Roddy gets 1000th point in 3-2 win

On Saturday while I was busy getting rip-roaring drunk at a wedding, the Canes defeated the Senators 3-2 in Scotiabank Place.

There were lots of rumors surrounding Sens captain Daniel Alfredsson. He had gone 10 games without scoring a goal and four games without registering an assist. There was talk about stripping him of his captaincy. There was talk about trading him. That talk was temporarily quelled when he lit the lamp at the 2:01 mark of the first period. He was set up by Antoine Vermette and Dean McAmmond. He broke away from a pack of folks on the sidewall near the left point, found himself all alone in the left circle, and beat Cam Ward with a wrister. I really don't think that anyone knew he had the puck.

There was no other scoring in the first period.

At 2:50 of the second, Chris Kelly played give-and-go with Denis Hamel, setting up Hamel for a shot from the low slot to the left of Ward. It was a really pretty play, and there's no way to blame anyone for that. Brian McGratton got the secondary assist.

Late in the second, with the Canes enjoying a power play sequence, Rod Brind'Amour got his 1000th career point. He had an excellent shot that clanged off the right post, but the rebound went to Erik Cole behind the net. He wasted no time in banking a shot off Baby Food's pads and in the goal. I don't think Gerber had any idea where the puck was until the red light went on. Brind'Amour with the first assist, and Ray Whitney with the second.

When the goal was announced seconds later, the PA announcer made note of the fact that it was Brindy's 1000th point. The crowd gave him a decent ovation, and he kept the puck.

58 seconds into the final stanza, Ray Whitney tied the game on a snap shot from the right faceoff dot. Eric Staal had drawn a double team down on the goal line, and a failed clearing attempt left Erik Cole all alone in the slot area and Whitney all alone in the right circle. Gerber was beaten on the short side, but there wasn't much traffic out front. He probably makes that stop 92 times out of 100. Cole got the only assist.

Near the midway point of the period, Chris Phillips may have cost his team the game. Joe Corvo was already in the box for a hi-stick. Phillips was called for interference at 9:54. It was a really marginal call, and Phillips made a mistake in being over-exhuberant in his disaproval of the call. He skated right in front of the referee, slammed his stick on the ice, and probably said something as well. The referees are taking a stance against this kind of thing this season, and have been issuing "unsportsmanlike conduct" penalties left and right. There would have already been 1:03 of 5-on-3, but the additional penalty meant even more.

While the 5-on-3 was still going, Ray Whitney got the game winner at 10:31. Corvo came out of the box, but there was still 3 1/2 minutes of powerplay because of Phillips' theatrics.

Whitney's goal was kind of a slow developing play. He took a pass in the left circle and wandered over to the high slot area, where he spotted a nice screen being set by Eric Staal. He rifled one through the screen and past Baby Food much to the dismay of the already irritated crowd. Cole and Staal got the assists.

There would be no more scoring, but Ottawa's chances were severely dampened because of the extended penalty to Phillips.

After a horrible performance on Thursday night, it was good to see the boys bounce back. The power play clicked, hittig on two of seven opportunities. Meanwhile, they killed all seven shorthanded sequences.

My three stars:
Third Star Rod Brind'Amour. 27:08 TOI, 1 assist, 1000 career points.
Second Star Erik Cole. 1 goal, 2 assists.
First Star Ray Whitney. 2 goals, GWG, 1 assist, +1.

Carolina won't play again until Tuesday night in the swamps, and took a rare day off on Sunday to relax in Ottawa.

The next home game will be Thursday against the Caps. Then the big game at home against the Pens. Staal v. Staal. Cole v. Orpik. Malkin. There should be a ton of excitement for that game.