....Also a new league record

Chad "Sharpie" LaRose just might have earned himself a new nickname: Nuke

The Hurricanes centerman and fan favorite was invited to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park to throw out a ceremonial first pitch on Thursday for the Bulls' game against the Norfolk Tides. This is the 20th anniversary of the great movie "Bull Durham", and the Bulls have been celebrating this all season long. LaRose's appearance on Thursday had nothing to do with the Bull Durham celebration, but in an unintentional way, it did.

From the movie, you may remember the professional debut of Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh, the fireball pitcher with control problems, played by Tim Robbins. After his debut, the manager "Skip" (played by Trey Wilson) and the assistant Larry Hockett (played by Robert Wuhl) had the following conversation:

Skip: He walked 18
Larry: A new league record
Skip: He struck out 18
Larry: Another new league record. In addition, he hit the sportswriter, the public address announcer, the Bull mascot. Twice! Also new league records.

Incidentally, I've always had a serious problem with this opening baseball scene. The visiting team is referred to as the Peninsula White Sox on a few occasions, but they are very clearly the Hagerstown Suns. I'm just sayin'.

Anyway, Chad LaRose went out to make the ceremonial first pitch, which sailed high and wide, hitting a little girl in the back. She was on the field, about to go play the National Anthem on her flute, or recorder, or tambourine, or whatever. That detail isn't important. Only that he hit her. Apparently, Nuke's pitch was not exactly a fastball, because the little girl was completely uninjured. LaRose told N&O writer Luke Decock that there were no hard feelings on her side and that he was pretty shaken up by the whole ordeal:

"She came up to the seats and got pictures with me and everything," LaRose said. "I was the one more hurt by it than her, I think. … Everyone's fine except for me. I'm traumatized by the whole situation."

This is where Nuke misses his buddy Mike Commodore. If Commy were still around, he would have been the one making that pitch, and it would have been much more successful. Commodore, who is a baseball nut, was a regular fixture at Bulls games while he was with the Hurricanes. No footage of Sharpie's fiasco, but here's some archival footage of Commy at DBAP:
.

Jeez. I just wrote something about baseball. Is is October yet?

Who's laughing now?

Most Carolina fans agree that Joe Corvo and Patrick Eaves worked out better for Carolina than did Mike Commodore and Cory Stillman for Ottawa.
The Senators, though, may have gotten the last laugh on that. When the Canes lost last night, it assured the Sens of a playoff berth. That's how the back door works. Even though the Sens lost their game, they locked up a playoff berth.

They'd probably much rather be in the post-season than to have "won" the trade.

Carolina still has a chance, but it's out of their hands. The weary Panthers will have to play spoiler in DC tonight. No acceptable outcome other than a regulation win by the Kitties.

I've already resigned hoping for that outcome, but anything could happen. I'm already prepared for a long offseason. I'll concede the floor to Kevin from BFLOBLOG:

Welcome to the new and miserable world of watching some team you despise advance towards the Cup while you sit at home swearing, knowing we don’t even have a chance this year.

Canes rebound, crush Sens

On Sunday afternoon, the Hurricanes put the bad loss in Buffalo behind them by pasting the visiting Senators 5-1. To make things extra sweet, it became even more clear that Carolina got the better end of the February 11 trade.

Joe Corvo, who hated the Canadian press, and who was constantly maligned by the Sens faithful, had a spectacular night. He recorded his first career hat trick, notching goals 10,11 and 12 of the season. He now has 42 (12/30) points on the season. 15 (6/9) have come in 15 games since joining the Hurricanes.

Dany Heatley got the scoring off to an early start when the Sens cashed in on a five-on-three power play situation. Jason Spezza made a very nice cross-ice pass to Heatley, who was parked by the right post. He tucked it in for the early lead, but it would be the Sens only bright spot. Cory Stillman got the secondary assist.

Patrick Eaves, the other part of that Feb 11 trade, got his first goal in a Hurricanes uniform during the Canes first power play of the afternoon. Frantisek Kaberle's hard shot from the blue line was tipped by Eaves at the top of the goal crease. The penalty, by the way, was Mike Commodore's. Officially, the power play goal was at 7:00 of the first, and it was assisted by Kaberle and Scott Walker.

Mike Commodore's night got worse when his second penalty of the game led to Carolina's second goal of the game at 10:24. Joe Corvo fired a cannon from the high slot that the Gerber Baby had no chance on. The game-winning goal was during a four-on-three power play. Sergei Samsonov and Eric Staal got the assists.

Scott Walker scored his second goal in as many games, beating Gerber with a nasty wrist shot at 5:56 of the second. After a Sens turnover, Eric Staal fed Tim Gleason, who joined the 3-on-2 rush. Gleason, streaking down the right wing made a beautiful pass to Walker, who wristed it in from the inside hash marks of the left circle.

There was no more scoring in the second, but it was emblematic of the Sens play for the whole game. They only mustered three shots in the second frame, and they committed five penalties. The puck was in the Ottawa end for probably 70% of the period.

At 2:09 of the final stanza, Joe Corvo got his second goal of the night with a laser beam from the top of the right circle. Again on the power play, and again it was assisted by Samsonov and Staal.

To cap a magnificent afternoon, Corvo scored on a nifty backhand goal at 17:50 of the third to finish a breakaway . Tuomo Ruutu got the only assist. It was Corvo's first career hat trick, and perhaps the first one ever by a Hurricanes defenseman.


It's hard to argue with the "official" three stars of Patrick Eaves (third), Eric Staal (second) and Joe Corvo (first). While that's cute to give both former Sens a star, I think I've gotta give SerSam some love on this one. The RBH three stars:

THIRD STAR Sergei Samsonov, CAR --- 2 assists, 2 takeaways
SECOND STAR Eric Staal, CAR --- 3 assists
FIRST STAR Joe Corvo, 3 goals, 3 blocked shots

Mike Commodore had a dismal day, and has been nothing but trouble for the Sens. His two penalties today both resulted in Canes goals. He doled out five hits, but has been for Ottawa thus far exactly what he had grown to be in Carolina: a liability. In 17 games with the Sens, he has no points and is a -8.

Cory Stillman had an assist on Ottawa's only goal. In 17 games for them, he has 14 (2/12) points and is a -5.

On the other hand...

Joe Corvo has 15 points (6/9) in 15 games with Carolina and is a +6.

Patrick Eaves has 4 points (1/3) in 9 games with Carolina and is a -1.

Although Carolina took care of their end, they didn't get help from their SE enemies. Both Washington and Florida won their games. Carolina's lead in the SE remains at five points.

Carolina will be off until Wednesday, when they travel to Atlanta.

After this game, what will the Canadian press say about Corvo?

Evaluating the trade

On February 11, the Hurricanes and Senators pulled off a major trade ahead of the deadline. Carolina sent winger Cory Stillman and defenseman Mike Commodore to the Senators in exchange for winger Patrick Eaves and defenseman Joe Corvo. At first, the trade seemed like a wash, but enough time has now passed to be able to fairly evaluate the trade.

Since the trade, Ottawa has played 14 games and has gone 4-7-3. In that span, they've scored 27 goals and given up 45 for a differential of -18.

In that same amount of time, Carolina has played 13 games, going 10-2-1. They've scored 48 and given up 36 for a differential of +12.

In 14 games played, Mike Commodore has scored 0 points and is a -7.
In 14 games played, Cory Stillman has scored 11 (2/9) points and is a -5.

In 12 games played, Joe Corvo has scored 11 (3/8) points and is a +7.
In 6 games played, Patrick Eaves has scored 3 (0/3) points and is a +1.

Commodore and Stillman are both scheduled to be UFAs and both are due big raises.

Corvo is under contract for two more seasons and Eaves is scheduled to be a RFA.

Thus far, it's a no-brainer as to who got the better end.

Canes and Sens swap players

I went out of town Monday for a very short business trip (and a night of ridiculous depravity) , and I missed a very big thing. Carolina sent winger Cory Stillman and defenseman Mike Commodore to the Senators for young winger Patrick Eaves and defenseman Joe Corvo.

There's an unseen ramification of this which I don't like, and I'll get to that later.

A friend who is a Penguins fan, not knowing that I was on the road, called to ask me what I thought of the deal. "What deal?" I feared that he was going to say that Erik Cole was part of some lame package, but this one I kind of like.

Immediately, I thought that Stillman is (a)slumping big-time (2)a UFA-to-be, and (III) getting up there in age. The Canes get a much younger guy with a ton of potential. I've seen him play a few times, and I've seen him pot goals against the Canes. I know what he can do. I'm pretty excited about this addition. For the future, I mean. For now, even a slumping Cory Stillman is better than an injured Patrick Eaves. Still, I'll take the kid.

I'm more excited about Joe Corvo. Carolina gives up a decent stay-at-home kind of defenseman who is given to taking bad penalties late in the game. In return, they get that puck-moving defenseman they've been wanting. They get a guy with a heavy shot that he's not afraid to use, but they also get a guy who makes some outrageously dangerous passes. One of my rubs against Commodore has always been that he's often too busy checking the rear-view mirror instead of going after loose pucks in the corner. He brings a level of intensity and on some level, some brawn, but absolutely no offensive upside. In that respect, Corvo, albeit four years older, brings more. Both players make lots of mistakes, but Carolina gets what they need. Corvo is signed thru 2010, whereas Commodore is a UFA-to-be and is due for a big raise. Corvo was unhappy in Ottawa, largely because of the overly scrupulous media. He'd been asking to be dealt to an American team, and he's gotten his wish.

The Senators are adding some scoring punch to (presumably) their second line, but they're losing some scoring from the back end. They're also getting a couple of guys who have won the Cup. Carolina adds some offensive production and some puck movement from the blue-line, but they give up one of their leading scorers. When the salaries for this season only are figured in, the Senators save about $500k, but they'll have to pay Commdore big bucks next season.

When it's all said and done, both teams benefit, and it's pretty hard to say who benefits more. I'm happy with what the Canes got, and moving forward, they'll probably have the better end if they re-sign Eaves.

Here's the unseen ramification. Mike Commodore wasn't just a fan favorite and a general goofball. He was Chad Sharpie LaRose's best friend. Poor Chad isn't going to have anyone to hang out with anymore. Something tells me that Joe Corvo isn't going to fill that role.

In Tuesday's debut with Carolina, Joe Corvo recorded an assist on the game-winning goal. Patrick Eaves is recovering from a shoulder injury and won't play until next week at the earliest. Cory Stillman had an assist for the Senators in his debut on Tuesday. Mike Commodore was a non-factor.

Brind'Amour, Ladd, Commodore return to the ice

On Thursday night, the Hurricanes will return to Southeast Division play, and three of their players will make their return to the ice. Rod Brind'Amour missed one game with the flu, Mike Commodore missed 12 with a broken finger and Andrew Ladd missed four with a reassignment and a bout with the flu. With Chad LaRose and David Tanabe out with concussions and Craig Adams suspended, they will be needed.

The N&O reports that the Canes will roll with 11 forwards and seven defensemen tonight, which is a pretty common occurrence under Peter Laviolette. He's keeping mum on who the starting goaltender will be, but Johnny Crackers looked fantastic against the Leafs and got the job done against Philly, earning two wins in a row. I'm given to saying things like "You shouldn't change your horses midstream" and "Ride a goalie while he's hot". I wouldn't be surprised to see him in nets tonight. Given his struggles against his former team, however, I'd bet my paycheck that we'll see Cam Ward against the Bolts on Saturday.

The Hurricanes have won three of the four meetings between the teams so far this season. All have been good games.

Carolina's main focus will be on Olli "Cane Killa" Jokinen. He has enjoyed a ton of success against the Canes over the years and has tallied six (1/5) points against the Canes in four games this season. If this guy played for my team, I would love him. But he doesn't, and I don't.

Cory Stillman (3/2) Rod Brind'Amour (2/3)and Matt Cullen (1/4) each have five points versus the Kitties this year. Justin Williams (2/2) and Ray Whitney (1/3) each have four.

Puck drop will be at 7:30.

Canes 6, Sabres 2

Buffalo came into town tonight seeking their first road win. Carolina is looking to continue their hot play throughout October. After a tense first two stanzas, the home team got what they wanted. What follows is a period-by-period intermission update. Not liveblogging, but a distant relative.

First Period

Rod Brind'Amour scored just 38 seconds into the game with an easy goal from the left side of the net. Justin "Viva" Williams made a centering pass from the right wing through the slot. Ryan Miller looked confused, or asleep at the wheel, because when Brindy received the puck, Miller was way over on the right post with his back to Brind'Amour. He had to settle the puck a bit, but still had plenty of time to tuck it in. The early goal extends Brind'Amour's points streak to seven games. Officially, it was Brind'Amour with an even strength goal from Viva and Chad "Sharpie" LaRose at 0:38.

That woke Ryan Miller up, because he had to make a couple of dandy stops on Cory Stillman and Jeff Hamilton later in the period.

At 2:52, Jason Pominville netted a good-looking goal to even the score. Tim Connolly made a nice play down in the corner to fend of Tim Gleason, then hit Pominville with a pass near the right circle. J-Pom made a few fancy moves, then buried it from close range. Jochen Hecht picked up the secondary assist on the even strength goal.

Carolina was awarded three consecutive power plays, but they couldn't create much pressure, nor could they even keep the puck in Buffalo's zone. This is in stark contrast to Monday night, when Carolina spent the entire first period in the Canucks zone. Credit Buffalo for shutting it down.

The first period ended with Buffalo enjoying their first man-advantage, which will spill over to the second period.

No liveblogging here, but I'll update again at the second intermission.

Damn blogger. I had written a second period summary, but it got wiped away somehow.

Second Period
Ray Whitney scored a dandy goal at 3:15 on a quick shot after Viva and Brind'Amour worked the puck behind the Sabres' net. The shot was so quick that I didn't see it live, but it was sweet. Officially, "The Wizard" from Brind'Amour and Viva at 3:15.

Carolina committed two penalties on the same play to give the Sabres two minutes of five on three, and they wasted no time. Derek Roy slid a pass from the right wing across the crease to Jason Pominville, who easily beat Ward for his second goal of the night. Ward committed too much to his own left side, and couldn't slide over in time to challenge J-Pom. Pominville from Derek Roy and Tim Connolly on the power play at 15:32 of the second.

The second period ended with Carolina on the power play, which will carry over for the first 1:31 of the third.

So far, Brind'Amour (1/1), Williams(0/2), Connolly (0/2) and Pominville (2/0) all have two points. Who will emerge as the game's first star? Find out in 35 minutes.
Third Period

WOW!!

Carolina simply dominated the final frame, and ran away with a 6-2 win.

Eric Staal opened the third frame scoring on a very odd play. Bret Hedican launched a shot from the right point that went off Miller, off a defenseman, trickled to the left post, and Staal tucked it in. There was some contact with Miller, but it was allowed to go. Officially, Staal from Hedican and Keith Aucoin even strength at 5:48. That was Aucoin's first point this season since being called up to replace Erik Cole on Monday.

Carolina was given its sixth power play opportunity by virtue of a delay of game call, and they finally got past the Sabres' penalty killers. Jeff Hamilton launched a howitzer from the top of the right circle. Officially, Hamilton from Staal and Matt Cullen on the power play at 7:40.

At 10:44, there was another strange goal. Carolina was moving the puck around on the power play, spreading the ice. From a sharp angle at the bottom of the left circle, Mike Commodore fired a shot that found its way into the net. First it was credited to Cory Stillman, who was on top of the goal crease. Later, it was determined that the puck last touched Toni Lydman's stick. Still later, it was given back to Commodore. At this point, it stands as a Stillman goal assisted by Commodore and Hedican. The goal occurred exactly as a penalty to Tomas Vanek expired, so it is officially an even strength goal. At some point, the scoring should go to Commodore from Hedican and Ray Whitney. Quote me on that.

Bret Hedican continued his torrid third period by angling one in off the body of Andrej Sekera. Cory Stillman and Eric Staal got the helpers on the even strength goal.

There was, as expected, a little chippiness. However, it wasn't in the form of fights. There were none of those. As the Hurricanes scored goal after goal in the third, the Sabres got frustrated and committed some uncharacteristic penalties.

After having a breakaway chance denied by Frantisek Kaberle and Bret Hedican, Tomas Vanek went a little hard at Keith Aucoin along the boards, drawing a boarding penalty. This led to the "Stillman" goal.

Later, as time was winding down, Henrik Tallinder was called for roughing Ryan Bayda, bringing his hands and stick to Bayda's face. It wasn't cross-checking (which would probably draw a multi-game suspension), but it was awfully close. Not typical of his play, and there was no injury, so there won't be any argument over here. I'm sure it was just frustration getting the better of him.

Carolina definitely got some bounces in the third and decisive period, but they brought their A game to the final frame, putting 16 shots on goal for a game total of 42. Buffalo was called for four consecutive penalties (five, if you count the double minor high stick), but none of them were questionable. Carolina just won the period, and the game.

I didn't see how the FSS crew doled out the stars, but the "official" stars went to Eric Staal (third), Jeff Hamilton (second) and Bret Hedican (first). I have it a little different. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Jason Pominville, BUF --- 2 goals
SECOND STAR Bret Hedican, CAR --- 1 goal, 2 assists
FIRST STAR Eric Staal, CAR --- GWG, 2 assists

Credit should be given to the Sabres PK units. They killed eight of nine Carolina power plays. Of course, they committed too many penalties, which put them in the spot of having to kill more than 16 minutes of power play, but they were pretty darn good.

Ryan Miller faced 42 shots. Twice as many as Cam Ward faced. The Sabres can't be happy about that, but he did a good job to keep it as close as it was.

Carolina's three game home stand closes on Friday with the Canadiens making a return visit. The dads are already in town, and they'll be joining the team as they go on the road over the weekend. For the first time, the moms are also taking part in the annual father/son weekend. According to everything in the N&O and everything that John and Tripp say, Bob Brind'Amour is a hoot. They all have a great time on the weekend, and I hope this is a tradition that becomes permanent.

Look for a write-up about Jeff Hamilton later. Maybe early next week, but hopefully tomorrow.

The Cory Stillman incident

We've all heard about Cory Stillman's "car crash" that has kept him out of the lineup thus far. The only details we've been given have been that it was a "fender bender". Others wondered if "the other driver" was at fault, and most opined that it must have been. Our boy Cory couldn't have done anything wrong.

It occurred to me, though, that accident reports are publicly available, and I did a little research.

You can get to the accident report by clicking here. Then enter C Stillman in the "Driver" field, click on the link, and you got it.

The meat and potatoes of it is that it was a single car accident in the parking lot of the RBC Center at 2:16 pm on Tuesday October 2. He had his son in the car, and he veered off the service road and into a light pole. His Lexus had approximately $8000 of damage and was not drivable. The accident report doesn't indicate any injuries or the presence of any EMS technicians.

No alcohol or other "influence" was suspected, and there is no indication in the accident report as to what happened to cause the vehicle to go off the road.

So the chest injury is pretty much what it is. The airbag deployed and popped him pretty good. I've been in an accident where the airbag deployed, and I can assure you, it's no walk in the park.

According to Luke's blog, Stillman practiced today and should be ready to play tomorrow in Toronto. Also, Luke suggests that Bret Hediguchi Hedican has recovered from the "flu" and will be available. Sadly, defenseman Mike Commodore and winger Andrew Ladd are both nursing new injuries, and are doubtful.

Tanabe back in the fold

On Saturday morning, the Hurricanes came to terms with defenseman David "Snuggles" Tanabe on a two-year two-way contract. Tanabe will be joining the team for the third time in his career and should be available for tonight's conference tilt with the Washington Capitals.

Tanabe will earn $600K this year at the NHL level and $900K next year. At the AHL level, he would earn $100k each year.

Tanabe was maligned early last season for being "soft" and "lazy". He was often referred to on this page as "Avi" (David minus the D) and was the target of much criticism from fans. In the second half of the season, he really turned it on, though, and became one of the most dependable blueliners on the team. There was speculation that he had been playing hurt early on and was a bit timid with respect to physical play.

I was surprised that the free agency period came and went and Tanabe didn't get picked up by anybody. He was rumored to be in the Canes training camp, but never was. He showed up at the Blues camp, but was released in the final cuts.

"Snuggles" registered 17 (5/12) points last season, the bulk of them coming in the second half. He had two power play goals and finished the season with a +5 rating.

Bret Hedican is out with an "illness". Although he looked good on Wednesday, I still think he should retire. Mike Commodore played with a deep contusion on his leg Friday night. Props to him for that. There was some talk of calling up one of the boys from Albany. This move sure sounds like it's more than a stopgap thing.

My guess is that we'll hear something about Hedican within a couple of days.

This isn't a blockbuster move, but this is a hell of a good deal on a veteran defenseman who is still young. Pending his physical and approval by the NHL, Tanabe will be availabe tonight in our nation's capital.

He will wear his old familiar #45.

Canes report card .... part 3 of 5

After taking a day off, I'll continue with parts 3 and 4 of the continuing series of midseason report cards. In the meantime, Carolina has lost their third straight game (all to teams from cities starting with the letter P), and has been shut out twice in a row. Carolina hasn't scored in the year 2007, and will look to end that trend tonight versus the Islanders in the RBC Center at 7:00.

Without further ado, the grades:

# 19 Trevor Letowski (aka "The Big Letowski" aka "The Dude", "El Duderino, "His Dudeness") -- C
There weren't many expectations about Letowski coming in. We knew he would be a third line winger at best and that he would be more of a Josef Vasicek replacement than a Matt Cullen replacement. He's got a ton of energy and like the other "water bugs", he's blessed with speed and elusiveness. The only problem is that he's not as skilled or as confident as Ray Whitney, so he's not going to be much of an offensive threat. Early in the season, he was pasted by the Penguins' Colby Armstrong with a devastating open ice hit. Letowski missed nine games with a concussion, and might have lost what little confidence he had. Presently, he's got 5 (2/3) points, and I suspect that his second half will be better, but I wouldn't expect anything more than 18 points total. With the way things are going injury-wise, he will have no choice but to step up his game. The mitigating factor here is that expectations were low for him. Elsewise, his grade would be much lower.

#22 Mike Commodore (aka "Commy")-- A-
I'm still completely giddy about the way this has worked out for the Canes. After being essentially cast off by the Flames, Commy found a home in Carolina, where defensemen were needed. He saw significant ice time, and surprised many critics by being a solid, dependable defenseman. This season, he's continued to be a very liable d-man, and has been a major player in this "defensemen joining the rush" thing. In fact, he scored a goal this season while the Canes had a two man disadvantage against Buffalo. For the record, that has been the only three-on-five goal in the entirety of the NHL this season.
With 16 (4/12) points, he's already surpassed last season's points total and is on pace to outperform several of the Carolina forwards. Kevyn Adams, I'm talking to you. The only thing I don't like about his game is that he's taking some lazy penalties with too much frequency. He's been in the wrong place at the wrong time for more than one of those delay of game (puck in crowd) penalties.
However, he's almost always in the right place at the right time, whether it's denying an attacking skater a passing lane, or creating a screen in front of an opposing goaltender. We've got him for one more year, and hopefully another renewal after that.

#24 Scott Walker (aka "Remo") -- B+
This has turned out to be a really good trade. Carolina exchanged Josef Vasicek, who once led the Canes in goal scoring for a season (2003-04) for Nashville's all time points and goals leader. For whatever reason, Vasicek wasn't working in Carolina, and I think Nashville freed up some cap space for JP Dumont with this trade. It's gone well. He's got decent speed, great skating ability, good passing skills, a great sense of where his teammates are and where they will be. His d skills aren't that great, but he doesn't put the Canes in harm's way. He's definitely not afraid to throw the gloves down, either. He's just about the only Canes player to avoid injury this season, which was one of the concerns coming in. He's sitting on 26 (12/14) points, and if he can step it up a tiny bit in the second half, he'll be able to reach the 60 (25/35) points that I predicted on the day of the trade.
All indicators are that he's a really good guy to have in the room. One of those guys that all the guys like. Certainly, the fans do.
I haven't been able to discern the results, but Walker played in a charity poker tournament against other NHLers. However much he won all went to the Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation, which focuses on children's health, education and helping kids (mostly inner city, underprivileged) get into team sports.

#25 Eric Belanger B
The other player in the "Jack Johnson trade". I have a lot of thoughts about that trade, but that's for another post.
I had no idea what to expect from Belanger. On the day of the trade, I looked at his past numbers and took a shot in the dark, guessing that he'd hit 40 points this season. He probably won't but he won't be far off that mark. He's got some nice moves, and generates some outstanding scoring chances, but he's suffering from whatever Maxim Afinogenov suffered from last season. He just can't finish. He hits posts, crossbars, he's been robbed by phenomenal saves. He's been everywhere but in the net. I think once the Canes get back on the right foot, Belanger will have a good second half, and might end up getting that 40. At his current pace, he'll end with 30 (13/17).
One aspect of his game that I really like is that he can dominate the faceoff circle. When Brindy was out, Belanger was the only one the Canes could trust to go in there and win an important draw. His style, and his stance in the circle are actually really reminiscent of Brind'Amour, so it doesn't surprise me.

#26 Erik Cole -- A-
After a career-threatening neck injury last winter, Cole surprised everyone by returning to the Canes lineup for the final two games of the Stanley Cup Final. He looked good but rusty. While we were all glad to see him, and he played a huge part in setting up the Cup winning goal, there was some debate about whether he should have just taken the rest of the summer off. Coming into camp, there was some trepidation, and the knowledge that he's much more at risk for neck injury than the next guy. For a guy who plays hard and fast, this is obviously something to be concerned about.
Most nights, you can tell that he's having some neck pain, and on some nights, you can see on the bench that he's in a great deal of pain. Still, he plays, and he goes 100%. Last season, he was on fire, headed toward an 82 point season, only to sit out the last 22 regular season games and the first 23 playoff games. This season, he's not far off that pace. He's got 36 (16/20), and when the Canes can right the ship, he'll score in bunches. I figure he'll end with about 78 (35/43) points.
Even when the rest of the team is struggling, and even on the nights when the Canes get crushed, it's a thrill to watch him. He's so fast and so strong and so agile and handles the puck so well. He can turn nothing at all into a breakaway chance.

He's still young and has two more years in Carolina. At some point, which I assume will be next season, he'll be given the "A" when Wesley retires and K-Ads goes on the free agent market.


So there's that.

The Canes will try to (and I predict they will) snap out of this horrible funk tonight. I'll watch the game and do that semi-liveblog thing with open comment thread. After all that, I'll attempt to get part four of the report cards up. Either way, I'll have the whole shebang done by Sunday night.

Canes bounce back, blast Bruins

On Friday morning, the Canes had a lunch date with the Bruins. Not only did Carolina eat well, but they made Boston pick up the tab. The end result was a 5-1 victory for Carolina. The two teams will meet again for a dinner date in Raleigh on December 2.

The Canes played a terrible game on Wednesday, but it could have been much worse if Johnny Crackers hadn't stepped up to the plate big time. He was rewarded with an opportunity to make his second consecutive start between the pipes. This time, he got some support in front of him and he picked up his second win of the season.

Eric Staal, who had been playing poorly and had been effectively benched in the Islanders game, got the scoring started at 18:36 of the first. The Canes were moving the puck well on a power play chance, and Staalsy had the puck down low beneath the left circle. From there, he fired a centering pass to Eric Belanger at the top of the crease. Initially, it looked like Belanger got his stick down to deflect the pass in the net. Replays showed, however, that it bounced in off a Bruins' skate. Credit Staal with the power play goal, Trevor Letowski with one assist and Scott Walker with the second.

At 10:35 of the second, Viva scored what would prove to be the game winner. The Canes were really having their way in the Bruins zone, controlling the puck posession for a very long time. After a few failed clearing attempts by the Bruins, the Canes were able to set up a play against some exhausted Bs players. While the Bruins players looked on, Scott Walker skated literal circles around the tired defenders and found Viva on the left side of the net. Williams took the pass, and easily tucked it in. The whole play, though, was started when David Tanabe made -- I'm not making this up -- a good defensive play in center ice, which allowed the continuation of "offensive" posession. He passed to Walker, who put on the aforementioned skating clinic, then the goal. Credit Viva with the goal, Scott Walker with the first helper and David Tanabe with the second assist.

Just nine seconds later, before the Caniacs could settle back into their seats, Erik Cole made it 3-0. Rod Brind'Amour won the faceoff to Mike Commodore, who fed Colesy on the right wing. He exploded to the net and somehow slipped one past Tim Thomas. Thomas never saw the puck until it was already in. The play was briefly reviewed, presumably to see if it had been kicked in. It was allowed to stand. It was just the 8th goal of the season for Cole. Credit Brind'Amour (23rd) and Commodore (10th) with the assists. Thomas was replaced by Phillipe Sauve, who had just been called up from AHL Providence Bruins.

After John Grahame was penalized for playing the puck outside the trapezoid, Patrice Bergeron scored on the power play with a slapper from the right circle. Marc Savard had he only assist.

Eric Belanger scored at 8:20 of the third on a nice wrap-around chance. He went behind the net, then reversed his direction to go around the left post and beat Sauve in the five hole. Mike Commodore and Chad LaRose got the assists.

The final goal was a really nice one. Craig Adams hit Andrew Ladd with a really nice long diagonal cross-ice pass from blue line to blue line. Ladd stayed on side, streaked in alone on the left side and ripped a snap shot off the far post and in. CrAdams got the only assist.

The "official" three stars went to Erik Cole (third), Scott Walker (second) and Eric Staal (first).

I saw it a little differently.

The RBH stars of the game:
Third Star Mike Commodore, CAR. 2 assists, 21:41 TOI, +3
Second Star Eric Belanger, CAR. 1 goal, 2 takeaways
First Star Scott Walker, CAR. 2 assists

Next up, the Canes will take on the Senators at home on Tuesday. It'll be the first game of a three game homestand.

Sabres punish Canes, remain perfect on road

On Monday night, the Sabres came into town for what will thankfully be their last visit this regular season and they left with a 7-4 win. They remain perfect on the road, and have moved to 10-0-0 in that department.

In the first period, the Sabres dominated play en route to taking a 3-0 lead behind goals by Tomas Vanek, Jason Pominville and Jochen Hecht. Vanek's goal was a power play, and the others were even strength. Even when the Sabres were shorthanded in the first period, they still looked much sharper than the Canes. All three goals were the result of very hard work by the forwards on the forecheck and some aggressive net-crashing.

The second period was a different story altogether. The Canes came out looking much sharper, and took a page out of the Sabres book by attacking the goal very aggressively. They got a power play goal from Viva and an even strength marker from Ray Whitney. Heading into the room down 3-2, the Canes looked better and felt better about their play.

6:23 into the third, Rod Brind'Amour tied it up on another one of those net-crashing plays, and the air was let back into the building. However, the momentum would swing back to the visitors after Adam Mair scored just 46 seconds later. The Sabres would go on to get power play goals from Derek Roy and Paul Gaustad to make it 6-3.

Scotty Walker got a late marker to make it 6-4, but Jochen Hecht finished it off with an empty netter to make it 7-4.

Danny Briere had two assists, and was thus not "shut down". Not entirely, anyway.

Scott Walker had just the one goal and no assists.

Both ballsy predictions came up empty.

On a night that not much went well for the Canes, Chad LaRose looked great in his PK time, and continues to be a very hard working player. Also, Erik Cole continued to be an absolute monster. He had 8 hits in the game. However, he took two bad penalties. The elbowing penalty was just a stupid play, and although I didn't see the interference that he committed, it reeks of silly, selfish play. Mike Commodore played very very well. Not just defensively, but he did a great job of joining the offensive rush and creating scoring chances like that.

Buffalo was superb. They outworked Carolina for most of the game, and forced the Canes to take quite a few penalties. On the power play, they took advantage of their advantage.

The Sabres' Teppo Numminen became the longest tenured European born player, with 1,252 games played. The Finnish-born player actually spent one year (1977) playing youth hockey here in Greensboro North Carolina (story), surpassed his countryman Jari Kurri.

On his historic night, Numminen played very well defensively and added three assists.

The "official" three stars went to Rod Brind'Amour (third), Daniel Briere (second) and Derek Roy (first). Mine are quite different.

The RBH three stars:
Third Star Mike Commodore, CAR. 2 assists, 7 hits, +1
Second Star Derek Roy, BUF. 1 goal, 2 assists, GWG
First Star Teppo Numminen, BUF. 3 assists, +3, 1,252 NHL games

Up next, the Canes will take on Matt Cullen, Aaron Ward, Marek Malik, and the rest of the New York Rangers at the RBC Center on Wednesday night. Rumor has it, once this "home stand" is over, certain players will be placed on the official trading block. The most talked about are Avi Tanabe and John "Crackers" Grahame.

Make that two Gatorades, Jordan.

On Saturday night, the Penguins came to Raleigh for a game that had quite a lot of buzz. Before the game, there were quite a few little story lines developing. Staal v Staal. Cole v Orpik. Our first look at Malkin. What could have been quite explosive ended up having no drama at all. The Canes ran away with a 6-2 victory, and Jordan Staal now owes his older brother two Gatorades. The first time these two teams played, Eric and Jordan wagered a Gatorade on the outcome of the game. Eric won, and I think it's safe to assume that he offered a "double or nothing" bet.

Because the Pens had played on Friday night, Jocelyn Thibault got the start between the pipes. Carolina, who has already played five sets of back-to-back games, would not offer any sympathy in that department.

While there was never any rough stuff with Orpik, he got a not-so-warm welcome from the Raleigh faithful. The first time he stepped on the ice, and every single time he touched the puck, he was greeted with a thunderous chorus of boos.

At around the 7:00 mark of the first period, a fight erupted that had nothing to do with Orpik. Mike Commodore and Chris Thorburn. Call it a tone-setter, call it a tension breaker, call it "getting that out of the way". Call it whatever you want, but there was no more of that for the rest of the game.

Viva got the game's first goal at 12:51 while Carolina was enjoying a five-on-three sequence. Brind'Amour fired a backhand shot at Jocelyn Thibault that was blocked, but Williams was there to stuff in the rebound. Erik Cole got the secondary assist. That assist was the 100th of Cole's NHL career.

At 17:41, Ray "The Wizard" Whitney made it 2-0. Erik Cole set him up from behind the net for a wrister from the low slot. Cole got one assist ans Commy got the other.

Just 24 seconds into the second frame, the Pens' Sergei Gonchar, who is arguably their best defenseman, and a crucial penalty killer, took a penalty for roughing. This gave the Canes a power play and a fresh sheet of ice. They took advantage when Rod Brind'Amour finished a beautiful play by tipping one past Thibault at 1:29. Eric Staal and Scotty "Remo" Walker had the assists. On that particular play, Pittsburgh looked like a tired team. That play was way too easy. Staal made a nifty pass to Brind'Amour, who was all alone in the low slot for the easy tip-in. It looked like one of those plays you run in practice like a billion times. This is why you run it so much. We had no way of knowing it at the time, but this turned out to be the game winning goal.

Just when we thought it was looking like a romp, it started to get interesting. John Leclair scored one for the Pens at the 3:48 mark, ending Cam Ward's shutout streak at 84 minutes 48 seconds. "Avi" Tanabe was absolutely terrible on that play. It started when he couldn't handle a pass down in the Pens zone, then lost a footrace with LeClair, on whom he had a four stride head start. After the Pens had control of the puck in the Canes zone, Tanabe played some form of matador defence that you would expect to see in a 40 and over rec league. Surprisingly, it was Leclair's first goal of the season. Jarkko Ruutu (whose name I just love to say) got the only assist.

At 16:42, our old pal The Recchin' Ball scored another one for the Pens to make it really interesting. Avi Tanabe was in the box as the play was being set up, but the penalty expired before the goal. Technically, it's an even strength goal, but Tanabe wasn't back in the play yet, and his stupid lazy holding penalty gave the Pens the power play opportunity. Nils Ekman and Dominic Moore got the assists. Recchi got a really nice ovation, as everyone in the barn was glad to see him.

Early in the third, there was a lot of drama, but nothing to do with Cole/Orpik. The Penguins were applying a lot of pressure down in Carolina's end, and in a mad scramble, it looked like they had scored a goal. The red light never went on, and the referee was emphatically waving it off, but from my POV, directly behind the net, it looked like it might have been in. The game wasn't on teevee here, and I can't find a replay of it, but it looked to the naked eye like Ward made a stop from behind the line, then pulled it back over the line. I dunno. Anyway, play continued until a Penguins penalty was committed about a minute later. By NHL rule this is the way it has to be done. They can't review the goal situation until the next stoppage of play. We were all wondering what would have happened if they called it a goal. Would they re-set the clock and cancel the penalty? What if Carolina had scored before a play stoppage? After a looooooong review, during which Rod Brind'Amour didn't look happy, they let the on-ice call stand: no goal.

Eric Belanger, who has been a very hard working guy lately got a goal at 8:00 of the third to give us some breathing room. From a very sharp angle at the bottom of the left circle, he threw it at the net, and it kind of surprised Thibault. I thought at first that it must have glanced in off a defenseman's skate or something, but it was just that Thibault was looking for a pass and was horribly beaten. I think it actually went behind him on the short side, but he was looking at Anton Babchuk, who was streaking down the right side as part of a 3-on-2 break.

At 16:42, Eric Staal interfered with a Penguins player, and was sent to the box. In a strange way, this helped the Canes. Michel Therrien decided to go the unorthodox route and pull his goaltender for a six-on-four power play with 2:30 still to play. As soon as Thibault went to the bench, the Pens turned the puck over in neutral ice and Kevyn Adams hit the bulls eye from the top of the right circle for the shorthanded marker. Two seasons ago, K-Ads was third in the league with five shorties. This was his first so far this season.

As if this was a game I was playing on NHL '04, the Canes scored another shorty on the same penalty. Chad "Sharpie" LaRose, who is one of my favorite players because of his hard work, got one past Thibault at 18:28. Maybe the Pens had given up hope, but they turned it over in the Canes zone, and Carolina was off on a two-on-one shorthanded break. Trevor "The Dude" Letowski fed Sharpie for a one-timer from the top of the left circle. The only Penguins skater back on the play was Orpik, who had a really rough night. Anton Babchuk got the secondary assist

Mike Commodore, who doesn't get nearly enough love, did a sensational job neutralizing the big Malkin. Malkin was only able to get two shots off, and neither of them was of the "quality" variety. He spent most of his night fighting off Commodore. Mad props to Commy on that. Added to that, Commodore had two assists.

Sid the Kid had some great chances, but Ward rose to the occasion every time.

Despite having a piecemeal defensive corps in front of him, Ward really hasn't had to work that hard in the past few games. They're minimizing quality chances, which makes life easier. For the third straight game, Wardo has faced exactly 20 shots. That sounds like a pretty good day at the office if you ask me.

The "official" three stars went to Cole (3rd), Brindy (2nd) and Whitney (1st). I don't get that.

With six different goal scorers, and 13 different players with at least one point, it's a little more difficult than most nights. The RBH stars of the game:
Third Star Rod Brind'Amour, CAR. 1 goal, 1 assist, GWG
Second Star Mike Commodore, CAR. 2 assists, stellar defense, +3
First Star Erik Cole, CAR. 2 assists, 6 hits

The Tevvy, which hasn't really been given out at all this season, definitely goes to "Avi" Tanabe, who finished with a -2.

Canes lose two more, Sabres win two more

While I was off dorking away at my Scrabble tournament, my Hurricanes lost the last two games of their seven game road swing. On Friday, they lost 5-4 to the undefeated Sabres, and on Saturday they lost 4-3 in overtime to the Islanders. They managed to earn seven standings points on the seven game trip, but they would have liked more, and felt like they should have gotten more.

First things first. I did well enough to take third place out of 19 players in my division. In Friday's random pairing round robin, I crushed all three opponents, building a huge cumulative point spread. I was the #1 seed going into Saturday's games, and protected my position by going 6-2 on Saturday in games versus other players seeded in the top four. After each game, the pairings are re-seeded, and you always play opponents closest to you in the standings. Going into Sunday, I was tied for first with a 9-2 record. I lost twice in a row against the guy who finished first, then beat the guy who finished fourth. In my final game, I was tied for second place with four losses, but lost to the guy I was tied with. So I finished with 10 wins and five losses, a cumulative point spread of +607 and $90 in prize money. I figure I'll get to play in one more tournament in the low division, then I'll get bumped up to the next division where I would probably be on the low end of the middle of the pack.

I still haven't watched the DVR of Friday night's game, but I got all the text messages (thank you). When I powered up my phone late Friday, there were quite a few of them! From what I read in the newspaper, it sounded like the Canes were able to match the Sabres speed and skill, but were outshot by a wide margin. Also, the Sabres did an excellent job of shutting down the Canes power play. Even though the Canes were able to convert one of their five power plays, they only mustered a grand total of three shots while on a man advantage.

In that game, both teams scored once on the power play, and once shorthandedly. Carolina's shorthanded goal was special, though. It was the first 3-on-5 goal in Carolina Hurricanes history, and the first in the NHL this season. Last season, there was only one of those in the whole league. Late in the game with the Sabres leading 5-3 and enjoying a 5-on-3 advantage, Tim Gleason made a great move laying his stick on the ice to deny a Sabres pass. Erik Cole sprung up ice on a one-on-one, took a shot which Ryan Miller stopped, but gave a big rebound to Mike Commodore who stuffed it in. That's the only part of the highlights that I've even seen.

In a bit of crazy news (perhaps some karmic payback), even the guys called up to replace injured guys are getting injured. Keith Aucoin, who was called up to replace the injured Andrew Ladd, suffered a broken foot, and will be out. However, there will be no need to recall Jesse Boulerice. Ladd will probably be back in the lineup on Wednesday at home against the Thrashers.

On Saturday, the Canes had John Grahame between the pipes. They fell behind 2-0 to the Islanders. Viva got them right back in it with two third period markers. One shorthanded, and one on the power play. Later in the third, Rod Brind'Amour got a tip in of a Ryan Bayda shot to give the Canes the lead. However, they gave up a late power play goal to Mike Sillinger, after which Jason Blake laid down on him and kissed him on the mouth. Did anyone else notice that? Still later in the third, the Canes committed another penalty, which would carry over to the overtime period. Tom Poti scored just 23 seconds into that fourth frame to give the Isles the win.

While that was happening, the Sabres were busy pasting the Bruins for their eighth straight win. They're good. They're "scary good". And if that isn't enough, the AHL Rochester Amerks are also undefeated. Mark from BFLOBLOG has the details. It's wicked early for this kind of talk, but a Stanley Cup for the big team and a Calder Cup for the little team? Holy crap!

The North Carolina State Fair is finally over, and the Canes can return to their barn. They'll be home against the Thrashers on Wednesday.