Williams, Whitney set for return

Justin Williams was cleared for full contact practice on Monday. He made it through the full practice with no complications. After missing 43 games with torn ligaments (both the MCL and the ACL) in his left knee, "Viva" is listed as "probable" for tomorrow's huge game against the Capitals. Read Luke Decock's N&O story here.

Ray Whitney, who has missed the last 12 games with a bad ankle, is also slated for a return to the lineup on Tuesday. He left practice early on Monday, but is still hopeful for play against Washington. Coach Laviolette has said that he won't mess with the chemistry of the top three lines. What this means is that Carolina could possibly have a fourth line of Ray Whitney/Jeff Hamilton/Justin Williams. That's a pretty damn good fourth line if you ask me.

If these two are a go for tomorrow, I expect that Joe Jensen and probably Tim Conboy will be sent back down to Albany.

I'm pretty excited to see Viva ready to play. He'll see limited ice time, but he'll be chomping at the bit to make a difference.

Canes win barn burner, reclaim SE lead

On Saturday night, the Hurricanes defeated the Panthers 5-4 with a dramatic three goal outburst in the third. The win marked the third win in a row, which matches Carolina's longest winning streak of the season. It is also their fourth straight home win.

Atlanta played a horrible game on Long Island, getting beat 4-1. The Carolina win and the Atlanta loss means that the Hurricanes have sole possession of first place in the division. The Capitals won on Saturday, and they remain two points behind Carolina, tied with Atlanta. The Capitals have one game in hand. Florida is four points back. Tampa is eight points back, but have two games in hand. The division is still anybody's for the taking.

Time-Warner Cable of Greensboro really didn't want me to watch hockey. As I sat down to watch the game, I discovered that my Center Ice package wasn't working. Every channel had a message -- "This channel is temporarily unavailable". Also, the NHL Network was displaying the same message. Then, because my computer is all messed up and the Canes don't have radio coverage in Greensboro, I had to rely on NHL.com for "realtime" updates. It's not the best in the world, but it's a lot better than nothing.

Finally, a few hours later, I got to see the highlights on the NHL Network.

Wade Brookbank, Sergei Samsonov, Eric Staal, Trevor Letowski and Ray Whitney all scored for the Canes. Brookbank, Samsonov and Letowski all got tip-ins by working hard and crashing the net. Staal worked his butt off for his goal after getting knocked down behind the Panthers' net. The game winning goal by Whitney was set up beautifully by a cross-ice backhand pass from Joe Corvo. In two games played, he has two assists, and he's looked pretty good.

Nathan Horton scored twice for the visiting Panthers, including once on a penalty shot.

This was the 14th time in a row the Panthers have lost at the RBC Center. This time, they can't blame the officials. Carolina had a goal disallowed. Florida had a penalty shot goal. They can't blame the "diving" Canes. They have nobody but themselves to blame for blowing a two-goal lead in the third period. The defense allowed some weird angle shots to get through, and Vokoun gave up the juicy rebounds, and Carolina was putting themselves in the right position to get the odd rebounds and tip-ins.

Since I didn't see the whole game, I can't possibly come up with three stars. I'll have to rely on the "official" stars.
THIRD STAR Sergei Samsonov, CAR -- G
SECOND STAR Eric Staal, CAR -- G, A
FIRST STAR Ray Whitney, CAR -- GWG

Clearly, Andrew Ladd needs some love. He had two assists, and he's got seven (3/4) points in his last five games. With Brind'Amour and Williams out of the lineup for the season and Cory Stillman traded away, Andrew Ladd is one of the guys who will have to step up. So far, he's seizing every opportunity. Clearly, the onus is on Eric Staal to be "the man", but everyone else is gonna have to get bigger.

Coming down the stretch, Carolina has a good chance to help themselves. They have an overwhelming majority of their remaining games at home, and for the first time all season, they'll regularly have more than one day off between games. This homestretch in the tight SE race will be tough. Injuries are working against Carolina, but the schedule is working with them. If they can dig deep and find some of that "whatever it takes" stuff, they'll be in the driver's seat for the homestretch. I think they can.

Canes win big game, lose Captain

On Thursday night, the Hurricanes defeated the visiting Penguins by the score of 4-2. Incidentally, I predicted this final tally, and won four shots for my soothsaying awesomeness.

On a much darker note, Carolina may have won the game and reclaimed first place in the Southeast division, but they have lost their Captain. On the first shift of the first period, Rod Brind'Amour sustained an injury to his knee which turned out to be a torn ACL. He's done for the season. By the time this season is done, it's likely that Carolina will have 300 or more man-games lost to injury. I'll get to work on finding an exact number, but I'm guessing that it's somewhere at or above 200 already. Justin Williams, Chad LaRose and now Rod Brind'Amour are done for the season. Matt Cullen has been on the IR for some time and his return is not looking that great right now.

On top of all that, the Hurricanes are dealing with a second bout of the flu. After six or more Hurricanes had the flu back in January, it looks like it's reared its ugly head again. Tim Gleason and newcomer Joe Corvo have contracted the flu and sat out on Thursday.

No matter.

The Hurricanes played with the hand that was dealt them, and they played it well. With no less than four AHL-quality players already in the lineup, they lost Rod Brind'Amour in the game's first minute, but rolled with the punches and emarged with an impressive 4-2 win over a weary Penguins team.

The game was not a part of my season ticket package, but a friend of a friend hooked me up with some corporate box seats with free food and booze. It rocked. So there I sat in a corporate box with two friends of mine who are both Penguins fans and a complete stranger (the one who hooked us up) who is a Sabres fan. I enjoyed.

We got an extremely late start on our drive, but I was very impressed with the Sabre fan's ability to make a one hour drive take about 38 minutes. We missed the first minute of the game, and Brindy's injury.

Erik Cole got the good guys off and running at 3:13 with a tip-in of a right point shot from Ray Whitney. With Jordan Staal in the penalty box for kneeing, Carolina won the faceoff and Whitney's shot was directed in by Cole. Jeff Hamilton got the secondary assist.

Public Enemy #1 Brooks Orpik evened the score at 13:00 of the first. He uncorked a shot from the outside hashmarks of the left circle, and it beat Ward cleanly. Colby Armstrong and Jarku Ruutu got the helpers.

In the second frame, the Penguins took the lead at 2:38 when Evgeni Malkin notched his 33rd goal of the season. His shot from the left circle apparently caromed off Frantisek Kaberle's stick. The goal was unassisted, but I thought Ryan Malone and Sergei Gonchar deserved helpers.

At 10:36, Eric Staal got the equalizer while his little brother was in the box again. Ray Whitney's point shot was tipped by Andrew Ladd and stopped by Dany Sabourin, but Staal picked up the loose change in the low slot and wristed it home. Originally, the helpers went to Whitney and Kaberle, but in the end, Ladd was given the primary assist and Whitney the second.

The third period was all Canes.

Ray Whitney put the home team in the lead at 3:49 of the final stanza when he made a really nifty maneuver through the slot and beat Sabourin for another power play goal. Maxim Talbot (not Jordan Staal) was the party in the box feeling shame this time. Eric Staal and Frantisek Kaberle got the assists.

At 11:39, Ryan Bayda (who is one of many Albany River Rats call-ups) notched his first goal of the season by firing one in off the right post and in from the slot. Scott Walker and Glen Wesley assisted on the even strength goal.

Earlier in the day, I commented to my Penguins fan friend that the Hurricanes power play was listless. I even said to him that they could do whatever they wanted to us and we wouldn't capitalize on our power play chances. Boy was I wrong. Carolina cashed in on three of their six chances.

To start the game, Carolina was already missing three key defensemen and two forwards. Then they lost Brind'Amour for the season. They still put up one of the best outings of the season against an admittedly tired team. Carolina put 46 shots on net, blocked an amazing 22 shots and laid out an eye-popping 32 hits.

The "official" three stars went to Frantisek Kaberle (third), Eric Staal (second) and Ray Whitney (first). I didn't quite see it that way. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Glen Wesley, CAR --- 6 blocked shots, 4 hits
SECOND STAR Ray Whitney, CAR --- GWG, 2 assists, 2 takeaways
FIRST STAR Eric Staal, CAR --- 1 goal, 1 assist, 59% faceoff wins

Eric Staal is going to have to do more of what he did tonight. He took the game on his shoulders. He took the faceoffs that Brindy would have taken, and he won them. He scored a key goal and assisted on the game winner. From this point forward, with the Captain out of the lineup, the team is Staal's.

When the Canes and Penguins met last week, Jordan Staal had one assist and Eric had nothing. This time, Eric had the much better game. Eric's goal came while Jordan was in the box, and Jordan was in the box for one of Carolina's other goals. He finished with an abysmal 24% (4 out of 17) faceoff win percentage.

On a different day, I'll plan to post about how I think Canes fans need to get over the Orpik hatred.

On another different day, I'll plan to updated the Staal v Staal v Staal points race.

On another different day, I'll plan to outline the Hurricanes injury woes.

I'll probably get to those posts in reverse order.

For now, the Canes are happy that they're in first place, but devastated that they've lost their Captain for the remainder of the season.

Canes avenge Wednesday's loss, expand lead in SE

On Wednesday evening, Carolina entered the front end of a home-and-home with the Thrashers. These two crucial division matchups had eight standings points on the line. At the start of it all, Carolina had 43 points in first place. Atlanta had 39, in second. If Atlanta had won both games in regulation, the two teams would have been tied in the standings. If Carolina had won both in regulation, they would have had an eight point lead. By the time the dust settled, Carolina had a net gain of one standings point. Not the optimal outcome, but a good one nonetheless.

Carolina had to fight and claw for one standings point on Wednesday in a 5-4 overtime loss. Friday was another hard-fought game, but Carolina emerged with a 4-3 regulation win. With 46 points, they're five ahead of both Florida and Atlanta. Florida has two games in hand; Atlanta has one game in hand.

After calling goaltender Michael Leighton from Albany, they gave the 26-year old the start right away. He got off to an unfortunate start when the Thrashers scored on their first shot, just 32 seconds into the game. Tobias Enstrom fired a shot from the top of the left circle which was tipped down low by former Hurricane Mark Recchi. Leighton didn't have a chance. Nobody would have. As Luke Decock brilliantly put it:

"Michael Leighton gave up a goal on the first shot he faced, but blaming him is kind of like arresting someone run over by a taxicab for interfering with interstate commerce."

Officially, Todd White had the first assist and Enstrom the secondary. I didn't see it ping-pong that much, but the only thing that really matters is that the Thrash scored.

Mark Recchi is officially en fuego. The Penguins summarily dismissed him after he produced just eight points (2/6) in 19 games with them. Since joining the Thrashers, all he's done is score 12 (6/6) points in 12 games. Included are two consecutive two point nights against the Hurricanes.

After scoring what was perhaps the goal of the season on Wednesday, Ilya Kovalchuk was held goalless on Friday. He did, however, play a pivotal role in the Thrashers' second goal. He fired a shot from the left circle that caught Mike Commodore on the boot, bringing him to his knees. The puck went right back to Kovi, who shot again from the right circle. It filtered through heavy traffic, and Todd White was there to stuff in the rebound from close range. White from Kovalchuk and Recchi at 12:15. The Thrash were off to a 2-0 lead, and it looked like it was going to be a rout. Fortunately, Leighton and the Canes settled down.

For the second period, the Canes and Thrashers swapped color commentators. Darren Eliot, who worked with John Forslund on the Versus broadcast on Wednesday, rejoined him for what they called "Behind Enemy Lines". I kind of enjoyed it. I'd love to have heard what sort of nonsense Tripp Tracy forced Thrashers fans to hear, but Eliot was very good.

As the Thrashers had done in the first period, the Canes scored early in the second. Ray Whitney jumped on the rebound of a wrap chance by Eric Staal and fired it in from the high slot. Darren Eliot perfectly described it as a "fade-away jump shot". Officially, it was Whitney from Staal and Mike Commodore at 0:27 of the second.

The Hurricanes made a mistake on an early power play, and it gave the Thrashers a 3-1 lead. Some sloppy passing led to a two-on-one shorthanded breakaway and a goal. Jeff Hamilton was the only guy back to challenge Eric Perrin and Pascal Dupuis. Hambone did the best he could, but after he slid to take away the shot, Perrin fed it to Dupuis on the left side of the slot for an easy goal. It was the ninth shorty of the season for the Thrash, and eight of them have been assisted by Perrin. He said that his time in Tampa alongside Vinny Lecavalier helped him look for the shorthanded odd-man rush.

Later, during the same power play sequence, Carolina got the goal back, and there was something slightly poetic about how it went down. Pascal Dupuis broke his stick deep in the Thrashers zone. He couldn't go fetch another, so he was forced to play stickless, giving the Canes a 5-on-3.5 advantage. They used great puck rotation to open up a shot by Hamilton from the top of the right circle. It clanged off the right post and in the goal to bring the Canes to within a goal. Eric Staal was given credit for a re-direct down low, so it was his 22nd goal of the season. The power play goal came at 14:53, assisted by Hamilton and newcomer Casey Borer.

Borer, who impressed the coaches and fans in training camp, was playing in his second NHL game. He picked up an assist on the Staal goal, but his night wasn't about to end. While the Hurricanes were enjoying another power play, Borer fired a shot from the left point that went off a post and in. The official time of the goal was 16:35, which means that it was an even strength goal. It looked to me like 16:34. Normally, one second wouldn't mean anything unless it was the end of a period. However, this one second was the difference between an even strength marker which helps Borer's +/- rating and a power play goal which helps Carolina's PP efficiency. Either way, it was the young defenseman's first NHL goal. Keith Aucoin and Cory Stillman assisted.

The third period was filled with lots of great saves by both goaltenders, and it was starting to look like it would go to an extra frame for the second time in as many games. That was, of course, until the Thrashers committed late penalties.

Ken Klee caught Eric Staal with an inadvertent high stick at 12:45 of the third, but it ended up being a double minor because Staal was cut. I've never been a fan of that rule, but since it benefited the Canes, I'll take it. Just a couple of minutes later, at 15:12, Bobby Holik was penalized for clearing the puck over the glass from his own end. This is another penalty that I don't love, but in this case, it looked intentional, and I'm fine with penalizing intentional delay of game.

Carolina had about a minute and a half of five-on-three and a golden opportunity to take the lead. Instead of capitalizing on the huge amount of white ice they were going to have, they shrunk the ice, working from the circles in. Kari Lehtonen came way out to challenge a Ray Whitney shot from the right circle. The rebound was headed for the corner, but Cory Stillman was camped out by the left post. He pounced on the rebound and shoved it into the empty cage behind the Finnish goaltender. Officially, it was Stillman from Whitney and Staal. The game ended this way, and the Stillman goal proved to be the game winner.

As en fuego as Mark Recchi is, so is Eric Staal. The fourth year player has 13 (7/6) points in his last 10 games and is re-emerging as the Canes best player and an elite NHL player.

I would say that the River Rats call-up acquitted themselves quite well. Aucoin had an assist, Borer had a goal and an assist. Both players finished with a +1 rating. Michael Leighton got the win in his Carolina debut. Borer was given lots of ice time, and in crucial moments of the game. He played on both special teams units and looked very comfortable out there. His 19:05 of ice time was third among defensemen.

The "official" three stars went to Cory Stillman (third), Todd White (second) and Ray Whitney (first). I can't agree with that assessment at all. The RBH three stars:

THIRD STAR Casey Borer, CAR -- 1 goal, 1 assist
SECOND STAR Mark Recchi, ATL -- 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 takeaways
FIRST STAR Eric Staal, CAR -- 1 goal, 2 assists

Officially, Carolina converted two of eight power play chances, which is good. Realistically, the Borer goal should have been marked as a power play goal, which would mean Carolina's success would have been 3/8. Any team in the league will take that any night of the week. More importantly, Carolina managed to play a game without giving up a power play goal. For the first time in what seems like forever, they killed all of their penalties. Unfortunately, they let in another shorty. The one on Friday was the seventh they've surrendered this season. That's the second most in the league. The Senators have yet to surrender one.

Carolina will stay on the road tonight, with an 8:30 (eastern) game against the Blues. Cam Ward will likely get the start.

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 dominate Habs, take power naps

On Saturday night, the Hurricanes played a very solid sixty minute game to make easy work of Les Habitants 5-1. For the second time in six days, they have looked like the 05-06 Canes. They were great on the penalty kill, they were flawless on the power play, the goaltending was phenomenal, and they got some remarkable play from the defensemen.

Unfortunately, the Hurricanes won't have any time to celebrate. They have to make a very quick trip through US customs and into Detroit tonight for a 5:00 game tomorrow. Tonight's game ended at about 9:40, putting just 19:20 between the end of this game and the start of the next.

Erik "Hab Killa" Cole got the scoring going pretty early. At 3:51, he wristed one in from the right circle. Ray Whitney forced Kyle Chipchura to commit a turnover at center ice, then made a nifty backhand pass to Matt Cullen at the blue line. He came down the left wing, with Cole on the right. Two defensemen were back, but the passes were perfect. Actually, the referee was somewhat of a moving pick, and Cole used that to his advantage. In fact, the referee also served as a screen, preventing Carey Price from getting a good look at the shot. It was just the fifth goal of the season for Cole, but it signaled the beginning of a great game for him.

At 8:58, the Canadiens had a goal by Mark Streit disallowed. A shot trickled over the goal line just off the right post. The on-ice call was goal, but upon review, it was determined that the puck was kicked in by Streit's left skate, and the score remained 1-0 Carolina.

Eric Staal made it 2-0 at 12:13 of the first. With Alexei Kovalev in the box for tripping, the Canes were able to move the puck around pretty well. Justin "Viva" Williams fired a shot from near the left point that was tipped by Staal at the inside hashmarks on the left circle. Scott Walker picked up the secondary assist.

The second period started with a bang. Scott Walker boarded Mike Komisarek into the end wall behind Cam Ward, which prompted Komisarek to instigate a fight. When the dust settled, Walker had two minutes for boarding and five for fighting for seven minutes total. Komisarek had two for instigating, five for fighting and a ten minute misconduct that comes with the instigator. Nobody served the time and there was no advantage. The "ten minute" misconduct doesn't actually carry ten minutes of penalty time; it serves the function of a yellow card in soccer. He can get no more of two of those in a season without being slapped with a match penalty (ejection).

The Habs got on the board at 9:26 of the second. Eric Staal was in the box, affording the home team a power play. From under the goal line to Cam Ward's left, Kovalev fired a shot in the general direction of the goal. There was a bevy of humanity out front, and the puck caromed in. Credit was given to Andrei Kastsitsyn for the tip-in, but it might have also gone in off Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason's stick. No matter what, the puck was legally across the line and it was 2-1. Kovalev and Tomas Plekanec had the helpers.

Rod Brind'Amour scored his 14th goal of the season at 11:46 of the second from the high slot. Chad "Sharpie" La Rose fed him from the left half-wall, and Price never even saw the shot. Viva got the secondary assist for his 20th helper of the season.

Ray Whitney made it 4-1 at 19:26 of the second. Saku Koivu had just been called for high-sticking. On the ensuing faceoff in the right circle, Matt Cullen won it cleanly back to Dennis Baron Von Seidenberg at the right point. He found Whitney in the high slot for the one-timer. The power play lasted only four seconds, and Koivu had not even begun to feel shame.

During the second intermission, Guy Carbonneau pulled Price. Jaroslav Halak, who was called up to back up Price while Cristobal Huet is hurt, made his NHL debut and finished the game between the pipes for the home team.

At 6:28 of the final stanza, Ray Whitney scored again to make it 5-1. He and Erik Cole were on a two-on-one break and the Wizard snapped it in from the left circle. Cole and Cullen got the assists.

Just moments later, LaRose appeared to give the Canes a 6-1 lead, but the goal was wiped off when the ruling was that Justin Williams interfered with Halak's ability to make a save. Goaltender interference is not a reviewable thing, but replays showed that it was Kovalev rather than Williams who bumped Halak. Regardless, Sharpie and the rest of the Canes could still smile about it.

There was no more scoring for the rest of the game, but Cam Ward made some sparkling saves as the final period wore on and the Habs crowd got more and more restless.

All season, the Hurricanes have struggled with focus, effort and drive. Tonight, just like Monday, they played well. Not just for a few shifts, or for a period. They played well for the entire game. There were only two power plays, and they converted both. They had to kill off a full two minutes of five-on three and two consecutive five-on-four situations in the third. Cam Ward was sharp. Very sharp. The one time he wasn't sharp, Baron Von Seidenberg came over and made a spectacular defensive play in net -- stopping a sure goal -- while Cam was out of position. Even in the late going, with the game in hand, Cam didn't mail it in. Some of his best saves came in the final minutes with a four goal lead.

Earlier today, I noted that five Hurricanes players had 27 or more points heading into the game. Four of them had big nights. Cullen had three assists to give him 30 (6/24) on the season. Whitney had two goals and an assist to give him 30 (14/16) points. Williams had two assists to give him 29 (9/20) points. Brind'Amour had a goal to give him 32 (14/18) points.

Erik Cole added a goal and an assist to give him 17 (5/12) points on the season. In 10 career regular season games at the Bell Center, he now has 14 (9/5) points.

Cam Ward also continued his mastery in that building. He stopped 35 of 36 shots en route to his seventh win with no losses in Montréal.

This series is over for the season. Carolina went 2-1-1, earning five points and the narrow series win.

The "official" three stars were Erik Cole (third), Matt Cullen (second) and Ray Whitney (first). When Buffalo manhandled the Canes last Saturday with a complete and well balanced game, I had a hard time picking my stars. They could have gone to any three players. It's pretty much the same tonight, except the shoe is on the other hand.

Dennis Baron Von Seidenberg deserves some love. He had a spectacular game. Six blocked shots, three hits, an assist.

Viva also deserves some love. He had two assists, two takeaways, and he managed to stay out of the box.

Erik Cole had one of his best games of the year. A goal and an assist, and he was absolutely flying out there.

After some great deal of deliberation, the RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Cam Ward, CAR --- 35 saves, win
SECOND STAR Matt Cullen, CAR --- 3 assists, 71% faceoff (10/14)
FIRST STAR Ray Whitney, CAR --- 2 goals, 1 assist, 9 SOG, 2 takeaways

Normally in a back-to-back situation, John Grahame would get the start on the back end. Especially with the abnormally short turn-around. However, Crackers has been lousy lately and Cam has been very good. Even if the horse is tired, there's no point in changing horses midstream when the #1 horse is head and shoulders above the other. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Cam gets the nod again.

That said, Detroit is a very good team, and they're rested. They'll be looking to do what Buffalo did last Saturday: take advantage of the tired visitors.

Canes-Wings will not be on Fox Sports South due to the airing of "the 50 best damn poker hands" or "the 50 best damn Geico commercials" or some such nonsense. FSN-Detroit will be airing the game, then joining a college basketball game in progress.

Canes - Kitties, Ronnie to enter hall

Tonight will be a bigger night for the Hurricanes off the ice than it will on it. Simultaneously, Ron Francis will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Hurricanes will be in Sunrise taking on the Panthers.

There is nothing I can say about Ronnie Franchise that hasn't been said before and more eloquently than I ever could. He is a paragon of class, a model of leadership and a perfect example of what a teammate, brother and father should be. While he won two Cups with the Penguins, he spent the majority of his career with the Whaler/Canes and holds the franchise record in all offensive categories. He will, without ever having received fanfare, enter the Hall of Fame with the second most assists (1249) in NHL history, the 21st most goals (549) and the fourth most points (1798).

TSN, NHL.com, The Raleigh News & Observer all chime in about Francis. As always, Luke Decock's piece in the N&O is well worth the price of admission. Also check out the list of 151 different players Ronnie gave goal assists to. Jaro Jagr tops that list with 110 assists received. Then there's the list of 157 different goalies he scored against. St. Patrick Roy tops that list with 16 goals against.

The induction ceremony starts at 7:30. So does the game. The game will be nationally televised on Versus, while the induction ceremony will be on the NHL Network. While NHLN has made it into the Raleigh market, it has unfortunately not made it into my market. I won't be able to watch. I guess I'll catch the tape of it later.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes will be in South Florida for the first time since Halloween night, when the South Florida reporters complained about diving, and referee Brad Watson responded by whistling the Canes for two diving penalties. Carolina lost that game 4-2, but returned home to beat the Panthers by the same score in Raleigh three days later.

This time, the Panthers writers are mum. They're too busy moaning about the Panthers recent losses to the Thrashers (4-1) and the Lightning (3-1).

No word on who the officials will be tonight Mick "Helmet" McGeough will be the lead official tonight.

Ray Whitney enters the game with a nine game points streak.

Brett McLean and Richard Zednick are out for the Panthers. In their stead, they have called up Stefan Meyer and Tanner Glass from Rochester. Carolina only wishes that Olli Jokinen were out. He's been lethal against Carolina, and will be their #1 concern.

Canes defeat Thrash 5-3

On Saturday night, the Hurricanes atoned for their bad game on Thursday by beating their host Atlanta Thrashers 5-3. Carolina earned their 23rd standings point of the season, but were unable to widen their divisional lead over Tampa, who beat Washington 5-2.

Eric Perrin got the Birds on the board with an early goal at 2:33, assisted by Slava Kozlov.

In the waning seconds of the first, Carolina's captain notched one of those "momentum changing" goals. It's often said that a goal in the first minute of the game can set the tone, and a goal in the last minute can set (or change) the tone. The Thrashers' Alex Zhitnik was in the box feeling shame when Brind'Amour tapped one in with just one second remaining in the power play and seven seconds remaining in the period. Officially, it was a power play goal at 19:53, assisted by Ray Whitney and Cory Stillman. The assist extended The Wizard's points streak to nine games.

Todd White of the Thrashers went to the box early in the second. Both teams potted a goal during the ensuing power play.

First it was Maid Marian Hossa with the shorthanded goal at 4:47, assisted by Perrin and Ken Klee. It was the second shorty surrendered by the Hurricanes this season.

Just 31 seconds later, Viva knotted it up with a power play goal. It was the Hurricanes' 24th power play goal of the season, which leads the League. The goal was assisted by Eric Staal and Dennis Seidenberg at 5:18.

At 7:44, Brindy notched his second goal of the contest, which ended a four-game goal drought. Whitney and Viva assisted.

Cory Stillman banged in an insurance marker at 2:58 of the third. His ninth of the season ended up being the game-winner. This is his third game-winner of the season. Erik Cole and Bret Hedican got the assists.

Maid Marian made things interesting with his second goal of the night and his sixth of the season at 5:58. Todd White got the lone assist.

Down the stretch, Cam Ward made some dazzling saves to preserve the win, including no fewer than three breakaway chances. Maid Marian had a dandy breakaway chance to pick up the hat trick, but Ward was a stone wall, turning aside the shot and the rebound.

Eric Staal scored a garbage goal at 18:24, before Ondrej Pavelec had a chance to vacate the net. The young Czech netminder was handcuffed by Mike Commodore's shot from the right point, and he had difficulty controlling the rebound. He had this problem all night, and the Hurricanes took advantage. It was Staal's team-leading 12th goal of the season, assisted by Commodore and Stillman.

Staal's two points on the night make 21 (12/9) for the season, which put him on pace for 101 points on the season. That would be a career high.

Brind'Amour's two points on the night make 23 (8/15) for the season, putting him on pace for 111 on the season. That would be a career high.

Whitney's two points on the night make 19 (9/10) for the season, putting him on pace for 92 on the season. That would be a new career high.

Viva's two points on the night make 20 (6/14) for the season, putting him on pace for 96 on the season. That would be a new career high.

Stillman's three points on the night make 22 (9/13) on the season. Since he missed a few games, his PPG is higher, and he's on pace for 129 points on the season. That would be a new career high by quite a bit. His previous best was 80 (25/55) the year that Tampa won the Cup.

This was one of those games where there were a lot of different guys contributing. Nine different players registered at least one point, and the above mentioned five guys had two or more points. This is exactly what a team needs to do well in this league: synergy.

When Andrew Ladd returns, and if Scott Walker returns.... watch out.

With so many guys playing well tonight and contributing in key ways, it was hard to assign the stars.

FSN South gave the stars to Maid Marian (third), Rod Brind'Amour (second) and Cam Ward (first). The "official" three stars went to Ward (third), Maid Marian (second) and Brind'Amour (first). I see it a little differently. The RBH three stars:

THIRD STAR Rod Brind'Amour, CAR --- 2 goals
SECOND STAR Marian Hossa. ATL --- 2 goals, 23:47 TOI
FIRST STAR Cory Stillman, CAR --- GWG, 2 assists, 23:12 TOI

Carolina will continue their road trip with a game in Sunrise on Monday night. Expect the writers in South Florida to continue with their criticism of Carolina's skaters. Their press seems to have influenced the officiating in their favor last time down there, so they will probably try it again. If nothing else, their writers will be bored after having Saturday and Sunday off.

The interview with Rod Brind'Amour came after the game. It was nice, but it was obviously truncated, and there were quite a few breaks in the 30 minute segment entitled "In My Own Words". I learned one thing: after being drafted by the Blues, Brindy actually signed a contract, but immediately had second thoughts, and he got them to void it just seconds before it was to be transmitted to the NHL offices. Instead, he spent one season playing college hockey at Michigan State. After the Spartans were eliminated from the Frozen Four, Brindy signed the Blues' contract, joined them for the playoffs, and he scored a goal in his first game -- on his first shot.

Monday's contest against the Panthers will be nationally televised on Versus.

Canes lose shootout, Walker

On Friday night, the Hurricanes traveled to Pittsburgh for the fifth of six straight road games. They should have won in regulation, but by the end of the night, they were just happy to get out of there alive. The one standings point earned by losing in the shootout was just a bonus.

Carolina got on the board very early. There was an early penalty, and Carolina was employing the five forward PP unit (Cullen, Whitney, Brind'Amour, Hamilton, Stillman). Ray Whitney slapped one in from above the left circle, beating Dany Sabourin high on the glove side, just under the crossbar. Matt Cullen and Rod Brind'Amour assisted on the power play goal.

Petr Sykora knotted it up at 18:58 on a really nifty move right in front of Cam Ward's cage. Sidney Crosby's wraparound attempt was foiled, but Sykora jumped on the rebound and backhanded it in. It was a very nifty play that beat Ward cleanly high on the glove side. Crosby and The Recchin' Ball got the helpers.

At 3:57 of the second, Trevor Letowski potted his first goal of the young season. Sabourin had just made a dandy of a save on a Brind'Amour/Williams breakaway, but he allowed the rebound to go into the low slot area. First, The Dude attempted a wrister from the forehand that was again blocked, but he recovered the rebound and backhanded it in. On that play, Sabourin had been knocked down and there could well have been a Goaltender Interference call, but I guess the contact wasn't deemed to be significant enough, or the referees thought that Rod Brind'Amour had been shoved into the crease area.

At 15:20, Viva gave the Canes a 3-1 lead, and it looked like the visitors were on their way to a nice win. Williams corralled a loose puck in neutral ice, then entered the Penguins zone with two Pens in front of him, three right behind him and no Hurricanes players anywhere near. From the high slot, he just put one on net, and it must have surprised the goaltender, because he was beaten badly by it. Again, high on the glove side. It looked like he never saw it. It was an unassisted goal for Williams.

The rest of the game did not go so well.

Soon after the Williams goal, Scott Walker dropped to his knees in front of the Carolina bench area and appeared to be woozy. There was no contact by any player directly preceding his collapse, but there was speculation that it was a delayed reaction to a collision with Jarkko Ruutu earlier in the game. At first it was confusing, then worrisome, then scary. He stayed there on his knees for several moments, obviously having difficulty moving and breathing. In addition to the entire Hurricanes medical staff, members of the Penguins staff were tending to him. It got even scarier when a stretcher was brought out. Ultimately, he left the ice the same way Erik Cole left that very same ice back in March of 2006. One arm dangling, bent over, gliding (not striding). Not exactly "under his own power".

Walker was held in a Pittsburgh hospital, and according to a team spokesman, x-rays and CT scans were "clear". We still don't know much about it, but the team is referring to Walker's injury as a "torso injury". Some speculation is that it might have something to do with some cartilage. Although Walker traveled with the team to Philadelphia, he is in "a great deal of pain", and will not play.

As if that wasn't enough of a bad break, Carolina got another at 17:54 of the second. The Pens were going hard to the net, and Adam Hall's backhand wrister from close range was kicked aside by Ward. Justin Williams was there to gather the puck, but unfortunately, he did his impersonation of Bryan McCabe, and he put it in his own net instead of directing it to the corner. Officially, it was Hall, with assists from Ruutu and Maxime Talbot. Unofficially, it was Williams committing the Tevvy.

Before Carolina could regroup, or even limp into the locker room with a one goal lead, Sykora made it all even. During a five-on-three power play, Sergei Gonchar unleashed a bomb from the high slot. Sykora was there to tuck in the rebound from just off the right post. Game tied. Gonchar and Sidney Crosby with the helpers.

Nothing in the third.

Pittsburgh elected to go first in the shootout.
Eric Christensen scored.
Matt Cullen scored.
Petr Sykora scored.
Jeff Hamilton scored a really nasty one.
Sidney Crosby scored.
Ray Whitney put the puck right in Sabourin's glove.

The "official" three stars went to Justin Williams (third), Sidney Crosby (second) and Petr Sykora (first). I don't see it that way. Both goaltenders played very well, and both had to make some circus-style saves. Especially Sabourin. That shouldn't go unnoticed.
The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Justin Williams, CAR --- 1 goal, 1 assist (plus a Tevvy)
SECOND STAR Dany Sabourin, PIT --- 32 saves, win.
FIRST STAR Petr Sykora, PIT --- 2 goals (plus a successful shootout attempt).

Although Carolina lost a key player for an indeterminant amount of time, and they didn't win the game, they still emerged with a point. Also, a positive thing that can be taken away from this game is that the Canes have already had twice as many successful shootout attempts (2) as they did all of last season (1). Jeff Hamilton proved to us why the Canes brought him here. His shootout goal was a thing of beauty.

Pittsburgh travels to Washington tonight. Carolina travels to Philly. 7:30. No TV.

More details about tonight's matchup later. Plus, more about the "house of horrors" that Mellon Arena has become.

Canes destroy Toronto

On Tuesday night, the visiting Hurricanes soundly defeated Toronto 7-1.

I'll take the over on bad puns appearing in newspaper headlines tomorrow. The most common will be:

Hurricanes blow Leafs away

Everything went right for the Hurricanes. Almost everything. Aside from Erik Cole missing an empty net.

12 Ten different gentlemen graced the scoresheet for the Hurricanes.

Cory Stillman, who played his first game of the season, and Justin Viva Williams led the way with a goal and two assists each.

Eric Staal had a goal and an assist.
Scott Walker had a goal and an assist.
Erik Cole had an assist.
Rod Brind'Amour had two assists.
Bret Hedican had an assist.
Glen Wesley had an assist.
Matt Cullen had a goal and an two assists.
Ray Whitney had a goal and an assist.
Jeff Hamilton had a goal.
Dennis Seidenberg had an assist.


Four goals came on the powerplay, and the only goal against was during a shorthanded sequence.

The "official" three stars went to Ray Whitney (third), Justin Williams (second) and Matt Cullen (first), but I'll give mine this way:

THIRD STARJustin "Viva" Williams, CAR --- 1 goal, 2 assists
SECOND STARCam Ward, CAR --- 27 saves
FIRST STAR Cory Stillman, CAR --- GWG, 2 assists

I won't bore all two of my readers with a rundown of the scoring. For that, refer to the official scoresheet.

This was Cory Stillman's first game this season after playing one-man demolition derby in the RBC parking lot on October 2. He played an amazing game. Maybe he should wreck his car more often.
I kid because I care. And because nobody got seriously hurt.

This game was characterized by the Canes playing aggressively. Going all the way back to the "Chairman Mo" years, the Hurricanes have been too passive on the power play. Tonight, they were very aggressive, using five forwards during some of the sequences. This is, allegedly, an innovation suggested by Ron Francis.

The game was also characterized by a lazy and listless Maple Leafs team. They were forced to take a lot of penalties because they were unable to keep up with the speedy Canes forwards. Erik Cole created a few power plays by drawing penalties to the Leafs defense.

Ray Whitney's goal, which made it 4-1, epitomized the Leafs play. They had turned aside a Canes scoring chance, and the puck was going the other way. A neutral zone turnover later, the Leafs players were all still going the other way and Whitney was allowed to waltz in unmolested. As the crappy Versus commentators said, it looked like they were out for a Sunday skate. Meanwhile, Whitney didn't miss his mark. That was 17:23 of the second. After that, the Leafs were done. They simply folded. Aside from a pathetic attempt by Darcy Tucker to start a fight at the expiration of the second, the Leafs showed no energy at all after that.

Curiously, Chariman Mo decided to "dance with the one who brung him", leaving Vessa Toskala between the pipes the entire game.

Speaking of Mo, let's not forget that he promised the Leafs would make the playoffs, and slighted the Hurricanes of yore by saying "This will be the most talented hockey team I've ever coached".

The Hurricanes six game road trip continues through Canada. They'll be in Ottawa on Thursday and Montréal on Saturday.

"The Wizard" to stay in Raleigh

On Friday afternoon, the Hurricanes checked off the most important item on the "summer to-do list". Ray Whitney was re-signed to a three year deal which will pay him $3.55M per season. This past season, Whitney posted a career high 83 points (32/51). He earned a bargain basement $1.5M paycheck from the Hurricanes and also received $1.2M from the Red Wings as part of their 2005 contract buy-out.

I was away all weekend (in a wedding, and piss-babbling drunk the whole time), unable to get hockey news (other than scores), so I have a lot of catching up to do. This was a very good thing to come home to.

Although both sides were clear about wanting to keep Whitney in Raleigh, there was still some anxiety among the natives. Whitney was slated to become an UFA on July 1, and would have been one of the hottest commodities. There was some speculation that he would get offers in the $4M + range, but neither side wanted to waste time getting re-signed.

The Caniac Nation is breathing a collective sigh of relief as the fan favorite is locked in at what is still a very good price.

Next, the Canes need to focus on getting Scott "Remo" Walker re-signed. He earned $1.52M last season after being acquired from Nashville, and he tallied 51 points (21/30). The 33-year old, who quickly became another fan favorite here, can expect to make about $2M next season.

Josef Vasicek and Anson Carter are also on the "to do" list, but with them, it's not nearly as pressing. Anson Carter wouldn't be missed. "Big Joe" would be missed, but only for sentimental reasons. Both players are replaceable.

Glen Wesley will most likely retire (although I said that last summer, too) and Bret Hedican will most likely not exercise his player option. His back/knees/ "lower body" can't take it anymore.

Carolina will have to get some defense and a third line center out of free agency. They will need to get defensemen and goalies in the draft. The cupboard is exceptionally bare in our minor league system.

Canes back from the dead, Belfour is a retard

On Sunday afternoon, the Hurricanes battled back from a 3-1 deficit in the third to send it to overtime. Early in the fourth frame, Bryan Allen took a hooking penalty, then Eddie "I'll give you a billion dollars" Belfour lost his mind. He skated way out of his crease and in front of the referee out by the half wall. He made a bunch of diving gestures and was given an additional unsportsmanlike. This afforded the Canes a rare overtime five-on-three. I've never seen it before, but the rule in overtime is that instead of going four-on-two, the non-offending team gets to put an extra skater out there. Just 23 seconds into the oddball power play, Ray Whitney banged in a rebound to give the Canes the win.

here is the official scoresheet. I'll fill in the details later.

Here's a really cruddy view of Belfour's theatrics. I wanted to get something posted, and the only way I knew how was to use really inferior techniques and sub-par equipment. I apologise for the extremely low quality, but here it is.


I imagine he'll also draw a fine from the League because he continued to berate the official as the penalties were being sorted out. He's a good goalie, but that was just sheer stupidity. You simply can't show up the referee, especially in overtime.

That cost the Panthers the game, and their very slim playoff hopes are washed away.

The win buoys Carolina's hopes, but they are still very much against the wall.

Also of note in this game is that Rod Brind'Amour scored a shorhanded goal and that Chad "Sharpie" LaRose scored his sixth goal of the season to tie it up.

Also, I prepared and ate Frank Kaberle's Chicken Paprika while watching the game. Assist goes to the Post-Pessimist Association for that. A full write-up on that culinary experience later.

Josef Stumpel scored two goals for the Cats in the first period.

The RBH three stars:

THIRD STAR: Chad LaRose, CAR -- goal
SECOND STAR: Josef Stumpel, FLA -- 2 goals
FIRST STAR: Ed Belfour, FLA -- unsportsmanlike penalty in overtime

Seriously, though ...

FIRST STAR: Ray Whitney, CAR -- game winning goal

Canes, Cole, Whitney back in action

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

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

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

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

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

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

Canes edge Kings

On a cold wet Tuesday night, the Hurricanes emerged from their barn with a 2-1 victory over the visiting last place Kings. This gives the Canes an opportunity to gain ground on Atlanta, who is playing a late game in Calgary, getting crushed early. Carolina will also be keeping a close eye on Toronto, who is also battling for the eighth spot in the East. The Leafs are, as I write, tied with the Islanders midway through the third lost to the Islanders in the shootout.

One important thing happened, and I can almost guarantee that nobody else will mention this. It'll take me a little ways to get there, so bear with me. According to the Mirtle Model, 95 points will be needed for a team to qualify for the playoffs. Los Angeles is now in a position where the most they can accrue is 93 points. They're out. James Mirtle isn't god, I know, but his model seemed to work last season. He predicted 95 would get you in, and that's exactly what Edmonton had with the eighth seed in the West.

Bear with me. I'm getting to the point.

The Kings are out. They won't be winning the Stanley Cup. Center Patrick O'Sullivan won't be getting his name etched on the Stanley Cup come September. Who? Patrick O'Sullivan. He's the only native North Carolinian playing in the NHL right now. Or ever, for that matter. He was born in Winston-Salem while his dad was playing for the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds of the defunct Atlantic Coast Hockey League.

Why is this important?

Chris Huffine, video coach for the Hurricanes, became the first native North Carolinian to have his name etched on the Cup last year. The fact that the Kings are realistically eliminated and O'Sullivan isn't high on anyone's trade priority means that Huffine won't have to share that distinction with anyone. At least for one more year.

Okay... the game. I didn't go, it wasn't on Canes TV, I don't have Center Ice, and I had no desire to be in a bat. I had to listen on the webradio.

Ray Whitney got the Canes off and running late in the first to continue his sizzling pace. His power play goal was assisted by Rod Brind'Amour and David Tanabe.

Alex Frolov tied it for the Kings midway through the second with a power play goal.

Scott Walker got the game winner midway through the third, assisted by Josef Vasicek and David Tanabe.

Tanabe didn't earn an "official" star, but the RBH stars go to:

THIRD STAR David Tanabe, CAR -- 2 assists
SECOND STAR Ray Whitney, CAR -- goal
FIRST STAR Scott Walker, CAR -- GWG

Ray Whitney continues to be absolutely incendiary. He's got a three game goal streak and a five game point streak during which he has totaled 10 (5/5) points. He's got 68 points, and with 23 games remaining, he's just 8 shy of his career best. Somehow, a guy who's in the top 10 in the League, and is on pace for 94 points is completely under the radar. Go figure.

The Canes will stay at home and will face the Rangers and their legion of ex-Canes on Thursday. I'll be donning 63 for the first time since game 7.

Preds perform dirty trick, Ray Whitney on fire.

On Friday, the Hurricanes exchanged third line centers with the Predators. Both teams had the chance to get rid of a player that just wasn't "fitting in". Nashville coach Barry Trotz explained it just like that, saying that it was a "lateral" change for both players and teams.

Obviously, Carolina knows JoVa very well, and he won't need any adjustment at all in the locker room. There's maybe two guys in the room who he doesn't know.

"The Condor" played with the Canes on Saturday, giving the Hurricanes a Czech connection that has been missing for some time.

Belanger didn't play with the Preds on Saturday. Before he even set foot in the Preds locker room, he was traded to the Thrashers for defenseman Vitaly Vishnevsky. A very dirty trick by Nashville GM David Poile. No team likes to make intra-division trades, especially with the unbalanced schedule. Jim Rutherford doesn't even like trading within the Eastern Conference. This manoeuvre, though, puts Belanger back in the Southeast division. Had this been on the table as a three-way trade, Rutherford would have had no part of it. Poile insists that is wasn't his intention for this to happen, but I just don't buy that. In the long run, it's not likely that Belanger will be able to give away any secrets, but it's still dirty pool. I hope the hockey gods take note of this underhanded tactic and smite the Preds and Thrash appropriately.

Due to excessive drunkenness last night, I didn't see any of the Canes v Wild game. The Canes rallied from a three goal deficit to make a good game out of it, but lost 5-4. Eric Staal had a 3 (1/2) point night and Ray Whitney added a goal and an assist. "The Wizard" is completely en fuego. He's scored seven (4/3) points in the last two games and has 23 (9/14) points in the last 15. After getting a natural hat trick in a stunning 100 second span Thursday night, he told reporters that he was just lucky, but Eric Staal thought otherwise:

"It was one of those nights," Whitney said. "I was the beneficiary of some hard work by the other guys."

"You were on fire," Staal interjected as he walked past Whitney's locker.

"I was on fire," Whitney said. "Let's be honest."

He'll take a four game points streak into Tuesday's home game against the Kings. More on that later.

Canes rip Bruins 5-2, but get hurt

On Thursday night, the Hurricanes did what they should have done last Saturday: they crushed an inferior team. Carolina took some lumps along the way, but they defeated the Bruins by a nifty 5-2 tune. Just five days prior, they suffered a brutal home loss to the same Bruins squad in Raleigh.

Because it was Thursday night, my routine would be to watch the first period, DVR the rest, then head to Scrabble night. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, someone forgot to tell me that I'm an idiot. I didn't have any free space on my DVR, thanks to about a million episodes of Seinfeld. Therefore, I can't give colorful details about periods two and three. The tragedy there is that all the excitement took place in the second.

First to the "lumps". On Tuesday night, Carolina enjoyed their first fully healthy lineup all season. 55 games with at least one player, and in many cases, up to five on the injured reserve. Frantisek Kaberle returned in style, but Cory Stillman was lost again. That "fully healthy" stuff lasted less than two periods. Stillman left with a knee issue and is expected to be out about a week. Heading into Boston, the Canes didn't have an extra forward to replace Stillman. Instead, they dressed seven defensemen. By the end of the game, they had lost two more forwards. Erik Cole had to leave the game after suffering a "lower body" injury finishing a check midway through the second. A couple of minutes after that, Scott Walker was taken out by a knee from Andrew Alberts. A fight ensued, and no kneeing call was made, but the Canes will be expected to send the video to Clownshoes Campbell for review. I didn't see it live, but the slo-mo replay I saw suggests that Alberts deliberately led with the knee.

As the Canes roadtrip continues, they will be without at least Stillman, probably Cole, and perhaps Walker. Even if they dress extra defensemen, they still don't have enough bodies. Someone (read: Keith Aucoin) will have to come up from Albany. On Saturday, the Canes will be in St. Paul taking on Pavol Demitra and the rest of the Wild.

Brandon Bochenski, who was recalled from Norfolk just this week, lit the lamp twice for the Bruins, providing their only offense. His first came at 15:32 of the first. Paul Mara threw the puck at the net from an impossible angle, and Bocheski was there to knock it in from the doorstep. Patrice Bergeron got the secondary helper.

I didn't see anything else, so I'm just relying on the scoresheet and the highlights.

After the Cole injury, the Walker injury (and the ensuing fight) Ray Whitney exploded for the Canes. In a span of 100 seconds, he scored three goals. This is what's called a "natural" hat trick. Three goals by the same player with no other scoring plays in between. This is the fastest "natural" in the NHL this season, and is the only for the Canes.

At 15:36 Whitney was out front all alone in the low slot to pick up some loose change and beat Andrew Raycroft top shelf. Trevor "the Dude" Letowski and Rod Brind'Amour got the assists.

The second goal came at 16:45 when Whitney accepted a nifty behind-the-goal pass from Eric Staal near the left post. Somehow, he beat Raycroft on the far (glove) side. Staal and Viva assisted.

Before the PA announcement was made, Whitney completed the hattie b wrapping around the right post and finding Raycroft's five hole at 17:16. Brindy and "the Dude" assisted.

In the closing seconds of the second, Ray Whitney nearly got his fourth goal of the night. He uncorked a howitzer from the left point that was subtly redirected by Viva in the slot. It was Williams' 28th goal of the season, assisted by Whitney and Staal.

Bochenski made it 4-2 at 12:36 of the third, but he couldn't complete a hat trick, and the Bruins didn't score any more after that.

Brind'Amour got an empty net goal at 19:32 assisted by Viva and Kaberle.

The RBH three stars are the same as the "official" ones.
THIRD STAR Justin Williams, CAR -- 1 goal, 2 assists
SECOND STAR Brendon Bochenski, BOS -- 2 goals.
FIRST STAR Ray Whitney, CAR -- 3 goals, assist. Natural hat trick in 1:40.

The Canes will be on the road to face the Wild on Saturday night.

Leafs pound Canes

Toronto Maple Leafs --- 4,275,634
Carolina Sons of Motherless Whores --- 1

(tip of the hat to the boys at CinO)

On Tuesday night, Carolina had a chance to strengthen their tenuous hold on the sixth playoff spot in the East with a home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto is a team on the outside looking in, desperate for a chance to return to the playoffs. Carolina is a team limping through the race as they approach the quarter pole. They will should be at full health heading down the homestretch and won't have any excuses if they can't finish in the top eight.

"Ole One Eye", aka Chairman Mo, aka "Paul Maurice" came back into town with the much maligned duo of Jeff "Public Urination" O'Neill and Bates "Manwhore" Battaglia and shut the home crowd up with a very impressive first period. Although the score was knotted at one after 20 minutes, Toronto was by far the better team. They outshot Carolina 14-4, dominated puck possession and puck position, outhit, out-hustled and just plain outplayed Carolina. They were roaring out of the gates with seven SOG in the first three and a half minutes played. In that same amount of time, Carolina's defensemen couldn't even keep their equipment in order. Dennis Seidenberg broke two sticks in the first three minutes of play. This, naturally, made things much more difficult for Cam Ward.

Bates Battaglia scored the game's first goal at 14:00 by tucking in a rebound of a John Pohl shot. Ward made the stop and there was a short rebound off to his left. Unfortunately, Batesy was there all alone on the right post to tuck it in for the easy goal. Ian White got the secondary assist.

Ray Whitney answered back at 16:06 to tie it up on a garbage goal. Dennis Seidenberg made a beautiful home run pass to Whitney from his own end to the Toronto blue line. Whitney went in all alone and Andrew Raycroft stopped his point blank attempt, but the puck trickled through Raycroft's equipment and over the goal line. Rod Brind'Amour picked up the secondary helper.

There was no scoring in the second period.

Nic Antropov gave the Leafs the lead they would never surrender at 0:37 of the third. It was just about a carbon copy of the Battaglia goal. Mats Sundin and Tomas Kaberle got the helpers.

There was a lot of action, and some chippiness in the next ten minutes, but nothing happened until Antropov scored again at 16:20. He wrapped around the back of the goal and lifted it top shelf from over near the right post. Same positioning as the first two goals. Bryan McCabe got the only assist.

The Canes were early to pull the goalie with about 2:30 to play, and with six forwards on the ice, they couldn't accomplish anything. Scott Walker did a nice job of saving an empty net bid, but before it was all said and done, Tomas Kaberle got to the vacated cage. One of those "who wants it" plays. Three Leafs came into the Carolina zone all alone. A couple of passes later, Kaberle buried it from the right circle. Chad Kilger and Battaglia got the assists.

During the first period, Eric Belanger was awarded a penalty shot on what I thought was a questionable call. It was no matter because he couldn't convert the shot. He drifted in to the left of Raycroft, hesitated too much and didn't score.

There was absolutely nothing redeeming about this game. Nothing. They looked awful. They deserved to lose. They looked like a team that will play themselves out of a playoff position, or one who will get demolished in the first round.

There was, actually, one redeeming thing. In a very silly way. There's a woman in my section on whom I have a perma-crush (for about three seasons now). I've never actually spoken to her, but always thought she's hot. I haven't seen her much this season, and even if I don't talk to her, it's still fun to look at pretty women, and it always cheers me up to see this one.

Anyway, the Canes will be back in action at home on Thursday night against the Bolts and again on Saturday at home against the Bruins. I would say that the Canes will have to win both of those games.

The way the "official" three stars went was:
Andrew Raycroft (third), Ray Whitney (second) and Nic Antropov (first).

Almost, but I just can't justify giving the Canes anything. The RBH Three Stars of the Game:
Third Star Andrew Raycroft, TOR -- 28 saves, win
Second Star Tomas Kaberle, TOR -- 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 takeaways
First Star Nic Antropov, TOR -- 2 goals (GWG)

Canes lose in shootout

On Saturday night, the Canes dropped a very important game to the visiting Thrashers. The Canes had a one goal midway through the third, but couldn't hold it. As the end of regulation ended, I feared that it would go to shootout, and I didn't like our chances against Atlanta's snipers. I was justified in fearing the shootout, as Carolina was destroyed 2-0 in the fifth frame.

Scott Melanby got things started at 2:54, much to the delight of the 100 or so Thrashers fans sitting at the top of section 112. He stuffed in a rebound near the right post after Garnet Exelby's shot was stopped by Cam Ward. Jon Sim got the secondary assist.

Viva notched his 22nd goal of the season at 5:38 to tie it up. He wristed one in from the right circle assisted by Anton Babchuk and Eric Staal.

At 18:58, Glen Metropolit put the birds ahead 2-1 on a power play goal from a very tough angle. Erik Cole was in the box all by himself feeling shame for his second holding penalty of the period. Greg DeVries and Steve Rucchin assisted on the play.

Ray Whitney tied the game at 9:39 on nifty close range goal. As Rod Brind'Amour was being held up in front of the net, Erik Cole worked it behind the net and slid a backhand pass through the goalmouth to The Wizard, who had snuck in undetected. David "Snuggles" Tanabe got the second assist.

During a four-on-four sequence early in the third, newcomer Dennis Seidenberg gave the Canes a 3-2 lead at 0:27 of the third. He and Erik Cole were on a two-on-one break, Cole sent a nifty pass through the slot and Ham Pizza shot a wrister from the right circle. Kari Lehtonen got a bit of it, but it still trickled through his gear and into the net. It's his first goal as a Cane, and topped off a very good night for him. Cole had the primary assist, and Staal got the secondary.

Bobby Holik knotted it up at 10:27 of the third on a long bomb from the blue line. It was a rising and curving shot as it approached the net, and Cam got a good look at it, but it beat him cleanly top shelf.

As the minutes wound down, and overtime seemed imminent, there was a feeling that we wouldn't be able to take the overtime either. I didn't like the idea of a shootout against these guys, so I was really hoping for a late goal, but that didn't happen.

Nothing happened in the overtime, and the Thrash owned the shootout. Both Slava Kozlov and Maid Marian Hossa beat Ward badly on the stick side. Ray Whitney tried to get too fancy, and Justin Williams couldn't convert his attempt. With the Thrash up 2-0, there was no need for the final shooters, who I assume would have been Ilya Kovalchuk and Erik Cole.

I really think it's worth mentioning that Dennis Seidenberg had a great game. He's a big dude who takes the body when he needs to, and has a very good stick. He laid out five hits. He did a very good job shutting down passing lanes and canceling scoring opportunities. Added to that, he scored a goal by joining the rush and quickly switching to an offensive mindset.

Also, "Snuggles" Tanabe continued to play well. Now there's some speculation that his poor play early was because he was hurt. He's skating well, playing responsibly, and is active as hell offensively. Since returning from a groin injury, he's got five points in eight games, and has been averaging around 22 minutes TOI a night. Also, in his last four games, he has a cumulative rating of +7. He's, suffice to say, looking better. I'm dropping the Avi moniker.

The official three stars and the ones named in the arena were the same:
Garnet Exelby (third), Bobby Holik (second) and Maid Marian Hossa (first)

I didn't quite see it like that. The RBH three stars:

Third Star: Garnet Exelby, ATL -- 2 assists
Second Star: Erik Cole, CAR -- 2 assists
First Star: Bobby Holik, ATL -- goal

Carolina's run of Southeast games continues on Monday night at the Panthers. Then three out of four against the Caps. Meanwhile, the first place Thrashers will be battling the Atlantic division.

Canes report card .... part 2 of 5

In a continuing series, giving the Canes a mid-term grade, here is the second fifth of the Canes numerical roster:

#12 Eric Staal -- C-
It looks like Staalsy is suffering from Josef Vasicek syndrome. Lead the team in goals one season, then stink it up the next. To be fair, his 34 points (17/17) through 42 games isn't exactly "crappy". It's good enough to be in the top 50 league-wide, but we know that he can do much better. It's not as if he's been robbed a ton of times. It's not as if he's getting bad bounces, or clanging shots off posts. He's just not playing with the fire that we saw last season. There are games (and this is where the Josef Vasicek comparison really works) that he's just out there floating around aimlessly. He's not aggressive enough with the puck, not selfish enough, and just not the same player we saw last winter. Unless he goes completely en fuego in the second half, this season will be a major disappointment in contrast to last year's 100 point break-out season. Two theories to explain his lack of effort this season: (A) -- The "Stanley Cup Hangover" is a real thing, and he's just plum tuckered out. I don't buy that because Viva picked up right where he left off. Roddy is better than he was last winter. Ditto Whitters. No sale there. (2)The "Player tries hardest in a contract year" theory saying that a player in the last year of a contract, and in particular, the last year of a rookie contract will bust his ass, giving 125% each night. When he's rewarded with a nice new long guaranteed contract, he feels like he doesn't have anything to prove. I'm a little more likely to buy that one. Viva and the Captain both just signed long term renewals, and they aren't resting on their laurels. However, they've been around the block a few more times. In Roddy's case, he's been around the block a few thousand more times.
This isn't just sub-par play. This is frequently bad play. We're all really hoping that he can right his own ship, and I actually think that he's simply in a really long slump. I think he'll break out of it, and finish with around 80 points, which will still be a disappointment, but for now, I'm not impressed. Knowing what he can do and what he is is doing forces me to give him a bad grade. I'm reluctant to grade him as high as I did, but 34 points is still pretty good output.

#13 Ray Whitney (aka "The Wizard", aka Whitters, aka "Everybody loves Raymond" -- A+
With his silky smooth passing, his above average speed and his Danny Briere-esque slipperiness, Whitney is a player who gives opposing defensemen fits. He's really fitting in on the first line with Viva and Brind'Amour, and it really is quite a treat to see these three highly skilled players together. I've seen some insanely delicious no-look and behind-the-back passes from Whitney and some incredible skating clinics. Add all of this to the fact that he's a prankster and a generally fun guy, he's definitely a fan favorite. He's also a really well liked guy in the room. He's second on the Canes with 44 (16/28) points, and is on pace to set a new personal best at 86 points. He's in the final year of his contract with the Canes, and we'd love to see him around in 08 and beyond.

#14 Kevyn Adams (aka K-Ads) -- D+
I can't bring myself to give Kevyn a failing grade, but it's awfully tempting. There was lots of gossip about a fight K-Ads had with Bret Hedican during training camp, and how he's been in the coach's dog house since then. The "fight" happened, but there's no dog house business. Nonetheless, K. Adams' play has been -- even on a good day -- bad. He's not bringing energy to the "energy line", and that makes it infinitely easier for the opponents to light it up against our fourth line. His -10 is indicative of just that. Out of the "regular" players, his TOI per game is dead last, and he's still managed to bring up the rear in the +/- category. The doghouse isn't about fisticuffs. The doghouse is about poor play. The fact that he'd been playing through pain with a busted wrist (suffered in Game 7 of the SCF) and required surgery isn't enough of a mitigating factor in this grade. He's just not playing well.
UPDATE -- JANUARY 8 3:30 PM --- Kevyn Adams has been traded to the Phoenix Coyotes for defenseman Dennis Seidenberg

#16 Andrew Ladd -- C-
There was a reason that the Hurricanes traded up to get Ladd in the 2004 draft in front of a huge crowd in Raleigh. He has tremendous potential, and we really started to see that last season and during the playoffs. He's gritty and smart with the puck. He's had a shoulder issue and an emergency appendectomy this season and has played hurt a few nights, and he's been good in small spells. Unfortunately, he's not quite ready to bring intensity every night. I'd like to see him be more physical, and to have better defensive skills. He's going to develop very nicely if the Canes can be patient enough.

# 17 Rod Brind'Amour (aka "Brindy" aka "The Captain", aka "Roddy", aka "Tha Warchief") -- A
At 36 years old, the Captain is in far better shape than anyone else on the team. He's leading the Canes in TOI per game and is among the top three in the League for forwards in that category. His faceoff winning prowess has been beaten to death on this and other pages. No need to rehash that. He's missed a few games with a "lower body" injury, but is still tops on the team with 45 (13/32) points, and he's well on his way to his highest point production in more than 10 years. As is the case with Ray Whitney, he works extremely well with his linemates, and it's no surprise that those three are the top three scorers on the Canes. In fact, their 137 collective points account for 47% of the team's collective point total.
Brind'Amour has been superb from a defensive standpoint, proving that he's deserving of his Selke award last year. His 4 GWG are second on the team and near the top of the League. He might occasionally sit out with an injury, but he never "takes a night off" by mailing it in.

That's it for part two. Tune in tomorrow for part three (Letowski, Commodore, Walker, Belanger, Cole)

The Canes are at home tonight against the 'Yotes, trying to end a two game skid. They're already down 1-0 early in the first frame.

Canes defeat Ducks 4-2

Carolina played a very solid game on Friday following the frustrating loss to Buffalo on Thursday. The result was a 4-2 win over the Ducks. They were injury riddled, but the Canes will offer no sympathy in that department, as they are also depleted. What follows is the period-by-period updates done during intermissions. It'll take the place of my usual game recap. I left the comments (I was the only one playing along) in.

FIRST PERIOD:
The Canes tested Wall early and often. He answered the bell a couple of times in the first minute, and looked much better than his inexperience would suggest.

--7:42 Ray Whitney scores on a beautiful one-timer from Justin Williams. Avi Tanabe got the second assist. Tanabe (playing for the first time in weeks) started at the right point, worked his way across the ice, then dropped it back to Viva. He made a perfect tape-to-tape pass to The Wizard, who blasted the one-timer past Wall on the stick side.

Formally speaking, it was a power play goal at 7:42 of the first. Whitney from Williams and Tanabe.

Moments later, Carolina was on another power play and had a couple of great chances denied by Wall. In particular a really nice one on Scott Walker.

Late in the first, Carolina had another great chance turned aside by the rookie. Cory Stillman had a great breakaway chance that Wall made a really nice glove save on.

After 20 minutes, I like the way things look. Carolina will have to avoid the second period lull that has plagued them lately, and they will need to continue to play well on the kill.

A BUSY SECOND PERIOD:
Just :41 into the second, Teemu Selanne unleashed a howitzer from the high slot that beat Ward badly on the glove side. Ward didn't have a chance on the play. Scott Niedermayer and Mike Wall got the assists.

At 3:22, Selanne struck again. During a Ducks power play, he slapped one in from the left circle, beating Ward stick side. Chris Pronger and Andy McDonald got the assists.

At this point, it looked like Carolina might have been slipping, hitting the "lull". Fortunately, they were able to right the ship quickly.

Rod Brind'Amour evened the score at the 4:31 mark on a power play marker. Ray Whitney made a really nifty move to work his way through traffic in the high slot, then wristed a shot that was ever so slightly deflected by Brind'Amour. I thought it was Whitney's goal, but the replays got a good look at the deflection. Avi Tanabe got the second helper.

At 6:57, Viva put the Canes in front with his 19th goal of the season. He let one go from the inside hash marks of the left circle. Brind'Amour and Whitney got the helpers.

So far, the Wizard has three points while Viva, Brind'Amour, and Avi each have two.

I'd still like to get Cole involved, but so far, so good.

THIRD PERIOD
A quick period. The only goal was an empty netter at 19:30 by Erik Cole. Chris Pronger was gone for a double minor high sticking, and Wall was gone for the extra attacker. Carolina managed to work the puck to center ice, but missed two shots from that distance. After the second, Cory Stillman raced down to battle for the puck. An attempted clear by the Ducks went right to Colesy high in the slot. He wristed it in with authority from there to seal the deal.

Officially, the last goal was unassisted, and was a power play goal into an empty net.

Carolina has done something that only five teams had done thus far: beat the Ducks in regulation.

Unfortunately it came at a cost: Nic Wallin had to leave the game with an "upper body concern". Now we have THREE of our top six defensemen out. Tonight, Carolina had seven defensemen dressed, so it was okay, and they'll be able to dress Keith Aucoin (scratched tonight) as the twelfth forward on Sunday night. Nothing catastrophic.

The "official" three stars of the game were Viva (third), Ray Whitney (second) and the Captain (first). This was a perfunctory gesture on "Rod Brind'Amour night" (celebrating his reaching 1,000 career points), but he was still one of the best players on the ice. As homerish as I love to be, I can't quite play it that way. There's no way to ignore the performance of Teemu Selanne, who, by the way, has 1088 points in 999 career games (counting tonight).

The RBH three stars:

Third Star: Justin Williams, CAR. GWG on 1 shot, assist, GWG, 24:02 TOI
Second Star: Teemu Selanne, ANA. 2 goals on 2 shots
First Star: Ray Whitney, CAR. 1 goal on 1 shot, 2 assists.

Carolina's power play should actually be named the game's first star. They converted three of their six chances, and in reality, it should be more like three of five. Cole scored on the front end of the double minor to Pronger, and the back end still had 1:30 remaining when time expired.

Honorary mention goes to David Tanabe, whom I have given a really hard time. He had a great game both ways, picking up two assists on the night.

At times, Carolina looked the way they did in June. Their passing was crisp, their d-men were really stepping up, they were getting to loose pucks. All of that. They deserved this huge win.

On New Year's Eve, Carolina will play host to the floundering Flyers with the traditional Dec 31 start time of 8:00 pm eastern.