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.
