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