About Me:
I guess it's easy to tell this blog is about the Carolina Hurricanes. A team that I have watched since before they arrived in Raleigh in 1999. A team that I have supported and had season tickets to their games since January 2000. A team that struggled in
About Me:
I guess it's easy to tell this blog is about the Carolina Hurricanes. A team that I have watched since before they arrived in Raleigh in 1999. A team that I have supported and had season tickets to their games since January 2000. A team that struggled in
About Me:
I guess it's easy to tell this blog is about the Carolina Hurricanes. A team that I have watched since before they arrived in Raleigh in 1999. A team that I have supported and had season tickets to their games since January 2000. A team that struggled in
Wednesday, January 2, 2008, 09:57 PM EST
[General]
The Canes were at home again tonight before their second smallest home audience of the season (13,506). After the disappointing loss to the Islanders on Monday, the Hurricanes were looking for a win and points to help with their goal of winning the Southeast Division. After a poor 6-9 showing in December, the Canes are 9-14 in their last 23 games and have won only one of their last four. The injury ridden Hurricanes added Wade Brookbank on Saturday and Casey Borer tonight from the Albany River Rats (AHL) to help with their defensive woes after losing Nic Wallin to a groin injury and Bret Hedican to a knee sprain. The Thrashers started this game after only winning one of their last four and being outscored 12-5 in those three loses. Of course, they have Ilya Kovalchuk who came into this game leading the Thrashers with 53 points that includes 32 goals and 21 assists. He alone is a force that had to be contained for the Canes to be successful. Johan Hedberg started in net for the Thrashers and for the most part played an exceptional game for Atlanta in the first two periods.
The Canes came out in the first period with their normal sluggish play, and of course, it didn't take Atlanta long to find the back of the net. Niclas Havelid took a shot from the slot on Cam Ward that resulted in a strong rebound. The puck bounced out to Vyacheslav Kozlov on the right who appeared to just shot it back to the net scoring and catching Cam Ward off guard at 3:06 in the first period. The Canes came back :39 later and scored as Tim Gleason shot the puck to the front of the net and Ray Whitney was able to tip it into the goal to tie the score at 3:45. Frank Kaberle got called for hooking at 10:36 in the first. While on the power play, Kovalchuk was able to take the puck coast-to-coast and skate by all five Canes players to score top shelf on Cam Ward at 12:26. That one took the wind out of the home team's sails for awhile.
The second period appeared to be another average period for the Canes. The crowd was as quiet in RBC Center for the second and the first part of the third period as I have ever seen. At 14:17 in the second period, Mark Recchi was able to score off of a faceoff on the right side of the net surprising Cam Ward.
The third period would prove to be quite interesting for both teams. Atlanta Defenseman Ken Klee was called for slashing at the 8:00 mark in the third. Ten seconds later Ray Whitney took a shot from the blue line and Eric Staal was able to tip it in by Atlanta Goaltender Hedberg. This was Carolina's first power play goal of the game on their sixth power play. At 9:29, Andrew Ladd went to the front of the Atlanta goal and was able to put in a rebound off of Hedberg to tie the game at 3-3. The Canes had another defensive zone breakdown allowing Kovalchuk to pick up the puck on the left side of the net and pass it to Bobby Holik who was stationed at the front of the Cane's net. Holik put it in the goal at 14:01 in the period. This one hurt a little since the Canes should have been able to move the puck out of their own zone, which is something they seem to struggle with regularly. Luckily, Bobby Holik got a slashing call at 14:39 in the period putting the Canes back on the power play. Erik Cole was able to score as four Canes players crashed the net at 15:29.
In overtime, Eric Staal and Scott Walker had chances in overtime to score even though both shots were stopped by Hedberg. Glen Wesley received a hooking call at 3:55 in the period putting the Thrashers on the power play. Kovalchuk was able to pick up the puck along the boards from Glen Wesley, at which time Wesley to hooked him and put Atlanta on the power play at 3:55 in the overtime period. This power play was quite controversial since Eric Staal was pulled down in front of the referee on the left side in the Canes' defensive zone seconds before Wesley was called for hooking. Once on the power play, Kovalchuk came in on the right and passed the puck to Marian Hossa on the left who scored the winning goal on Cam Ward from just outside the crease at 4:28 in overtime. The ref strikes again by failing to make a call at a critical time. If you are going to make calls at least be consistent. Eric Staal and Glen Wesley both had to be restrained by linesman after the game to keep them from getting to referees Francois St. Laurent and Brad Meier because Wesley was called for a penalty and Staal was without a doubt fouled and did not get a call putting the Canes on the power play before Atlanta. Kovalchuk either scored or had an assist on all but one of Atlanta's goals this evening. The Canes and Thrashers had two shots on goal each in the overtime period even though the Canes had 36 to Atlanta's 14 for the game.
There were still some problems for the Canes in this game. The defensive zone breakdowns continued to cause problems for the Hurricanes and caused goals to be scored against them again. The goaltending was average at best. Cam Ward gave up five goals on fourteen shots. Not good, even though some of those were caused by defensive breakdowns allowing players to camp out in front of the net or skate in untouched. Kovalchuk who is a powerful speed skater had a lot of space in which to work. The Canes have seen in the past that he has to be ridden close to keep him in check. The Canes played well in third period like the team we saw win so many games earlier in the season. And even though they have won only one game this season when they came into the third period with a deficient on the scoreboard, this game put them in the position to win. This is something that has been missing lately. Casey Borer played 28 shifts for a total of 17:02 on the ice. He seemed to have gained a lot of confidence as the game proceeded. He made few mistakes and was definitely a welcomed asset in this game. The Canes have a rematch Friday night in Atlanta so let's hope for a better result and I hope we see more play from the Canes that we saw in third period tonight.
GAME STATS Shots on Goal: Canes 36 Thrashers 14 Hits: Canes 27 Thrashers 24 Face-Offs Won: Canes 41 Thrashers 23 Power Play: Canes 2-7 Thrashers 2-2 Venue: RBC Center A-13,506
Luke DeCock at newsobserver.com has reported this afternoon that Matt Cullen will be out indefinitely even though the team is saying he has an illness. The Canes plan to put him on a regiment so that they can slowly bring him back. Luke reported that this is a similar situation that occurred with Philadelphia Flyers forward Simon Gange where they thought he did not have a concussion and stayed out a few games. He returned for two games and has not played since November 7 due to what was determined to be a concussion. Nic Wallin is also out with what is supposedly a groin injury even though Coach Peter Laviolette called it "a leg injury, the muscles in his leg". The Canes had a closed practice this morning with Dennis Seidenberg taking a "rest day". (?)
Terrell Williams at carolinahurricanes.com stated on their site this afternoon at 3:06 p.m. that defenseman Casey Borer has been called up from the Albany River Rats (AHL) to replace defenseman Bret Hedican. Hedican has been placed on injured reserve retroactive back to December 28 due to a sprained right knee. At age 22, Borer is from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and he in his first year of professional hockey. He currently leads Albany defensemen with 5 goals, 14 points, 4 power play goals, and is currently a team best +/- +13. Borer joins fellow Albany defenseman Wade Brookbank on the Hurricanes' lineup who was called up on December 28.
Let's see, what would be the best way to bring in the New Year in great hockey fashion? How about inviting 17,091 of your biggest fans to watch you take out the old year with a victory and ring in the New Year with a big party. Well, that's what they attempted to do last night at the RBC Center in Raleigh, except for one problem. The home team forgot to show up. Let's see if this story sounds familiar. The Canes come out and survive the first period, only to collapse in the second by giving up four goals and scoring one, and then trying to muster some kind of energy in the third to put some points on the scoreboard. That seems to be the scenario that lately we see repeatedly. The photo above of Carolina Hurricanes' Coaches Jeff Daniels and Peter Laviolette says it all.
The Canes hit the ice with Matt Cullen back after literally being knocked out of the New York Rangers game on December 26th. Even though he received the loudest amount of applause during the player introductions, he was only able to play for six shifts for a total of 4:23 in the first period. He did not return in the game due to feeling ill. This was the second of four meetings of the season between the Canes and the Islanders. The Canes spanked the Islanders 8-3 on October 27th at Nassau Coliseum in a one-sided affair. The Canes should have known that the Islanders would want revenge and they appeared to have gotten what they wanted. The Canes again came out in the first period and played well enough to keep the period scoreless as they outshot the opposition 9-8.
Then in the second period, the collapse started early. The Islanders came into this game with a power play rated at 15.5% (21st in the NHL). That would change quickly. After a Rod Brind'Amour slashing penalty at 1:49 into the period, Marc-Andre Bergeron scored on the power play in the slot at 2:06. It appeared to be a 29 foot shot from between the circles that went straight in with no obstructions. That power play lasted 17 seconds. Next at 2:47 in the period, Mike Commodore received a hooking penalty. Bill Guerin scored :41 later at 3:28 in the period on a 43 foot shot near the same point as the Bergeron score. Next at 5:45, Islander Andy Hilbert brought the puck into the zone and got a pass to Ruslan Fedotenko, who was going through the slot and scored. Three goals in 3:39 and that was it for Grahame for the night as Cam Ward was brought into the game. The Canes finally got on the scoreboard at 6:17 when Craig Adams got a backhand shot past Wade Dubielewicz. That would be all the celebration the Canes would get in this game. After Craig Adams got a Hi-sticking penalty at 12:54, Marc-Andre Bergeron scored again at the 13:20 mark on a shot from straight ahead at the blue line. Bill Guerin was coming through the goalmouth at the time of the score and appeared to have shielded Cam Ward. The Canes were outshot 11-12 and that was it for this game. The Canes came out in the third and continued their subpar play until the end even though they outshot the Islanders 9-4. What a way to end the year.
The Canes second period breakdown was an embarrassment. In the recap on carolinahurricanes.com, Coach Peter Laviolette in discussing the second period stated, "We were flat. The first five, seven minutes cost us. We lost battles right off the bat, battles to get it in, battles to protect the puck. We took careless penalties. Both penalties - there was no need to either one of them." The Canes frustration was clear in the five penalties they took in the second period as the Islanders went through the second with no penalties. As far as the Canes giving up three power play goals, Coach Laviolette advised, "The penalty kill is comprised of a lot of little things. The shots came from the middle of the ice and we should have had a person there blocking all of them. And there were other things that wrong as well - a bunch of little details." The penalty kill was terrible to watch. On the three power plays where the Islanders scored, the Canes were on the penalty kill for a total of 1:24.
After the game, Mike Commodore stated in a post game interview, "We just didn't play well, flat out didn't play well. D turned over pucks, goalies turned over pucks, forwards turned over pucks. Everybody was turning over pucks, and they just kept coming down on us. " In this game, the Canes continued with constant defensive zone breakdowns and giving up the puck at the wrong time. They constantly let the opposing players come in behind the defense and skate unobstructed to the front of the net. They were slow to pick up the puck when they were closer than the opposition. The Hurricanes showed the entire audience why they are last in the NHL on the penalty kill. All three power play goals were shot from the point straight ahead. No one went down to stop the puck and no one when towards the shooter to stop or alter the shot. The Beatles song from the White Album entitled "Helter Skelter" pretty much describes the penalty kill. To say that the confidence of this team is fragile at best is an understatement. On the power play and now at certain points in the game, the Canes seem to be content to pass the puck around instead of shooting. When your confidence is down, you are less likely to shoot. Of course, giving up three goals in less than six minutes will kill your confidence. The goaltending by Ward and Grahame has been average at best over the past few weeks. They both seem unable to come up with the important stops at critical points in the game.
The Canes are halfway through their season and appear to be at a crossroads. Are they going to find the leadership that was once present in the locker room and find a way to right the ship? Will Jim Rutherford be forced to make a trade to shake the team up and turn their season around? Will Michael Leighton be brought up from the AHL to shake up the goaltending tandem even if it would cause some waiver issues on moving players? I guess we will see soon since something has got to happen if they plan to save this season.
GAME STATS Shots on Goal: Canes 29 Islanders 24 Hits: Canes 25 Islanders 16 Face-Offs Won: Canes 27 Islanders 27 Power Play: Canes 0-4 Islanders 3-7 Venue: RBC Center A-17,091
The Canes got a much needed home win last night at the RBC Center since they had not won back-to-back games at home since November 3rd and 5th. It is important not to forget that the Canes are still the walking wounded and they are still struggling to find some consistency in their game even with the constant lineup changes. In addition to Matt Cullen, David Tanabe, and Justin Williams, Bret Hedican went down with a knee injury in the game last night and will be out at least ten to fourteen days. To help with the Canes' defensive woes, Wade Brookbank was called up from Albany (AHL) to help the Canes defense.
Rick Nash returned to the Columbus lineup after missing two games with a throat inflammation that caused him some breathing difficulties. The Blue Jackets, who also have some injury problems, announced on December 27th they had put Manny Malhotra (knee injury) and Michael Peca (head injury) on injured reserve. The Blue Jackets are 3-5-1 in the last eight games and have averaged less than two goals per game. Columbus net minder Pascal Leclaire has struggled recently and has been replaced by Fredrik Norrena in goal over the past few weeks even though Leclaire registered a shutout at Atlanta on Wednesday and was back in net tonight. Leclaire leads the NHL in shutouts with seven for the season. The Blue Jackets came into this game with many of the same issues the Canes are facing.
Both teams played a tough first period. The Canes had a strong defense and came out of the box playing tougher than they normally do at this point in the game. Tim Gleason and Blue Jacket Right Winger Jared Boll got into a fight at 5:20 in the first period. Both players received five minute major fighting penalties. The Canes had two penalty kill situations to arise during the period, and they looked strong during both sequences. Even with the strong defensive play of both teams, no one scored in the first period even though the Canes were outshot 7 to 9.
The second period was another story. At 2:06 into the second period, Nikolai Zherdev took the puck from behind his own net and skated down the ice around all of the Canes players and scored on a shot between the circles. That was one I am sure Cam Ward would have wanted back. Mike Commodore got an interference penalty at 5:33 in the second. While on the power play, Rostislav Klesla scored at the 6:45 mark for the Blue Jackets. Columbus had two players along with two Carolina players in front of the net and there was no way that Carolina goalie Cam Ward could have seen that one coming. The Blue Jackets were trying to clear the puck from their end to relieve the pressure near the 14:00 mark. Rick Nash went to the boards and passed the puck out to Nikolai Zherdev who again went down the ice ahead of everyone and scored pointblank on cam Ward at 14:02 into the period. The Canes seemed to let down after Columbus scored the first goal and they seemed less focused from that point in the period. The Canes were outshot 11 to 6 in that period and of course gave up three goals.
At the beginning of the third period, John Grahame took over in goal for the Canes. The team seemed to play with more urgency and had several good scoring chances to get back into the game. Finally while on the power play, Eric Staal scored on a goal from the circle on a pass from Ray Whitney at the point. This at least allowed Eric and Ray to continue their point streaks in six and five games respectively. The Canes attempted to score again with no success. They pulled Grahame from the net and Columbus center Kris Beech was able to put the puck in the empty net with only nine seconds remaining in the game on a pass from Nikolai Zherdev. Zherdev was involved in all four goals scored by the Blue Jackets tonight. The Canes outshot Columbus 11 to 3 in the period; yet, they were only able to come up with one goal.
The Canes played a good first period and they pretty much collapsed in the second only to come back with a strong third period and one goal. The Canes have won only once this season when they started the third period trailing on the scoreboard. This was the Canes third game in four nights and they ended up winning one and losing two. There are a few bright spots in this team's game. Eric Staal seems to have returned to form and is scoring again more consistently. His increased ice time and shooting has definitely helped his cause. Andrew Ladd has definitely stepped up since returning from Albany several weeks ago. The Eric Staal goal tonight was a direct result of Ladd blocking Leclaire's view in front of the net. Ladd has also played tougher even with his injuries. Carolina Coach Peter Laviolette said that everyone needed to play better for the Canes to win tonight. Hopefully, they can rest on Sunday and prepare for the 8:00 p.m. start on Monday night against the New Islanders at the RBC Center. It would be nice to start the New Year off on a winning note.
Coming into tonight's game, it was clear that this would be a battle of determination among the players on the ice for both teams. The Hurricanes were still recovering from a tough game on Wednesday night against the New York Rangers where Matt Cullen was injured on a hit from Colton Orr that left Cullen temporarily unconscious with a broken noise and needing stitches. Andrew Ladd was injured in a fight with Sean Avery where Avery punched Ladd in the head twice while the referees held Ladd back. J.P. Giglio from the News and Observer wrote this afternoon that Hurricanes Trainer Pete Friesen stated Ladd had suffered a tripod fracture of his zygoma, which is the bone structure under his left eye. He will have to have surgery at some point in the future to correct the damage. With Tanabe (concussion), and Williams (ACL and MCL in his left leg) out, the Canes would have a different look for this game.
One of the best teams for them to meet at this point with similar problems would be the Boston Bruins. The Bruins have quite a few injuries themselves that include Patrice Bergeron, who is out for possibly the rest of the season with a severe concussion; Glen Murray is out with a strained hip flexor; Andrew Alberts is out with a concussion; former Hurricane Aaron Ward is out with a broken foot that was sustained in practice on December 21st; and Bobby Allen with a bad back. Boston goaltender Tim Thomas is also 0-1-1 since he returned from a groin injury earlier this month even though he still leads the league with a save percentage of .932. Boston has lost five of their last six, and the Canes and Bruins are ranked ninth and tenth on the power play, and 30th and 29th on the penalty kill. The Canes were 3-0-1 against the Bruins last season so the first game against Boston would prove to be interesting. Of course, we all know that nothing comes easy for the Canes this season and this game would be no different.
Seeing Andrew Ladd on the ice with the cage helmet on set the tone for this game, which was a hard fought affair for both teams. The Canes were able to score early in this game when Nic Wallin fired a shot just inside the blue line that ricocheted off of Boston Goaltender Tim Thomas and to Rod Brind'Amour who was on the left side of the net and put a wrist shot into the net at 5:56 into the game. The problem came when the Canes went on the power play at 7:54 in the first period. Marc Sevard got the puck and came down the ice guarded by Scott Walker. Sevard turned the puck over in front of the Canes' net when Chuck Kobasew scored a shorthanded goal on a wrist shot in the slot at 8:07. Mike Commodore scored on a slapshot from the blue line in front of the Bruins' bench at 10:51 into the period. Even though the Canes were a little sluggish at times in this period, they held tight and were able to come out with a 2-1 lead. The Canes outshot Boston 11-7 in the period.
In the second period, the Canes were outplayed at different times and were stranded in their own end particularly during the middle of the period. Rod Brind'Amour got a hooking penalty at 14:50 putting the Bruins on the power play. Chad LaRose was able to take the puck into the Boston defensive zone. As he got into the slot he was hooked by Dennis Wideman and given a penalty shot. To his surprise, he was able to score on a backhanded shot top shelf at 15:28 into the second period. The Canes had not scored a shorthanded goal all season until the New York game on Wednesday and then they are credited with another one since the Bruins were on the power play when the Canes scored the goal on the penalty shot. The Canes again outshot the Bruins 14-6 in the second and finished the period up 3-1.
The Hurricanes came out in the third period and played the first half of the third period as flat as ever. The Bruins scored only :56 into the period when P.J. Axelsson scored on a pass from Marc Savard who picked up the puck on the Canes failure to clear the zone. The Canes came back and scored on the power play when Ray Whitney shot from the blue line and Andrew Ladd, who was in front of goalie Tim Thomas, gave Staal a slap pass allowing Staal to score. The Bruins came back :11 later and scored after the Canes turned the puck over in the defensive zone. Milan Lucic picked up the puck and passed it across to Phil Kessel who was coming through the slot. The Canes picked up their play and showed some toughness throughout the rest of the period. The Canes outshot the Bruins 12-8 in the third and held on to win 4-3. The sellout crowd of 18,630 at the RBC Center was more than happy with this win since it was the Canes first back-to-back home wins since November.
The Canes had some problems in this game. There were times they were outplayed and did not get to the puck first when they had the chance. Nic Wallin still appears to be in pain when he's trying to pick up speed to get to the puck. Bret Hedican seemed a little slow and was injured at 11:23 in the second period when his leg got caught under him when he went into the boards as he and Chuck Kobasew got tangled together. He was helped from the ice by Mike Commodore and Eric Staal. The Canes have already called up Wade Brookbank from Albany (AHL) who will join them for tomorrow night's game in Columbus since Hedican appears to have a sprained knee. The Canes had a goal scored against them due to their failure to clear the puck. There were numerous defensive zone breakdowns that gave the Bruins scoring chances repeatedly. The good part was that Eric Staal appears to have finally come alive. He has a six game point streak with 4 goals and 3 assists. Ray Whitney now has points in five consecutive games by adding an assist tonight (4 goals, 4 assists). The Canes played tougher tonight such as when Mike Commodore knocked P.J. Axelsson into the boards and down in third period. Commodore was attacked by Mark Stuart. Commodore got a 5 minute major for fighting and Stuart got a 5 minute major for fighting, 2 minutes for Instigating, and a 10 Major Misconduct penalty. The Canes play the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow night. Let's hope this winning streak continues.
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