Flyers end Caps' dreams

On Tuesday night, the Flyers defeated the Capitals 3-2 in overtime of game seven of their playoff series. The Caps had staved off elimination twice, but weren't able to win on home ice.

As a die-hard fan of the Hurricanes, it may be unfashionable to root against a fellow SE team, but I loathe the Capitals. It brought me great joy to see Joffrey Lupul pot the game winner 6:06 into the bonus frame. Actually, I was literally jumping for joy. Earlier in the night, I had been doing the same when former Hurricane Sami Kapanen gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead, but Alexander Ovechkin came through with a clutch goal. Naturally, he followed that goal with a ridiculously exaggerated celebration. Thankfully, I won't have to see that again until October.

So the eastern conference semi-finals are set. Montréal(1) will host Philadelphia (6) while Pittsburgh (2) will host Rangers (5).

Meanwhile, the rout is on in San Jose. They're in the midst of destroying Calgary.

Interestingly, the matchups in the West will be the same as in the East. Detroit (1) will be hosting Colorado (6), while San Jose (2) will host Dallas (5).

Caps hold serve; down to one

On Thursday, the Capitals refused to die. They won their sixth straight game and forced the Southeast title to swing on the last games of the season for Carolina and for Washington.

Carolina will have a chance to end it on their own terms with a regulation or overtime win against Florida at the RBC Center on Friday. Failing that, Carolina will hope that one of two things happens.

Plan B will be for the Capitals to lose in regulation to the Kitties on Saturday. That way, Carolina will still win the Southeast and will have the #3 seed.

Plan C will be for the Flyers to lose both of their remaining games (New Jersey on Friday and Pittsburgh on Sunday), with at least one of those losses in regulation. That way, Carolina will have the #8 seed in the East.

Obviously, they'd prefer to do it by themselves.

Go Canes!

Hurricanes squander division lead, playoffs in doubt

On Tuesday night, the Hurricanes lost the most important game of the season. They didn't just lose. They lost in glorious fashion, going down 4-1 to the Capitals. They have lost two games in a row and blown two chances to clinch the division. Now, they sit in first place over Washington not on points, but on tiebreaker scenarios. They have unfortunately reached a point where the next two games are unqualified "must win" situations.

I wasn't really watching the game. The most important game of the season, and I chose to give partial attention to it and most of my attention to some girl who roots for some unmentionable team. Don't ask.

I can't offer a game recap, but I'm sure Japers' Rink has a very nice one.

On Wednesday, Carolina will get what should be an easy win against Tampa. The Bolts are the worst team in the NHL, but they rained on Carolina's parade on Saturday. Then they'll have the Panthers in Raleigh for the season-ender on Friday.

Coincidentally, the Caps have the same two remaining home games, and they will get both on the back end of back-to-backs. The Bolts will be in Raleigh on Wednesday and Washington on Thursday. The Kitties will be in Raleigh on Friday and Washington on Saturday.

While Washington is certainly under pressure to win and also get help, Carolina is under even more. For them, what's at stake is the division. If they fail to win these two games, they will have squandered a lead that most people thought was as safe as could be. I think it's probably harder when you've got something to lose.

I woke up a nervous wreck. Now I'm angry. I hope I'm better by this time tomorrow night.

Southeast up in the air

On Saturday, things did not go well for the Hurricanes. If the stars had aligned properly, they would have clinched the Southeast division and the #3 seed in the playoffs. Now, even their playoff future is in question.

Carolina didn't bother showing up to the Tampa-St. Pete Times Forum on Saturday, losing an ugly game 2-1 to the Lightning. It's a game that they could have and should have won. On the other side of the state, Washington cruised to a 3-0 win over Florida. With three games to play, Carolina has a two point lead. As of right now, their 90 standings points would not be enough to get the eighth spot if everything goes pear shaped.

Carolina is still in control of their own destiny. Win two of the remaining three games, and they're in. Forget about how many games the Capitals may or may not lose. They have three games remaining, and all of them are in the Verizon Center. Assume that they will beat the Lightning on Thursday and the Kitties on Saturday. For them, they MUST win on Tuesday against Carolina. If they don't, there is no way for them to overtake Carolina. Although it isn't quite a "MUST WIN" situation for Carolina, it's as close to it as they can get.

If it comes down to it, Carolina holds all of the tie-breakers, but they'd much rather not let it get to that.

I'm going to be a complete mess tomorrow.

Canes to host big game tonight

Tonight at the RBC Center, the Hurricanes will be playing a critical game against the Capitals. If they can win in regulation, they can virtually clinch the SE division. If Washington wins in regulation, things will get very interesting.

Right now, Carolina's lead over the Caps is five points with six games to play. If they can stretch it to seven points with a win tonight, it would take a miracle for Carolina to blow it. The two teams will square off one last time next Tuesday. By then, Carolina will have had two excellent chances (at home against Atlanta and at Tampa) to put it away regardless of what happens tonight.

Looking at the projected lineups, there are 13 forwards listed. This is because Patrick Eaves is doubtful with the flu. Counting Eaves, eight of the 13 forwards were not on the Hurricanes roster when the season began. Five of them (Ryan Bayda, Keith Aucoin, Wade Brookbank, Joe Jensen and Tim Conboy) are AHL players. This group of players from the River Rats, affectionately called "The Rat Pack", has played quite well.

Alexander Ovechkin has been held goalless in the last two games between the Canes and Caps. Last time in Raleigh, though, he had three assists.

Also in the SE, Florida will be taking on Tampa, in a game that has some implications. There are loads of other games with playoff implications, including the Sabres v Sens, the Bruins v Leafs, the Penguins v Devils and Flyers v Rangers.

Carolina will be in third place in the East no matter what happens tonight, but Washington could end up anywhere between eighth and eleventh.

Cam Ward and Cristobal Huet will be in nets tonight.

Washington beats themselves again

Heading into Sunday's game with the Penguins, the Capitals trailed the Hurricanes by seven points, and they had two games in hand.

Niclas Backstrom scored a beautiful game winning goal. The only problem was that it was into his own net. Backstrom tipped one into his own net, giving the Penguins a 3-2 lead late in a crucial game. A few seconds later, Jordan Staal scored an empty netter to secure the win for the Penguins.

Carolina still has a seven point lead in the Southeast division. For the second day in a row, Washington has beat itself and helped Carolina in the process. Washington still has a game in hand, but with just 12 games to play, the seven point difference will be a huge one to overcome.

And there is much rejoicing in Carolina.

Bs beat Caps

In the early game on Saturday, the Bruins did the Hurricanes a huge favor by beating the Capitals 2-1.
Actually, the Bruins were really watching their own back, giving themselves a better chance to qualify for the playoffs.

Technically speaking, the Capitals did themselves in. They had a 1-0 lead with about 5:45 to play. Donald Brashear lost his mind. After committing a high-sticking double minor, he lost his cool and threw a punch at a Bruins player who got in his face. The result was a six minute triple minor.

A short while later, John Erskine was called for hooking. It was a marginal call, but it gave the Bruins two solid minutes of five-on-three. Zdeno Chara scored, and the Bruins stayed put on the five-on-three. The first of Brashear's penalties came off, and he still had four minutes. Erskine's penalty elapsed, but right after, Tom Poti was called for slashing. Marco Sturm put the Bs ahead to stay.

This is huge for the Hurricanes. It means that they can really widen their lead with a win, or even an overtime loss tonight.

Canes crush Caps, widen lead

On Saturday afternoon, the Hurricanes handily defeated the visiting Capitals in what had been dubbed their "biggest game of the season". The "four point swing" game, coupled with a loss by Atlanta means that Carolina has some breathing room at the top of the Southeast division.

Earlier in the day, I wrote about how Alex Ovechkin has been quiet for the last three games. He wasn't quiet today. He notched three points, all assists, bringing his season total to 81 (48/33) points. Against the Canes, he has nine (5/4) in six games.

If a time traveler had told me that #8 would have a huge game tonight, I would naturally have assumed that he meant Alex Ovechkin. Without a doubt, Ovie had a big game. However, he wasn't the #8 who really shone tonight.

Matt Cullen notched two goals and an assist for the Hurricanes to bring his season total t0 43 (11/32) in 49 games played. His heroics earned him the first star of the game.

For the first ten minutes of the first period, Carolina looked flat. Washington came out jumping, and the shot totals were 11-1 in the opening minutes. The puck stayed in Carolina's end for almost the entire time. Thankfully, the Hurricanes snapped to it and got their "A" game going.

Mike Green got the visitors on the board at 6:06 of the first after Bret Hedican made a horrible defensive play in his own end, leading to a 2-on-1. Ovechkin had the only assist.

At 13:30, Carolina scored their first of four (!) power play goals. Matt Cullen fired a shot from the high slot, beating Kolzig. During the power play sequence, one of the Caps defensemen broke his stick and also blocked a shot with his ankle. It was virtually a five-on-three. Ray Whitney and big Joe Corvo got the helpers.

Alex Semin gave the Caps their second lead of the night at 16:13 on a power play, firing one top shelf from the high slot. Ovechkin, who had been knocked off his pegs by Eric Staal, and Tomas Fleischmann assisted.

3:43 into the second period, the Hurricanes tied it again on another power play goal. Joe Corvo's shot from the left circle was blockered down by Kolzig, but the rebound was too juicy. Cullen jumped on it at the left inside hash marks for his second marker of the game. Corvo and Ray WhitneyErik Cole and Corvo got the assists.

Carolina notched yet another power play goal at 5:56 to take the lead. Briefly. Ray Whitney's shot from the top of the left circle was blocked, but the big rebound was hacked at by Staal, then Cole. Staal and Whitney got the assists, but Matt Cullen deserves a tertiary assist. Seconds before the Whitney shot, Cullen made a sprawling move to prevent a Caps clearing attempt. He kept it in the zone, rotated it over to Corvo, then the Whitney shot.

At 8:47, the Caps knotted the score again when Brooks Laich beat Cam Ward with a wrister from the high slot. Ovechkin and Green assisted on the power play goal.

Eric Staal put the Canes back in front at 16:39. He jumped on a loose puck at the bottom of the left circle and shoved it in for what turned out to be the game winner. Tim Conboy and Andrew Ladd Sergei Samsonov and Tim Conboy got the assists on the even-strength goal. That goal gives Staal 30 for the season.

Andrew Ladd cleaned up some loose change at 3:50 of the third for his ninth goal of the season. Tim Conboy's shot from above the right circle was stopped by Kolzig, but Ladd was parked by the right post to shove in the rebound from point blank range. Conboy and Samsonov got the helpers.

Finally, Joe Corvo scored a power play goal at 7:44 of the final frame. It came on the front end of a high-sticking double minor. Corvo came out of nowhere to pounce on the rebound of Eric Staal's left circle shot. It was Corvo's third point of the night and his first goal in a Hurricanes sweater. He now has 32 (7/25) points on the season. Of those, five (1/4) have come in the six games he's played with Carolina.

Originally, Ray Whitney was credited for three assists, but later the scoring was changed so that he had two. Also, Andrew Ladd lost two assists in the shuffle. He went from a three (1/2) point night and being an "also ran", to having a one goal night.

I had named Whitney as one of my stars, but the scoring changes sort of rained on that. Tim Gleason didn't have any scoring points and ended up as a -1, but he should be given some love for his outstanding play in his own end. Five blocked shots!

On any other day, I would have no problem giving the third star to Alex Ovechkin. Three assists is a very good night. However, three Hurricanes players had three points apiece, and since they won the game, they got the official and the RBH stars.

THIRD STAR Eric Staal, CAR --- GWG, 2 assists, 3 hits
SECOND STAR Joe Corvo, CAR --- 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 takeaways, 2 blocked shots
FIRST STAR Matt Cullen, CAR --- 2 goals, 1 assist, 11/12 (92%) faceoff wins

Carolina has three games left on this homestand and 10 of their remaining 17 games are in the friendly confines. They have been a very dangerous team at home, going 6-0-1 in their last seven. They will be seriously tested on Tuesday when Martin Brodeur and the Devils come to town.

Patrick Eaves was rumored to have been slated for insertion in the lineup for this game. He did not play. He didn't practice on Friday and isn't ready yet. In post-game interviews, coach Peter Laviolette denied ever having said that Eaves would be ready. There is still no word on when he'll play.

Glen Wesley was injured in the first period and didn't return. There's no word on the type or severity of the injury. Just that he didn't feel right.

In other division news, Atlanta lost to Toronto. As if it wasn't already certain enough, I'd say that the loss will push Don Waddell's hand to deal Maid Marian Hossa to a contender.

There should be some exciting moves in and out of the SE division. There's still a chance that Carolina is a buyer, especially in light of Rod Brind'Amour's injury. The biggest moves, though, will be Marian Hossa out of Atlanta and Vaclav Prospal out of Tampa. The clock is ticking.

Canes-Caps have late afternoon date

Today at a really awkward time of the weekend day, Carolina and Washington will square off at the RBC Center. Heading into the game, Carolina has a four point cushion over the Caps, but the Capitals have three games in hand.

Carolina leads the season series 3-2 and has won the last two games between the teams.

In the five games between the teams, Alexander Ovechkin has been simply en fuego. He has six (5/1) points, including two two-goal performances. The last time the teams met, he was kept off the scorecard. That has been happening a lot lately. Ovechkin hasn't tallied a point, and is a -5 in the last three games. JP over at Japers' Rink thinks that this has nothing to do with the arrival of Ovie's new girlfriend, who he met over the internet. There's a correlation between her arrival in town on February 7, and his virtual disappearance from the scoresheet. Correlation, not causation. Who knows whether she's wearing him out in the sack, or if he's daydreaming about her during the game, but he's gone ice cold. He may have snapped a scoring slump with the ladies, but the Capitals aren't paying him for that kind of scoring.

Carolina can only hope that hockey's answer to Jessica Simpson shows up at the RBC Center sporting one of these:



Carolina will be without their captain for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs. Rod Brind'Amour suffered a knee injury in the first minute of play on February 14 against the Penguins. Including that game, the Hurricanes are 3-1-1 without their Captain. In that time, Eric Staal has recorded seven (2/5) points. We'd really like it if Staal stepped up the same way Evgeni Malkin did when Crosby went down, but we Canes fans are pretty happy with what he's done.

This is a huge game for both teams. If Carolina can win this game outright, they can widen their lead over the Caps to six points, which takes the games in hand out of play.

Olaf Kolzig is calling this "the biggest game of the year." Mike from DC One-Timer is calling it "the most important game the Caps have played in the last 2 1/2 years." I'm guessing the Caps will have their game faces on. Will Carolina have theirs? One of the problems Carolina has had this season is consistency. They'll play an amazing game, a full 60 minutes of hockey one night, then come out flat the next game.

Eric Staal knows that this is his team now. He does all that "this is a team sport; it's not about one guy" stuff with the press, but he knows, and we all do, that it's on him now. He's capable of making it happen, and the rest of the guys are capable of stepping up their game in the face of adversity. Now is the time.

Carolina is 5-0-1 in their last six home games. Washington is 3-2-1 in their last six road games. The Caps will be playing on the front end of a back-to-back, while Carolina will be off until Tuesday.

We'd like to welcome DC One-Timer to the fray. As always, check out the excellent coverage around the Caps blogosphere from Off Wing Opinion, Japers' Rink, A View From The Cheap Seats, and from the owner himself, Ted's Take.

Canes reclaim first place with road win in DC

On Friday night, the Hurricanes climbed back into first place with a 2-1 victory over the Capitals. With 25 games to play, Carolina has a narrow one point lead in the Southeast division. The good news for the Hurricanes is that 15 of those games are at home and they have a lot of space between games. In the first half of the season, Carolina played most of their games on the road, and they had a bunch of "three games in four days" scenarios.

The game was deemed (by me, anyway) as a "must-win". A loss would have put Carolina three points back of the Caps and in fourth place in the SE.

Coming out of the all-star break, Coach Peter Laviolette told the boys to play as if the next seven games were a playoff series. Five games into this "series", the Canes are 3-2 with road games tonight at New Jersey and Tuesday at Boston. After that, they will have eight out of nine at home.

In the first period of action on Friday, there was a lot of intensity. Two fights, lots of hitting, and some scoring for the good guys.

Erik Cole scored an eye-popping goal to remind us who that #26 guy is. At 3:56, he finished a play that can only be compared to that shootout goal that Peter Forsberg scored in the 1994 Olympics. He was sprung with a pass off the right wing wall, turned on the jets, avoided some backchecking, dragged the puck from his backhand to the forehand. Brent Johnson, who got the mystery start in place of Olli the Goalie, bit on that move, sliding all the way to his right. Cole pulled it back to his backhand and one-handed it in the empty net. I've seen Rick Nash do that in a shootout. We saw Jussi Jokinen do it twice in shootouts. I've never seen a player make that shot in live action. The goal made the #1 play of the night on NHL Network. Enjoy the highlight:



Officially, it was Cole from Cory Stillman and Frantisek Kaberle at 3:56. Milan Jurcina was the defenseman Cole blew past, and he made a last-ditch effort to poke the puck away, but he lost his stick in the process. Although no referee was indicating penalty, if Cole hadn't scored, he might have been awarded a penalty shot. As he finished the play, Jurcina's stick slid across the ice. Whether it was thrown or just got loose, I don't know, but it doesn't matter anyway.

Cole was more than a goal scorer in the first period. He laid the wood to Alex Ovechkin a couple of times. At the end of it all, he had four hits.

At 14:47 of the first, Carolina's 2004 first round pick Andrew Ladd potted his sixth goal of the year to make it 2-1. Sergei Samsonov led the way with the Canes on a 3-on-2 break. Rod Brind'Amour was with him on the right wing and Ladd was coming down the middle. From the right circle, Samsonov just put a hard shot on net. The juicy rebound went right to Ladd in the low slot where he basically just put his stick on the ice to get the goal. This would prove to be the game winner.

The second period was pretty much a wash after Carolina dominated the flow of the first period.

Cam Ward lost his shutout bid at 9:44 when Alex Semin finished a hard-working play to cut the lead in half. The Caps were dictating the flow of the third, and they had some great sustained pressure deep in the Carolina zone. After working hard behind the net, Semin went out to the right circle. There was a ton of traffic in front. Semin shot, then followed his own shot with a stuff in from near the right post. The goal was unassisted.

There were some nervous moments coming down the stretch, but Carolina held on for the regulation win.

For only the eleventh time all season, Alex Ovechkin was held off the scoresheet completely.

The "official" three stars went to Cole (third), Semin (second) and Cam Ward (first).
I have it differently. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Andrew Ladd, CAR -- GWG
SECOND STAR Cam Ward, CAR -- win, 33 saves
FIRST STAR Erik Cole, CAR -- goal, 4 hits, 2 blocked shots

Carolina will be in the Devils' new building tonight, playing the fourth of five straight road games.

Canes outlast Caps; Sabres on deck

On Friday night, the Hurricanes defeated the visiting Capitals 4-3, gained two valuable standings points and expanded their SE division lead to six points. Tonight, the Hurricanes will be in the HSBC Arena to play the Sabres.

I had a ticket to Friday's game, but I had a flat tire to deal with, and I decided to skip it. I'll exchange that unused ticket for another game later.

Alex Ovechkin got the visitors on the board at 2:35 of the first. Scott Walker went to the box for hooking, where he was supposed to be by himself for two minutes, feeling shame. It didn't take that long. The Caps used a set play to score just two seconds into the power play. Michael Nylander won the faceoff cleanly to Ovechkin, who was parked in the high slot. He rifled it in from there for his 18th goal of the season. Nylander had the only assist, and Walker was free to go.

At 9:50, Cory Stillman tied the score with his 13th goal of the season. Eric Staal attempted a right-to-left wrap-around, then was unable to stuff in the juicy rebound from the left side. The next juicy rebound went out to Cory Stillman, just off the right post. Staal and Walker had the helpers.

The rest of the first period featured a disallowed goal by Ovechkin and an unsuccessful penalty shot by Chad "Sharpie" LaRose.

Matt Cullen, who I called the Hurricanes "hot seat" player, put the Canes in the lead at 5:46 of the second. On a play where Scott Walker worked really hard, he has nothing to show for helping create this goal. He was aggressive with forechecking, which helped give Whitney and Cully time and space right at the right post. After a good hard check by Walker, taking Brian Pothier out of the play, Ray Whitney was allowed to work the puck behind the net. Cullen was streaking in undetected towards the right post. From right on the goal line, he fired one off Kolzig's stick. It took a funny hop, and eventually barely crossed the line. It was Cullen's sixth goal to go with 19 assists. It was just his second even strength goal. Officially, Cullen from Whitney and Glen Wesley at 5:46 of the second.

At 14:01 of the second, Rod Brind'Amour potted a strange goal. Tim Gleason sent a hard, high shot from the blue line, which was slightly tipped by Brindy in the slot area. After reviewing the play to see if it was hit with a high stick, the goal was allowed to stand and Carolina had a 3-1 lead. Gleason and Andrew "Trade Bait" Ladd got the assists.

No more scoring in the second, but this game had its THIRD call to Toronto at the expiration of the period. As the period ended, the Caps were feverishly trying to score on the power play. Mike Green thought he had one at the buzzer, but the red light never came on. The on-ice officials weren't sure. The red light never came on because the green light did. Once that green light, which is automatically triggered by the clock hitting all zeros comes on, the red light gets locked out. The red light, though, is manually triggered. There's another important distinction, which is that the puck has to cross the line before the clock hits zeros for it to count. Unlike basketball, where the ball can be in the air when the buzzer sounds and the light goes on, the puck has to be across the line. Since there is obviously a slight delay with the human-operated red (goal) light, they went to review. The official video review has a burn-in of the clock on screen, and they were able to see that the clock had indeed hit all zeros before the puck crossed the line. It was a good break for the Canes.

AO got his second goal of the game just 32 seconds into the third frame, while the Caps were enjoying a power play on a fresh sheet of ice. There was a failed clearing attempt by the Canes followed by a magnificent individual effort by the flamboyant Russian. He weaved his way through traffic and fired a shot from the inside hash marks on the left circle. There was nothing Cam Ward could do. Alexander Semin got the only assist. Curiously, the Caps teevee announcer proclaimed that "hats are coming down on the ice for Ovechkin". No hats were coming down because it was just his second (not third) goal of the night. The Caps usually have a pretty decent contingency in the RBC Center, but they usually sit at the top of section 111. Even if it had been AO's third goal, there's no way you can get your hat on the ice from the top of 111, which is behind the north goal (visitors shoot twice). You have distance and the netting to deal with. As much grief as he gave the other guy for referring to the green light as "the white light", I'm surprised the other guy didn't call him out for not knowing how to count to three, or for making up the "hats are hitting the ice".

Anyway, after the goal, Ovechkin put on a rather showy display, which earned him a lot of derision from the RBC faithful. Despite being phenomenal players, neither Ovechkin nor Ilya Kovalchuk have any fans here. They're a little too aggressive with their post-goal celebrations.

Ovechkin's second made the score 3-2 in favor of the good guys. This was the score that I predicted at work earlier that morning.

Brind'Amour added another goal at 3:47 of the third. It would turn out to be the game-winner. It was another fluky goal, but they all look like beautiful one-timers in the box score. Brindy was behind the net and noticed that Kolzig was high in the crease and away from the right post. He was doing this all night, and it was this positioning that helped Cullen score his goal earlier. Brindy fired one hard at Kolzig's gear, and it caromed in off his blocker. Green and AO were there in front of the net, but neither could do anything to bail out their goaltender. Brindy's 13th goal of the season was unassisted.

Michael Nylander, who I called the Caps "hot seat" player, made things really interesting at 15:53. He was all alone in the low slot, and Viktor Kozlov found him there. LaRose tried to bail out the invisible defensemen there, but he couldn't make it over in time and Nylander had no trouble putting it in. Ovechkin got the secondary assist.

The Caps pulled Kolzig early, and they had six attackers on for about 1:45. They were helped out when Justin Viva Williams cleared the puck over the defensive zone glass for a penalty. Cam Ward had to be sharp, and he was down the stretch.

The "official" three stars went to Ovechkin (third), Cullen (second) and Brind'Amour (first). I'm close to that, but a little different. It doesn't show in the stat sheet, but Scott Walker deserves some props. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Scott Walker, CAR --- 1 assist, +2, 3 hits
SECOND STAR Alexander Ovechkin, WAS --- 2 goals, 1 assist.
FIRST STAR Rod Brind'Amour, CAR --- 2 goals, GWG

Carolina was outshot 34-19, and they were unable to convert their power plays or kill penalties. They won the game, which is great and all, but they'll have to start getting the special teams in order, and they'll have to start getting more quality shots on net.

With his goal, Cory Stillman extended a scoring streak to six games.

Carolina will be in Buffalo tonight. The Sabres were idle last night and haven't played since a 4-3 loss to the Blues. Puck drop is at 7.

Canes destroy Caps

On Monday night, the Capitals came into town hoping to beat Carolina for the second time this season. Instead, the home team avenged their 2-0 loss on October 6. And then some. The game was over just nine minutes in, but when it was officially over, Carolina had the 5-0 decision.

On Sunday, Ken from Japers' Rink asked me to give a snippet about why the Hurricanes would win this game. My terse (and cheesy) response was "Carolina has been putting the POW! in "Power play". I had no idea how foretelling that would be.

At 4:23 of the first, on the Hurricanes first shot of the game, Cory Stillman pounded in a power play goal from the bottom of the right circle. Milan Jurcina had been called for holding. Rod Brind'Amour won the ensuing offensive zone faceoff to Ray Whitney, who passed it back to Brindy in the left circle. The Captain centered it to Stillman, who slammed it in. The Canes needed just four seconds of the man-advantage to get the only goal they would need on the night. This was the fourth time in the last six games that the Caps have allowed a goal on the opponent's first shot.

Alex Ovechkin was penalized for boarding at 6:56, and again the Hurricanes would need very little time to score. Cory Stillman scored his second goal of the night at 7:14 on an odd-man rush. There was a series of nice passes, but this one was all Stillman. He sliced and diced his way through the white-sweatered Caps the way Barry Sanders used to run through an entire defense. He ended up one-on-one with Kolzig, and he waited till the last second to pull it from the backhand to the forehand. This move ruined the German netminder, and Stillman tucked it into the cage. Officially, it was Stillman on the power play from Whitney and Matt Cullen at 7:14. This time, they needed 18 seconds of the power play.

A few minutes later, Stillman finished off the natural hat trick, and some lucky fan won a lawn tractor. Erik Cole and Stillman came in the Washington zone with just one defender back. Some perfect passing, and Stillman easily scored from the bottom of the right circle. Erik Cole and Eric Staal had the even strength helpers. According to the Caps announcers, this was Stillman's first hat trick since January 5, 2002. Back then he was playing for the Blues, and they beat the Stars 5-2 that night. Stillman had three goals and an assist. Our pal Doug Weight had four assists.

The pace slowed down considerably after this, but the Canes got the ball rolling again late in the second during a long power play. Donald Brashear was sent off for boarding Dennis Seidenberg. Initially, it was a two minute minor, but when it was discovered that Seids was cut, it became a major plus a game misconduct. Frankly, I didn't think it was that bad, and I don't like the rule that the offending player is ejected simply because blood was drawn. It was definitely boarding, but I don't think there was intent to injure. We'll never be able to get inside the players heads, but I just don't think that the existence (or lack thereof) of blood should be a determining factor in the issuance of major penalties. For the record, I feel the same way about the double-minor high sticking rule. I think they should be called if it appears to be deliberate.

Anyway....

Eric Staal tipped in Matt Cullen shot from the top of the crease. Officially, Eric Staal from Matt Cullen and Viva, on the power play at 16:07. It was Staal's 10th goal and the 13th assist for each guy. Since it was a major penalty power play, the Canes stayed put on the power play. In fact, they drew another penalty when Kolzig tackled Viva, awarding the Canes a brief five-on-three. Nothing came of that.

At 2:01 of the third, Eric Staal scored his second of the night on a crazy bounce. A heavy shot came from the left circle, and Staal was there for the rebound out front. His initial effort was knocked aside by Kolzig, but Staal batted the loose puck out of midair into the net. That would end Kolzig's night. Officially, it was Staal from Stillman and Timmmmmmaayyyy Gleason. After a quick review to make sure Staal's stick wasn't high, the goal was allowed to stand.

For the entire game, the Caps announcers had been fellating their prom date Cam Ward so shamelessly that I wondered if I was actually watching the Canes broadcasters. They kept calling him "The Warden". (make no mistake: this is NOT his nickname). It got so ugly at one point, they went out of their way to avoid jinxing Ward's shutout. It's widely known that you don't say the word "shutout" when a goalie (or pitcher) has one going. It'll jinx it. At some point, around the 4:00 mark of the third, the Caps announcer said:

"The only issue in doubt concerns Mr. Ward. There is, however, a lot of regulation time left."

The game ended like that. 5-0. Cam Ward was challenged several times in the first 90 seconds, but not much after that. He faced 35 shots, and earned his third career regular season shutout. All three have been against Washington.

The "official" three stars and the RBH three stars are identical. That's not much of a surprise. It's a no-brainer.

THIRD STAR Eric Staal, CAR --- 2 goals, 1 assist
SECOND STAR Cam Ward, CAR --- 35 saves, shutout win
FIRST STAR Cory Stillman, CAR --- 3 goals (natural hat trick), 1 assist.

The Hurricanes converted three of seven power play chances, including brutal efficiency on the first two.

Carolina will stay at home and take on the Bolts on Thursday.

Bizarre stat of the night: of the five "early" games, four were shutouts. The other shutout victors: Dany Sabourin and the Penguins (5-0 over the Devils); Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers (2-0 over the Flyers); Cristobal Huet and the Habs (2-0 over the Sabres).

Florida also won in regulation, meaning that Carolina's lead in the SE Division remains seven points.

Canes-Caps

Carolina will play host to the Capitals on Monday night. On October 6, Washington handed Carolina its only shutout loss, one of only three regulation losses so far. The Hurricanes will be looking to avenge that loss and widen their SE Division lead with a win.

After having played six games in a nine day span from October 19 to October 27, Carolina has been given a bit of a breather. This is just the third game in the nine day period following that flurry.

Of 13 games in November, 11 are against SE Division opponents, including three against these Washington Capitals.

The key to tonight's game will be penalties. Carolina's power play is ranked second in the league, while their penalty kill is a dreadful 28th. Washington's power play and penalty kill are both a mediocre 19th in the league.

As always, Carolina will have to look out for Alexander Ovechkin.

As far as the power play goes, Washington will have to look out for an "under the radar" player. Jeff Hamilton, who was Carolina's only free agency catch, has quarterbacked the power play expertly. He's piled up 8 (3/5) power play points playing the opposite point from Matt Cullen, who has accrued 9 (3/6) power play points. Additionally, Hamilton has four (1/3) even strength points for a total of 12 (4/8) while Cullen has six (1/5) even strength points for a total of 15 (4/11).

Ovechkin is the only Caps player with any substantial power play production. He's got six (5/1) power play points. Micheal Nylander also has six power play points (2/4).

Carolina is one of only five teams who have yet to score a shorthanded goal.

Expect Ward and Kolzig to start between the pipes.

Puck drop is at 7:00. No Carolina TV, but it should be on Center Ice, even in the Carolina viewing area.

Caps 2 - Canes 0

On Saturday night, the Hurricanes failed to show even 1/5 the intensity they had on Friday night. Coupled with some solid play by the home team Capitals, it resulted in a 2-0 loss.
This is just "one of those games". Crackers did everything he could, but the fellas in front of him weren't helping out. In fact, in the first period, the Hurricanes only managed to register two shots on goal.
Alexander Ovechkin got the Caps on the board at 14:24 of the first with a wrister from the slot. Viktor Kozlov and John Erskine assisted. As Kozlov came in on the right wing, it was pretty clear what was going to happen next, and AO made no mistake beating Grahame high on the blocker side. Sadly, it would turn out to be the game winner.

At 5:00 of the second, Milan Jurcina scored a power play goal which was assisted by Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom.

The Hurricanes got nine shots in the second, but few of them were worth noting. Actually, only one. Trevor Letowski had a fantastic shorthanded breakaway chance, but he softly shot a wrist shot into Kolzig's chest. It doesn't count as a shot on goal, but Chad LaRose had a shot bang off the right post.

In the third, there was no scoring. Carolina got 12 shots to finish with an unimpressive 23. Meanwhile, Washington was limited to 4 shots in the final frame, totaling 33 for the game.

Crackers made some very nice saves, especially a couple of robberies against Ovechkin. Without his good play, the Caps might have won 12-0. Unfortunately, he was left to dry. As a goaltender, you can't win any games when your team doesn't give you any run support. As a team you can't win games if you don't take any shots on goal.

This is one of those games that you hope they just put behind them immediately. Forget about it and move on to the next game Tuesday in Toronto.

The Canes just started their annual two-and-a-half week road swing while the North Carolina State Fair is in town. The fairgrounds are adjacent to the RBC Center, and they learned the hard way not to schedule home games during the fair.

Next home game is Monday October 22, when Roberto Luongo, Markus Naslund, the Sedinbots and the rest of the Canucks come to town for the first time since 2003-04.

Tonight's "official" three stars went to Viktor Kozlov (third), Alexander Ovechkin (second) and Olaf Kolzig (first). I don't really agree with this. I don't think Grahame's hard work should go unnoticed, I don't think Kolzig had to work that hard to earn the shutout, and I don't think Ovechkin's overall effort was given enough credit. I see it a little differently. The RBH three stars:

THIRD STAR: John Grahame, CAR --- 31 saves
SECOND STAR: Olaf Kolzig, WAS --- 23 saves, win, shutout
FIRST STAR: Alexander Ovechkin, WAS --- GWG, 6 SOG, 4 hits, 3 takeaways, 3 blocked shots

Eastern Conference hot seats (part one)

A few days ago, The Score presented its list of players who will be in "the hot seat" for their respective team. Not necessarily that their job is on the line, but the suggestion is that the success or failure of the team would be predicated upon the success or failure of a single player. Unfortunately, their list puts too much pressure on the goaltender to be the guy. I don't really buy that. Too often, goalies become the fall guy he's not getting any goal support. I like to look elsewhere.

The rest of the crew over at SESO have been kicking this around for a few days, everyone putting their own two cents in. I thought it would be fun to take it team-by-team and give my own unqualified opinion. I'm in no way qualified to comment on Western Conference teams, and in many cases, I have no business commenting on Eastern, but I'll take a shot at all 15 teams in the East. Here, at least is part one of this project. Please excuse the length.

Boston Bruins. The Score says Manny Fernandez is in the hot seat. They traded to get him, and the idea is that he's going to right the goaltending ship. I'm not looking that way at all. Tim Thomas is by no means Ken Dryden, but I just don't think that the Bruins main problem was between the pipes. Their goaltending was suspect, but even more suspect was their offensive production. The Bs scored just 210 goals last season, putting them in 25th place league-wide. This is clearly an area that needs improvement. I'll pick on the youngster Phil Kessel. He's gonna have to step it up in this, his sophomore season. The Teddy Bears have been all about Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron, but that's going to have to change. He is going to have to show everyone why the Bs took him with the #5 overall pick in 2006 and why they sent him straight to the big club. Take a quick look at his rookie numbers. 29 (11/18) points in 70 games. Look at Eric Staal's rookie season, when he was also sent directly to the big club. 31 (11/20) points in 81 games. If Kessel can have a Staal-esque sophomore season, I think the natives in Boston will be quite happy with how the rest of the squad responds. It's unfair to pin it on the kid, but I really think that if they want to be any good, it's going to take a breakout season by Kessel.

Montréal Canadiens. The Score picks on Alexei Kovalev. He's grossly overpaid, and he needs to prove his worth, but that 95-point season was a freak combination of playing over one's head and playing alongside Jagr and Lemieux. It was a perfect storm, and it'll never happen again. I'll pick on Michael Ryder. He's been good, but there's probably more in the tank. He needs to find it. With Sheldon Souray gone, someone will have to pick up the slack in point production. Koivu can't do it all, and I don't see the need to demand more of Kovalev in that department. Ryder was the Habs' leading goal-scorer last season, but he needs to pick it up even more. If he should have a letdown of a season, they're done.

Washington Capitals. The Score put Ovechkin in the hot seat. Not me. I put Michael Nylander there. He was an uber-expensive free agent acquisition, and it is up to him to bolster that one man show up there. Okay, so with Alexander Semin there, it's a two man show. But anyway, it's all on him to make it a three-man show. He has to stay healthy and motivated. He has to have the kinds of numbers that he had the last two seasons (83 points, 79 points). Elsewise, the Caps will have wasted their money and they will finish out of the playoffs again. I think they'll finish out of the playoffs either way, but Nylander can help them to be competitive.

New Jersey Devils. The Score chose Dainius Zubrus. That pick is too obvious. The Devils need a Scott Gomez replacement. Zubrus ain't it. He put up good numbers in 2005-06 when he played on a very very crappy Capitals team, but whenever he's surrounded by talent, those numbers won't be as high. After he was acquired by Buffalo at the trade deadline last season, he did virtually nothing for them in the regular or post season. at $3.4M, he's way overpaid, and he needs to have a 70+ point season to justify the big contract. He won't, but the Devs will be just fine. Unless.... My hot seat selection for them is Zach Parise. The youngster had a semi-breakout season last year with 62(31/31) points. He'll need to have another career best season this year This season, he won't have the beautiful playmaking of Scott Gomez to help him out, and who knows whether Hepatitis Boy will stay healthy all season. In any case, Parise should step up his game, and my opinion is that as he goes, so too will go the Devils.

Philadelphia Flyers. The Score said Marty Biron was the guy. The Bullies went all apey in the free agent market, and really you could pick any of those new guys with the huge price tags. I'll take the easy way out and pick the former Sabres captain Danny Briere. He's making $10M this year, and if he doesn't score over 150 goals and add 150 assists while leading the Flyers to their third Stanley Cup, it will have been a waste. Who wants to bet that it won't happen?
Unfair to pin it all on Briere? I don't think so. This dude's salary has been skyrocketing at a rate non-commensurate with his production. In 2003-04, Briere made $1.6M while putting up 65 (28/37) points. Before the lockout, an arbitrator "awarded" him a $2.55M contract for the season that never happened. In 2005-06, he made $2M and put up 58 (25/33) points in just 48 games (1.21 ppg). Last seson, he was awarded a "huge" $5M contract via arbitration and he scored 95 (32/63) points (1.17 ppg). This season, his pay will literally double. Even when you average out the "cap hit" to $6.5M, this is a hefty raise. I don't think he deserves it, and unless he accomplishes the aforementioned impossible tasks, it won't have been worth it. Can Briere handle the pressure of living up to this huge contract? With all these "sexy" acquisitions, the Flyers should be competitive, but I think it all depends on the little Quebeccer.

Speaking of the Buffalo Sabres, The Score puts Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek sitting in each other's laps in the "hot seat". Those two were among the Sabres' top five scorers, and they'll certainly need to put up the same kinds of numbers if the Sabres want to be good. They'll be good, but if Maxim Afinogenov can crank it up a couple of notches, they'll be great. He's been a frustrating player for Sabres fans. With such flashes of brilliance interspersed with sloppiness and a trademark inability to finish scoring chances, I think there's a phenom trapped in the body of a near-phenom. If he busts out, the Sabres will be (to borrow from Rick Jeanneret) "Scary Good" despite losing their two co-captains to ridiculous free agent poaching. In the 2004 season, Afinogenov scored one of the most incredible goals I've ever seen. Enjoy the YouTube clip and Jeaneret's call.


As a special treat for Sabres fans, that's Carolina's current #2 goaltender "Johnny Crackers" getting abused by Maxi in the clip.

The Score puts Cam Ward in Carolina's "hot seat". This is purely based on the way Cam came down to earth last season after playing way over his head on the way to winning the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe trophy in 2006. Will Cam have to be good? Sure. However, I pick Matt Cullen. When Carolina struggled last season, everyone had a million excuses for why they weren't the same as the Cup-winning team. Almost everyone agreed that the absence of Cully was a huge factor. A lot of people rated it as the #1 factor. Carolina spent a lot of money to re-acquire Cullen via trade with the Rangers. Now that Carolina has replaced Cullen with Cullen himself, they should be able to return to 2006 form. Cullen will have to put up at 50 or more points and push the Canes back into a deep playoff run to justify going over the self-imposed budget. If he can't produce, the Canes will be on the links in April. He's the "hot seat" guy.

New York Islanders. In keeping with their "pick on the new guy or the goalie" theme, The Score put Billy Guerin in the Isles' "hot seat". The Isles are going to stink this year. They've made some acquisitions, but they're all old guys, except Mike Comrie, and they overpaid like hell for him. Charles Wang is running a clown factory over there, and the Isles' new sweaters are going to make a lot of eyes sore. Defenseman Emma Bergeron had a great season last year, and he'll probably be the Isles leading point-getter this season. Just for giggles, I'll put Jeff Tambellini in the "hot seat". In what was a pretty strong draft class in 2003, Tambellini was taken with the 27th overall pick. He put up point-a-night numbers in two AHL seasons, but has yet to make an impact on the NHL level. The Isles will have a bunch of 10-goal scorers, and a small handful of old dudes scoring 20. I don't see anyone scoring 30, unless this guy has a breakout season. If he does, the Isles might be competitive. I don't think old man Billy Guerin will be able to carry the weight of the team. One of the young guys will have to step to the front. I nominate Tambellini.


This is taking way longer than I anticipated. Look for part two by Friday evening. Lemme know what you think.

Canes take a few days off after beating Brodeur

On Saturday, the Canes did what few teams have been able to do this season. They solved Marty Brodeur. In fact, they chased him from the game, scoring four goals on their first 12 shots. With the score 4-0 midway through the second, Brodeur left. The Canes went on to rout the Devils 7-2 to split the home-and-home.

Just two days prior, the same two teams met in the RBC Center with the Devils emerging with a 3-2 victory. I didn't have time to write about it, or the back end of that home-and-home due to a very hectic work schedule.

During the first second intermission of the home game, my friend Bill and I argued the usefulness of Chad LaRose. I said that I like him, that I've always liked him, and he should be given the ice time that he gets. Bill doesn't think he deserves to play while a more skilled Anson Carter rides the pine. I agree that Carter is more talented, but I don't think the fourth line is the right place for Carter. On Saturday, that problem was solved when Trevor Letowski was scratched, Carter played on the third line and LaRose played center on the fourth line. After the shift from wing to center, LaRose had the best game of his NHL career, notching two goals. The first was an absolutely gorgeous pump fake followed by the slapper from the left dot that beat Brodeur on the short side. The pump fake was so good that I actually thought it was a long rebound.

His second goal was almost the same, but on the right dot and to Clemmensen's short side.

He earned first star props for his two-goal effort.

In that game, Carolina shut down the Devils' power play, and now they've allowed just one pp goal over the last nine games. On their own end, they managed to score two power play goals. Hopefully, this will kickstart that special teams unit while the PK keeps on keepin' on.

Carolina will have its second four-day vacation this week. They won't play again until Thursday night at home against the lowly Capitals. In the meantime, some of the teams with games in hand will be playing those out.

After the Caps, the Canes will be entertaining the Sharks, who haven't been to Raleigh since the 2003-04 season. That will be the culmination of a very long superfunday. My second in as many weeks. More on that later.

Canes, Cole, Whitney back in action

I'll take a brief pause from my musings on the Chris Simon incident to touch on something closer to home.

After a four day break in the schedule, the Hurricanes are back in action tonight at the Cap MCI Verizon Center to take on the lowly Capitals. Simply put, the Canes are going to have to win this game. This is a game the Canes should win, and they know that they will have to win every one of these "should win" games plus steal a few of the "should lose" games if they want to make the second season.

Encouraging news for the Canes. Erik Cole and Ray Whitney, who have both missed a few games recently, are "probable" for the game. However, defenseman Bret Hedican is out. Anton Babchuk has been recalled from Albany to replace him. Supposedly, his suspension and assignment has a much better attitude.

Carolina is not, as some have been saying, in a "three-way tie for eighth place" in the east. They and the Leafs both have 73 points with 14 games left. Rangers also have 73 points, but they've got a game in hand and hold other tie-breakers over the Canes.

The Canes will have to win, and they will have to start winning big time. It could conceivably come down to a tiebreaker involving the goals for/goals against spread.

Puck drop will be at 7:30, and will be on Canes TV. I'll be working, but I have the DVR all fired up.

Canes beat Caps, narrow gap in SE

On Friday night, the Canes outplayed the Capitals and won the game 4-1. Meanwhile, the first place Thrashers lost to the Stars. After having won four of their last five games and getting some help from the Thrashers, the Canes have now moved to within two points of Atlanta.

Tonight, the Thrashers will be in Montréal and the Canes will be hosting the Stars. If things go right, the Canes could move into first place.

As expected, the Canes started John "Crackers" Grahame between the pipes, and this made a few people nervous. After all, he had been on the shelf for nearly a month and hasn't played that well in limited starts.

There was no scoring until late in the second frame. Just 43 seconds into the Canes fourth power play sequence, they finally lit the lamp. Andrew "Hot Dog with Cheese" Hutchinson fired a point shot through traffic that Kolzig blocked. Erik Cole was in close to get the rebound, and he had two cracks at it before slipping a backhander past Kolzig on the glove side. Hutchinson got the first assist and Brind'Amour got the second.

At 16:35, the Canes cashed in on another power play chance. This time it was 42 seconds into a Donald Brashear holding penalty. On a very tight tic-tac-toe play, Ray Whitney passed to Brindy behind the net. He and Erik Cole played give-and-go, and Brindy easily beat Kolzig from the right side of the net on the short side. Cole got the first assist and Whitney the other.

At 5:33 of the third, the Canes made it 3-0 with a combination of the same three players. Brind'Amour had drawn a double team near the top of the right circle. He made a beautiful tape-to-tape pass to Whitters, who was camped out on the left dot. The Wizard one-timed it in. I obviously have the Canes feed here, but the NHL.com highlights used the Caps feed, and even their announcers couldn't stop gushing about the quality of that Brind'Amour pass. Erik Cole got the second assist.

Richard Zednik ended Crackers' shutout bid at 9:28 of the third. For once this season, that goal had nothing to do with Avi Tanabe. Snuggles wasn't on the ice, nor in the penalty box. He can't be blamed for this one. Actually, nobody can be blamed. It was just a good goal. The Big Letowski was in the box for holding the stick, and the Caps were moving the puck well on their power play. Ben Clymer fired a blue line shot that was well off the mark, but re-directed by Zednik on the right side of the cage. There wasn't really anything Grahame could have done. Kris Beech got the secondary assist on the power play goal.

The Captain put the game out of reach at 18:13. Erik Cole centered a pass from the bottom of the left circle to Brindy, who was just hanging out in the goal mouth. Brindy simply tipped it in, and that was the cue for the fat lady. Cole got the first assist and Whitney got the second.


The "official" three stars were given to Ray Whitney (third), Erik Cole (second) and Brindy. Mine are not much different than that.

The RBH three stars:
Third Star John Grahame, CAR. 21 saves, first win of season.
Second Star Erik Cole, CAR. 1 goal, 3 assists.
First Star Rod Brind'Amour, CAR. 2 goals, 2 assists.

There is quite a lot of speculation that defenseman Tim Gleason will be back in the lineup tonight. There's also a chance that defeneseman Nic Wallin will be back. Either would be good. Both would be great. We'd just like to be taken out of the misery we've been experiencing thanks to the poor play of David (aka Avi) Tanabe. Frantisek Kaberle is still a long way off. The return of these two defensemen brings up a tough question. What to do with Anton Babchuk? Babs has been playing extremely well and has responded brilliantly to his sudden increase in icetime and responsibility. I hope he is rewarded with a continuing spot on the every night roster. Tanabe obviously goes to the press box or preferably to Albany.

We'll be hosting the Stars tonight. I won't be using my ticket, and it isn't on teevee, so I'll have to rely on NHL.com highlights. Some stuff came up at work that requires my attention. The Canes offer an "unused ticket trade-in" program which will allow me to simply swap tonight's ticket for a ticket to a game not in my 24-game package.

Canes throttle Caps, Cole nets hatty

On Thursday night in the RBC Center, the Hurricanes shut out the visiting Caps 5-0. The two Alex were held at bay while the the two Eric/k were great.

Consider Alexander Ovechkin's line:

17:47 TOI, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 4 shots, EV

And especially Alexander Semin's line:

16:39 TOI, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 1 shot, -3

Compared to Eric Staal's line:

19:39 TOI, 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points, 7 shots, +2

And especially Erik Cole's line:

20:11 TOI, 3 goals, 0 assists, 3 points, 4 shots, +2

Erik Cole was absolutely en fuego. He was flying on the ice, and he obviously made the best of his scoring chances, hitting three of the four shots he took, getting him his fourth career hat trick.

Trevor Letowski, who missed 9 games with a concussion, played very well, and netted first goal as a Hurricane. He returned to action on Tuesday against the Devils, and looked good while being used sparingly.

As always, Scott Walker looked great, making key passes, manning up on defensive plays, and doing very well in his increased role on special teams.


At 5:47 of the first, Cole got his first goal of the game. He and Scotty Walker exploded up-ice on a 2-on-2 break. Cole's speed got him half a step on the closest Capitals player, and his tip-in goal was easy, but it couldn't have happened without the brilliance of Scott Walker. Coming down the right side, Walker was flanked by Colesy coming straight down the middle of the ice. The two Caps players were each half a stride behind, and Walker perfectly hit Cole in stride for the easy tip in from about 5 feet out. After the fact, Nic Wallin was given a secondary assist on the play.

During the second period, the Canes had some discipline issues. They took three consecutive penalties midway through the stanza, which gave the Caps a full two minutes of five-on-three, and about two combined minutes of power play on the bookends. Carolina stood tall, with excellent penalty killing, and Cam Ward looked very sharp.

At 18:03, Erik Cole got his second of the night on a pinball shot during a power play sequence. Eric Staal fired a slapshot from the blue line which deflected off Cole's stomach or stick shaft or glove or something on the way in. The subtle re-direction, which occurred from about 6 feet out, ruined Brent Johnson's chance of making the save. Staal with the first assist, and Hedican with the secondary helper on the power play goal.

In the third period, the Canes really took control of the game. Eric Staal scored an even strength marker at 8:46 to make it 3-0. From the right face off circle, he took the sharp angle, beating Johnson on the far side of the net, inside the left post. Scott Walker and Glen Wesley got assists.

At 11:46, Trevor "the Dude" Letowski netted his first goal in a Hurricanes sweater. He and Andrew Ladd had created a two-on-one break off a neutral zone takeaway. Letowski was going through the left circle, with Ladd streaking down the right side. The Dude faked the give-and-go, and got past Johnson on the far side. Johnson had come too far out, and was obviously anticipating the pass. I don't think he saw it until it was too late.

At 14:39, Cole finished off the hat trick with a phenomenal individual effort. The Canes were going on a mini-break, and Cole blew past THREE Caps skaters to take a long "on-side" pass from Ray Whitney. He came in on Johnson and lifted a backhander top shelf. In all honesty, I've watched the replay a bunch of times, and he looked off side, but the linesman on the spot was clearly indicating an on-side play. Rod Brind'Amour got the secondary assist.

It was the fourth hat trick of Cole's career, his first this season, and only the second by a Hurricane this season.

The Canes will stay home as they enjoy a four game homestand. Up next will be the Penguins on Saturday and the highly anticipated Staal v Staal II. The first time we get to see Malkin. Also, the first time Erik Cole and Brooks Orpik see each other.

There were so many stars on Thursday, but I will award the RBH stars of the game as such:

Third Star Cam Ward, CAR Shutout, 20 saves.
Second Star Scott Walker, CAR 2 assists
First Star Erik Cole, CAR 3 goals

Canes lose again, coach angry

On Saturday, the Hurricanes played their first of seven consecutive road games, and ended up on the short end of a 5-2 game with the Capitals.

While the North Carolina State Fair is taking place on the grounds adjacent to the RBC Center, the Canes must hit the road for two weeks. The team thought that they would be able to "find themselves" on the road, but it hasn't happened yet. This time, there would be no opening night jitters as an excuse. There would be no reference to family members being dangerously close to an enormous toxic chemical fire. There would be no handy excuse. Not that they've offered any so far.

I couldn't watch the live broadcast of the game, and I haven't had a chance to view the DVR yet, but I've seen the highlights and the scoresheet.

At 12:38 of the first, "the other Alex" Semin started the scoring on a big shot from the high slot. A Canes turnover in neutral ice led to a Caps rush. Anton Babchuk was the only Canes defenseman anywhere near the play, and Semin wasted no time ripping his slap shot past him and Cam Ward. Chris Clark had the only assist.

Andrew Ladd scored his first goal of the season at 1:40 of the second. The Canes were on a power play, and were moving the puck around nicely. Tim Gleason unleashed a big time shot from the left point which was slightly redirected by Andrew Ladd on the way in. The assist was Gleason's first point as a Cane. Viva got the other assist, his second of the young but disappointing season.

At 5:21, Nic "The Secret Weapon" Wallin, who lives in Apex and whose home was in the evacuation area after Thursday's chemical fire ( story), scored a nice goal to give the Canes a brief 2-1 lead. There was some nice puck movement down in the Washington end on the right side. Wallin knocked in a wrist shot from just above the right circle. The assists went to Scott Walker and Eric Belanger, both of whom earned their first point as a Cane on the play.

With a delayed penalty in hand, the Caps set up a nice scoring play for Alexander Semin at 9:11. He took a pass at the top of the right circle, faked a shot, hesitated, then he beautifully placed his wrister in the top right corner of Ward's goal. He had all the time in the world to do whatever he wanted to do, and he put his shot in a very precise spot. Brian Pothier and Rico Fata got the assists.

The second period ended 2-2, but the third frame would not be kind to the Canes.

Alex Ovechkin scored at 8:03 of the third, for what would prove to be the game winner. Some sloppy passing in the Caps end led to a turnover. Chris Clark and AO rushed into the Carolina zone, with three Canes back. It wouldn't be enough,though. AO took a wrist shot from the right side of the right circle that found its way through Eric Belanger and Nic Wallin, then beat Cam Ward badly. Clark got the only helper on the play, his second of the game.

AO struck again at 13:03. While the Caps were enjoying a power play, Brian Pothier unleashed a blue line slap shot that was deflected in by #8. Pothier got his second assist of the game, and Chris Clark his third.

It wasn't over, though. Semin struck again, getting his hat trick goal at 17:13. The Caps were on a 5-on-3, applying lots of pressure. Semin got a rebound out by the left post and slammed it in for the 5-2 score. Kris Beech got one assist, and Brian Pothier got the other, his third of the game.

One of many things that the Canes will have to work on is their discipline. The Canes took 10 penalties on Saturday, marking the second time in three games they have had double digit penalties. This has to stop. Last season, they were one of the four or five least penalized teams in the NHL, and many people attributed their success in large part to their disciplined play. Two of Washington's goals came on the power play, and another came with a delayed penalty in hand. If Carolina is going to continue to commit 10 penalties per game, they're not going to win any games.

Coach Laviolette:

"We're kidding ourselves. We're taking bad penalties instead of doing the work. We're mouthing off instead of doing the work. Selfish acts are costing us games. It needs to be fixed. It needs to be corrected. It will be."

The "mouthing off" refers to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that Eric Staal took in the third period that created the 5-on-3 chance. He was complaining to the refs about Alexander Ovechkin, and the ref heard too much. It's clear that the referees aren't going to put up with any belly aching this season. On Wednesday, Adam Mair of the Sabres took an unsportsmanlike penalty for the exact same thing. Unless you have a C or an A on your chest, you're not supposed to gripe to the refs. They've always let it go in the past, but it looks like they're not going to tolerate any chirping this season.

Today, the Canes were supposed to have an off day. They won't. They'll have practice, and I'm sure it'll be one of the more grueling practices they've ever had.

Next, the road trip goes to Florida on Wednesday.