Canes vs Avalanche

The Hurricanes will try to keep things rolling with an afternoon matinee against Colorado today. Coming off 2 solid wins over the Islanders and Lightning, this afternoon's match up promises to be more of a challenge.

STREAKS: Colorado enters the RBC Center on a 3 game win streak with victories over Red Wings, Senators and Capitals. This streak of success comes on the heels of a 4 game losing streak for the 'Lanche. Both the Canes and the Avalanche have had up and down seasons, with both clubs struggling to develop any sort of consistency. The Avalanche enter today's game having gone 5-5 in their last 10 and 9-11 in their last 20 outings. The Canes are 6-4 in their last 10 and 10-10 in their last 20.

STANDINGS: The Canes currently sit in the 9th place slot in the Eastern Conference with 65 points (30-25-5), while the Avalanche currently occupy the cellar in the Western Conference with 57 points (28-30-1). The Canes currently sit 3 points out of a playoff slot, while the Lanche is 6 points out, but have 6 teams ahead of them.

TEAM LEADERS: Ryan Smyth leads the Avalanche in points (49) while Milan Hejduk leads in goals with 21. Ray Whitney leads the Canes with 49 points overall, while Eric Staal leads the team with 27 goals.

INJURIES: Colorado has been decimated by injuries this season. Stars Joe Sakic, Paul Stasny and John-Michael Liles have all missed significant time with a variety of ailments. Phillipe Dupuis and David Jones are currently listed as day-to-day. The Canes are currently without the services of Justin Williams, Scott Walker and Joni Pitkanen, though Pitkanen could return to the ice this afternoon.


Let's go Canes!

-m

Jekyll or Hyde?

Hockey Night in Carolina: Hurricanes vs Tampa Bay

Most of Caniac Nation is probably wondering which Hurricanes team will show up at the RBC Center tonight:

The team that has won its last 4 road games by an aggregate score of 20-7?

Or the team that has lost it's last 3 homes games (in front of sellout crowds) by a combined score of 15-2?

Tonight's game is the back end of a back-to-back, with the Canes winning 6-2 over the Islanders on the road last night. Tampa Bay is also coming off a game last night - losing at home 3-2 to New Jersey in a shootout. The Canes are 6-4 in their last 10 games while the Lightning are 2-8 in their last 10. The Canes have won 5 straight over the 'Ning, including all 4 meetings this season (all 4 by a single goal). The Canes are also 8-2 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.

The Canes's Jekyll and Hyde act over the last few weeks has been frustrating at best. Road wins over San Jose, Phoenix, Buffalo and NY Islanders have featured a physical, aggressive forecheck along with a solid defense from the goalie out. The three home loses (Florida, Columbus and Boston) have been marked by stretches of inconsistent or even passive offensive effort and a defense that wilts under the pressure of other teams' forecheck and puck possession.

Let's hope the Canes can turn their fortunes around on home ice tonight against a team that is currently 13 points behind them in the Eastern Conference standings. The Canes are battling for a playoff berth (currently 3 points out of 8th place) while the Lightning are once again jockeying for a top draft pick.

This is game 2 in a 6 game stretch against 5 teams who are currently out of the playoff picture and one against Buffalo, one of the teams Carolina is dueling with for a final playoff spot. This is the time for the Canes to go on the sort of multiple game winning streak that has eluded them thus far this season. 8-10 points out of these 6 games is probably essential of the Canes are to be a factor in March & April, where the schedule get tougher. This stretch against non-playoff teams also coincides with a stretch where Florida is facing off against division leaders. The time to make up points is now.

Bottom line, if this team is to have a serious shot at the playoffs that need to beat the teams they are supposed to beat, they have to play winning hockey at home, and they will need to steal a few points somewhere along the way. It's a game to game journey where every night and every point is at a premium.

The rest of the season starts tonight.
So that makes this the biggest game of the season so far.

Go Canes!


-m