Miller signing has major implications in Carolina

On Friday, the Sabres announced that they have signed goaltender Ryan Miller to a five-year contract extension for a total of $31.25M. His current contract runs through this season, and he will make $3.5M. When the new contract begins, he will make $6.25M for each of the next five seasons. Crunchy is also an internationally renowned master of the pan flute, an accomplished amateur photographer, and has twice hiked the entire 2174-mile Appalachian Trail. Only one of those things is true.

This means a lot to the Carolina Hurricanes. In the summer of 2007, Carolina netminder Cam Ward was given a three-year deal that was EXACTLY the same as the three-year deal that Ryan Miller had been given by Buffalo. Cam Ward's contract runs through 09-10, and it seems likely that they will have no choice but to continue to use Cruchy's contract as a template. Barring a complete disaster, massive injury, or a late meteoric rise by Michael Leighton, Cam Ward will need to be pegged as the franchise goalie. Truth told, he's already been pegged as such. It's becoming more and more obvious that a franchise goalie is gonna have to get paid Kiprusoff money even if he can't carry a Brodeurian load.

The summer of 09 will present a much bigger challenge: Eric Staal. Hopefully, Jim Rutherford will break the silly franchise rule of not extending contracts until the final weeks before expiration. There is no doubt about the fact that Eric Staal is the face of this franchise, the captain-in-waiting. Hopefully he will be a Hurricane for life. Hopefully, they will get something worked out sooner than later so we don't have to fret about it next summer.

The big question, which is a bridge we're gonna have to burn when we get to it, is "at what cost Ward?". Assume that Staal gets a raise into the neighborhood of $6.5M. If Wardo is given the same contract and Tim Gleason and Joni Pitkanen's massive blueline contracts are taken into account, something's gonna have to give. "New, more fiscally responsible NHL"? What?

Three summers in a row since I've been paying close attention, Darcy Regier has let players walk away or slip through the cracks. This time, he did the right thing. He did the right thing by locking down their franchise goaltender, and it's a bit of a surprise. A surprise that Regier worked something out, and a surprise that the contract is as long as it is.

The only trouble is, Regier's play will force Carolina into a tough spot in the summer of 2010 when they need to re-ink Ward.

Staal has huge game as Canada pastes Germany.

In IIHF action on Saturday, Carolina Hurricanes star Eric Staal potted four goals and added one assist to lead the host Canada to a decisive 10-1 win over Germany. See the scoresheet and stats here.

Until today, Staal had been quiet. He hadn't scored a goal, and only had two assists in the four previous games played. Suddenly, he's second only to Dany Heatley (7) in goals scored for team Canada.

Hurricanes netminder Cam Ward earned the victory, his third. Canada is using a revolving goalie system. A lot has been written about the demerits of a two goalie system, but it's working just fine for now. Normally, I wouldn't find anything positive to say about Pascal Leclair, but he's really been doing a great job shouldering the other half of the load.

Canada, who is a perfect 5-0, will play their final qualifying game on Monday against Finland.

USA will play that same Finnish team on Sunday, followed by Norway on Monday.

World Championships begin today

The 2008 IIHF World Championships begin today. This year's tournament is hosted by Halifax and Quebec City. There will be four games today.

The sixteen team touranment begins with four groups of four teams playing round robin. After that, the elimination round begins next Thursday. Like UEFA soccer, the worst two teams at the end of it all get relegated to the lower division of play next year.

In today's games, Team Czech will take on Denmark at 1:00; Canada will take on Slovenia at 3:30; Russia will play relegation-bound Italy at 7:00; USA will play Latvia at 7:15.

Team USA features just one Hurricane: defenseman Tim Gleason. There is also a native North Carolinian on the roster. Patrick O'Sullivan, who plays center for the Kings, was born in Winston-Salem. He had a respectable 53 (22/31) points this year on a very bad Kings team.

Team Canada features goalie Cam Ward and center Eric Staal.

Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg will be suiting up for Germany, defenseman Nic Wallin will play for #1 ranked Sweden, and center Tuomo Ruutu will represent Finland.

Good luck to all of these Canes in international play. Obviously, we'll be giving our unwavering support to team USA.

Carolina wins again, widens lead

On Thursday, Carolina continued their fiery month of March with a shootout win over the Panthers. Although they allowed the Panthers to get one point, the important thing is that they got two of their own, padding their division lead.

Carolina's lead is now seven points over Washington and eight over Florida. Both teams have a game in hand. Even if one of those teams runs the table, Carolina can secure the division championship with a run of 3-2-1 down the stretch.

In typical fashion, Florida coach Jacques Martin was whining to the press before the game about how Carolina is a bunch of divers and how the officiating favors Carolina. In this game, though, Carolina had just two power plays. Florida had five. When they had their chances -- and they did -- they couldn't do anything about it.

Trevor Letowski got on the board early with a surprise shot from just inside the Florida blue line. Tomas Vokoun was surprised by it, or didn't see it. Whatever the case, it was a shot that he should have stopped, but it ended up beating him cleanly high on the blocker side. 3:22 was the time of the goal, and it was assisted by Glen Wesley and Nick Wallin.

The second period was filled with penalties against the Canes, but the penalty killers were amazing. Cam Ward was the best penalty killer, and he was sensational in the second frame. He had one save in particular against Olie Jokinen late in the period that was a highlight reel keeper. Ward had to explode from his right to left, stack the pads and made a sensational glove save from point blank range as Jokinen had made the "perfect" shot, getting it over the pads.

Steven Weiss broke up the shutout 22 seconds into the third, assisted by David Booth and Jay Bouwmeester. It was one of the few times all game where Cam Ward's rebound control wasn't great. Booth took a shot from the left circle that Ward knocked down into the slot. Weiss gathered it and deposited it into the far side of the net.

Florida had lots of late chances, including some power play time, but they couldn't take the lead, and on it went to overtime. Nothing notable happened in the overtime, and it went to shootout.

Carolina went first, and Jeff Hamilton was stopped. After the first Florida shooter went wide of the net, Sergei Samsonov scored. The second Florida shooter was stopped by Ward. Eric Staal got a cheap one to trickle through the pads of Vokoun, and the bottom of the third was unnecessary.

The RBH three stars were exactly like the "official" stars.

THIRD STAR Steven Weiss, FLA --- goal
SECOND STAR Cam Ward, CAR --- 36 saves, shootout win
FIRST STAR Sergei Samsonov --- shootout winner

Carolina will be idle for the next four days, and the word on the street is that Peter Laviolette has told the boys to take some time for themselves. Washington will use their game in hand tonight against the lowly Thrashers. Then, a gigantic matchup in Raleigh on Tuesday.

Canes roll over Chicago

On Wednesday, the Hurricanes continued their torrid streak by shutting out the Blackhawks 3-0 in the United Center. Carolina got all the scoring they needed in the first period, then clamped down on defense to win a very convincing game over a desperate but tired team. While the Hurricanes had been off since Saturday, the 'Hawks were in Detroit on Tuesday.

Washington and Florida both won earlier in the evening, but Carolina's victory keeps their cushion at a comfortable seven points in the SE division. Washington has a game in hand, plus two of those "four point" games against the Canes. They are all "must win" games for the Caps. Florida also has two of the "four point" games.

Erik Cole got the scoring started at 8:57 of the first with a power play marker. All alone in the slot, his shot easily beat Corey Crawford for the game winner. Sergei Samsonov set it up nicely down below the goal line. Eric Staal got the secondary assist.

At 10:39 of the first, Matt Cullen cashed in on the second power play of the game. He pounded away at the rebound of a Staal shot until it found its way through Crawford.

Eric Staal capped a magnificent period with a breakaway goal from his backhand. Joe Corvo and Tuomo Ruutu assisted. It was Staal's 70th (34/36) point of the season and the third (1/2) point of the game.

Later in the first, Matt Cullen made a goal-saving play. While Cam Ward was down and out after making a save, a stuffback attempt fluttered through the crease. Cullen pounced on the loose puck and sent it out.

Ward had some help from the heavy metal on a few occasions, but the Hurricanes also hit a couple of posts. Although there were long periods of inactivity, Ward was sharp and made some very nice saves down the stretch on the way to his sixth career shutout.

The "official" three stars went to Patrick Kane (third), Cam Ward (second) and Eric Staal (first). Kane was obviously just a gratuitous pick. The RBH stars:

THIRD STAR Matt Cullen, CAR --- goal
SECOND STAR Cam Ward, CAR --- 25 saves, shutout
FIRST STAR Eric Staal, CAR --- goal, 2 assists

Carolina has now won five games in a row and is in a situation where they can control their own playoff destiny. On Friday, they will visit Buffalo, who will be ready to avenge their loss here last Saturday.

Carolina solves Brodeur, keeps hot streak going.

On Tuesday night, Carolina defeated New Jersey 2-1 in overtime to get a much needed two standings points. This was a huge test for a team playing without its Captain for the rest of the season. Carolina answered the challenge and then some.

Earlier this month, Carolina lost two ugly games in Newark. They also lost an ugly game at home to the Devils in January. In all, the Canes were 0-3 against the Devils and were outscored 15-3. Carolina was trying to avoid the sweep. They were also trying to protect their five point SE lead. They were also trying to continue their hot streak at home, and their hot streak overall. They accomplished all of that.

Carolina's newest member, Tuomu Ruutu nearly didn't make it. After being traded for Andrew Ladd, Ruutu's flight from Chicago to Raleigh was delayed for several hours. His flight finally landed 36 minutes before gametime. He was given a police escort to the arena, and he was dressed in time for the puck drop.

Right away, he made a mark. He delivered a huge hit in just his second shift. The rest of the first period was chippy. Defenseman Tim Gleason left the game with a "head injury" after being boarded. A scuffle ensued, then later in the period a fight and some other extracurricular activity.

Afer a scoreless first, Bret Hedican got the second period off on the wrong foot. Just as he did against Washington on Saturday, a committed a miscue which led directly to a goal. This time, he deflected a Brian Gionta shot into his own net. Gionta was given credit for an unassisted goal at 1:50 of the second. His "shot" from the right circle would have been well off net, but Hedican's stick redirected it off the left post and in.

Sergei Samsonov leveled the score at 5:57 with a power play goal. After some good stuff at the points from Matt Cullen and Joe Corvo, Keith Aucoin snuck down low and took a shot from the right dot, which was handled by Martin Brodeur. Samsonov jumped right on the rebound and wristed it in from the top of the goalie crease. Ruutu got the secondary assist. His first point in his first game with the Canes.

The rest of the second was a defensive battle, and the third was more of the same.

Ruutu was caught by an inadvertant high stick late in the third, which opened a cut above his nose. If it had been detected by the officials, it would have been a four minute minor. However,it wasn't. Credit the officiating crew for refusing to give a "make-up" call. I'm not, and never have been a fan of that.

The game went into overtime, and the Canes knew that at the very least, they would get one standings point.

Just 1:36 into the bonus frame, Samsonov struck again. He accepted an awkward bank pass from Scott Walker along the right wing, handled the bouncing puck and took a shot on Brodeur. The shot was handled, but the rebound was not. Samsonov tapped it into the left corner for the win. Walker and Hedican got the helpers.

Samsonov was, and continues to be amazing. He's now got five (3/2) points in his last three games. In 22 games with Carolina, he has 18 (9/9) points. He earned the first star.

The "official" and the RBH three stars are identical:
THIRD STAR Tuomo Ruutu, CAR --- 1 assist, 3 hits, 2 blocked shots, 2 takeaways
SECOND STAR Cam Ward, CAR --- win, 23 saves
FIRST STAR Sergei Samsonov, CAR --- 2 goals, GWG, 2 takeaways

Washington got ahead early and won their game, which put pressure on Carolina. The big win for Carolina does so many things, but the most important is that it helps them maintain a five point cushion in the SE division with just 16 games to play.

This was the fourth of six straight home games for Carolina. They have gone 3-0-1 in those games. They have gone 7-0-1 in their last eight home games, and they have gone 7-2-1 in their last ten games overall. Right now, they are a flaming hot team. Included in that is the 5-1-1 they have gone since Captain Rod Brind'Amour tore his ACL.

The Canes will take on the Rangers on Thursday, then will finish the homestand against the new-look Lightning on Saturday.

On March 12, there will be a special treat when Carolina visits Chicago. By then, Kevyn Adams is expected to be back in the Blackhawks lineup. If all goes well, the former Canes Kevyn Adams, Craig Adams and Andrew Ladd will be in the lineup. They might even be on the same line.

Devils stomp Canes

On Saturday night in Newark, the Hurricanes had a chance to build off their great effort Friday night and perhaps open their lead a little in the Southeast division. Unfortunately, they didn't bother showing up and were embarrassed 6-1.

After the win against Washington, I was having an IM chat with The Sliding Pokecheck. We were talking about the Devils and how they've struggled to find offense all season long and how Marty Brodeur just isn't the Marty Brodeur that we've seen in the past. I said something like "Like the 2001-02 Hurricanes, they're hoping that they can win every game 2-1, coz they can't score more than that." A few moments later, I said "Now that I've said that, watch them drop a touchdown on us." I had no idea how prophetic that would be. Well, they missed the PAT, but they still scored the touchdown.

The Devils were on the board early. Defenseman Colin White fired a shot from the left point that went through Mike Commodore's legs, off the far side post and in the goal behind Cam Ward. Officially, it was White from David Clarkson and Jay Pandolfo at 3:08 of the first. It was kind of a crazy goal, and it was a harbinger of things to come. Everything went well for the Devils.

At 5:53, another defenseman scored. Paul Martin took a shot from the right circle which hit Cory Stillman's stick in the slot and deflected in the goal, top shelf. Hepatitis Boy and Jamie Langenbrunner had the assists on the power play goal.

Keith Aucoin gave the Canes a brief glimmer of hope with a crazy goal of his own at 10:35 of the opening stanza. He was in the right place at the right time to deflect an impossible angle shot by Scott Walker from behind the net. He was just there by the left post and got a lucky carom. Walker and Andrew Ladd had the assists.

The game pretty much ended at 15:47 of the first. The Canes were killing the final seconds of a penalty when Johnny Oduya was bringing the puck through neutral ice. He detected that nobody was marking him and he had an unabated path all the way to the goal. He charged in on Ward and easily scored as four and a half Hurricanes skaters stood and watched. The goal was unassisted.

Dainius Zubrus scored a power play goal at 17:58 to make it 4-1. This goal looked a lot like Andrew Ladd's goal against Washington on Friday. The Devils were charging in the zone with numbers. Brian Gionta put a shot on net from the bottom of the right circle. The juicy rebound went to Zubrus with no white sweaters anywhere in the same area code. Andrew Green had the secondary assist.

To everybody's surprise, Cam Ward started the second period. Despite giving up four goals, it wasn't because he was playing poorly. The first goal was through a screen and off the post. The second was a crazy bounce off Cory Stillman's stick. The third, he was hung out to dry, and the fourth was just an amazing play by the Devils. At best, two of those goals were Cam's fault.

At 1:29 of the second, Paul Martin scored his second goal of the game and his fifth of the season. Again, it was assisted by Hepatitis Boy and Langenbrunner.

Jay Pandolfo finished a pretty two-on-one rush at 14:41 to make it 6-1. John Madden and Pandolfo rushed into the Carolina zone with Frantisek Kaberle the only Hurricane back. Kaberle laid down to take the left wing shot away from Madden, but he patiently passed to Pandolfo for the finish. David Clarkson had the second assist.

John Crackers Grahame took over between the pipes after the Pandolfo goal and he steered the boys home without crashing into anything else. Huzzah to him for coming off the bench cold and stopping the bleeding.

The defense sucked. The penalty killing was terrible. The power play was awful. Forechecking was non-existent. The penalties were frequent and lazy. Nothing about the Canes performance was good. Nothing. Well, maybe John Grahame.

The "official" three stars were Oduya (third), Pandolfo (second) and Martin (first), but I have it a little differently. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Patrick Elias, NJD -- 2 assists
SECOND STAR Jay Pandolfo, NJD -- goal, assist
FIRST STAR Paul Martin, NJD -- 2 goals (including GWG), 2 blocked shots, 2 takeaways.

On Tuesday, the Hurricanes will conclude the five game road trip and the "pretend it's a playoff series" seven game stretch following the ASG. After winning two in a row at home after the ASG, Carolina has lost three of these four road games. They will have the day off Sunday, then will practice in Boston on Monday before Tuesday's game with the Bruins.

Canes reclaim first place with road win in DC

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Carolina loses game, LaRose, SE lead

On Tuesday night, the Hurricanes and Preds ended up locked in a goaltending duel. The red light only came on once during the game, and the home team emerged with a thrilling 1-0 victory.

The first two periods were, frankly, mundane. I had very little reason to even stir as I sat on the couch. I could have been reading, or doing my taxes, or working a cryptoquote or whatever. Neither team was able to mount any sustained pressure against the other. Both goaltenders were stopping everything and not giving up rebounds.

In the third period, Nashville had a clear advantage in time of possession and the puck stayed in Carolina's end for nearly the entire 20 minutes. Cam Ward really shone in the final frame, turning aside some high-quality chances.

The impasse ended when the former Sabre JP Dumont finished a three-on-one rush. The time of the goal was 11:59 of the third, and it was assisted by Jason Arnott and Alexander Radulov, who had a six-game goals streak heading into the game.

That goal would be the only one.

The shutout means that Carolina hasn't scored a goal in 111 minutes and 33 seconds. It also means that they are 0-4 on the road against the Central Division. They lost 4-1 to the Blue Jackets, 5-2 to the Red Wings, and suffered the same 1-0 fate at the hands of the Blues. Their chance to save face will be March 12 against the Blackhawks.

Chad "Sharpie" LaRose suffered a freak injury in the first period. On his first shift, he was going hard after a loose puck behind the Preds net. He couldn't stop and went hard, feet-first into the boards the same way Sidney Crosby did. He has suffered a broken leg and will be out for several weeks. Cue Brandon Nolan.

Carolina got one bit of good news on the bad night: Atlanta lost in regulation. However, the Capitals won their game, which puts them one point ahead of Carolina in the standings, and with a game in hand.

Carolina will have a chance to make it better as their five game road swing continues in our nation's Capital on Friday night. They will have the opportunity to climb back into first place. If they lose in regulation, they will fall even further behind.

The three stars of the game Tuesday are pretty easy. The hard part is ordering them. The official stars went to Cam Ward (third), JP Dumont (second) and Chris Mason (first). I'm gonna give my boy more credit than that. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Jean-Pierre Dumont, NAS --- GWG
SECOND STAR Cam Ward, CAR --- 33 saves
FIRST STAR Chris Mason, NAS --- 31 saves, shutout

There is no doubt about it. Carolina is in a "must-win" situation on Friday. Washington will be using their game in hand tomorrow night against the high-flying Flyers in Philadelphia. Obviously, Canes fans will be rooting for the Flyers.

On another note, it was 72 degrees today, but it's still WAY too early to think about planting tomatoes.

Canes top Rangers in an action-packed game

On Tuesday night, Sean Avery and the New York Rangers came to town for a much anticipated game. Carolina was anxious to avenge their Boxing Day loss to the Rangers, and also to exact some revenge on Sean Avery and Colton Orr for their hits on Andrew Ladd and Matt Cullen, respectively.

I thought it might be physical, but I never imagined it would be anywhere near as violent as it was. Before the game even started, Scott Walker and Sean Avery were in a shoving match. The puck hadn't even been dropped, so both players should have been given misconduct penalties. However, the referees mysteriously gave out roughing penalties and nothing else.

Just a few seconds into the game Tim Gleason was penalized for hooking. On the ensuing 4-on-3 power play, Brendan Shanahan potted a goal at 1:02 of the first. Scott Gomez (down on the goal line) and Jaromir Jagr (in the right circle) played catch for a little while, then Gomez found Shanny in the slot for a nice-looking goal.

Wade Brookbank went toe-to-to with Colton Orr in round one of their two round bout. In the first round, Orr landed a couple of heavy shots that hurt Brookbank, then knocked him down. Round one was decisively Orr's.

Less than a minute after that, Scott Walker made a bad decision that caused all hell to break loose. He boarded Gomez (without getting called for it). Avery came from downtown Apex to go after Walker, then Timmay Gleason went after Avery. There was a lot of other pushing and shoving. Avery was given 17 minutes of penalties (2 for instigating plus five for fighting plus a ten minute misconduct). Walker got five for fighting, and Gleason was given the gate for being the third man in. At the time, I thought it was a really poor choice by Gleason.

Towards the end of the period, Orr and Brookbank went again. Round two was pretty much a wash, with a slight advantage to Brookbank. By the time the period was over, the Rangers had amassed 35 penalty minutes and the Canes had 31.

After they got all that Hanson Brothers stuff out of the way, the Canes settled down and played some "old-time hockey". It suits them much better to play their game than to try to be something they're not.

Sergei Samsonov got the Canes off and running at 6:07 of the second. After a badly missed shot by the Rangers, Ray Whitney was flying down the right wing on an odd man rush with Samsonov. He fed Sams with a nifty pass into the left circle, and Samsonov easily beat Lundqvist, who had overcommitted. It was Samsonov's eighth point (3/5) in nine games since joining the Canes.

Rod Brind'Amour put the Canes in front at 8:24 of the second. After the Rangers committed a sloppy turnover in the Canes end, Brind'Amour and Samsonov were off on a rush. Brindy skated it all the way in, made Lundqvist commit to Samsonov over on the left wing, then slammed it home for the lead. Mike Commodore picked up a phantom assist on the play.

There were just two penalty minutes per team in the second period. In the final minute of the period, the Rangers had some excellent scoring chances when Cam Ward lost his stick and they were able to keep it deep in the zone. Scott Gomez had a golden opportunity on an empty net with a stickless goaltender way out of position, but Nic Wallin and Glen Wesley both pinched in and held the left post. Wesley laid down to take away the shot, and Wallin was there anyway. It was a certain goal. 100%. Somehow, they couldn't hit the net, and the period ended 2-1.


Trevor Letowski notched an insurance tally at 3:40 of the third when Chad "Sharpie" LaRose hit him with a perfect pass through traffic to the high slot. "The Dude" wristed it in from there for his fourth marker of the season. LaRose and Bret Hedican got the assists.

Carolina committed two penalties in the final 75 seconds of the game. Since the Rangers pulled Lundbvist, they had a 6-on-3 situation for the final 20 seconds. During that final minute, and especially that final :20, Cam Ward made some sensational point-blank stops. Three of them in the last 12 seconds. He looked like the old Cam Ward out there. We haven't seen that in a while.

The "official" three stars went to Walker (third), Brind'Amour (second) and Ward (first). I'm not sure where the star for Walker came from. The RBH three stars:

THIRD STAR Nic Wallin, CAR -- 4 blocked shots
SECOND STAR Rod Brind'Amour, CAR -- GWG
FIRST STAR Cam Ward, CAR -- 34 saves, win

The news was even better, as Washington got blanked by Les Habitants, 4-0. That allowed Carolina to push their SE division lead to three points.

Carolina will host the Leafs on Thursday, then begin a five game road trip in the Iron City on Saturday.

Canes shut out Bruins

Cam Ward returned to the nets after playing backup to Michael Leighton for the last two games. He hadn't seen any action since last Wednesday. If he developed any rust, he didn't show it. In the end, he earned a 1-0 shutout of the Bruins.

Earlier in the day, Carolina claimed Sergei Samsonov off waivers, and he was supposed to play on the third line. However, the Canes were forced to make a last second scratch of Ray Whitney. This elevated the newcomer to the top line with Rod Brind'Amour and Cory Stillman.

Whitney has the flu. So, too, does Glen Wesley. He was also a last-second scratch. The list of wounded and sick Hurricanes is getting kind of ridiculous. If not for the fact that Andrew Ladd and Nic Wallin both returned to the lineup tonight, they would have been short by a couple of guys.

Anyway...

Eric Staal nearly gave the Canes the lead with about four minutes to play in the opening stanza. However, Tim Thomas made a dazzling save. After making a stick save, he flashed his stick through the goal mouth to catch a fluttering puck just as it crossed the line. There was a brief video review, but even without it, it was easy to tell that the puck had not completely crossed the line.

The only other action in the first period was an early fight. Wade Brookbank keeps throwing down the mitts. I can't say that I like it, but he's letting other teams know that he's there.

Despite being outshot 8-4 in the first period, Carolina looked good. This was only the beginning.

In the second period, they looked fantastic. This is three or four games in a row where they've looked very good in the middle stanza. This is refreshing, because throughout November and December, they played horribly in the second period of every game. Carolina dominated play. They outshot the Bruins 17-6 and kept the puck in the Boston zone for the majority of the period.

Eric Staal had the game's only goal at 18:20 of the second. He and Nic Wallin ran a reverse behind the net, and Staalsy ended up firing a wrister from the right faceoff dot. Thomas was cheating on the short side, and the shot beat him low on the blocker side. Wallin and Chad LaRose had the assists.

Sergei Samsonov looked pretty damn good out there. He was unfamiliar with the plays that Carolina runs, and he was obviously unfamiliar with his new teammates. I don't think he even had a chance to practice with them. In the second period, he was flying. He had a few quality shots and had some great shifts. I think he'll be fine.

Both goaltenders had to make some fine stops down the stretch, but Cam Ward's save with about 30 seconds to go was the best. He had to explode from his left to right across the crease to make a nifty kick save, preserving the lead.

With 17 seconds to go, Wallin took a lazy tripping penalty, and the final few seconds were played six-on-four. Good stuff. Good stuff.

I like that Cam Ward responded to having the week off by pitching a shutout. I also like that for the third straight game, the Hurricanes killed all of their penalties. In this game, there were three, so they've now killed the last ten penalties in a row.

The three game road trip is done, and Carolina took four of six points. Not bad. Meanwhile, the Thrashers and Kitties both lost Tuesday night. Carolina's lead is now back up to five points over the Thrash and seven over the Cats.

Another bit of good news is that Eric Staal is continuing to play like he can. He looks like he's having fun again. He looks like he wants to take control of games again. I like it.

The "official" three stars went to Thomas (third), Ward (second) and Staal (first). Not a lot happened in this game, so I can't really argue with those. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Tim Thomas, BOS -- 27 saves
SECOND STAR Cam Ward, CAR -- 19 saves, shutout
FIRST STAR Eric Staal, CAR -- GWG

Carolina will return home for a two game stand. Thursday, they'll take on the Devils and Saturday they'll host the Avalanche

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 to end road trip with grueling back-to-back

On Saturday afternoon, the Hurricanes will enter the friendly confines of the Bell Centre to take on the Canadiens. This game will end at about 9:30 eastern time. The Canes will then immediately fly to Detroit after going through Customs and play a Sunday afternoon game at 5:00 eastern. The Red Wings will be resting at home after having played there Friday night.

This seems extreme, but there are no rules against this kind of quick turnaround.

Carolina hasn't lost a game in Montréal since before the lockout, and there are two Hurricaes players who would just as soon call the Bell Centre home:

• In nine regular season games in Montréal, Erik Cole has registered 12 (8/4) points including two hat tricks. Last game there, Cole recorded one assist.
  In addition, Cole scored three goals in three playoff games at Molson in 2002.
  
• Cam Ward has never lost a game in Montréal. He has a career GAA of 1.48 and a save % of .948 in that building.

For the Hurricanes, Nic Wallin is "probable" for Saturday after sitting out a few games with lingering shoulder issues. Mike Commodore will continue to be out with a broken finger.

As for Les Habitants, they will be without the services of left wing Steve Bégin (shoulder) and centerman Brian Smolinski (knee). The slumping Michael Ryder was a healthy scratch in Montréal's last game as a "message" from coach Guy Carbonneau. Goaltender Cristobal Huet is out with a groin injury, leaving Carey Price at the wheel.

Puck drop will be at 7:00.

The Canes have been doing the Jekkyl/Hyde thing, alternating wins and losses. Their last game was a 2-1 loss at Tampa.

The Habs are coming off a 4-2 win over Boston. They have also been (for the most part) alternating wins and losses.

This will close out the four game series between the two teams. The Habs have won two and lost one. They have outscored Carolina 11-9 in those three games.

Montréal's offensive leaders are Alex Kovalev with 23 (12/11) points, Tomas Plekanec with 21 (9/12) and Saku Koivu with 21 (5/16).

Carolina's offensive leaders are Cory Stillman with 34 (16/18) points, Rod Brind'Amour with 31 (13/18) and Ray Whitney (12/15) Matt Cullen (6/21) and Justin Williams (9/18) with 27 points apiece.

Around the Habs blogosphere:

A Theory of Ice

Eyes on the Prize

Four Habs Fans

Sisu Hockey

A full writeup should follow the game.

Canes bounce back, destroy Blueshirts

On Saturday, the Sabres worked up a Number 6 on the Hurricanes. As it turns out, it was just what the doctor ordered. Carolina righted the ship against the Rangers with a 4-0 shutout. It was far and away their best total game this season, and maybe the best I've seen.

Scott Walker opened the scoring at 5:22 of the first. After two Rangers turnovers deep in their own end, Walker was in on a mini-break and beat Henrik Lundqvist from the low slot. Matt Cullen and Chad "Sharpie" LaRose had the helpers.

After a particularly nice penalty kill, the Canes made it 2-0 when Matt Cullen beat Lundqvist from the top of the crease. Although Cullen had two guys draped all over him, Cory Stillman played the part of Tom Brady to Cully's Randy Moss. He threaded the needle and Cully simply tapped it in. Time of the goal was 19:45. Assists to Stillman and Justin "Viva" Williams.. After an hour and a half, the scoring was changed. They declared that the puck went in off Marc Staal's stick. Therefore, Stillman got credit for the goal. Viva and Cullen got the helpers.

There was no scoring in the second. The Rangers had the majority of the scoring chances, and Cam Ward looked very sharp turning them all away. More importantly, both Frantisek Kaberle and Bret Hedican played very responsibly in their own zone. I have routinely called both of these guys out all season, and I've been clamoring for the Canes to ship Kaberle out of here. Those two really stepped up. Dennis Seidenberg also played very well in the second, blocking shots and dishing out hits.

The third period was again all Canes.

There were a few questionable calls each way in the third frame. One of them put David Tanabe in the box for tripping after he made a great recovery to thwart a breakaway chance by the Rangers. Although he got to the puck before the player, the referee saw it another way and put Snuggles in the box to feel shame for two minutes.

All the same, there was justice. The hockey gods made sure that the tables were turned. Snuggles came out of the box to meet a rink-wide pass, and he was in all alone on Lundqvist. Tanabe looked like Matt Cullen out there, forcing the goaltender to guess glove side, then beating him badly on the blocker side. Dennis "Baron Von" Seidenberg had the only assist. Time of the goal was 11:30.

The icing on the cake came at 13:56. Cory Stillman tapped one in after a great individual effort. He worked the puck behind the net, then found Williams, who fed Staal out front. Lundqvist answered the bell, but Stillman was back around front to knock the rebound in. Viva and Staal had the assists.

Down the stretch, there wasn't much gas left in the Rangers' tank and Carolina pretty much waited out the final buzzer.

This was the first game of the season between these two teams, so it was the first time Eric and Marc Staal played against each other. With about one minute to play, they got in a little jostling bout down in the corner. It was probably just for the sake of doing it.

This was polar opposite from Saturday's heartless effort up in Lackawanna. Thanks very much to the Sabres for getting the Canes back in shape.

Seriously, though, coach Laviolette shook up all of the forward lines and the defense pairings. It worked like a charm. I suppose it was a combination of the ass-whipping and the line changes. Whatever it was, it did the trick.

The "official" three stars were Matt Cullen (third), Cam Ward (second) and Cory Stillman (first). I have a hard time disputing that.

The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Matt Cullen, CAR --- 2 assists, 71% faceoff (5/7)
SECOND STAR Cam Ward, CAR --- 28 saves, shutout
FIRST STAR Cory Stillman, CAR --- 2 goals

Honorary mention I goes to Eric Staal. He had an assist and led all players with 6 hits.
Honorary mention II goes to every single defenseman. 11 blocked shots. Good PK. Very responsible play all the way around. And David effing Tanabe shed the "Avi" moniker by having his best game of the season.

This was a complete game. The only time all season that Carolina has played a 60 minute game. This feels so good compared to the debacle that Saturday night was.

The five game road trip will pause for a few days. The Canes play again on Thursday in the City of Tampa. In the interim, they'll return to Raleigh for a quick visit.

Canes eke out 2-1 win; Wesley joins elite group.

On Saturday, the Hurricanes defeated the visiting Kitties 2-1 on two goals by Rod Brind'Amour. Glen Wesley became just the 10th defenseman to play in 1,400 games. Most importantly was that Carolina snapped a two game losing streak, and earned a regulation win against a division opponent.

The game wasn't televised by Carolina or Florida. Even with Center Ice, I couldn't watch this game. So it was Chuckandtheletterk for me.

Surprisingly, it was Cam Ward rather than Johnny Crackers who started in nets. I figured since Cam worked last night and Grahame has played well against the Kitties, it would be #47. Maybe coach Laviolette lost faith in him after the 6-1 shelling in The City of Tampa the other night. After the embarrassing 6-1 and 2-0 losses to Tampa and Atlanta respectively, there were obviously no points streaks for any Hurricanes players.

There was, however, a streak of home games without a loss against the Kitties on the line. The last time Florida won in Raleigh was December 6, 2002. Chairman Mo was still here. Kevin Weekes was still here. Jeff O'Neill was still here. Even Arturs Irbe was still here. Sandis Ozolinsh had the game winning goal and Roberto Luongo was the winning goaltender in a 2-0 shutout. I was at that game, and it was miserable. It was just after a horrendous ice storm had paralyzed the state. I had no power or heat for nine days during the coldest winter we've had in some time. I had an out-of-town visitor staying with my in my frigid, powerless apartment. Her whole reason for visiting -- an Aimee Mann concert -- fell through because the interstate highways were shut down and we couldn't go. Nothing went right. That whole visit was a fiasco that's another story for another day.

Anyway, it had been a looooooong time since the Kitties has won a game in the RBC Center, and the home team intended to keep it that way.

Rod Brind'Amour made sure it stayed that way. He scored a power play goal at 9:52 of the first period and an even strength goal at 2:44 of the third. The second goal was waived off on the ice, and the indication was that it had been kicked in. Brindy demanded a video review, and the on-ice ruling was overturned.

Nathan Horton foiled Cam Ward's shutout bid at 13:59 of the third with a power play. Again, I had no visual, but Chuckandtheletterk described it as fluky. Apparently, he was below the goal line, threw one at the net and it went in off Glen "Mr. 1400" Wesley.

Late in the third, Carolina had to kill off a long 5-on-3 power play.

For some reason, Florida elected not to pull Vokoun until there were about 30 seconds left, and Carolina was unable to get an empty net goal for their Captain. As a matter of fact, Vokoun was only out of net for about 10 seconds before going back in.

Nic Wallin returned to the lineup, but for some reason, "Avi" Tanabe stayed in as a seventh defenseman. Also, for some strange reason, Jeff Hamilton had very limited ice time. Despite being a consistently good player, and the only one who showed up against Tampa, Hambone was limited to five shifts tonight for a grand total of 5:45 TOI. I'd much rather see Hambone double shifted than have Avi Tanabe as a seventh defenseman/forward.

I'll defer to the "official" three stars:

THIRD STAR Tim Gleason, CAR --- 5 hits, 3 blocked shots, 2 takeaways, 5 PIM
SECOND STAR Cam Ward, CAR --- 27 saves, win
FIRST STAR Rod Brind'Amour, CAR --- 2 goals, GWG

Carolina will have a few days off before hosting the Flyers on Wednesday.

Canes destroy Caps

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anyway....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Canes host Habs

On Friday, Les Habitants will visit the RBC Center for the second time this season. Carolina hopes that it can avoid a repeat performance of opening night, when the Canadiens won 3-2 in overtime.

Unfortunately, Erik "Hab Killa" Cole won't be dressed tonight. After suffering a soccer injury, his return is tentatively scheduled for Saturday night against the Islanders.

Cole and Andrew Ladd (ankle) are both in the "returning soon" department. Scott Walker (torso) remains out indefinitely. Dennis Seidenberg (knee) should return to the lineup tonight. However, we can add Nic Wallin (groin) to the walking wounded. Including tonight's injury scratches, Carolina will have lost 31 man-games to injury through 11 games.

Including tonight, the list (with currently injured players in bold) looks like this:
ERIK COLE 4 games -- foot
ANDREW LADD 8 games -- ankle
SCOTT WALKER 4 games -- torso
CORY STILLMAN 3 games -- torso
DENNIS SEIDENBERG 5 games -- knee
MIKE COMMODORE 4 games -- leg
BRET HEDICAN 2 games -- flu
NIC WALLIN 1 game -- groin

The other day, in reference to the injury plight, Peter Laviolette said "Good teams will ignore it".

One thing that cannot be ignored is the play of Cam Ward. After losing 20 pounds in the off-season, Ward came back a much different player. He's more explosive, he's more durable, he's "more" and "better at" everything than he was last season.

Also, Chad "Sharpie" LaRose has been given an increased role with the team. For two seasons, he was strictly a fourth line player, and he saw limited ice time. With the injuries to key forwards, LaRose has got to spend some time on the Brind'Amour/Williams line, and he's looked good. He's also killing penalties and seeing a tiny bit of poweer play time. He's averiging 15:00 TOI per game, and relishing every second of it. Lorenzo Perez from the N&O wrote

"Every day I wake up, I'm so excited," said LaRose, who scored the winning goal in Carolina's 3-1 victory over Vancouver on Monday. "I'm having trouble sleeping at night because I'm so excited for every day, whether it's practice or not, to come to the rink and be in the room with these guys and this team."

Also, Jeff Hamilton is having a great season. So far, he's proving to be the ultimate steal of free agency. With 8 points (3/5) through the first ten games, "Green Eggs and Hamilton" is on pace for a career best 66 points. He'll do this at the low low price of $800k.

Over in Buffalo, Thomas Vanek has scored 5(2/3) points through eight games. He's also on pace for a career best of 51 points. The problem is that Buffalo is paying Vanek $10M this season, for what will be worth much much less than that. The Rangers are paying Chris Drury the same money for what is on pace to be a 55 point season. This is General Managers Gone Wild. I know Darcy Regier had his hand pressed on the Vanek issue, but it's still insanity.

Puck drop is 7:00 tonight. I'm playing in a Scrabble tournament all weekend, so I won't be able to watch tonight. I won't be able to recap, and I won't be able to write anything about Saturday's game with the Islanders.

Canes beat weary Canucks 3-1

On Monday night, the Vancouver Canuncks came to town for the first time in almost four years. Carolina had to (literally) fight harder than they would have liked, but the end result was a 3-1 win for the guys in red.

The first period was dominated by the Hurricanes. It was clear that the visitors had tired legs as the Canes kept the puck in the Vancouver zone for most of the period and dominated the SOG category 16-6. There was no scoring, but Carolina was by far and away the better team in the first frame.

Cory Stillman got the Canes on the board at 5:07 of the second with a one-timer from the top of the right circle. Ray Whitney and Matt Cullen assisted on the power play goal. Of course, Carolina was employing the five forward PP unit. This came just moments after an apparent goal had been nullified at 2:16 of the second. I suppose the ruling was the variety of "goaltender interference" where the goal is disallowed, but no penalty is called.

The power play was the result of an extra roughing penalty assessed to the Canucks after Craig Adams and Kevin Bieksa went toe-to-toe. For the record, Craig got clobbered in the fight. It only took 28 seconds of the man advantage to get the lamp lit.

At 17:44, Rick Rypien (cousin of former Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien) took offence to Mike Commodore's rough treatment of Byron Ritchie. Those two gentlemen had a long fight right beside the penalty benches, with neither combatant getting the upper hand.

Five minutes into the third frame, there was a third fight. Brad Isbister had run Cam Ward and got away with it, but Tim Gleason forced him to pay the consequences by abusing Isbister in a heavyweight bout at center ice.

Chad "Sharpie" LaRose was rewarded for his extraordinary work ethic with a breakaway goal at 7:01. Like Tom Brady-to-Randy Moss against the Dolphins on Sunday afternoon, Rod Brind'Amour saw Chad LaRose at center ice, just behind four white shirts. Brindy threaded the needle and hit LaRose with a perfect pass from deep in the Carolina zone to center ice. LaRose streaked into the Vancouver zone all alone and buried it top shelf against Roberto Luongo.

Vancouver finally started to get their game together about midway through the final stanza. They kept Carolina out of Luongo's house, played very aggressively, and eventually got one past Cam Ward. Brad Isbister had a very nice wrap-around chance, which was denied by Ward. However, at 13:19, Brendan Morrison tucked in the rebound to make it interesting.

In the final minute, after the Canucks had pulled Luongo for an extra attacker, they were caught for having too many men. Loungo had come back on the ice, but nobody came off. Seconds later, Luongo was pulled again, and Ray Whitney put one into the empty cage to make it 3-1.

Chad LaRose had the game-winning goal and was named the game's first star because of it. I'm glad for the guy, but I just didn't see him as the best player on the ice. The "official" three stars were Mike Commodore(third), Ray Whitney (second) and Chad LaRose (first). I saw it completely differently. Really, any number of players could have been any of the three stars, but I finally settled on a completely different set. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Tim Gleason, CAR --- 5 hits, 7 PIM
SECOND STAR Cam Ward, CAR --- 19 saves, win
FIRST STAR Rod Brind'Amour, CAR --- 2 assists

It should be pointed out that five of Gleason's seven PIM are the "good" variety. He stuck up for his teammates, took down his opponent. We'll gladly take the five for fighting in the name of "team toughness". It wasn't fighting for the sake of fighting or common goonery. It was purposeful. He has been a very dependable defenseman lately, taking away passing lanes, laying down to block shots, and doing all sorts of other inglorious things that good defensemen do.

It should also be pointed out that Cam Ward never had to stand on his head, and he only faced 20 shots. Still, he made it look easy,

Brindy's pass that sprung LaRose was a thing of absolute beauty. How in the world he found LaRose among those four Canucks is beyond me. At the end of the game, he forced a turnover deep in the Vancouver end, and instead of firing it at the empty net from a tough angle, he unselfishly dished it to Whitney for the easy goal.

I was impressed by Craig Adams, who played very good two-way hockey tonight.

Chad LaRose also played very good two-way hockey. He racked up 18 minutes of ice time tonight, and looked very comfortable with his increased role. He got the game-winner on a very pretty goal, and I really wish I could name him one of the RBH stars, but there were too many others.

Buffalo comes to town on Wednesday, and it's probably safe to assume that it'll be another fight-filled game. These two teams do not like each other, and the tempers usually flare.

The three game home stand will conclude Friday against Les Habitants. I'll be in Raleigh that night (and all weekend long), but not at the game.

Canes outlast Habs 3-1.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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