It's over (and it never really began)

On Monday, the Avalanche re-signed John-Michael Liles to a four-year deal the day before he would have become a sought-after free agent. This ends all speculation that the Hurricanes have him on their shopping list.

There will still be lots of quality defensemen around when the free agent "frenzy" starts tomorrow, but Liles is the one that Canes fans have been salivating over for almost a year now.

Meanwhile, down in the City of Tampa, they've gone wild with their signings and acquisitions. They signed both Ryan Malone (7 years/ $31.5M and Gary Roberts (one year $1.25M + bonuses). They have also acquired the rights to Brian Rolston. They have Vaclav (who I still refuse to call "Vinny") Prospal back under contract and there is talk of making Vincent LeCavalier a "Bolt for Life".
Somehow, amongst all of this, the Lightning aren't really in danger of coming near the cap ceiling. The trouble is, they're going to have to go all out and spend too much money on a goaltender.

Carolina has their work cut out for them. They need at least one defenseman out of the free agent pool. Some fans are clamoring for the return of Mike Commodore. I'm not crazy about that idea. They will also need at least one forward. A fourth line winger.

It seems likely that Chad LaRose will accept his qualifying offer and stay on for one year. He is scheduled to become a RFA, but because his salary will fall below the $863,156 mark, the Canes would receive no compensation if he signs elsewhere.

While the Canes bloggers have been relatively active during this extremely dead time, we haven't heard a word from the professional journalist. What gives?

Tomorrow's the big day. Paul Kukla had a great line about tomorrow, the beginning of the free agent signing period:

"Have plenty of food by your side, you won’t want to leave the computer. While your family and friends are celebrating Canada Day or a long Fourth of July holiday, you will be ridiculed, laughed at or just ignored. But don’t give in to their request to join in on the holiday fun, you see, this is our hockey holiday."

In a cruel twist of fate that only the famous ironist O. Henry would appreciate, I don't have to "work" tomorrow, which is the perfect day to have off. However, I have to tag along with the owner of my restaurant so I can assure him that I can handle the paperwork aspect of things while he's on vacation next week.

Happy Canada Day! Happy Free Agent Day!

LaRose nets hatty, Canes inch closer

On Wednesday night, the Hurricanes were in a "must win" situation against the lowly Lightning. They met the task at hand and have put the ball deep in the Capitals court. There is still a way for both Carolina and Washington to make the dance, but both teams would much rather have the automatic bid. Carolina has done their part for now. They'll worry about Friday when Friday gets here.

The game wasn't part of my season ticket package, but I had an unused ticket which I traded in for a ticket to this. Unfortunately, there were no tickets available in the lower bowl, for for the first time since 2002, my spoiled ass had to "slum it" in the upper deck. I was happy to see, though that my seat was in the fabled section 328, in the front row of that corner section. I might not like it so much if I had been higher up, but that front row seat was pretty cool. 328, as you will know if you ever read AQas , is the section which lustily taunts the visiting goalie every game. They also have lots of other colorful chants and rituals that I just don't see in other parts of the arena. Good stuff.

Eric Staal scored the game's first goal on the first shot just 32 seconds in. The game was already over at that point.

Because I'm pressed for time, I won't give the fully detailed recap.

Chad "Sharpie" LaRose had a goal in each period, and was far and away the game's and the NHL's first star. The first two were typical LaRose goals. Hard working, scrappy, dirty hands type of goals. Loose change, rebounds. The third was a beautiful goal scorer's goal. He came in alone down the left wing and was fed by a nifty pass off the wall from Erik Cole. He deked a few times and thoroughly beat the goalie, then did a Statue of Liberty celebration. What a goofball.

Eric Staal had a goal and an assist and was the third star. Ruuty had a goal and an assist and was the second star. Erik Cole had two assists. Dennis Seidenberg had two assists. Everybody played well, including a surprise return by Matt "concussion" Cullen.

The players all said that they won't be watching the Caps-Lightning game tonight. I think they're liars.

RBH three stars

THIRD STAR Eric Staal, CAR -- goal, assist.
SECOND STAR Tuomo Ruutu, CAR -- goal, assist, 7 hits.
FIRST STAR Chad LaRose, CAR -- three goals.

With one game to play, Carolina has a two point lead. Washington has a game in hand, which will be played tonight. If Washington loses either of their remaining games in regulation OR if Carolina wins their game on Friday, the division is Carolina's.

Canes trounce Bolts, widen lead

On Saturday, the Hurricanes soundly defeated the Lightning 5-1. With the help of the Maple Leafs, they were able to expand their lead in the Southeast division to five points. Carolina has 14 games to play. Washington has two games in hand and two more games against Carolina. All four of those games are "must win" games for Bruce Boudreau's team.

Carolina got a tremendous team effort to close out the six-game homestand. In those six games, Carolina went 4-1-1. In their last ten games at the big ATM, Carolina has been a very impressive 8-1-1. This will hopefully extend through the rest of the season and into the playoffs. Carolina is poised to win their division and have home-ice advantage, and their recent success at home should be a tremendous advantage.

The most impressive thing about the "total effort" was that every single one of the "new guys" played a huge part in the win.

The scoring started with a "soft" goal given up by Cam Ward. Jeff Halpern tapped in some loose change in front of the goal through Ward's five hole at 7:04 of the first. Michel Ouellet and Mathieu Darche got the assists.

Eric Staal got the equalizer at 10:43. He fought hard for a loose puck in front of the goal, and it looked like he batted the loose puck out of midair to tie the game. Tuomo Ruutu and Timmaaay Gleason got the assists. Time of the goal was 10:43 of the first.

The first period ended with a Carolina power play, which extended for one minute into the second frame. One second after the expiration, Big Joe Corvo had all the time in the world to shoot a howitzer from the high slot, which beat Mike Smith (still wearing a Dallas Stars helmet) high on the blocker side. In what has become somewhat of a recurring theme, the goal was scored while one of the opponents was playing without a stick. This goal came at 1:02 of the second, assisted by Sergei Samsonov and Eric Staal. This one would prove to be the game winner.

Sergei Samsonov scored a power play marker at 10:01, assisted by Frantisek Kaberle and Scott Walker. From the top of the left circle, his one-timer beat Smith cleanly for the 3-1 lead.

Samsonov scored his second goal of the night at 4:02 of the third on a nice backhanded tap-in. Patrick Eaves had a very nice chance that was stopped, but Samsonov jumped on the rebound and slammed it home. Matt Cullen got the secondary assist, but this whole play was set up by Samsonov, streaking down the right wing.

Ruutu got his first goal in a Hurricanes sweater at 6:00 of the third by finishing a gorgeous tic-tac-toe play on the left side of the goal mouth. Eric Staal and Erik Cole had the assists. And the crowd chanted "Ruuty! Ruuty! Ruuty!"

It's really nice to see the fans take such a shine to the new guys. Even when Doug Weight and Mark Recchi were brought in during the year of the Cup, we weren't so quick to embrace them. Last year, the Anson Carter thing was a fiasco. Before that, Carolina was always a seller at the trade deadline.

Sergei Samsonov has been far and away the best of the "new guys", and was probably the GM move of the year, league wide. In 24 games with the Canes, he has registered 21 (11/10) points. All that after he scored just four (0/4) points in 23 games with Chicago.

Joe Corvo has also played well since joining the Canes. He's put up six points (2/4) in nine games with Carolina. We're still one game shy of the standard "let's wait ten games to see how we like him", but I'll go ahead and say that we'd rather have Corvo than Commodore any day of the week. And Twice on Sundays.

The other part of that deal, Patty Eaves, hasn't had much time, but he's looked good. He's only played in three games, but has registered two assists, and came very close to scoring a goal in this game.

Ruuty has three (1/2) points in three games. His counterpart in the trade, Andrew Ladd, has also performed well with his new team. Ladd has two goals in three games played for the Blackhawks.

For this game, it was another one where you could pick any three guys as the stars. Except Bret Hedican. He made a boneheaded pass in his own end which led to the lone Bolts goal.

The "official" stars went to Joe Corvo (third), Eric Staal (second) and Sergei Samsonov (first). Mine were only slightly different. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Tuomo Ruutu, CAR --- 1 goal, 1 assist
SECOND STAR Eric Staal, CAR --- 1 goal, 2 assists, +3
FIRST STAR Sergei Samsonov, CAR --- 2 goals, 1 assist

Carolina will be off until Wednesday. In the interim, Washington will expend one of their two games in hand when they play host to the hot Bruins, who are currently in the sixth playoff spot and would be Carolina's first round opponent.

Canes top Bolts 4-1

Going into Saturday night's game at Tampa, the Hurricanes held a narrow three point lead in the Southeast Division over Florida. After having lost the game and 30-point scorer Justin Williams on Thursday, the Canes were a little beat up physically and emotionally. They bounced back nicely with a beautiful 4-1 win over Tampa, while Florida lost in overtime to the Leafs. Going into the holiday, Carolina has a four point lead.

The game got off to a quick start on the wrong foot. Martin St. Louis made a shot from below the right circle which Cam Ward blockered aside. Unfortunately, it caromed off defenseman Glen Wesley and into the net. This came just 0:23 into the game. St. Louis' 13th goal of the season was assisted by Brad Richards and Shane O'Brien.

A few moments later, Wesley had a chance to redeem himself with a rebound chance into an empty net, but he had to lift the shot to get over a defenseman's stick, and his attempt clanged off the right post.

Andrew Ladd, who has really stepped up his game since returning from his "conditioning stint", scored his second goal in as many games to level the score at one. He outworked to Bolts skaters behind Karri Ramo's net, then worked the puck around to Matt Cullen on the right side. His shot was blocked by Ramo, but Ladd was there on the doorstep to pounce on the rebound and shove it in the net. Time of the goal was 18:04 of the first. Initially, the lone assist went to Matt Cullen. During the first intermission, there was a scoring change, giving a secondary assist to Brandon Nolan.

Nolan looked comfortable and confident out there, and just missed on a golden scoring opportunity in the second frame. I give him high marks for tallying an assist in his first NHL game, ending with a +1.

There were no penalties for either team in the first.

In a span of two and a half minutes in the second period, four penalties were called. Two per side. Tampa had one minute of five-on-three, which was killed off nicely by the Canes. At the tail end of the ensuing power play, a Bolts penalty nullified the man advantage. Carolina couldn't do anything on their end of the power play.

With about a minute left in the second, the Bolts thought they had taken the lead on a Mathieu Darche goal. After some review, the goal was disallowed because it went in off a skate after a distinct kicking motion propelled it in.

The second period ended 1-1. Both goaltenders were seeing plenty of action, and both were playing well.

Ray Whitney gave the Canes the lead at 9:31 of the third with a delayed penalty in hand. Whitney came off the bench to be the sixth attacker, accepted a gorgeous pass in the left circle and wristed it high on the Finnish rookie. Cory Stillman and Frantisek Kaberle assisted on what would prove to be the game-winning goal.

The Wizard notched his second goal of the night and his 18th of the season at 19:00 of the third with an empty net. Scott Walker made a steal at center ice and chucked it ahead to Whitney for the easy goal.

Remembering what they were able to do on Tuesday against the Leafs, the Canes knew that the game was far from over. They had to fight to the final bell.

The Bolts were able to get some chances, but nothing serious. In the closing seconds, Ray Whitney had an opportunity for the natural hat trick. He had the puck at the right point, but instead of trying the shot from there, he passed it ahead to Eric Staal for the sure thing, which he tucked in at 19:56. Whitney and Bret Hedican got the assists.

Carolina played very well as a team. Their forechecking was good, their backpressure was excellent, the third line did a spectacular job. Cam Ward knocked the rust off and had a spectacular game after watching Johnny Crackers get three consecutive starts.

The "official" three stars went to the midgetMarty St. Louis (third), Cam Ward (second) and Ray Whitney (first). The FSN South crew gave the third star to Karri Ramo. I see it a little differently. Certainly, Karri Ramo was good, with 33 saves. St. Louis was good, with his freak goal. Brandon Nolan played a very good game, albeit just 7:57 ice time, getting an assist in his NHL debut. They all deserve special mention.
The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Andrew Ladd, CAR -- 1 goal, 8 hits
SECOND STAR Cam Ward, CAR -- 29 saves, win
FIRST STAR Ray Whitney, CAR -- 2 goals, 1 assist, GWG

Carolina will be off until Boxing Day, when they'll play the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Marc Staal will probably catch a ride on the Hurricanes charter, because he and the rest of the Staal family are spending Christmas at Eric's house in Cary.

Canes defeat Bolts 4-3

On Friday, the Hurricanes bested the visiting Lightning4-3 after a dominant third period. The win over their division foe, coupled with the loss by Atlanta (who was tied for second in the division) allows Carolina to expand its slim lead in the division.

The Florida Panthers won their non-divisional game and leapfrogged the Bolts and Thrash into second place. Carolina's lead over them is six points, but Carolina has a game in hand on the Kitties. Atlanta and Tampa are both seven points back, and both have one game in hand on the Canes.

The first thing to note about tonight's game is that Erik Cole did indeed return to the lineup. Last week in Florida, Cole re-injured his neck in a very scary collision with Tomas Vokoun. He missed four games. Carolina lost three of those, and looked really bad along the way. When Cole went over the boards for his first shift, about a minute into the game, the crowd went nuts. He immediately started throwing himself around, hitting guys and flying all over the ice. You forget how skilled he is in so many different areas when he's been out of the lineup.

Just 4:53 into the game, Cole assisted Erik Staal on the game's first goal. Cory Stillman took Cole's pass and fired on Holmqvist. From the right post, Staal hacked away at the rebound until he finally got it to go over the line. After a very long review, the on-ice call was allowed to stand and the Canes had a 1-0 lead. Stillman had the first assist, and Cole actually had the secondary assist.

The goal was the 100th of Staal's career, his 14th this season.

At 14:03, Paul Ranger tied it up for the visitors. He fired one in from above the left circle high on Cam's glove side. Michel Ouellet and Brad Richards assisted.

The first period was a stalemate on the scoreboard, and although Tampa had a SOG advantage, it seemed really evenly played.

The second period was all Bolts. At 12:08 of the second, that first line put on a clinic. They just passed and skated their way around the Carolina reargaurds as if they weren't even there. At the end of a particularly impressive passing sequence, Vaclav Prospal (who I refuse to call "Vinny" beat Ward to take the lead. Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lacavalier had the helpers.

Bret Hediguchi made an awful play, getting completely pantsed by Lacavalier trying to clear the zone. Lacavalier took Hedican off the puck, sauntered in all alone, and buried it on Ward. St. Louis and Filip Kuba had the assists.

Carolina had a couple of power play opportunities in that second frame, but they were having a difficult time keeping it in the offensive zone. Forget about "applying pressure". That just wasn't happening.

Something happened in the room between the second and the third. I wish I knew what it was, but they came out completely different. For example, the Hurricanes could only muster three shots in the second, and they got off 12 SOG in the third period. Three of those found the back of the net.

Ray Whitney fired a wrister from the top of the left circle to put the Canes back in it at 1:56 of the second. Matt Cullen had the only assist.

Justin Viva Williams tied the score with a really amazing shot from the high slot that beat the "evil" Swede high. Rod Brind'Amour and Tim Gleason got the assists.

Old man Glenn Wesley broke the tie with his first goal of the season at 8:43. He fired one from the top of the left circle. I could swear that it had been tipped by Staal in the low slot, but apparently it went straight in. Erik Cole and Cory Stillman got the assists.

Carolina will travel to Washington DC tonight and will take on the Capitals on Saturday night. The Caps beat Philly in overtime, so both teams will travel a tiny bit, sleep a little while, and have an optional morning skate.

The "official" three stars were Eric Staal (third star), Cory Stillman(second star) and Erik Cole (first). I just can't ignore the effort by the visiting team, so the RBH three stars go:
THIRD STAR Martin St. Louis, TBL --- 2 assists
SECOND STAR Cory Stillman, CAR --- 2 assists
FIRST STAR Erik Cole, CAR --- 2 assists, 5 hits, 3 takeaways

Bolts come to town

Tonight, the Hurricanes will host the Bolts in a key Southeast Division matchup. In two previous meetings this season, Tampa has owned the Canes, winning 6-1 and 5-1.

Last time, Peter Laviolette started former Bolt Johnny Crackers, and it didn't pay off. They beat him badly. Meanwhile, the Canes were having a whale of a time solving Johan Holmqvist.

As difficult as it was to solve the Swede, the Canes had even more trouble shutting down the high-octane first line of the Bolts. Vincent Lacavalier and Marty St. Louis have been on fire. Vaclav Prospal (who I refuse to call "Vinny") has been pretty productive too. And of all people, defenseman Shane O'Brien - formerly of the Ducks- potted two goals in the first meeting.

The good news is that Erik Cole has been activated from the IR. No word yet on whether he'll play. I suppose it's one of those game-time decisions. The Canes have been, in a word, flat since his injury last week.

I suppose Cam Ward will be in the nets for the home team.

According to the N&O, they'll be wearing a redesigned sweater that will eliminate some of the problems players have been reporting. They'll be a bit roomier and will have less of that stuff that makes the moisture wick away.

I'm hoping Dennis Seidenberg will return to the ice and "Avi" Tanabe will return to the pressbox. Like the first part of last season, he's been bad most of the time this season.

Scott Walker has been practicing, but without contact. No timetable on a return at this point.

Good news! Former full-time anthem singer Karen Tulloss (now Pahl) will be singing the anthem tonight. She was always a fan favorite, and there were many upset people when she was replaced with Holly Wilver after the lockout, and the little eight year old girl this year. Apparently, she's on permanent stand-by as the "#2 singer". I don't want to wish illness on anyone, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings if the little girl is unable to sing for a while.

Details and stuff when I get back tonight.

Bolts destroy Canes 6-1

On Wednesday, The City of Tampa Lightning thoroughly destroyed the Hurricanes. The final tally was 6-1, but it may well have been 4000-0. Carolina was awful, and Tampa didn't go easy on them.

After controlling the first period but failing to score a goal, Carolina didn't even show up for the second period. The Lightning scored five goals in the second frame, putting the game well out of reach after the third one. It was clear that nobody showed up except Justin Williams and Jeff Hamilton.

In 1980, the fictional band Spinal Tap released an album entitled "Shark Sandwich". It was famously given a two word review:

Shit Sandwich

Whenever the Hurricanes play a game like tonight's, in which they get utterly and thoroughly destroyed in every way, I'm tempted to give the game that same two word review.

Adding to the debacle that was the scoreboard, Craig Adams got beaten into a bloody pulp in a fight with Doug Janik (who played with Buffalo in The Year of The Cup). With just a few minutes to play, the two squared off, and when it was all done, CrAdams was bleeding profusely from his head.

Added to that, Bret Hediguchi was struck in the jaw by a puck late in the first period. He played a little bit in the second period, but he and his swollen face sat out the whole third period.

Johnny Crackers was awful. This was his first start in Tampa since leaving the team after the '06 season. He had a well-publicized row with coach Torts, and this was his opportunity to get back at him. Instead, he and his team laid a big fat stinking turd. Peter Laviolette didn't pull him, deciding to leave him out there, "dancing with the one who brung him". One goal was soft, he was way out of position on another, and he just looked bad. In all, he gave up six goals on 28 shots. That's an abysmal save % of .786.

Of course his teammates played like crap in front of him, so he doesn't deserve all of the blame. However, Johan Holmqvist looked like the old Martin Brodeur while Johnny Crackers looked like the new M-A Fleury.

From a Hurricanes perspective, there is nothing positive that can be said about this game. Except that it's over.

I imagine the boys will have a long, silent flight home. I imagine that they'll have a bag skate tomorrow. I imagine they'll play angrily on Friday against the Thrashers.

Vinny "The Horseman" Lacavalier recorded a hat trick and had the game-winning goal. Paul Ranger, Marty St. Louis and Vaclav Prospal (who I refuse to call "Vinny") also tallied goals for the home team.

Jeff "Alexander" Hamilton scored Carolina's only goal on a play where Chad "Sharpie" LaRose deserves all the credit.

This as in-depth as I will get about this stinker of a game.

The RBH three stars are as follows:
THIRD STAR Martin St. Louis, TBL --- 1 goal, 2 assists
SECOND STAR Johan Holmqvist, TBL --- 27 saves, win
FIRST STAR Vincent Lacavalier, TBL --- 3 goals (including GWG), 2 assists

Dan Boyle pulls a Brian Griese

On Saturday night, defenseman Dan Boyle from the Lightning was injured in a freak accident in the Bolts locker room following their 2-1 loss to the Capitals.
Apparently, he was trying to hang up his skates and "got distracted". A skate fell and ended up severing a tendon in his left wrist.

"Distracted"? I wonder by what? Did Mark Messier and Gary Coleman pay a visit? If you're faint of heart, you may want to avert your eyes at this point.


No matter how many times I see that picture, I laugh. And at the same time, I'm creeped out on multiple levels. Moose has what appears to be a Red Stripe in his left hand. What the hell is he doing with his right hand, and what's that look on his face? Gary Coleman is in the locker room and has what looks like an autograph book in his hands. But he's got a pencil. A pencil? Who the hell gets things autographed with a pencil? And Coleman himself was a pretty big star back then (presumably around 1984 or so). What's he doing getting autographs?

Anyway... back to the point.
Boyle is hurt. He's having surgery today and will be out of the lineup for about eight weeks. I participated in two fantasy drafts yesterday, and I picked him in one.

I wonder why the vague "he was distracted" explanation was given. At least when former NFL quarterback Brian Griese fell down drunk and broke his wrist in 2002, he came up with something creative. He said that his dog came barreling down the stairs and knocked him down. He later "tripped" in Terrell Davis' driveway, suffering another "freak" injury.

I'm not saying that Boyle was drunk or that he's trying to hide something. If he was distracted by something, they should name the thing. We wanna know. A naked lady? An awkward moment between Mark Messier and Gary Coleman? A joke told by Paul Ranger?

While we're at it, if you look at the TOI stats, you'll see that Boyle played for 32:20 and Ranger played for over 30 minutes in a freakin' EXHIBITION game. What's that all about? Maybe Boyle wanted some rest, so he "accidentally" cut himself.

Boyle was fourth on the team last season and first among defensemen with 63 (20/43) points. He was fifth on the team with 62 PIM and fifth on the team with 203 shots taken. He was fifth on the team with 10 power play goals and third on the team with four game winning goals. This will not be an easy task for the Bolts to replace him.

My fantasy team has replaced him with his Tampa Bay teammate Filip Kuba.

Eastern Conference hot seats (part two)

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

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


Tampa Bay Lightning Again, The Score picked on the goalie, putting Marc Denis in the "hot seat". I just don't think it's fair. I'd rather put a position player with the weight on his shoulders. In this case, I think it should be Vincent "The Horseman" Lecavalier. Vinny was the #1 overall pick in the 1998 draft. Unlike the #8 pick (Mark Bell) and the #11 pick (Jeff Heerema) from that year's draft, he has avoided a jail sentence this summer. All joking aside, he had his "breakout" season last year, scoring 108 (52/56) points, which shattered his previous personal best by 30 points. It will be on him to repeat that kind of performance and lead his team to a fifth straight playoff appearance. Martin St. Louis also had an explosion last season and will have to do the same this year. Honestly, because they're division foes, I hope they don't help their team, but they sure are fun to watch.

Toronto Maple Leafs The Score once again took the wimpy way out and put the heat on newly acquired goaltender Vesa Toskala. This is utter crap. He'll be duking it out for the #2 spot with former perennial Brodeur backup Scott Clemmensen. In all honesty, he'll probably land with the Marlies or he'll be picked up off the waiver wire. Hot seat? I think not. My pick isn't as wimpy. I'll call out 24-year old Kyle Wellwood. I could have taken the easy way out and picked on the Captain, but Sundin has been probably the most consistent player in all of hockey. You know he's going to give you exactly a point a night. And he's the damn Captain. I say Wellwood because he has shown that he can produce huge numbers at every level, and it's time to do it at the NHL level. Last season, defensemen Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe were #2 and #3 on the the Leafs in terms of points production with 58 and 57 respectively. The forwards have to step up, and I think Wellwood is gonna have to be the guy. It certainly won't be Bates Battaglia. They won't be a Cup contender either way, but if this guy can break out, they'll at least make the playoffs.

Florida Panthers. Again with the goaltender. The Score put Tomas Vokoun in there. I don't see why. He was run out of Nashville on a rail and brought in to Florida to replace Eddie "The Eagle" Belfour, who had become the Adam "Pacman" Jones of hockey with his off-ice antics. In 2006, it was certainly true that the Preds' success was predicated upon the health and performance of Vokoun. When he went down with his pelvic thrombophlebitis late in the '06 seson, the Preds took a nosedive and were quickly eliminated in the first round of those playoffs.
It's true that their goaltending depends upon him. The backup, Craig Anderson, is not a good goalie. I'll pick on Nathan Horton. He was taken 3rd in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft (just behind Eric Staal), and of that class, he's one of a few who hasn't had at least one explosive season. Don't misunderstand me. His 62 (31/31) points last year were good, but I think there's more in the tank.
If Olli Jokinen has a horrible season, this team is done, but that won't happen, so there's no point in discussing that. I think Horton can have more of a hand in making them better. They'll still miss the playoffs, but I think Horton will have his year, and it will benefit the Cats greatly.

Pittsburgh Penguins. The Score put old man Gary Roberts in the "hot seat". I won't do that. I can't quite pick between two sophomores, so I'll make them sit in each other's lap in the hot seat. Jordan Staal had a remarkable rookie season. Most folks figured he'd play in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but he exploded right out of the gate to earn his spot on the big club. His 42 (29/13) points were way better than the 31 (11/20) that his brother scored during his rookie campaign. His seven shorties were tops in the entire league. If he can do like his brother and have an explosive second year, the Pens will be very happy. Also, second year player Evgeni Malkin has a different challenge. His is to prove that his eye-popping 85 (33/52) points wasn't a fluke. He's a big, big dude, and he's fun to watch. If Malkin can maintain or increase his production, and Staal can increase his, the Pens will be a serious force to be reckoned with.

New York Rangers. The Score says Chris Drury is the guy. I think I agree. He was one of two ultra-expensive free agent acquisitions made by the Rags. He'll not only have to prove that he's worth the $7.1M he'll earn this season. He also has to fill the void left by Michael Nylander. Then again, Scott Gomez will be making $10M. He's never even had a 90 point season in the NHL and he's making stupid money. More money than Jagr. "The Golden Bitch" will probably not like this. Rags fans and Chris Drury himself should hope that there are no hostilities, or Drury will be shown the door. Maybe that is the "hot seat". The relationship between Jagr and Gomez. Yes. I'm sure of it. That's it.

Ottawa Senators. The Score says defenseman Wade Redden. At $6.5M, he's the Sens' highest paid player. I dunno. Daniel Alfredsson had a monstrous 103-point season in '06 , then had a bit of a letdown last season, but he still managed 87 (29/58) points. He was great in the playoffs. At one point in the regular season, though, he went through a drought, and his attitude came into question. I don't know all the details. He and Jason Spezza are both big pieces of the puzzle and they must put up 90 or more points. They must also stay healthy, which is a challenge for Spezza. If one of these guys slacks this year, the other will pick up. I can't decide on anybody. I'm tempted to go against my own rule and pick Ray Emery. He emerged as a star last season, and if he should falter or fall back to Earth (read: Cam Ward), that might make a big difference.

Atlanta Thrashers The Score picked Ilya Kovalchuk. He did drop off his point production by 22 points last season. Sure. Why not? If he drops off again, the Thrash will have no hope of qualifying for the playoffs.

Okay, so that's the Eastern Conference. I doubt that I'll bother with the Western Conference, but we'll see.

Bolts sold, Oil not for sale.

On Tuesday, two teams were at the center of different surprising news stories involving a sale and a no-sale.

In a (pardon the bad pun) shocking story, the Lightning were sold to Absolute Hockey Enterprises, a group headed up by former Blue Jackets GM Doug MacLean. Apparently, this move came out of nowhere. Like any sale, this is subject to approval by the NHL's board of governors.
MacLean has some ties to the Florida area. He coached the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996, but got swept by the Avs, and got fired just 23 games into the 1997 campaign.
Jay Feaster will remain GM of the Bolts, and Dennis Miller John Tortorella will remain the head coach.

It doesn't appear that MacLean has any intention of moving the team to his native PEI. Not that there is a city big enough to support an NHL team on Prince Edward Island, but people always start talking about relocation when a team is sold.

The other news was about the Oilers who were not sold. Pharmaceutical king Darryl Katz made another (his third) pitch to purchase the Oil. Katz had pledged to build (and finance) a new downtown arena and to increase payroll. The 33-member ownership group overwhelmingly voted to reject Katz' $185M (Canadian) bid, declaring that they are the best ownership group EVAH. The franchise is indeed profitable, but most Oil fans are ready for some new blood, and they're a little upset about this turn of events.

After the no-sale, the ownership group loudly stomped out into the front yard and took down the "FOR SALE" sign. Then they vehemently denied the existence of any such sign.

Many Edmontonians think this is a bad turn of events. If for no other reason, then for the simple one that EIG has no concrete plan to build a new arena.

Sometimes I forget how lucky we are here. We have an owner who is pretty much public enemy #1 in the state of Connecticut, but he's well liked around here. He's financially very well off, even if and when the Hurricanes lose money. We have a fantastic arena with a great lease, and we have a growing support base in the local corporate world. Oh yeah. And we have that STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS banner hanging in the rafters. Of course those two teams also have that, but their ownership is (or was) in some state of turmoil.

(I know) It's over

... I can feel the soil falling over my head
And as I climb into an empty bed, oh well...

Carolina had a very steep uphill climb starting with a Tuesday night game in Tampa. They knew that they would have to win the remainder of their games and get a bit of help from the likes of Montréal, Toronto, and even Tampa if they wanted to sneak their way into the playoffs.
For about 28 minutes, it looked like they were on their way to helping themselves.

... I know it's over, still I cling.
I don't know where else I can go...

The Canes got a first period marker from Ray Whitney and an early second period goal from Rod Brind'Amour to build a 2-0 lead. Things were looking up for the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

Eric Perrin gave the '04 Champs life at 8:33 of the second, but after 40 minutes, Carolina still led 2-1. Things were still looking good.

Vinny LaCavalier tied the score at 1:20 of the third, and suddenly things were not okay. This was one of those "backbreaking" goals. Less than two minutes later, things went from grey to black. Danny Boyle scored what would prove to be the game winner at 3:13 of the third.

I know it's over
And it never really began
But in my heart it was so real

Carolina had a couple of quality chances very late in the game, but it was already a foregone conclusion at that point. The tiny consolation is that Carolina was not getting the help they needed anyway. Montréal defeated Boston 2-0. Either outcome made the other moot in terms of Carolina's wafer thin playoff hopes.

When the final horn sounded, it became official. Carolina will not make the playoffs. They'll be on Pinehurst #2 while 16 teams fight for the holiest of all grails.

Love is natural and real
But not for you my love.
Not tonight my love

This is the first time in the history of the NHL that both Stanley Cup finalists from the previous season fail to qualify for the playoffs. This, of course, will be cannon fodder for some fans who think Carolina was gifted the Cup last summer.

Still, though, there is nary a Maple Leaf who was even alive the last time Toronto won the Cup. And there are fourteen active franchises who have never won it.

This summer, I'm hoping that Vancouver can be crossed of that list.

GO NUCKS!!!

Mission: impossible

The Carolina Hurricanes have their back against the wall. They are three points out of a playoff spot with five games to play. It's not officially over, but a loss against Tampa tonight would be their death knell. A regulation win tonight would put both the Bolts and the Hurricanes at 86 points. Since the Bolts would own the tiebreaker, Carolina will need to pass them in the standings to get to the second season.

The thing that could help Carolina a lot is that they've got two of their next three games against the Bolts. Carolina has gone 3-2-1 against the Bolts thus far. Win both remaining matchups, and they'll likely pass Tampa in the standings. Lose either of them in regulation, and it's over.

Carolina also has two games against Florida. The good news there is that Carolina has owned the Panthers, going 5-1 against them this season.

Carolina has one game against Atlanta, against whom they've gone 4-2-1 this season.

Puck drop tonight will be at 7:30. By 10:00, I will either be holding onto some remaining hope, or I will be fully on the Canucks bandwagon.

Speaking of Canucks, Jack "JFJ" Johnson made his NHL debut last night for the Kings in a 4-2 loss to the Canucks in Staples Center. He had 23 shifts for 18:45 of ice time, took one shot, dished out two hits. He did not commit any penalties, nor did he figure into either of the Kings' goals. I think he missed an American History quiz.

Canes rip Bolts, weird things happen.

On Saturday night, the Hurricanes hosted the Lightning, who had embarrassed the Canes 5-1 just two nights previous. Fortunately, things worked out for the Canes, as they emerged with a 6-4 victory. Some rather strange things happened along the way. I'll blame "Hallowe'en" for the freakish stuff. I'll get to that later.

The visitors got on the board first at 5:38 of the first. It was their first shot of the game, and Cam Ward got a really clean look at it, but it beat him anyway. Vinny Prospal fired it from near the right point, and with little traffic out front, Ward should have handled it easily. He didn't, and the Bolts had a 1-0 lead. Paul Ranger got the only assist.

About three minutes later, things started to get really crazy. Eric Staal started a scoring binge at 8:23. From the bottom of the right circle, he took a really sharp angle to beat Marc Denis inside the left post. Viva got the lone assist on the power play goal.

Nine seconds later, Kevyn Adams gave the Canes the lead. The Bolts committed a really bad turnover, leading to a great scoring chance by Craig Adams. Denis handled it, but K-Ads stuffed in the rebound. The place went nuts. CrAdams got the only assist.

Just as the PA announcer started to announce the goals, the Canes lit the lamp again. Erik Cole and Ray Whitney executed a picture perfect give-and-go, resulting in the goal at 9:06. Rod Brind'Amour got the secondary assist. Three goals in 43 seconds. That set a new franchise record for the fastest three goal burst, but isn't even close to the NHL record of 20 seconds.

There would be no more scoring in the first. After 20 minutes, things looked really good. They were skating well, they were dominating play, and they had built a 3-1 lead. Actually, the Bolts had only taken two (2) shots on goal in the firs period.

At 5:14 of the second, Eric Staal got his second marker of the night. I haven't reviewed the game yet, but it looked to me like his shot from down low banked off Erik Cole's skate out front. I guess they ruled that it was off a Lightning skate, because Staalsy was given the credit. There were a lot of legs out in front, and it definitely bounced in off somebody's skate. It was a power play goal, and the assists went to Rod Brind'Amour and Anton Babchuk. Marc Denis was replaced by the Swede - Johan Holmqvist

At 12:23, Ruslan Fedotenko brought the Bolts to within two. The Bolts were on the power play, and Filip Kuba ripped a shot from the high slot. Fedotenko barely got a stick on it to re-direct it. Kuba and The Horseman (Vincent LaCavalier) got the assists.

Somewhere around the 14:00 mark, Erik Cole had a breakaway chance that was denied when he was flat-out tackled by a Bolts skater. He slid into the net, knocking it off its moorings. Referee Kevin Pollock made some sort of strange gesture that suggested he was about to award a penalty shot, but changed his mind at the last nanosecond. Not only was there not a penalty shot, but there wasn't even a penalty. No obstruction-holding, or tripping, or obstruction-interference. Nothing. The gesture that Pollock actually made was to point to where the ensuing faceoff was to take place.

A few minutes later, The Horseman made things really interesting. At the 16:41 mark, he got a power play marker with an easy stuff-in of a rebound. Vaclav Prospal (who I refuse to call "Vinny") and Dan Boyle got helpers.

Scott Walker scored a goal from the right dot at 17:34 of the second. He and Eric Staal were in on a semi-break. Don't look now, but Scott Walker (who needs a nickname) has a solid chance of becoming my favorite player.

At 0:55 of the third, Scott Walker scored again, putting him 2/3 of the way to a natural hat trick. It was an easy stuff-in, a complete garbage goal that was the result of poor rebound control by Holmqvist. A garbage goal is still a goal, though. They all look pretty in the box score. Ray Whitney and Rod Brind'Amour got the assists.

Marty St. Louis wrapped up the scoring at 11:32 of the third. Just as a penalty to Mike Commodore had expired, he got one past Cam Ward. Kuba and Boyle got the helpers.

John Tortarella pulled his keeper with about 2:00 to play and his team trailing by two goals. They couldn't create any magic, nor could Carolina notch an empty netter. Eric Staal and Scott Walker both had good chances to complete their hat trick, but Martin St. Louis made some really nice plays to prevent any further scoring.

What about the "weird stuff"? I saw two things tonight that I've never seen before. Both in the third frame. At some point, Erik Cole had puck bounce around off some sticks, and ended up on the inside of his helmet. Somehow, the puck got lodged between the bridge of Cole's nose and the shield.
Also, Glen Wesley's stick got stuck in the glass on the sidewall. Some crazy way, the blade of his stick came up on the plexiglass and got stuck in the tiny microscopic gap between glass and the metal support stanchion. Possibly, it was in the hinge to the referee's gate. Either way, it was stuck there. He couldn't free it, so he had to leave it there. Despite the fact that it was sticking out, and could have been dangerous, the refs allowed play to continue.

At about 16:00, Tim Gleason had to leave the game. He was checked into the end wall on what seemed like a harmless innocent play. He got up a little slow, grimaced, left the ice, and immediately went to the locker room. We never saw him again, nor did we hear anything about his status. It has the earmarks of a dislocated shoulder, which would certainly be very bad news. He re-appeared later, letting us breathe a sigh of relief.


For the record, the "official" three stars went to Brind'Amour(3), Walker(2) and Staal(1). If I were handing them out, I would have given them to LaCavalier(3), Staal(2) and Walker (1).

In other news, the Sabres aren't invincible.

Next up for the Canes: Wednesday night at Atlanta.

Viva breaks out, Canes win again, three is the magic number

On Monday night, as the Canes hit the midway point of their 7 game, 14 day road trip, they handily defeated the Lightning by a 5-1 margin, earning their third win in a row. After getting off to an exceptionally slow and low scoring start, this was the third straight game in which the Canes scored the first three goals of the game. Also, Justin "Viva" Williams would notch his first three goals, and Rod Brind'Amour would record three points.

Although the stats sheet shows that the City of Tampa had more shots on goal than did Carolina, the Canes were very much in control of this game. If there was a time of posession by zone chart, it would slant heavily towards Carolina. Cam Ward had another great outing, turning aside 34 shots en route to his third consecutive win. This time, he was 133 seconds shy of pitching his first career regular season shutout.

Two of Carolina's top guns from last season got their first goal of this season, and hopefully they will be on track looking ahead. Also, the new guys continued to look good.

At 4:28 of the first, Rod Brind'Amour finally got his first tally of the season. The play was beautifully begun with a long bomb pass by David Tanabe to Viva. It ended with Erik Cole taking a shot from just below the right faceoff dot. The shot glanced off Brindy's skate and into the Tampa net. Cole and Viva got assists.
The really nice two line pass by Tanabe was just the first of many good things that he did, giving the trepedacious Canes fans room to breathe with regards to the embattled once and present Cane.

At 3:11 of the second, Viva finally got in the goals column on sort of a crazy play. Marc Denis (sorry, but I can't help but think of the Blondie song "Denis" here) came WAY too far out of his crease to play a puck in front, and misplay it at that. Becuase the goaltender was way out of position, the Tampa skaters had to scramble, and were all out of whack positionally. There was some chaos in front of the net, and Viva banked a shot in off Denis' back from benind the goal line. I'm not entirely sure that it wasn't meant to be a pass to Eric Staal out front, but it ended up in the net. Statistically speaking, it was a wrist shot from 12 feet out. Shot distances are measured not from the goal line, but from the end wall. Still, though, the goal line is 11 feet from the end wall, so it probably should have been called a wrist shot from 10 feet out. It's all academic, but it's fun to belabor points like that after a win. Eric Staal and Scotty Walker got the assists.

At the 9:08 mark, the Canes forged ahead, scoring a power play goal on a completely beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play. Eric Staal, who has been manning the point on power plays, did a really nice job keeping a clearing attempt in the zone. He hit Ray Whitney with a pass from the left point to the slot, and Whitney passed to Belanger, just off the left post. There was nothing Denis could do. It was Belanger's second goal of the season. Ray Whitney picked up his fifth assist and Eric Staal his third.

At 17:21, the Canes notched another power play goal. Brindy hit Anton Babchuk for a really amazingly hard one-timer from the center point. It was a rising shot that first appeared to go straight in. However, it was later ruled that Viva got his stick in there for the re-direct. It was Viva's second goal, Babchuk's first assist, and Brindy's fifth. Everyone always talks about how hard Babchuk's shot is, and this was a good example of it. Some folks use words like "howitzer" or "cannon".

Very early in the third, Viva got his third goal to complete the hat trick. Ray Whitney sent him a pass that was deflected off a Bolts player's skate, and Viva neatly deposited the puck in the net from the left face off dot. 0:37 was the time. "The Wizard" got the primary assist, and Brindy picked up the second, for his third point (1/2) of the night.

Nikita Alexeev spoiled Cam Ward's shutout bid by slamming home a big rebound out front at the 17:47 mark. Dimitri Afanasenkov and Luke Richardson got the helpers.

In addition to the hat trick by Viva, the productive night from Brindy, and the continued success of the new guys, there were some other really good things about the game. Carolina was superb on power play. They converted three out of seven power plays, including two out of three in the second period of play. They also played a very well disciplined game. They only committed five penalties, and they killed all three Bolts power plays.

Carolina is doing all of this on the road. In the midst of a very long trip. And they are doing so while their roster has been decimated from injuries. Once again, prominent defensemen Bret Hedican and Glen Wesley sat out. Also, Andrew Ladd has been placed on the IR, and Trevor Letowski will be out indefinitely. Add that to Frantisek Kaberle and Cory Stillman, who were already on the IR, and our team is looking like a M*A*S*H* unit.

The Canes will actually return to Raleigh to sleep in their own beds and practice on their own ice, but the road swing continues with a Friday night game in Buffalo and a Saturday night game on Long Island.

For the Buffalo game, I will look forward to the comments of the guys from BFLOBLOG, who will be in the HSBC Arena that night. It's good to know that those boys are all safe and sound after last week's suckerpunch of a snowstorm. The Sabres are undefeated as I write this, but will take on the always pesky Flyers on Tuesday night.