Canes outlast Habs 3-1.

Last Wednesday, the Canadiens spoiled Carolina's home opener. On Saturday night, Carolina returned the favor with a 3-1 win. Carolina is now 3-1-0 on the six game road trip. They will have the next five days off before playing Friday in Pittsburgh and Saturday in Philly.

Christopher Higgins got the Habs off and running just 1:12 into the game. After a failed attempt by Carolina to clear the defensive zone, Montréal had a great chance and they cashed in on it. Saku Koivu had the lone assist.

At 15:52, Demolition Derby Stillman tied the score at the tail end of a five-on-three power play. He was on the doorstep and easily tucked in a rebound of a Rod Brind'Amour shot. Eric Staal got the secondary assist.

During the period, Carolina's penalty kill looked really good, and they even had a few quality shorthanded chances. Better, though, was Cristobal Huet. He very calmly and adeptly handled all but one of the shots fired his way.

The second period was more of the same. Carolina had the majority of the scoring chances, and Huet was incredible. At roughly 13:00 of the second, he made a remarkable save on Eric Staal, who had a beautiful give-and-go scoring chance on the front porch.

Carolina chinked Huet's armor at 19:26 at the end of a power play. While utilizing the five-forward system, Erik Cole found Matt Cullen all alone in the slot for a quick shot that made it to the back of the net. It was Carolina's second power play goal of the night, and their seventh in the last three games.

In the third period, the home team came to life and they had the majority of the scoring chances. After mustering just four shots in each of the first two periods, the Canadiens fired 16 shots on Cam Ward in the third stanza. Meanwhile, they cracked down defensively, and only allowed the Canes 8 SOG in the third after allowing 13 in the first and 17 in the second.

At around 15:00 of the third, Huet took a sure goal away from Scott Walker, keeping the Habs in the game.

On the other end, Ward made dazzling save after dazzling save while Frantisek Kaberle, Bret Hedican and Nic Wallin "manned up" in front of him. Hedican was especially good, blocking a ton of shots. There is a marked difference in Ward's mobility this season, and one has to assume that it comes from his 20-pound weight loss and his attention to diet and training over the summer.

At 19:44, Chad "Sharpie" LaRose finally got a goal. Sure, it was an empty net goal, but they all look like highlight reel goals in the boxscore. He has worked exceptionally hard this season, and has been denied by posts and crossbars, and impossible saves. It's about time he got rewarded for his effort with an easy goal.

FSN South gave the three stars to Matt Cullen (third), Cristobal Huet (second) and Cam Ward (first). The "official" three stars went to Bret Hedican (third), Matt Cullen (second) and Cristobal Huet (first). I see it a little differently. The RBH three stars:

THIRD STAR Bret Hedican, CAR --- 6 blocked shots
SECOND STAR Cristobal Huet, MTL --- 35 saves
FIRST STAR Cam Ward, CAR --- 23 saves (16 in the 3rd), win

Without the Frenchman, this game would have been a runaway for Carolina. Huet deserves high marks for his heroic effort.

With help from his friends, Ward was able to win his fourth straight game, and now has a GAA of 1.80 and a save percentage of .943. With four wins, he stands behind only Martin Gerber in that category. And oh yeah, he beat Gerber on Thursday night.

Carolina has now won eight straight games in the Molson Bell Centre, dating back to the 03-04 season.

Tampa and Washington both lost tonight, which means that Carolina has increased their Southeast Division lead to three points. Obviously, it's WAY too early to think about playoff pictures, but the boys are off to a very good start.

Canes lose season opener

There was much fanfare surrounding the season opener last night, but in the end, the fans left the building thinking that they had just seen the Hurricanes of 2006-07. The Hurricanes forced overtime and emerged with one standings point, but like last season, they left with a loss on their hands.
This post will be bare-bones. A more detailed one will come later.

Early on, the Canes looked pretty good. There were some good hits, some good aggressive play, some good pressure, and even a first strike goal.

At 3:37, Erik "Hab Killa" Cole re-directed a one-time blast from Eric Staal near the top of the right circle. It was a power play goal (!). Officially, Cole from Staal and Walker at 3:37.

The Habs knotted it up at 13:01. Mark Streit from Alexei Kovalev and Andrei Markov on the power play.

In the first, the Canes had several good chances go by the wayside. Ray Whitney missed a yawning net, they hit a few posts, and on a few occasios, Cristobal Huet made spectacular saves.

No scoring in the second, but the Canes blew a golden opportunity at about 17:00 when the Habs made a sloppy change. The Canes ended up with a three-on-one break and couldn't convert the opportunity. This is what I would later refer to as the "Chad LaRose syndrome". Failure to finish.

9:31 of the third, Saku Koivu put the visitors ahead after Nic Wallin had been sent of for tripping. He went hard to the net and tapped one in from the low slot. Officially Koivu from Markov on the power play.

Bret Hedican rifled one in from the blue line at 12:48 to buoy the Canes hopes. Justin "Viva" Williams and Rod Brind'Amour with the assists. It was the only even strength goal of the game for either team.

Early in the overtime frame, Nic Wallin was again sent away on a cross-checking call. The Habs got what they needed out of their captain when Koivu scored the game-winner at 1:05 of the extra frame. Chris Higgins and Michael Ryder got the assists.

The "official" three stars went to Hedican (3), Cam Ward (2) and Koivu (1). I don't think this does justice to the way Huet played. The RBH three stars went:

THIRD STAR: Erik Cole, CAR. --- 1 goal
SECOND STAR: Cristobal Huet, MTL
FIRST STAR: Saku Koivu, MTL --- 2 goals, GWG

I'll have to go back and check the history, but it seems like Koivu has been what Cole is to the Habs: kryptonite. He certainly was on Wednesday.

During the first intermission, I had the opportunity to finally meet some of my fellow bloggers. It was a short meeting, but it was great to finally meet these good folks.

More on everything later. For now, work.

Canes handle Habs, homestand continues

On Thursday night, the Canes asserted themselves against the Canadiens, sending 48 shots on net en route to a 4-2 victory. On Saturday, they will wrap up the three game home stint against the Bruins.

Michael Ryder got the scoring started at 10:42 of the first on a really nifty play ending with an easy tuck-in. Guillaume Latendresse was coming down the right side and sent a very nice centering pass to Ryder in the low slot. Cam Ward was expecting the shot from Latendresse and had overcommitted to the right post. The net was essentially wide open for Ryder to tuck it in. Saku Koivu got a secondary assist on the even strength goal.

At 16:24, Erik Cole knotted the score by working really hard to stuff his own rebound in. He took a Glen Wesley pass inside the left circle, settled the puck and fired a wrist shot on net. Huet answered the bell, but gave up a fat rebound in front of the net rather than to the corner. Cole found the rebound in the low slot and fired it through a forest of legs.

No other scoring in the first, nor any penalties of note. Actually, there were very few penalties in the entire game. A grand total of seven.

Cole put the Canes ahead at 8:23 of the second. Again it was a huge rebound given up by Huet. Scott Walker left a drop pass for Cole in the top of the right circle. He one-timed one from there that Huet stopped but sent the rebound out front. Cole picked up the loose change and fired it past Huet again. Walker got the first assist and Bret Hedican got the second.

Seven minutes later, Tomas Plekanec tied it at two. He sent a slap shot from the top of the right circle that beat Ward. Sergei Samsanov and Francis Bouillon Mark Streit got the helpers.

Erik Cole laid a crushing hit on Bouillon behind the Montréal net late in the second as he was trying to finish off a hat trick. The third goal never came, and the hit was just barely off camera in the FSN South feed, but I could see the lining up and hear the crowd's reaction.

12:27 into the third, Viva scored what would prove to be the game winner. After Carolina had squandered a short five-on-three and the normal power play that followed. Afraid that the big kill would give Montréal momentum, coach Laviolette called his time out to neutralize that. Moments later, the Canes were on a mini-break and Justin Williams found the back of the net with a really sweet backhand shot that stunned Huet. He never even saw it. Credit Ray "The Wizard" Whitney and Rod Brind'Amour with the assists.

Just 50 seconds later, Eric Belanger fired a howitzer of a snap-wrister from the left faceoff dot, beating Huet high on the stick side. Chad "Sharpie" LaRose got the only assist.

One thing worth noting is that Saku Koivu saved a sure goal late in the third. Huet was way out of position, and Whitney almost had a chance to stuff a strange end board bounce into the vacated net. Koivu, however, detected this, and got his stick down and against the left post to prevent it. A very nice play, and a good night for the Habs captain, even in loss. He almost made my stars of the game.

The FSN South crew gave the three stars to Bret Hedican (third), Viva (second) and Erik Cole (first).

The "official" three stars went to Viva (third), Ray Whitney (second) and Cole.

I have it a tiny bit differently. The RBH three stars of the game:

Third Star Christobal Huet, MON. 44 saves
Second Star Justin Williams, CAR. Game winning goal
First Star Erik Cole, CAR. 2 goals, 11 SOG.

Before embarking on their annual beginning of December Western Conference swing, the Canes have one last home game. Saturday against the Bs. No television, but I'll be there.

Canes fall flat, shut out by Habs.

On Thursday night, the stage was set for Rod Brind'Amour to score his 1000th career point in front of the home crowd. The stage was set for Erik Cole to jumpstart his slow start against the team he loves to terrorize. The stage was set for the Canes to move two points closer to Atlanta in the Southeast Division.

None of that happened. The Canes came out and stank up the joint en route to getting shut out 4-0 by the visiting Habitants.

Although the outcomes of Wednesay's and Thursday's games are quite different, they can both be summed up the same way. Poor special teams performance and really really sloppy defense were defining charachteristics in both games. I can't say that Kari Lehtonen was to blame for Atlanta's loss on Wednesay. He had no help in front, and he was hung out to dry on at least two of Carolina's goals. On Thursday, Cam Ward was put in the automatic dryer, left out in the sun for a couple of days, then put in the oven just for good measure. That's how dry he was left. On two of Montréal's goals, there was nothing he could do. One other was caused by a lack of support in front. He takes the "L", but it wasn't really his fault.

There was no scoring in the first period, nor anything penalty-wise worth mentioning. Carolina got off 16 shots in that first frame, but no quality chances.

At 10:45 into the second, Michael Komisarek got the Habs on the board with a shorthanded goal. Just after a 5-on-3 expired, they were able to generate a cheap chance that actually bore fruit. Komisarek attempted a centering pass from down below the goal line to the right of the goal. Somehow, it found its way in the net. At first it looked like it was tipped in by Steve Begin on the doorstep, but it must have been a Canes defenseman who caused the redirection. Begin got the only assist.

Saku Koivu, who suffered a serious eye injury the last time he played in Raleigh, gave the Habs the only insurance they would need at the 12:29 mark. Carolina's defense broke down in the neutral zone, and Koivu was able to make a dipsy-doodle move and beat Ward badly. It looked like he was the only skater on the ice. Everyone else was playing "statues". Granted, the Habs were on the power play, but it really did look like there were zero Canes skaters out there. Later in the game, he would put on some other displays, but this would be his only point.

At about 17:00 of the second, it became pretty clear that this would be a shutout. Carolina looked awful.

In the third period, the Canes were even worse than they had already been.

Mike Johnson scored on a breakaway at 13:07 of the third. A turnover in the Montréal end led to the one on zero break. There wasn't much of anything Cam could do there. Radek Bonk and Michael Komisarek got the helpers. I haven't reviewed the game to nail down the guy who committed the turnover, and I probably won't.

Still holding on for a "Miracle at the ATM", people stuck around. I'm stubborn. I always stick around to the bitter end. As if it wasn't painful enough, though, the Habs scored ANOTHER shortie in this game to salt it away. It came at 14:56 of the third and final frame. Again it was started by a sloppy turnover in the neutral zone, or down in the Habs zone. It was Tomas Plekanec on a one-on-zero break from the center red line. He worked it in down low and used a nifty backhand to get past Ward. It was unassisted.

Two shorthanded goals, one power play goal and one even strength. This is not the kind of night the Canes wanted. Fatigue from the back-to-back games is probably a factor, but it's not a good excuse for totally getting destroyed like that.

Erik Cole was flying, but obviously wasn't able to register any points. Chad LaRose looked great, and Scotty Walker was playing defense better that some of the defenseman. Aside from those three, the team was awful. Superstars included.

The Habs made a clean sweep of the three stars. The Raleigh media and I aren't far off in our assignment of them. The "offical" three stars go to Komisarec (3rd), Koivu (2nd) and Christobal Huet (1st).

The Red and Black Hockey three stars are:
Third Star Saku Koivu, MON. 1 goal
Second Star Michael Komisarec, MON. 1 SH goal (game winner), 1 assist
First Star Christobal Huet, MON. 31 saves, SO.

Up next, the Canes will travel to Ottowa. I'll be in Washington DC at a wedding.