Own The Period

Up and down week for the Hurricanes...and for your's truly (but that's another story completly)...

Got to check in on the Ottawa game online from work, and from the sound of it FSN made a good choice in not televising this stinker. Quick start for the Canes on an Andrew Ladd goal, and a stinker from there on out. Would be tempting and convienent to just file this one away as an "off day", if not for the other stinkers the Canes had posted in two of the previous 3 games. Since rallying to tie the Thrashers for the top spot in the East, the Canes went 1-3 and played some of their worst hockey of the season. Needless to say, I was bumming, with Montreal looming on the horizon.

Thursday's game against the Canadians at the RBC Center was quickly shaping up to be a "must win", if there could be such a thing in late November. The Canes were reeling, falling 5 points behind the Thrashers and seemingly skating in quicksand for the past week - 10days. The Canadians on the other hand came in having won 4 of 5 and having played some of the most consistent hockey in the NHL. Montreal blanked the Canes 4-0 earlier in the season on RBC ice, and the Canes had yet to beat a team in 2006 that they had elimated in their spring run to the Stanley Cup.

The atmosphere at the Big ATM was less than "rockin" as a sparse and damp crowd settled into their seats. The mood in the arena was less excitement and more anxiety and frustration. Here are my notes from the game:

- Both teams skated well in the first period. Hard hitting. You can tell these two teams can get a bit chippy with one another. Michael Ryder put the Habs on the board first, about midway through the period, and seemed to take a good bit of air out of the room. Folks seemed to settle back in their seats with a "here we go again" vibe.

- Cane's struck back with around 6 minutes left in the period as Erik Cole scored a charging gritty goal, knocking in his own rebound in a scrum in front of the net. For whatever reason, Colesey owns the Canadians. He would score a second goal on this night (later in the second period), and seems to play like a man possessed when he sees that Habs sweater across the ice. Overall this was probably the best game I've seen Cole play so far this season. Hard charging, agressive, physical...a threat whenever he was on the ice ... scoring goals, setting up teammates, drawing penalties....when Cole is on his game its a joy to watch.

- After Cole gave the Canes a 2-1 lead in the second, Montreal rallied to tie the score on a goal by Tomas Plekanec a few minutes before intermission.

- Third Period. OWN THE PERIOD. That was the Canes mantra last year where the third period was their own personal playground. After wearing down their oppenents for 40 minutes, the Canes would put the pedal to the metal in the third as defensemen and goaltenders wilted under the pressure. Not so much so far this season. Until Thursday night...

- Rock You Like A Hurricane. The team skated loose, skated fast and applied pressure throughout, peppering Montreal goal tender Cristobol Huet with over 20 shots. Huet's heroics in goal and some bad bounces were the only the things that keep this one from being a blowout. Now this was Hurricanes hockey, fast and relentless. The guys seemed to take Peter Laviolette's pre-game advice, "Skate hard, but remember to have fun", to heart in the third, and it was a joy to see.

- Justin Williams scored the game-winner in the third, and Eric Belanger scored again less than a minute later for insurance. It was good to see Belanger get a goal as his line (with Trevor Letowski and Andrew Ladd) were probably the Canes best line on this night from an effort and energy standpoint.

- The Canes got 48 shots on goal for the game, their highest total of the season, almost half of those coming in the third period.

- Cam Ward was solid in net after a three game layoff. He made 25 saves, and made some spectacular stops, especially in the second period. I'm sure he would like to have Plekanec's second period goal back, but overall a very solid performance. He had the best seat in the house for most of the 3rd period as he simply sat back and watched all the action at the other end of the ice. My unofficial count had him going over 12 minutes of the third without facing a shot.

- For most of two periods on Thursday, the Canes mirrored their season so far, there was some inspired play, some gritty play and some excellent scoring opportunities that slipped away...off a post, a key deflection, two wide open nets that could not be found...while at times they looked slow, lost and befuddled....the Canes would win a battle on the boards only to turn the puck over on a weak pass in their own zone...they would charge hard down the ice with a purpose, only to lose the puck and find themselves down 3 on 2 going the other way...they played well in spurts and awful in others, a lack of consistency that has plagued them all season...

- I turned to Stef at one point and comment that the Canes looked tired, and slow - not necessarily physically tired, but mentally tired, like their bodies just weren't in synch with what their heads were telling the to do. I wondered out loud of the mental toll of defending a Cup - the grind of the playoff coupled with a short offseason and then a regular season where everyone has a target on you - might be more significant than any physical toll. Even if you work to get your body back in shape and ready to go, the mind and the psyche are perhaps more fragile and more difficult to keep sharp. Let's hope this big win over Montreal (not just the win, but the way they won it in the third period) can re-engergize the team and launch them forward as they get ready for a big west coast road trip next week.

- A perfect example of this "tired" play seemed to be evidedent in from an unexpected source on this night. Rod Brind'Amour. After having taken a few practices off during the week , reportedly to "rest" (completely unheard of for the work-a-holic), Brind A'mour looked a step slow and at times hopelessly lost on the ice Thursday night. Nobody gets his body in better shape than Rod Brind A'mour, and he is having a terrific season so far, his best offensive season in over 5 years, practically carrying the Canes on his shoulders at times, but I could not help but wonder if the grind might be having its toll. Heck at times on Thursday, it looked as if he was having trouble staying up on his skates. But to his credit he did gut it out and picked up an assist on Justin WIlliams game winning goal. Perhaps I'm just overreacting, and I certainly hope that there is not an injury that we are not being told about. Brind A'mour is the heart and soul of this team, and I would never question his effort or work ethic. He just seemed noticiably out of synch on Thursday. Let's hope it's just a blip on the radar screen.


-m