By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Thirteen-plus years after the franchise moved to North Carolina, ten years after a local radio DJ spent four days on the roof of the arena to bring the event to town, and nine months after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stood on stage before the team's season finale to announce it, the NHL's best have come to the RBC Center for the 58th NHL All-Star Game.
Just typing those words is a little surreal.
It's been a long road to this point, but it looks like the wait was worth it. All weekend, national media, players, team staff and fans have all been raving about the weekend, from the opening of the Fan Fair at the downtown convention center on Friday afternoon all the way through the tailgating (in no short supply, not to mention the beautiful weather) going on in the arena parking lot for the last two days - some of it nonstop.
They bill this as a celebration of hockey, but it's been more a celebration of Raleigh as a hockey market. To put it in religious terms, if the '02 Final was the Canes' baptism, the '06 Final was first Communion, and the 2011 All-Star Game is Confirmation - for the team, for the decision to move here in 1997, and for the market as a whole.
Last night's Super Skills competition, won by the such-as-it-is home team, Team Staal, was a great marketing tool for the league. It was a record-setting night, as evidenced by Zdeno Chara's 105.9 mph blast in the Hardest Shot competition, and it was a coming out party for the Canes' young superstar, Justin Bieb...um, Jeff Skinner, whose jersey Canadiens rookie P.K. Subban donned in the breakaway competition and immediately earned one of the loudest ovations of the night.
Today, things get down to business. Expect lots of scoring, very little backchecking and goaltenders under siege for the better part of three hours. At the end of the night, expect at least one team to put up numbers normally only accumulated in video games (the last All-Star Game ended 12-11, in overtime).
And expect a lot of memories, as a long-delayed promise finally comes to pass and the Hurricanes and their fans show why this market is never questioned as an NHL market anymore.
Pregame: I know there's not supposed to be cheering or emotions or anything in the press box. Too bad. For anyone who's been here for a long time, what just happened was indicative of what I meant by this market never being questioned. A short skit at center ice with some local youth hockey players involved the players picking sticks up off the ice to form their pickup teams. And when the kids picked up the sticks of Hurricanes legends Rod Brind'Amour and Ron Francis, who skated out to center ice, the roof of the building blew off in a way I haven't seen since the day the Canes won the Stanley Cup. Not embarrassed to admit it gave me goosebumps.
1st Intermission: OK, so live blogging just isn't going to work today. A little too fast-paced for that, but we'll recap after each period. The teams are tied at 4 after one, after Team Staal jumped out to a quick lead with four goals in the first six minutes. Team Lidstrom battled back, beating Cam Ward for four goals of their own after the midway point of the period. Jeff Skinner spent the first period on a line with Patrik Elias and Paul Stastny, and while both 26's got on the board Skinner was held scoreless and, in fact, took the least amount of ice time (3:36) of anyone on either team. In case you had forgotten, given all the hoopla surrounding him, Skinner is still a rookie - something that hasn't exactly escaped the attention of Joel Quenneville.
2nd Intermission: Just like the first period, Team Staal jumped out to an early multi-goal lead, then Team Lidstrom fought back and actually took the lead for the first time in the game, heading to the intermission up 7-6. The goalies, especially Team Lidstrom goalie Jonas Hiller, stood on their head for long stretches (at least, by the standards of the All-Star Game) and Hiller denied Jeff Skinner on a breakaway, thereby instantly making him public enemy number one. Also of interest: Alex Ovechkin refuses to shoot the puck for some strange reason. Not sure why, but it's been noticed by just about everyone in the press box. Also, Jeff Skinner has actually taken more ice time than some other players after playing what seemed like half of the second period. Whoever sets him up for a goal will have 18,000 new best friends.
Postgame: Team Lidstrom's lead held up through the third period, and they won 11-10 despite two third-period goals from hometown hero Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner's earning an assist on a Kris Letang goal, drawing a loud cheer from the partisan crowd. The Colorado Avalanche's Matt Duchene earned the first penalty shot in NHL history, when Alex Ovechkin threw his stick at Duchene to thwart a breakaway (for the record, Duchene didn't convert). Patrick Sharp of the Chicago Blackhawks earned MVP honors with a three-point night.
But the story of the last two days isn't what happened in the three hours on the ice Sunday afternoon. It's everything that went on before the game, and anyone who questions Raleigh as a hockey market after this weekend deserves the same confused look as those who disparage the likes of San Jose or Washington. There's plenty of things that the NHL did wrong in the mid-'90s. Moving a team to North Carolina, it can now be said without question, was not one of them.
Click for postgame audio from Alex Ovechkin, Marc Staal, a press conference with Eric Staal, Cam Ward and Jeff Skinner, and MVP Patrick Sharp.
We'll be back in a more normal atmosphere on Tuesday, when the Canes take to the ice to face the Boston Bruins. In all likelihood, Zdeno Chara will go from being one of the surprising fan favorites of this weekend back to being a target of catcalls. After this weekend, though, it'll almost be refreshing to hear.
I'm going to bed now.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Game 47: Hurricanes 4, Rangers 1
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Not much time to get a preview (actually, none, as a matter of fact), so let's get right into the action...
:45 1st: Didn't take long for the first good save by All-Star Henrik Lundqvist. Jussi Jokinen had the puck on his stick just outside the crease, and Lundqvist was out of position thanks to a rebound, but Jokinen's shot was somehow saved by Dan Girardi right on the goal line in the only spot Girardi's stick could have possibly swept it away. Bad luck for the Canes, who have controlled play early after an icing call just a few seconds into the game.
5:39 1st: Canes lead 1-0; LaRose 10 (Skinner, Ruutu) Well, that was a bizarre play to give the Canes the lead. A shot from the top of the far circle by Jeff Skinner was stopped by Lundqvist, who kicked out a rebound to Chad LaRose in the low slot. LaRose's rebound chance just barely trickled through Lundqvist's pads and looked to be headed into the net until Sean Avery swept in to save the day by swiping the puck off the goal line (yes, again). Unfortunately for Avery and the Rangers, the sweep off the goal line banked off Lundqvist and right back into the net, giving the Canes the lead.
13:20 1st: To say this game has been wide open is somewhat of an understatement. Cam Ward has been busy stopping three breakaways in the first 13 minutes, the latest to Mats Zuccarello. He's been sharp, but his defensemen have helped him out considerably by deflecting two of the breakaway shots over the net and out of the rink.
14:43 1st: Canes go up 2-0; Jokinen 12 (Corvo, Ruutu) (pp) Continuing the shoot-at-everything mantra that distinguished Tuesday's game against Boston, a Corvo slapper from the point on the first power play of the night was perfectly placed for Jussi Jokinen to just barely graze the puck and change its direction just enough to put it past Lundqvist and give the Canes a 2-0 lead.
16:33 1st: It's not obvious watching them play, because they've put plenty of pressure on Ward, but the Rangers are missing some key cogs, including leading scorer Brandon Dubinsky in tonight's game. That said, give them credit: if not for some sharp saves by Ward and (especially) some solid defensive play in front of the Canes' net, this game could easily be tied right now.
End 1st: A solid period for the Canes, especially given the fact that the Rangers played last night and they needed to take advantage of what could be some heavy legs on the other bench. The Rangers have been up to the task, but so has Cam Ward, and the Canes are in great position after twenty minutes. Shots are 16-11 Carolina.
1:10 2nd: The Rangers come out with some jump, and nearly get on the board as Matt Gilroy fires a shot that barely goes over the crossbar. Great start for New York, which badly needs to get on the board early lest they risk running out of gas the way the Canes did in the third period on Tuesday night.
5:41 2nd: Canes lead 3-0; Sutter (Samsonov) And just like that, the Rangers are in a three-goal hole. Brandon Sutter continued the breakaway parade to the north-end goal with a perfect pass from Sergei Samsonov that he deked and just barely backhanded past Lundqvist with maybe an inch of space between Lundqvist's right skate and the post. Perfectly placed, and it snaps a 16-game goal-less streak for Sutter.
10:55 2nd: The Canes nearly made it 4-0 on a 2-on-0 way down low. Too low, as Sergei Samsonov was too close to the goal line to have a good angle to convert Erik Cole's pass. Could easily be a four-goal lead now.
14:45 2nd: Two fights in nine seconds, first a split decision between Brandon Prust and Jay Harrison, then a clear decision for Kris Newbury over Ryan Carter. Says here the Rangers are a bit upset with how this game has gone.
15:43 2nd: Cam Ward robs Chad Kolarik from point-blank. Not going to say it, but I'll just say that Ward has been playing quite well.
End 2nd: A ridiculous shift that lasted about a minute in the Rangers zone didn't result in anything, but it did earn a standing ovation from the crowd as the Ruutu line managed to knock the sticks out from two Rangers players deep in the defensive zone. If the Rangers wanted to change the momentum with the two fights, it doesn't look like it worked too well. Shots are 28-25 Hurricanes overall, and the Rangers led 14-12 in the period.
6:00 3rd: A couple of huge saves, one at each end, keeps it 3-0. First Ward stoned Wojtek Wolski from close range while the Rangers were on their second power play of the night, then a few seconds later Erik Cole nearly hit Erik Staal on a shorthanded 2-on-1 that just barely handcuffed Staal enough that he couldn't get a clean shot off. The Rangers, like they did in the second period, have come out flying to start the 3rd, but Ward has shut them down.
11:40 3rd: Rangers break the shutout, Canes lead 3-1; Prust 6 (Kolarik, McDonagh) Admit it - you had the seven-letter word in your head too. Ward had the look of a guy going for a goose-egg tonight, but Brandon Prust put an end to hopes of a shutout by knuckling a puck over Ward's shoulder on a rebound. Not much Ward could have done there, except covered the rebound, but in his defense the guy has made 35 saves tonight.
15:51 3rd: Canes back up by 3; Skinner 17 (LaRose) Not much to say here other than Chad LaRose is having a great night. He made a great play coming out of the neutral zone, going behind the net and centering to Jeff Skinner at the top of the crease to restore their three-goal lead.
End 3rd: The performance resembled Tuesday's in how the Canes came out ready to play, and fortunately for the Canes the result was completely different. Cam Ward and Paul Maurice both talked about how they knew that another strong effort like Tuesday's, coming against a team with a ton of injuries and facing the second half of a back-to-back, would likely lead to good things, and indeed it did.
Interestingly, the Canes are now 12-2 when Jeff Skinner scores a goal, and have at least a point in every game (6-0-1) when Brandon Sutter scores.
Late in the game, Erik Cole got fed up with Sean Avery after a two-handed slash to the back of Cole's leg, and they earned misconduct penalties. Chad LaRose also mouthed off at Avery a few times, but when asked about it he politely deferred, saying "that's hockey". I guess that's one way to put it.
Click for audio from Brandon Sutter, Chad LaRose and Cam Ward. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes head to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins on Saturday night, then they're back here for a Monday tilt with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Live Blog has other obligations on Monday night, so we'll miss the start but we'll be here for the finish and we'll take you home with locker room audio. Hope you'll join us.
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Not much time to get a preview (actually, none, as a matter of fact), so let's get right into the action...
:45 1st: Didn't take long for the first good save by All-Star Henrik Lundqvist. Jussi Jokinen had the puck on his stick just outside the crease, and Lundqvist was out of position thanks to a rebound, but Jokinen's shot was somehow saved by Dan Girardi right on the goal line in the only spot Girardi's stick could have possibly swept it away. Bad luck for the Canes, who have controlled play early after an icing call just a few seconds into the game.
5:39 1st: Canes lead 1-0; LaRose 10 (Skinner, Ruutu) Well, that was a bizarre play to give the Canes the lead. A shot from the top of the far circle by Jeff Skinner was stopped by Lundqvist, who kicked out a rebound to Chad LaRose in the low slot. LaRose's rebound chance just barely trickled through Lundqvist's pads and looked to be headed into the net until Sean Avery swept in to save the day by swiping the puck off the goal line (yes, again). Unfortunately for Avery and the Rangers, the sweep off the goal line banked off Lundqvist and right back into the net, giving the Canes the lead.
13:20 1st: To say this game has been wide open is somewhat of an understatement. Cam Ward has been busy stopping three breakaways in the first 13 minutes, the latest to Mats Zuccarello. He's been sharp, but his defensemen have helped him out considerably by deflecting two of the breakaway shots over the net and out of the rink.
14:43 1st: Canes go up 2-0; Jokinen 12 (Corvo, Ruutu) (pp) Continuing the shoot-at-everything mantra that distinguished Tuesday's game against Boston, a Corvo slapper from the point on the first power play of the night was perfectly placed for Jussi Jokinen to just barely graze the puck and change its direction just enough to put it past Lundqvist and give the Canes a 2-0 lead.
16:33 1st: It's not obvious watching them play, because they've put plenty of pressure on Ward, but the Rangers are missing some key cogs, including leading scorer Brandon Dubinsky in tonight's game. That said, give them credit: if not for some sharp saves by Ward and (especially) some solid defensive play in front of the Canes' net, this game could easily be tied right now.
End 1st: A solid period for the Canes, especially given the fact that the Rangers played last night and they needed to take advantage of what could be some heavy legs on the other bench. The Rangers have been up to the task, but so has Cam Ward, and the Canes are in great position after twenty minutes. Shots are 16-11 Carolina.
1:10 2nd: The Rangers come out with some jump, and nearly get on the board as Matt Gilroy fires a shot that barely goes over the crossbar. Great start for New York, which badly needs to get on the board early lest they risk running out of gas the way the Canes did in the third period on Tuesday night.
5:41 2nd: Canes lead 3-0; Sutter (Samsonov) And just like that, the Rangers are in a three-goal hole. Brandon Sutter continued the breakaway parade to the north-end goal with a perfect pass from Sergei Samsonov that he deked and just barely backhanded past Lundqvist with maybe an inch of space between Lundqvist's right skate and the post. Perfectly placed, and it snaps a 16-game goal-less streak for Sutter.
10:55 2nd: The Canes nearly made it 4-0 on a 2-on-0 way down low. Too low, as Sergei Samsonov was too close to the goal line to have a good angle to convert Erik Cole's pass. Could easily be a four-goal lead now.
14:45 2nd: Two fights in nine seconds, first a split decision between Brandon Prust and Jay Harrison, then a clear decision for Kris Newbury over Ryan Carter. Says here the Rangers are a bit upset with how this game has gone.
15:43 2nd: Cam Ward robs Chad Kolarik from point-blank. Not going to say it, but I'll just say that Ward has been playing quite well.
End 2nd: A ridiculous shift that lasted about a minute in the Rangers zone didn't result in anything, but it did earn a standing ovation from the crowd as the Ruutu line managed to knock the sticks out from two Rangers players deep in the defensive zone. If the Rangers wanted to change the momentum with the two fights, it doesn't look like it worked too well. Shots are 28-25 Hurricanes overall, and the Rangers led 14-12 in the period.
6:00 3rd: A couple of huge saves, one at each end, keeps it 3-0. First Ward stoned Wojtek Wolski from close range while the Rangers were on their second power play of the night, then a few seconds later Erik Cole nearly hit Erik Staal on a shorthanded 2-on-1 that just barely handcuffed Staal enough that he couldn't get a clean shot off. The Rangers, like they did in the second period, have come out flying to start the 3rd, but Ward has shut them down.
11:40 3rd: Rangers break the shutout, Canes lead 3-1; Prust 6 (Kolarik, McDonagh) Admit it - you had the seven-letter word in your head too. Ward had the look of a guy going for a goose-egg tonight, but Brandon Prust put an end to hopes of a shutout by knuckling a puck over Ward's shoulder on a rebound. Not much Ward could have done there, except covered the rebound, but in his defense the guy has made 35 saves tonight.
15:51 3rd: Canes back up by 3; Skinner 17 (LaRose) Not much to say here other than Chad LaRose is having a great night. He made a great play coming out of the neutral zone, going behind the net and centering to Jeff Skinner at the top of the crease to restore their three-goal lead.
End 3rd: The performance resembled Tuesday's in how the Canes came out ready to play, and fortunately for the Canes the result was completely different. Cam Ward and Paul Maurice both talked about how they knew that another strong effort like Tuesday's, coming against a team with a ton of injuries and facing the second half of a back-to-back, would likely lead to good things, and indeed it did.
Interestingly, the Canes are now 12-2 when Jeff Skinner scores a goal, and have at least a point in every game (6-0-1) when Brandon Sutter scores.
Late in the game, Erik Cole got fed up with Sean Avery after a two-handed slash to the back of Cole's leg, and they earned misconduct penalties. Chad LaRose also mouthed off at Avery a few times, but when asked about it he politely deferred, saying "that's hockey". I guess that's one way to put it.
Click for audio from Brandon Sutter, Chad LaRose and Cam Ward. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes head to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins on Saturday night, then they're back here for a Monday tilt with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Live Blog has other obligations on Monday night, so we'll miss the start but we'll be here for the finish and we'll take you home with locker room audio. Hope you'll join us.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Game 46: Bruins 3, Hurricanes 2
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Yesterday afternoon in Boston, the Hurricanes were manhandled, losing 7-0 to the Bruins while generally looking lackadaisical in all aspects of the game. Fortunately for the Canes, they don't have to wait long to exact some revenge.
The two teams meet again tonight, this time at the RBC Center, and the Canes know how important a focused effort is to gain a split in this home-and-home series. Cam Ward will be back in net tonight after being pulled in the first period yesterday afternoon, and he'll look to bounce back after a rough few minutes in Boston. Newly named All-Star captain Eric Staal will see plenty of Zdeno Chara, the hulking Bruins defenseman who scored his first career hat trick on Monday, and for the Canes to be successful they need Staal to lead the charge to dent Bruins goalie Tim Thomas.
Jiri Tlusty was activated off injured reserve yesterday, but he will not play again tonight. As a result, the Canes will have no lineup changes, although where the individual players fit in on the forward lines is anyone's guess.
The Canes look to earn a split tonight, and we're minutes away from getting started....
2:04 1st: Bruins take a 1-0 lead; Savard 3 (Boychuk, Ryder) (pp) Yesterday, it took the Bruins 7 minutes to open the floodgates. Tonight? Just more than two. Jussi Jokinen took an ill-timed tripping penalty just :17 into the game, and Johnny Boychuk made them pay with a slap shot from the right point that was tipped by Marc Savard and flew over Cam Ward's blocker. Ward was screened on the play, butstill...after getting run out of the building last night, this was far from the start the Hurricanes wanted.
5:49 1st: The B's are pouring it on right now. David Krejci nearly made it 2-0 with a shot that looked like it had Ward beat on the long side but just barely trickled to the left of the net. Shots are 6-2 Bruins, but it seems like they've had about 26.
10:00 1st: The Canes have no business with anything approaching a goal right now, but Sergei Samsonov nearly put the Canes on the board as Thomas was caught out of position for the first time all year and kicked a rebound right to Samsonov. Unfortunately for the Canes, Thomas barely got his right leg over and kicked out the rebound just in time.
13:10 1st: Business has started to pick up. Sergei Samsonov had his second glorious scoring chance in a span of three minutes denied by Thomas, this time with a real quick kick save on a play where he wasn't even sure a shot was coming from. A few seconds later, Jamie McBain (!) leveled Michael Ryder with a clean shoulder check at the blue line.
18:39 1st: Canes tie it at 1; Jokinen 11 (Staal, Corvo) (pp) I was just getting ready to declare this One Of Those Nights after Eric Staal made a behind-the-goalie pass to Jussi Jokinen in front of the net, but Jokinen double-clutched and couldn't bury it. Ten seconds later, Staal somehow got a pass through Thomas' pads and right to Jokinen at the near side of the crease, who didn't miss this time and tied it up at 1.
End 1st: The Canes had a look of jet lag in the first few minutes, no doubt helped along by the early Jokinen penalty, but they wound up outshooting the Bruins 19-11 in the period and were tilting the ice pretty sharply as the period went on. Thomas took a badly-advised forearm at Staal on a rush at the end of the period and ended up with a roughing penalty, meaning the Canes will start the 2nd on their third power play of the night.
1:10 2nd: While on the aforementioned power play, the Canes have looked nothing like the lethargic team from yesterday afternoon. Thomas has been flopping all over the place and the Canes have come dangerously close to converting, if only they had someone in position to pick up the loose change.
8:37 2nd: Thomas is, shall we say, a bit unconventional in his goaltending style, and the Canes have had him moving all over the place to the tune of a 32-14 shot advantage, meaning they've outshot the Bruins 13-3 in less than ten minutes of the period. Maybe a little home cooking in those stats, but it doesn't belie the fact that the Canes have been skating circles around the Bruins in the offensive zone.
10:11 2nd: Some of the saves Thomas have made have been rather unreal, and others have just been plain lucky. On a delayed penalty, Jeff Skinner was the victim of a lucky save, as Thomas quite literally did a split to kick the puck out with him way out at the top of the crease and all sorts of daylight behind him. The Canes have done everything but score, and they'll get another chance with the power play as Johnny Boychuk heads to the box for tripping Tuomo Ruutu behind the net.
12:58 2nd: Looks like Patrick Dwyer got the message about driving to the net, and he earned a shove or two from Zdeno Chara in the process. Still, that's the kind of grit and determination that was very conspicuously absent in yesterday's game.
19:18 2nd: Great defensive play by Eric Staal, tying up what would have been a sure goal from Shawn Thornton by knocking his stick off balance. Since the Bruins went on a power play at 16:17 thanks to a Patrick Dwyer delay of game penalty, the B's have slowly started to take the game back from the Carolina onslaught.
End 2nd: Shots in the second were 19-9 Canes, who led overall 38-20. However, the Dwyer penalty seemed to swing momentum back a bit toward Boston, and Thomas has stood on his head, so this game is far from over despite the huge shot discrepancy.
2:40 3rd: The Bruins came out of the locker room with all sorts of scoring chances, and it's obvious they've been told to shoot early and often. Ward has held his ground, and the Canes nearly got a goal out of a Thomas fumble at the other end. Say this for the B's defense - they haven't been called upon too much, but they've been there on the rare occasion that Thomas has needed some assistance tonight.
3:55 3rd: Bruins take a 2-1 lead; Marchand 10 (Chara, Recchi) And just like that, Thomas' heroics look like they might mean something. A point shot from Zdeno Chara made it through to Ward and he made the save, but Brad Marchand was parked at the top of the crease and shoveled the puck home to give the Bruins their second lead of the night.
7:30 3rd: When the Bruins get a lead, it's amazing to see them clog up the neutral zone. Every time the Canes regroup in their own zone, the B's park all five men in the neutral zone and make it impossible for anything to get through. The Canes are trying to beat it by dumping the puck in, but it's largely a futile exercise.
9:19 3rd: Canes tie it at 2; LaRose 9 (Ruutu, Skinner) The balloon has air again. Jeff Skinner made the play happen, with a quick backhander that was blocked by Thomas about ten feet up in the air. By the time the puck came back down, there were five guys in front of the net battling for position, and when the puck hit the ice Tuomo Ruutu passed across the crease to Chad LaRose, who slammed it home to tie it again.
10:42 3rd: I rarely get into officiating gaffes, but one was just made that is inexcusable. Somehow, 5'10" Chad LaRose was whistled for elbowing 6'9" Zdeno Chara, and on replay LaRose's elbow was absolutely nowhere near Chara. Chara sold it well, but c'mon.
11:59 3rd: Bruins lead 3-2; Lucic 17 (Recchi, Kampfer) (pp) You did know this was coming, right? Phantom call leads to a goal. Quelle surprise. Recchi centers to Lucic from behind the net on a beautiful pass and the rest is history. The crowd, needless to say, was a bit upset.
18:30 3rd: I stand corrected. LaRose did take a penalty on the play, but it was a high stick on Chara. Still, I question if the official realized it's rather difficult for a 5'10" guy to elbow a 6'9" one.
End 3rd: A late penalty to Ruutu for tripping didn't help the Canes' extra-attacker chances, and the Bruins left with a sweep of the home-and-home after a 3-2 win. Despite that, Paul Maurice was as upbeat as I've seen him after a loss, saying repeatedly that his guys gave everything they could and tonight it just wasn't enough. You got the sense talking to Maurice and especially Tuomo Ruutu that if they play like this on a regular basis, they know they'll not only be fine but they'll make the playoffs.
It was a playoff atmosphere at the RBC tonight, and that energy rubbed off on the bench, which is something the Canes sorely needed. They didn't want to be run out of their own building tonight the way they were the day before. Mission accomplished, although it wasn't the result they ultimately wanted.
Click for audio from Eric Staal, Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi Jokinen. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
Back at it Thursday night when the New York Rangers come to town and the Canes look to build on tonight's performance. Despite the loss, there's a bunch there to build on, and we'll see how successful they are in doing so Thursday night.
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Yesterday afternoon in Boston, the Hurricanes were manhandled, losing 7-0 to the Bruins while generally looking lackadaisical in all aspects of the game. Fortunately for the Canes, they don't have to wait long to exact some revenge.
The two teams meet again tonight, this time at the RBC Center, and the Canes know how important a focused effort is to gain a split in this home-and-home series. Cam Ward will be back in net tonight after being pulled in the first period yesterday afternoon, and he'll look to bounce back after a rough few minutes in Boston. Newly named All-Star captain Eric Staal will see plenty of Zdeno Chara, the hulking Bruins defenseman who scored his first career hat trick on Monday, and for the Canes to be successful they need Staal to lead the charge to dent Bruins goalie Tim Thomas.
Jiri Tlusty was activated off injured reserve yesterday, but he will not play again tonight. As a result, the Canes will have no lineup changes, although where the individual players fit in on the forward lines is anyone's guess.
The Canes look to earn a split tonight, and we're minutes away from getting started....
2:04 1st: Bruins take a 1-0 lead; Savard 3 (Boychuk, Ryder) (pp) Yesterday, it took the Bruins 7 minutes to open the floodgates. Tonight? Just more than two. Jussi Jokinen took an ill-timed tripping penalty just :17 into the game, and Johnny Boychuk made them pay with a slap shot from the right point that was tipped by Marc Savard and flew over Cam Ward's blocker. Ward was screened on the play, butstill...after getting run out of the building last night, this was far from the start the Hurricanes wanted.
5:49 1st: The B's are pouring it on right now. David Krejci nearly made it 2-0 with a shot that looked like it had Ward beat on the long side but just barely trickled to the left of the net. Shots are 6-2 Bruins, but it seems like they've had about 26.
10:00 1st: The Canes have no business with anything approaching a goal right now, but Sergei Samsonov nearly put the Canes on the board as Thomas was caught out of position for the first time all year and kicked a rebound right to Samsonov. Unfortunately for the Canes, Thomas barely got his right leg over and kicked out the rebound just in time.
13:10 1st: Business has started to pick up. Sergei Samsonov had his second glorious scoring chance in a span of three minutes denied by Thomas, this time with a real quick kick save on a play where he wasn't even sure a shot was coming from. A few seconds later, Jamie McBain (!) leveled Michael Ryder with a clean shoulder check at the blue line.
18:39 1st: Canes tie it at 1; Jokinen 11 (Staal, Corvo) (pp) I was just getting ready to declare this One Of Those Nights after Eric Staal made a behind-the-goalie pass to Jussi Jokinen in front of the net, but Jokinen double-clutched and couldn't bury it. Ten seconds later, Staal somehow got a pass through Thomas' pads and right to Jokinen at the near side of the crease, who didn't miss this time and tied it up at 1.
End 1st: The Canes had a look of jet lag in the first few minutes, no doubt helped along by the early Jokinen penalty, but they wound up outshooting the Bruins 19-11 in the period and were tilting the ice pretty sharply as the period went on. Thomas took a badly-advised forearm at Staal on a rush at the end of the period and ended up with a roughing penalty, meaning the Canes will start the 2nd on their third power play of the night.
1:10 2nd: While on the aforementioned power play, the Canes have looked nothing like the lethargic team from yesterday afternoon. Thomas has been flopping all over the place and the Canes have come dangerously close to converting, if only they had someone in position to pick up the loose change.
8:37 2nd: Thomas is, shall we say, a bit unconventional in his goaltending style, and the Canes have had him moving all over the place to the tune of a 32-14 shot advantage, meaning they've outshot the Bruins 13-3 in less than ten minutes of the period. Maybe a little home cooking in those stats, but it doesn't belie the fact that the Canes have been skating circles around the Bruins in the offensive zone.
10:11 2nd: Some of the saves Thomas have made have been rather unreal, and others have just been plain lucky. On a delayed penalty, Jeff Skinner was the victim of a lucky save, as Thomas quite literally did a split to kick the puck out with him way out at the top of the crease and all sorts of daylight behind him. The Canes have done everything but score, and they'll get another chance with the power play as Johnny Boychuk heads to the box for tripping Tuomo Ruutu behind the net.
12:58 2nd: Looks like Patrick Dwyer got the message about driving to the net, and he earned a shove or two from Zdeno Chara in the process. Still, that's the kind of grit and determination that was very conspicuously absent in yesterday's game.
19:18 2nd: Great defensive play by Eric Staal, tying up what would have been a sure goal from Shawn Thornton by knocking his stick off balance. Since the Bruins went on a power play at 16:17 thanks to a Patrick Dwyer delay of game penalty, the B's have slowly started to take the game back from the Carolina onslaught.
End 2nd: Shots in the second were 19-9 Canes, who led overall 38-20. However, the Dwyer penalty seemed to swing momentum back a bit toward Boston, and Thomas has stood on his head, so this game is far from over despite the huge shot discrepancy.
2:40 3rd: The Bruins came out of the locker room with all sorts of scoring chances, and it's obvious they've been told to shoot early and often. Ward has held his ground, and the Canes nearly got a goal out of a Thomas fumble at the other end. Say this for the B's defense - they haven't been called upon too much, but they've been there on the rare occasion that Thomas has needed some assistance tonight.
3:55 3rd: Bruins take a 2-1 lead; Marchand 10 (Chara, Recchi) And just like that, Thomas' heroics look like they might mean something. A point shot from Zdeno Chara made it through to Ward and he made the save, but Brad Marchand was parked at the top of the crease and shoveled the puck home to give the Bruins their second lead of the night.
7:30 3rd: When the Bruins get a lead, it's amazing to see them clog up the neutral zone. Every time the Canes regroup in their own zone, the B's park all five men in the neutral zone and make it impossible for anything to get through. The Canes are trying to beat it by dumping the puck in, but it's largely a futile exercise.
9:19 3rd: Canes tie it at 2; LaRose 9 (Ruutu, Skinner) The balloon has air again. Jeff Skinner made the play happen, with a quick backhander that was blocked by Thomas about ten feet up in the air. By the time the puck came back down, there were five guys in front of the net battling for position, and when the puck hit the ice Tuomo Ruutu passed across the crease to Chad LaRose, who slammed it home to tie it again.
10:42 3rd: I rarely get into officiating gaffes, but one was just made that is inexcusable. Somehow, 5'10" Chad LaRose was whistled for elbowing 6'9" Zdeno Chara, and on replay LaRose's elbow was absolutely nowhere near Chara. Chara sold it well, but c'mon.
11:59 3rd: Bruins lead 3-2; Lucic 17 (Recchi, Kampfer) (pp) You did know this was coming, right? Phantom call leads to a goal. Quelle surprise. Recchi centers to Lucic from behind the net on a beautiful pass and the rest is history. The crowd, needless to say, was a bit upset.
18:30 3rd: I stand corrected. LaRose did take a penalty on the play, but it was a high stick on Chara. Still, I question if the official realized it's rather difficult for a 5'10" guy to elbow a 6'9" one.
End 3rd: A late penalty to Ruutu for tripping didn't help the Canes' extra-attacker chances, and the Bruins left with a sweep of the home-and-home after a 3-2 win. Despite that, Paul Maurice was as upbeat as I've seen him after a loss, saying repeatedly that his guys gave everything they could and tonight it just wasn't enough. You got the sense talking to Maurice and especially Tuomo Ruutu that if they play like this on a regular basis, they know they'll not only be fine but they'll make the playoffs.
It was a playoff atmosphere at the RBC tonight, and that energy rubbed off on the bench, which is something the Canes sorely needed. They didn't want to be run out of their own building tonight the way they were the day before. Mission accomplished, although it wasn't the result they ultimately wanted.
Click for audio from Eric Staal, Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi Jokinen. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
Back at it Thursday night when the New York Rangers come to town and the Canes look to build on tonight's performance. Despite the loss, there's a bunch there to build on, and we'll see how successful they are in doing so Thursday night.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Game 44: Hurricanes 6, Lightning 4
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Two nights ago in Buffalo, the Hurricanes' eight-game point streak came to an end in a sloppy 4-3 loss to the Sabres. Tonight, they look to start a new streak with the Tampa Bay Lightning in town. The Lightning, for their part, lost a wild game 5-2 to the New Jersey Devils last night, their second straight loss to the team in the Eastern Conference basement. Needless to say, they'll be a fired-up bunch tonight.
Since the Canes and Lightning met last, a 5-1 Lightning win on December 21, the Lightning have significantly upgraded their goaltending by adding the ageless Dwayne Roloson, who will be in net tonight, from the New York Islanders. The Lightning have made a statement that they're a team to be reckoned with, jumping out to a two-point lead over the Washington Capitals in the Southeast Division while surprising nearly everyone along the way.
Just as surprising is the performance of the Hurricanes, facing a murderous first-half schedule yet still in sniffing distance of a playoff spot. The Canes made one roster move since Thursday's game, sending Zac Dalpe back to Charlotte and inserting Sergei Samsonov into the lineup after a healthy scratch on Thursday night. Cam Ward will be back in net tonight, as he will likely be in each game up through the All-Star break in two weeks.
We'll be otherwise occupied for most of tonight, so the blog entries might be a bit lighter than usual. However, you can always head to Twitter (http://twitter.com/puckdrops) for the latest and greatest...
End 1st: The Lightning had most of the solid play for long stretches of the first period, but somehow the Canes go to the locker room tied at 2 and if it wasn't for a bad defensive play by Joe Corvo they'd be in the lead. The Lightning opened the scoring with a Steven Stamkos goal 1:44 into the game, where he got loose behind the Canes defense and fired a shot through Ward's five-hole to put the Lightning on top. However, three minutes later Chad LaRose left the penalty box and earned a breakaway from the blue line in, beating Roloson with a backhand roofer.
The Canes got some good chances immediately after the LaRose goal, but slowly the Lightning started taking play back to the Canes' end of the ice. Cam Ward was sharp, and at one point the Canes were being outshot 12-3 while generally being outskated all over their offensive zone. They were also rather undisciplined, taking three penalties including a rather questionable charging penalty to Zach Boychuk that really earned the ire of the home crowd.
With 2:37 to go in the period, Jeff Skinner took advantage of an open net on a broken play for his 16th of the year to put the Canes in front and give them the chance to take a completely improbable lead into the locker room. However, with :23 left in the period Vincent Lecavalier established some separation behind Corvo and tipped a pass home from Martin St. Louis to tie it again at 2 heading to the locker room.
End 2nd: For a team that was outshot 13-5 in the first period, the Canes certainly turned things around in the second, piling 19 shots en route to taking a 5-3 lead after two. It started ominously for Carolina with a goal early in the period by Simon Gagne, who beat Ward on a broken play only 1:02 into the period.
After that, though, the Canes turned on the afterburners. It started with a Jamie McBain goal off a rebound from an Eric Staal shot, continued with a go-ahead goal from Jussi Jokinen on a 5-on-3 after the Lightning were whistled for two penalties in nine seconds, and continued with Eric Staal scoring shorthanded off a Cole setup after Roloson misplayed the puck and the Lightning bobbled the puck in their own zone.
A late LaRose tripping penalty didn't earn anything for the Lightning and they went to the locker room with a 5-3 deficit, and the Canes will have a chance to improve on their 13-0 record when leading after two periods with a solid third.
End 3rd/Postgame: The Lightning made things interesting with a Gagne breakaway goal halfway through the period, but the Canes held on for a 6-4 victory after Jussi Jokinen iced it with an empty-netter with seven seconds left. Gagne's goal was a classic bad bounce, as the puck bounced over Jamie McBain's stick at the blue line and sprung the Lightning forward on a breakaway from the red line that he didn't miss on. The Canes were back on their heels for a few minutes in the period, especially after Gagne's goal, but Cam Ward shut the door and kept the Lightning from getting any closer.
The Lightning pulled Roloson for the extra attacker with 1:38 to go, but a few seconds later their man advantage came to a quick end when Stamkos was called for interfering with LaRose's bid at the empty net. Stamkos earned a holding penalty, then he received an unsportsmanlike-conduct and a 10-minute misconduct for vehemently protesting to referee Francois St.-Laurent. The Canes took care of business the rest of the way, improving to 14-0 when leading after two periods.
Eric Staal passed Rod Brind'Amour for first place in points since the Canes' relocation, despite playing 172 fewer games than the former captain. It was a night of milestones, as Cam Ward tied Arturs Irbe's club record of games played since relocation, while defenseman Jay Harrison played his 100th career game, a testament to how his game has considerably improved over the last few seasons.
Click for audio from Eric Staal and Jussi Jokinen. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes head to Boston for a Monday matinee with the Bruins before returning to Raleigh for the back half of the back-to-back against the Bruins on Tuesday. We'll be back, along with a more normal live blog, Tuesday night, and hope you'll join us as well.
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Two nights ago in Buffalo, the Hurricanes' eight-game point streak came to an end in a sloppy 4-3 loss to the Sabres. Tonight, they look to start a new streak with the Tampa Bay Lightning in town. The Lightning, for their part, lost a wild game 5-2 to the New Jersey Devils last night, their second straight loss to the team in the Eastern Conference basement. Needless to say, they'll be a fired-up bunch tonight.
Since the Canes and Lightning met last, a 5-1 Lightning win on December 21, the Lightning have significantly upgraded their goaltending by adding the ageless Dwayne Roloson, who will be in net tonight, from the New York Islanders. The Lightning have made a statement that they're a team to be reckoned with, jumping out to a two-point lead over the Washington Capitals in the Southeast Division while surprising nearly everyone along the way.
Just as surprising is the performance of the Hurricanes, facing a murderous first-half schedule yet still in sniffing distance of a playoff spot. The Canes made one roster move since Thursday's game, sending Zac Dalpe back to Charlotte and inserting Sergei Samsonov into the lineup after a healthy scratch on Thursday night. Cam Ward will be back in net tonight, as he will likely be in each game up through the All-Star break in two weeks.
We'll be otherwise occupied for most of tonight, so the blog entries might be a bit lighter than usual. However, you can always head to Twitter (http://twitter.com/puckdrops) for the latest and greatest...
End 1st: The Lightning had most of the solid play for long stretches of the first period, but somehow the Canes go to the locker room tied at 2 and if it wasn't for a bad defensive play by Joe Corvo they'd be in the lead. The Lightning opened the scoring with a Steven Stamkos goal 1:44 into the game, where he got loose behind the Canes defense and fired a shot through Ward's five-hole to put the Lightning on top. However, three minutes later Chad LaRose left the penalty box and earned a breakaway from the blue line in, beating Roloson with a backhand roofer.
The Canes got some good chances immediately after the LaRose goal, but slowly the Lightning started taking play back to the Canes' end of the ice. Cam Ward was sharp, and at one point the Canes were being outshot 12-3 while generally being outskated all over their offensive zone. They were also rather undisciplined, taking three penalties including a rather questionable charging penalty to Zach Boychuk that really earned the ire of the home crowd.
With 2:37 to go in the period, Jeff Skinner took advantage of an open net on a broken play for his 16th of the year to put the Canes in front and give them the chance to take a completely improbable lead into the locker room. However, with :23 left in the period Vincent Lecavalier established some separation behind Corvo and tipped a pass home from Martin St. Louis to tie it again at 2 heading to the locker room.
End 2nd: For a team that was outshot 13-5 in the first period, the Canes certainly turned things around in the second, piling 19 shots en route to taking a 5-3 lead after two. It started ominously for Carolina with a goal early in the period by Simon Gagne, who beat Ward on a broken play only 1:02 into the period.
After that, though, the Canes turned on the afterburners. It started with a Jamie McBain goal off a rebound from an Eric Staal shot, continued with a go-ahead goal from Jussi Jokinen on a 5-on-3 after the Lightning were whistled for two penalties in nine seconds, and continued with Eric Staal scoring shorthanded off a Cole setup after Roloson misplayed the puck and the Lightning bobbled the puck in their own zone.
A late LaRose tripping penalty didn't earn anything for the Lightning and they went to the locker room with a 5-3 deficit, and the Canes will have a chance to improve on their 13-0 record when leading after two periods with a solid third.
End 3rd/Postgame: The Lightning made things interesting with a Gagne breakaway goal halfway through the period, but the Canes held on for a 6-4 victory after Jussi Jokinen iced it with an empty-netter with seven seconds left. Gagne's goal was a classic bad bounce, as the puck bounced over Jamie McBain's stick at the blue line and sprung the Lightning forward on a breakaway from the red line that he didn't miss on. The Canes were back on their heels for a few minutes in the period, especially after Gagne's goal, but Cam Ward shut the door and kept the Lightning from getting any closer.
The Lightning pulled Roloson for the extra attacker with 1:38 to go, but a few seconds later their man advantage came to a quick end when Stamkos was called for interfering with LaRose's bid at the empty net. Stamkos earned a holding penalty, then he received an unsportsmanlike-conduct and a 10-minute misconduct for vehemently protesting to referee Francois St.-Laurent. The Canes took care of business the rest of the way, improving to 14-0 when leading after two periods.
Eric Staal passed Rod Brind'Amour for first place in points since the Canes' relocation, despite playing 172 fewer games than the former captain. It was a night of milestones, as Cam Ward tied Arturs Irbe's club record of games played since relocation, while defenseman Jay Harrison played his 100th career game, a testament to how his game has considerably improved over the last few seasons.
Click for audio from Eric Staal and Jussi Jokinen. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes head to Boston for a Monday matinee with the Bruins before returning to Raleigh for the back half of the back-to-back against the Bruins on Tuesday. We'll be back, along with a more normal live blog, Tuesday night, and hope you'll join us as well.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Game 42: Hurricanes 6, Flames 5 (SO)
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Dating to December 28, when Jim Rutherford made an intermission appearance in the Hurricanes locker room in Toronto to put a boot in the Canes' collective backsides, the Canes have rattled off a streak of seven straight games with at least a point. Tonight, they look to make it eight against a team they don't see all that often, although there's a familiar face on the other bench tonight.
Anton Babchuk and Tom Kostopoulos were traded to the Calgary Flames on November 17 for Ian White and Brett Sutter, and tonight is Babchuk's and White's first time facing their former teams. Kostopoulos, for his part, is in the building but not in uniform thanks to a six-game suspension he received for breaking the jaw of Detroit's Brad Stuart on Friday.
Jussi Jokinen returns to the Carolina lineup tonight, as Jon Matsumoto was sent back to Charlotte earlier today and the Canes have shuffled their lines accordingly. After sitting out Sunday's game against Atlanta, Cam Ward is back in net tonight, facing Miikka Kiprusoff, who has never lost to the Hurricanes in his career; he is 4-0 with two shutouts in his admittedly limited action against Carolina.
The Canes look to make it eight straight with a point while establishing their first three-game winning streak of 2011 tonight, and we're minutes away from puck drop...
2:15 1st: The Flames have carried play for just about every second so far. A pair of open-net scoring chances, one each for Niklas Hagman and Matt Stajan, were thwarted by some fortunate bounces as both went just wide of Cam Ward, but the Flames certainly look to be the more energetic team in the early going.
4:13 1st: Flames lead 1-0; Bouwmeester 4 (Iginla, Jokinen) Just like clockwork, a big save at one end results in a score at the other end. It's one of those hockey truisms that always seems to hold true, and it did here to put the Flames on the board. Kiprusoff robbed Zach Boychuk on a 2-on-1, kicking a puck out that he had no business stopping, and ten seconds later a centering pass from Jarome Iginla went off a Carolina skate in the slot and right to Jay Bouwmeester, who roofed a shot high over Ward's stick to put the Flames on the board first.
7:30 1st: Erik Cole comes cruising through the slot and Adam Pardy knocks him down, earning a tripping penalty. I mention this only in case there are some Pardy-related puns later in the live blog.
11:46 1st: Canes tie it at 1; Ruutu 11 (LaRose, Skinner) A minute after a second power play expired, the Canes were the beneficiary of some great down-low cycling by Jeff Skinner, who found Chad LaRose alone at the top of the far circle. LaRose let a shot go that was cleanly tipped by Tuomo Ruutu for his sixth point in the last three games.
13:06 1st: Flames back up 2-1; Iginla 18 (Tanguay, Jokinen) Might as well get used to seeing "Jokinen" in the scoring of Flames goals, given his past history against Carolina This time, he was a bit player in a great give-and-go between Alex Tanguay along the near boards and Jarome Iginla in the low slot. Iginla's first shot was stopped cleanly by Cam Ward, but the rebound came right back to Iginla and he didn't miss again, putting the Flames back up by one.
16:29 1st: Canes tie it again, this time at 2; Jokinen (Sutter) Welcome back to the lineup, Jussi. He did just about everything on that goal, including a sweet bank pass to Brandon Sutter through the neutral zone to get it behind the Flames defense, then a centering pass from Sutter back to Jokinen did the rest as Jokinen tied it with a nice backhand tip as he avoided Adam Pardy's stick. That's right, it's Pardy time to celebrate Jokinen's return.
End 1st: We're tied after 1, as the Canes really came on late after being badly outplayed to start the game. Shots were 11-6 Flames, with most of that margin coming in the first eight minutes or so of the period.
1:27 2nd: You know how you're having a bad night with the man advantage? You're being outshot 3-0 while on the power play, and you just iced the puck. Ouch.
2:16 2nd: Canes lead 3-2; Cole 12 (Jokinen, Samsonov) For all the trouble the Canes are having while up a man, they're doing just fine immediately after their power plays end. This time, it was a sweet centering pass from Jokinen behind the net to Cole in front, as he battled to establish position and tipped the puck home to give the Canes their first lead of the night.
5:37 2nd: Canes now up 4-2; Staal 21 (White, Ward) Miikka Kiprusoff's night is over after a weird bounce, but you can't deny that he's been a bit shaky with four goals on eight shots. Eric Staal's seemingly harmless shot bounced off the stick of Flames defenseman Mark Giordano and changed directions just enough to get the puck through Kiprusoff's five-hole. The Flames inserted Henrik Karlsson for his first career action against Carolina.
6:53 2nd: Here's an odd stat: the Canes are 0-4 and generally rather inept on the power play tonight, yet three of their four goals have come within 1:06 of the expiration of a man advantage, including the last two which were scored eight and five seconds, respectively, after the end of a power play.
14:50 2nd: Canes lead 5-2; Jokinen 8 (Sutter, Gleason) When it's your night, it's your night, and it's most certainly Jussi Jokinen's night. His third point of the night has given the Canes a three goal lead on his second goal of the night, a double-deflection off a Gleason shot that was tipped in front by both Brandon Sutter and finally deflected upstairs by Jokinen over Karlsson's glove. The assists were given on the ice to Gleason and Dwyer, but it looked to me like Sutter got wood on it too.
16:48 2nd: Flames back to 5-3; Hagman 9 (unassisted) And just like that, it's a game again. Niklas Hagman was the beneficiary of a ruthless forecheck by Matt Stajan who knocked down Tuomo Ruutu and set the table for Hagman to wire a wrister high over Ward's glove to pull the Flames back within two.
End 2nd: Well, that was interesting. The Canes outshot the Flames 11-8 in the period, but the Flames were really energized after Hagman's goal and had the Canes back on their heels right up to the end of the period. The end of the period came at the perfect time to stem the Flames' tide.
1:31 3rd: Flames pull to one at 5-4; Glencross 10 (Hagman, Regehr) The momentum from the end of the second period has indeed carried over to the third, and Curtis Glencross (really?) has his fourth goal in as many career games against Carolina to make it a one-goal game. Nice play by Glencross to wire a wrister from 20 feet right between Ward's glove and blocker, but really, the Canes have had no interest in playing defense tonight and it's coming back to bite them.
3:03 3rd: Ian White's skate kept the game from being tied as Olli Jokinen had a wide open net and it was only a redirection by White that deflected the puck up to bounce off the crossbar instead of into the net. Paul Maurice called timeout to remind his troops that the game still has 17 minutes to go, in slightly saltier language than I just used.
4:52 3rd: After taking a harmless shot on Karlsson, Jeff Skinner was met behind the net by the glove of Cory Sarich, and to his credit Skinner stood up for himself and gave Sarich a facewash back. Chad LaRose, meanwhile, came flying in from the blue line and clobbered Sarich with a right, earning himself a roughing penalty to match Sarich's. In one man's opinion, Sarich deserved a double minor, but that's why I'm a lowly reporter.
7:39 3rd: Flames tie it at 5; Bourque 14 (Morrison, Jackman) And if you didn't see this coming, you've been watching a different game. A broken play in front of the net ended up with the puck on Rene Bourque's stick at the top of the crease, and he backhanded it home to tie the game.
7:53 3rd: A few seconds later, Jeff Skinner leveled Curtis Glencross on what looked to the world to be a clean hit yet somehow earned a boarding penalty. Skinner earned a round of applause when his penalty was announced. That pretty much says it all.
15:45 3rd: There hasn't been a stoppage in nearly seven minutes. Unbelievable action, and both teams have had good chances.
17:33 3rd: Ward gets a lucky whistle after he and the official thought he covered the puck a split second before it popped out to the near side. Huge break for the Canes.
End 3rd: Off to OT, again. Canes now have points in eight straight games, a season high.
2:48 OT: Rene Bourque is called for slashing Cole's stick out of his hands, the Flames' third slashing penalty tonight. Canes have a 4-on-3.
End OT: Off to a shootout as the Canes couldn't convert and then (fittingly) after the power play ended Karlsson robbed Jokinen from point-blank. Shots were 32-30 Flames.
Postgame: In a bit of poetic justice, Jeff Skinner scored the only goal of the shootout to lift the Canes to a 6-5 win in a wild game that left both coaches with a good bit less hair than they started the game with. According to Paul Maurice, it's the type of game "where both coaches need showers after it's done". But as Maurice then went on to say, the Canes learned a lot about their young star tonight, after Skinner's frustrations at repeated non-calls boiled over and he took the boarding penalty on Glencross. Maurice admitted that he wouldn't have even minded a major penalty there given how the night had gone.
No audio tonight owing to some technical difficulties. It was one of those nights even for equipment.
The Canes head to Buffalo on Thursday for a matchup with the Sabres, then they're right back here Saturday night when the Tampa Bay Lightning come to town, no doubt with plenty of natural-forces jokes in the house. Hope you'll join us for the sideshow.
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Dating to December 28, when Jim Rutherford made an intermission appearance in the Hurricanes locker room in Toronto to put a boot in the Canes' collective backsides, the Canes have rattled off a streak of seven straight games with at least a point. Tonight, they look to make it eight against a team they don't see all that often, although there's a familiar face on the other bench tonight.
Anton Babchuk and Tom Kostopoulos were traded to the Calgary Flames on November 17 for Ian White and Brett Sutter, and tonight is Babchuk's and White's first time facing their former teams. Kostopoulos, for his part, is in the building but not in uniform thanks to a six-game suspension he received for breaking the jaw of Detroit's Brad Stuart on Friday.
Jussi Jokinen returns to the Carolina lineup tonight, as Jon Matsumoto was sent back to Charlotte earlier today and the Canes have shuffled their lines accordingly. After sitting out Sunday's game against Atlanta, Cam Ward is back in net tonight, facing Miikka Kiprusoff, who has never lost to the Hurricanes in his career; he is 4-0 with two shutouts in his admittedly limited action against Carolina.
The Canes look to make it eight straight with a point while establishing their first three-game winning streak of 2011 tonight, and we're minutes away from puck drop...
2:15 1st: The Flames have carried play for just about every second so far. A pair of open-net scoring chances, one each for Niklas Hagman and Matt Stajan, were thwarted by some fortunate bounces as both went just wide of Cam Ward, but the Flames certainly look to be the more energetic team in the early going.
4:13 1st: Flames lead 1-0; Bouwmeester 4 (Iginla, Jokinen) Just like clockwork, a big save at one end results in a score at the other end. It's one of those hockey truisms that always seems to hold true, and it did here to put the Flames on the board. Kiprusoff robbed Zach Boychuk on a 2-on-1, kicking a puck out that he had no business stopping, and ten seconds later a centering pass from Jarome Iginla went off a Carolina skate in the slot and right to Jay Bouwmeester, who roofed a shot high over Ward's stick to put the Flames on the board first.
7:30 1st: Erik Cole comes cruising through the slot and Adam Pardy knocks him down, earning a tripping penalty. I mention this only in case there are some Pardy-related puns later in the live blog.
11:46 1st: Canes tie it at 1; Ruutu 11 (LaRose, Skinner) A minute after a second power play expired, the Canes were the beneficiary of some great down-low cycling by Jeff Skinner, who found Chad LaRose alone at the top of the far circle. LaRose let a shot go that was cleanly tipped by Tuomo Ruutu for his sixth point in the last three games.
13:06 1st: Flames back up 2-1; Iginla 18 (Tanguay, Jokinen) Might as well get used to seeing "Jokinen" in the scoring of Flames goals, given his past history against Carolina This time, he was a bit player in a great give-and-go between Alex Tanguay along the near boards and Jarome Iginla in the low slot. Iginla's first shot was stopped cleanly by Cam Ward, but the rebound came right back to Iginla and he didn't miss again, putting the Flames back up by one.
16:29 1st: Canes tie it again, this time at 2; Jokinen (Sutter) Welcome back to the lineup, Jussi. He did just about everything on that goal, including a sweet bank pass to Brandon Sutter through the neutral zone to get it behind the Flames defense, then a centering pass from Sutter back to Jokinen did the rest as Jokinen tied it with a nice backhand tip as he avoided Adam Pardy's stick. That's right, it's Pardy time to celebrate Jokinen's return.
End 1st: We're tied after 1, as the Canes really came on late after being badly outplayed to start the game. Shots were 11-6 Flames, with most of that margin coming in the first eight minutes or so of the period.
1:27 2nd: You know how you're having a bad night with the man advantage? You're being outshot 3-0 while on the power play, and you just iced the puck. Ouch.
2:16 2nd: Canes lead 3-2; Cole 12 (Jokinen, Samsonov) For all the trouble the Canes are having while up a man, they're doing just fine immediately after their power plays end. This time, it was a sweet centering pass from Jokinen behind the net to Cole in front, as he battled to establish position and tipped the puck home to give the Canes their first lead of the night.
5:37 2nd: Canes now up 4-2; Staal 21 (White, Ward) Miikka Kiprusoff's night is over after a weird bounce, but you can't deny that he's been a bit shaky with four goals on eight shots. Eric Staal's seemingly harmless shot bounced off the stick of Flames defenseman Mark Giordano and changed directions just enough to get the puck through Kiprusoff's five-hole. The Flames inserted Henrik Karlsson for his first career action against Carolina.
6:53 2nd: Here's an odd stat: the Canes are 0-4 and generally rather inept on the power play tonight, yet three of their four goals have come within 1:06 of the expiration of a man advantage, including the last two which were scored eight and five seconds, respectively, after the end of a power play.
14:50 2nd: Canes lead 5-2; Jokinen 8 (Sutter, Gleason) When it's your night, it's your night, and it's most certainly Jussi Jokinen's night. His third point of the night has given the Canes a three goal lead on his second goal of the night, a double-deflection off a Gleason shot that was tipped in front by both Brandon Sutter and finally deflected upstairs by Jokinen over Karlsson's glove. The assists were given on the ice to Gleason and Dwyer, but it looked to me like Sutter got wood on it too.
16:48 2nd: Flames back to 5-3; Hagman 9 (unassisted) And just like that, it's a game again. Niklas Hagman was the beneficiary of a ruthless forecheck by Matt Stajan who knocked down Tuomo Ruutu and set the table for Hagman to wire a wrister high over Ward's glove to pull the Flames back within two.
End 2nd: Well, that was interesting. The Canes outshot the Flames 11-8 in the period, but the Flames were really energized after Hagman's goal and had the Canes back on their heels right up to the end of the period. The end of the period came at the perfect time to stem the Flames' tide.
1:31 3rd: Flames pull to one at 5-4; Glencross 10 (Hagman, Regehr) The momentum from the end of the second period has indeed carried over to the third, and Curtis Glencross (really?) has his fourth goal in as many career games against Carolina to make it a one-goal game. Nice play by Glencross to wire a wrister from 20 feet right between Ward's glove and blocker, but really, the Canes have had no interest in playing defense tonight and it's coming back to bite them.
3:03 3rd: Ian White's skate kept the game from being tied as Olli Jokinen had a wide open net and it was only a redirection by White that deflected the puck up to bounce off the crossbar instead of into the net. Paul Maurice called timeout to remind his troops that the game still has 17 minutes to go, in slightly saltier language than I just used.
4:52 3rd: After taking a harmless shot on Karlsson, Jeff Skinner was met behind the net by the glove of Cory Sarich, and to his credit Skinner stood up for himself and gave Sarich a facewash back. Chad LaRose, meanwhile, came flying in from the blue line and clobbered Sarich with a right, earning himself a roughing penalty to match Sarich's. In one man's opinion, Sarich deserved a double minor, but that's why I'm a lowly reporter.
7:39 3rd: Flames tie it at 5; Bourque 14 (Morrison, Jackman) And if you didn't see this coming, you've been watching a different game. A broken play in front of the net ended up with the puck on Rene Bourque's stick at the top of the crease, and he backhanded it home to tie the game.
7:53 3rd: A few seconds later, Jeff Skinner leveled Curtis Glencross on what looked to the world to be a clean hit yet somehow earned a boarding penalty. Skinner earned a round of applause when his penalty was announced. That pretty much says it all.
15:45 3rd: There hasn't been a stoppage in nearly seven minutes. Unbelievable action, and both teams have had good chances.
17:33 3rd: Ward gets a lucky whistle after he and the official thought he covered the puck a split second before it popped out to the near side. Huge break for the Canes.
End 3rd: Off to OT, again. Canes now have points in eight straight games, a season high.
2:48 OT: Rene Bourque is called for slashing Cole's stick out of his hands, the Flames' third slashing penalty tonight. Canes have a 4-on-3.
End OT: Off to a shootout as the Canes couldn't convert and then (fittingly) after the power play ended Karlsson robbed Jokinen from point-blank. Shots were 32-30 Flames.
Postgame: In a bit of poetic justice, Jeff Skinner scored the only goal of the shootout to lift the Canes to a 6-5 win in a wild game that left both coaches with a good bit less hair than they started the game with. According to Paul Maurice, it's the type of game "where both coaches need showers after it's done". But as Maurice then went on to say, the Canes learned a lot about their young star tonight, after Skinner's frustrations at repeated non-calls boiled over and he took the boarding penalty on Glencross. Maurice admitted that he wouldn't have even minded a major penalty there given how the night had gone.
No audio tonight owing to some technical difficulties. It was one of those nights even for equipment.
The Canes head to Buffalo on Thursday for a matchup with the Sabres, then they're right back here Saturday night when the Tampa Bay Lightning come to town, no doubt with plenty of natural-forces jokes in the house. Hope you'll join us for the sideshow.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Puck Drops catches up with Zach Boychuk
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
A month ago, we were in Charlotte to get a read on how the Canes' prospects were doing on what was, at the time, one of the AHL's hottest teams. The Checkers have cooled off significantly since then, but a big factor is that both Zac Dalpe and Zach Boychuk are no longer with the team, having been called up to play with the Hurricanes and having plenty of success in doing so.
Boychuk in particular has seen a steep rise. When he first came up, he was playing on the fourth line with Troy Bodie and Ryan Carter. A month later, he's on a line with presumptive All-Star Eric Staal and playing upwards of 20 minutes per night against the best in the NHL. No pressure, right?
Actually, no. We caught up with him last night after the Canes' overtime win over Atlanta and it's obvious from talking to him that his confidence is through the roof right now. As I told him at the end, I'm heading back to Charlotte at the end of February, and I hope for his sake I don't see him back down there. The way he's playing, that seems pretty unlikely.
Click here for the audio of my chat with Boychuk.
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
A month ago, we were in Charlotte to get a read on how the Canes' prospects were doing on what was, at the time, one of the AHL's hottest teams. The Checkers have cooled off significantly since then, but a big factor is that both Zac Dalpe and Zach Boychuk are no longer with the team, having been called up to play with the Hurricanes and having plenty of success in doing so.
Boychuk in particular has seen a steep rise. When he first came up, he was playing on the fourth line with Troy Bodie and Ryan Carter. A month later, he's on a line with presumptive All-Star Eric Staal and playing upwards of 20 minutes per night against the best in the NHL. No pressure, right?
Actually, no. We caught up with him last night after the Canes' overtime win over Atlanta and it's obvious from talking to him that his confidence is through the roof right now. As I told him at the end, I'm heading back to Charlotte at the end of February, and I hope for his sake I don't see him back down there. The way he's playing, that seems pretty unlikely.
Click here for the audio of my chat with Boychuk.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Game 41: Hurricanes 4, Thrashers 3 (OT)
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Yes, it's been a while since we did a live blog. It's been a long couple of weeks, to be sure, and in the meantime we missed some rather entertaining tilts. The Canes enter today's game after beating the Florida Panthers in Sunrise for the second time this season, both games involving comebacks from two-goal deficits.
After having good luck with injuries for the first part of the season, the Canes have hit a bit of a rough patch. Joni Pitkanen returns to the lineup this afternoon after a lower-body injury and the birth of his son yesterday, but Jussi Jokinen remains on the shelf with a lower-body concern of his own, joined today by Cam Ward who suffered a lower-body injury on Wednesday in New York. Ward will serve as the backup this afternoon, meaning Justin Peters will get a chance to win a game against a team not named the Florida Panthers for the first time this season; he's 2-0 against the Panthers and 0-4-1 against everyone else.
The Thrashers have surprised this season and currently sit in a playoff position, following the lead of their young core, including captain and former Hurricane Andrew Ladd. Goalie Ondrej Pavelec has been sensational more often than not, so the Canes will have some work to do if they want to leave today's game with a win. That said, the Thrashers were destroyed 9-3 on Friday night against Toronto, so they'll have retribution on their mind this afternoon and the Canes need to be ready for the onslaught, if and when it comes along.
Will it be an afternoon delight for the Canes? We're about to find out...
:55 1st: The first thing you notice about the Thrashers is that they crash the net with reckless abandon, and Justin Peters is going to have to be on his guard all day. However, the Canes were the beneficiary of some too-anxious forechecking by Chris Thorburn, who earned a tripping penalty for knocking down Brandon Sutter at the top of the Carolina crease.
1:20 1st: Canes lead 1-0; Ruutu 10 (Corvo) (pp) Twenty-five seconds later, the power play cashes in on a great individual play by Joe Corvo. He took the puck behind the Carolina net and went coast-to-coast, undressing the Atlanta defense at the blue line and earning a 2-on-0 down low that Tuomo Ruutu converted on a nice drop pass. It's the Canes' first power-play goal in three games.
7:13 1st: The goal notwithstanding, the Thrashers have really asserted play early in the game. They're getting two men in on the forecheck every time the puck enters the Carolina zone, and it looks like they're really targeting Joe Corvo to knock him off of his game. So far the Canes have responded, and if they can stem the tide it will be tough for the Thrashers to keep this level of intensity through the entirety of the game.
11:38 1st: For some reason, the Canes tend to earn quite a few gifts from opposing goaltenders in their division. This time, Pavelec handed the puck straight to Eric Staal at the top of the far circle, but the puck was on Staal's backhand and by the time he wheeled around to shoot Pavelec scrambled back to kick the puck out.
11:46 1st: Thrashers tie it at 1; Little 11 (Antropov, Enstrom) (pp) And like clockwork the Canes' missed chance bites them. Justin Peters lost his balance and fell down while trying to play a wraparound, and Bryan Little easily deposited the loose change on the power play to tie it at 1.
End 1st: A late-period power play for the Canes didn't bear any fruit, and the teams head to the locker rooms tied at 1. Shots were 9-8 Canes, appropriate for a very evenly-played and entertaining period.
2:00 2nd: The Thrashers have gotten much better in front of their own net since last year, evidenced by Nik Antropov (who, in the past, has been anything but a defensive specialist) successfully tying up Ruutu's stick as Ruutu tried to convert a one-time pass from Chad LaRose behind the net. Pavelec has been good, but he's been helped significantly by solid defensive play.
3:57 2nd: Canes lead 2-1; Dalpe 3 (Dwyer, Ruutu) Goals don't get much prettier than that, even for guys who have played in the league for years and aren't in their first week of regular NHL duty. Zac Dalpe came flying through the zone and crashed the net just in time for Patrick Dwyer to find him on a perfect pass that Dalpe had to tip out of midair and over Pavelec's shoulder to put the Canes back in front.
5:33 2nd: Canes lead 3-1; Skinner 14 (Corvo, McBain) (pp) The Canes got a break on a badly overplayed puck by Pavelec on a power play, and when he kicked the puck out it went right to Jeff Skinner, who fired a rocket slapper that Pavelec actually got a glove on but it wasn't nearly enough to stop it from hitting the top corner.
6:59 2nd: Most of the folks in the building thought Eric Staal had made it 4-1, but referee Gord Dwyer disagreed by saying that Erik Cole interfered with Dustin Byfuglien at the top of the crease, and while it won't make the fans any happier it was absolutely the correct call. Cole knocked over Byfuglien, who was nowhere near the puck, and shoved him into the net. That's textbook interference, even if it isn't called all that often.
7:57 2nd: Thrashers make it 3-2; Bergfors 9 (Ladd, Enstrom) (pp) And, predictably, the Thrashers make it 3-2 instead of being down 4-1 on the ensuing power play. Niclas Bergfors wired a high wrister from the far circle that Peters had little chance of stopping. The boos rained down from the paying customers after the goal, to the surprise of no one.
13:50 2nd: More shocking news: every potential call in the Canes' favor that isn't called is met with some anger by the crowd, and apparently by Jeff Skinner as well. After Rich Peverley cross-checked Skinner in the slot with no call, Skinner took his aggression out on Zach Bogosian with a surprisingly solid body-check into the boards in the far corner.
End 2nd: The Canes will begin the third period on a power play after Tobias Enstrom hauled down Erik Cole late in the period. Another solid period for both teams, with the Thrashers outshooting the Canes 12-10 in the period to take a 20-19 overall lead.
6:00 3rd: After the sometimes frenetic pace fo the first two periods, the game has really settled down to start the 3rd. The Canes could get nothing going on their early power play and neither team has had a chance to get anything established in their offensive zone. That's a trade the Canes will gladly take.
7:59 3rd: A wild play in front of Pavelec, with no fewer than seven players crashing the crease and Jeff Skinner doing his best to shovel the puck home, with no luck. Given the circumstances, I'm rather surprised it didn't find its way in, because the guys in the crease looked like bowling pins trying to knock each other over.
10:42 3rd: Thrashers tie it at 3; Little 12 (Stewart, Enstrom) That Cole interference penalty is looming rather large right now, as Bryan Little sneaked behind the defense and roofed a wrister from the near circle to tie the game on his second of the day. Nice move by Little, not so nice by the Canes' defense which couldn't keep up with Little's speed through the neutral zone.
14:15 3rd: Things have started to heat up a bit again. Erik Cole drove the net and knocked Pavelec over, earning a no-call that had Thrashers radio man Dan Kamal in the booth behind us completely apoplectic, and for good reason. The Canes couldn't take advantage of the good fortune, even though Pavelec had lost his stick in the play and couldn't cover the puck using only his pads. A copule of great plays by Ron Hainsey bailed Pavelec out.
16:10 3rd: After the puck jumped Dustin Byfuglien's stick at the blue line, Zach Boychuck led out of the zone on a 2-on-1 but his attempted pass was thwarted by a perfect defensive play from Tobias Enstrom.
End 3rd: The Canes were able to kill off a Chad LaRose tripping penalty with three minutes left and had some great chances off a faceoff in the Thrashers' zone with 20 seconds left, but Pavelec stood tall and earned the Thrashers a point in the standings.
2:08 OT: Canes win 4-3; Cole 11 (White, Staal) And in a bit of poetic justice, the man who was denied a goal earlier in the game gets the game-winner in overtime. Erik Cole certainly felt vindicated, as he was literally screaming at referee Gord Dwyer in a "How do you like me now?" combination of anger, exhiliration and swagger before being mobbed by his teammates. Something tells me Dwyer was less than pleased with the outburst, but considering the game was over, what was he to do?
After the game, it was obvious that both Cole and Paul Maurice felt that Cole's waved-off goal should have counted, and Cole got another verbal swipe in at the officials when talking to the media. That said, this was a big win for a team that could have easily crumpled up and pouted when denied a goal. Instead, they've taken a point from every game in the last seven, and have pulled to within three points of 8th-place Montreal, with a game in hand.
Back at it when Anton Babchuk returns to Raleigh with the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night to face the Canes for the only time this season...
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Yes, it's been a while since we did a live blog. It's been a long couple of weeks, to be sure, and in the meantime we missed some rather entertaining tilts. The Canes enter today's game after beating the Florida Panthers in Sunrise for the second time this season, both games involving comebacks from two-goal deficits.
After having good luck with injuries for the first part of the season, the Canes have hit a bit of a rough patch. Joni Pitkanen returns to the lineup this afternoon after a lower-body injury and the birth of his son yesterday, but Jussi Jokinen remains on the shelf with a lower-body concern of his own, joined today by Cam Ward who suffered a lower-body injury on Wednesday in New York. Ward will serve as the backup this afternoon, meaning Justin Peters will get a chance to win a game against a team not named the Florida Panthers for the first time this season; he's 2-0 against the Panthers and 0-4-1 against everyone else.
The Thrashers have surprised this season and currently sit in a playoff position, following the lead of their young core, including captain and former Hurricane Andrew Ladd. Goalie Ondrej Pavelec has been sensational more often than not, so the Canes will have some work to do if they want to leave today's game with a win. That said, the Thrashers were destroyed 9-3 on Friday night against Toronto, so they'll have retribution on their mind this afternoon and the Canes need to be ready for the onslaught, if and when it comes along.
Will it be an afternoon delight for the Canes? We're about to find out...
:55 1st: The first thing you notice about the Thrashers is that they crash the net with reckless abandon, and Justin Peters is going to have to be on his guard all day. However, the Canes were the beneficiary of some too-anxious forechecking by Chris Thorburn, who earned a tripping penalty for knocking down Brandon Sutter at the top of the Carolina crease.
1:20 1st: Canes lead 1-0; Ruutu 10 (Corvo) (pp) Twenty-five seconds later, the power play cashes in on a great individual play by Joe Corvo. He took the puck behind the Carolina net and went coast-to-coast, undressing the Atlanta defense at the blue line and earning a 2-on-0 down low that Tuomo Ruutu converted on a nice drop pass. It's the Canes' first power-play goal in three games.
7:13 1st: The goal notwithstanding, the Thrashers have really asserted play early in the game. They're getting two men in on the forecheck every time the puck enters the Carolina zone, and it looks like they're really targeting Joe Corvo to knock him off of his game. So far the Canes have responded, and if they can stem the tide it will be tough for the Thrashers to keep this level of intensity through the entirety of the game.
11:38 1st: For some reason, the Canes tend to earn quite a few gifts from opposing goaltenders in their division. This time, Pavelec handed the puck straight to Eric Staal at the top of the far circle, but the puck was on Staal's backhand and by the time he wheeled around to shoot Pavelec scrambled back to kick the puck out.
11:46 1st: Thrashers tie it at 1; Little 11 (Antropov, Enstrom) (pp) And like clockwork the Canes' missed chance bites them. Justin Peters lost his balance and fell down while trying to play a wraparound, and Bryan Little easily deposited the loose change on the power play to tie it at 1.
End 1st: A late-period power play for the Canes didn't bear any fruit, and the teams head to the locker rooms tied at 1. Shots were 9-8 Canes, appropriate for a very evenly-played and entertaining period.
2:00 2nd: The Thrashers have gotten much better in front of their own net since last year, evidenced by Nik Antropov (who, in the past, has been anything but a defensive specialist) successfully tying up Ruutu's stick as Ruutu tried to convert a one-time pass from Chad LaRose behind the net. Pavelec has been good, but he's been helped significantly by solid defensive play.
3:57 2nd: Canes lead 2-1; Dalpe 3 (Dwyer, Ruutu) Goals don't get much prettier than that, even for guys who have played in the league for years and aren't in their first week of regular NHL duty. Zac Dalpe came flying through the zone and crashed the net just in time for Patrick Dwyer to find him on a perfect pass that Dalpe had to tip out of midair and over Pavelec's shoulder to put the Canes back in front.
5:33 2nd: Canes lead 3-1; Skinner 14 (Corvo, McBain) (pp) The Canes got a break on a badly overplayed puck by Pavelec on a power play, and when he kicked the puck out it went right to Jeff Skinner, who fired a rocket slapper that Pavelec actually got a glove on but it wasn't nearly enough to stop it from hitting the top corner.
6:59 2nd: Most of the folks in the building thought Eric Staal had made it 4-1, but referee Gord Dwyer disagreed by saying that Erik Cole interfered with Dustin Byfuglien at the top of the crease, and while it won't make the fans any happier it was absolutely the correct call. Cole knocked over Byfuglien, who was nowhere near the puck, and shoved him into the net. That's textbook interference, even if it isn't called all that often.
7:57 2nd: Thrashers make it 3-2; Bergfors 9 (Ladd, Enstrom) (pp) And, predictably, the Thrashers make it 3-2 instead of being down 4-1 on the ensuing power play. Niclas Bergfors wired a high wrister from the far circle that Peters had little chance of stopping. The boos rained down from the paying customers after the goal, to the surprise of no one.
13:50 2nd: More shocking news: every potential call in the Canes' favor that isn't called is met with some anger by the crowd, and apparently by Jeff Skinner as well. After Rich Peverley cross-checked Skinner in the slot with no call, Skinner took his aggression out on Zach Bogosian with a surprisingly solid body-check into the boards in the far corner.
End 2nd: The Canes will begin the third period on a power play after Tobias Enstrom hauled down Erik Cole late in the period. Another solid period for both teams, with the Thrashers outshooting the Canes 12-10 in the period to take a 20-19 overall lead.
6:00 3rd: After the sometimes frenetic pace fo the first two periods, the game has really settled down to start the 3rd. The Canes could get nothing going on their early power play and neither team has had a chance to get anything established in their offensive zone. That's a trade the Canes will gladly take.
7:59 3rd: A wild play in front of Pavelec, with no fewer than seven players crashing the crease and Jeff Skinner doing his best to shovel the puck home, with no luck. Given the circumstances, I'm rather surprised it didn't find its way in, because the guys in the crease looked like bowling pins trying to knock each other over.
10:42 3rd: Thrashers tie it at 3; Little 12 (Stewart, Enstrom) That Cole interference penalty is looming rather large right now, as Bryan Little sneaked behind the defense and roofed a wrister from the near circle to tie the game on his second of the day. Nice move by Little, not so nice by the Canes' defense which couldn't keep up with Little's speed through the neutral zone.
14:15 3rd: Things have started to heat up a bit again. Erik Cole drove the net and knocked Pavelec over, earning a no-call that had Thrashers radio man Dan Kamal in the booth behind us completely apoplectic, and for good reason. The Canes couldn't take advantage of the good fortune, even though Pavelec had lost his stick in the play and couldn't cover the puck using only his pads. A copule of great plays by Ron Hainsey bailed Pavelec out.
16:10 3rd: After the puck jumped Dustin Byfuglien's stick at the blue line, Zach Boychuck led out of the zone on a 2-on-1 but his attempted pass was thwarted by a perfect defensive play from Tobias Enstrom.
End 3rd: The Canes were able to kill off a Chad LaRose tripping penalty with three minutes left and had some great chances off a faceoff in the Thrashers' zone with 20 seconds left, but Pavelec stood tall and earned the Thrashers a point in the standings.
2:08 OT: Canes win 4-3; Cole 11 (White, Staal) And in a bit of poetic justice, the man who was denied a goal earlier in the game gets the game-winner in overtime. Erik Cole certainly felt vindicated, as he was literally screaming at referee Gord Dwyer in a "How do you like me now?" combination of anger, exhiliration and swagger before being mobbed by his teammates. Something tells me Dwyer was less than pleased with the outburst, but considering the game was over, what was he to do?
After the game, it was obvious that both Cole and Paul Maurice felt that Cole's waved-off goal should have counted, and Cole got another verbal swipe in at the officials when talking to the media. That said, this was a big win for a team that could have easily crumpled up and pouted when denied a goal. Instead, they've taken a point from every game in the last seven, and have pulled to within three points of 8th-place Montreal, with a game in hand.
Back at it when Anton Babchuk returns to Raleigh with the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night to face the Canes for the only time this season...
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Game 33: Canadiens 3, Hurricanes 2
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
The Canes had their season-high four-game winning streak ended in dramatic fashion Monday night when the Tampa Bay Lightning took the Canes behind the woodshed, winning 5-1 in a game that wasn't even that close. What better way to start another streak than against a team the Canes have largely owned in recent history?
Only one problem: that team, the Montreal Canadiens, enter tonight's game on a five-game losing streak and the last time they played the Canes they beat them 7-2 on their home ice at the Bell Centre. Needless to say, the Habs will be rather inspired to make sure the streak ends tonight, especially given how the first game of the season between these two teams played out.
The Canes welcome Cam Ward back to the net tonight, following a rather strange absence in Tampa on Monday when he was scratched with an infection on his forehead that Paul Maurice insisted wasn't a rash. Well...OK then. Otherwise, the lines and defensive pairings will remain the same as they were on Monday. The Habs counter with Carey Price, who was well on his way to being run out of town in the preseason before he suddenly turned into the Second Coming when the season started. If you need proof, go look up the save he made on Chad LaRose the last time these two teams met.
Only one of these two teams will enter the two-day Christmas break with a win, and the other will extend a losing streak, and we're only a couple of hours away from finding out which is which...
2:05 1st: Early, it's been all Habs, with two straight shifts deep in the Canes zone and a near-goal that was tipped in front of the net by Brian Gionta after the Canes twice failed to clear the puck out of the zone. Sure looks like Montreal has more jump in the early going.
3:02 1st: What would have been the Canes' first good scoring chance of the night is nullified when Erik Cole gets a little too much in the giving mood and drops the puck off to Jeff Skinner, putting himself offside in the process. That's the definition of a frustrating play.
5:58 1st: Hal Gill, who admittedly is about a foot taller than Tuomo Ruutu, catches Ruutu with a forearm shiver to Ruutu's head with no call. What's more disappointing to see from the Canes' perspective, though, is that no one on the ice immediately dropped the gloves and stood up for Ruutu. Yes, there was a scrum, but it was more a Kumbaya meeting than the Canes trying to retaliate.
13:05 1st: The Habs have been buzzing all around the Canes' net most of the night, and Cam Ward's had his plate full in this period being forced to make some really tricky saves. Andrei Kostitsyn nearly took advantage of a Ward rebound, redirecting the puck from his hand to his stick and firing a shot from point-blank that Ward just barely got over to kick out.
16:35 1st: Cole did the right thing that time, skating around behind the net then centering to the top of the far circle where...um, no one was. The puck bounced harmlessly out of the zone, negating a 3-on-2. Been the story of the Canes' lives so far.
End 1st: The Canes have weathered a tough Canadiens storm in the first period, thanks mostly to solid play by Cam Ward. But needless to say, they'll need to play significantly better if they want to keep things that way. Shots in the first period were 11-5 Canadiens, pretty indicative of how the first period went.
1:02 2nd: Canes lead 1-0; LaRose 7 (Carter) (sh) It took Chad LaRose shaving off his seemingly-permanent 5:00 shadow but, hey, whatever works, right? Ryan Carter made the play happen with some great work on Roman Hamrlik in the low slot, setting a pick on Hamrlik while simultaneously spinning around and centering to LaRose, who had no one near him and wristed a shot from the far circle that Price got a piece of, but it wasn't enough as it trickled past his pads and into the net.
4:19 2nd: Great hustle play by Cole, forcing a turnover at the red line then skating in with authority and forcing the Habs to deflect the shot into the netting behind Price. It didn't hurt that the Canes had Jeff Skinner coming down the slot as a decoy.
4:47 2nd: Habs tie it at 1; Gomez 5 (Hamrlik, Spacek) Didn't take long for the Habs to answer. A couple of nice tape-to-tape passes between Jaroslav Spacek and Roman Hamrlik ended up spring Scott Gomez on a partial breakaway as he split the Canes' defense at the blue line, then skated in and fired a quick snap shot that beat Ward through the five hole to tie the game and get the Habs their long-overdue first goal.
7:15 2nd: Should be 2-1 Habs after Mike Cammalleri took advantage of a great screen of Ward provided by two of his own teammates, but while the puck beat Ward it was about three inches too high and deflected off the crossbar and into the netting behind the Carolina goal.
13:12 2nd: The Habs are having no problems driving the net, and their enthusiasm cost them a goal. Max Pacioretty tipped the puck into the net, but he also bowled into the net himself and cost the Habs a goal by interfering with Cam Ward. No penalty was called, but the goal was waved off immediately.
15:17 2nd: Canes take a 2-1 lead; Cole 7 (Staal) It would be nice if it were unassisted, because all Staal did was win the faceoff. Cole did the rest, singlehandedly willing the puck to the net then sweeping home the rebound after Price failed to cover.
15:26 2nd: Not ten seconds later, Cole took a major boarding penalty for hitting Jaroslav Spacek from behind in front of the Montreal bench. It was the best of times...
16:57 2nd: Habs tie it at 2; Kostitsyn 10 (Plekanec, Cammalleri) (pp) ...and the Canes paid for Cole's brain lapse. Andrei Kostitsyn was in perfect position just behind Joe Corvo at the top of the crease and tipped it home upstairs over Ward's blocker to tie it up, and the Habs remain on the power play.
19:00 2nd: Habs lead 3-2; Picard 3 (Gomez, Spacek) (pp) Two goals on the power play, this one assisted by the man who was boarded three minutes earlier and scored by a former Cane. Not much to describe here...great shot from the blue line beat Ward cleanly over the glove.
End 2nd: The Canes have :26 left to kill on the Cole penalty, and it wouldn't be far off the mark to say that Paul Maurice was rather displeased with both the penalty and his team's subsequent killing of said penalty. Shots in the period were 14-9 Canadiens, who led overall 25-14 in the game. The referees were serenaded with a chorus of boos on the way off the ice.
3:30 3rd: There has been a good number of fans and media (self included) wondering out loud why Zach Boychuk wasn't getting a shot with some offensively-gifted linemates. It wasn't by design, but Boychuk and Eric Staal found themselves on the ice at the same time during a line change and nearly created a goal. Not sayin', just sayin'.
4:50 3rd: Here's Joni Pitkanen's career in a nutshell: skate around the offensive zone in a circle, maintaining possession the entire time while circling behind the Habs' net, skate it back to the top of the crease, fire a shot that gets deflected, Habs shoot it out of harm's way. At this point, are you really surprised?
6:38 3rd: Huge save by Ward to keep it a one-goal game, doing a split to get his glove across to snare a Spacek shot from the point and keep it 3-2. He's certainly done his job tonight.
10:30 3rd: Canes are slowly turning the tide, with two great shifts in the Habs' zone ending with Lars Eller clearing the puck over the glass and earning a delay-of-game penalty. Not understating it to say this is a power play of consequence.
13:14 3rd: Nothing doing on the power play, thanks mostly to great play by the Habs in front of their own net. They were deflecting shots like crazy; only 2 shots made it through to Price the entire time even though the Canes spent most of the power play in the offensive zone.
End 3rd: Despite controlling play for long stretches of the third period, the Canes weren't able to get one past Price, the most egregious example being when Staal whiffed on an open net with 2:30 to go. A few seconds later, LaRose took a tripping penalty and the story was all but complete. Shots ended 10-4 Hurricanes in the third period as the Habs hunkered down into a shell, but Price had to come up big a few times and the Canes' own ineptitude burned them and kept them from tying the game late.
Postgame: Erik Cole certainly sounded like he wanted to take full responsibility for the loss, but as Paul Maurice said when discussing the penalty, "it was like arresting a telephone pole after a drunk driver hits it." In other words, it's a fair point to say that the Canes' coaching staff didn't exactly agree with the call.
Be that as it may, both Maurice and Eric Staal cited the Canes' penalty kill (or, tonight, the lack thereof) as the difference in the game, and Maurice made a point to say that the PK has gone downhill the last few games and needs to get back in gear. To say the least - the Sunday after Christmas brings the Washington Capitals to town for the second time this year, not to mention the associated road show with the HBO 24/7 special. Should be interesting, if nothing else.
Click for audio from Eric Staal and Erik Cole. Maurice's press conference is attached.
Back at it after the holiday and two days off (on which the Canes are forbidden from even practicing) when the Caps come to town on Sunday...
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
The Canes had their season-high four-game winning streak ended in dramatic fashion Monday night when the Tampa Bay Lightning took the Canes behind the woodshed, winning 5-1 in a game that wasn't even that close. What better way to start another streak than against a team the Canes have largely owned in recent history?
Only one problem: that team, the Montreal Canadiens, enter tonight's game on a five-game losing streak and the last time they played the Canes they beat them 7-2 on their home ice at the Bell Centre. Needless to say, the Habs will be rather inspired to make sure the streak ends tonight, especially given how the first game of the season between these two teams played out.
The Canes welcome Cam Ward back to the net tonight, following a rather strange absence in Tampa on Monday when he was scratched with an infection on his forehead that Paul Maurice insisted wasn't a rash. Well...OK then. Otherwise, the lines and defensive pairings will remain the same as they were on Monday. The Habs counter with Carey Price, who was well on his way to being run out of town in the preseason before he suddenly turned into the Second Coming when the season started. If you need proof, go look up the save he made on Chad LaRose the last time these two teams met.
Only one of these two teams will enter the two-day Christmas break with a win, and the other will extend a losing streak, and we're only a couple of hours away from finding out which is which...
2:05 1st: Early, it's been all Habs, with two straight shifts deep in the Canes zone and a near-goal that was tipped in front of the net by Brian Gionta after the Canes twice failed to clear the puck out of the zone. Sure looks like Montreal has more jump in the early going.
3:02 1st: What would have been the Canes' first good scoring chance of the night is nullified when Erik Cole gets a little too much in the giving mood and drops the puck off to Jeff Skinner, putting himself offside in the process. That's the definition of a frustrating play.
5:58 1st: Hal Gill, who admittedly is about a foot taller than Tuomo Ruutu, catches Ruutu with a forearm shiver to Ruutu's head with no call. What's more disappointing to see from the Canes' perspective, though, is that no one on the ice immediately dropped the gloves and stood up for Ruutu. Yes, there was a scrum, but it was more a Kumbaya meeting than the Canes trying to retaliate.
13:05 1st: The Habs have been buzzing all around the Canes' net most of the night, and Cam Ward's had his plate full in this period being forced to make some really tricky saves. Andrei Kostitsyn nearly took advantage of a Ward rebound, redirecting the puck from his hand to his stick and firing a shot from point-blank that Ward just barely got over to kick out.
16:35 1st: Cole did the right thing that time, skating around behind the net then centering to the top of the far circle where...um, no one was. The puck bounced harmlessly out of the zone, negating a 3-on-2. Been the story of the Canes' lives so far.
End 1st: The Canes have weathered a tough Canadiens storm in the first period, thanks mostly to solid play by Cam Ward. But needless to say, they'll need to play significantly better if they want to keep things that way. Shots in the first period were 11-5 Canadiens, pretty indicative of how the first period went.
1:02 2nd: Canes lead 1-0; LaRose 7 (Carter) (sh) It took Chad LaRose shaving off his seemingly-permanent 5:00 shadow but, hey, whatever works, right? Ryan Carter made the play happen with some great work on Roman Hamrlik in the low slot, setting a pick on Hamrlik while simultaneously spinning around and centering to LaRose, who had no one near him and wristed a shot from the far circle that Price got a piece of, but it wasn't enough as it trickled past his pads and into the net.
4:19 2nd: Great hustle play by Cole, forcing a turnover at the red line then skating in with authority and forcing the Habs to deflect the shot into the netting behind Price. It didn't hurt that the Canes had Jeff Skinner coming down the slot as a decoy.
4:47 2nd: Habs tie it at 1; Gomez 5 (Hamrlik, Spacek) Didn't take long for the Habs to answer. A couple of nice tape-to-tape passes between Jaroslav Spacek and Roman Hamrlik ended up spring Scott Gomez on a partial breakaway as he split the Canes' defense at the blue line, then skated in and fired a quick snap shot that beat Ward through the five hole to tie the game and get the Habs their long-overdue first goal.
7:15 2nd: Should be 2-1 Habs after Mike Cammalleri took advantage of a great screen of Ward provided by two of his own teammates, but while the puck beat Ward it was about three inches too high and deflected off the crossbar and into the netting behind the Carolina goal.
13:12 2nd: The Habs are having no problems driving the net, and their enthusiasm cost them a goal. Max Pacioretty tipped the puck into the net, but he also bowled into the net himself and cost the Habs a goal by interfering with Cam Ward. No penalty was called, but the goal was waved off immediately.
15:17 2nd: Canes take a 2-1 lead; Cole 7 (Staal) It would be nice if it were unassisted, because all Staal did was win the faceoff. Cole did the rest, singlehandedly willing the puck to the net then sweeping home the rebound after Price failed to cover.
15:26 2nd: Not ten seconds later, Cole took a major boarding penalty for hitting Jaroslav Spacek from behind in front of the Montreal bench. It was the best of times...
16:57 2nd: Habs tie it at 2; Kostitsyn 10 (Plekanec, Cammalleri) (pp) ...and the Canes paid for Cole's brain lapse. Andrei Kostitsyn was in perfect position just behind Joe Corvo at the top of the crease and tipped it home upstairs over Ward's blocker to tie it up, and the Habs remain on the power play.
19:00 2nd: Habs lead 3-2; Picard 3 (Gomez, Spacek) (pp) Two goals on the power play, this one assisted by the man who was boarded three minutes earlier and scored by a former Cane. Not much to describe here...great shot from the blue line beat Ward cleanly over the glove.
End 2nd: The Canes have :26 left to kill on the Cole penalty, and it wouldn't be far off the mark to say that Paul Maurice was rather displeased with both the penalty and his team's subsequent killing of said penalty. Shots in the period were 14-9 Canadiens, who led overall 25-14 in the game. The referees were serenaded with a chorus of boos on the way off the ice.
3:30 3rd: There has been a good number of fans and media (self included) wondering out loud why Zach Boychuk wasn't getting a shot with some offensively-gifted linemates. It wasn't by design, but Boychuk and Eric Staal found themselves on the ice at the same time during a line change and nearly created a goal. Not sayin', just sayin'.
4:50 3rd: Here's Joni Pitkanen's career in a nutshell: skate around the offensive zone in a circle, maintaining possession the entire time while circling behind the Habs' net, skate it back to the top of the crease, fire a shot that gets deflected, Habs shoot it out of harm's way. At this point, are you really surprised?
6:38 3rd: Huge save by Ward to keep it a one-goal game, doing a split to get his glove across to snare a Spacek shot from the point and keep it 3-2. He's certainly done his job tonight.
10:30 3rd: Canes are slowly turning the tide, with two great shifts in the Habs' zone ending with Lars Eller clearing the puck over the glass and earning a delay-of-game penalty. Not understating it to say this is a power play of consequence.
13:14 3rd: Nothing doing on the power play, thanks mostly to great play by the Habs in front of their own net. They were deflecting shots like crazy; only 2 shots made it through to Price the entire time even though the Canes spent most of the power play in the offensive zone.
End 3rd: Despite controlling play for long stretches of the third period, the Canes weren't able to get one past Price, the most egregious example being when Staal whiffed on an open net with 2:30 to go. A few seconds later, LaRose took a tripping penalty and the story was all but complete. Shots ended 10-4 Hurricanes in the third period as the Habs hunkered down into a shell, but Price had to come up big a few times and the Canes' own ineptitude burned them and kept them from tying the game late.
Postgame: Erik Cole certainly sounded like he wanted to take full responsibility for the loss, but as Paul Maurice said when discussing the penalty, "it was like arresting a telephone pole after a drunk driver hits it." In other words, it's a fair point to say that the Canes' coaching staff didn't exactly agree with the call.
Be that as it may, both Maurice and Eric Staal cited the Canes' penalty kill (or, tonight, the lack thereof) as the difference in the game, and Maurice made a point to say that the PK has gone downhill the last few games and needs to get back in gear. To say the least - the Sunday after Christmas brings the Washington Capitals to town for the second time this year, not to mention the associated road show with the HBO 24/7 special. Should be interesting, if nothing else.
Click for audio from Eric Staal and Erik Cole. Maurice's press conference is attached.
Back at it after the holiday and two days off (on which the Canes are forbidden from even practicing) when the Caps come to town on Sunday...
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Game 31: Hurricanes 4, Ducks 2
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Two weeks ago, the Hurricanes left on their longest non-State Fair road trip of the season, a five game trip through cities where the Canes have historically not played very well. And although the trip went according to form in Nashville in the first game of the trip, the Canes earned points in their next four games and return home tonight on a three-game winning streak that few could have predicted when the team hit the road.
Tonight, the Canes come back to Raleigh and face the Anaheim Ducks, a familiar team to two of the newest members of the Hurricanes. Troy Bodie and Ryan Carter were acquired within a few days of each other by waiver claim and trade, respectively, and each has solidified the Canes' fourth line in their short stint with the team. They'll play tonight with Zach Boychuk, who makes his season debut after being one of the final cuts in training camp and subsequently setting the world on fire in the American Hockey League. Boychuk ranks second in the AHL in points, with 32 in 28 games with the Charlotte Checkers, and it looks like the early-season demotion has worked wonders for a guy who looks like he may be a long-term linemate of Eric Staal in the distant future. Boychuk replaces Jiri Tlusty, who is out for tonight's game with an upper-body injury courtesy of a Ben Eager charging penalty on Thursday night in Atlanta.
At the other end, the Ducks are surprisingly competitive this season, ranking one point behind division-leading Dallas in the Pacific Division. Most of their core that won a Stanley Cup in 2007 has moved on, but they still have the likes of Corey Perry, captain Ryan Getzlaf and the ageless Teemu Selanne playing alongside youngsters like Bobby Ryan and rookie Cam Fowler, who fell to #12 in the draft this past June but has played like he has something to prove after falling that low.
The Canes are riding a season-high winning streak entering tonight game; can they extend it to four after tonight? We're about to find out...
2:20 1st: And just like we planned it, the fourth line gets a great scoring chance on its first shift of the game. Boychuk skated into the slot from the far corner splitting the Ducks' defense and firing a quick snap shot on Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller, who was quick with a kick save.
2:39 1st: Ducks lead 1-0; Getzlaf 12 (Perry, Ryan) And just like that, down come the Ducks, forcing a turnover and taking the first lead of the night. A bad turnover in a clearing attempt up the far boards from Jay Harrison was intercepted with ease by Bobby Ryan, who fed Corey Perry in the far circle. Perry fired a shot that was stopped by Cam Ward, but Jamie McBain lost track of Ryan Getzlaf in the low slot and Getzlaf cleaned up the rebound easily, firing it through Ward's five-hole to give the Ducks the lead.
7:00 1st: It looks like the Canes have resolved to not feel sorry for themselves after the goal, and the top line of Eric Staal, Erik Cole and Jeff Skinner spent more than a minute of uninterrupted time in the Ducks' zone, culminating in a cross-checking penalty to Getzlaf to give the Canes the first power play of the night.
7:27 1st: Canes tie it at 1; Staal 14 (Jokinen, Pitkanen) (pp) And it doesn't take long for the Canes to make the Ducks pay for Getzlaf's penalty. Jussi Jokinen found Eric Staal all alone at the blue line, and in a monumental defensive lapse the Ducks completely lost track of him, giving him all sorts of space to come in and create a play. That's exactly what the Canes' captain did, beating Hiller with a shot that Hiller should have stopped; he looked up at the ceiling as soon as the puck went through him. No question that's one he wants back.
13:30 1st: The game has settled down a bit, with neither team getting much in the way of quality chances and the biggest hit for either team coming a few minutes ago when Todd Marchant wiped out and bowled over Cam Ward, drawing a response from the Canes.
16:45 1st: The Canes get away with one, as Cam Ward loses his stick to the near corner and isn't able to retrieve it, yet he still manages to kick out a Saku Koivu shot to keep the game tied A few seconds later, the Canes cleared the zone and Ward got his stick back.
17:30 1st: Less than a minute later, Ward absolutely robbed Perry on a deflection chance that had five-hole goal written all over it. He's had a great period, which is only about the fifteenth time that's been said this month.
19:34 1st: Canes lead 2-1; Staal 15 (McBain, Jokinen) (pp) Look out, here comes the Carolina power play, and Eric Staal has two in the first period to get the Canes to 2-for-2 with the man advantage. A shot from the blue line by Jamie McBain looked like a designed shot to miss the net, and it did its job, bouncing off the boards to the left of Hiller and right to Staal, who was untouched at the far post and tipped home the rebound past Hiller's outstretched left leg to give the Canes their first lead of the night.
End 1st: Shots in the first were tied at 11 apiece, and the Canes certainly looked to have the better play late in the period after a Pitkanen holding-the-stick penalty that they successfully killed. Good to see the Canes haven't fallen into the first-game-after-a-road-trip pit tonight.
1:41 2nd: Canes lead 3-1, Staal with a hat trick; Staal 16 (Cole, Skinner) A natural hat trick is a great way to come home after two weeks on the road, no? Eric Staal notched his twelfth career hat trick with a lucky bounce off the skate of Anaheim's Cam Fowler. A centering pass from Jeff Skinner behind the net bounced off Fowler and right to Erik Cole, who centered to Staal for his third of the evening and second straight from just outside the crease.
9:00 2nd: Since the Staal goal, the Ducks have calmed down and killed off a penalty while slowly tilting the ice toward Cam Ward, who's stood tall in net. Perry will be seeing Ward's glove in his dreams tonight after being robbed twice by the Carolina netminder.
11:35 2nd: Staal just about had a fourth, off a great Skinner centering pass with Staal camped out at his designated spot to the left of Hiller, but Cam Fowler broke up the pass as Staal one-timed some air instead of the puck.
16:10 2nd: Fowler's done a great job of getting his stick in passing lanes tonight. The third one I can remember in the game broke up a shorthanded 2-on-1, with Chad LaRose trying to find Ryan Carter 30 feet from the Anaheim goal but Fowler's deflection tipped the puck out of line and the Ducks came back the other way.
17:35 2nd: Another Ward denial of Perry. Ho hum.
18:30 2nd: Since giving up the first goal, one that he was not at fault in the least on, Ward has played out of his mind, stopping the next 23 Anaheim shots, some of them in highlight-reel fashion. Safe to say that two-goal game in Florida was a fluke now, no?
End 2nd: The Ducks did everything they could to score in that period, but if not for Staal there would be no question that Ward would be the first star. He's played great, keeping the Ducks at bay for the last 37-plus minutes. Shots in the second were 15-11 Ducks, who hold a 26-22 overall league.
3:35 3rd: Ward is absolutely on fire now. The Ducks had a 3-on-1 down low and Ward robbed Ryan Getzlaf with a kick save while Teemu Selanne was interfering with him, then a few seconds later snared a point shot from Paul Mara that looked like it might have changed direction in front of the net.
4:25 3rd: And another 2-on-1 for Carter and LaRose is broken up by Fowler. This time, the pass actually got through, but Carter had to elevate the puck to avoid Fowler's stick and LaRose couldn't bury the bouncing puck.
11:15 3rd: Staal's had a couple of chances for his fourth of the night, and it took a stop by Hiller in Ward-ian fashion to deny Staal off a great centering pass from Jeff Skinner, who's quietly had a very effective game despite only tallying one assist tonight.
13:22 3rd: And just like that, Skinner nearly scores on a weird knuckling puck that bounced off both Staal's stick and Skinner's glove en route to Hiller making a really challenging save. The way things have gone tonight, it wouldn't have been surprising at all to see it go in.
17:29 3rd: Three penalties for the Canes in thirty seconds: Corvo for roughing, Sutter for closing his hand on the puck, and Staal for high sticking. The Canes' bench is apoplectic.
18:12 3rd: Ducks cash in: Getzlaf 13 (Visnovsky, Perry) (pp) The 5-on-3 remains so, as Ryan Getzlaf scores on a shot from the blue line that Ward was screened on with a few seconds left in the Corvo penalty.
18:55 3rd: Ward with an incredible save on Saku Koivu from point-blank. Words can't describe what a save that was. Simply incredible.
End 3rd: Joe Corvo iced it with an empty-net goal with 4.7 seconds left, and immediately was sucker-punched by Corey Perry, sparking what almost turned into a line brawl while the Canes bench was celebrating the goal, with Brandon Sutter of all people getting in a few haymakers on Perry before they were separated. Needless to say, if these two teams saw each other more than once per year there would be some fireworks. Shots in the third were 19-10 Ducks, meaning Ward earned his second straight win with more than 40 saves, the first time a Canes goalie has done that since Sean Burke in December of 1997, months after the team moved to North Carolina.
Postgame: Paul Maurice was on a roll tonight, answering questions about Corvo's penalty, the 6-on-3 kill late in the game and Ward's performance with a wry smile indicating that he was quite pleased with most of the team's game tonight. And with good reason: the team is on a roll now, with their first four-game winning streak of the season and a goaltender playing as well as any goalie in the NHL at the moment. Often, these first games back after a long road trip can be devoid of much excitement, but that was far from the case tonight.
Click for locker room audio from Eric Staal and Cam Ward. Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes now head to Tampa for a Monday date with the Lightning, then they're back here for a faceoff with Montreal next Thursday. We'll be back here then, and hope you'll join us as well.
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
Two weeks ago, the Hurricanes left on their longest non-State Fair road trip of the season, a five game trip through cities where the Canes have historically not played very well. And although the trip went according to form in Nashville in the first game of the trip, the Canes earned points in their next four games and return home tonight on a three-game winning streak that few could have predicted when the team hit the road.
Tonight, the Canes come back to Raleigh and face the Anaheim Ducks, a familiar team to two of the newest members of the Hurricanes. Troy Bodie and Ryan Carter were acquired within a few days of each other by waiver claim and trade, respectively, and each has solidified the Canes' fourth line in their short stint with the team. They'll play tonight with Zach Boychuk, who makes his season debut after being one of the final cuts in training camp and subsequently setting the world on fire in the American Hockey League. Boychuk ranks second in the AHL in points, with 32 in 28 games with the Charlotte Checkers, and it looks like the early-season demotion has worked wonders for a guy who looks like he may be a long-term linemate of Eric Staal in the distant future. Boychuk replaces Jiri Tlusty, who is out for tonight's game with an upper-body injury courtesy of a Ben Eager charging penalty on Thursday night in Atlanta.
At the other end, the Ducks are surprisingly competitive this season, ranking one point behind division-leading Dallas in the Pacific Division. Most of their core that won a Stanley Cup in 2007 has moved on, but they still have the likes of Corey Perry, captain Ryan Getzlaf and the ageless Teemu Selanne playing alongside youngsters like Bobby Ryan and rookie Cam Fowler, who fell to #12 in the draft this past June but has played like he has something to prove after falling that low.
The Canes are riding a season-high winning streak entering tonight game; can they extend it to four after tonight? We're about to find out...
2:20 1st: And just like we planned it, the fourth line gets a great scoring chance on its first shift of the game. Boychuk skated into the slot from the far corner splitting the Ducks' defense and firing a quick snap shot on Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller, who was quick with a kick save.
2:39 1st: Ducks lead 1-0; Getzlaf 12 (Perry, Ryan) And just like that, down come the Ducks, forcing a turnover and taking the first lead of the night. A bad turnover in a clearing attempt up the far boards from Jay Harrison was intercepted with ease by Bobby Ryan, who fed Corey Perry in the far circle. Perry fired a shot that was stopped by Cam Ward, but Jamie McBain lost track of Ryan Getzlaf in the low slot and Getzlaf cleaned up the rebound easily, firing it through Ward's five-hole to give the Ducks the lead.
7:00 1st: It looks like the Canes have resolved to not feel sorry for themselves after the goal, and the top line of Eric Staal, Erik Cole and Jeff Skinner spent more than a minute of uninterrupted time in the Ducks' zone, culminating in a cross-checking penalty to Getzlaf to give the Canes the first power play of the night.
7:27 1st: Canes tie it at 1; Staal 14 (Jokinen, Pitkanen) (pp) And it doesn't take long for the Canes to make the Ducks pay for Getzlaf's penalty. Jussi Jokinen found Eric Staal all alone at the blue line, and in a monumental defensive lapse the Ducks completely lost track of him, giving him all sorts of space to come in and create a play. That's exactly what the Canes' captain did, beating Hiller with a shot that Hiller should have stopped; he looked up at the ceiling as soon as the puck went through him. No question that's one he wants back.
13:30 1st: The game has settled down a bit, with neither team getting much in the way of quality chances and the biggest hit for either team coming a few minutes ago when Todd Marchant wiped out and bowled over Cam Ward, drawing a response from the Canes.
16:45 1st: The Canes get away with one, as Cam Ward loses his stick to the near corner and isn't able to retrieve it, yet he still manages to kick out a Saku Koivu shot to keep the game tied A few seconds later, the Canes cleared the zone and Ward got his stick back.
17:30 1st: Less than a minute later, Ward absolutely robbed Perry on a deflection chance that had five-hole goal written all over it. He's had a great period, which is only about the fifteenth time that's been said this month.
19:34 1st: Canes lead 2-1; Staal 15 (McBain, Jokinen) (pp) Look out, here comes the Carolina power play, and Eric Staal has two in the first period to get the Canes to 2-for-2 with the man advantage. A shot from the blue line by Jamie McBain looked like a designed shot to miss the net, and it did its job, bouncing off the boards to the left of Hiller and right to Staal, who was untouched at the far post and tipped home the rebound past Hiller's outstretched left leg to give the Canes their first lead of the night.
End 1st: Shots in the first were tied at 11 apiece, and the Canes certainly looked to have the better play late in the period after a Pitkanen holding-the-stick penalty that they successfully killed. Good to see the Canes haven't fallen into the first-game-after-a-road-trip pit tonight.
1:41 2nd: Canes lead 3-1, Staal with a hat trick; Staal 16 (Cole, Skinner) A natural hat trick is a great way to come home after two weeks on the road, no? Eric Staal notched his twelfth career hat trick with a lucky bounce off the skate of Anaheim's Cam Fowler. A centering pass from Jeff Skinner behind the net bounced off Fowler and right to Erik Cole, who centered to Staal for his third of the evening and second straight from just outside the crease.
9:00 2nd: Since the Staal goal, the Ducks have calmed down and killed off a penalty while slowly tilting the ice toward Cam Ward, who's stood tall in net. Perry will be seeing Ward's glove in his dreams tonight after being robbed twice by the Carolina netminder.
11:35 2nd: Staal just about had a fourth, off a great Skinner centering pass with Staal camped out at his designated spot to the left of Hiller, but Cam Fowler broke up the pass as Staal one-timed some air instead of the puck.
16:10 2nd: Fowler's done a great job of getting his stick in passing lanes tonight. The third one I can remember in the game broke up a shorthanded 2-on-1, with Chad LaRose trying to find Ryan Carter 30 feet from the Anaheim goal but Fowler's deflection tipped the puck out of line and the Ducks came back the other way.
17:35 2nd: Another Ward denial of Perry. Ho hum.
18:30 2nd: Since giving up the first goal, one that he was not at fault in the least on, Ward has played out of his mind, stopping the next 23 Anaheim shots, some of them in highlight-reel fashion. Safe to say that two-goal game in Florida was a fluke now, no?
End 2nd: The Ducks did everything they could to score in that period, but if not for Staal there would be no question that Ward would be the first star. He's played great, keeping the Ducks at bay for the last 37-plus minutes. Shots in the second were 15-11 Ducks, who hold a 26-22 overall league.
3:35 3rd: Ward is absolutely on fire now. The Ducks had a 3-on-1 down low and Ward robbed Ryan Getzlaf with a kick save while Teemu Selanne was interfering with him, then a few seconds later snared a point shot from Paul Mara that looked like it might have changed direction in front of the net.
4:25 3rd: And another 2-on-1 for Carter and LaRose is broken up by Fowler. This time, the pass actually got through, but Carter had to elevate the puck to avoid Fowler's stick and LaRose couldn't bury the bouncing puck.
11:15 3rd: Staal's had a couple of chances for his fourth of the night, and it took a stop by Hiller in Ward-ian fashion to deny Staal off a great centering pass from Jeff Skinner, who's quietly had a very effective game despite only tallying one assist tonight.
13:22 3rd: And just like that, Skinner nearly scores on a weird knuckling puck that bounced off both Staal's stick and Skinner's glove en route to Hiller making a really challenging save. The way things have gone tonight, it wouldn't have been surprising at all to see it go in.
17:29 3rd: Three penalties for the Canes in thirty seconds: Corvo for roughing, Sutter for closing his hand on the puck, and Staal for high sticking. The Canes' bench is apoplectic.
18:12 3rd: Ducks cash in: Getzlaf 13 (Visnovsky, Perry) (pp) The 5-on-3 remains so, as Ryan Getzlaf scores on a shot from the blue line that Ward was screened on with a few seconds left in the Corvo penalty.
18:55 3rd: Ward with an incredible save on Saku Koivu from point-blank. Words can't describe what a save that was. Simply incredible.
End 3rd: Joe Corvo iced it with an empty-net goal with 4.7 seconds left, and immediately was sucker-punched by Corey Perry, sparking what almost turned into a line brawl while the Canes bench was celebrating the goal, with Brandon Sutter of all people getting in a few haymakers on Perry before they were separated. Needless to say, if these two teams saw each other more than once per year there would be some fireworks. Shots in the third were 19-10 Ducks, meaning Ward earned his second straight win with more than 40 saves, the first time a Canes goalie has done that since Sean Burke in December of 1997, months after the team moved to North Carolina.
Postgame: Paul Maurice was on a roll tonight, answering questions about Corvo's penalty, the 6-on-3 kill late in the game and Ward's performance with a wry smile indicating that he was quite pleased with most of the team's game tonight. And with good reason: the team is on a roll now, with their first four-game winning streak of the season and a goaltender playing as well as any goalie in the NHL at the moment. Often, these first games back after a long road trip can be devoid of much excitement, but that was far from the case tonight.
Click for locker room audio from Eric Staal and Cam Ward. Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes now head to Tampa for a Monday date with the Lightning, then they're back here for a faceoff with Montreal next Thursday. We'll be back here then, and hope you'll join us as well.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Puck Drops Road Trip: Charlotte Checkers 5, Hershey Bears 3
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
When the Canes are in the midst of a two-week road trip and you're in the mood to check up on the Canes of the future, what do you do? Well, if you're the Puck Drops Mobile, you gas up and hit the road to Charlotte, which is where we come to you today as the Charlotte Checkers, the Canes' American Hockey League affiliate, face off against the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of Southeast Division rival Washington.
And it's largely a good time to visit. The Checkers were the hottest team in the AHL in November, and when they played Hershey on Friday night the Checkers lost in a shootout despite 48 saves from Justin Pogge. Since the AHL generally schedules two-game series for visiting teams, the Bears are looking for a sweep this afternoon.
The names you'll see in this afternoon's live blog will be somewhat familiar: Boychuk, Samson, Bowman, Borer, Pogge, and so forth. The Bears even have a former Hurricane of their own; one of their associate captains is Keith Aucoin, who spent three seasons in the Carolina system. The Checkers, of course, are also coached by a former Hurricane, retired forward and former assistant coach Jeff Daniels.
Never done an AHL live blog before, so apologies if it isn't what you expect. Honestly, I'm not sure what to expect either...
2:45 1st: It took a few minutes to get off the ground, as the Checkers spent most of the first minute on their heels in their own zone, but the fourth line of Brett Sutter, Riley Nash and Brad Herauf nearly scored with some great down-low pressure and a couple of huge hits behind the net.
3:31 1st: Checkers lead 1-0; Dalpe 11 (Boychuk, Micflikier) Well, if you were interested in seeing what Zach Boychuk and Zac Dalpe could do against lesser competition, a trip to Charlotte is in your best interests. The Bears' defense couldn't get back in time to keep Dalpe and Boychuk from creating a 2-on-1, and Dalpe converted with a perfectly placed one-timer off a Boychuk pass from the near circle.
6:32 1st: Should have been 2-0 if not for an amazing save by a Bears defenseman. Oskar Osala forced Bears goalie Braden Holtby to cough up the puck behind the net and centered to Riley Nash before Holtby could get back in the net, but Nash's bid at a wide-open net was denied by a last-gasp save from the Bears' Sean Collins to keep it a one-goal game.
8:47 1st: Checkers lead 3-0 after two goals in 13 seconds: Micflikier 12 (Boychuk, Dalpe) at 8:34, then Pistilli 1 (Matsumoto, Osala) at 8:47 The Bears are a good team, and the Checkers are just skating circles around them right now. First in line was a shot from Zach Boychuk that even fooled the guy with his hand on the goal horn trigger when the shot hit the post even though everyone in the building thought it was going in, but the puck bounced to Jacob Micflikier who roofed home the rebound to give the Checkers a 2-0 lead.
Then, thirteen seconds later, Matthew Pistilli scored his first AHL goal by cleaning up a broken play off a bad rebound from Holtby, who kicked the puck right to him. So far, so good if you're wearing red. Not so good for the guys in white, who called timeout after the Pistilli goal to calm the troops down.
12:47 1st: The Checkers really are bringing a mean forecheck today. They've already drawn two penalties from hard work deep in the Hershey zone, and they're really forcing Holtby to be back on his heels with good redirection bids and really crisp passing down low. Of course, a lot of that is on the Hershey defense, which is doing nothing to prevent those passes from connecting.
13:49 1st: Charlotte's lead cut to 3-1; Beagle 7 (Kane) (sh) And it looked similar to something we'd see the Hurricanes do: soft coverage in the defensive zone left goaltender Mike Murphy with no help. He made the first stop on Jay Beagle as Beagle and Boyd Kane gained the zone with speed, but he couldn't cover the rebound and Beagle roofed it over Murphy's glove.
End 1st: The Bears' timeout after the third Checkers goal came at a perfect time, as they played much more confidently toward the end of the period and they forced Murphy to make some big saves. The Checkers' defense, though, seems much more adaptable than the Bears, and they're doing a good job of getting their sticks in the passing lanes and denying the Bears open looks. Shots in the first period were 12-7 Checkers.
:45 2nd: Nice sequence by the Checkers defense, which kept the Bears off the board with a nice pressure deep in the zone. After Murphy made an initial save, the defense pushed Steve Pinizzotto off the puck just enough to prevent him from elevating the rebound over Murphy and into the net.
6:25 2nd: Jon Matsumoto nearly created a goal out of very literally nothing. He danced the puck around the Bears' Lawrence Nycholat, fired a shot high that Holtby batted down with his blocker, then nearly shoveled home the rebound. Great individual effort.
9:10 2nd: Great play by Zack FitzGerald to block a shot from the point and pool-cue the puck out of the Charlotte zone, but it should have never gotten to that point. The Bears are really flying right now and they've forced the Checkers to play catch-up for most of this period.
13:20 2nd: Pistilli nearly had his second, and he deserved it, undressing Nycholat (who, despite what you've read here today, is actually a pretty good player) for the second time in seven minutes and surprising Holtby with a quick snap shot from just outside the crease.
16:10 2nd: FitzGerald gets into fisticuffs for the second time, this time with a two-punch takedown of Bears captain Steve Pinizzotto behind the Checkers' net. He earned a double-minor for roughing.
17:19 2nd: Bears pull to 3-2; Souray 1 (Nycholat) (pp) And after Casey Borer took a slashing penalty that he vehemently disagreed with, the Bears made them pay on the 5-on-3 with a wicked one-timer from Sheldon Souray at the top of the far circle that beat Murphy cleanly to the blocker side.
End 2nd: You can tell that these teams are getting rather annoyed with each other after five period of hockey over the last three days. There's a lot of chippiness out there, and just about every whistle late in the period resulted in a scrum behind the net. Shots in the period were 14-9 Hershey, who had by far the better scoring chances from start to finish.
3:10 3rd: One thing I've really been impressed with seeing is how physical Zach Boychuk has attempted to play tonight. I say "attempted" because, well, he's not exactly the biggest guy in the world (188 pounds soaking wet) and both guys he's attempted to level with a big hit have stayed completely upright and Boychuk has bounced off both of them like he was rubber. Points for effort, though.
7:00 3rd: The intermission looks like it did some good for the Checkers, who have kept the Bears safely away from Murphy for the most part. Of course, as I type that, the Bears spend a full minute in the Charlotte zone with the Checkers unable to clear. Shows what I know.
9:12 3rd: No surprise given his past, but Jeff Daniels looks like he's been to the Paul Maurice School of Power Play Design for a few classes. All night, he's used Zac Dalpe at the left point on the power play, and it almost paid off as Dalpe skated in unmolested and nearly caught Holtby cheating off the near post.
10:09 3rd: I'm not sure how the officials missed this, but the Bears blatantly had too many men on the ice and it took every member of the Checkers screaming at the officials for the linesman to make the call. Rather inexcusable.
10:46 3rd: Two goals in less than a minute again - this time 20 seconds apart! Rodney 5 (Boychuk, Matsumoto) (pp) at 10:26, then Micflikier 13 (Dalpe, Boychuk) (pp) at 10:46 Now this isn't something you see every day. First, Bryan Rodney converted a beautiful pass from Boychuk (notice a trend developing here?) as the Checkers picked apart the Bears' 5-on-3 defense, then Micflikier took advantage of a horrible puck-handling miscue by Holtby and he had all day to get through the Bears defense and find the back of the empty net. Holtby was some kind of upset with himself, slamming his stick to the ice in frustration.
18:11 3rd: Sheldon Souray gets a hooking penalty behind the Bears' net, then the fun begins with two separate altercations, one of which ended up with three 10-minute misconducts being handed out, two to the Checkers (Michal Jordan and Brad Herouf) and one to the Bears.
18:28 3rd: Bears cut it to 5-3; Nycholat (unassisted) Probably doesn't matter at this point, but Nycholat got it back to within two goals.
End 3rd: Indeed, it didn't matter. The Checkers won 5-3, improving their record against the two-time defending champs to 3-1-1 on the season. Shots in the third were 9-8 Charlotte, who really tilted the ice beginning with the 5-on-3 halfway through the period.
Postgame: Not to say that the Canes' locker room isn't tight -- it's obvious that it is -- but the Checkers locker room seems especially tightly-knit and the guys down here really enjoy playing. It could easily be a room full of guys who are bitter over the fact that they're here and not in the NHL, but it doesn't seem that way at all. Much more laid-back and the guys are really happy to be here playing.
That said, I got a couple of double-takes from guys who have seen me in the Canes' locker room and wondered if I got lost on my way to the RBC Center, but it's all in good fun. Right now the Checkers are rolling, and everyone's happy to be a part of it, even guys like Boychuk and Dalpe who have NHL experience under their belt.
Click for audio from Boychuk, Dalpe and coach Jeff Daniels. We'll definitely be back in the future - this was really a lot of fun.
If not before, we're back to more normal NHL surroundings on Saturday when the Canes return from their five-game road trip to welcome the Anaheim Ducks to Raleigh.
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
When the Canes are in the midst of a two-week road trip and you're in the mood to check up on the Canes of the future, what do you do? Well, if you're the Puck Drops Mobile, you gas up and hit the road to Charlotte, which is where we come to you today as the Charlotte Checkers, the Canes' American Hockey League affiliate, face off against the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of Southeast Division rival Washington.
And it's largely a good time to visit. The Checkers were the hottest team in the AHL in November, and when they played Hershey on Friday night the Checkers lost in a shootout despite 48 saves from Justin Pogge. Since the AHL generally schedules two-game series for visiting teams, the Bears are looking for a sweep this afternoon.
The names you'll see in this afternoon's live blog will be somewhat familiar: Boychuk, Samson, Bowman, Borer, Pogge, and so forth. The Bears even have a former Hurricane of their own; one of their associate captains is Keith Aucoin, who spent three seasons in the Carolina system. The Checkers, of course, are also coached by a former Hurricane, retired forward and former assistant coach Jeff Daniels.
Never done an AHL live blog before, so apologies if it isn't what you expect. Honestly, I'm not sure what to expect either...
2:45 1st: It took a few minutes to get off the ground, as the Checkers spent most of the first minute on their heels in their own zone, but the fourth line of Brett Sutter, Riley Nash and Brad Herauf nearly scored with some great down-low pressure and a couple of huge hits behind the net.
3:31 1st: Checkers lead 1-0; Dalpe 11 (Boychuk, Micflikier) Well, if you were interested in seeing what Zach Boychuk and Zac Dalpe could do against lesser competition, a trip to Charlotte is in your best interests. The Bears' defense couldn't get back in time to keep Dalpe and Boychuk from creating a 2-on-1, and Dalpe converted with a perfectly placed one-timer off a Boychuk pass from the near circle.
6:32 1st: Should have been 2-0 if not for an amazing save by a Bears defenseman. Oskar Osala forced Bears goalie Braden Holtby to cough up the puck behind the net and centered to Riley Nash before Holtby could get back in the net, but Nash's bid at a wide-open net was denied by a last-gasp save from the Bears' Sean Collins to keep it a one-goal game.
8:47 1st: Checkers lead 3-0 after two goals in 13 seconds: Micflikier 12 (Boychuk, Dalpe) at 8:34, then Pistilli 1 (Matsumoto, Osala) at 8:47 The Bears are a good team, and the Checkers are just skating circles around them right now. First in line was a shot from Zach Boychuk that even fooled the guy with his hand on the goal horn trigger when the shot hit the post even though everyone in the building thought it was going in, but the puck bounced to Jacob Micflikier who roofed home the rebound to give the Checkers a 2-0 lead.
Then, thirteen seconds later, Matthew Pistilli scored his first AHL goal by cleaning up a broken play off a bad rebound from Holtby, who kicked the puck right to him. So far, so good if you're wearing red. Not so good for the guys in white, who called timeout after the Pistilli goal to calm the troops down.
12:47 1st: The Checkers really are bringing a mean forecheck today. They've already drawn two penalties from hard work deep in the Hershey zone, and they're really forcing Holtby to be back on his heels with good redirection bids and really crisp passing down low. Of course, a lot of that is on the Hershey defense, which is doing nothing to prevent those passes from connecting.
13:49 1st: Charlotte's lead cut to 3-1; Beagle 7 (Kane) (sh) And it looked similar to something we'd see the Hurricanes do: soft coverage in the defensive zone left goaltender Mike Murphy with no help. He made the first stop on Jay Beagle as Beagle and Boyd Kane gained the zone with speed, but he couldn't cover the rebound and Beagle roofed it over Murphy's glove.
End 1st: The Bears' timeout after the third Checkers goal came at a perfect time, as they played much more confidently toward the end of the period and they forced Murphy to make some big saves. The Checkers' defense, though, seems much more adaptable than the Bears, and they're doing a good job of getting their sticks in the passing lanes and denying the Bears open looks. Shots in the first period were 12-7 Checkers.
:45 2nd: Nice sequence by the Checkers defense, which kept the Bears off the board with a nice pressure deep in the zone. After Murphy made an initial save, the defense pushed Steve Pinizzotto off the puck just enough to prevent him from elevating the rebound over Murphy and into the net.
6:25 2nd: Jon Matsumoto nearly created a goal out of very literally nothing. He danced the puck around the Bears' Lawrence Nycholat, fired a shot high that Holtby batted down with his blocker, then nearly shoveled home the rebound. Great individual effort.
9:10 2nd: Great play by Zack FitzGerald to block a shot from the point and pool-cue the puck out of the Charlotte zone, but it should have never gotten to that point. The Bears are really flying right now and they've forced the Checkers to play catch-up for most of this period.
13:20 2nd: Pistilli nearly had his second, and he deserved it, undressing Nycholat (who, despite what you've read here today, is actually a pretty good player) for the second time in seven minutes and surprising Holtby with a quick snap shot from just outside the crease.
16:10 2nd: FitzGerald gets into fisticuffs for the second time, this time with a two-punch takedown of Bears captain Steve Pinizzotto behind the Checkers' net. He earned a double-minor for roughing.
17:19 2nd: Bears pull to 3-2; Souray 1 (Nycholat) (pp) And after Casey Borer took a slashing penalty that he vehemently disagreed with, the Bears made them pay on the 5-on-3 with a wicked one-timer from Sheldon Souray at the top of the far circle that beat Murphy cleanly to the blocker side.
End 2nd: You can tell that these teams are getting rather annoyed with each other after five period of hockey over the last three days. There's a lot of chippiness out there, and just about every whistle late in the period resulted in a scrum behind the net. Shots in the period were 14-9 Hershey, who had by far the better scoring chances from start to finish.
3:10 3rd: One thing I've really been impressed with seeing is how physical Zach Boychuk has attempted to play tonight. I say "attempted" because, well, he's not exactly the biggest guy in the world (188 pounds soaking wet) and both guys he's attempted to level with a big hit have stayed completely upright and Boychuk has bounced off both of them like he was rubber. Points for effort, though.
7:00 3rd: The intermission looks like it did some good for the Checkers, who have kept the Bears safely away from Murphy for the most part. Of course, as I type that, the Bears spend a full minute in the Charlotte zone with the Checkers unable to clear. Shows what I know.
9:12 3rd: No surprise given his past, but Jeff Daniels looks like he's been to the Paul Maurice School of Power Play Design for a few classes. All night, he's used Zac Dalpe at the left point on the power play, and it almost paid off as Dalpe skated in unmolested and nearly caught Holtby cheating off the near post.
10:09 3rd: I'm not sure how the officials missed this, but the Bears blatantly had too many men on the ice and it took every member of the Checkers screaming at the officials for the linesman to make the call. Rather inexcusable.
10:46 3rd: Two goals in less than a minute again - this time 20 seconds apart! Rodney 5 (Boychuk, Matsumoto) (pp) at 10:26, then Micflikier 13 (Dalpe, Boychuk) (pp) at 10:46 Now this isn't something you see every day. First, Bryan Rodney converted a beautiful pass from Boychuk (notice a trend developing here?) as the Checkers picked apart the Bears' 5-on-3 defense, then Micflikier took advantage of a horrible puck-handling miscue by Holtby and he had all day to get through the Bears defense and find the back of the empty net. Holtby was some kind of upset with himself, slamming his stick to the ice in frustration.
18:11 3rd: Sheldon Souray gets a hooking penalty behind the Bears' net, then the fun begins with two separate altercations, one of which ended up with three 10-minute misconducts being handed out, two to the Checkers (Michal Jordan and Brad Herouf) and one to the Bears.
18:28 3rd: Bears cut it to 5-3; Nycholat (unassisted) Probably doesn't matter at this point, but Nycholat got it back to within two goals.
End 3rd: Indeed, it didn't matter. The Checkers won 5-3, improving their record against the two-time defending champs to 3-1-1 on the season. Shots in the third were 9-8 Charlotte, who really tilted the ice beginning with the 5-on-3 halfway through the period.
Postgame: Not to say that the Canes' locker room isn't tight -- it's obvious that it is -- but the Checkers locker room seems especially tightly-knit and the guys down here really enjoy playing. It could easily be a room full of guys who are bitter over the fact that they're here and not in the NHL, but it doesn't seem that way at all. Much more laid-back and the guys are really happy to be here playing.
That said, I got a couple of double-takes from guys who have seen me in the Canes' locker room and wondered if I got lost on my way to the RBC Center, but it's all in good fun. Right now the Checkers are rolling, and everyone's happy to be a part of it, even guys like Boychuk and Dalpe who have NHL experience under their belt.
Click for audio from Boychuk, Dalpe and coach Jeff Daniels. We'll definitely be back in the future - this was really a lot of fun.
If not before, we're back to more normal NHL surroundings on Saturday when the Canes return from their five-game road trip to welcome the Anaheim Ducks to Raleigh.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Game 25: Hurricanes 2, Avalanche 1 (OT)
By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
It's rare that the NHL schedule affords teams long layoffs in the middle of the season, but the Canes have just finished their first of three lengthy breaks in the month of December. After dropping back-to-back games against Washington and Dallas, the Canes had three days off before facing Colorado tonight. Then, after a quick flight to Nashville for a game tomorrow night, the team will return home and have a five-day layoff before visiting the Stars in Dallas next Friday. (Strangely, tonight's game is the second of five straight games against Western Conference opponents, out of a total of 18 cross-conference games.)
So, in other words, the schedule can't be an excuse anymore, and it's time for the Canes to show up.
Colorado comes to town having owned the Canes in this series since its inception, but at the RBC Center the Canes have won the last two games against the Avs. On Tuesday, the Avs made a minor deal, shipping defenseman Scott Hannan to Southeast Division rival Washington for enigmatic forward Tomas Fleischmann, who will make his Avalanche debut tonight in a building he knows well; he immediately becomes the player on the roster who has played the most games (27) against the Canes.
Will the Canes get their bearings back after a few tough days of practice and hit the road on a good note? We're about to find out...
1:03 1st: The Canes sure look like a team that had three days off. They've come out early and controlled the play, and nearly got a goal for their efforts when Jussi Jokinen caught Avs goaltender Craig Anderson cheating a bit off the post. Fortunately for Anderson, the puck trickled about three inches to his right and behind the goal.
5:55 1st: Yeah...never mind. The Avs are outshooting the Canes 10-0 right now. That is not a typo.
8:45 1st: Chad LaRose takes the Canes' first shot of the night, an easy glove save by Anderson, and a very loud Bronx cheer erupts from the paying customers. Well deserved, I might add.
14:05 1st: The Canes got the first power play of the night, off a holding-the-stick call to Paul Stastny, and proceeded to do nothing with it. Then on his way out of the box, Stastny was nearly sprung on a breakaway but Jamie McBain did a great job getting back to deny Stastny a clean shot on Cam Ward, who has been a bit busy in the opening frame so far.
18:05 1st: Late in the period and the Canes have started to come on a bit. Jeff Skinner just missed a wide-open one-timer on an open net, the first really good scoring chance the Canes have had all night.
19:39 1st: Samsonov with a nice redirection from five feet off a Staal shot that Anderson had to be on the ball to save. He's been holding the fort down in this recent Canes rush.
End 1st: A nice end to the period after a rather tepid start. The Canes had a couple of great chances in the final seconds but Anderson stood tall, even making a save after the buzzer on Ian White. Shots ended up 16-11 Avs, but all of those Canes shots came in the last ten minutes of the period.
:17 2nd: The Avs left their defense in the locker room to start the period, and Eric Staal should have put the Canes on the board. Clearly, he didn't, but not for a lack of effort - the puck rolled off his stick, just as he was going to backhand it past Anderson with no one anywhere near him.
6:05 2nd: The Canes are in penalty trouble, taking three straight penalties and it's a wonder that the game is still scoreless. On the second power play, Ward absolutely robbed Brandon Yip from point-blank range. No one up here is entirely sure how he got across to make the save. It may be the save of the night, regardless of the outcome of the game.
9:00 2nd: Erik Cole nearly broke the ice with Anderson down on the ice, but the shot went just a bit high and the Avs escaped danger. This about thirty seconds after the Canes somehow avoided having too many men on the ice when Tuomo Ruutu played the puck about half a second after the man he was replacing hit the bench.
11:05 2nd: It's notable that the Canes haven't scored yet, because the defensemen are pinching low just about every chance they get and it's to their credit that they haven't allowed a breakaway going back toward Ward. Joe Corvo in particular has been playing way off the blue line, and it's nearly paid off but the Canes need it to do so soon lest the Avs get an odd-man break out of an ill-advised pinch.
14:20 2nd: Another unreal sequence of stops from Anderson, this time stoning Patrick Dwyer and Jussi Jokinen back-to-back from five feet apiece. Any doubt the first goal wins this game?
15:45 2nd: Right on cue, Anderson stones Cole with a split to hug the left post when Cole got behind the defense in the low slot and wasn't able to elevate the puck. Still, an insane save by Anderson, who will be no worse than the second star tonight depending on the outcome.
End 2nd: We got to the end of the period and I honestly had no idea that it was imminent until we heard the buzzer sound. That was by far the best period I've seen all year, with some unbelievable chances at both ends and a goaltending clinic being put on by the two netminders. Shots in the period were 11-8 Canes, who cut their overall deficit to 24-22.
3:15 3rd: Not quite the pace that we saw in that breakneck 2nd period, but that might be for the best. A 3-on-2 coming back toward the Colorado end was inadvertently snuffed out by Patrick Dwyer, who did what he has always been taught to do -- go to the net -- and he took a Brandon Sutter pass on his backhand, which he couldn't do much with two feet outside the goal. If that puck gets through to Jussi Jokinen on the far side, though, it's a sure goal. Them's the breaks.
4:50 3rd: Canes, finally, lead 1-0! Skinner 8 (Ruutu) And what a goal it was. The way these goaltenders are playing, you knew it was going to take a highlight-reel goal to put a crooked number on the scoreboard, and Jeff Skinner delivered. Skinner maintained possession through two Avs defenders, took a give-and-go pass from Tuomo Ruutu behind the net, and roofed a backhand over Anderson's glove. Anderson did absolutely everything he could have done on that play, which is a testament to what a great play it was.
7:35 3rd: Great play by Ian White to break up an Avs 2-on-1 down low after a Canes turnover deep in their own zone. White deflected a Paul Stastny centering attempt to the far corner with the Canes scrambling to get back into position. Beautifully played.
12:21 3rd: Just as a Canes' power play expires, Greg Mauldin surprises Ward with a snap shot that Ward somehow stopped even though he had no idea the shot was coming.
12:51 3rd: Avs tie it at 1; Hejduk 9 (Shattenkirk) Hejduk made up for that head-scratching miss earlier by beating Ward cleanly with a 15-foot wrister. And like we thought might happen, an ill-advised Joe Corvo pinch sprung Hejduk with Kevin Shattenkirk up the ice and only Patrick Dwyer was back to defend the play. Everyone in the building saw that coming, and the only way it wasn't going in was if Hejduk missed the net again. (He didn't.)
18:15 3rd: Looks like both teams are playing for the point now. Not much intensity on either side, and understandably so.
End 3rd: We're headed to the extra frame. Shots in the third period were 11-6 Avs, who lead overall 35-28.
:30 OT: Staal nearly ends it off an accidental skate deflection off Kevin Shattenkirk that went about a foot wide of the Avalanche net. If that was on target, it was in; Anderson was nowhere near it.
1:16 OT: Canes win 2-1; Sutter 5 (Pitkanen, McBain) And Brandon Sutter did end it, with -- what else? -- a perfectly placed shot, high to the blocker side of Anderson along the far post, in the only spot he could have scored in. I know I'm given to hyperbole rather easily, but that was a spectacular game on both sides. The Canes had the only two shots of overtime, including the only one that mattered.
Postgame: Brandon Sutter and Jeff Skinner both described the game as a playoff atmosphere, some high praise given the fact it was a game against a Western Conference team full of players most fans don't recognize. And it sure sounded like one -- it was loud, it was raucous, and it was a heck of a well-played game. Just the type of game the Canes want to have when they hit the road for five straight games.
Full marks to the Avalanche, who made this game very difficult for the Canes to pull out and earned every bit of their point tonight. Anderson was outstanding all night, and in his first game back from injury it's easy to see why the Avs snuck into a playoff spot last year. It's a shame the teams don't meet again this year, because if they played another game like this the good people of Denver would get more than their money's worth.
Click for audio from Cam Ward, Brandon Sutter and Jeff Skinner. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes, as stated above, now head out for a five-game roadtrip beginning tomorrow in Nashville. However, with the way the schedule is set up, they'll be able to return home to practice before and after their back-to-back set in Dallas and St. Louis next Friday and Saturday. They finally return home two weeks from tomorrow, when the Anaheim Ducks are in town for the only time this year. Back at it then, or before if news breaks...
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
It's rare that the NHL schedule affords teams long layoffs in the middle of the season, but the Canes have just finished their first of three lengthy breaks in the month of December. After dropping back-to-back games against Washington and Dallas, the Canes had three days off before facing Colorado tonight. Then, after a quick flight to Nashville for a game tomorrow night, the team will return home and have a five-day layoff before visiting the Stars in Dallas next Friday. (Strangely, tonight's game is the second of five straight games against Western Conference opponents, out of a total of 18 cross-conference games.)
So, in other words, the schedule can't be an excuse anymore, and it's time for the Canes to show up.
Colorado comes to town having owned the Canes in this series since its inception, but at the RBC Center the Canes have won the last two games against the Avs. On Tuesday, the Avs made a minor deal, shipping defenseman Scott Hannan to Southeast Division rival Washington for enigmatic forward Tomas Fleischmann, who will make his Avalanche debut tonight in a building he knows well; he immediately becomes the player on the roster who has played the most games (27) against the Canes.
Will the Canes get their bearings back after a few tough days of practice and hit the road on a good note? We're about to find out...
1:03 1st: The Canes sure look like a team that had three days off. They've come out early and controlled the play, and nearly got a goal for their efforts when Jussi Jokinen caught Avs goaltender Craig Anderson cheating a bit off the post. Fortunately for Anderson, the puck trickled about three inches to his right and behind the goal.
5:55 1st: Yeah...never mind. The Avs are outshooting the Canes 10-0 right now. That is not a typo.
8:45 1st: Chad LaRose takes the Canes' first shot of the night, an easy glove save by Anderson, and a very loud Bronx cheer erupts from the paying customers. Well deserved, I might add.
14:05 1st: The Canes got the first power play of the night, off a holding-the-stick call to Paul Stastny, and proceeded to do nothing with it. Then on his way out of the box, Stastny was nearly sprung on a breakaway but Jamie McBain did a great job getting back to deny Stastny a clean shot on Cam Ward, who has been a bit busy in the opening frame so far.
18:05 1st: Late in the period and the Canes have started to come on a bit. Jeff Skinner just missed a wide-open one-timer on an open net, the first really good scoring chance the Canes have had all night.
19:39 1st: Samsonov with a nice redirection from five feet off a Staal shot that Anderson had to be on the ball to save. He's been holding the fort down in this recent Canes rush.
End 1st: A nice end to the period after a rather tepid start. The Canes had a couple of great chances in the final seconds but Anderson stood tall, even making a save after the buzzer on Ian White. Shots ended up 16-11 Avs, but all of those Canes shots came in the last ten minutes of the period.
:17 2nd: The Avs left their defense in the locker room to start the period, and Eric Staal should have put the Canes on the board. Clearly, he didn't, but not for a lack of effort - the puck rolled off his stick, just as he was going to backhand it past Anderson with no one anywhere near him.
6:05 2nd: The Canes are in penalty trouble, taking three straight penalties and it's a wonder that the game is still scoreless. On the second power play, Ward absolutely robbed Brandon Yip from point-blank range. No one up here is entirely sure how he got across to make the save. It may be the save of the night, regardless of the outcome of the game.
9:00 2nd: Erik Cole nearly broke the ice with Anderson down on the ice, but the shot went just a bit high and the Avs escaped danger. This about thirty seconds after the Canes somehow avoided having too many men on the ice when Tuomo Ruutu played the puck about half a second after the man he was replacing hit the bench.
11:05 2nd: It's notable that the Canes haven't scored yet, because the defensemen are pinching low just about every chance they get and it's to their credit that they haven't allowed a breakaway going back toward Ward. Joe Corvo in particular has been playing way off the blue line, and it's nearly paid off but the Canes need it to do so soon lest the Avs get an odd-man break out of an ill-advised pinch.
14:20 2nd: Another unreal sequence of stops from Anderson, this time stoning Patrick Dwyer and Jussi Jokinen back-to-back from five feet apiece. Any doubt the first goal wins this game?
15:45 2nd: Right on cue, Anderson stones Cole with a split to hug the left post when Cole got behind the defense in the low slot and wasn't able to elevate the puck. Still, an insane save by Anderson, who will be no worse than the second star tonight depending on the outcome.
End 2nd: We got to the end of the period and I honestly had no idea that it was imminent until we heard the buzzer sound. That was by far the best period I've seen all year, with some unbelievable chances at both ends and a goaltending clinic being put on by the two netminders. Shots in the period were 11-8 Canes, who cut their overall deficit to 24-22.
3:15 3rd: Not quite the pace that we saw in that breakneck 2nd period, but that might be for the best. A 3-on-2 coming back toward the Colorado end was inadvertently snuffed out by Patrick Dwyer, who did what he has always been taught to do -- go to the net -- and he took a Brandon Sutter pass on his backhand, which he couldn't do much with two feet outside the goal. If that puck gets through to Jussi Jokinen on the far side, though, it's a sure goal. Them's the breaks.
4:50 3rd: Canes, finally, lead 1-0! Skinner 8 (Ruutu) And what a goal it was. The way these goaltenders are playing, you knew it was going to take a highlight-reel goal to put a crooked number on the scoreboard, and Jeff Skinner delivered. Skinner maintained possession through two Avs defenders, took a give-and-go pass from Tuomo Ruutu behind the net, and roofed a backhand over Anderson's glove. Anderson did absolutely everything he could have done on that play, which is a testament to what a great play it was.
7:35 3rd: Great play by Ian White to break up an Avs 2-on-1 down low after a Canes turnover deep in their own zone. White deflected a Paul Stastny centering attempt to the far corner with the Canes scrambling to get back into position. Beautifully played.
12:21 3rd: Just as a Canes' power play expires, Greg Mauldin surprises Ward with a snap shot that Ward somehow stopped even though he had no idea the shot was coming.
12:51 3rd: Avs tie it at 1; Hejduk 9 (Shattenkirk) Hejduk made up for that head-scratching miss earlier by beating Ward cleanly with a 15-foot wrister. And like we thought might happen, an ill-advised Joe Corvo pinch sprung Hejduk with Kevin Shattenkirk up the ice and only Patrick Dwyer was back to defend the play. Everyone in the building saw that coming, and the only way it wasn't going in was if Hejduk missed the net again. (He didn't.)
18:15 3rd: Looks like both teams are playing for the point now. Not much intensity on either side, and understandably so.
End 3rd: We're headed to the extra frame. Shots in the third period were 11-6 Avs, who lead overall 35-28.
:30 OT: Staal nearly ends it off an accidental skate deflection off Kevin Shattenkirk that went about a foot wide of the Avalanche net. If that was on target, it was in; Anderson was nowhere near it.
1:16 OT: Canes win 2-1; Sutter 5 (Pitkanen, McBain) And Brandon Sutter did end it, with -- what else? -- a perfectly placed shot, high to the blocker side of Anderson along the far post, in the only spot he could have scored in. I know I'm given to hyperbole rather easily, but that was a spectacular game on both sides. The Canes had the only two shots of overtime, including the only one that mattered.
Postgame: Brandon Sutter and Jeff Skinner both described the game as a playoff atmosphere, some high praise given the fact it was a game against a Western Conference team full of players most fans don't recognize. And it sure sounded like one -- it was loud, it was raucous, and it was a heck of a well-played game. Just the type of game the Canes want to have when they hit the road for five straight games.
Full marks to the Avalanche, who made this game very difficult for the Canes to pull out and earned every bit of their point tonight. Anderson was outstanding all night, and in his first game back from injury it's easy to see why the Avs snuck into a playoff spot last year. It's a shame the teams don't meet again this year, because if they played another game like this the good people of Denver would get more than their money's worth.
Click for audio from Cam Ward, Brandon Sutter and Jeff Skinner. Paul Maurice's press conference is attached.
The Canes, as stated above, now head out for a five-game roadtrip beginning tomorrow in Nashville. However, with the way the schedule is set up, they'll be able to return home to practice before and after their back-to-back set in Dallas and St. Louis next Friday and Saturday. They finally return home two weeks from tomorrow, when the Anaheim Ducks are in town for the only time this year. Back at it then, or before if news breaks...
Monday, November 29, 2010
Game 24: Stars 4, Hurricanes 1
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)