Montreal 3 Carolina 2 (OT)

The loss of sharpshooting defenseman Sheldon Souray to free agency was supposed to take some of the bite out of the Montreal Canadians' power play this year. The Habs led the league in power play offense last year, but had struggled throughout the pre-season, and many thought that a precipitous drop off in PP production was in the cards for this season. Tell that to Saku Koivu. The Habs' veteran captain scored two of his teams 3 power play goals, the 2nd coming just 1:05 into overtime, clinching a 3-2 win for Montreal.

Not exactly the start that the Hurricanes and their fans had in mind for the home opener of their 10th anniversary season in NC. The Cane's have now lost 5 straight season openers.

The Canes spent way too much time in the penalty box, especially in the third period, and the straw that broke the camel's back was Niclas Wallin's cross checking penalty at 0:46 of the overtime. Up 4 on 3, the Canadians did not take long to seal the win.

Early on it was the Canadians who were keeping their penalty box full, taking 7 penalties in the first 24 minutes of the game. And the Canes took advantage quickly with Erik Cole's deflection of a Eric Stall shot just 3:30 into the first on their first power play opportunity.

The Canes looked good on the power play overall, moving the puck well and peppering Cristobal Huet through the first period and a half of play. But despite controlling the play through most of the first 30 minutes, they just could not get the puck into the net - clanging at least two posts and missing 3 wide open nets. But the Canes were not without their power play woes as they were unable to convert 5 on 3 advantages late in the first and early in the second period. Those penalty kills were probably the turning point for the Canadians as they tightened up their defense, cut down on their penalties and Huet found his groove. It was now time for the Canes to start their own parade to the penalty box, losing all the momentum and confidence they had built on offense.

After spending much of the third period on the penalty kill, the Canes found a bit of rhythm late, and Brett Hedican tied the game on a slapshot from the left point off a nifty drop pass from Justin Williams at 12:48. But it was not to be in overtime.

Overall, not a horrible game from the Canes. They skated well most of the game, Cam Ward was stellar in goal, and the power play looked much better than it had for most of last year. But it was not the result that the Canes or a raucous opening night crowd was looking for. Too many mistakes and too much time in the penalty box led to some inconsistency that will need to be addressed.

But we will take the point and come back Friday looking for 2 more against the Penguins.

It just good to be talking/typing about hockey again.

-m

Hockey Night In Carolina (Canes vs Canadians)

Game On!

At long last it's here. Opening night. And nothing could speak more to the fact that I have become a 100%-all-in hockey fan than the fact that the MLB playoffs start tonight as well, with my Red Sox playing at the virtually the same time as the Canes, and I could care less. Not even close. Give me hockey. I did not even bother to set the DVR to tape the baseball game. All I can say is that 5 years ago this would have been considered blasphemy in my house. But I have crossed over. Good luck to the Red Sox, whose fortunes I used to live and die with. And I'm sure I'll tune in to the playoffs whenever I can. But what once would have been must-see TV, is now filed under "I'll check the highlights when I get home". Bring on the Canes! Opening night, here I come.

Spent the bulk of my lunch hour stocking the cooler for the tailgate. Spott and I are going to try to sneak out of the office around 5:30 (note: our days usually end around 7pm) to enjoy some chill time in the RBC parking lot before the game.

Montreal is in town for opening night, and while I'm not sure if you would call the Canadians one of the Canes biggest rivalries (that would have to go to the likes of New Jersey, Buffalo or maybe Atlanta or Florida, I would suppose), the two teams have staged some epic playoff battles and quite a few high spirited regular season tussles over the years. However, the Montreal team that takes to the ice tonight won't be all that familiar, as the Canadians have had quite a bit of turnover in the last few years, and a "youth movement" is underway with the Habs. Their core is solid with youngsters like Mike Komisarek, Chris Higgins, Michael Ryder and Andrea Markov, and they are still led by one of the most inspirational and gritty performers in the game - their captain, Saku Korviu - along with veterans Alex Kovalev and Tomas Plekanec (who always seems to bring his best against the Canes). The incredibly talented but easy to hate Sheldon Souray is gone, replaced by Roman Hamrlik who, according to some "was not allowed to showcase his offensive skills in Calgary". We'll see. He's got a lot of offense to replace in Souray. The scouting report points to a lack of offensive depth and experience and a three headed monster in goal - where there is talent but, again, a lot of youth and inconsistency. The "veteran" Cristobal Huet will reportedly get the start in goal tonight.

The Cane's are coming off a productive pre-season, and are for the most part healthy. While one cannot put a ton of stock in a 4-1-1 pre-season record, it's a lot better than 1-1-4. The Canes hope to regain their scoring depth on the forward lines with the return of Matt Cullen and the acquisition of Jeff Hamilton. If all goes to plan, we should be able to run 3 solid lines at teams, much like we did in 2006, hopefully maintaining consistent pressure throughout the game that will pay big dividends late.
The defensive corp has skill and experience, but not a lot of proven depth, so staying healthy on the back line is key. Goalies Cam Ward and John Grahame both had outstanding pre-season campaigns with Ward being especially impressive. Cam had an up and down year in 2006-07, his first full season as the starter, and needs to find consistency between the pipes to solidify himself as the #1 netminder that everyone needs, wants and expects him to be. Let's hope that his stellar pre-season camp (0.77 GAA and .971 save percentage) serves as a springboard to a hot start.

The Canes were abysmal on the powerplay last year, and did not really show much in the preseason either. Let's hope for marked improvement there with the additions of Cullen and Hamilton on the point as well as a healthy Frank Kaberle.

Last year the Canes struggled out of the gate with a serious case of Stanley Cup hangover. Everyone is hoping for a quick start this year. All that starts tonight.

NOTES:

- Tonight marks the start of the Cane's 10th anniversary season. On the flip side, the Canadians will be starting their 98th season tonight, 90th in the NHL.
- Erik Cole has got to be licking his chops to see the Habs on the ice. In 23 regular season and playoff games against Montreal, Cole has 16 goals and 24 points.
- Roman Hamrlik with lace up his skates for the 1000th time in the NHL tonight.
- The Canes are 2-4-3 in home openers in their 10 years in NC.
- Since joining the NHL in 1917, the Canadians have gone 47-26-15-1 in their season openers.
- Hmmmm...the Hurricanes are the only team in the NHL not to have their home opener televised on their regional TV affiliate.


Ok. The time is nigh. Can't wait for the Canes to take the ice. The long road begins tonight. Bring it on.

Go Canes!

-m

Friday Night Fights

Cane's KO Blue Jackets in 9th round....

My first ever pre-season game was. at the the very least, entertaining. Holy cow. I have not seen hockey like that since I used to frequent minor league games in Greensboro back in the early to mid 90's. I don't think I've seen an NHL game with that many fights this side of Colorado vs Detroit in the late 90s. It was crazy. Who knew that the Canes and the BJs were such bitter enemies? Guess it was a good last minute decision to take a sneak peak at the Cane's before Wednesday's season opener.

And what do you know, WE WON A SHOOTOUT!!
Of course it took a while...9 rounds...and an amazing performance from Cam Ward...before Andrew Ladd netted the winner over the shoulder of Columbus goalie Pascal LeClair, who was also stellar in the shootout.

The game was a bit disjointed and sluggish as a result of all the extra curriculars, but it was good to see the Cane's, who have often garnered the reputation of being a bit soft, stand up for themselves and each other. No one backed down, that's for sure. There had to be at least a half-dozen major altercations in the game, and each of those seemed to involve at least 2 or 3 skirmishes going on at once. And even when they weren't fighting, things were chippy throughout. My unoffical count had at least 8 fighting majors between the two teams, and at least two 10 minute game-misconducts. At one point the Cane's penalty box was so full that Cory Stillman had to sit on the floor. Game officials - Paul Devorski and Stephane Auger - lost control of this one early and never got it back. It even went so far that both teams were sent off to their respective lockerooms at the end of the second period with 22.6 seconds still left to play, in an efforts to cool down the tempers. For a moment I thought they had completely canceled the game.

As a result of all the penalties, the two teams had a hard time getting into any sort of flow offensively, and the Canes looked a bit sluggish on the backend of a home and home. Cam Ward was stellar throughout making 41 saves on 42 shots through regulation and overtime, and then 9 straight in the shootout. Eric Cole notched the regulation goal for the Canes (his 4th of the preseason) on a mid-air deflection in front of the goal off of a Mike Commodore blast from the point. Other than that goal, the Canes' were stymied on several good scoring chances by the steady play of LeClair, who faced less that half the number of shots as Ward, but made some big saves when needed.

Carolina's penalty kill got a lot of practice on this night, and was stellar, at one point killing off a full 2 minutes of 5on3.
I couldn't help but notice Eric Staal pulling an awful lot of PK time, including some big time while down 2 men, taking on the role normally filled by Justin Williams. Not sure if this was just some pre-season experimentation, or a portent of things to come, but either way Staal aquitted himself well.

The power play on the otherhand, was dismal overall, and all reports indicate that such has been the case throughout the pre-season. Which is not a good omen. A pathetic power play cost the Cane's dearly last season.

Not sure how much stock to put into anything from pre-season...no matter what the sport...but the Canes played well this year overall - sporting a 4-1-1 record, their best since moving to Carolina 10 years ago - and hopefully this gritty win over Columbus will provide a springboard into a good start to the regular season. The Canes also deveoloped quite a bit of depth this pre-season, especially with the young guys on defense - Babin, Borer, Carson - who, though they all went back down to Albany on Friday, will add a little bit of security should injuries force any call ups. Ryan Bayda has also made the opening-day roster, apparently giving Trevor Letowski a run for his money in competition for the last forward slot once Chad LaRose returns from injury. And top draft pick Brandon Sutter got a nice long look during camp, and some great exposure to what it will take for him to make it with the big boys.

The season opener is just around the corner. Wednesday cannot get here soon enough.
Let's get it on!

Firday night's game was entertaining, in a Slapshot sort of way, and there was a good sized crowd on hand, which is encouraging. The folks at the RBC Center were obviously working the kinks out. One note to the Canes: if you are going to charge full price for tickets in pre-season, you should at least provide full staffing at the RBC. WHAT A JOKE. Less than half the concession stands were open, and the ones that were faced ridiculously long lines and agonizingly slow service. Lukewarm beer and cold food. Not fun. But oh yeah, I forgot...Im the sucker for paying full price for a pre-season game.

-m

MATT'S BACK! And so are we....

At least now my "Cullen #8" jersey is no longer obsolete, and maybe I won't have to explain to bandwagon jumpers who Cullen is/was while standing in line for a beer (not that there are likely to be many bandwagon jumpers after last season).

Welcome back Matt!

We defintely missed you.

And welcome back UTTR! ... if I do say so myself...we're pumped for opening night and looking forward to a bounceback season for the Canes!


-m

AT LAST - The Return Of Hockey!!

At long last, the time is nigh. The Stanley Cup Finals have arrived.
I'm not sure why the NHL decided that it would be a good idea to have a 5 day break between the end of the conference finals and the beginning of the finals. Just what the sport needs, eh, to drop out of the sports cycle for a week. Brilliant!!
All I know is that I have been in total withdrawal. Going from hockey every night for a month and a half to having to resort to actually watching the NBA playoffs. Thank God Lord Stanley is here to save me from that.

Seeing as how my prediction at the beginning of the playoffs of a Buffalo-Vancouver final was not even close, I'm not sure if I should even hazzard a prediction on the Finals. But, I'm thinking it will be Anaheim in 6. I'll be pulling for the Senators, but in goal, Anaheim seems to have a sizeable advantage, despite Ray Emery playing well throughout the playoffs. Anaheim is so tough on the blue line with Pronger, Niedameyer and crew, and so physical up front. Ottawa's big line (Heatley, Alfredsson and Spezza) could have a tough time breaking through, and I just don't see enough scoring depth for the Sens. But I've been proven wrong on that throughout the playoffs so far. Hard for me to dislike or pull against either of these teams going in, but I'll be rooting for the Sens for my friend Jeremy. Let's just hope for a good series.

TIme to crank up the DVR and get things rolling. One more series of hockey.
Bittersweet as a Canes fan, as someone else will be raising the Cup.
But as a hockey fan, there's just nothing like the Stanley Cup Finals.

Let's get it on!!

-m

Scheduling Is Everything

You are forgiven if you did not even know that the National LaCrosse League existed.

And you are not alone.

But on Sunday, The Rochester NIghthawks were crowned champions of the NLL with a 13-11 win over the Arziona Sting. It might have been hard to forgive the scheduling co-ordinators at Blue Cross Arena had the Nighthwaks succombed to the desert heat in Tucson. You see, Rochester was supposed to host the championship game, but due to a scheduling conflict they were forced to play the game on their opponents home turf. Seems that officials in Rochester were so confident in their teams playoff chances that they scheduled the Ringling Bros Circus instead of the chapionship game.

Read more about it at DEADSPIN.

Complete local coverage from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

Hey Buffalo fans, at least up state NY has one championship to cherish.

-m

Where Did You go Buffalo?

Please keep all sharp objects and firearms away from Buffalo Sabres fans tonight.

Boy. That had to be pretty disheartening.

Ryan Miller gave the Sabres the type of stellar goaltending performance that a team with its back against the wall needs. Unfortunately, he seems to be the only Sabre who bothered to show up as the Ottawa Senators took a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Ouch.

I'm not sure what happened to the Sabres team that I watched with awe for most of regular season, but they appear to have turned into the...ummm...Ottawa Senators, in the playoffs. I had the Sabres and Cannucks in the finals. Obviously I'm an idiot.

Ryan Miller was stellar. Ottawa could have easily won this game 4 or 5 - 0 if not for Miller's heroics. Ottawa's lone goal was a complete fluke on a bounce of the boards, but when your goaltender only allows one goal in a playoff game, you are not supposed to lose. Buffalo's offense was abysmal, but take nothing away from Ottawa. They have probably been the most impressive team over all in these playoffs and they have managed to take the Sabres completely out of their game.

Game Notes:

- 15 shots on goal from a Buffalo team that is built on offensive pressure? Only 5 shots in the third period?
- 0 for 18 on the power play for a team that boasted SEVEN 20 goal scorers in the regular season? Some folks on the Buffalo blogs were asking, perhaps in an effort to laugh to keep from crying, if the Sabres had the option of declining the penalties. (Believe me, as a Canes fan, I know how they feel).
- Buffalo managed only one shot on goal on 6 power plays.
- The Senators are now a NHL best 11-2 on the playloffs this season and have won 6 straight games.
- Ray Emery had 15 saves, while his defense came up with 13 blocks. It was Emery's third shutout of the playoffs. Ottawa's team defense was astounding. As exciting as the likes of Alfredsson, Heatley, Spezza, Comry, and Vermette can be on the offensive end, it's guys named Wade Redden, Chris Phillips, Andrej Mezaros, Anton Volchenkov, Tom Preissing, Joseph Korvos and Christoph Shubert who have been the unsung heros in this series.
- Daniel Alfredsson notched his 9th goal and leads the playoffs in scoring. He has now scored in 5 straight post-season games.
- As stated before, Miller was stout in net for the Sabres, stopping 31 of 32 shots, with several spectacular saves. He was awarded the third star of the game for his efforts.
- Dmitri Kalinin might be public ememy #1 in Buffalo right about now. He was abysmal on defense, looking completely lost and overmatched for most of the game. Even the studio guys on Versus were killing him. Scott Norwood, meet Dmitri Kalinin...
- As badly as Kalinin played at least he did manage one shot on goal...that matches the totals of Daniel Briere, Chris Drury and Thomas Vanek...COMBINED. Ouch.
- Hats off the the oft-maligned Maxim Afinogenov, who was the only Sabre not named Ryan Miller who bothered to bring his A-game tonight.
-Three stars: Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa), Wade Redden (Ottawa), Ryan Miller (Buffalo)

As bad as things look at the moment, all is not completely lost for the Sabres, but it does not look good for the fans in upstate NY. Two teams in NHL history have come back from 0-3 deficits in the Stanley Cup playoffs (Toronto in 1942 and NY Islanders in 1975) . And as a life long Red Sox fan, I can attest to the fact that nothing is impossible. But it usually seems that way. The road back will be long, and the odds are against you but the cliches ring true...all the Sabres can do at this point is win the next game they play. Take it from Terry Francona, they don't need to worry about winning 4 straight, right now they just need to win the next game, and take it from there.

As a Cane's fan, I do not have a dog in this fight, but unlike a lot of my bretheren, I am not pulling against the Sabres in this series. I just want to see a good series. And for anything approaching that, Buffalo will have to play a lot better than they did tonight in Ottawa.

-m

COULD VERSUS SUCK ANY MORE????

Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick!!

Could the NHL please get on a REAL NETWORK? PLEASE!!!

Could Time Warner Cable suck anymore?

I just started my DVR which was set to record tonight's game at 10pm, which was the start time listed on Versus in my digital cable guide, only to find out that the game started at 9pm and I had missed the first period.

Ughhh. I'm an idiot.

But how hard would it be to get your schedules straight guys, for peopel who - you know - really want to watch the game?
Jeez.

Dallas is up 1-0.
Turco has a 151:53 scoreless streak going.
7 shots for Vancouver in the first period.
9 for the Stars. Maybe I didn't miss much?

And Henrik Sedin just took a bad penalty.

-m

Game 7 - Vancouver vs Dallas - Let's get it on!

What better to pull UTTR out of hibernation than a playoff game 7?

Yes, I've been AWOL for a while now, as the Hurricanes' season died with a whimper, and I was left speechless for most of the last few weeks/months of the season. But I suppose every new endeavor has it's fits and starts. Why should my feeble attempt at blogging be any different. Sometimes, life just gets in the way, but I guess I should be glad I have a life away from my hockey obsessions. We move on. That which doesn't wipe us out competely, just makes us stronger. Or something.

I've slowly come to terms with the bitter pill that was the Canes limping down the stretch to add their names to an infamous short list of defending champions to miss out on the playoffs. But hey, at least I can take solace in the fact that a couple of those teams on the short list - Montreal and New Jersey - moved on from disappointment to do some pretty special things. I guy has to have a dream, right? And hey, guess what, we WON THE F#@KING STANLEY CUP!! So there.

Surprisingly perhaps, having my favorite team hitting the charity golf circuit and secondary international competitions early has not seemed to dampen my appetite for playoff hockey. And one can just ask the lady UTTR for confirmation...I have not stopped watching. I'm still obsessed. And there has been some exciting stuff already this year as the first round comes to a close...San Jose, Anaheim and Buffalo have looked strong...New Jersey and Ottawa have looked steady...the Rangers were so quick to dispatch the Thrashers, who did not put up much of a fight, that I'm not sure how they looked...Detriot pulled a Jeckel & Hyde act, home and away, against a scrappy (and at times down right dirty) Calgary club...kudos to the Islanders who actually managed to make the Buffalo series feel closer than 4-1, even thought they were completely outmatched...I'm sure we will be seeing plenty more of Sid the Kid and his Penguin extrordinares in the years to come...just getting their feet wet, probably a little ahead of schedule even.

And then there's the epic struggle of offensive ineptitude that has been Dallas v Vancouver...are these goalies this good (maybe) or are both of these teams just completely inept offensively (perhaps) or are both teams playing incredible defensive hockey (there you go)? Tonight we find out who moves on in the first game 7 of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Let's hope it's not the last. The DVR is cranking as I sit down to watch sans commericals...wonder how late I will be up?

Going into the playoffs I had Buffalo and Vancouver as my picks for the finals.

Wonder what that will look like in a few hours?

-martin

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The Carolina Hurricanes, in what was probably the most important game of a starcrossed year so far, carried a 1-0 lead into the third period tonight, after a tight checking, evenly matched 40 minutes of hockey. Carolina came into the game having won 5 of 7. The Thrashers came in having lost 4 straight and 6 of 10. The Canes' record so far this year when carrying a lead into the third period? 21-0. Carolina was the only team in the NHL yet to lose a game when leading after 2. The keyword in that last sentence - WAS.

The two teams fought hard for every inch of ice through two periods, with Rod Brind'Amour's second period goal (his 3rd in the last 2 games) staking the Cane's to a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, Carolina played tonight's third period much like they have played the first period all to often this season. The result - a frustrating, crushing defeat.

Atlanta 3
Carolina 1

A few things that made my stomach churn about tonight's game, and that also seem to serve as a microcosm of the Cane's season so far:

1) Special Teams win tight games. The Cane's were 0-4 on the power play, including a pivotal 43 seconds of 5 on 3 in the third period when they could have salted the game away. To top it all off, they gave up a flukey short handed goal that gave Atlanta life in the third.

2) You've got to want it - and I'm talking to you in particular Eric Staal. On the Thrashers first goal, goalie Johan Hedberg cleared the puck out of his own zone with the Thrashers shorthanded. Marian Hossa skated hard to follow the puck into the Canes zone while Staal just seemed meander back from his position on the point, watching Hossa skate by him. Hossa corraled the puck in the corner and since Staal was still not on him, and showed no real interest in checking him at all, Marian simply through the puck at the net along the goaline. The puck somehow found a hole between Ward's pad and the crease, bouncing off his right skate and his stick. Just like that the game was tied. I watched the replay several times, and Staal's lack of effort was simply disgusting. It was a fluke goal that Ward probably stops 99 times out of a hundred, but the fact of the matter is that Hossa should have never have gotten the shot off. At the very least Staal should have been there on the check, and probably should've beaten him to the puck in the first place. A lazy, lazy play. And truth be told I probably would not have noticed if it were the first time Staal had seemed to be dogging it on this night. Not the sort of effort you need from your "star" in a big game. "The biggest game of the year".

3) Lazy passes in the neutral zone - Ray Whitney played hard all night and had a beautiful assist to Rod Brind'Amour on the Cane's only goal, but his lazy pass in the neutral zone during a Thrashers line change (what!?! - get the puck deep, don't try to get fancy!) led to Ilya Kovalchuk's wide open breakaway for the Thrasher's game winning goal.

4) Weak defense along the board - Denis Seidenberg, playing his first game in several weeks, gave away the puck not once, but twice behind his own goal, and then was beaten in front of the net By Eric Boulton (all on one play!) for the Thrasher's final goal in the final minutes. Boulton has two goals this season, both coming against Carolina, and both on plays where Carolina defensemen should have been given assists. The Cane's defense seemed to wilt a bit in the third. This despite dressing 8 defensemen for the game.

5) Cam Ward played well enought to win for most of the game, yet that effort is wasted once again. Hossa's goal was a complete fluke (and as stated before, would have never even gotten to the net with a little hustle from Staal), and Ward basically had no chance on Kovalchuk's breakaway. The third goal came on Siedenberg's giveaway to Boulton right in front of the net. Ward made several amazing saves, including 3 on one on short-handed breakaway early in the third to preserve the Cane's lead.

6) Erik Cole was a late scratch, missing his 4th out of the last 5 games. Cory Stillman remains on the shelf as well.

I'm trying to stay optimistic, but this one is tough to handle. The inconsistency is disappointing. Especially considering the stakes. This was a 4 point game. This is one we needed.

The Cane's now hold on to the 8th spot in the east by just 1 point over Toronto and the Islanders. They fall to 4 points of out of the top spot in the Southeast division, with Atlanta and Tampa Bay tied at the top. Tampa Bay hold the tie breaker at the moment with one more win.

As it has been all season long...One step forward, two steps back.

I'm trying to keep hope a live, but the frustration level is rising.
Nonetheless, I'll be up in the rafters for the Philly game on Thursday.
Let's go Canes. (Please?)

-m

The Canes storm into the "Mecca of Hockey"

Hey Hey whadda ya say? I'm baaaack....

Wow. That was quite a layoff. Not that anyone was likely to notice that I was gone. Still, over a full month between posts. Kind of got away from me there. Work has been crazy. Work is still crazy. The Holidays were crazy. Hopefully I'll be able to settle into a routine and write more frequently. We'll see. But enough about me. On with the hockey.

- To say that the Hurricanes have been up and down since I last logged in would be an understatement. A brutal west coast swing, followed a hot streak where they won 5 out of 6, leading into possibly their worst stretch of hockey since beofre the strike. But after tonight's 4-1 victory over Toronto on the road, perhaps things are on the upswing again. One can only hope.

- Coach Laviolette continued tonight in Tornoto with the line combinations that he tinkered with coming into the Islanders game last weekend. Cole was out with the Brind A'mour/Whitney line, and Staal was out with Williams and Stillman. The shake up of the lines seems to be working well over the last two games: Whitney has 4 points, and Staal, Williams and Cole all have 2 goals.

- Eric Staal scored a powerplay goal tonight, his second straight game with a goal after a brutal 9 game goal drought. He seems to be playing with energy and enthuisasm again. Very good sign.

- Scott Walker and Eric Belanger also scored goals for the Canes tonight against the Leafs, providing some much needed scoring punch from the third line. The final tally of the night was Justin Williams' empty netter with less than 30 seconds to play, his 21st of the season (tops on the team).

- Cam Ward was stellar in goal (again!) recording 29 saves and single-handedly keeping the Canes in the game through a lopsided first period that saw the Leafs dominate play. Carolina was able to rebound and take control in the second, scoring two goals and generally having their way with the Leafs over the final two periods. Their cause was helped by a Toronto parade to the penalty box in the second and third. Starting late in the first period, Toronto was whistled on 4 consecutive penalties before the Canes gave up their first power-play of the night. The Canes were called for 2 penalties in the game while Toronto sent players to the box 6 times.

- Dennis Seidenberg had a solid debut with the Canes, after what was an eventful couple of days since the Kevin Adams trade. Seidenberg logged just over 20 minutes in ice time for the injury depleted Canes defensive corp, getting a look on both the power play and the penalty kill. He finished the game at a +1, logging the 4th most ice time amongst 6 healthy defenders. Seidenberg arrived in Toronto just after 7am on Tuesday. After learning of the trade while in Nahsville on a road trip with the Coyotes, he had to catch a flight back to Phoenix, grab his passport and one would assume a change of clothes, and then jump on a red eye to Toronto.

- Kevin Adams has long been a favorite of UTTR, and while the trade did not come as a complete suprise, it was still a little bit of a bummer. Few (if any) players have played any harder, or left more of themselves on the ice, for the Hurricanes over the last few years, and Adams was a great ambassador for the the game and for the Canes in the community as well. He will be missed, but the need for something to be done to shore up the depeted blue line was pressing. Adams' ice time had dwindled this year and with a log jam of young players at the forward position both here in Raleigh, as well as down on the farm in Albany, it did not appear that more ice time was on the way, even as Kevin battled back from a wrist injury. I'm sure it was not an easy move for Rutherford and the Canes, but it was a prudent move. Here's wishing Kevin nothing but the best in Phoenix, and hope to see back in Raleigh again in the future (the Stanley Cup finals? haha).

- Got to love the mid-season Free Preview of the NHL Center Ice package. I went ahead and gave myself an early birthday present, and signed up for the second half of the season today. Had to clear it with the lady first, but she has come to accept my complete hockey geek-ness and I think she even finds it a little charming. I told her that the Canes were not on FSN for over a week and I just could not go that long without a hockey fix. And what could be better than watching the Canadians blitz past the Thrashers, with all the commentary in French. I have no idea what they are talking about, but it's pretty amusing. I also have no idea what penalty Koivu just got sent off for but whatever it is, it sounds a lot worse in French.

- The Canes should thank there lucky stars that so far this season, whenever they have gone into the tank, the Thrashers have been unable to pull away in the Southeast. After tonight the Canes are 6 points out with 7 straight games coming up against division foes. 5 of those 7 are at home including one against Atlanta. Time to make a statement and perhaps take back control of the division heading into the all-star break. Let's get it on!

- Man it's good to be back.


TSN recap of the Carolina/Toronto game HERE.

TSN recap of the Atlanta/Montreal game HERE.

-martin



photo courtesy of Getty Images and TSN.