Saturday, December 29, 2007

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 Columbus net minder Pascal Leclaire has struggled recently and has been replaced by Fredrik Norrena in goal over the past few weeks even though Leclaire registered a shutout at Atlanta on Wednesday and was back in net tonight.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.

GAME STATS

Shots on Goal: Canes 24 Blue Jackets 23

Hits: Canes 19 Blue Jackets 18

Face-Offs Won: Canes 29 Blue Jackets 32

Power Play: Canes 1-4 Blue Jackets 1-6

Venue: Nationwide Arena A-17, 453

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.

GAME STATS

Shots on Goal: Canes 37 Bruins 21

Hits: Canes 26 Bruins 27

Face-Offs Won: Canes 40 Bruins 33

Power Play: Canes 1-7 Bruins 0-3

Wednesday, December 26, 2007
The Canes knew coming into this game that it would a tough match for several reasons. The Canes traveled to New York this morning and will travel back home tonight after the game, which means they are scheduled to spend approximately 12 hours in New York. The Hurricanes currently have three players, two with concussions and one with a leg injury, out for the foreseeable future. The Rangers have recently had some problems of their own. New York is 2-6-2 in their last ten games, a slide that began when the Hurricanes won 4-0 at Madison Square Garden on December 3rd. Jaromir Jagr has not scored a goal in ten games, and he has only scored seven goals the entire season. That is not good for a winger who makes $8,360,000 per year. Of course with Jagr, you have to remember he is capable of exploding and taking over a game at any time. Cam Ward and Henrik Lundqvist were scheduled to be in net so the game was expected to be interesting.

The Canes started the game as flat as you would expect. They were able to hold on and play well enough to hold the Rangers scoreless for the first period. In the second period the game began to change for the good and then for the bad for the Canes. Jagr broke his scoring drought and scored only 2:28 into the second period. While the Canes were on the penalty kill on a Cory Stillman hooking call, Scott Walker scored a shorthanded goal, which was the first for the Canes this season at 4:38. Matt Cullen was taken down in the offensive zone by Colton Orr with a fierce hit that knocked Cullen out briefly. Orr was ejected from the game with a game misconduct penalty, and the Canes got a 5:00 power play even though they were unable to score. Eric Staal scored a power play goal at 16:19 into the second period giving the Canes a 2-1 lead.

The third period was not a good one for the Canes as the Ranger blitz began. Chris Drury scored only 1:38 in the period, Daniel Girardi scored at 7:06 (both of which were power play goals) and Jagr scored again at 9:55 in the period. The Canes appeared to be in the defensive mode to try and survive. They pulled Cam Ward at the end as the Canes went on the power play on a Chris Drury hooking penalty at 18:33 and Brendan Shanahan for boarding at 19:08. The Canes ended with a six on three power play and they were still unable to get anything by Henrik Lundqvist to the delight of everyone in attendance at Madison Square Garden.

The Canes were outshot in this game 35-22. The Canes collapse in third caused their demise as they appeared to become overwhelmed after the Rangers scored and eventually took the lead. The Hurricanes were outhit 27-19 in this game. Cam Ward should get a star of the game due to his stopping 31 shots in this game particularly when you consider the defensive breakdowns that occurred in front of him. The key question now is to determine how seriously Matt Cullen is injured (supposedly a broken noise and mild concussion) and how long will he be unavailable to this team. With Tanabe, LaRose, and Williams out, the Canes are definitely in trouble as the manpower numbers continue to decrease.

GAME STATS

Shots on Goal: Canes 22 Rangers 35

Hits: Canes 19 Rangers 27

Face-Offs Won: Canes 31 Rangers 29

Power Play: Canes 1-7 Rangers 2-6

 Arena: Madison Square Garden A-18,200