Since about the beginning of February, it has been a common conjecture in Carolina that John Crackers Grahame had reached the end of the line in Carolina. He appeared in only four of Carolina's last 32 games. Only one of those was a start.
It has become official: John Grahame will not be back. On Friday, he was signed to a two-year deal by Avangard Omsk of the Continental Hockey Association (Russian Super League). Grahame, according to a bad translation from the original Russian, is "owner of Stanley Cup". He will, presumably, sulk on the bench whilst ogling the Russian puck bunnies.
This paves the way for the inevitable signing of Michael Leighton to an NHL contract. Some folks think it would be in Carolina's best interest to go after an aging veteran RFA goaltender so Cam would have a mentor, but I really don't think that Cam needs any more guidance than Tom Barrasso can give him. Leighton, who was the AHL's top goaltender last season, is more than ready to make the jump back to the NHL. Leighton has appeared in 50 NHL games, dating back to 2002-03. Most of those were on the horrendously bad Blackhawks team in the 2003-04 season. That team won only 20 games all season long.
To Grahame's credit, he never complained about his lack of playing time or his obvious #2 status. He didn't complain when he was reassigned to Albany. Things just didn't work out for him here. I wish him well, but I can't say that I'll miss him.
Showing posts with label Grahame. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grahame. Show all posts
Monday, May 19, 2008
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Devils stomp Canes
On Saturday night in Newark, the Hurricanes had a chance to build off their great effort Friday night and perhaps open their lead a little in the Southeast division. Unfortunately, they didn't bother showing up and were embarrassed 6-1.
After the win against Washington, I was having an IM chat with The Sliding Pokecheck. We were talking about the Devils and how they've struggled to find offense all season long and how Marty Brodeur just isn't the Marty Brodeur that we've seen in the past. I said something like "Like the 2001-02 Hurricanes, they're hoping that they can win every game 2-1, coz they can't score more than that." A few moments later, I said "Now that I've said that, watch them drop a touchdown on us." I had no idea how prophetic that would be. Well, they missed the PAT, but they still scored the touchdown.
The Devils were on the board early. Defenseman Colin White fired a shot from the left point that went through Mike Commodore's legs, off the far side post and in the goal behind Cam Ward. Officially, it was White from David Clarkson and Jay Pandolfo at 3:08 of the first. It was kind of a crazy goal, and it was a harbinger of things to come. Everything went well for the Devils.
At 5:53, another defenseman scored. Paul Martin took a shot from the right circle which hit Cory Stillman's stick in the slot and deflected in the goal, top shelf. Hepatitis Boy and Jamie Langenbrunner had the assists on the power play goal.
Keith Aucoin gave the Canes a brief glimmer of hope with a crazy goal of his own at 10:35 of the opening stanza. He was in the right place at the right time to deflect an impossible angle shot by Scott Walker from behind the net. He was just there by the left post and got a lucky carom. Walker and Andrew Ladd had the assists.
The game pretty much ended at 15:47 of the first. The Canes were killing the final seconds of a penalty when Johnny Oduya was bringing the puck through neutral ice. He detected that nobody was marking him and he had an unabated path all the way to the goal. He charged in on Ward and easily scored as four and a half Hurricanes skaters stood and watched. The goal was unassisted.
Dainius Zubrus scored a power play goal at 17:58 to make it 4-1. This goal looked a lot like Andrew Ladd's goal against Washington on Friday. The Devils were charging in the zone with numbers. Brian Gionta put a shot on net from the bottom of the right circle. The juicy rebound went to Zubrus with no white sweaters anywhere in the same area code. Andrew Green had the secondary assist.
To everybody's surprise, Cam Ward started the second period. Despite giving up four goals, it wasn't because he was playing poorly. The first goal was through a screen and off the post. The second was a crazy bounce off Cory Stillman's stick. The third, he was hung out to dry, and the fourth was just an amazing play by the Devils. At best, two of those goals were Cam's fault.
At 1:29 of the second, Paul Martin scored his second goal of the game and his fifth of the season. Again, it was assisted by Hepatitis Boy and Langenbrunner.
Jay Pandolfo finished a pretty two-on-one rush at 14:41 to make it 6-1. John Madden and Pandolfo rushed into the Carolina zone with Frantisek Kaberle the only Hurricane back. Kaberle laid down to take the left wing shot away from Madden, but he patiently passed to Pandolfo for the finish. David Clarkson had the second assist.
John Crackers Grahame took over between the pipes after the Pandolfo goal and he steered the boys home without crashing into anything else. Huzzah to him for coming off the bench cold and stopping the bleeding.
The defense sucked. The penalty killing was terrible. The power play was awful. Forechecking was non-existent. The penalties were frequent and lazy. Nothing about the Canes performance was good. Nothing. Well, maybe John Grahame.
The "official" three stars were Oduya (third), Pandolfo (second) and Martin (first), but I have it a little differently. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Patrick Elias, NJD -- 2 assists
SECOND STAR Jay Pandolfo, NJD -- goal, assist
FIRST STAR Paul Martin, NJD -- 2 goals (including GWG), 2 blocked shots, 2 takeaways.
On Tuesday, the Hurricanes will conclude the five game road trip and the "pretend it's a playoff series" seven game stretch following the ASG. After winning two in a row at home after the ASG, Carolina has lost three of these four road games. They will have the day off Sunday, then will practice in Boston on Monday before Tuesday's game with the Bruins.
After the win against Washington, I was having an IM chat with The Sliding Pokecheck. We were talking about the Devils and how they've struggled to find offense all season long and how Marty Brodeur just isn't the Marty Brodeur that we've seen in the past. I said something like "Like the 2001-02 Hurricanes, they're hoping that they can win every game 2-1, coz they can't score more than that." A few moments later, I said "Now that I've said that, watch them drop a touchdown on us." I had no idea how prophetic that would be. Well, they missed the PAT, but they still scored the touchdown.
The Devils were on the board early. Defenseman Colin White fired a shot from the left point that went through Mike Commodore's legs, off the far side post and in the goal behind Cam Ward. Officially, it was White from David Clarkson and Jay Pandolfo at 3:08 of the first. It was kind of a crazy goal, and it was a harbinger of things to come. Everything went well for the Devils.
At 5:53, another defenseman scored. Paul Martin took a shot from the right circle which hit Cory Stillman's stick in the slot and deflected in the goal, top shelf. Hepatitis Boy and Jamie Langenbrunner had the assists on the power play goal.
Keith Aucoin gave the Canes a brief glimmer of hope with a crazy goal of his own at 10:35 of the opening stanza. He was in the right place at the right time to deflect an impossible angle shot by Scott Walker from behind the net. He was just there by the left post and got a lucky carom. Walker and Andrew Ladd had the assists.
The game pretty much ended at 15:47 of the first. The Canes were killing the final seconds of a penalty when Johnny Oduya was bringing the puck through neutral ice. He detected that nobody was marking him and he had an unabated path all the way to the goal. He charged in on Ward and easily scored as four and a half Hurricanes skaters stood and watched. The goal was unassisted.
Dainius Zubrus scored a power play goal at 17:58 to make it 4-1. This goal looked a lot like Andrew Ladd's goal against Washington on Friday. The Devils were charging in the zone with numbers. Brian Gionta put a shot on net from the bottom of the right circle. The juicy rebound went to Zubrus with no white sweaters anywhere in the same area code. Andrew Green had the secondary assist.
To everybody's surprise, Cam Ward started the second period. Despite giving up four goals, it wasn't because he was playing poorly. The first goal was through a screen and off the post. The second was a crazy bounce off Cory Stillman's stick. The third, he was hung out to dry, and the fourth was just an amazing play by the Devils. At best, two of those goals were Cam's fault.
At 1:29 of the second, Paul Martin scored his second goal of the game and his fifth of the season. Again, it was assisted by Hepatitis Boy and Langenbrunner.
Jay Pandolfo finished a pretty two-on-one rush at 14:41 to make it 6-1. John Madden and Pandolfo rushed into the Carolina zone with Frantisek Kaberle the only Hurricane back. Kaberle laid down to take the left wing shot away from Madden, but he patiently passed to Pandolfo for the finish. David Clarkson had the second assist.
John Crackers Grahame took over between the pipes after the Pandolfo goal and he steered the boys home without crashing into anything else. Huzzah to him for coming off the bench cold and stopping the bleeding.
The defense sucked. The penalty killing was terrible. The power play was awful. Forechecking was non-existent. The penalties were frequent and lazy. Nothing about the Canes performance was good. Nothing. Well, maybe John Grahame.
The "official" three stars were Oduya (third), Pandolfo (second) and Martin (first), but I have it a little differently. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Patrick Elias, NJD -- 2 assists
SECOND STAR Jay Pandolfo, NJD -- goal, assist
FIRST STAR Paul Martin, NJD -- 2 goals (including GWG), 2 blocked shots, 2 takeaways.
On Tuesday, the Hurricanes will conclude the five game road trip and the "pretend it's a playoff series" seven game stretch following the ASG. After winning two in a row at home after the ASG, Carolina has lost three of these four road games. They will have the day off Sunday, then will practice in Boston on Monday before Tuesday's game with the Bruins.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Canes-Isles in a matinee
The Hurricanes and Islanders play an unusual weekday matinee today. Puck drop will be at 2:00. This is the front end of a back-to-back home-and-home. The teams will square off again tomorrow night in Raleigh.
Barring a last-second change of plans, Brandon Nolan will not be in the Hurricanes lineup and will not have the chance to play against his father.
In other news, Johnny Crackers Grahame has been place on re-entry waivers, which expire at noon today. Michael Leighton is expected to dress for the Canes even if Crackers clears.
In other other news, Erik Cole had to leave practice early on Sunday with what appeared to be a knee injury. The good news is that he's fine and will be in the lineup today.
Also, Trevor Letowski, who thought "for sure" he had broken his foot blocking a Sheldon Souray shot on Friday, is fine.
After so many injuries, it's nice to have dodged a couple of bullets.
Don't forget. Very early puck drop today. 2:00 today and 7:00 tomorrow.
Barring a last-second change of plans, Brandon Nolan will not be in the Hurricanes lineup and will not have the chance to play against his father.
In other news, Johnny Crackers Grahame has been place on re-entry waivers, which expire at noon today. Michael Leighton is expected to dress for the Canes even if Crackers clears.
In other other news, Erik Cole had to leave practice early on Sunday with what appeared to be a knee injury. The good news is that he's fine and will be in the lineup today.
Also, Trevor Letowski, who thought "for sure" he had broken his foot blocking a Sheldon Souray shot on Friday, is fine.
After so many injuries, it's nice to have dodged a couple of bullets.
Don't forget. Very early puck drop today. 2:00 today and 7:00 tomorrow.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Crackers waived, Leighton called.
On Thursday, the Hurricanes placed Matt Cullen (concussion), David Tanabe (concussion) and Scott Walker (knee) on the injured reserve list. They have recalled forwards Keith Aucoin and Brandon Nolan from Albany. More on that here.
Aucoin has two assists in six games of NHL action this season, and Nolan has one assist in two games.
They made another, much more newsworthy move this morning when they waived struggling goaltender John Crackers Grahame and called Michael Leighton up.
Leighton had a really good training camp here and has been crushing it in Albany. He's been the best goaltender in the entire AHL, posting five shutouts, a GAA of 2.14 and a save percentage of .928.
Contrary to what I have suggested on this page and in some of my spoken commentary, Leighton DOES NOT have to clear re-entry waivers. He makes $100k at the AHL level, which exempts him from re-entry waivers. Here's some information about re-entry waivers as per the new CBA. Thanks to Luke's article for the tip.
I never liked Grahame, and I'm not sad that he's on waivers. I'm excited that Leighton is getting a shot.
Aucoin has two assists in six games of NHL action this season, and Nolan has one assist in two games.
They made another, much more newsworthy move this morning when they waived struggling goaltender John Crackers Grahame and called Michael Leighton up.
Leighton had a really good training camp here and has been crushing it in Albany. He's been the best goaltender in the entire AHL, posting five shutouts, a GAA of 2.14 and a save percentage of .928.
Contrary to what I have suggested on this page and in some of my spoken commentary, Leighton DOES NOT have to clear re-entry waivers. He makes $100k at the AHL level, which exempts him from re-entry waivers. Here's some information about re-entry waivers as per the new CBA. Thanks to Luke's article for the tip.
I never liked Grahame, and I'm not sad that he's on waivers. I'm excited that Leighton is getting a shot.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Canes snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, beat Leafs 3-2 in overtime
On Tuesday night, it looked like Vesa Toskala was headed for another shutout victory. In 85 seconds, it all came crashing down. Depending on who you root for, either (a) Carolina snatched victory from the jaws of defeat or (2) Toronto gave the game away, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. No matter how you call it, Carolina won 3-2. They made a very late rally to force overtime, then got the winner with under a minute to play in the extra frame.
Early in the game, Carolina was buzzing. In the first minute, they had several shots including a quality chance in the first seven seconds. Toskala stood his ground and rebuffed every turn by the Canes.
In the first period, Carolina had three power plays including about a minute of five-on-three, but they couldn't convert. They lobbed 13 shots at the Finn, but he had a rejoinder for every one of them. It looked like "one of those nights".
It started to look even more like "one of those nights" when the Leafs scored first at 17:50 of the first. Just seconds after the five-on-three expired, Boyd Devereaux -- who was the second man in the box -- buried the rebound from a Tomas Kaberle shot. Chad Kilger got the secondary helper on the even strength goal.
The second period, which has been anathema to the Canes, was pretty bad. Carolina could only muster four shots in the middle stanza, could never mount any pressure, and they put themselves in the box a few times. The last of these is what helped give the dreaded Leafs the 2-0 lead. After Darcy Tucker forced Trevor Letowski to cough up the puck deep in the Carolina end, Kaberle tucked it in from just off the left post. The power play goal was unassisted.
Both teams played full throttle in the third. Toronto had 15 shots to Carolina's 16. Both teams committed two penalties. Neither could convert.
As the final minutes wound down, it looked like a sure thing shutout win for Toskala. In my mind, I had him as the first star, Kaberle as the second and Boyd Devereaux as the third. All that changed quite drastically.
Just as Johnny Crackers was about to leave the ice for an extra attacker, Cory Stillman broke the shutout at 18:35, assisted by Frantisek Kaberle and Justin Williams.
With the goal scored, Peter Laviolette pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker with about 50 seconds left. Shortly thereafter, Alex Ponikarovsky had a chance to shoot at the empty net from the Carolina blue line, but he hesitated too much and Cory Stillman took the puck away. This would be the play of the game. Stillman gets mad credit for taking the puck away, and Ponikarovsky gets the "goat" treatment for not salting it away.
Ray Whitney found the back of the net at 19:33 to tie the game and send what was left of the crowd into a frenzy. Erik Cole andJustin Williams Cory Stillman assisted.
The game went to overtime, which hasn't been kind to either squad this season. Late in the bonus frame, Carolina got the benefit of one marginal call and then got another obvious penalty, affording them a rare five-on-three in overtime. The Leafs killed off the front end, and it felt like the game was destined for shootout. Eric Staal, however, had different plans.
At 4:27 of the overtime, Staal fired a shot from the blue line that found the net. Originally, they gave credit to Scott Walker for a re-direction at the goalmouth. Later, they changed it to Staal, saying that the redirection was off Pavel Kubina's stick. Apparently, they've changed it back to Walker. Scott Walker got the game winning power play goal with the helpers going to Eric Staal and Erik Cole.
Vesa Toskala was 85 seconds away from his second shutout in the last three games. 85 seconds. Just like *that*, he lost the game and plummeted from the game's first star to an "also ran".
The "official" three stars went to Ray Whitney (third), Cory Stillman (second) and Scott Walker (first). The Rogers/Sportsnet three stars went to Ray Whitney (third), Hal Gill (second) and Cory Stillman (first) don't really see it that way. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Tomas Kaberle, TOR --- 1 goal, 1 assist
SECOND STAR Erik Cole, CAR --- 2 assists, 4 hits
FIRST STAR Cory Stillman, CAR --- 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 takeaways
Stillman injured his knee on Saturday, and the initial prognosis was that he would be out until after Christmas. Turned out he didn't miss a single game. If his knee was bothering him, it sure didn't show. His late goal got the team going, then his takeaway from Ponikarovsky was probably the play of the game.
Who did miss the game, though, were Rod Brind'Amour and Andrew Ladd. Both have the flu.
For the first time since November 10th and 12th, Carolina has won consecutive games. It feels good. They will put their two game win streak on the line on Thursday in South Florida against the Kitties.
Early in the game, Carolina was buzzing. In the first minute, they had several shots including a quality chance in the first seven seconds. Toskala stood his ground and rebuffed every turn by the Canes.
In the first period, Carolina had three power plays including about a minute of five-on-three, but they couldn't convert. They lobbed 13 shots at the Finn, but he had a rejoinder for every one of them. It looked like "one of those nights".
It started to look even more like "one of those nights" when the Leafs scored first at 17:50 of the first. Just seconds after the five-on-three expired, Boyd Devereaux -- who was the second man in the box -- buried the rebound from a Tomas Kaberle shot. Chad Kilger got the secondary helper on the even strength goal.
The second period, which has been anathema to the Canes, was pretty bad. Carolina could only muster four shots in the middle stanza, could never mount any pressure, and they put themselves in the box a few times. The last of these is what helped give the dreaded Leafs the 2-0 lead. After Darcy Tucker forced Trevor Letowski to cough up the puck deep in the Carolina end, Kaberle tucked it in from just off the left post. The power play goal was unassisted.
Both teams played full throttle in the third. Toronto had 15 shots to Carolina's 16. Both teams committed two penalties. Neither could convert.
As the final minutes wound down, it looked like a sure thing shutout win for Toskala. In my mind, I had him as the first star, Kaberle as the second and Boyd Devereaux as the third. All that changed quite drastically.
Just as Johnny Crackers was about to leave the ice for an extra attacker, Cory Stillman broke the shutout at 18:35, assisted by Frantisek Kaberle and Justin Williams.
With the goal scored, Peter Laviolette pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker with about 50 seconds left. Shortly thereafter, Alex Ponikarovsky had a chance to shoot at the empty net from the Carolina blue line, but he hesitated too much and Cory Stillman took the puck away. This would be the play of the game. Stillman gets mad credit for taking the puck away, and Ponikarovsky gets the "goat" treatment for not salting it away.
Ray Whitney found the back of the net at 19:33 to tie the game and send what was left of the crowd into a frenzy. Erik Cole and
The game went to overtime, which hasn't been kind to either squad this season. Late in the bonus frame, Carolina got the benefit of one marginal call and then got another obvious penalty, affording them a rare five-on-three in overtime. The Leafs killed off the front end, and it felt like the game was destined for shootout. Eric Staal, however, had different plans.
At 4:27 of the overtime, Staal fired a shot from the blue line that found the net. Originally, they gave credit to Scott Walker for a re-direction at the goalmouth. Later, they changed it to Staal, saying that the redirection was off Pavel Kubina's stick. Apparently, they've changed it back to Walker. Scott Walker got the game winning power play goal with the helpers going to Eric Staal and Erik Cole.
Vesa Toskala was 85 seconds away from his second shutout in the last three games. 85 seconds. Just like *that*, he lost the game and plummeted from the game's first star to an "also ran".
The "official" three stars went to Ray Whitney (third), Cory Stillman (second) and Scott Walker (first). The Rogers/Sportsnet three stars went to Ray Whitney (third), Hal Gill (second) and Cory Stillman (first) don't really see it that way. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Tomas Kaberle, TOR --- 1 goal, 1 assist
SECOND STAR Erik Cole, CAR --- 2 assists, 4 hits
FIRST STAR Cory Stillman, CAR --- 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 takeaways
Stillman injured his knee on Saturday, and the initial prognosis was that he would be out until after Christmas. Turned out he didn't miss a single game. If his knee was bothering him, it sure didn't show. His late goal got the team going, then his takeaway from Ponikarovsky was probably the play of the game.
Who did miss the game, though, were Rod Brind'Amour and Andrew Ladd. Both have the flu.
For the first time since November 10th and 12th, Carolina has won consecutive games. It feels good. They will put their two game win streak on the line on Thursday in South Florida against the Kitties.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Hurricanes top Flyers in shootout; Stillman to miss a week.
On Saturday, the Hurricanes went to the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, attempting to avoid a season series sweep by the Flyers. Dating back to last season, the Flyers had won four matches in a row. Carolina eked out a 6-5 win with Rod Brind'Amour getting the "winner" in the shootout.
I was helping a friend load up a moving truck all day long, then went to dinner, so I was only able to watch the first period. I set the dvr to record the rest, but I used the automatic setting rather than manually adding 20 minutes like I usually do. The result was that I didn't get to see the last five minutes of regulation, the overtime period or the shootout. Thank goodness NHL.com does a good job with the highlights.
At 9:33 of the first, Joffrey Lupul converted a breakaway chance to put the Flyers up 1-0. The unassisted goal was Lupul's tenth of the season.
Defenseman Nic Wallin converted the rebound of an Erik Cole shot into a goal for the Canes at 13:49. Cole's hard slapper from the right circle bounced out to Wallin in the slot, and he shot it into a wide open net for his first goal of the season.
At 15:21, it looked like Wallin had made it 2-1 with a wrist shot from the left point. However, closer inspection showed that Scott Walker re-directed the shot from the slot. It was Walker's third goal of the season, and Wallin had the only helper.
Carolina took a 3-1 lead at 2:17 of the second. It was one of many bizarro goals on the night. The puck was clearly in the net, but the on-ice call was no goal because it was played with a high stick. Initially, the referee was saying that Cullen (the eventual goal scorer) had his stick above the height of the crossbar when he deflected it in. When they reviewed it, they found that the puck caromed off Cullen's body after having bounced off a Flyer's stick. The initial shot by Tim Gleason from the blue line was deflected with a questionably high stick by Craig Adams. Then off a Flyers' stick (which negates the played with a high stick). Then it bounced off of Cullen's torso (or maybe the shaft of his stick). Something about the Philly player made everything else irrelevant. Ultimately, Cullen was given credit for the goal. Gleason and CrAdams had the assists.
Just when it looked like it might be a runaway, the crazy goals kept coming. And they were coming from both sides.
Scott Hartnell scored a power play goal at 5:28 to bring the home team within one goal. Johnny Crackers made a good stop on a Hartnell shot from close range, and he was trying to freeze the puck. However, the puck was loose just inches from the goal line with just a tiny gap between Grahame's body and the left post. The referee was in perfect position to see that the puck wasn't frozen, and Hartnell kept whacking at it until he got it to cross the line. Jeff Carter and Braydon Coburn got the assists.
At 7:32, Lupul scored his second tally of the night on another goal that was initially ruled "no goal". RJ Umberger came in on a breakaway and Crackers made a stop on him. The rebound went out to Lupul in the left circle. By this point, Grahame was out of position, and Carolina defensemen Tim Gleason dove into the net with his left leg on top of the goal line, running parallel with it. Lupul's shot struck Gleason's leg and bounced out. Play continued. At the next stoppage of play, they took a closer look at that play, and Gleason's leg was just a hair over the goal line. When the puck hit his leg, it just barely crossed the goal line to do so. 3-3. The lone assist went to RJ Umberger.
Eric Staal busted out of his scoring drought at 13:20 of the second. Cole, Ray Whitney and Staal broke into the Flyers zone on an odd-man rush. Cole led the way down the right wing, then dropped a pass to the trailing Staal who one-timed it from the right circle. His 16th goal of the season broke a three game goal drought and was just his second in the last 11 games.
The second period ended 4-3, but Carolina lost the services of Cory Stillman. He suffered a knee injury and was unable to return. He lay on the ice a while after getting tangled with a Flyers player, then couldn't put any pressure on it as he left the ice. Initial indicators are that he'll miss a week or so.
Daniel Briere was left all alone in front of the net, and he made the Canes pay with an equalising goal at 0:30 of the third. Scott Hartnell and Braydon Coburn had the assists.
Trevor Letowski, who has been playing really well lately, restored the Canes lead at 6:17 of the third. After he worked really hard along the goal line against Biron, the puck worked out to the left point, where Bret Hedican fired away. Letowski was there in the left circle to make the tip, and it easily found the back of the net. Letowski's third goal of the year was assisted by Hedican and CrAdams.
Joffrey Lupul completed the hat trick while the Flyers were enjoying a five-on-three power play. All three Canes skaters and three Flyers were involved in a scrum after a flurry of shots on Grahame. Somehow, amidst all those legs and pads and gloves and sticks, the referee says he never lost sight of it. The Flyers were furiously hacking at Grahame's acoutrements trying to coerce the puck over the line. It worked. Lupul from Mike Knuble and Mike Richards at 11:46 of the third on the power play.
There was no more scoring in the third or the overtime period, but each team had power play opportunities galore.
It went to shootout.
Briere went first and shot his attempt over the net.
Cullen went first for the Canes and he used a move like Kristian Huselius used the other night on his breakaway goal against the Canes. He beat Biron cleanly.
Mike Richards went next for the Flyers. He went straight in without any fancy stuff and buried his shot.
Jeff Hamilton went second for the Canes. Instead of pulling backhand to forehand late, he did it early. His trick this time, though was to swing wide left, then pull back to the right and he easily beat Biron.
Lupul went next, knowing that he had to score just to stay alive. He went straight in, fired a shot that Grahame handled, but it trickled through him and in the goal.
Brind'Amour was next for the Canes. A miss meant the shootout would continue. Under a cloud of thundering boos (why?), the former Flyers alternate captain went in and fired a shot right at the glove hand of Biron. The puck popped straight up into the air over Biron's head. He had no idea where it was until it hit him in the back and rolled into the net.
Carolina won its first shootout since the 2005-06 season.
The official three stars went to Cole (third), Brind'Amour (second) and Lupul (first). I see it a little different. I'd love to give Crackers some love. He stood tall in a shooting gallery in stages of the second and third periods. He faced a lot of really tough shots and looked good. He gave up five goals, but he looked really good. I know that sound odd, but he did.
The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Nic Wallin, CAR -- 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 blocked shots (all while having the least ice time of any defensemen)
SECOND STAR Erik Cole, CAR -- 2 assists, 2 hits
FIRST STAR Joffrey Lupul, PHI -- 3 goals, shootout "goal"
The Flyers turn right around and play a 5:00 game at New Jersey. The Hurricanes, who did the same thing last weekend with a 5:00 Sunday game at Detroit following a 7:00 game at Rangers, will have no sympathy for the Flyers.
The Canes will be back in action with a home game against the Leafs on Tuesday.
I was helping a friend load up a moving truck all day long, then went to dinner, so I was only able to watch the first period. I set the dvr to record the rest, but I used the automatic setting rather than manually adding 20 minutes like I usually do. The result was that I didn't get to see the last five minutes of regulation, the overtime period or the shootout. Thank goodness NHL.com does a good job with the highlights.
At 9:33 of the first, Joffrey Lupul converted a breakaway chance to put the Flyers up 1-0. The unassisted goal was Lupul's tenth of the season.
Defenseman Nic Wallin converted the rebound of an Erik Cole shot into a goal for the Canes at 13:49. Cole's hard slapper from the right circle bounced out to Wallin in the slot, and he shot it into a wide open net for his first goal of the season.
At 15:21, it looked like Wallin had made it 2-1 with a wrist shot from the left point. However, closer inspection showed that Scott Walker re-directed the shot from the slot. It was Walker's third goal of the season, and Wallin had the only helper.
Carolina took a 3-1 lead at 2:17 of the second. It was one of many bizarro goals on the night. The puck was clearly in the net, but the on-ice call was no goal because it was played with a high stick. Initially, the referee was saying that Cullen (the eventual goal scorer) had his stick above the height of the crossbar when he deflected it in. When they reviewed it, they found that the puck caromed off Cullen's body after having bounced off a Flyer's stick. The initial shot by Tim Gleason from the blue line was deflected with a questionably high stick by Craig Adams. Then off a Flyers' stick (which negates the played with a high stick). Then it bounced off of Cullen's torso (or maybe the shaft of his stick). Something about the Philly player made everything else irrelevant. Ultimately, Cullen was given credit for the goal. Gleason and CrAdams had the assists.
Just when it looked like it might be a runaway, the crazy goals kept coming. And they were coming from both sides.
Scott Hartnell scored a power play goal at 5:28 to bring the home team within one goal. Johnny Crackers made a good stop on a Hartnell shot from close range, and he was trying to freeze the puck. However, the puck was loose just inches from the goal line with just a tiny gap between Grahame's body and the left post. The referee was in perfect position to see that the puck wasn't frozen, and Hartnell kept whacking at it until he got it to cross the line. Jeff Carter and Braydon Coburn got the assists.
At 7:32, Lupul scored his second tally of the night on another goal that was initially ruled "no goal". RJ Umberger came in on a breakaway and Crackers made a stop on him. The rebound went out to Lupul in the left circle. By this point, Grahame was out of position, and Carolina defensemen Tim Gleason dove into the net with his left leg on top of the goal line, running parallel with it. Lupul's shot struck Gleason's leg and bounced out. Play continued. At the next stoppage of play, they took a closer look at that play, and Gleason's leg was just a hair over the goal line. When the puck hit his leg, it just barely crossed the goal line to do so. 3-3. The lone assist went to RJ Umberger.
Eric Staal busted out of his scoring drought at 13:20 of the second. Cole, Ray Whitney and Staal broke into the Flyers zone on an odd-man rush. Cole led the way down the right wing, then dropped a pass to the trailing Staal who one-timed it from the right circle. His 16th goal of the season broke a three game goal drought and was just his second in the last 11 games.
The second period ended 4-3, but Carolina lost the services of Cory Stillman. He suffered a knee injury and was unable to return. He lay on the ice a while after getting tangled with a Flyers player, then couldn't put any pressure on it as he left the ice. Initial indicators are that he'll miss a week or so.
Daniel Briere was left all alone in front of the net, and he made the Canes pay with an equalising goal at 0:30 of the third. Scott Hartnell and Braydon Coburn had the assists.
Trevor Letowski, who has been playing really well lately, restored the Canes lead at 6:17 of the third. After he worked really hard along the goal line against Biron, the puck worked out to the left point, where Bret Hedican fired away. Letowski was there in the left circle to make the tip, and it easily found the back of the net. Letowski's third goal of the year was assisted by Hedican and CrAdams.
Joffrey Lupul completed the hat trick while the Flyers were enjoying a five-on-three power play. All three Canes skaters and three Flyers were involved in a scrum after a flurry of shots on Grahame. Somehow, amidst all those legs and pads and gloves and sticks, the referee says he never lost sight of it. The Flyers were furiously hacking at Grahame's acoutrements trying to coerce the puck over the line. It worked. Lupul from Mike Knuble and Mike Richards at 11:46 of the third on the power play.
There was no more scoring in the third or the overtime period, but each team had power play opportunities galore.
It went to shootout.
Briere went first and shot his attempt over the net.
Cullen went first for the Canes and he used a move like Kristian Huselius used the other night on his breakaway goal against the Canes. He beat Biron cleanly.
Mike Richards went next for the Flyers. He went straight in without any fancy stuff and buried his shot.
Jeff Hamilton went second for the Canes. Instead of pulling backhand to forehand late, he did it early. His trick this time, though was to swing wide left, then pull back to the right and he easily beat Biron.
Lupul went next, knowing that he had to score just to stay alive. He went straight in, fired a shot that Grahame handled, but it trickled through him and in the goal.
Brind'Amour was next for the Canes. A miss meant the shootout would continue. Under a cloud of thundering boos (why?), the former Flyers alternate captain went in and fired a shot right at the glove hand of Biron. The puck popped straight up into the air over Biron's head. He had no idea where it was until it hit him in the back and rolled into the net.
Carolina won its first shootout since the 2005-06 season.
The official three stars went to Cole (third), Brind'Amour (second) and Lupul (first). I see it a little different. I'd love to give Crackers some love. He stood tall in a shooting gallery in stages of the second and third periods. He faced a lot of really tough shots and looked good. He gave up five goals, but he looked really good. I know that sound odd, but he did.
The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Nic Wallin, CAR -- 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 blocked shots (all while having the least ice time of any defensemen)
SECOND STAR Erik Cole, CAR -- 2 assists, 2 hits
FIRST STAR Joffrey Lupul, PHI -- 3 goals, shootout "goal"
The Flyers turn right around and play a 5:00 game at New Jersey. The Hurricanes, who did the same thing last weekend with a 5:00 Sunday game at Detroit following a 7:00 game at Rangers, will have no sympathy for the Flyers.
The Canes will be back in action with a home game against the Leafs on Tuesday.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Thrashers 3- Canes 0. There's something about Johan.
The highest-scoring team in the NHL has just gone two games with a grand total of ONE goal scored. On Friday night, the visiting Thrashers blanked the home team, and the Hurricanes are on their first losing streak of the season.
After Wednesday night's clunker, I didn't think it could get worse. I thought they'd come out with all cylinders firing. I though wrong.
It wasn't so much that Carolina stunk. They certainly did, but Atlanta showed up and played 60:00 of hockey. They played better offensively, defensively, in transition, and in every way imaginable. Although they are the league's worst team in terms of penalty killing, they killed all four Carolina power plays. At times, they shut down the power play so effectively that it looked like Carolina was the shorthanded team.
In fact, that's how the whole game can be summarized. Carolina looked like they were shorthanded all night.
Maid Marian Hossa got the game winning goal at 5:41 of the first on a mini-breakaway. From the left side half-wall, Todd White hit Hossa with a pass in the slot. Hossa took the pass on his backhand side, and slowly dragged it to his forehand and easily beat Cam Ward. Ilya Kovalchuk got the secondary assist.
At 14:59 of the first, Maid Marian struck again on a pretty give-and-go with Todd White. The whole thing was started with a bad turnover by Bret Hediguchi just inside the Atlanta zone. Hedican's turnover was far and away the worst play of the game, and he earned the "Tevvy" for it.
John CusackIlya Kovalchuk potted an insignificant empty net goal at 19:01 of the third, assisted by Maid Marian. I think Hossa could have gone for the hat-trick, but unselfishly gave it up to the NHL's leading goal scorer.
The stat sheet says that Carolina outshot Atlanta 31-24, but Carolina's chances weren't very good, and they seldomly challenged the 34-year old Johan Hedberg. Hedberg became not only the second consecutive Swede, but the second consecutive Johan to beat the Canes. The winner at Tampa on Wednesday was Johan Holmqvist.
There was one good thing about Carolina's play. Chad LaRose was the hardest working player in red, and he drew all four of Atlanta's penalties. Unfortunately, the Canes couldn't capitalize on any of them, but he worked hard to put his team in a good position.
Carolina won't have much time to reflect on their loss, or mope about it. They'll stay home tomorrow for another SE division matchup. It'll be the Panthers for already the fourth time this season. After losing 4-2 in Sunrise on Halloween night, the Hurricanes have won the last two against the Panthers. Most recently on Monday night, when they won 4-3 but lost Erik Cole to a neck injury.
Fortunately for the Canes, neither Tomas Vokoun nor Craig Anderson is named "Johan" and neither is from Sweden. This will give the Hurricanes the decided edge. I've already looked into it, and Florida doesn't have any Swedish goaltenders in their system.
Speaking of Swedes, defenseman Nic Wallin is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow night against the Kitties. He's missed nine of the last ten games including the last seven in a row with a groin issue. This should help matters a lot, as it will get "Avi" Tanabe back in the press box.
The Kitties will almost certainly be facing Johnny Crackers between the pipes. The last time they saw Grahame was on November 3 in Raleigh when the Canes won 4-2. Last season, the Kitties were 1-2-3 in games versus Grahame.
Tomas Vokoun is the clearcut starter in Florida, and the Canes are 2-1-0 against him this season. Prior to this season, the last time the Canes saw Vokoun was in The Year of the Cup. After Frantisek Kaberle scored on a penalty shot in overtime against the Preds, Vokoun launched his goalie stick into the protective netting above the endboards, earning him an insignificant game misconduct penalty.
Carolina's goaltending, then, earns them an edge. Florida's forwards are looking better than Carolina's right now. The return of Nic Wallin would give Carolina an edge in the "defense" department.
Carolina should win the game on better goaltending. We'll see.
Neither Carolina nor Florida will be televising the game, so it'll be Chuckandtheletterk for me.
Oh yeah. Three stars. The three stars for Friday's game are:
THIRD STAR Ilya Kovalchuk, ATL --- 1 goal, 2 assists
SECOND STAR Todd White, ATL --- 2 assists
FIRST STAR Marian Hossa, ATL --- 2 goals, 1 assist
After Wednesday night's clunker, I didn't think it could get worse. I thought they'd come out with all cylinders firing. I though wrong.
It wasn't so much that Carolina stunk. They certainly did, but Atlanta showed up and played 60:00 of hockey. They played better offensively, defensively, in transition, and in every way imaginable. Although they are the league's worst team in terms of penalty killing, they killed all four Carolina power plays. At times, they shut down the power play so effectively that it looked like Carolina was the shorthanded team.
In fact, that's how the whole game can be summarized. Carolina looked like they were shorthanded all night.
Maid Marian Hossa got the game winning goal at 5:41 of the first on a mini-breakaway. From the left side half-wall, Todd White hit Hossa with a pass in the slot. Hossa took the pass on his backhand side, and slowly dragged it to his forehand and easily beat Cam Ward. Ilya Kovalchuk got the secondary assist.
At 14:59 of the first, Maid Marian struck again on a pretty give-and-go with Todd White. The whole thing was started with a bad turnover by Bret Hediguchi just inside the Atlanta zone. Hedican's turnover was far and away the worst play of the game, and he earned the "Tevvy" for it.
The stat sheet says that Carolina outshot Atlanta 31-24, but Carolina's chances weren't very good, and they seldomly challenged the 34-year old Johan Hedberg. Hedberg became not only the second consecutive Swede, but the second consecutive Johan to beat the Canes. The winner at Tampa on Wednesday was Johan Holmqvist.
There was one good thing about Carolina's play. Chad LaRose was the hardest working player in red, and he drew all four of Atlanta's penalties. Unfortunately, the Canes couldn't capitalize on any of them, but he worked hard to put his team in a good position.
Carolina won't have much time to reflect on their loss, or mope about it. They'll stay home tomorrow for another SE division matchup. It'll be the Panthers for already the fourth time this season. After losing 4-2 in Sunrise on Halloween night, the Hurricanes have won the last two against the Panthers. Most recently on Monday night, when they won 4-3 but lost Erik Cole to a neck injury.
Fortunately for the Canes, neither Tomas Vokoun nor Craig Anderson is named "Johan" and neither is from Sweden. This will give the Hurricanes the decided edge. I've already looked into it, and Florida doesn't have any Swedish goaltenders in their system.
Speaking of Swedes, defenseman Nic Wallin is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow night against the Kitties. He's missed nine of the last ten games including the last seven in a row with a groin issue. This should help matters a lot, as it will get "Avi" Tanabe back in the press box.
The Kitties will almost certainly be facing Johnny Crackers between the pipes. The last time they saw Grahame was on November 3 in Raleigh when the Canes won 4-2. Last season, the Kitties were 1-2-3 in games versus Grahame.
Tomas Vokoun is the clearcut starter in Florida, and the Canes are 2-1-0 against him this season. Prior to this season, the last time the Canes saw Vokoun was in The Year of the Cup. After Frantisek Kaberle scored on a penalty shot in overtime against the Preds, Vokoun launched his goalie stick into the protective netting above the endboards, earning him an insignificant game misconduct penalty.
Carolina's goaltending, then, earns them an edge. Florida's forwards are looking better than Carolina's right now. The return of Nic Wallin would give Carolina an edge in the "defense" department.
Carolina should win the game on better goaltending. We'll see.
Neither Carolina nor Florida will be televising the game, so it'll be Chuckandtheletterk for me.
Oh yeah. Three stars. The three stars for Friday's game are:
THIRD STAR Ilya Kovalchuk, ATL --- 1 goal, 2 assists
SECOND STAR Todd White, ATL --- 2 assists
FIRST STAR Marian Hossa, ATL --- 2 goals, 1 assist
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Carolina loses game, Cole.
Two games in a row, Carolina has had a chance to salt away a road win. Two games in a row they settle for one point. Two games in a row, they're happy to take it under the circumstances. Two games in a row, they lose a key player.
Scott Walker was lost to a mysterious injury which has only been called a "torso injury". He's in a great deal of pain and could be out for an extended period of time. Tonight, the Canes lost Erik Cole to a pre-game off-the-ice foot injury. Luke Decock thinks the injury happened during a "soccer kick-around". No details are available about the severity of the injury or how much longer he'll be out.
Presumably, Ryan Bayda will be called up from Lowell. And perhaps also Keith Aucoin. The Canes are hurting badly. Later, I'll write something about how hard the injury bug has bitten so early in the season.
Simon Gagne got the Flyers off and running just 5:12 into the game. Danny Briere and Braydon Coburn assisted on the goal.
Just 46 seconds later, Eric Staal tied it up on a power play goal assisted nicely by Jeff Hamilton and Cory Stillman. Again, the Canes employed the five forward system on the first power play unit.
Viva gave the Canes the lead on a nice tip-in at 17:32 of the second. Stillman and Brind'Amour assisted.
Mike Richards scored his fifth goal of the young season to tie the game just 1:32 into the third frame. Kimmo Timonen and RJ Umberger got the assists.
For the next couple of minutes, Philly dominated the pace, getting tons of shots and heavy pressure deep in the Carolina end. Johnny Crackers made a sensational stop on Mike Knuble at 2:41 of the third that would have blown the game open for the Flyers. Later in the third, Tim Gleason made a phenomenal sliding pokecheck to thwart what looked like a sure breakaway by Sami Kapanen.
The Canes had a good chance to win the game with a power play at the end of regulation, but they couldn't make it happen.
The Flyers only needed 48 seconds of overtime to get the winner. Simon Gagne from in close, tipping one past Grahame off the right post and in. I have often criticized Grahame's inability to cover the posts. On a play like this, where a centering pass went across the crease to a player down low on the right side, he needs to get his left skate flush against the right post, but he never does. Nor does he come out to challenge the shooter and take away the angle. He stays deep in the crease, but not tight to the short side post. Too often, this results in shots being banked off his appurtenances and into the goal. In this case, the shot trickled through, hit the post(on the ice), and in. Grahame played well, but this is one of his flaws, and he didn't do anything to improve in the summer. On the flip side, Cam Ward came into camp in much better shape. As opposed to last season, he's exploding from post-to-post, doing a much better job of cutting off angles, and doing a much better job of controlling and directing rebounds.
Beh. Enough of the Crackers bashing.
The "official" three stars went to Eric Staal (third), Scott Hartnell (second) and Marty Biron (first). If I remember correctly, the FSN South three stars went to Simon Gagne (third), Justin Williams (second) and Marty Biron (first). I can't see it that way on either count. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Daniel Briere, PHI --- 2 assists, 2 takeaways, 61% faceoff wins
SECOND STAR Martin Biron, PHI --- 42 saves (18 in the second period alone!)
FIRST STAR Simon Gagne, PHI --- 2 goals, including the GWG.
Carolina will come home on Monday to face the Canucks. It will be the first of three straight home games next week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) followed immediately by a Saturday road game at Islanders.
During the six game road trip, Carolina had to play some very hot teams, and they ran into some very hot goaltending. At the end of it all, they earned eight of a possible 12 points, finishing 3-1-2. That's not bad at all.
Scott Walker was lost to a mysterious injury which has only been called a "torso injury". He's in a great deal of pain and could be out for an extended period of time. Tonight, the Canes lost Erik Cole to a pre-game off-the-ice foot injury. Luke Decock thinks the injury happened during a "soccer kick-around". No details are available about the severity of the injury or how much longer he'll be out.
Presumably, Ryan Bayda will be called up from Lowell. And perhaps also Keith Aucoin. The Canes are hurting badly. Later, I'll write something about how hard the injury bug has bitten so early in the season.
Simon Gagne got the Flyers off and running just 5:12 into the game. Danny Briere and Braydon Coburn assisted on the goal.
Just 46 seconds later, Eric Staal tied it up on a power play goal assisted nicely by Jeff Hamilton and Cory Stillman. Again, the Canes employed the five forward system on the first power play unit.
Viva gave the Canes the lead on a nice tip-in at 17:32 of the second. Stillman and Brind'Amour assisted.
Mike Richards scored his fifth goal of the young season to tie the game just 1:32 into the third frame. Kimmo Timonen and RJ Umberger got the assists.
For the next couple of minutes, Philly dominated the pace, getting tons of shots and heavy pressure deep in the Carolina end. Johnny Crackers made a sensational stop on Mike Knuble at 2:41 of the third that would have blown the game open for the Flyers. Later in the third, Tim Gleason made a phenomenal sliding pokecheck to thwart what looked like a sure breakaway by Sami Kapanen.
The Canes had a good chance to win the game with a power play at the end of regulation, but they couldn't make it happen.
The Flyers only needed 48 seconds of overtime to get the winner. Simon Gagne from in close, tipping one past Grahame off the right post and in. I have often criticized Grahame's inability to cover the posts. On a play like this, where a centering pass went across the crease to a player down low on the right side, he needs to get his left skate flush against the right post, but he never does. Nor does he come out to challenge the shooter and take away the angle. He stays deep in the crease, but not tight to the short side post. Too often, this results in shots being banked off his appurtenances and into the goal. In this case, the shot trickled through, hit the post(on the ice), and in. Grahame played well, but this is one of his flaws, and he didn't do anything to improve in the summer. On the flip side, Cam Ward came into camp in much better shape. As opposed to last season, he's exploding from post-to-post, doing a much better job of cutting off angles, and doing a much better job of controlling and directing rebounds.
Beh. Enough of the Crackers bashing.
The "official" three stars went to Eric Staal (third), Scott Hartnell (second) and Marty Biron (first). If I remember correctly, the FSN South three stars went to Simon Gagne (third), Justin Williams (second) and Marty Biron (first). I can't see it that way on either count. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Daniel Briere, PHI --- 2 assists, 2 takeaways, 61% faceoff wins
SECOND STAR Martin Biron, PHI --- 42 saves (18 in the second period alone!)
FIRST STAR Simon Gagne, PHI --- 2 goals, including the GWG.
Carolina will come home on Monday to face the Canucks. It will be the first of three straight home games next week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) followed immediately by a Saturday road game at Islanders.
During the six game road trip, Carolina had to play some very hot teams, and they ran into some very hot goaltending. At the end of it all, they earned eight of a possible 12 points, finishing 3-1-2. That's not bad at all.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
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
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
Monday, October 01, 2007
Canes to start season with one keeper? Cole awaits Habs.
Opening night is less than 48 hours away, and the Hurricanes have their roster finalized. However, they may need to make a couple of call-ups.
Fourth line pivot Chad "Sharpie" LaRose is working his way back from a tweaked knee and may not be available. This means that Trevor Letowski, who seemed destined for a residency in the press box, will possibly by asked to don his new sweater. That won't be a problem.
Backup goaltender Johnny Crackers Grahame missed practice again on Sunday after having a swollen leg on Saturday. Some fluid was drained, but the problem persisted. Still, the team is treating it as a "minor injury", and is playing a waiting game before making the call to Albany. Obviously, that means Michael Leighton. They've got him on speed dial, but it isn't that simple. Unless I'm mistaken, Leighton would have to clear waivers a second time on his way back up from Albany. He'll probably clear the waiver, but you never know. Frankly, I don't like this wait and see business. Obviously Cam's the #1 guy here, but the longer we wait to make the call, the more hurried that call is going to have to be. If it were up to me, I'd go ahead and deactivate Grahame and call Leighton up. I'd have done it yesterday. Actually, I'd have done it before the Grahame injury. But that's just me.
So the Habs are coming to town, which makes Erik Cole salivate. Historically, he's been en fuego against them. Cole has scored 18 points (12/6) in 17 career regular season games against the Canadiens. At home, he has seven points (4/3) in nine such games. Since the lockout, however, he has notched six (4/2) in four games.
In the Bell Centre, Cole is even plus dangereux. In eight regular season games in La Belle Province, Cole has 11 (8/3) points including two hat tricks.
Additionally, Cole scored seven points (4/3) in six playoff games in the 2002 Eastern Conference semifinal. Three of those goals came in the Molson Centre. One of those has got to be considered one of the most heartbreaking goals in Canadiens history.
May 9, 2002. The Miracle at Molson. The Habs were up two games to one and had been up 3-0 in the third period, and 3-1 late into the third. Bates Battaglia got one at 12:43 to make it 3-2. With the goalie pulled and an extra attacker on, Cole muscled the tying goal past José Theodore at 19:19 in a goal mouth scrum.
Nic "the secret weapon" Wallin notched the game winner in overtime, capping an amazing comeback. The series was tied 2-2, but it was the Death Blow for the Habs. Carolina won the next two games easily to win the series.
Cole is in very good shape, played well in the preseason, and is ready to get this season started. There's no better way for him to get off on the right foot than against the Habs.
Fourth line pivot Chad "Sharpie" LaRose is working his way back from a tweaked knee and may not be available. This means that Trevor Letowski, who seemed destined for a residency in the press box, will possibly by asked to don his new sweater. That won't be a problem.
Backup goaltender Johnny Crackers Grahame missed practice again on Sunday after having a swollen leg on Saturday. Some fluid was drained, but the problem persisted. Still, the team is treating it as a "minor injury", and is playing a waiting game before making the call to Albany. Obviously, that means Michael Leighton. They've got him on speed dial, but it isn't that simple. Unless I'm mistaken, Leighton would have to clear waivers a second time on his way back up from Albany. He'll probably clear the waiver, but you never know. Frankly, I don't like this wait and see business. Obviously Cam's the #1 guy here, but the longer we wait to make the call, the more hurried that call is going to have to be. If it were up to me, I'd go ahead and deactivate Grahame and call Leighton up. I'd have done it yesterday. Actually, I'd have done it before the Grahame injury. But that's just me.
So the Habs are coming to town, which makes Erik Cole salivate. Historically, he's been en fuego against them. Cole has scored 18 points (12/6) in 17 career regular season games against the Canadiens. At home, he has seven points (4/3) in nine such games. Since the lockout, however, he has notched six (4/2) in four games.
In the Bell Centre, Cole is even plus dangereux. In eight regular season games in La Belle Province, Cole has 11 (8/3) points including two hat tricks.
Additionally, Cole scored seven points (4/3) in six playoff games in the 2002 Eastern Conference semifinal. Three of those goals came in the Molson Centre. One of those has got to be considered one of the most heartbreaking goals in Canadiens history.
May 9, 2002. The Miracle at Molson. The Habs were up two games to one and had been up 3-0 in the third period, and 3-1 late into the third. Bates Battaglia got one at 12:43 to make it 3-2. With the goalie pulled and an extra attacker on, Cole muscled the tying goal past José Theodore at 19:19 in a goal mouth scrum.
Nic "the secret weapon" Wallin notched the game winner in overtime, capping an amazing comeback. The series was tied 2-2, but it was the Death Blow for the Habs. Carolina won the next two games easily to win the series.
Cole is in very good shape, played well in the preseason, and is ready to get this season started. There's no better way for him to get off on the right foot than against the Habs.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Four more sent down, Sutter next
On Saturday, the Hurricanes sent four more players back to Albany, trimming the roster to 28. Brandon Sutter is still in camp, and he has been impressive, but he will be sent back after tomorrow's game.
Forwards Keith Aucoin and Patrick Dwyer along with defenseman J.D. Forrest and Noah Babin are the latest cuts. The River Rats open their training camp on Tuesday and their first preseason game will be on Friday.
Ryan Bayda and Trevor Gillies are competing for a spot as the first call-up. Gillies is a tough guy and won't have a prayer, so it's pretty much Bayda. On the blueline, it's Casey Borer and Brett Carson.
Nic Wallin, Mike Commodore, Tim Gleason, Dennis Seidenberg and Glen Wesley are all healthy. Frantisek Kaberle is nearly fully recovered from surgery. Bret Hedican is looking good, for the most part. That's seven defensemen, which is what Rutherford wants. One of the aforementioned Borer or Carson, my guess is that Borer will be the last cut.
Brandon Sutter is still in camp, but will be sent back to Red Deer after tomorrow's scrimmage with the Caps. He has been a pleasant surprise, but he needs development. He is too young to play in the AHL, so he must be sent back to Red Deer.
Michael Leighton is being given another look. He'll start between the pipes on Tuesday. John "useless" Grahame hasn't been good in camp and Leighton is giving him a run for his money. Unfortunately, Grahame has a guaranteed contract which means that if Carolina wants to send him to Albany, they must still pay him the entire $1.4M. Additionally, he would have to clear waivers before being demoted.
It will be bad news for a lot of people -- especially Beth, but Crackers will be the second goaltender in Raleigh this fall.
Forwards Keith Aucoin and Patrick Dwyer along with defenseman J.D. Forrest and Noah Babin are the latest cuts. The River Rats open their training camp on Tuesday and their first preseason game will be on Friday.
Ryan Bayda and Trevor Gillies are competing for a spot as the first call-up. Gillies is a tough guy and won't have a prayer, so it's pretty much Bayda. On the blueline, it's Casey Borer and Brett Carson.
Nic Wallin, Mike Commodore, Tim Gleason, Dennis Seidenberg and Glen Wesley are all healthy. Frantisek Kaberle is nearly fully recovered from surgery. Bret Hedican is looking good, for the most part. That's seven defensemen, which is what Rutherford wants. One of the aforementioned Borer or Carson, my guess is that Borer will be the last cut.
Brandon Sutter is still in camp, but will be sent back to Red Deer after tomorrow's scrimmage with the Caps. He has been a pleasant surprise, but he needs development. He is too young to play in the AHL, so he must be sent back to Red Deer.
Michael Leighton is being given another look. He'll start between the pipes on Tuesday. John "useless" Grahame hasn't been good in camp and Leighton is giving him a run for his money. Unfortunately, Grahame has a guaranteed contract which means that if Carolina wants to send him to Albany, they must still pay him the entire $1.4M. Additionally, he would have to clear waivers before being demoted.
It will be bad news for a lot of people -- especially Beth, but Crackers will be the second goaltender in Raleigh this fall.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Canes eke out victory against Caps b-team
On Sunday, Carolina defeated the Caps in overtime 4-3. Carolina played some of their stars. Washington did not. For about 48 minutes, Carolina looked pretty lethargic. Even bad. Somehow, they pulled it together down the stretch, and the end result, even though it doesn't count, was a win.
First off, my new seat offers a good view, but it's way further up than I'm accustomed to. Yes, I'm spoiled. I spent the last season in the third row, sitting close enough to smell the players' breath. The previous two, a spent sitting close enough to at least see their eyes. I'm still in the lower bowl, and I can't complain about that, but I will no longer be able to provide decent photography. And I will no longer be able to harangue the visiting goaltender with any chance of him hearing me.
The Hurricanes dressed nine regulars. Five forwards (Cole, Staal, Stillman, Viva and Letowski), three defensemen (Commodore, Seidenberg and Gleason) and Johnny Crackers. The Caps did not dress any of their top line (Ovechkin, Semin, Nylander). Still, their "b team" looked ready to play.
Seeing the sweaters in action, I liked them quite a bit. The form-fitting business will take some getting used to, but overall I think they look sharp. I tried one on in the souvenir shop, and I like the feel. A lot. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to be able to plop down the $190 it would take to get one with a player name/number plus the commemorative patch. When the time comes, I'll get a "road" white one. Probably a WHITNEY 13. Part of me wants to just wait for next season's third sweater (black with the "storm warning" logo on the chest).
The boys took a while to get things going, but when the Caps put their reserve backup in, the Canes had a better time. Johnson was good, as he always is against the Canes. With the Canes down by two, they scored two quick goals to knot it up midway through the third.
My notes were crap, but the Canes scoring was thus:
In the waning seconds of a power play, Noah Babin became the first native Floridian to score an NHL goal. It came at 7:46 of the third with helpers from Staal and Stillman. The "official scoresheet" lists this as an even strength goal, but it was most certainly a power play.
Just 49 seconds later, Erik Cole made a textbook Erik Cole maneuver to tie it at the 8:35 mark. Again, the Canes were on a power play, after the Caps were whistled for delay of game (clearing the puck over the glass). Cole took a pass from Staal, broke in on net, sweeping through the low slot. As he moved from left to right across the goal mouth, he pulled it to his backhand at the very last second and easily beat Michal Neuvirth.
Michael Leighton, who once fought Cam Ward as part of an epic bench clearing brawl in an AHL game, was quite good between the pipes. He made a couple of dazzling saves down the stretch including a sprawling save that was kind of reminiscent of Ward's save on Raffi Torres with about six minutes to play in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2006. Obviously, the stakes weren't as high, but it was a nifty save.
However, at 17:57 of the third, Ben Clymer tipped one passed Leighton to give the Caps a late lead. On the play, I felt like Brandon Sutter could have cleared either the puck or the player out of the goal mouth area, but he just watched as the goal was scored.
As I was sharply criticizing Peter Laviolette for not pulling the keeper for a sixth attacker, the Canes mounted some late pressure deep in the Caps zone. I continued to implore the coach to pull Leighton, but it all became immaterial when my boy Viva scored a very easy goal at 19:00. Neuvirth had practically taken himself out of the play by falling down, and Ryan Bayda had the puck at the bottom of the right circle. He patiently held the puck, then dished it to Williams on the left side. As Neuvirth was down and out, overcommitted to the right side, all Viva had to do was tap it into the yawning net. Like the last game of the 06-07 season, the game would go to overtime.
Like the last game of the 06-07 season, the Canes would be the benefactor of two quick penalties, which gave the Canes a rare overtime five-on-three. In overtime, both teams play with four skaters, and penalties are served as normal. With a second penalty against the same team, though, the non-offending team gets to bring an extra skater on the ice rather than going to a four-on-two situation. The Canes dawdled a bit, but they eventually took care of business. Erik Cole got the game winner at 4:12 of the extra frame. Eric Staal fired a shot from the right circle that Cole deflected in from the goal-mouth area.
Carolina will travel to Nashville for a Friday exhibition. Between now and then, they will play some Red-White scrimmages on Tuesday and Wednesday. There is an outside chance that I'll head out there on Tuesday. On Friday, there will be a different group of players on the ice from what we saw today.
Quick notes:
*Staal looked a bit "off" at first, but came on strong in the third, putting up three assists.
*Erik Cole looked pretty sharp. His first goal was a thing of beauty, and the second was just a right place, right time kind of thing, but he still looked good. I liked the way he responded after he boarded a Caps player. The player went down awkwardly, and Cole immediately turned all of his attention to the health of the player. Fortunately, the player was uninjured, but Cole (who, of course, knows a little something about being boarded)showed class and sportsmanship.
*Brandon Sutter was a non-factor. So much of a non-factor that the official "event summary" lists him as "14 Chad LaRose".
*Wade Brookbank made a couple of sound defensive plays
*Patrick Dwyer is throwing me off. He won't make the opening night roster, so it won't be a big deal, but he's wearing the #39 sweater, and I kept wanting to shout out "C'mon, Dougie!"
*Johnny Crackers wasn't all that good. The first goal was cheap, and I thought (contrary to what Luke says) that he looked bad trying to handle the puck. It makes me nervous as all get-out to see him play the puck as much as he does, and to see him come as far out of the crease as he does, and to try the homerun pass as frequently as he does. There were no Conklin-esque catastrophic mistakes, but I just don't think he's a smooth puckhandler and it makes me nervous.
Most importantly, today felt great. It felt great to go through all my game-night rituals. It felt great to see my hockey friends who I haven't seen in five months. It felt great to be in the building. It felt great to see the new sweaters. It felt good to feel the crisp air. It felt good to see the boys win. It feels good to know that the "real" games are just around the corner.
First off, my new seat offers a good view, but it's way further up than I'm accustomed to. Yes, I'm spoiled. I spent the last season in the third row, sitting close enough to smell the players' breath. The previous two, a spent sitting close enough to at least see their eyes. I'm still in the lower bowl, and I can't complain about that, but I will no longer be able to provide decent photography. And I will no longer be able to harangue the visiting goaltender with any chance of him hearing me.
The Hurricanes dressed nine regulars. Five forwards (Cole, Staal, Stillman, Viva and Letowski), three defensemen (Commodore, Seidenberg and Gleason) and Johnny Crackers. The Caps did not dress any of their top line (Ovechkin, Semin, Nylander). Still, their "b team" looked ready to play.
Seeing the sweaters in action, I liked them quite a bit. The form-fitting business will take some getting used to, but overall I think they look sharp. I tried one on in the souvenir shop, and I like the feel. A lot. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to be able to plop down the $190 it would take to get one with a player name/number plus the commemorative patch. When the time comes, I'll get a "road" white one. Probably a WHITNEY 13. Part of me wants to just wait for next season's third sweater (black with the "storm warning" logo on the chest).
The boys took a while to get things going, but when the Caps put their reserve backup in, the Canes had a better time. Johnson was good, as he always is against the Canes. With the Canes down by two, they scored two quick goals to knot it up midway through the third.
My notes were crap, but the Canes scoring was thus:
In the waning seconds of a power play, Noah Babin became the first native Floridian to score an NHL goal. It came at 7:46 of the third with helpers from Staal and Stillman. The "official scoresheet" lists this as an even strength goal, but it was most certainly a power play.
Just 49 seconds later, Erik Cole made a textbook Erik Cole maneuver to tie it at the 8:35 mark. Again, the Canes were on a power play, after the Caps were whistled for delay of game (clearing the puck over the glass). Cole took a pass from Staal, broke in on net, sweeping through the low slot. As he moved from left to right across the goal mouth, he pulled it to his backhand at the very last second and easily beat Michal Neuvirth.
Michael Leighton, who once fought Cam Ward as part of an epic bench clearing brawl in an AHL game, was quite good between the pipes. He made a couple of dazzling saves down the stretch including a sprawling save that was kind of reminiscent of Ward's save on Raffi Torres with about six minutes to play in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2006. Obviously, the stakes weren't as high, but it was a nifty save.
However, at 17:57 of the third, Ben Clymer tipped one passed Leighton to give the Caps a late lead. On the play, I felt like Brandon Sutter could have cleared either the puck or the player out of the goal mouth area, but he just watched as the goal was scored.
As I was sharply criticizing Peter Laviolette for not pulling the keeper for a sixth attacker, the Canes mounted some late pressure deep in the Caps zone. I continued to implore the coach to pull Leighton, but it all became immaterial when my boy Viva scored a very easy goal at 19:00. Neuvirth had practically taken himself out of the play by falling down, and Ryan Bayda had the puck at the bottom of the right circle. He patiently held the puck, then dished it to Williams on the left side. As Neuvirth was down and out, overcommitted to the right side, all Viva had to do was tap it into the yawning net. Like the last game of the 06-07 season, the game would go to overtime.
Like the last game of the 06-07 season, the Canes would be the benefactor of two quick penalties, which gave the Canes a rare overtime five-on-three. In overtime, both teams play with four skaters, and penalties are served as normal. With a second penalty against the same team, though, the non-offending team gets to bring an extra skater on the ice rather than going to a four-on-two situation. The Canes dawdled a bit, but they eventually took care of business. Erik Cole got the game winner at 4:12 of the extra frame. Eric Staal fired a shot from the right circle that Cole deflected in from the goal-mouth area.
Carolina will travel to Nashville for a Friday exhibition. Between now and then, they will play some Red-White scrimmages on Tuesday and Wednesday. There is an outside chance that I'll head out there on Tuesday. On Friday, there will be a different group of players on the ice from what we saw today.
Quick notes:
*Staal looked a bit "off" at first, but came on strong in the third, putting up three assists.
*Erik Cole looked pretty sharp. His first goal was a thing of beauty, and the second was just a right place, right time kind of thing, but he still looked good. I liked the way he responded after he boarded a Caps player. The player went down awkwardly, and Cole immediately turned all of his attention to the health of the player. Fortunately, the player was uninjured, but Cole (who, of course, knows a little something about being boarded)showed class and sportsmanship.
*Brandon Sutter was a non-factor. So much of a non-factor that the official "event summary" lists him as "14 Chad LaRose".
*Wade Brookbank made a couple of sound defensive plays
*Patrick Dwyer is throwing me off. He won't make the opening night roster, so it won't be a big deal, but he's wearing the #39 sweater, and I kept wanting to shout out "C'mon, Dougie!"
*Johnny Crackers wasn't all that good. The first goal was cheap, and I thought (contrary to what Luke says) that he looked bad trying to handle the puck. It makes me nervous as all get-out to see him play the puck as much as he does, and to see him come as far out of the crease as he does, and to try the homerun pass as frequently as he does. There were no Conklin-esque catastrophic mistakes, but I just don't think he's a smooth puckhandler and it makes me nervous.
Most importantly, today felt great. It felt great to go through all my game-night rituals. It felt great to see my hockey friends who I haven't seen in five months. It felt great to be in the building. It felt great to see the new sweaters. It felt good to feel the crisp air. It felt good to see the boys win. It feels good to know that the "real" games are just around the corner.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Canada beats USA 6-3
On Monday, Canada beat the United States 6-3 in IHWC action. This means that Canada gets the #1 seed out of group F and USA gets the #2 seed.
Finally, we are in the elimination round. Canada will play Switzerland and USA will play Finland.
No Hurricanes players scored in the Canada-US game, but Eric Staal had two assists, and Chad LaRose had a breakaway attempt foiled by Cam Ward.
John Grahame gave up four goals in the first period and was lifted after two.
Finally, we are in the elimination round. Canada will play Switzerland and USA will play Finland.
No Hurricanes players scored in the Canada-US game, but Eric Staal had two assists, and Chad LaRose had a breakaway attempt foiled by Cam Ward.
John Grahame gave up four goals in the first period and was lifted after two.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Staal nets two, Canada wins in OT
On Sunday at the IIHF World Championships, Canada got past Czech 4-3 in overtime. On Monday, they will face USA for the #1 seed in group F.
Eric Staal scored two goals on Sunday, including the game winner in overtime.
Canada has four regulation wins, one overtime win, and no losses. This gives them 14 standings points. They have 24 goals for and 15 goals against for a differential of +9. The United States has four regulation wins and one regulation loss for a total of 12 standings points. They have 18 goals for and only 7 goals against for a differential of +11.
Dwayne Roloson was in nets for Canada today, and if they stay with the rotating system, Cam Ward will get the nod tomorrow. This will create the unusual scenario of two teammates starting against each other in goal. There will be a total of eight Hurricanes in that game. USA features forwards Erik Cole and Chad "Sharpie" LaRose, defenseman Andrew Hutchinson and netminder John "Crackers" Grahame. Canada features forwards Eric Staal and Justin "Viva" Williams, defenseman Mike Commodore and goaltender Cam Ward. All eight should be in action tomorrow.
If the United States wins that game in regulation, they will earn the #1 seed and a date with the Swiss. Win in overtime or lose at all, and they get the #2 seed and a date with Finland.
Oh yeah. In Stanley Cup playoffs action, the Senators advanced last night and the Sabres are about 15 minutes away from finishing off the Rangers. My second round predictions have gone horribly wrong.
Still no word from the Hurricanes camp on Scott Walker.
Eric Staal scored two goals on Sunday, including the game winner in overtime.
Canada has four regulation wins, one overtime win, and no losses. This gives them 14 standings points. They have 24 goals for and 15 goals against for a differential of +9. The United States has four regulation wins and one regulation loss for a total of 12 standings points. They have 18 goals for and only 7 goals against for a differential of +11.
Dwayne Roloson was in nets for Canada today, and if they stay with the rotating system, Cam Ward will get the nod tomorrow. This will create the unusual scenario of two teammates starting against each other in goal. There will be a total of eight Hurricanes in that game. USA features forwards Erik Cole and Chad "Sharpie" LaRose, defenseman Andrew Hutchinson and netminder John "Crackers" Grahame. Canada features forwards Eric Staal and Justin "Viva" Williams, defenseman Mike Commodore and goaltender Cam Ward. All eight should be in action tomorrow.
If the United States wins that game in regulation, they will earn the #1 seed and a date with the Swiss. Win in overtime or lose at all, and they get the #2 seed and a date with Finland.
Oh yeah. In Stanley Cup playoffs action, the Senators advanced last night and the Sabres are about 15 minutes away from finishing off the Rangers. My second round predictions have gone horribly wrong.
Still no word from the Hurricanes camp on Scott Walker.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
USA shuts out Germany
On Saturday, the United States beat Germany 3-0 in IHWC play. USA now is guaranteed a slot in the medal round and will play its last qualifying game against Canada on Monday.
Canada will have a very tough qualifier against Czech on Sunday and will have no rest, as they face the Americans less than 24 hours later. USA has a record of 4-1 with a goal differential of +11. Canada is 4-0 with a goal differential of +8. If Canada should beat Czech and lose to the Americans, the goal differential will come into play in determining the #1 seed. If Canada loses to Czech, then only the outcome of Canada-USA will be important in determining seeding.
John Grahame picked up the shutout for his fourth win. Erik Cole had three assists.
Yesterday, Cam Ward got his second win when Canada defeated Belarus 6-3.
Canada will have a very tough qualifier against Czech on Sunday and will have no rest, as they face the Americans less than 24 hours later. USA has a record of 4-1 with a goal differential of +11. Canada is 4-0 with a goal differential of +8. If Canada should beat Czech and lose to the Americans, the goal differential will come into play in determining the #1 seed. If Canada loses to Czech, then only the outcome of Canada-USA will be important in determining seeding.
John Grahame picked up the shutout for his fourth win. Erik Cole had three assists.
Yesterday, Cam Ward got his second win when Canada defeated Belarus 6-3.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
USA cruises to 5-1 win, assures good seeding
On Sunday, the United States crushed Belarus 5-1 in IIHF play. They remain unbeaten, and have assured themselves a good spot in the elimination round. On Tuesday, they will meet Czech Republic -- who is also undefeated -- in the final game of round robin play.
Chad "Sharpie" LaRose (Fraser, MI), who barely missed scoring a goal on Friday, scored one. Defenseman Jack "I hate Carolina" Johnson (Indianapolis, IN) from the Kings scored the first goal of the game. St. Louis Blues winger Lee Stempniak (West Seneca, NY) scored two -- including the game-winner, and leads Americans with 3 goals in the tournament.
John "Crackers" Grahame (Denver, CO) was in pipes for the USA, and picked up his second win. So far, he hasn't really been tested. Certainly he will be on Tuesday.
The top three teams from each pool advance to the elimination round, and the US is guaranteed to finish no lower than second.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates from the IIHF World Championships.
Chad "Sharpie" LaRose (Fraser, MI), who barely missed scoring a goal on Friday, scored one. Defenseman Jack "I hate Carolina" Johnson (Indianapolis, IN) from the Kings scored the first goal of the game. St. Louis Blues winger Lee Stempniak (West Seneca, NY) scored two -- including the game-winner, and leads Americans with 3 goals in the tournament.
John "Crackers" Grahame (Denver, CO) was in pipes for the USA, and picked up his second win. So far, he hasn't really been tested. Certainly he will be on Tuesday.
The top three teams from each pool advance to the elimination round, and the US is guaranteed to finish no lower than second.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates from the IIHF World Championships.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Team USA off to good start in IIHF World Championship
The IIHF World Championship tournament started on Friday with a round of preliminary games. In Group B play, the USA drubbed Austria 6-2. This means that they will have three standings points in pool play and will be able to control their own destiny with respect to advancing to the elimination round.
Johnny Crackers was in net for the Americans. He stopped 14 of the 16 shots he saw, and picked up the easy win. Erik Cole had a goal and an assist. Andrew "Hot Dog with Cheese" Hutchinson had an assist. Chad "Sharpie" LaRose had nothing. Jack Johnson had nothing.
Also in Group B, the Czech Republic crushed Belarus 8-2.
In Group D, Finland destroyed Ukraine 5-0 and Russia smoked Denmark 9-1.
Pools A and C will kick off tomorrow, with Canada the clear favorite in group C and Sweden the favorite in group A.
On Sunday afternoon, the US will take on Belarus. Then they will finish round robin play against the Czechs on Tuesday.
Johnny Crackers was in net for the Americans. He stopped 14 of the 16 shots he saw, and picked up the easy win. Erik Cole had a goal and an assist. Andrew "Hot Dog with Cheese" Hutchinson had an assist. Chad "Sharpie" LaRose had nothing. Jack Johnson had nothing.
Also in Group B, the Czech Republic crushed Belarus 8-2.
In Group D, Finland destroyed Ukraine 5-0 and Russia smoked Denmark 9-1.
Pools A and C will kick off tomorrow, with Canada the clear favorite in group C and Sweden the favorite in group A.
On Sunday afternoon, the US will take on Belarus. Then they will finish round robin play against the Czechs on Tuesday.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Carolina's playoff hopes buoyed
On Tuesday night, Carolina got a boost when they defeated the visiting Panthers 3-1. The special teams were great, they actually converted a power play chance, and they got terrific goaltending from Johnny Crackers.
Coupled with the loss by the Rangers, the win put Carolina back in the eighth playoff spot. At least temporarily. Starting Thursday at the RBC Center, they have a home-and-home with the formidable Devils.
Cory Stillman scored an even strength goal at 15:24 of the first. Eric Staal made a really nice effort, bringing the puck deep in the zone and drawing the attention of the Florida defense. He dished to Erik Cole, who fired a wrist shot from the top of the right circle, which Eddie Belfour stopped with a sprawling save. The rebound was a short one, but Stillman was there to pounce on it and tuck it from the left side of the goal. Officially at 15:24 with assists from Cole and Staal.
Josef Stumpel tied the game at 11:21 of the second on a bizarro goal. Josef Vasicek was trying to clear the zone by backhanding one against the wall along the blue line. Unfortunately, it hit the lineseman and stayed in the zone. Stumpel made some fancy moves to work through traffic, then backhanded one in off the left post. Unassisted at 11:21.
At 19:44 of the second, the Canes actually converted a power play! Frantisek Kaberle took a shot from the left circle that found its way through traffic. Belfour made a stop and Andrew Ladd took a couple of whacks at it. Belfour stopped those too, but the puck somehow trickled under him and was loose in the crease. Scott Walker found it first and shoved it across the line. Ladd and Kaberle got the assists.
14:42 was the time when Rod Brind'Amour got a shorthanded goal to seal the deal. The hard-working Chad "Sharpie" LaRose was there, as he always seems to be on the shorties. Glenn Wesley made a steal deep in the Carolina zone and dished to Sharpie, who found Brind'Amour streaking down the center and into the slot area. The pass wasn't quite tape-to-tape, but it was good enough. Brindy just tipped it in. Brind'Amour from LaRose and Wesley shorthandedly at 14:42.
Just seconds later, Chad LaRose had a brilliant scoring chance on the same shorthanded sequence, but Belfour answered.
Due to time restraints, I can't give stars right now, but Sharpie, Grahame and Walker were great.
Next up -- Thursday night date with the Devils
Coupled with the loss by the Rangers, the win put Carolina back in the eighth playoff spot. At least temporarily. Starting Thursday at the RBC Center, they have a home-and-home with the formidable Devils.
Cory Stillman scored an even strength goal at 15:24 of the first. Eric Staal made a really nice effort, bringing the puck deep in the zone and drawing the attention of the Florida defense. He dished to Erik Cole, who fired a wrist shot from the top of the right circle, which Eddie Belfour stopped with a sprawling save. The rebound was a short one, but Stillman was there to pounce on it and tuck it from the left side of the goal. Officially at 15:24 with assists from Cole and Staal.
Josef Stumpel tied the game at 11:21 of the second on a bizarro goal. Josef Vasicek was trying to clear the zone by backhanding one against the wall along the blue line. Unfortunately, it hit the lineseman and stayed in the zone. Stumpel made some fancy moves to work through traffic, then backhanded one in off the left post. Unassisted at 11:21.
At 19:44 of the second, the Canes actually converted a power play! Frantisek Kaberle took a shot from the left circle that found its way through traffic. Belfour made a stop and Andrew Ladd took a couple of whacks at it. Belfour stopped those too, but the puck somehow trickled under him and was loose in the crease. Scott Walker found it first and shoved it across the line. Ladd and Kaberle got the assists.
14:42 was the time when Rod Brind'Amour got a shorthanded goal to seal the deal. The hard-working Chad "Sharpie" LaRose was there, as he always seems to be on the shorties. Glenn Wesley made a steal deep in the Carolina zone and dished to Sharpie, who found Brind'Amour streaking down the center and into the slot area. The pass wasn't quite tape-to-tape, but it was good enough. Brindy just tipped it in. Brind'Amour from LaRose and Wesley shorthandedly at 14:42.
Just seconds later, Chad LaRose had a brilliant scoring chance on the same shorthanded sequence, but Belfour answered.
Due to time restraints, I can't give stars right now, but Sharpie, Grahame and Walker were great.
Next up -- Thursday night date with the Devils
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Canes lose key game
On Sunday afternoon, while the UNC Tarheels were winning the ACC Men's Basketball tournament, the Hurricanes lost to the Rangers in shootout. This will hurt, but not kill Carolina's playoff hopes.
The two teams both have 76 points in the standings, but the Rangers have a game in hand, so they get the tiebreaker there. They are also poised to be in the driver's seat with respect to all tiebreakers with Carolina. The Rangers won the season series 3-1. New York has leapt from 10th place to eighth, and Carolina has dropped to ninth.
The game was very exciting with a few twists and turns. The game's first goal was scored by the most unlikely of candidates. Marek Malik. At 9:13 of the first, he stormed down the right side and fired a shot high on net. Cam Ward made a stop, but gave up a big rebound, allowing Malik a second (better) shot. It was the first goal of the season for the former Cane. Jaro Jagr and Mike Roszival assisted.
At 10:04 of the second, Viva notched his 33rd goal of the season with helpers from Brind'Amour and Ray Whitney. The play was set up by some really nifty and patient passing. Whitney drew all the attention, then dropped a pass to Brindy in the low slot. Instead of shooting, he further confused the Rangers defense by sending it over to Viva in the right circle. Henrik Lundqvist didn't have a chance to make the stop. Whitney now has 74 (27/47) points, and needs just three more to set a career best.
Somewhere around this time, Cam Ward was injured and had to be replaced by John Grahame. It looks like Ward was cut by a skate blade during a goal-mouth scrum. He left, and required 11 stitches. Crackers came in ice cold and did an amazing job.
The Canes had a full two minutes of power play in the overtime period, but couldn't get anything going. The game headed to shootout, and that pretty much spells disaster for Carolina. The Hurricanes are the only team to have zero shootout wins this season. They were very successful last season, and they were reminded why when Matt Cullen scored the "game-deciding" goal for the Rangers in the shootout.
The "official" three stars went to Malik (third), Lundqvist (second) and Cullen (first). I don't really have a problem with that.
The Canes will be in action on Tuesday at home against the surging Panthers, who are making a run at the final playoff spot, but find themselves a few points out of serious contention.
The two teams both have 76 points in the standings, but the Rangers have a game in hand, so they get the tiebreaker there. They are also poised to be in the driver's seat with respect to all tiebreakers with Carolina. The Rangers won the season series 3-1. New York has leapt from 10th place to eighth, and Carolina has dropped to ninth.
The game was very exciting with a few twists and turns. The game's first goal was scored by the most unlikely of candidates. Marek Malik. At 9:13 of the first, he stormed down the right side and fired a shot high on net. Cam Ward made a stop, but gave up a big rebound, allowing Malik a second (better) shot. It was the first goal of the season for the former Cane. Jaro Jagr and Mike Roszival assisted.
At 10:04 of the second, Viva notched his 33rd goal of the season with helpers from Brind'Amour and Ray Whitney. The play was set up by some really nifty and patient passing. Whitney drew all the attention, then dropped a pass to Brindy in the low slot. Instead of shooting, he further confused the Rangers defense by sending it over to Viva in the right circle. Henrik Lundqvist didn't have a chance to make the stop. Whitney now has 74 (27/47) points, and needs just three more to set a career best.
Somewhere around this time, Cam Ward was injured and had to be replaced by John Grahame. It looks like Ward was cut by a skate blade during a goal-mouth scrum. He left, and required 11 stitches. Crackers came in ice cold and did an amazing job.
The Canes had a full two minutes of power play in the overtime period, but couldn't get anything going. The game headed to shootout, and that pretty much spells disaster for Carolina. The Hurricanes are the only team to have zero shootout wins this season. They were very successful last season, and they were reminded why when Matt Cullen scored the "game-deciding" goal for the Rangers in the shootout.
The "official" three stars went to Malik (third), Lundqvist (second) and Cullen (first). I don't really have a problem with that.
The Canes will be in action on Tuesday at home against the surging Panthers, who are making a run at the final playoff spot, but find themselves a few points out of serious contention.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Canes emerge from Twilight Zone Fort Lauderdale with overtime win.
On Tuesday night, the Hurricanes traveled down to sunny Fort Lauderdale, took a detour through the Twilight Zone, and escaped with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Panthers. In some ways, it was reminiscent of the Canes 3-2 overtime victory in Florida on December 23. In others, it was like nothing I've ever seen, and the League office needs to take notice.
While the Canes won, they were unable to gain any ground in the SE division because first place Atlanta was in a shooting gallery against the Kings' two ECHL-calibre goaltenders. After Dan Cloutier and Mathieu Garon both went down with injuries, they were forced to dig very deep in their organization's depth chart to find Japanese sensation Yutaka Fukufugi and Barry Brust. I'm not exaggerating about their talent level. Something about shooting fish in a barrel.
Scott Walker gave the Canes at early lead at 10:49 of the first. During a power play sequence, an Erik Cole shot sailed wide, then took a strange bounce off the end wall glass after hitting a support stanchion. The puck caromed out in front of the left post, where Walker simply tucked it in. Ed "Billion Dollar" Belfour had no idea where the puck was. Cole got the first assist, and Rod Brind'Amour got the second.
Several hooking penalties were assessed against the Panthers during the rest of the first and the second, but the Canes were unable to cash in. Credit the Cats blueline for taking away chances. At one point during the second, Belfour got lucky when Justin Williams clanged a single shot of BOTH posts.
In the third, the Cats came to life. Olli "Cane Killah" Jokinen got an easy one at 5:56 to tie it at one. A shot from Rostislav Olesz was stopped by Crackers, but the rebound went into the low slot where Jokinen was waiting for it. Grahame didn't stand a chance. The secondary assist went to Joel Kwiatkowski, who I've never heard of.
The great controversy came at 10:16 of the third, when Nathan Horton was awarded a goal after the on-ice call was "no goal" and that the puck had been hit with a high stick. I'll cover this in a separate post.
Officially, a five-on-three goal by Nathan Horton from Cane Killah and Ruslan Salei at 10:16.
After several minutes of delay, play continued, and although the Canes were furious, they didn't let the perceived injustice take them off their game. Quite the opposite. They kept composure, forced overtime, and won.
Erik Cole got the game-tying goal on a wrist shot from the high slot at 13:34. Dennis Seidenberg brought the puck over the blue line, fed it to Cory Stillman, then went toward the net. The Cats defenders had to pay attention to him instead of double teaming Cole, and #26 was able to beat "The Eagle" badly five hole. It was Cole's 20th, and the helpers came from Stillman and Seidenberg.
Overtime didn't last long, and like the previous visit to Florida, the extra frame featured a penalty to a Cats defenseman. Last time, it was a bad hooking call against Jay Bouwmeester. This time, it was a legitimate holding call against Mike Van Ryn at 1:30 of the extra frame. Van Ryn exploded, smashing his stick over the crossbar (his own goal) and proceeded to smash his stick against the walls of the penalty box. For some reason, there wasn't an additional unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. I've seen players penalized for far less. It didn't matter anyway, because Carolina only needed 17 seconds of said penalty.
At 1:47 of the bonus frame, Viva held the puck at the left dot, faked, faked, waited, then fired a wrist shot into the near side of the net, giving the Canes the win. Ray Whitney and Rod Brind'Amour got the assists. It's Viva's seventh game-winning goal, which ties him for first in the League, and his 10th power play goal. He's now got goals in four of the last five games. At 23 goals, he's well on his way to matching or bettering his career high 31 goals last year.
It may have been a surprise, but Justin Williams is certainly worthy of his All-Star appointment.
In a few minutes, I'll have a post about the Horton goal.
The "official" three stars of the game were Erik Cole (third) Olli Jokinen (second), and Justin Williams (first). The Fox Sports South crew and the RBH three stars line up the same way:
Third Star Olli Jokinen, FLA -- goal, assist
Second Star Erik Cole, CAR -- goal, assist
First Star Justin Williams, CAR -- game winning goal.
While the Canes won, they were unable to gain any ground in the SE division because first place Atlanta was in a shooting gallery against the Kings' two ECHL-calibre goaltenders. After Dan Cloutier and Mathieu Garon both went down with injuries, they were forced to dig very deep in their organization's depth chart to find Japanese sensation Yutaka Fukufugi and Barry Brust. I'm not exaggerating about their talent level. Something about shooting fish in a barrel.
Scott Walker gave the Canes at early lead at 10:49 of the first. During a power play sequence, an Erik Cole shot sailed wide, then took a strange bounce off the end wall glass after hitting a support stanchion. The puck caromed out in front of the left post, where Walker simply tucked it in. Ed "Billion Dollar" Belfour had no idea where the puck was. Cole got the first assist, and Rod Brind'Amour got the second.
Several hooking penalties were assessed against the Panthers during the rest of the first and the second, but the Canes were unable to cash in. Credit the Cats blueline for taking away chances. At one point during the second, Belfour got lucky when Justin Williams clanged a single shot of BOTH posts.
In the third, the Cats came to life. Olli "Cane Killah" Jokinen got an easy one at 5:56 to tie it at one. A shot from Rostislav Olesz was stopped by Crackers, but the rebound went into the low slot where Jokinen was waiting for it. Grahame didn't stand a chance. The secondary assist went to Joel Kwiatkowski, who I've never heard of.
The great controversy came at 10:16 of the third, when Nathan Horton was awarded a goal after the on-ice call was "no goal" and that the puck had been hit with a high stick. I'll cover this in a separate post.
Officially, a five-on-three goal by Nathan Horton from Cane Killah and Ruslan Salei at 10:16.
After several minutes of delay, play continued, and although the Canes were furious, they didn't let the perceived injustice take them off their game. Quite the opposite. They kept composure, forced overtime, and won.
Erik Cole got the game-tying goal on a wrist shot from the high slot at 13:34. Dennis Seidenberg brought the puck over the blue line, fed it to Cory Stillman, then went toward the net. The Cats defenders had to pay attention to him instead of double teaming Cole, and #26 was able to beat "The Eagle" badly five hole. It was Cole's 20th, and the helpers came from Stillman and Seidenberg.
Overtime didn't last long, and like the previous visit to Florida, the extra frame featured a penalty to a Cats defenseman. Last time, it was a bad hooking call against Jay Bouwmeester. This time, it was a legitimate holding call against Mike Van Ryn at 1:30 of the extra frame. Van Ryn exploded, smashing his stick over the crossbar (his own goal) and proceeded to smash his stick against the walls of the penalty box. For some reason, there wasn't an additional unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. I've seen players penalized for far less. It didn't matter anyway, because Carolina only needed 17 seconds of said penalty.
At 1:47 of the bonus frame, Viva held the puck at the left dot, faked, faked, waited, then fired a wrist shot into the near side of the net, giving the Canes the win. Ray Whitney and Rod Brind'Amour got the assists. It's Viva's seventh game-winning goal, which ties him for first in the League, and his 10th power play goal. He's now got goals in four of the last five games. At 23 goals, he's well on his way to matching or bettering his career high 31 goals last year.
It may have been a surprise, but Justin Williams is certainly worthy of his All-Star appointment.
In a few minutes, I'll have a post about the Horton goal.
The "official" three stars of the game were Erik Cole (third) Olli Jokinen (second), and Justin Williams (first). The Fox Sports South crew and the RBH three stars line up the same way:
Third Star Olli Jokinen, FLA -- goal, assist
Second Star Erik Cole, CAR -- goal, assist
First Star Justin Williams, CAR -- game winning goal.
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