the podium one after the other, and after that they have to board a plane and fly three hours south to play a hockey game? That's unconscionable.
It's to the eternal credit of Cory Clouston and the Sens' staff that they were able to get it together to play at all, never mind play well. The final score notwithstanding, the Sens deserve all sorts of credit for playing under absolutely impossible circumstances. Their road trip ends, mercifully, in St. Louis on Friday night.
Click for locker room audio from Eric Staal, Erik Cole and Chad LaRose. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes head to Pittsburgh, where they'll meet some new faces, on Friday night, then they're back at the RBC for a cross-conference showdown with Nashville on Saturday. However, we're going on vacation here at Puck Drops HQ for a week or so, meaning we won't be back at the RBC for another game until November 29 when the Dallas Stars come to town. Here's wishing you a happy Thanksgiving (a few days early, of course) and we'll be back in a little over a week.
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
There are some nights we have issues coming up with what to write in this space before some games. Tonight isn't one of those nights.
We've already recapped this afternoon's trade that sent Anton Babchuk and Tom Kostopoulos to Calgary for Ian White and Brett Sutter. Neither new Cane will be in tonight's lineup, as Sutter is being sent to Charlotte and White will need to clear immigration before joining the team. He will likely meet his new team on Friday in Pittsburgh.
The Sens enter tonight's game with heavy hearts. Earlier today, the team took part in a memorial service at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa honoring Daron Richardson, the 14-year-old daughter of assistant coach Luke Richardson who died tragically on Sunday. They are in the midst of an four-game road trip, and hadn't planned to return to Ottawa before the end of the trip, but the events of the past week required them to return to the city. They just flew into Raleigh this afternoon, and had no time for a morning skate. Given the circumstances, it's hard to know what to expect from the Sens tonight.
Brett Carson has been recalled from Charlotte (and his recall was our first clue that something might be brewing tonight) to take Babchuk's spot in the lineup and keep the seat warm for White. Patrick O'Sullivan will also see his first game action in three weeks, taking Kostopoulos' place on the fourth line. The Canes' healthy extra will be Troy Bodie, newly acquired from Anaheim, who will play on Friday in Pittsburgh.
It's been a wild day, and we haven't even gotten to the game yet. That will come soon enough...
3:55 1st: The Canes have had the better play early, and it's nearly paid dividends a couple of times. Jussi Jokinen had a five-hole chance on Sens goalie Brian Elliott slide off his stick just before shoveling it in, but as a reward for his effort Jokinen lost an edge and went careening into the end boards to the left of Elliott. Ouch.
4:25 1st: Canes lead 1-0; Gleason 2 (LaRose, Samsonov) And playing the role of the offensive defenseman tonight in lieu of the traded Anton Babchuk? If you had Tim Gleason in the pool, congratulations. Sergei Samsonov sprung Chad LaRose with a perfect pass at the Canes' blue line, and LaRose and Gleason had a perfect 2-on-1 set up as a result. Gleason took a pass with a second to set up, and he didn't miss with a top-shelf wrister over Elliott's glove.
10:15 1st: The Canes have had time lately to practice their power play, and it's showed on the first man advantage of the night. They're doing everything they can to create odd-man advantages down low...
10:41 1st: Canes lead 2-0; Staal 7 (Jokinen, Pitkanen) (pp) ...and another of those odd-man situations caught Elliott cheating and Eric Staal shoveled it home off a Jussi Jokinen pass through the five-hole. It was Staal's second good chance of the power play; a few seconds earlier Jokinen tried to hit him on a long cross-crease pass that was in the neighborhood but got caught in Staal's skates.
12:00 1st: Staal nearly had his second in 70 seconds on a clean breakaway off a shorthanded faceoff. He shot it wide, but credit to Erik Karlsson who played it perfectly and messed Staal up just enough to throw him off without taking a penalty.
12:40 1st: A great shift by Brandon Sutter and Patrick Dwyer nearly gives the Canes a shorthanded goal. They earned a standing ovation for their work, and it was well-deserved; the Sens were completely turned around in their own zone despite having the man advantage.
15:06 1st: Not to find fault in a team that's up by 2 and playing very well tonight, but the Sens' Ryan Shannon absolutely bulldozed Cam Ward with no response from anyone, save some polite shoving by Brett Carson. Not exactly a perfect way to stick up for your goaltender, though Shannon did take a goalie-interference penalty.
16:05 1st: Canes lead 3-0; Staal 8 (Jokinen, Corvo) (pp) Eric Staal potted his second of the night and #201 of his career on another rebound cleanup at the top of the crease. Just like last time, it was set up by Jussi Jokinen, this time on a slap shot from the blue line. Jokinen's had a quietly effective game tonight, so he may be turning the corner after all.
16:25 1st: OK, things got weird all of a sudden. Chris Neil did what he does best, antagonizing the opposition and trying to take some liberties with Jeff Skinner, which prompted Jay Harrison to jump in and earn matching roughing penalties with the Sens' Matt Carkner. So what I said about not sticking up for your guys earlier? Retract it a little bit.
16:46 1st: 4-0 lead for Carolina; LaRose 5 (Gleason, Staal) With the sides even at 4, Chad LaRose scored on a similar play to Staal's second goal, shoveling the puck in past Elliott's outstretched stick to bring a quick end to Elliott's night.
End 1st: It's painfully obvious that the Sens are, understandably, not at all engaged in this game. It's almost tough to enjoy the fact that the Canes are up 4-0 and outshooting the Sens 16-5 given the circumstances. Milan Michalek took his frustrations out on LaRose as the period ended, earning a four-minute roughing penalty to offset LaRose's two and give the Canes a power play on fresh ice to start the second period.
1:35 2nd: A dumb penalty by Eric Staal, for boarding Daniel Alfredsson deep in the Canes' zone while the Canes attempted a breakout, was matched by a dumber penalty to the Sens' Jesse Winchester, who stood up to Staal and dropped the gloves to get a piece of the Canes' captain, earning a roughing penalty in the process.
6:30 2nd: And that's the Joni Pitkanen that scares everyone at the RBC. A no-look backhand pass from just outside the crease ends up right in the breadbasket of Chris Campoli, who was the most unfortunate man in the building when a sure goal jumped over his stick.
14:50 2nd: Not nearly the shell-shocked Sens that we saw in the first period, and they're starting to skate better than they have all night. No surprise that it took them this long to get their legs under them.
15:55 2nd: Staal has had two separate shorthanded breakaways tonight and hasn't converted either one. He could easily have a hat trick...or one more.
End 2nd: The Canes had a 2-on-1 with a few seconds left in the period, but Pascal Leclaire kicked out Jussi Jokinen's bid for a five-goal lead with two seconds to go. Shots were 8-6 Sens in the period, indicative of how they played late in the period as the Canes retreated to a defensive shell.
1:26 3rd: Canes lead 5-0, free queso for all! LaRose 6 (McBain, Staal) A few seconds after a section to my left started a "We Want Queso" chant, Chad LaRose delivered the goods on his second of the night. Every goal the Canes have scored tonight, except the Gleason game-opener, has been a rebound that wasn't covered, and it's good to see the Canes getting in position to take advantage of the Sens' goalies' inability to cover the puck.
9:00 3rd: Their fourth good shorthanded chance of the night, Brandon Sutter hit the post on the short side of Leclaire. The chances the Canes have had while down a man have been incredible.
9:31 3rd: Sens on the board, down 5-1; Alfredsson 8 (Gonchar, Kuba) (pp) A few seconds later, a Jason Spezza screen in front of Cam Ward gave Daniel Alfredsson plenty of cover to roof a top-shelf shot over Ward's glove hand. Beautifully placed shot, and the Sens deserved one; they've controlled play for the last 15-20 minutes of game time.
13:44 3rd: Canes up 6-1 on a Staal hat trick; Staal 9 (Samsonov, LaRose) Any doubt this was coming? LaRose made a great pass to Samsonov to spring Samsonov and Staal on a 2-on-1, and Samsonov fired a perfect pass that Staal one-timed past a helpless Leclaire to put the Canes back up by five.
15:54 3rd: To no one's surprise, it's 7-1: Ruutu 4 (Cole) Another laser one-timer puts the Canes up by six, and this time it's Tuomo Ruutu doing the honors. Ruutu was left unchecked at the top of the slot and after a turnover behind the net that Erik Cole collected, he found Ruutu all alone for a rocket of a shot high to Leclaire's glove side.
End 3rd: No more scoring, and no doubt the closing horn couldn't come soon enough for the Sens, not even considering the final score. Shots in the third were 11-6 Sens, who trailed 28-24 overall.
Postgame: Honestly, the story tonight wasn't the Canes' beatdown of the Sens. It was the fact that the Sens even showed up mentally for any of the game, never mind carrying play from the end of the second through about 12:00 of the third.
In talking to longtime Ottawa Sun writer Bruce Garrioch in the press room after the game, the pain of the day was evident in him describing the day as "terrible. Just terrible." The memorial service at Scotiabank Place went for two hours, with friends of Daron Richardson taking the podium one after the other, and after that they have to board a plane and fly three hours south to play a hockey game? That's unconscionable.
It's to the eternal credit of Cory Clouston and the Sens' staff that they were able to get it together to play at all, never mind play well. The final score notwithstanding, the Sens deserve all sorts of credit for playing under absolutely impossible circumstances. Their road trip ends, mercifully, in St. Louis on Friday night.
Click for locker room audio from Eric Staal, Erik Cole and Chad LaRose. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes head to Pittsburgh, where they'll meet some new faces, on Friday night, then they're back at the RBC for a cross-conference showdown with Nashville on Saturday. However, we're going on vacation here at Puck Drops HQ for a week or so, meaning we won't be back at the RBC for another game until November 29 when the Dallas Stars come to town. Here's wishing you a happy Thanksgiving (a few days early, of course) and we'll be back in a little over a week.
Canes acquire Ian White and Brett Sutter for Tom Kostopoulos and Anton Babchuk
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Suffice it to say that the Hurricanes' recent performance did not go unnoticed on the fourth floor of the RBC Center.
In a deal designed to spark two struggling teams, the Canes and Calgary Flames completed a deal late Wednesday that sent Tom Kostopoulos and Anton Babchuk to the Flames. In return, the Canes receive defenseman Ian White and forward Brett Sutter, a cousin of the Hurricanes' Brandon and the son of Flames GM Darryl Sutter.
At a hastily-arranged press conference just before the Canes' game against the Ottawa Senators, general manager Jim Rutherford said that this deal had been in the works for a few weeks, and the recent legal troubles surrounding Brett Sutter as a result of an incident outside an Arizona bar a week ago did not factor into the trade one way or the other. White, who played under Canes coach Paul Maurice in Toronto for two seasons, was a player the Canes have had their eyes on for a while, and Rutherford said that the move to acquire him probably would have occurred regardless of the team's recent problems.
But when asked if the last two games have factored into the decision to pull the trigger now, Rutherford was curt: "Darned right." White, a clear upgrade over Babchuk, will immediately see top-four minutes, likely playing over 22 minutes per night including some power play time. He is signed through the end of this season at $3 million, and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. Sutter has a two-way deal, and will be assigned to Charlotte to finish a conditioning stint begun on Sunday. He will likely remain in Charlotte for the rest of the season, but will need to clear waivers to be permanently assigned to the Checkers.
Much more on this later...we're half an hour from puck drop at the RBC Center now.
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Suffice it to say that the Hurricanes' recent performance did not go unnoticed on the fourth floor of the RBC Center.
In a deal designed to spark two struggling teams, the Canes and Calgary Flames completed a deal late Wednesday that sent Tom Kostopoulos and Anton Babchuk to the Flames. In return, the Canes receive defenseman Ian White and forward Brett Sutter, a cousin of the Hurricanes' Brandon and the son of Flames GM Darryl Sutter.
At a hastily-arranged press conference just before the Canes' game against the Ottawa Senators, general manager Jim Rutherford said that this deal had been in the works for a few weeks, and the recent legal troubles surrounding Brett Sutter as a result of an incident outside an Arizona bar a week ago did not factor into the trade one way or the other. White, who played under Canes coach Paul Maurice in Toronto for two seasons, was a player the Canes have had their eyes on for a while, and Rutherford said that the move to acquire him probably would have occurred regardless of the team's recent problems.
But when asked if the last two games have factored into the decision to pull the trigger now, Rutherford was curt: "Darned right." White, a clear upgrade over Babchuk, will immediately see top-four minutes, likely playing over 22 minutes per night including some power play time. He is signed through the end of this season at $3 million, and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. Sutter has a two-way deal, and will be assigned to Charlotte to finish a conditioning stint begun on Sunday. He will likely remain in Charlotte for the rest of the season, but will need to clear waivers to be permanently assigned to the Checkers.
Much more on this later...we're half an hour from puck drop at the RBC Center now.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Game 16: Flyers 8, Hurricanes 1
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
In the past couple of seasons, the calling card when the Philadelphia Flyers have come to Raleigh has been the return of the only coach to lead the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup, Peter Laviolette. That subplot still exists tonight, but there's some more intrigue in tonight's game than just a rematch between the benches.
The Flyers, after surprising just about everyone with an Eastern Conference title last season, enter tonight's game atop the Atlantic Division and second in the conference with 20 points, largely on the back of their heretofore unknown goaltender, 20-year-old Russian phenomenon Sergei Bobrovsky. As they have for most seasons since the retirement of Ron Hextall, the Flyers entered this season with questions in goal, but Bobrovsky has largely answered those questions and the Flyers look primed to contend again for the Stanley Cup.
There's no change to the Canes lineup that dropped seven on Edmonton two nights ago, but the Canes face a much stiffer test tonight as they try to sweep their homestand. A win tonight could result in the Canes holding second place in the division when the night ends, depending on the outcome of the Tampa/Washington game. Here we go...
5:40 1st: Scott Hartnell sure thought he gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead. Joe Corvo disagreed, complaining to referee Rob Martell that the puck was kicked in. Martell didn't agree at first, but video review vindicated Corvo and the game remained scoreless. A bad break for the Flyers, who had a beautiful 3-on-2 rush capped off by a Ville Leino spinning centering pass to Hartnell, who tried to hit it with his stick but kicked it instead, resulting in no goal and a scoreless game.
6:20 1st: Not a minute later, a 2-on-1 shot from Claude Giroux beat Ward but went cleanly off the far post. Two huge breaks for the Canes, who could easily be down by two but still keep it scoreless.
7:54 1st: Flyers lead 1-0; Briere 7 (Leino, Hartnell) And the Canes' clock finally strikes midnight. Leino took full advantage of a sub-par play by both Carolina defensemen, as he circled around behind the net to skate away from Jay Harrison then found Briere uncovered at the top of the crease when Anton Babchuk completely lost his man. Nice play by Leino, but the Canes could have emerged from that play unscathed with a bit more honest defensive play.
14:47 1st: On a 2-on-1 created because Jeff Skinner set an inadvertent pick trying to get off the ice, Danny Briere nearly had his second of the night but his shot over Ward's pads bounced off the crossbar. The posts now have two on the night, and it could be way worse than a one-goal deficit for the Canes.
18:42 1st: Flyers take a 2-0 lead; Carter 6 (Pronger, Timonen) (pp) And an assist to Erik Cole, who took a dumb unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty ten seconds before the goal when he went overboard in reacting to a perceived slight from Nikolay Zherdev along the far boards. The Flyers power play moved the puck in a way that called to mind the '06 Canes (hmmm...) and Jeff Carter was the beneficiary of a point shot from Chris Pronger that Ward couldn't cover. Carter shoveled home the rebound to double the Flyers' lead.
End 1st: The Flyers' 9-8 shot advantage is a bit misleading, because every time the Flyers had the puck in the Carolina zone they seemingly created a scoring chance. The Canes have to tighten up in a hurry, something Paul Maurice knows well. He looked rather displeased heading to the locker room.
1:54 2nd: Flyers go up 3-0; Meszaros 1 (Carter, Giroux) All of the Flyers goals tonight could have been prevented by even passable defensive play. Instead, this time an inability to clear led to the Flyers taking a three-goal lead. Jeff Carter skated around behind the net (again) and caught Ward cheating off the near post, but Carter drew Ward down with a fake and after pinballing around the slot for a second or two, it came to Andrej Meszaros who blasted it home from 40 feet.
2:14 2nd: To no one's surprise, Tom Kostopoulos felt the need to drop the gloves with the Flyers' resident pest, Daniel Carcillo. Score it a win for Carcillo, who took Kostopoulos down to the ice with a couple of overhand rights.
5:58 2nd: 4-0 lead for the Flyers; Carter 7 (Briere) (pp) Justin Peters, come on down. Cam Ward's night is over through no fault of his own. This time, it's the inexcusable sin of giving up a 2-on-1 while killing a penalty, and Jeff Carter pots it for his second of the night. That's four goals on 13 shots for Ward, and only one of them was anything near his fault.
7:29 2nd: Chad LaRose is robbed by Bobrovsky with a spectacular flopping save on a five-foot shot that LaRose got all of. Canes can't buy a break.
12:30 2nd: Some loud "Let's go Flyers" cheers coming from the cheap seats. Only surprise is that they took this long to get going.
14:50 2nd: Tom Kostopoulos has been about the only Cane doing anything noteworthy tonight. This time, it wasn't with his fists, but with his hands...a pair of great shots from about six feet, but neither made it through to Bobrovsky thanks to some great blocks by Kimmo Timonen.
End 2nd: The Canes will begin the 3rd with :22 remaining on a Darroll Powe charging penalty, but honestly it might not matter at this point. Shots in the second period, inexplicably, were 14-6 Carolina, who took a 22-15 lead overall, but I have to wonder exactly where those 22 shots came from. I honestly have no idea.
5:20 3rd: There's your night in a nutshell. Eric Staal had the puck on a 1-on-2 rush, danced around Sean O'Donnell to get a clear shot on Bobrovsky, and...passed it to a wing where no one was within twenty feet of the puck.
End 3rd: The blog software ate my last few posts, but it wouldn't have mattered. Final score is 8-1, with Chad LaRose breaking the shutout at 8:44 and more defensive miscues plaguing the Canes. The night was punctuated by a Nikolay Zherdev breakaway goal with 1:50 remaining.
Postgame: The less said about this one, the better. Credit to the guys who stayed out to talk to the media, because no one wants that duty on a night like this. The Canes now hit the road to Montreal, which has been a good place to them over the years, so we'll see if they can bounce back on Saturday night.
Click for locker room audio from Tom Kostopoulos, Justin Peters and Eric Staal. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
We're back when the Canes return from their one-game road trip Wednesday night, as they welcome the Ottawa Senators to town.
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
In the past couple of seasons, the calling card when the Philadelphia Flyers have come to Raleigh has been the return of the only coach to lead the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup, Peter Laviolette. That subplot still exists tonight, but there's some more intrigue in tonight's game than just a rematch between the benches.
The Flyers, after surprising just about everyone with an Eastern Conference title last season, enter tonight's game atop the Atlantic Division and second in the conference with 20 points, largely on the back of their heretofore unknown goaltender, 20-year-old Russian phenomenon Sergei Bobrovsky. As they have for most seasons since the retirement of Ron Hextall, the Flyers entered this season with questions in goal, but Bobrovsky has largely answered those questions and the Flyers look primed to contend again for the Stanley Cup.
There's no change to the Canes lineup that dropped seven on Edmonton two nights ago, but the Canes face a much stiffer test tonight as they try to sweep their homestand. A win tonight could result in the Canes holding second place in the division when the night ends, depending on the outcome of the Tampa/Washington game. Here we go...
5:40 1st: Scott Hartnell sure thought he gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead. Joe Corvo disagreed, complaining to referee Rob Martell that the puck was kicked in. Martell didn't agree at first, but video review vindicated Corvo and the game remained scoreless. A bad break for the Flyers, who had a beautiful 3-on-2 rush capped off by a Ville Leino spinning centering pass to Hartnell, who tried to hit it with his stick but kicked it instead, resulting in no goal and a scoreless game.
6:20 1st: Not a minute later, a 2-on-1 shot from Claude Giroux beat Ward but went cleanly off the far post. Two huge breaks for the Canes, who could easily be down by two but still keep it scoreless.
7:54 1st: Flyers lead 1-0; Briere 7 (Leino, Hartnell) And the Canes' clock finally strikes midnight. Leino took full advantage of a sub-par play by both Carolina defensemen, as he circled around behind the net to skate away from Jay Harrison then found Briere uncovered at the top of the crease when Anton Babchuk completely lost his man. Nice play by Leino, but the Canes could have emerged from that play unscathed with a bit more honest defensive play.
14:47 1st: On a 2-on-1 created because Jeff Skinner set an inadvertent pick trying to get off the ice, Danny Briere nearly had his second of the night but his shot over Ward's pads bounced off the crossbar. The posts now have two on the night, and it could be way worse than a one-goal deficit for the Canes.
18:42 1st: Flyers take a 2-0 lead; Carter 6 (Pronger, Timonen) (pp) And an assist to Erik Cole, who took a dumb unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty ten seconds before the goal when he went overboard in reacting to a perceived slight from Nikolay Zherdev along the far boards. The Flyers power play moved the puck in a way that called to mind the '06 Canes (hmmm...) and Jeff Carter was the beneficiary of a point shot from Chris Pronger that Ward couldn't cover. Carter shoveled home the rebound to double the Flyers' lead.
End 1st: The Flyers' 9-8 shot advantage is a bit misleading, because every time the Flyers had the puck in the Carolina zone they seemingly created a scoring chance. The Canes have to tighten up in a hurry, something Paul Maurice knows well. He looked rather displeased heading to the locker room.
1:54 2nd: Flyers go up 3-0; Meszaros 1 (Carter, Giroux) All of the Flyers goals tonight could have been prevented by even passable defensive play. Instead, this time an inability to clear led to the Flyers taking a three-goal lead. Jeff Carter skated around behind the net (again) and caught Ward cheating off the near post, but Carter drew Ward down with a fake and after pinballing around the slot for a second or two, it came to Andrej Meszaros who blasted it home from 40 feet.
2:14 2nd: To no one's surprise, Tom Kostopoulos felt the need to drop the gloves with the Flyers' resident pest, Daniel Carcillo. Score it a win for Carcillo, who took Kostopoulos down to the ice with a couple of overhand rights.
5:58 2nd: 4-0 lead for the Flyers; Carter 7 (Briere) (pp) Justin Peters, come on down. Cam Ward's night is over through no fault of his own. This time, it's the inexcusable sin of giving up a 2-on-1 while killing a penalty, and Jeff Carter pots it for his second of the night. That's four goals on 13 shots for Ward, and only one of them was anything near his fault.
7:29 2nd: Chad LaRose is robbed by Bobrovsky with a spectacular flopping save on a five-foot shot that LaRose got all of. Canes can't buy a break.
12:30 2nd: Some loud "Let's go Flyers" cheers coming from the cheap seats. Only surprise is that they took this long to get going.
14:50 2nd: Tom Kostopoulos has been about the only Cane doing anything noteworthy tonight. This time, it wasn't with his fists, but with his hands...a pair of great shots from about six feet, but neither made it through to Bobrovsky thanks to some great blocks by Kimmo Timonen.
End 2nd: The Canes will begin the 3rd with :22 remaining on a Darroll Powe charging penalty, but honestly it might not matter at this point. Shots in the second period, inexplicably, were 14-6 Carolina, who took a 22-15 lead overall, but I have to wonder exactly where those 22 shots came from. I honestly have no idea.
5:20 3rd: There's your night in a nutshell. Eric Staal had the puck on a 1-on-2 rush, danced around Sean O'Donnell to get a clear shot on Bobrovsky, and...passed it to a wing where no one was within twenty feet of the puck.
End 3rd: The blog software ate my last few posts, but it wouldn't have mattered. Final score is 8-1, with Chad LaRose breaking the shutout at 8:44 and more defensive miscues plaguing the Canes. The night was punctuated by a Nikolay Zherdev breakaway goal with 1:50 remaining.
Postgame: The less said about this one, the better. Credit to the guys who stayed out to talk to the media, because no one wants that duty on a night like this. The Canes now hit the road to Montreal, which has been a good place to them over the years, so we'll see if they can bounce back on Saturday night.
Click for locker room audio from Tom Kostopoulos, Justin Peters and Eric Staal. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
We're back when the Canes return from their one-game road trip Wednesday night, as they welcome the Ottawa Senators to town.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Game 15: Hurricanes 7, Oilers 1
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
In an indictment of how ridiculous the start to this season has been, it's November 9th and tonight is the first time all year the Hurricanes have played two straight games on their home ice. And following Saturday's victory over Florida, the Canes have a chance to get a three-game home winning streak going tonight for the first time this season.
The Edmonton Oilers, who faced the Canes in the 2006 Stanley Cup final, are in town tonight for their only visit to Raleigh, but the team we'll see tonight bears little resemblance to the one that took the Canes to seven games in 2006. Gone are the likes of Chris Pronger, Ryan Smyth and Fernando Pisani; in their place come Magnus Paajarvi, Jordan Eberle and the first overall pick in this past June's draft, 18-year-old Taylor Hall. More to the point, the Canes have four former Oilers on their roster, including one (Sergei Samsonov) who played for Edmonton against Carolina in 2006.
The only change of note tonight for the Canes is the re-introduction of Joni Pitkanen (a former Oiler, naturally) back to the lineup tonight. Brett Carson has been sent to Charlotte to make room for Pitkanen. Former Oiler Patrick O'Sullivan will be a healthy scratch tonight, as he has been for the past five games. The Oilers will counter with some guys you've probably never heard of, although you'll recognize Ales Hemsky and...um...well, you'll recognize Ales Hemsky from '06. It's up to you to find a program to identify the other guys.
We're ready to roll...
:26 1st: Canes on the board early for a 1-0 lead; Dwyer 4 (Sutter, Tlusty) It took a little longer than the Canes would have liked. Not the goal, but the review of said goal. Brandon Sutter came flying up the ice and through the near faceoff circle, where he unloaded a backhander that Nikolai Khabibulin kicked out without much of a problem. Unfortunately for Edmonton, the puck bounced right to Patrick Dwyer, who ricocheted the puck off his skate and into the net. The goal was reviewed and upheld, since Dwyer didn't make a kicking motion toward the net.
1:15 1st: Canes make it 2-0; Cole 4 (Skinner, Staal) (pp) Might be one of the nights where I can't type fast enough to keep up. After Dustin Penner took a tripping penalty at :57, the Canes took only 18 seconds to double their lead. Good movement between the points by Tuomo Ruutu and Eric Staal set Jeff Skinner up with an open lane at the top of the far circle, and Cole redirected Skinner's shot just enough to beat Khabibulin on the short side.
4:10 1st: Good lord. 3-0 Canes; Corvo 3 (Skinner, Staal) (pp) A few seconds before this goal, the Canes tried a set play where Corvo snuck down from the point and one-timed a cross-crease pass from Skinner that was snuffed out on a great save by Khabibulin. So why not try the same thing ten seconds later? The Oilers called timeout after the goal, and rightfully so...it's quickly turning into one of those nights, as the Canes had 3 goals on 5 shots.
7:19 1st: 4-0 for the home team. LaRose 3 (Staal, Pitkanen) Looks like I might just be writing about goals tonight. A 4-on-2 break for the Canes off a faceoff to Cam Ward's left thanks to shoddy defending by the Oilers (what else is new tonight) ended in a tic-tac-toe passing play from Staal to Joni Pitkanen and finally to LaRose, who slammed it home from ten feet to make it a four-toal lead.
10:19 1st: An entry about something other than a goal. A little unusual, but hey...gotta shake things up sometimes. Anyway, considering Nikolai Khabibulin's night ended 7-plus minutes into the game, you're probably wondering what his stats were. We aim to please: how about a save percentage of .500 and a 32.80 goals-against average. Yeah, you read that correctly.
14:30 1st: The first good cycling shift of the night for the Oilers actually saw them catch up to the Canes' eight shots with an equal number of their own. Give Ward credit...he hasn't seen much action, but when he's been called upon he's been sharp.
End 1st: Things calmed down significantly once the Oilers changed goaltenders, and you'd have to think Paul Maurice will tell the Canes not to get complacent even though they have this game well in hand twenty minutes in. Shots ended 12-9 for the Canes in the period.
2:27 2nd: A little strange to see the rough stuff start so late after the Canes took a four-goal lead, but Steve MacIntyre was just sent off for roughing after a play deep in the Carolina zone. Better late than never for some toughness to show up, I guess.
4:30 2nd: The Canes fail to convert on a 5-on-3 after Tom Gilbert was sent off for delay of game, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Dubnyk robbed Skinner with a beauty of a glove save just as MacIntyre was leaving the box...
4:49 2nd: Canes up 5-0; Corvo 4 (Jokinen, Sutter) (pp) ...and the Canes capitalize on the back end penalty with a rifle shot by Joe Corvo. Seems like they've been practicing these cross-ice plays to hit the trailer sneaking down the weak side, and Corvo's cashed in twice on them.
6:48 2nd: If you had Tom Kostopoulos in your penalty-shot pool tonight, congratulations. The Canes tough guy earns the penalty shot after being hauled down on a contested play at the top of the Oilers' slot. An iffy call, but the way this game has gone, why wouldn't a fourth-liner earn a penalty shot?
13:40 2nd: Tim Gleason took a puck to the face, checked with his glove that he still had all his teeth...then he picked up his stick and kept playing. Yeah, he's a bit of a tough customer.
16:35 2nd: Oilers' night in a nutshell: Ales Hemsky gets the puck five feet from the net, no one near him, plenty of net to shot at...and he passes. And to make matters worse, the puck jumps off the stick of its intended recipient and the Canes clear.
End 2nd: The Oilers finally got some serious pressure on Ward late in the period, including an open-net whiff courtesy of Andrew Cogliano, but they're still staring at a goose egg on the scoreboard. Honestly, I haven't even noticed Taylor Hall tonight, while Jeff Skinner keeps plodding along with two more points. Shots in the 2nd were even more lopsided than the first: 14-7 Canes for a 26-16 lead overall.
1:06 3rd: Home team goes up 6-0; Samsonov 4 (Staal, Pitkanen) Not much to say here: Staal takes a shot that Dubnyk kicks out, Samsonov gets the puck on his backhand, fires home a backhand shot that surprises Dubnyk. The Canes have scored in the first five minutes of every period tonight.
5:21 3rd: Oilers get on the board! Penner 5 (Foster, Whitney) At some point, Cam Ward was allowed to make a mistake, and he finally made one after shutting out the Oilers for over 45 minutes. A point shot from Kurtis Foster was mostly handled by Ward, but the puck trickled to a stop right on the goal line and Dustin Penner pool-cued it into the net to put the Oilers on the board.
7:48 3rd: The extra point is good. Skinner 6 (Ruutu) And just like that, we're back to a six-goal game. Jeff Skinner adds to his great night (in which he's severely outplayed the player who went six slots higher in the draft, Taylor Hall) by redirecting a shot from Tuomo Ruutu in a similar play to the Cole goal from the first period.
10:30 3rd: In case you're wondering, Taylor Hall hasn't taken a shift since there were four minutes left in the second period. That's nearly 15 minutes on the bench. Safe to say Tom Renney isn't real pleased with his play tonight?
14:00 3rd: Eighteen minutes later, Hall finally sees the ice again.
16:04 3rd: Theo Peckham does what some in the press box thought should have been done long before: throw his weight around and pester the Canes physically. Eric Staal was on the receiving end of Peckham's chirping, and Peckham received a roughing penalty plus a misconduct for his trouble.
End 3rd: Nothing doing on the Canes' power play, but it didn't matter by then; the fourth line was getting extensive time with the man advantage, for goodness' sake. Shots in the third period were 16-6 Canes, who led 42-22 (!) overall.
Postgame: Can't say much more than this: that was a complete game all around for the Canes, and the Oilers looked nothing like the team that went into Chicago two nights before and beat the defending Stanley Cup champs. Jeff Skinner has really found a home with Tuomo Ruutu and Erik Cole, and it's obvious in talking to him that he has plenty of chemistry and confidence with the two longtime Canes. Paul Maurice certainly thinks so; Skinner played only 12:46 but it seemed like he was out there for twice that. As for Taylor Hall? 8:47 of ice time, and just :54 in the third period.
Click for audio from Skinner and Eric Staal. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
Back at it Thursday night when Peter Laviolette and the Flyers come to town...
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
In an indictment of how ridiculous the start to this season has been, it's November 9th and tonight is the first time all year the Hurricanes have played two straight games on their home ice. And following Saturday's victory over Florida, the Canes have a chance to get a three-game home winning streak going tonight for the first time this season.
The Edmonton Oilers, who faced the Canes in the 2006 Stanley Cup final, are in town tonight for their only visit to Raleigh, but the team we'll see tonight bears little resemblance to the one that took the Canes to seven games in 2006. Gone are the likes of Chris Pronger, Ryan Smyth and Fernando Pisani; in their place come Magnus Paajarvi, Jordan Eberle and the first overall pick in this past June's draft, 18-year-old Taylor Hall. More to the point, the Canes have four former Oilers on their roster, including one (Sergei Samsonov) who played for Edmonton against Carolina in 2006.
The only change of note tonight for the Canes is the re-introduction of Joni Pitkanen (a former Oiler, naturally) back to the lineup tonight. Brett Carson has been sent to Charlotte to make room for Pitkanen. Former Oiler Patrick O'Sullivan will be a healthy scratch tonight, as he has been for the past five games. The Oilers will counter with some guys you've probably never heard of, although you'll recognize Ales Hemsky and...um...well, you'll recognize Ales Hemsky from '06. It's up to you to find a program to identify the other guys.
We're ready to roll...
:26 1st: Canes on the board early for a 1-0 lead; Dwyer 4 (Sutter, Tlusty) It took a little longer than the Canes would have liked. Not the goal, but the review of said goal. Brandon Sutter came flying up the ice and through the near faceoff circle, where he unloaded a backhander that Nikolai Khabibulin kicked out without much of a problem. Unfortunately for Edmonton, the puck bounced right to Patrick Dwyer, who ricocheted the puck off his skate and into the net. The goal was reviewed and upheld, since Dwyer didn't make a kicking motion toward the net.
1:15 1st: Canes make it 2-0; Cole 4 (Skinner, Staal) (pp) Might be one of the nights where I can't type fast enough to keep up. After Dustin Penner took a tripping penalty at :57, the Canes took only 18 seconds to double their lead. Good movement between the points by Tuomo Ruutu and Eric Staal set Jeff Skinner up with an open lane at the top of the far circle, and Cole redirected Skinner's shot just enough to beat Khabibulin on the short side.
4:10 1st: Good lord. 3-0 Canes; Corvo 3 (Skinner, Staal) (pp) A few seconds before this goal, the Canes tried a set play where Corvo snuck down from the point and one-timed a cross-crease pass from Skinner that was snuffed out on a great save by Khabibulin. So why not try the same thing ten seconds later? The Oilers called timeout after the goal, and rightfully so...it's quickly turning into one of those nights, as the Canes had 3 goals on 5 shots.
7:19 1st: 4-0 for the home team. LaRose 3 (Staal, Pitkanen) Looks like I might just be writing about goals tonight. A 4-on-2 break for the Canes off a faceoff to Cam Ward's left thanks to shoddy defending by the Oilers (what else is new tonight) ended in a tic-tac-toe passing play from Staal to Joni Pitkanen and finally to LaRose, who slammed it home from ten feet to make it a four-toal lead.
10:19 1st: An entry about something other than a goal. A little unusual, but hey...gotta shake things up sometimes. Anyway, considering Nikolai Khabibulin's night ended 7-plus minutes into the game, you're probably wondering what his stats were. We aim to please: how about a save percentage of .500 and a 32.80 goals-against average. Yeah, you read that correctly.
14:30 1st: The first good cycling shift of the night for the Oilers actually saw them catch up to the Canes' eight shots with an equal number of their own. Give Ward credit...he hasn't seen much action, but when he's been called upon he's been sharp.
End 1st: Things calmed down significantly once the Oilers changed goaltenders, and you'd have to think Paul Maurice will tell the Canes not to get complacent even though they have this game well in hand twenty minutes in. Shots ended 12-9 for the Canes in the period.
2:27 2nd: A little strange to see the rough stuff start so late after the Canes took a four-goal lead, but Steve MacIntyre was just sent off for roughing after a play deep in the Carolina zone. Better late than never for some toughness to show up, I guess.
4:30 2nd: The Canes fail to convert on a 5-on-3 after Tom Gilbert was sent off for delay of game, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Dubnyk robbed Skinner with a beauty of a glove save just as MacIntyre was leaving the box...
4:49 2nd: Canes up 5-0; Corvo 4 (Jokinen, Sutter) (pp) ...and the Canes capitalize on the back end penalty with a rifle shot by Joe Corvo. Seems like they've been practicing these cross-ice plays to hit the trailer sneaking down the weak side, and Corvo's cashed in twice on them.
6:48 2nd: If you had Tom Kostopoulos in your penalty-shot pool tonight, congratulations. The Canes tough guy earns the penalty shot after being hauled down on a contested play at the top of the Oilers' slot. An iffy call, but the way this game has gone, why wouldn't a fourth-liner earn a penalty shot?
13:40 2nd: Tim Gleason took a puck to the face, checked with his glove that he still had all his teeth...then he picked up his stick and kept playing. Yeah, he's a bit of a tough customer.
16:35 2nd: Oilers' night in a nutshell: Ales Hemsky gets the puck five feet from the net, no one near him, plenty of net to shot at...and he passes. And to make matters worse, the puck jumps off the stick of its intended recipient and the Canes clear.
End 2nd: The Oilers finally got some serious pressure on Ward late in the period, including an open-net whiff courtesy of Andrew Cogliano, but they're still staring at a goose egg on the scoreboard. Honestly, I haven't even noticed Taylor Hall tonight, while Jeff Skinner keeps plodding along with two more points. Shots in the 2nd were even more lopsided than the first: 14-7 Canes for a 26-16 lead overall.
1:06 3rd: Home team goes up 6-0; Samsonov 4 (Staal, Pitkanen) Not much to say here: Staal takes a shot that Dubnyk kicks out, Samsonov gets the puck on his backhand, fires home a backhand shot that surprises Dubnyk. The Canes have scored in the first five minutes of every period tonight.
5:21 3rd: Oilers get on the board! Penner 5 (Foster, Whitney) At some point, Cam Ward was allowed to make a mistake, and he finally made one after shutting out the Oilers for over 45 minutes. A point shot from Kurtis Foster was mostly handled by Ward, but the puck trickled to a stop right on the goal line and Dustin Penner pool-cued it into the net to put the Oilers on the board.
7:48 3rd: The extra point is good. Skinner 6 (Ruutu) And just like that, we're back to a six-goal game. Jeff Skinner adds to his great night (in which he's severely outplayed the player who went six slots higher in the draft, Taylor Hall) by redirecting a shot from Tuomo Ruutu in a similar play to the Cole goal from the first period.
10:30 3rd: In case you're wondering, Taylor Hall hasn't taken a shift since there were four minutes left in the second period. That's nearly 15 minutes on the bench. Safe to say Tom Renney isn't real pleased with his play tonight?
14:00 3rd: Eighteen minutes later, Hall finally sees the ice again.
16:04 3rd: Theo Peckham does what some in the press box thought should have been done long before: throw his weight around and pester the Canes physically. Eric Staal was on the receiving end of Peckham's chirping, and Peckham received a roughing penalty plus a misconduct for his trouble.
End 3rd: Nothing doing on the Canes' power play, but it didn't matter by then; the fourth line was getting extensive time with the man advantage, for goodness' sake. Shots in the third period were 16-6 Canes, who led 42-22 (!) overall.
Postgame: Can't say much more than this: that was a complete game all around for the Canes, and the Oilers looked nothing like the team that went into Chicago two nights before and beat the defending Stanley Cup champs. Jeff Skinner has really found a home with Tuomo Ruutu and Erik Cole, and it's obvious in talking to him that he has plenty of chemistry and confidence with the two longtime Canes. Paul Maurice certainly thinks so; Skinner played only 12:46 but it seemed like he was out there for twice that. As for Taylor Hall? 8:47 of ice time, and just :54 in the third period.
Click for audio from Skinner and Eric Staal. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
Back at it Thursday night when Peter Laviolette and the Flyers come to town...
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Game 14: Hurricanes 3, Panthers 2
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Last night, the Canes suffered the indignity of having a touchdown scored against them, falling 7-4 on the home ice of the Florida Panthers. Tonight, the two teams make the flight to Raleigh and face off again for their second meeting of the year.
To no one's surprise given his history, Paul Maurice did some line juggling during last night's game, moving Jeff Skinner off Eric Staal's wing and onto Tuomo Ruutu, while Sergei Samsonov went from the proverbial outhouse (the fourth line) to the penthouse (the first) and actually looked good in doing so. Cam Ward was beaten a little too often last night for his liking, but that was largely a function of a Swiss-cheese defense in front of him that surrendered 49 shots to the Panthers. Needless to say, giving up that many won't lead to good things, and the Canes need to lock it down a bit more tonight if they don't want to be swept.
Joni Pitkanen didn't play last night, won't play tonight and likely won't play on Tuesday when Edmonton comes to town, meaning Brett Carson will see action in his second game of the season tonight. Former Cane Cory Stillman suffered an upper-body injury last night and only played a few shifts, and he won't see action tonight either.
We're ready to go, and the good folks at the RBC hope the home team is ready too...
2:41 1st: Press box comment: "Well, this is already better than last night. It's still scoreless." Sadly, that's very true.
5:40 1st: That play was precisely why fans get so frustrated with Anton Babchuk. On a partial 2-on-1 from the blue line in, Eric Staal hit Babchuk as a trailer at the top of the slot. He was in perfect position for a one-timer, but he somehow thought it would be a good idea to pass the puck back to Staal, who was not expecting it at all. As a result, what should have been a goal (or, at the very least, a high-quality chance) turned into a harmless dump-in that the Panthers quickly cleared.
11:35 1st: This time last night there were already three goals on the board. Tonight? None, but we nearly had one after Scott Clemmensen misplayed the puck behind his own net but got back in time to kick Erik Cole's shot out to the far corner.
17:41 1st: Here's a shock: the Canes got a power play and proceeded to do nothing with it. In slightly better news, however, they're currently outshooting the Panthers 8-3.
End 1st: A late flurry led to the Canes' best chances of the period, but Clemmensen stood tall and didn't surrender the first goal of the night, leaving it scoreless after one. Shots were 9-4 Canes in the first period, meaning after taking 105 shots in the last two games the Panthers are on pace for precisely twelve tonight.
4:15 2nd: Not sure how this happened, but a shorthanded breakaway for Brandon Sutter was unsuccessful thanks to some, er, creative backchecking by Dmitry Kulikov that ended with Sutter being pulled down to the ice to the right of Clemmensen. Sounds like a penalty, if not a penalty shot, no? Nothing doing. Go figure.
5:09 2nd: A few seconds after the Florida power play expired, Brett Carson threw a heavy check on David Booth next to the Canes' bench. Hordichuk took exception and took a swing at Carson, which drew a response from everyone on the ice and ended with Brandon Sutter being clocked in the back of the head by Darcy Hordichuk. The only penalty, appropriately, went to Hordichuk.
7:51 2nd: Canes lead 1-0; Staal 6 (Samsonov, Skinner) (pp) A few seconds after Hordichuk went to the box, Mike Santorelli was whistled for hooking Sergei Samsonov behind the net, and with :18 left in the Hordichuk penalty Eric Staal made the Panthers pay. Some great movement and quick decisions in the zone got Staal open at the top of the slot, and Samsonov found him wide open for Staal to wire a shot from one knee high to Clemmensen's blocker side to get the Canes on the board first.
13:00 2nd: The newly-formed fourth line of Jokinen-Matsumoto-Kostopoulos has been relatively quiet tonight, but they nearly got on the board when Jokinen found Kostopoulos sneaking down through the near circle and just missed what would have been a tap-in goal. Like Wednesday night, the Canes are getting contributions from all four lines tonight, which is something that was sorely missing last night in Sunrise.
14:35 2nd: Another open-net chance as the puck pinballed off Clemmensen's pad and slowly toward the vacated net, but Dennis Wideman got back just in time to swipe the puck out of the crease (legally) and out of danger. The top line of Samsonov-Staal-LaRose has been on a roll, and not just at even strength.
18:05 2nd: The Panthers came perilously close to tying the game after Anton Babchuk panicked behind his own net and turned the puck over to Chris Higgins, who fired a shot from four feet that Cam Ward wasn't expecting and missed on. The shot hit the post twice but never went in the net, and Jay Harrison cleared the puck out of harm's way. A little too careless with the puck, and that's what happens.
End 2nd: The Panthers' Higgins came close to burying another one on a bad-angle backhander with 18 seconds left, but Ward stood tall and he's come up big when the Canes needed him to. It shows in the shot count; the Canes lead 20-9 overall after outshooting the Panthers 11-5 in the second period.
2:21 3rd: Canes lead 2-0; Skinner 5 (Cole, Ruutu) While Jeff Skinner gets the goal, Erik Cole did all the dirty work to make it happen. Cole drove the zone and went behind Clemmensen, while Skinner went straight to the net and waited. His patience paid off when Cole came around to the near side and found Skinner alone at the top of the crease for a tap-in.
3:21 3rd: Panthers cut it to 2-1; Hordichuk 1 (Weaver) A minute later, the Panthers' fourth line got them on the board. Darcy Hordichuk took a weird carom off the boards behind Ward and on a second rebound he roofed a shot that fooled Ward and may have been on edge when he shot it. Either way, we're right back to a one-goal game.
8:01 3rd: David Booth had a great scoring chance on a partial breakaway, but Ward shut him down and then Booth cross-checked Ward into his own net. Yeah, that's not looked on too kindly.
11:41 3rd: Canes back up by two; Staal 7 (unassisted) When it's your night, it's your night. Eric Staal is having one of those tonight, and his second goal put the Canes back up by two. It was a harmless-enough shot that would have normally been stopped by Clemmensen, but the puck changed direction off the stick of Panthers defenseman Bryan Allen halfway to the net and snuck under Clemmensen's glove.
14:55 3rd: I'm sure Cam Ward would rather be both lucky and good, but he's had luck on his side for sure tonight. He's had three posts hit behind him and a copule of head-scratching non-goals courtesy of the Panthers' failure to capitalize on mistakes, including just a second ago when David Booth whiffed on an open net from five feet out.
19:17 3rd: Panthers make it 3-2; Frolik 3 (McCabe, Wideman) In a scene that recalled Maurice's pulling Cam Ward with 3 minutes left in the loss to Washington last week, Peter DeBoer pulled Clemmensen with 2:22 remaining and it paid off, at least temporarily, when Michael Frolik took a weird shot that fooled Ward from the far boards along the side of the circle. Ward may have been screened, but the Panthers sure weren't complaining.
End 3rd: The Panthers pulled Clemmensen again and came close with a couple of neat passing plays late in the period, but the Canes survived to win their second straight at home and pull out a split in the back-to-back series. They move to 25-5-2 all-time against the Panthers at the RBC Center, their best record against any team since the 1999 opening of the arena. The Panthers outshot the Canes 11-9 in the third period, to pull to within 29-20 for the night.
Postgame: Paul Maurice had a great line when asked about the shot differentials between here and Florida: "Our shot clock guy wasn't on Red Bull." Energy drinks aside, the Canes played a much more complete game tonight and they earned every bit of the win. It's hard to believe, but tonight's game was the start of the Canes' first homestand of the season; they haven't played more than one game in a row at the RBC all season, but they're back here Tuesday and Thursday of next week. Tuomo Ruutu, for one, was quite pleased.
Click for audio from Eric Staal, Erik Cole and Tuomo Ruutu. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
Back Tuesday night when the Canes host the Edmonton Oilers in their only meeting of the season, a rematch of the 2006 Stanley Cup final.
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Last night, the Canes suffered the indignity of having a touchdown scored against them, falling 7-4 on the home ice of the Florida Panthers. Tonight, the two teams make the flight to Raleigh and face off again for their second meeting of the year.
To no one's surprise given his history, Paul Maurice did some line juggling during last night's game, moving Jeff Skinner off Eric Staal's wing and onto Tuomo Ruutu, while Sergei Samsonov went from the proverbial outhouse (the fourth line) to the penthouse (the first) and actually looked good in doing so. Cam Ward was beaten a little too often last night for his liking, but that was largely a function of a Swiss-cheese defense in front of him that surrendered 49 shots to the Panthers. Needless to say, giving up that many won't lead to good things, and the Canes need to lock it down a bit more tonight if they don't want to be swept.
Joni Pitkanen didn't play last night, won't play tonight and likely won't play on Tuesday when Edmonton comes to town, meaning Brett Carson will see action in his second game of the season tonight. Former Cane Cory Stillman suffered an upper-body injury last night and only played a few shifts, and he won't see action tonight either.
We're ready to go, and the good folks at the RBC hope the home team is ready too...
2:41 1st: Press box comment: "Well, this is already better than last night. It's still scoreless." Sadly, that's very true.
5:40 1st: That play was precisely why fans get so frustrated with Anton Babchuk. On a partial 2-on-1 from the blue line in, Eric Staal hit Babchuk as a trailer at the top of the slot. He was in perfect position for a one-timer, but he somehow thought it would be a good idea to pass the puck back to Staal, who was not expecting it at all. As a result, what should have been a goal (or, at the very least, a high-quality chance) turned into a harmless dump-in that the Panthers quickly cleared.
11:35 1st: This time last night there were already three goals on the board. Tonight? None, but we nearly had one after Scott Clemmensen misplayed the puck behind his own net but got back in time to kick Erik Cole's shot out to the far corner.
17:41 1st: Here's a shock: the Canes got a power play and proceeded to do nothing with it. In slightly better news, however, they're currently outshooting the Panthers 8-3.
End 1st: A late flurry led to the Canes' best chances of the period, but Clemmensen stood tall and didn't surrender the first goal of the night, leaving it scoreless after one. Shots were 9-4 Canes in the first period, meaning after taking 105 shots in the last two games the Panthers are on pace for precisely twelve tonight.
4:15 2nd: Not sure how this happened, but a shorthanded breakaway for Brandon Sutter was unsuccessful thanks to some, er, creative backchecking by Dmitry Kulikov that ended with Sutter being pulled down to the ice to the right of Clemmensen. Sounds like a penalty, if not a penalty shot, no? Nothing doing. Go figure.
5:09 2nd: A few seconds after the Florida power play expired, Brett Carson threw a heavy check on David Booth next to the Canes' bench. Hordichuk took exception and took a swing at Carson, which drew a response from everyone on the ice and ended with Brandon Sutter being clocked in the back of the head by Darcy Hordichuk. The only penalty, appropriately, went to Hordichuk.
7:51 2nd: Canes lead 1-0; Staal 6 (Samsonov, Skinner) (pp) A few seconds after Hordichuk went to the box, Mike Santorelli was whistled for hooking Sergei Samsonov behind the net, and with :18 left in the Hordichuk penalty Eric Staal made the Panthers pay. Some great movement and quick decisions in the zone got Staal open at the top of the slot, and Samsonov found him wide open for Staal to wire a shot from one knee high to Clemmensen's blocker side to get the Canes on the board first.
13:00 2nd: The newly-formed fourth line of Jokinen-Matsumoto-Kostopoulos has been relatively quiet tonight, but they nearly got on the board when Jokinen found Kostopoulos sneaking down through the near circle and just missed what would have been a tap-in goal. Like Wednesday night, the Canes are getting contributions from all four lines tonight, which is something that was sorely missing last night in Sunrise.
14:35 2nd: Another open-net chance as the puck pinballed off Clemmensen's pad and slowly toward the vacated net, but Dennis Wideman got back just in time to swipe the puck out of the crease (legally) and out of danger. The top line of Samsonov-Staal-LaRose has been on a roll, and not just at even strength.
18:05 2nd: The Panthers came perilously close to tying the game after Anton Babchuk panicked behind his own net and turned the puck over to Chris Higgins, who fired a shot from four feet that Cam Ward wasn't expecting and missed on. The shot hit the post twice but never went in the net, and Jay Harrison cleared the puck out of harm's way. A little too careless with the puck, and that's what happens.
End 2nd: The Panthers' Higgins came close to burying another one on a bad-angle backhander with 18 seconds left, but Ward stood tall and he's come up big when the Canes needed him to. It shows in the shot count; the Canes lead 20-9 overall after outshooting the Panthers 11-5 in the second period.
2:21 3rd: Canes lead 2-0; Skinner 5 (Cole, Ruutu) While Jeff Skinner gets the goal, Erik Cole did all the dirty work to make it happen. Cole drove the zone and went behind Clemmensen, while Skinner went straight to the net and waited. His patience paid off when Cole came around to the near side and found Skinner alone at the top of the crease for a tap-in.
3:21 3rd: Panthers cut it to 2-1; Hordichuk 1 (Weaver) A minute later, the Panthers' fourth line got them on the board. Darcy Hordichuk took a weird carom off the boards behind Ward and on a second rebound he roofed a shot that fooled Ward and may have been on edge when he shot it. Either way, we're right back to a one-goal game.
8:01 3rd: David Booth had a great scoring chance on a partial breakaway, but Ward shut him down and then Booth cross-checked Ward into his own net. Yeah, that's not looked on too kindly.
11:41 3rd: Canes back up by two; Staal 7 (unassisted) When it's your night, it's your night. Eric Staal is having one of those tonight, and his second goal put the Canes back up by two. It was a harmless-enough shot that would have normally been stopped by Clemmensen, but the puck changed direction off the stick of Panthers defenseman Bryan Allen halfway to the net and snuck under Clemmensen's glove.
14:55 3rd: I'm sure Cam Ward would rather be both lucky and good, but he's had luck on his side for sure tonight. He's had three posts hit behind him and a copule of head-scratching non-goals courtesy of the Panthers' failure to capitalize on mistakes, including just a second ago when David Booth whiffed on an open net from five feet out.
19:17 3rd: Panthers make it 3-2; Frolik 3 (McCabe, Wideman) In a scene that recalled Maurice's pulling Cam Ward with 3 minutes left in the loss to Washington last week, Peter DeBoer pulled Clemmensen with 2:22 remaining and it paid off, at least temporarily, when Michael Frolik took a weird shot that fooled Ward from the far boards along the side of the circle. Ward may have been screened, but the Panthers sure weren't complaining.
End 3rd: The Panthers pulled Clemmensen again and came close with a couple of neat passing plays late in the period, but the Canes survived to win their second straight at home and pull out a split in the back-to-back series. They move to 25-5-2 all-time against the Panthers at the RBC Center, their best record against any team since the 1999 opening of the arena. The Panthers outshot the Canes 11-9 in the third period, to pull to within 29-20 for the night.
Postgame: Paul Maurice had a great line when asked about the shot differentials between here and Florida: "Our shot clock guy wasn't on Red Bull." Energy drinks aside, the Canes played a much more complete game tonight and they earned every bit of the win. It's hard to believe, but tonight's game was the start of the Canes' first homestand of the season; they haven't played more than one game in a row at the RBC all season, but they're back here Tuesday and Thursday of next week. Tuomo Ruutu, for one, was quite pleased.
Click for audio from Eric Staal, Erik Cole and Tuomo Ruutu. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
Back Tuesday night when the Canes host the Edmonton Oilers in their only meeting of the season, a rematch of the 2006 Stanley Cup final.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Game 12: Hurricanes 7, Islanders 2
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
We're eleven games into the season, and the Carolina Hurricanes have handed opposing goaltenders at the RBC Center a sparkling save percentage of 1.000. Needless to say, that isn't a tried and true recipe for success.
Tonight, we'll see if the Canes can make their third chance a charm. It's certainly an inviting situation, with the New York Islanders in town. Isles goalie Rick DiPietro, expected to get the start tonight, sports a 5-10-1 career record against Carolina, and the Isles are one of the few teams so far this season to face the Canes with a lower position in the standings.
The Canes are trying everything they can to light a goal lamp tonight, including shuffling the lines so that rookie sensation Jeff Skinner will skate on the top line with Eric Staal. Skinner and Tuomo Ruutu both enter the game tonight with four points in their last three games, and Staal has been held without a point in that same stretch. Doesn't take much to figure out that Paul Maurice expects Skinner to spark Staal to some good production by uniting them for the first time this season.
We'll be sure to alert you to any breaking news tonight, including if the Canes manage to set off a goal horn or two...
3:36 1st: So far, that Staal-Skinner-LaRose combination has been a gold mine for Paul Maurice tonight. In two shifts, they've had some great low-offensive zone pressure and a 2-on-1 that was barely whistled offside when Staal entered the zone a split second before Skinner and the puck.
4:46 1st: They've talked about it for the first four minutes of the game, and Zenon Konopka finally convinced Jay Harrison to drop the gloves. (And if this comes as a surprise, you probably haven't seen Konopka's 5 PIM-per-game average yet.) Call it a split decision.
6:46 1st: An unfortunate bounce off Jamie McBain at the right point sprung former Cane Doug Weight and Michael Grabner alone on a 2-on-0, with McBain desperately trying to get back. He did get back enough that Weight's pass for Grabner had to go over McBain's stick, and Grabner couldn't get a clean shot off before dislodging the net and killing the play. The Canes dodged a huge bullet.
10:12 1st: The goal horn has sounded! 1-0 Canes; Corvo 2 (Skinner, LaRose) Hey, at this point you'll take whatever you can get, right? Give Rick DiPietro a third assist, as he fumbled the puck behind the net and LaRose knocked it off DiPietro's stick. Jeff Skinner picked up the trash and fed Joe Corvo for a one-timer at the top of the far circle. DiPietro tried to get back in time, but Corvo's shot beat him cleanly and -- finally -- the Canes had a lead in their home rink.
13:10 1st: Another close call for the Staal line. This time, it's Skinner finding LaRose behind the Isles' defense at the blue line for a partial breakaway. LaRose drew DiPietro down, but the puck rolled off his stick and he wasn't able to get a shot off. Seconds later, Skinner and Tim Gleason drew a 2-on-1 where Skinner faked DiPietro out with a shot from the far circle, but his pass for Gleason was off the mark and didn't hit paydirt.
15:49 1st: Hello, (Matsu) Moto. Canes lead 2-0; Matsumoto 1 (Samsonov, Kostopoulos) Probably came a night later than he wanted, but Jon Matsumoto will take it for his first NHL goal, and it was a perfectly placed setup at the near post that led to it. Sergei Samsonov did the heavy lifting, dangling through two Islanders defenders before centering the puck from the far faceoff dot right onto Matsumoto's stick for an easy tap-in past DiPietro.
18:51 1st: Canes lead 3-0; Staal 4 (Samsonov, Kostopoulos) No, it wasn't a juggled line combination. Yet again, Kostopoulos got the puck deep in the zone and Samsonov again placed a perfect pass on the tape of a teammate. This time, Eric Staal was the beneficiary, coming off the bench untouched and firing home a 40-foot one-timer to put the Canes up by 3 for their first three-goal lead since October 19 in San Jose.
End 1st: Simply a dominant period by the home team. Not much more to say than that. The Canes will start the 2nd on a long power play after James Wisniewski boarded Tuomo Ruutu with three seconds left in the first. Shots in the first were 15-9 Carolina.
5:30 2nd: Not much going on early in the second, but Staal nearly had his second of the night on a tap-in at the far post. Sure looks like the Canes have practiced that play a bit recently, because every line on the ice is giving it a whirl.
8:30 2nd: As a power play expired, the Staal line tried another tic-tac-toe passing play that nearly ended with Eric Staal hitting an open net.
9:40 2nd: Canes lead 4-0; Sutter 3 (unassisted)
10:23 2nd: Canes lead 5-0; Tlusty 1 (Harrison, Babchuk)
OK, these are going to take a bit of explaining. On the Sutter goal, DiPietro misplayed a puck at the near post and despite having two defensemen in the crease to clear the puck, neither did and Brandon Sutter slammed it home after it squeezed out to DiPietro's right. That was a break the Canes haven't gotten all year.
As for the Tlusty goal, the Islanders had a legitimate beef with Sutter falling backwards into DiPietro with no call, similar to the David Steckel non-call when he backed into Cam Ward in the home opener that led to a goal. Jiri Tlusty fired a shot from the far circle that caught DiPietro before he could get back into position for a five goal lead. The follow-through on Tlusty's shot hit Islanders defenseman Radek Martinek in the forehead and he had to leave the ice for repairs before the ensuing faceoff.
15:39 2nd: LaRose heads to the box for 4 minutes after whiffing on a clearing attempt and hitting John Tavares square in the mouth with the end of his stick. Some dentist is going to be very, very happy tonight.
18:40 2nd: Sutter came within an inch of finding Kostopoulos for a six-goal lead on a 2-on-1 down low, but the Isles' defenseman forced Kostopoulos out of position just enough that he backhanded the puck into the outside of the net.
End 2nd: The Canes are escorted off the ice with their second standing ovation in five minutes after killing over a minute of a 5-on-3 and a four minute penalty in the last five minutes of the period. Well done, and the Canes are in the zone tonight, especially Cam Ward, who hadn't had much to do but earned his money with a superb performance on the penalty kill. Shots in the period were 12-10 Isles, helped along by the late power plays.
2:12 3rd: Isles cut the lead to 5-1; Grabner 3 (Weight, Gervais) Michael Grabner made up for the missed 2-on-0 in the first period. Jay Harrison missed an assignment on Grabner, who was skating unchecked down the slot, and Doug Weight threaded the needle through two Canes sticks to set Grabner up on a one-timer.
9:12 3rd: Some extracurricular activity behind Ward after Jamie McBain is boarded by Rob Schremp. McBain was fine, but Schremp earned two minutes in the box.
10:09 3rd: Canes back up by five at 6-1; Skinner 4 (Staal, LaRose) (pp) And if you were wondering, a "Skinner...!!" sound byte from the Simpsons accompanied Jeff Skinner's first of what should be many at the RBC. Again, like they've had all night, the Staal line has had all sorts of pressure in front of the net all night, and Skinner was the man doing the dirty work to be in position this time. His first shot was stopped by DiPietro, but the puck wasn't covered and Skinner shoveled the puck home on the rebound.
15:29 3rd: Islanders get their second, pull to 6-2; Parenteau 3 (Comeau, Schremp) (pp) And the Isles match the Canes' power play by scoring one of their own about five minutes later. P.A. Parenteau beat Ward high to the glove side on a one-timer from the high slot after Blake Comeau beat Anton Babchuk around the edge in the near corner.
19:26 3rd: Canes back up 7-2; Matsumoto 2 (Samsonov) Yep, it's that combination again. Samsonov pried the puck free along the near boards and fed a wide-open Matsumoto, who wired a top-shelf one-timer from 45 feet for his second career goal to give the Canes their third five-goal lead of the game.
End 3rd: Surprisingly, the Isles actually outshot the Canes 33-32 in the game, but where it counted it was no contest. Not a great night for Rick DiPietro, who let in all seven Canes goals for a sterling .781 save percentage. Yikes.
Postgame: It's been a while since we've seen a Canes locker room as pumped up as tonight's was. Jon Matsumoto was quick to give all sorts of credit to Sergei Samsonov, and with good reason: although Matsumoto had two goals, Samsonov finished with three points and the second star of the game. Jeff Skinner was his usual jovial self, and Brandon Sutter & Chad LaRose had a great bit of back-and-forth going during an interview. This is what makes it fun to cover this team.
Maurice said that his report on Joni Pitkanen was that he aggravated the earlier upper-body injury with a hit in the first period, and he wasn't sure of Pitkanen's status for this weekend's home-and-home series with Florida.
Click for audio from Jon Matsumoto, Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner. Maurice's press conference is attached.
Back at it when the Canes come home to face the Panthers on the back end of the home-and-home Saturday night at the RBC...
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
We're eleven games into the season, and the Carolina Hurricanes have handed opposing goaltenders at the RBC Center a sparkling save percentage of 1.000. Needless to say, that isn't a tried and true recipe for success.
Tonight, we'll see if the Canes can make their third chance a charm. It's certainly an inviting situation, with the New York Islanders in town. Isles goalie Rick DiPietro, expected to get the start tonight, sports a 5-10-1 career record against Carolina, and the Isles are one of the few teams so far this season to face the Canes with a lower position in the standings.
The Canes are trying everything they can to light a goal lamp tonight, including shuffling the lines so that rookie sensation Jeff Skinner will skate on the top line with Eric Staal. Skinner and Tuomo Ruutu both enter the game tonight with four points in their last three games, and Staal has been held without a point in that same stretch. Doesn't take much to figure out that Paul Maurice expects Skinner to spark Staal to some good production by uniting them for the first time this season.
We'll be sure to alert you to any breaking news tonight, including if the Canes manage to set off a goal horn or two...
3:36 1st: So far, that Staal-Skinner-LaRose combination has been a gold mine for Paul Maurice tonight. In two shifts, they've had some great low-offensive zone pressure and a 2-on-1 that was barely whistled offside when Staal entered the zone a split second before Skinner and the puck.
4:46 1st: They've talked about it for the first four minutes of the game, and Zenon Konopka finally convinced Jay Harrison to drop the gloves. (And if this comes as a surprise, you probably haven't seen Konopka's 5 PIM-per-game average yet.) Call it a split decision.
6:46 1st: An unfortunate bounce off Jamie McBain at the right point sprung former Cane Doug Weight and Michael Grabner alone on a 2-on-0, with McBain desperately trying to get back. He did get back enough that Weight's pass for Grabner had to go over McBain's stick, and Grabner couldn't get a clean shot off before dislodging the net and killing the play. The Canes dodged a huge bullet.
10:12 1st: The goal horn has sounded! 1-0 Canes; Corvo 2 (Skinner, LaRose) Hey, at this point you'll take whatever you can get, right? Give Rick DiPietro a third assist, as he fumbled the puck behind the net and LaRose knocked it off DiPietro's stick. Jeff Skinner picked up the trash and fed Joe Corvo for a one-timer at the top of the far circle. DiPietro tried to get back in time, but Corvo's shot beat him cleanly and -- finally -- the Canes had a lead in their home rink.
13:10 1st: Another close call for the Staal line. This time, it's Skinner finding LaRose behind the Isles' defense at the blue line for a partial breakaway. LaRose drew DiPietro down, but the puck rolled off his stick and he wasn't able to get a shot off. Seconds later, Skinner and Tim Gleason drew a 2-on-1 where Skinner faked DiPietro out with a shot from the far circle, but his pass for Gleason was off the mark and didn't hit paydirt.
15:49 1st: Hello, (Matsu) Moto. Canes lead 2-0; Matsumoto 1 (Samsonov, Kostopoulos) Probably came a night later than he wanted, but Jon Matsumoto will take it for his first NHL goal, and it was a perfectly placed setup at the near post that led to it. Sergei Samsonov did the heavy lifting, dangling through two Islanders defenders before centering the puck from the far faceoff dot right onto Matsumoto's stick for an easy tap-in past DiPietro.
18:51 1st: Canes lead 3-0; Staal 4 (Samsonov, Kostopoulos) No, it wasn't a juggled line combination. Yet again, Kostopoulos got the puck deep in the zone and Samsonov again placed a perfect pass on the tape of a teammate. This time, Eric Staal was the beneficiary, coming off the bench untouched and firing home a 40-foot one-timer to put the Canes up by 3 for their first three-goal lead since October 19 in San Jose.
End 1st: Simply a dominant period by the home team. Not much more to say than that. The Canes will start the 2nd on a long power play after James Wisniewski boarded Tuomo Ruutu with three seconds left in the first. Shots in the first were 15-9 Carolina.
5:30 2nd: Not much going on early in the second, but Staal nearly had his second of the night on a tap-in at the far post. Sure looks like the Canes have practiced that play a bit recently, because every line on the ice is giving it a whirl.
8:30 2nd: As a power play expired, the Staal line tried another tic-tac-toe passing play that nearly ended with Eric Staal hitting an open net.
9:40 2nd: Canes lead 4-0; Sutter 3 (unassisted)
10:23 2nd: Canes lead 5-0; Tlusty 1 (Harrison, Babchuk)
OK, these are going to take a bit of explaining. On the Sutter goal, DiPietro misplayed a puck at the near post and despite having two defensemen in the crease to clear the puck, neither did and Brandon Sutter slammed it home after it squeezed out to DiPietro's right. That was a break the Canes haven't gotten all year.
As for the Tlusty goal, the Islanders had a legitimate beef with Sutter falling backwards into DiPietro with no call, similar to the David Steckel non-call when he backed into Cam Ward in the home opener that led to a goal. Jiri Tlusty fired a shot from the far circle that caught DiPietro before he could get back into position for a five goal lead. The follow-through on Tlusty's shot hit Islanders defenseman Radek Martinek in the forehead and he had to leave the ice for repairs before the ensuing faceoff.
15:39 2nd: LaRose heads to the box for 4 minutes after whiffing on a clearing attempt and hitting John Tavares square in the mouth with the end of his stick. Some dentist is going to be very, very happy tonight.
18:40 2nd: Sutter came within an inch of finding Kostopoulos for a six-goal lead on a 2-on-1 down low, but the Isles' defenseman forced Kostopoulos out of position just enough that he backhanded the puck into the outside of the net.
End 2nd: The Canes are escorted off the ice with their second standing ovation in five minutes after killing over a minute of a 5-on-3 and a four minute penalty in the last five minutes of the period. Well done, and the Canes are in the zone tonight, especially Cam Ward, who hadn't had much to do but earned his money with a superb performance on the penalty kill. Shots in the period were 12-10 Isles, helped along by the late power plays.
2:12 3rd: Isles cut the lead to 5-1; Grabner 3 (Weight, Gervais) Michael Grabner made up for the missed 2-on-0 in the first period. Jay Harrison missed an assignment on Grabner, who was skating unchecked down the slot, and Doug Weight threaded the needle through two Canes sticks to set Grabner up on a one-timer.
9:12 3rd: Some extracurricular activity behind Ward after Jamie McBain is boarded by Rob Schremp. McBain was fine, but Schremp earned two minutes in the box.
10:09 3rd: Canes back up by five at 6-1; Skinner 4 (Staal, LaRose) (pp) And if you were wondering, a "Skinner...!!" sound byte from the Simpsons accompanied Jeff Skinner's first of what should be many at the RBC. Again, like they've had all night, the Staal line has had all sorts of pressure in front of the net all night, and Skinner was the man doing the dirty work to be in position this time. His first shot was stopped by DiPietro, but the puck wasn't covered and Skinner shoveled the puck home on the rebound.
15:29 3rd: Islanders get their second, pull to 6-2; Parenteau 3 (Comeau, Schremp) (pp) And the Isles match the Canes' power play by scoring one of their own about five minutes later. P.A. Parenteau beat Ward high to the glove side on a one-timer from the high slot after Blake Comeau beat Anton Babchuk around the edge in the near corner.
19:26 3rd: Canes back up 7-2; Matsumoto 2 (Samsonov) Yep, it's that combination again. Samsonov pried the puck free along the near boards and fed a wide-open Matsumoto, who wired a top-shelf one-timer from 45 feet for his second career goal to give the Canes their third five-goal lead of the game.
End 3rd: Surprisingly, the Isles actually outshot the Canes 33-32 in the game, but where it counted it was no contest. Not a great night for Rick DiPietro, who let in all seven Canes goals for a sterling .781 save percentage. Yikes.
Postgame: It's been a while since we've seen a Canes locker room as pumped up as tonight's was. Jon Matsumoto was quick to give all sorts of credit to Sergei Samsonov, and with good reason: although Matsumoto had two goals, Samsonov finished with three points and the second star of the game. Jeff Skinner was his usual jovial self, and Brandon Sutter & Chad LaRose had a great bit of back-and-forth going during an interview. This is what makes it fun to cover this team.
Maurice said that his report on Joni Pitkanen was that he aggravated the earlier upper-body injury with a hit in the first period, and he wasn't sure of Pitkanen's status for this weekend's home-and-home series with Florida.
Click for audio from Jon Matsumoto, Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner. Maurice's press conference is attached.
Back at it when the Canes come home to face the Panthers on the back end of the home-and-home Saturday night at the RBC...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)