SB Nation - Tuomo Ruutu

Panthers double Hurricanes 6-3 in Sunrise

Whale4ever — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:27:25 -0000

More photos » by Lynne Sladky - AP

3 days ago: The puck gets past Carolina Hurricanes goalie Manny Legace (34) on a goal scored by Florida Panthers center Dominic Moore, right, in the third period during an NHL hockey game in Sunrise, Fla., Friday, Dec. 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

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Good stuff team-wide as the Cats, clinging to a 6-3 lead (and followers of this club know the drill) closed the door in a home game to climb above .500, taking the Hurricanes by a final of 6-3.

Radek Dvorak (+5!) and Rostislav Olesz finished with three points each, followed by Dominic Moore's two-pointer. Tomas Vokoun - rattled in the third frame but keeping focus to the end - ended the night with 32 saves on 35 shots. Ten Panthers skaters gained at least one point. Behold the sweet stuff...

Solid work team-wide as the Cats, clinging to a 6-3 lead (and followers of this club know the drill) closed the door in a home game to climb above .500, taking the Hurricanes by a final of 6-3.

Carolina went the Paul Maurice route - in the third - but found far too much mountain to climb. Any Cats fan who wasn't a little nervous when the Canes scored their second goal wled (by far) as either without cellphone service or lying to you. Scott Walker and Eric Staal tamed a ridiculous lead, scaring the tar out of Panthers fans late, but never quite mustering the killer offense needed to overcome the deficit.

Staal and defenseman Joni Pitkanen each had six shots on goal. Staal, Sergei Samsonov, and Tuomo Ruutu were each a minus-3. Manny Legace - in relief of Cam Ward - stopped 1 of 2 shots. Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton both collected an assist to continue their hot streaks. Ex-Hurricane Dennis Seidenberg led (by far) both clubs with 27:42 TOI. Bryan McCabe (2g, 2a) has a 4-game point streak.

This was so much fun, let's do it again Saturday. Live Blog hits at 6pm.

Tuomo Ruutu Nets Hat Trick to Lead Carolina: Hurricanes 5, Stars 3

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:36:22 -0000

More photos » by Gerry Broome - AP

5 days ago: Carolina Hurricanes' Tuomo Ruutu (15), from Finland, and Ray Whitney (13) celebrate following Ruutu's hat-trick goal against the Dallas Stars during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009. Carolina won 5-3. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Dallas Stars by a score of 5 to 3 on Wednesday night at the RBC Center in Raleigh. The Canes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening period, and held on for the win.

Tuomo Ruutu scored a hat trick in the victory, the first of his NHL career. His third goal came with just five seconds left in the game, after Ray Whitney set him up perfectly for an empty netter. It did not come easily though as Whitney tried to set him up for an empty net chance a minute or so earlier, but ended up losing the puck.

The Stars took the puck, attacked the zone, and scored themselves, making the score 4-3. Whitney took a little flak on the bench, but had a better opportunity later on and the Hurricanes ended up with a happy ending, one of the few so far this season.

The Canes jumped out to a 3-0 lead with the help of Jussi Jokinen, who started things off with a powerplay tally on a rush. He received a nice pass from Bryan Rodney, who was just recalled from Albany. Rodney had a very good game and finished with two assists on the night.

Tuomo Ruutu scored his first of the contest just 1:44 later. The Finn backhanded the puck toward the crease, it hit off of Marty Turco, and then went in the net. It was not the best of nights for the Dallas goaltender as that looked like a soft one.

Eric Staal scored goal number three on yet another powerplay when Jussi Jokinen fired a pass across the crease and Staal knocked it in with perfect timing.

Steve Ott put in a powerplay tally for Dallas later in the period and the teams went into the first intermission with the score 3-1.

The second period was a sluggish one for the Canes as Dallas took control. They out-shot the home team 12-4 and scored another goal, this one by Brenden Morrow, making the score, 3-2.

But the Hurricanes came on strong in the third and used a consistent forecheck to keep the Stars hemmed in at their own end. About four minutes in, Ruutu would score his second goal as an apparent pass by the winger bounced in the net off of a Dallas defenseman's skate. Brett Carson earned his first career NHL point on the play.

The Stars would make things interesting when they scored after Whitney's failure to bury the empty netter, but Ruutu closed things out with his "hattie", and the Canes won for just the eighth time this year.

Next up will be the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Florida on Friday night.

Game Notes:

The three Finns, or "Three Amigos" were the three stars of the game. Ruutu was first star, Jokinen was second, and Joni Pitkanen, who had two assists and played a solid defensive game, was named the third. Was the news about them possibly opening next year in Europe a factor to their success?
Whitney could joke about his mistake after the game, but if the Stars would have come back to tie the game and then win after he failed to shoot at the empty net, people would not have been laughing. Still, it's hard to blame someone for being a consummate team player. It's an unselfish act for him to turn away from two chances to score an easy goal so that he could help a teammate get a hat trick. Especially in a contract year! Whitney gets a star in my book.
The Canes were given credit for 29 hits in the game. Andrew Alberts led the way with five while Tom Kostopoulos and Rod Brind`Amour each had four.
The fourth line came close to scoring a few times and Brind'Amour had a couple of prime chances. If he keeps getting good chances, you have to believe that the scoring will eventually come.
The team also had 29 shots on goal led by Ray Whitney with five. Eric Staal and Tuomo Ruutu had four each.
Staal had a very good game and chipped in with a goal and two assists. He has 13 points in his last 10 games since returning from his injury.
Carolina had 13 blocked shots. Joni Pitkanen had the most with three. The defenseman led both teams with 27:33 of ice time, which is a bit more settling than over 31 minutes like he had against Ottawa.
The Hurricanes are now 6-3-1 when leading after two periods. They are 7-2-3 when scoring three goals or more and 1-17-3 when scoring two goals or less.

Here is some video of Tuomo Ruutu in the dressing room after his first career hat trick:

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UPDATE: For those wanting to attend practice on Thursday, it has been moved back to noon at the Rec Zone. (It was previously scheduled for 11 a.m.)

New Jersey Devils Manage to Hold on to Victory and Defeat Carolina Hurricanes, 4-2

John Fischer — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:44:07 -0000

More photos » by Rich Schultz - AP

This shot of celebration came in the first period, after Patrik Elias scored. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to celebrate after that first period aside from a goal and the eventual win. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

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hile the big story may be that Martin Brodeur didn't get his 104th career shutout, I think the team's performance is worthy of more attention. Were I to be simplistic, I could say the New Jersey Devils went up 3-0 on the Carolina Hurricanes, conceded two in the second period, but managed to hold on and snag an empty net goal to win 4-2. Not completely unlike what the Hurricanes did to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.

However, that wouldn't be honest with what happened on the ice. The Devils looked great in the first period, playing as if they were still in Buffalo. But the team declined in the second and third period, only waking up near the end to shut the door on Carolina's hopes of an equalizer. I hate to sound like someone with high expectations or a sore winner, but like the recent wins over Tampa Bay and Detroit, the 4-2 win over Carolina wasn't a great one for New Jersey. Sure, I'm glad they got the result without a shootout or a late tip-in goal; but I can't get past how the game actually went or how the Devils nearly gave up a 3 goal lead. One thing is for sure, Carolina certainly didn't play the whole game like the last place team in the NHL.

NHL.com has their recap up complete with links to the boxscore and other stats. For the opposition's perspective, check out Canes Country later for their recap. Read on for further thoughts about tonight's game.

First, for those who want a visual set of highlights of tonight's game, NHL.com has a video of that:

Now, let's start with the first period. Pay no mind to the 10-7 shot differential between the two teams, tonight was a game where what the boxscore says isn't necessarily indicative of the flow of the game. The Devils were very strong in the first, battling Canes for pucks, applying a deep forecheck, and constant stick-checking whenever a Devil was in range of the opposing puck carrier. The stick-check is a fairly basic defensive move, but the Devils were very effective with it in the neutral zone and on defense to prevent Carolina from really getting some sustained offense going.

Those loose pucks were quickly moved up ice for the Devils' own offense. While some of the passes were off, the Devils did manage to beat Cam Ward twice - one with a bit of a fluke (Patrik Elias' goal) and one great slapshot from the high slot (Andy Greene's first goal). The Devils were playing like this all the way through the period, ending with Brian Rolston keeping a Cane holding onto the puck in the corner of his own zone in the dying seconds. I took at as proof that the Devils weren't looking past the Canes, that they had the right attitude for this game, and that they're going to keep up the effort and put this game out of doubt in the second.

I was definitely wrong on the last point.

For the next 40 minutes, the Devils' team effort declined. From the start of the second period onward, much of the stick-checking and defensive work in the neutral zone that the Devils used to so much success wasn't utilized. That was a mistake and I'm amazed that it even continued into the third period. As a result, Carolina saw that they had space to go forward on offense and did just that. They started to cycle and the Devils' defense started making some bad decisions, some poor clearances, and take some bad calls. It wasn't Carolina's first goal that got the Canes going in that period, it came right from Mike Mottau's trip of Jussi Jokinen (I thought it was a dive in the heat of the moment, in retrospect, I was wrong). Sure, they didn't score on that power play, but they were far more competitive. From then on, Carolina started building confidence, gaining momentum, and pinning the Devils back more and more - all the way through the third period. It became a game again, unofficially, from that power play onward.

Officially, it became again when Brandon Sutter took a shot that took a deflection off Mark Fraser's stick and then his body, which fooled Martin Brodeur. The crowd hated this goal as it ruined the shutout. I can't blame Fraser because he was in the right position; upon looking at the goal, I wonder whether Brodeur should have had that. They were shocked by Tuomo Ruutu's shot on the power play nearly 2 minutes later (P.S. the hook by Rob Niedermayer was the only big mistake he made all night). That was just a well-placed shot, credit Ruutu for that. Still, in mere minutes, the Devils went from being up by 3 to scrambling to make sure they don't give up a third goal against. Definitely not worthy of praise.

Oddly enough, the Devils' offense was actually quite good in the first half of the second period. They put 13 shots on Cam Ward in the second period; they were able to get the puck up ice; and they scored on the first power play they got (Greene's second goal). Then again, Brian Rolston threw a bad cross-ice pass at the point that Brandon Sutter took down ice and got lucky with a deflection to score; and the power play wasted two man advantages later in the period. The Devils remained in this lull on offense for the first 8 to 11 minutes (depends on who you ask). A re-tooled line of Patrik Elias, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Brian Rolston finally had a strong shift (you see some of that in the video), and a late power play nearly gave the Devils that fourth goal, but Ward somehow stopped Langenbrunner on a rebound (also in the video). I mean, I saw it live and I'm not quite sure how he did it, but he did.

So why did the Devils end up outshooting the Canes 31-23? Well, Carolina got blocked 13 times in the game (Johnny Oduya led with 4 blocks) so their shooting wasn't exactly proficient. I also think they took too much time on offense to get a good shot. I fully understand the concept of setting up an offense. I fully understand why teams do this, but given that Carolina was giving the Devils' defense the run around for most of the post-first period game, they really should have tried firing away more often. Martin Brodeur played well, but he wasn't necessarily dominating tonight.

In contrast, the Devils offense had the game plan of getting Cam Ward moving as much as he could. Not a bad idea for most goalies, especially ones returning from a leg laceration. Especially on the power play, the Devils attempted a number of cross-ice and cross-crease passes. Again, I fully understand why a team would want to do this. If the pass hits it's target, the target can have a great chance to score. However, while the theory makes sense, the execution wasn't and so a lot of shots from sharp angles and glancing shots and those cross-slot passes weren't so effective. A lot of the attempts got on net, the Devils weren't blocked much or missed much; but there was more than a few times where you'd watch the play develop and just go "OH!" when that final pass didn't hit home.

At first, I thought Ward looked rusty; but by the end, I felt he played well in his return from injury. The goals that beat him were a deflection off Aaron Ward, a shot in the slot behind a screen, and a cross-crease pass that actually hit Andy Greene in the right spot for a goal. Not exactly shots most goaltenders could stop. That said, I wish the Devils mixed it up and tried firing more low, hard shots on Ward as he was giving up some choice rebounds. There were plenty tonight for the Devils as-is, but if they kept at it, then maybe a Devil beats the Carolina defense to one of them for the big score.

In terms of who I felt had a good night, well, Andy Greene and Zach Parise stick out as the most logical choices. Parise had 5 shots on net and 2 assists, and Greene looked fairly decent playing 24:56 and putting in 2 goals. They got stars of the game and deservedly so. Rob Niedermayer actually rates right up there too. He played fairly solid on defense, put 3 shots on net, screened Ward on Andy Greene's first goal, played 19:37, iced the game with a shorthanded empty net goal, and most impressively went 18 for 23 on faceoffs. That's just fantastic work at the dot. When Bryce Salvador took a cross checking call at the end of the game, I noticed Niedermayer was right there for the faceoff. Good thing, as he won yet another one and it allowed the Devils to kill off the game. Without Niedermayer's work, I don't think the Devils don't hold on to win tonight. He did very well - aside from the dumb hooking infraction he committed, of course.

I would also like to highlight Bryce Salvador, who took a nasty hit from Erik Cole, left the game, but managed to come back and play defense for the Devils later on. He didn't get up immediately after the hit and many in the arena were concerned. It was a scary moment, but the fans applauded when he got up after a few minutes with the trainer. I was very glad to see him return to the game and contribute 14:10 total of work on the blueline. This post-game post from Tom Gulitti covers what Salvador was thinking and how he returned from what maybe was an injury. I recommend reading it and I hope he did not sustain an injury by coming back into tonight's game.

Yet, that the Devils had to hold on to win tonight is what many of the Devils fans who left tonight game weren't happy about. That the Devils managed to get 3 goals up on the worst team in the NHL, and it nearly was given away. Why couldn't the Devils respond to those two goals with getting one more past Ward? Why couldn't they hit home on the three power plays beyond the 30 minute mark of the game? Why were the Devils being pinned back by Carolina so much in the second and third periods? Most of all, why did we see such a great first period by the Devils followed up by a poor second and third periods?

I'm hoping Jacques Lemaire will ask the players these same questions because tonight could have easily ended up as an embarrassing night if a few things went a bit differently. Carolina played well after the first period and didn't give up on the game after Greene's second goal. They didn't look like the worst team in the NHL tonight and it only goes to prove my earlier point that looking past this team or letting up on them is a big mistake. While the Devils didn't look past them, it cannot be argued that they let the proverbial foot off the proverbial pedal on defense despite allowing 23 shots on net.

There is a cliche that good teams know how to win games where maybe they shouldn't. There is another one about how sometimes a team just has to win ugly. I'm glad the Devils won their last four games. Again, this is a results-oriented business and no Devils fan can complain about the results. I'm not. But I can't help but think that they should be doing a better job in these games. Especially after playing so well against Buffalo on Monday night, one wonders what happened to that kind of effort and performance. I will say this win was better than the recent wins over Tampa Bay and Detroit because the offense was actually involved for a part of this game and the team's first period performance. However, I don't think that is saying much. I think the Devils need to get back to playing strong hockey for all 60 minutes (or even 40-50) if they want to continue their winning streak.

No matter, the Devils move on with four straight wins and have a back-to-back set against Florida and Philadelphia. Thank you all for reading and commenting about tonight's game. Please leave your thoughts and feelings about tonight's game in the comments.

Canucks-Hurricanes Preview: Gee, Nice Start Time...

Sean Zandberg — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:00:16 -0000

Probably the only good thing going for the Hurricanes these days.

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10:29 PM ET Update: WAKE UP YOU FILTHY BUGGERS!

Dan Murphy just tweeted the following: "Aside from Raycroft, no line-up changes expected today. Hansen likely to stay on 2nd line."

**************************************

GAME TIME: 10:30 AM PST

TV: Sportsnet

The Opposition: Canes Country

Like Jason Botchford mentioned in the Province today, it was about a year ago that Roberto Luongo played in a morning game (pacific time) against the Penguins. He wrecked his groin on that fateful day. I don't think that plays a role in Andrew Raycroft getting the start against the Canes. Louie has played in 10 straight games, and has a 6-4-0 record in that span, along with a shiny 2.01 GAA and a .929 save percentage.

Raycroft's last start was not very pretty. On November 10th he started a game against the Blues and allowed 4 goals on 13 shots in the first period and was yanked. The Canucks admitted that they hung Raycroft out to dry in that game. They had also just come off a 5-day layoff and were not sharp. Now, with a healthy roster and less days off, the Canucks are kicking some serious ass on this road trip.

So, what on earth is wrong with the Hurricanes?

They have been without Cam Ward since November 7 due to a leg injury. In the 15 games with Ward in the lineup they had only won 2 games. Up to his injury, Ward and his mates had lost 10 straight games. Even so, his numbers were not terrible, according to ESPN.

Since the Ward injury, the Hurricanes have gone with the goalie tandem of Michael Leighton and Manny Legace. In those 11 games they lost 8. Manny Legace will start against Vancouver. Carolina has had 4 days off.

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Manny Legace	8	465	2	4			25	3.23	227	202	.890	0

If you take a look at the Hurricanes' scoring leaders you can see many glaring problems. Tuomo Ruutu is leading the team in scoring with 6 goals and 16 points in 23 games. Rod Brind'Amour is a -19! Eric Staal..where did you go? 3 goals and 9 points in 17 games. He won't stay that lousy forever. Their highest scoring d-man is Joe Corvo with 4 goals and 12 points in 27 games played. He is a -10. Edit: He's also injured.

Will Chad LaRose and/or Jussi Jokinen play?

I wonder how well newly-acquired Jiri Tlusty will fit in.

Let's look at the comparative stats:

-The Hurricanes sit last in the East and the NHL...8 points behind the Leafs! Yikes!

-The Canucks are trying to get into the top 8 in the West and are almost there.

-Goals Per Game Average: Canucks 5th, Canes 30th

-Goals Against Per game Average: Canucks 7th, Canes 30th

-5 on 5: Canucks 5th, Canes 30th

-PowerPlay: Canucks 3rd, Canes 29th

-Penalty Kill: Canes 20th, Canucks 21st

-Shots Per Game: Canes 9th, Canucks 13th

-Shots Against Per Game: Canucks 11th, Canes 16th

-Faceoff %: Canucks 9th, Canes 22nd.

Should be an automatic win, right? Nope. That depends on how lightly the Canucks take these guys. They have to go out there and pretend those guys are wearing Devils jerseys.

Thrashers at Canes: Game Day Preview

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:31:47 -0000

Brandon Sutter is still optimistic about turning the Hurricanes' season around. (photo by LTD)

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The Carolina Hurricanes begin a challenging stretch of hockey as they play three games in the next four days, starting with the Atlanta Thrashers tonight at the RBC.

After turning a corner at home last week with three wins in their previous four games, finishing with an impressive win over Tampa Bay last week Saturday, the Canes went on the road and lost two games in a row this week.

Brandon Sutter still believes the team is on the right track though. "I still feel we played pretty well. We have just got to keep on track and keep shooting for a .500 record by Christmas."

With a 5-14-5 record, how the team performs during these next three games will indicate if .500 hockey by Christmas is even possible. I asked Sutter about the line changing during the last game, and if that presented a special challenge to him, to continually be acclimated to different linemates.

"With Staal coming back of course some changing of lines is to be expected. I think the coaching staff is still searching for the right combinations, still searching for some chemistry." In other words, look for more line shuffling tonight.

In a brief chat with Tuomo Ruutu, he said that he would be a game time decision tonight, although he was on the ice and looked good during the morning skate. I asked him if he could elaborate a bit about his injury, but he just smiled and said "It's nothing serious, just a nagging injury that needs treatment".

Coach Maurice said that Scott Walker and Patrick Dwyer would be scratches tonight, obviously planning for Ruutu to be in the lineup. When asked about the goalie situation for the next series of games, he said a decision would be made after the game tonight.

"We aren't sure how Manny will do in a back-to-back sequence yet. If he gets a lot of work tonight, which is certainly a possibility with the talent on that team, we might go with Leighton tomorrow night. It also depends upon how Leighton feels. If he tells us that he is fine and ready to go, then we might go with him tomorrow night. We will make that decision after tonight's game."

Carolina's opponent tonight, the Atlanta Thrashers, have been a bit of a surprise themselves this season. With an 11-7-3 record, they are currently a bubble playoff team and are coming off an impressive 2-0 win against Detroit on Wednesday night.

The Thrashers are led in scoring by Rich Peverly, a forward who is coming into his own the past couple of years. Of course Ilya Kovalchuk is always a threat and he is joined by Nik Antropov and Maxim Afinogenov.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Rich Peverley	21	8	16	24	4	16	5	0	3	0	44	18.2

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Ilya Kovalchuk	15	13	9	22	1	27	6	0	0	0	53	24.5

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Maxim Afinogenov	21	9	12	21	6	16	2	0	0	0	51	17.6

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Nik Antropov	21	2	19	21	11	6	0	0	1	0	25	8.0

The Thrashers have a hot new goalie in net by the name of Ondrej Pavelec, although Johan Hedberg has great numbers as well.

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Ondrej Pavelec	16	891	7	5			41	2.76	532	491	.923	2

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Johan Hedberg	8	377	4	2			17	2.71	215	198	.921	0

For those who might not remember, Manny Legace had a tryout with Atlanta but was cut before the season started. Will he use this as extra motivation tonight?

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Manny Legace	7	405	2	3			20	2.96	194	174	.897	0

The Canes are still led by Ray Whitney, Jussi Jokinen, and Tuomo Ruutu with 15 points each.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Ray Whitney	22	6	9	15	-4	6	1	0	0	0	44	13.6

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Jussi Jokinen	24	6	9	15	-1	12	1	0	2	0	43	14.0

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Tuomo Ruutu	20	6	9	15	1	23	2	0	0	0	52	11.5

The game is not on local television tonight. If you can not make it to the RBC, watch on Center Ice, or listen on 99.9 The Fan. I will be reporting from the game in the Open Game Thrad starting at 6:30.

Bird Watcher's Anonymous, will have the lowdown on the Thrashers.

The Return of Staal? Canes at Ducks Game Day Preview - (UPDATE 6 p.m.)

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:25:26 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

The Carolina Hurricanes would love to have both Eric Staal (12) and Tuomo Ruutu, (15), back in the lineup tonight.

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Word on the street and in the local radio studios, is that Eric Staal will make his return to the Carolina Hurricanes lineup tonight, as the Canes, (5-13-5) visit the also struggling Anaheim Ducks, (8-11-3). Both of these teams had high expectations at the beginning of the season and obviously, both have disappointed so far.

If Staal does return as expected, one might wonder where they will put the star forward? Coach Paul Maurice indicated after the last win on Saturday night, that he wanted to keep the top two lines together. Although, Tuomo Ruutu had to leave the Dallas game early on Monday night, so his position on the second line might open up if he can't play tonight. (We sent an email to the Canes asking for his status, and as soon as we hear something we will pass it along).

Staal has missed the last 10 games with an upper body injury, but according to an interview between Joe Ovies and John Forslund on 620 The Buzz yesterday, the center had a tremendous recent practice session and was ready to rock and roll.

Will they try Staal at the wing position and keep Brandon Sutter in the top line center spot? According to a recent poll we had on the site, most readers, (73%), seem to think it's worth a try. As soon as we get official word about where Staal will play, we will post something here.

The Canes have struggled mightily while playing the role of visitor and have still yet to win a road game this season, (0-8-3). The franchise has not had such a poor start on the road since the 1981-82 season when they lost their first 12.

After their failure on the powerplay on Monday night, they have dropped to 28th in the league, (14.4%), while with the man advantage.

The team is also 29th in the league in scoring, (GF 53), and 29th in the league in goals allowed, (GA 83). They are last in the East in both of those categories. They also lead the league again in taking minor penalties, not a good thing unless you are playing fantasy hockey.

Statistically, it's hard to find much positive.

The Ducks are led by Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Corey Perry	22	13	15	28	4	24	2	1	0	0	78	16.7

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Ryan Getzlaf	22	4	22	26	3	29	2	0	0	0	46	8.7

Look for ~~Jonas Hiller~~ to be in goal for the Ducks against Manny Legace for the Canes.

UPDATE: Check that, Giguere is expected to start for the Ducks.

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Manny Legace	6	346	2	2			17	2.95	161	144	.894	0

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Jonas Hiller	17	933	7	8			47	3.02	517	470	.909	1

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Jean-Sebastien Giguere	7	402	1	3			21	3.13	221	200	.905	0

Hiller is 1-0-0 lifetime against Carolina while Legace is 11-2-2 lifetime against Anaheim. Giguere is 1-3-1 lifetime against Carolina.

The game will be televised locally in HD by FS Carolinas and will start at 10 p.m. Eastern. You can also listen in on 99.9 The Fan and we will open the Game Thread here at 9.

If we get any official update later on regarding Staal or Ruutu, we will make another post later today.

Check out Anaheim Calling for Ducks news.

(UPDATE:) Staal has been confirmed in the lineup by a Canes Twitter update. John Forslund told "The Insiders" that Ruutu is out for tonight.

2010 Winter Olympics Hockey Preview: Carolina Hurricanes

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:42:23 -0000

More photos » by Jeff McIntosh - AP

Marc Staal, left, and Ryan Smyth, battle during second-period action at the Men's National Olympic Hockey Team orientation camp scrimmage game in Calgary, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009. Will brother Eric be in the mix this winter?

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SB Nation is promoting a network wide Olympic Preview this week, and today the Carolina Hurricanes are featured. Let's take a look at the roster and see who will be traveling to Vancouver, and who will be watching on television with the rest of us.

Pack Your Bags:

Joni Pitkanen

The defenseman has been injured a lot this season for the Canes, but if he is healthy he should be a no-brainer addition for Team Finland.

Tuomo Ruutu

Ruutu put up career best numbers last season, has started out this season with a bang, and is another easy selection for Team Finland.

Jussi Jokinen

The skilled winger was supposedly a borderline case during the summer, but his solid start to this season should push him over the bubble and into the lineup for Team Finland.

Eric Staal

I could be wrong, but I think if Staal is healthy, he is a lock and will be in the mix and skating for Team Canada.

Nearly a Lock:

Tim Gleason

The defenseman was invited to summer orientation camp and is certainly on Team USA's radar. He has had a very good start to the season and has already scored a career best four goals this year. In my opinion, he should be selected.

In a Battle:

Cam Ward

The goalie was already in a situation where he needed to play very well at the start of the season, to even be considered. Now after a slow start and his injury to boot, his chances of making Team Canada are probably slim.

The rest of the Hurricanes roster is most likely not even being considered for selection.

There is a rumor that there will be a lot of locals here cheering for Team Finland? When we get closer to the event, we will take a closer look at each of the primary teams of interest, and see what their chances are of bringing home the gold.

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Last week we ran an article on Canes Country questioning whether or not previously injured players should be allowed to participate in the Olympics. Keep in mind, if the players get injured while representing their countries, they still get paid their guaranteed NHL contracts.

Players are currently under no obligation, under the current CBA, to be approved by anyone from their team if they are selected to represent their country. They can simply be gone at anytime within the timeframe stipulated in the agreement.

Gary Bettman has brought up the question and this might be a sticking point in negotiations for the next CBA. Should NHL players participate in the Olympics in 2014? In the meantime, you have some star players like Alex Ovechkin claiming that they will play for their country in 2014, whether they are authorized to do so or not.

My question to Ovechkin. What happens if you get injured and the franchise is no longer on the hook for your guaranteed earnings? What if you assume all the risk and could lose part or all of your $8 million plus annual salary for the next umpteen years?

If the players assumed all the financial risk instead of the owners, they might be singing a different tune. Why not write that in the next CBA?

Solid Team Effort: Canes 3, Lightning 1

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 06:46:53 -0000

More photos » by Karl B DeBlaker - AP

about 1 month ago: Carolina Hurricanes' Chad LaRose (59) shoots the puck past Tampa Bay Lightning's Victor Hedman, center, and goalie Mike Smith (41) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. The Hurricanes won the game 3-1. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

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The Carolina Hurricanes played one of their best overall games of the season Saturday night as they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-1. The team played well in each zone during every period, held the Bolts to a lowly 21 shots on goal, and generated several scoring chances in just their second regulation win of the season.

After out-shooting the visitors and out-chancing them early in the first period, Tampa Bay would take the lead anyway about 15 minutes into it on a powerplay goal by Martin St. Louis. The winger squeezed his shot in at a very tight angle. Manny Legace joked after the game that the puck went in off of his big butt.

St. Louis always seems to have success against the Canes. That was his fourth point against Carolina in three games so far this season.

The Hurricanes were a little deflated after the goal, but would pick things up in the second period. Tuomo Ruutu continued his torrid scoring pace with a powerplay goal of his own just two minutes into the period. Ray Whitney found the Finn with a perfect cross ice pass and Ruutu roofed a one-timer past Mike Smith, who played an excellent game in goal for the Lightning in a losing effort.

Ruutu now has nine points in his last six games.

The Canes were buzzing much of this period and at one time were out-shooting the Lightning, 9-2. Jussi Jokinen scored yet another goal against the team that put him on waivers last year when he tipped a Joe Corvo shot past Smith at about the 13 minute mark.

That goal turned out to be the game-winner, the second game-winner in regulation for Jokinen this year.

Chad LaRose knocked the gorilla off his back when he scored the last goal of the game and his first of the season, on a wrist shot with just four minutes and change left on the clock. He took a pass from Sergei Samsonov into the clear and took his time for a perfectly placed shot. The helper was Samsonov's 300th career NHL assist.

After the game, the team seemed very pleased with the completeness of their effort and hard work and admitted that it was one of their better overall performances of the season. They now have earned points in their last five games and have won three of their last four.

Next up will be a road game in Dallas on Monday night.

Game Notes:

Manny Legace won his second game in a row with a solid effort in net. He certainly was not over-worked as he only faced 21 shots, but he allowed very few rebounds and was steady when he needed to be.
Give the defense credit as they managed to get sticks on several of the opposition's shots and helped out Legace when he was pressured the most. The team blocked 17 shots, led by Stephane Yelle and Tim Gleason who had three each.
The Canes had 36 hits with Gleason again leading the way with five. Niclas Wallin also had five. Gleason had the hit of the night when he lined up Victor Hedman for a perfect hipcheck.
The home team had scoring chances galore, especially in the first period, and came close but could not connect. Once again, if not for the efforts of Mike Smith, the score could have been much worse for the Lightning.
Joni Pitkanen had five shots on goal in the first period, the most for any Carolina player in a single period all year. He kept trying to ram a slap shot through to the net, and came close a couple of times to making something happen. Pitkanen also had a team high three takeaways and finished with six shots on goal for the game.
Paul Maurice was very happy with the defenseman's game. The coach said that he brings a different dynamic to the team when he is on the ice. Not only is he able to bring the puck out of the Hurricanes' zone by himself if needed, he can create a lot of possibilities in the offensive zone. Now, if he could only stay healthy.
Rod Brind'Amour played on the fourth line and had 11:49 of ice time with only five seconds of powerplay time. He might have played one of his better games.
For the most part, Maurice rotated four lines as everyone got double digits of playing time. Low man was Chad LaRose with 10:19. Even Patrick Dwyer had 11 minutes of ice time. This is the strategy the team wanted to employ all season, but they rarely actually did it.
In his four games this season, Manny Legace has not allowed a goal in the second period. That period used to be the worst for the Canes as the team had allowed more goals in that period than any other one.

The Hurricanes now have a total of 15 points but they are still quite a ways behind the contenders. The team still needs a few more wins in order to claw their way back into the mix. They now have a 5-5-2 record at the RBC. The next step is to win their first road game of the season in either Dallas or Anaheim next week.

The Streak is Over! Canes 5, Wild 4 in Shootout

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:58:44 -0000

More photos » by Karl B DeBlaker - AP

about 1 month ago: Carolina Hurricanes' Jussi Jokinen (36) flips the puck over the pads of Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom (32) to score during the shootout of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. The Hurricanes won the game 5-4 in the shootout. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

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For the first time in over a month, the Carolina Hurricanes outlasted another team and found a way to get into the winning column with a 5-4 shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday afternoon. The Canes had a winless streak of 14 games going, a streak which almost had a life of it's own. But the team survived the shootout to pick up just their third win in 19 tries so far this season.

Michael Leighton got the start in goal and earned his first victory since the San Jose game on February 5, 2009. That game was also a shootout win.

After two slow starts in a row, the home team came out with jump and took an early lead in this game. Jussi Jokinen would score just 2:45 into the contest when Matt Cullen won a faceoff and Tuomo Ruutu put the puck on net. Jokinen was there for the put-back making the score 1-0.

Later in the period, Joe Corvo rifled in a shot from the blueline while on the powerplay to give the Canes a two goal lead. Bryan Rodney made a nice pass on the play to Corvo, who was on the left point.

The second period started out pretty well as Ray Whitney scored another powerplay goal with help from Brandon Sutter and Corvo. With the score 3-0, it looked like the Canes were in the driver's seat, but would it last?

The Wild scored shortly afterward on a fluky goal which was tipped in over Michael Leighton's shoulder just under the cross bar. But Brandon Sutter put the Canes back up by three as he scored his fourth goal since being called up by the Canes, another powerplay tally. Carolina had three powerplay goals in this affair.

But then the wheels would come off.

Joni Pitkanen left the game with an injury at the end of the first period and it started to show in the Hurricanes end as they had all kinds of trouble getting the puck out of their zone. Robbie Earl had played in just one game for the Wild so far this year, but he had a career day against Carolina. He was given too much time and space, had a wide open chance, and made no mistake at the 13:46 mark of the second period. It was Earl's first career NHL goal.

Just 20 seconds later, defenseman John Scott scored his first career NHL goal. It seems like several players have scored their first goals against Carolina this season.

It was the eighth time this year that a team had scored back to back goals within a minute's time span against the Canes.

The team survived the remainder of the period, but continued to struggle. Just two minutes and change into the third period, Robbie Earl scored again when an errant Joe Corvo pass bounced right out to him in front of Leighton. The Carolina goalie seemed to have no chance on that game tying goal. Corvo almost put the puck into his own net as his pass either hit the goalpost or went off his own goalie before bouncing to the Wild rookie.

Give the Hurricanes credit though, they battled back hard later in the third period and controlled play for awhile. Neither team could score though and the contest went into overtime.

Brandon Sutter had the best chance in the extra period, but failed to convert on a 2-1 advantage. Leighton held his ground at the other end and the game went to a shootout. Fans had to be asking themselves, did they feel lucky?

After Ruutu missed for Carolina and Leighton stopped Antti Miettinen, Jussi Jokinen made a nice move and flipped a backhander over Backstrom for the game winner. Mikko Koivu and Marek Zidlicky could not solve the Carolina goalie, who looked solid and confident during the shootout. Matt Cullen's attempt was stopped by Backstrom, but was not needed.

The Hurricanes are still in last place in the league, but they will take the win and try to build something with it. Can they now go streaking in the other direction? Next up is a game in Montreal on Tuesday night.

Game Notes:

Tuomo Ruutu was on the ice for all four of Carolina's regulation goals. He found a spot in front of the Minnesota goalie during most of that time. Ruutu earned his 100th NHL assist in the game.
Jussi Jokinen is pure money on shootouts. He now has 25 shootout goals, the most in NHL history. Eight of them were for game winners.
Jokinen said that he had practiced a lot against Backstrom over the summer. He was questioning himself over what move to try to make on his friend. He also told reporters that he feels the goalie has the advantage in those situations. All's well that ends well as he decided to try the backhander and it worked.
Michael Leighton mentioned after the game that he knew this start was huge for him. He said that if he had another bad outing, this might have been his last chance. It seemed for awhile like anything that could go wrong, went wrong for him, but he stood his ground in the shootout and looked very good. He did have a couple of "uh-oh" moments during regulation where he lost track of the puck, but he pulled through it. The backup probably earned himself another start on Tuesday.
Joni Pitkanen, (lower body), Scott Walker, (upper body), and Stephane Yelle, (lower body) each left the game early with various injuries. Coach Maurice could not give any updates after the game. Yelle showed some real guts because he hurt himself again while blocking another shot on the penalty kill. He was hurt two games ago in the same fashion.
Brandon Sutter continues to shine. He had a couple of breakaway chances, played solid defense, and picked up a goal and an assist. The youngster now has seven points in 10 games since being called up.

The losing streak is officially over, but the Hurricanes still have a lot of work ahead of them. For now they can enjoy the win, but it's back to work tomorrow.

Rally Falls Short, Islanders 4, Canes 3 (OT)

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:30:05 -0000

More photos » by Gerry Broome - AP

about 1 month ago: Carolina Hurricanes' Brandon Sutter (16) and Tuomo Ruutu (15), from Finland, celebrate Ruutu's goal against New York Islanders goalie Martin Biron (43) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, Nov. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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The Carolina Hurricanes fell behind quickly again as they allowed three goals in the first period while only generating three shots on goal, but they fought back and tied the score before eventually losing to the New York Islanders in overtime, 4-3. Brandon Sutter earned two assists, his first two point game in the NHL, and Tuomo Ruutu scored another goal, his third in the last two games, and hit everything in sight to lead the home team.

It seemed for awhile like the Hurricanes might finally put an end to their prolonged winless streak, but instead failed to win for the 14th consecutive game.

The game had another less than auspicious start for the home team as Tim Gleason took a roughing penalty less than three minutes into the game, then mouthed off on his way to the box for an unsportsmanlike penalty on top of it. The Islanders took full advantage by scoring two powerplay goals during the four minute penalty kill sequence.

John Tavares knocked a puck out of midair into the net which came bouncing off the end glass for the first goal. Mark Streit rifled a shot in from the blueline for the second.

Aaron Ward would get called for tripping at about the 11 minute mark and Tavares would score again, just after Ward stepped out of the box to make it an even strength tally. The Canes could only muster three shots on goal, after just putting two shots on net in the opening period during Wednesday night's game.

There was a lot of grumbling in the press box between periods as most felt that the game was as well as over, but apparently Carolina had other ideas. They came out in the second period with some zip and drew a penalty at about the 8 minute mark which gave them the advantage.

Paul Maurice put Bryan Rodney and Brandon Sutter on the ice for the powerplay and they did not disappoint. Tuomo Ruutu put in a shot for the goal, but both youngsters picked up assists. Sutter created the opportunity by getting in Martin Biron's kitchen on the play.

The home team would score again in the period after Ray Whitney re-directed an Andrew Alberts shot into the net. The crowd was really into the game by then and the team had some life as well as some hope. Late in the period, Blake Comeau was called for high sticking, which drew blood on Erik Cole.

The Canes would have over three minutes of powerplay time with fresh ice to begin the third period, but could not take advantage. The Islanders killed the opportunity and took back the momentum. It had turned into an entertaining game though and the Hurricanes continued to try to tie things up.

With about four to five minutes left in the contest, Tim Gleason lost his edge and took a nasty tumble into the end boards. He got up very slowly and was limping, but did not immediately leave the ice. When he did make it to the bench, most folk probably thought that his night was over, but he returned to the game and with two and a half minutes left, rifled a seeing eye shot past Biron to tie the game.

Carolina was buzzing after that score and tried to win the game before regulation, but the Islanders had the best opportunity when a puck got past Legace at the other end. The goalie was down and out and had no idea where the puck was, but it was dangerously close to the goal line. Joni Pitkanen saved the day when he took out the closest Islander who was reaching for the puck.

There were just a few seconds left on the clock. If that puck would have gone in, what a buzz killer that would have been.

The game went to overtime and the Islanders had the better chances, but Manny Legace was equal to the task. With overtime winding down, Bryan Rodney tried to clear the puck into the middle of his own zone and Kyle Okposo jumped all over it. He stole the puck, drove the net, and beat Legace with just 15 clicks left in the extra period for the game winner.

The Canes earned a point and they played better, but the streak continues.

Game Notes:

It was the first game of the year in which Carolina out-scored their opponent in the second period.
Ruutu's powerplay goal ended a 0-24 man-advantage drought. As mentioned before, two ex-Rats had the assists.
Ruutu was a beast in this game and was credited with nine hits, six shots on goal, and two takeaways. He led the team in all three categories. Erik Cole had eight hits.
Rodney was apologetic after the game for his big mistake. He said that he let his teammates down. But the rookie collected his first NHL point and certainly had more positive than negative for the night. Maurice said after the game that he told Rodney not to let the play bother him because he did not want the defenseman to dwell on it. You can forgive a rookie for making that mistake because sometimes the vets on the team have been doing the same thing as well.
Ruutu set up Rodney for a perfect open chance right in the slot during the extra period, but the blueliner said he barely saw the puck coming and could not get good wood on it. He would love to have another chance at that one though.
The Canes were not called for a penalty during the second period, just the sixth penalty-free period for them the entire season. (They were called for a penalty in the third)
Aaron Ward played the fewest minutes, (10:13) of any of the defensemen. He was limping after the game and was obviously hampered by something.
Chad LaRose played one of his best games of the season. He looked more like his old self, was buzzing around the net making a pest of himself, and came very close to making a couple of scoring plays. He ended up with an assist, four shots on goal, and five hits.
Niclas Wallin seemed to play better alongside Pitkanen, although he looked lost during the second Tavares goal. He made one very nice hustle play as he caught up to an Islander on a breakaway and hip-checked him out of the play.
Scott Walker made himself available for the game after it was expected he would sit out because of a wrist injury. Maurice went with seven defensemen anyway and benched Tim Conboy. Walker finished with just 4:47 of ice time. Tom Kostopoulos also had 4:50 of time on the ice. Stephane Yelle sat out as expected.

Next up for the Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon is a Minnesota Wild team which also beat them previously during this long streak. More about that later.

Brandon Sutter and Bryan Rodney gave post game interviews shown below.