SB Nation - Brandon Sutter

Tim Gleason Heroics Not Enough, Capitals 4, Hurricanes 3, OT

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:56:16 -0000

More photos » by Alex Brandon - AP

10 days ago: Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Tim Gleason, right, reacts with his team after his goal to tie the game in the third period of an NHL hockey game with the Washington Capitals in Washington, Friday, Dec. 11, 2009. The Capitals won 4-3 in overtime(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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The Carolina Hurricanes battled to a regulation tie, but finally succumbed to the offensive onslaught of the Washington Capitals, dropping a game to their division rivals in overtime Friday night, 4-3. The Canes were out-shot in each and every period as the Caps finished the game with a 40-19 advantage.

The visitors managed to block a total of 28 shots and the Caps missed the net 17 times, meaning the home team put a total of 85 shots on the beleaguered team from Carolina. The Canes made their shots and chances count as they missed the net five times and only had 13 shots blocked.

Speaking of blocked shots, Tim Gleason got a stick on one of Alexander Ovechkin's wristers and took a puck to the face late in the first period. It did not look like Gleason would return as he took 30 stitches and had to have a full face shield added to his helmet, but not only did he come back to the ice, he would tie the score on a shorthanded chance which at least gave the Hurricanes a much needed point for the night's efforts.

After the game, enough couldn't be said about Gleason's effort. "He's unbelievable", said Brandon Sutter. "He's one of those guys who always shows a lot of character and he's been doing that for us all year".

Paul Maurice said that it showed the leadership qualities of the defenseman. "There are very few people who could do what he did and it just goes to show the leadership that he provides to the team."

The "Gleason for Captain" bandwagon just got bigger tonight.

The Canes started out well, even though they were out-shot in the opening period, 14-5. Jiri Tlusty opened the scoring for the visitors as he received a perfect cross-ice pass from Brandon Sutter. It was the first goal as a Hurricane for Tlusty on his very first shift for the team.

Sutter and Tlusty showed great speed on the play and beat the Capitals' defense down the ice. But the flashy winger will need to bone up on defense, he was on the ice for two of the Caps' scores.

The Canes got a bit lucky and scored again later in the first period when Eric Staal tried one of his patented wrap around attempts. The puck initially bounced back to him but he shoved it right back at Jose Theodore's feet. Somehow the puck got in and the period ended with the score 2-0, even though it seemed like the Caps were controlling play for the most part.

The Caps would tie things up in the second on the back of Alexander Semin, who scored twice. Semin scored his second goal with just a fraction of a second left in the period, giving his team an emotional lift and sending the Canes to the locker room feeling like they were snake-bitten.

Tomas Fleischmann put the home team ahead just inside of three minutes into the third period on a nice backdoor play set up by Mathieu Perreault.

But during a penalty kill, Tim Gleason stole the puck from Mike Green, skated in the offensive zone, and blasted a slap shot by Theodore. Gleason won't be asked to perform in a shootout anytime soon, but it was a perfect shot and gutsy effort by the injured defenseman.

The Caps would end the game quickly in OT as Mike Green atoned for his earlier gaffe by scoring just 1:16 into the extra frame.

The point gives the Hurricanes three points so far in this brutal road stretch as they now travel to Ottawa to take on the Senators Saturday night.

Game notes:

Carolina was credited with 19 hits led by Andrew Alberts with five and Tuomo Ruutu with four.
Brett Carson had an amazing eight blocked shots. Tim Gleason and Joni Pitkanen had four each.
The Canes had 19 shots on goal, led by Staal's four. The Caps had 40 shots led by Semin and Ovechkin with seven and six respectively.
Tlusty and Sutter look like they will be a good combination for the future. As mentioned previously, they both have excellent speed and seem to have chemistry.
Cam Ward played a very good game, but was not perfect. Needless to say he was kept busy all night long.
One can not say enough about Tim Gleason's effort. He got a point for the team and earned the respect of everyone with his gutsy performance.

Here is an interview I recorded of Jiri Tlusty speaking to the press after the loss:

Price / Halak - The Stats - November 2009

Chris Boyle — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:13:39 -0000

What a difference a month makes.

Thirty days ago the Canadiens were in the middle of a goaltending controversy. Jaroslav Halak's agent was NITWITTERING Carey Price's won/loss record, the fanbase had placed the bus in reverse and were attempting to leave a fresh set of treadmarks on Price's back and the Canadiens were plodding through their schedule at .500.

Outside of the Canadiens still flirting with the .500 mark, the attitude regarding the goaltending situation has changed dramatically. Since this article is a retrospective on November, it is heavily weighted towards Price. Halak's one start didn't offer enough of a sample to legitimately track his monthly progress. What began as an even split in October, turned into a clear separation as Price started 11 of 12 games in November, almost rendering the title of this article, and its point, moot for at least the time being. A solid performance by Halak in Ottawa suggest that the busy month of December may tell a different story.

Surprised by the turn this has taken, maybe you shouldn't be. This has been typical of the story that Price has written over the first two and a half seasons of his career. Somehow, instead of the fanbase observing the roller coaster ride from afar, recognizing that as the roller coaster descends, a peak exists for it to climb, they jump on the roller coaster eyes closed screaming for dear life on its mad descents only to extol the virtues of the ride when they disembark.

Should Price struggle in February again, it is likely that the fresh imagery that exists in everybody's minds right now will once again dissipate in a mad panic

Panic in Montreal is generally followed by the rewriting OR ignoring of history. Even with Price's strong November this controversy is not over, it will continue to bubble just below the surface. Should Price struggle in January, the detractors who are silent right now will re-emerge with the same arguments, their memories will once again be wiped clean. While the starting goaltender in Montreal is one of the most heavily scrutinized positions in sports, the easiest may be the backup goaltender in Montreal. The backup's flaws are always concealed under the their baseball caps, their past transgressions completely ignored. This will never change.

At Eyes On The Prize, we continue try to look past the surface level blame and analyze what is really going on. This month we will compare Price's performance in November to October and also look back and try to clarify the factors that contribute to a team based stat like a win / loss record and how it relates to Price and Halak.

One of the main arguments against Price in October was his inability to win games. With Halak sporting a 5-2 record and Price at 2-5, the most simplistic argument was "Price doesn't make the big saves when he needs to" and "Halak wins games". That argument ignored plenty of factors, most importantly that wins are a team based stat.

While perusing the internet I came across an interesting perspective at Brodeur is a Fraud. While trying to debunk the myth of Brodeur's career, he came up with an interesting statistic that he refers to as Win Threshold. It essentially projects out what a goaltender would have had to do to earn a point (.500) by including the teams performance in front of him. In a 3-1 victory, the assumption would be that to earn a point the goaltender would have to allow no more than 3 goals. Inversely, in a 3-1 loss the goaltender would need to have allowed no more than 1 goal.

We can calculate what I'll call the "win threshold" for the goalies on each team by taking (shots against - goals for) / shots against. This gives us the save percentage that would result in the team ending up with an equal number of goals for and goals against over the course of the season. If the goalie's save percentage is above that number, the team is likely to win more than the lose, while anything below the threshold means that the team should end up sub -.500 (or sub -.550 in the shootout era).

This simple statistic beautifully illustrates the career of Chris Osgood AND his playoff run that allowed the media to begin the "Chris Osgood is a Hall of Famer" nonsense.

In 2008-09, Detroit's win threshold was .873, which was the lowest in the league. The Islanders' win threshold was .928, which was not only the highest mark in the league but also the highest of any team since the lockout......Naturally, comparing win totals on goalies playing on the Islanders to goalies playing on the Red Wings is completely senseless.

Using this as a starting point, I compared how this statistic affected goalies on the same team. Was the Canadiens offense responsible for Halak's inflated win total, or was it his superior goaltending? What would Price have had to do to compensate for the woeful offense in front of him? Was it that Halak was receiving an easier ride?

(Let me preface this by stating that this is judging wins and wins alone. If a goaltender was fantastic and had a .960 SV%, but only needed to produce a .895 SV%, it is not devaluing his performance, only stating that his margin for error was very high. I also understand that early saves can keep a team in a period. Teams play to the score and loosen up when they are up big and that some goals are scored late in a game and alter the margin for the threshold. It is obvious that providing replacement value will never replicate the actual performance that history has provided. This theory is being used only to illustrate that wins are a team statistic and that they are heavily influenced by not only what you save, but what offense your team provides).

To put this in perspective, the league average in save percentage is .910.

In order for Price to gain the majority of his wins, he has had to offer above average goaltending.
His margin for error was slim and when he failed to balance on the high wire, he was open to criticism.
A .915 save percentage is currently good to place 20th in the league.

Halak on the other hand was allowed to navigate with a greater margin of error. He only needed to offer a save percentage of .865 to register his 5 victories. Vesa Toskala's save percentage on the season is .863. So any goaltender slightly more competent than Toskala MAY have registered a similar number of victories as Halak.

Both goaltenders would have had to provide Hall of Fame type performances to avoid the majority of their losses.

How would those statistics translate if you offered up average replacement value? If Jimmy Howard and his .910 SV% replaced Price and Halak, the Canadiens would be in deep trouble. The Canadiens would likely be in the hunt for Taylor Hall, not talking about the importance of their December schedule.

Looking at Price's losses below, it is unlikely that an average goaltender makes any impact on his losses, hell, it's unlikely that Roberto Luongo would have made much of a difference.

Price's threshold in his 11 losses is a SV% of 0.944 and a GAA of 1.69. Numbers that would place him above Ryan Miller as the number one goaltender in the league. Six of those starts would have required a .940+ SV% just to procure a shootout. If the team continues to struggle offensively to this capacity, then it is going to require Jose Theodore 2002 MVP type performances to drag them into the playoffs. With Price and Halak entering their RFA season, THAT is a scary and expensive thought.

You would think with Halak's lack of activity in November, that his stat line would remain unchanged, but with only an 8 game sample, one strong start against the Flames resulted in an 11 point improvement on his save percentage and lopping 1/5th of a goal off his goals against average. In October, Price statistically lagged behind in all the major categories, but with a strong month has lessened the paper gap between himself and Halak. I made the argument in October that Price had a higher ceiling, but was prone to wild swings of inconsistency and the 2009 season has proven that out so far.

Through two months, what has been proven, is that the Canadiens goaltending is in good hands. With the transition of turning over half the team, and the numerous injuries to key personnel, the fact the team came through November at .500 is miraculous. At this moment, Halak's consistency offers the perfect compliment to Price, but due to the idiotic actions of his agent (Halak, Halak it a lot?), it is clear that Halak is eyeing a starting assignment, and will not likely find that in Montreal. You may be reading "Price / Sanford: the numbers" by ~~March~~ December. (note: as I am writing this, Sportsnet has reported that Halak has been placed on the trading block).

The fact that I can even mention a 2002 Theodore-like season is based on the strong November showing by Price. Playing behind an injury ravaged defense that produced roughly the same amount of shots as the previous month, from roughly the same areas, Price's numbers improved across the board. Price also managed to avoid a major meltdown like the Vancouver game, as well as producing a couple of 40+ shot gems against the Bruins and Predators.

With Halak pushing Price for the starting job in October, by all accounts Price responded to the challenge with hard work, which resulted in plenty of positive signs over the last month. With hard work Price's confidence level soared and his return to a hybrid style has allowed his athleticism to re-surface, because of this, Price managed to produce some miraculous saves during November. His patience has also been on display, particularly in shootouts and breakaways where once again he is using his huge frame to his advantage and refusing to commit before the shooter. With his gap control improving, he has been extremely hard to beat in 1 on 1 situations. This is a huge improvement on the tentative approach he used in late 2008-09. Add in his aggressive puck handling and his tenacity in battling to track the puck and the hope in Montreal is that Price has begun turning the corner.

Price's save percentage's also improved in almost every category in November, with his biggest improvement coming in shorthanded situations where his save percentage improved by over .200. His woefully low special teams percentage in October masked the fact that he was producing an elite level even strength percentage. With an improvement to mediocre powerplay standards, Price's statistics all experienced a significant jump across the board.

The question remains, what came first, the chicken or the egg? Did the Canadiens penalty kill improve in November because of Price, or did Price's numbers improve because of the penalty kill? Halak did not suffer the same special teams meltdown. Could that have had anything to do with the power of the opposition, or his own play?

With so many new faces and the loss of Markov, it is no surprise that the PK got off to a slow start. With the return of O'Byrne and Gill and the emergence of White and Pyatt, the October implosion by Price should be avoidable moving forward.

Interesting to note if Price had managed to produce an .878 powerplay SV% in October, his overall SV% would have improved from .889 to .920.

Price and Halak continue to get bombarded by shots and the Canadiens have once again regressed into becoming over reliant on goaltending to win hockey games. With the early season injury to the Canadiens best player (Markov in 2010, Koivu in 2002) and the continual 30+ shot barrages, this season is becoming eerily reminiscent of the 2002 season when Theodore needed to provide the difference every night.

With Price's numbers improving in November, the assumption would be that the Canadiens settled down and began to limit shots and scoring opportunities. The Canadiens actually surrendered an extra two shot attempts per game. Price still is averaging over a shot attempt against per minute on the ice, a trend that will either lead to a statistical regression or an MVP award.

In 8 of his 11 starts in November, Price faced 30+ shots, including a team record tying 53 saves against the Predators and a 42 save gem that was seconds short of his 1st shutout of the season. Only once in his 11 games did he have less than 50 shots directed at him. Price continued to excel on shots outside of 20+ feet as he only allowed 7 of 257 shots to beat him. His SV% below 20' feet drastically improved and is pushing towards the league average.

Price offered up plenty of spectacular saves in November, but also had some concentration lapses that resulted in some questionable goals, something that had been absent from his game in October (only 5 of 25 came in as questionable, with zero registering at fault). Although his statistics drastically improved over the month of November, with the Canadiens lack of scoring ability (25th in the NHL) and his unbelievably tough win threshold (see above), his margin for error was slim. This can be witnessed by his 0-4 record in the 4 games I credited a bad goal. In two of the games (Detroit and Atlanta) the margin of victory was one goal, the other two (Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh) were decided by two goals. As he matures, these goals should occur less frequently allowing him to become even more of a game changing player. He isn't yet ready to carry a team, but it seems the Canadiens have given him little to no choice in the matter presently.

Looking at the zones where Price has given up goals, his glove hand continues to be much maligned even though he has only been beaten high glove side 11 times through November (11/53). The reason for the questions lies in the amount of bad goals high glove side. Out of the 12 goals categorized as suspect or bad, 6 have been high glove side, making it much easier to understand AND defend the criticism.

Looking at his November chart also gives the impression that he is very vulnerable low stick side, but looking at the video below shows that a lot of those goals came as the result of cross ice passes in which Price was not able to square up and were the result of him in transition. A small concern for me through two months has been his vulnerability through the 5-hole, an area he has not been able to cover with his stick either in transition or static and squared up.

Goals deemed questionable or bad are marked in bold.

26. Rich Peverley feeds it in front and it deflects off Bryan Little by a moving Price beating him 5-hole. 10 ft.
27. Pass from behind the net to a wide open Peverley in the slot, snaps a shot by Price low-stick side. 14 ft
28. Point shot by Mark Popovic that knuckles by Carey Price beating him high glove side. 59 ft.
29. 5 on 4 PP. Cross crease feed to a wide-open Pavel Kubina who directs it pass Price into an empty net. 5 ft.
30. Kane cross crease pass to a wide open Colby Armstrong who beats Price low stick side. 8 ft.
31. 6 on 5. Point shot. Price makes the initial stop, Patrice Bergeron rebound beats Price low-stick side. 5 ft.
32. 5 on 4 PP. Scramble. Price makes 2 saves but cannot stop Ryan Malone as he beats him five-hole. 11 ft.
33. Price, big rebound and Alex Tanguay alone, chips it over Price beating him high glove side. 14 ft.
34. 2 on 1. Scramble. Wright beats Gorges to the puck and slides it into an empty net. 6 ft.
35. Price highsticked in the throat by Mara falls down leaving an open net. Robert Lang puts it top shelf. 15 ft.
36. Point shot wide deflects into an open net off Bissonnette's skate beating Price low glove side. 12 ft.
37. Price makes initial save, Steve Sullivan all alone finishes off his rebound beating Price 5-hole. 7 ft
38. 5 on 3 PP. Point shot stopped, Sullivan at the side of the net beats Price low stick side. 14 ft.
39. Odd man rush, cross ice feed to the slot. Brandon Sutter chips it over Price, high glove side. 14 ft.
40. 3 one 2, cross ice feed one timed by Jussi Jokinen beats Price low glove side. 32 ft.
41. Eric Fehr snaps a shot from the face-off dot beating Price high-glove side. 25 ft.
42. Morrison takes a pass in front and moves opposite to Price's momentum beating him low glove side. 6 ft.
43. 5 on 4 PP. Brad Stuart point shot handcuffs Price and trickles in. 55 ft.
44. 5 on 3 PP. Brian Rafalski point pass tipped home by Pavel Datsyuk at the side of the net. 12 ft.                         45. Nash behind the net finds Vermette who one-times it past Price beating him high blocker side. 11 ft.
46. 5 on 4 PP. Rick Nash centers it, Stralman cheating off the point beats Price low blocker side. 24 ft.
47. 5 on 4 PP. Antoine Vermette's shot stopped, rebound back to him, beats Price low blocker side. 20 ft.
48. Sidney Crosby snap shot from the top of the faceoff circle beating Price high glove side. 38 ft.
49. Bill Guerin from the corner. Price makes initial save, doesn't hold the post as he beats him 5-hole. 8 ft.
50. Crosby with a beautiful pass to a streaking Sergei Gonchar who beats Price 5-hole all alone. 8 ft.
51. Point shot deflected in front by Brooks Laich beats Price low blocker side. 18 ft.
52. Alex Ovechkin one timer from the top of the faceoff circle beats Price low blocker side. 38 ft.
53. 6 on 4 PP. Price stops a one-timer by Ovechkin, Fehr slides home the rebound beating Price 5-hole. 10 ft.

The November verdict: You have to be encouraged by the performance of Price and Halak through November and the improved penalty kill is a positive sign and a factor in Price's improved numbers. The volume of shots and scoring opportunities remain a major concern. In October I preached patience because of the integration of 10-12 players and the introduction of a new system. With injuries creating a revolving door of players it is likely that this team has still not properly gelled. The Canadiens have fallen into a pattern of struggling to produce offense and relying on Price and Halak to bail them out, and this is a dangerous game to play with developing goaltenders. They have been able to provide some fantastic results through November, but if this continues they will struggle to make the playoffs. To provide room for improvement moving forward, the goaltenders get a B+ for November.

To view the October Price / Halak analysis, click here.

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.

Rodney to the Rescue: Canes at Sabres, Game Day Preview

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:36:15 -0000

The Carolina Hurricanes, (5-15-5), are in Buffalo to test their resolve against the Sabres, (13-7-2), tonight in a 7 p.m. match at the HSBC. There is no need to re-hash last night's fiasco in Raleigh. What's done is done. Can the Canes forget about it and play their next hockey game with some fortitude and consistency?

The team seems to be on radio silence today other than sending out a media blast about the recall of Bryan Rodney. It's to be assumed that Joni Pitkanen will be unable to play tonight as he is probably still suffering from the affect of running into teammate Brandon Sutter. Pitkanen took the worst of that collision and skipped out of the third period meltdown against the Thrashers.

There have been no updates from the morning skate and no word about who will start in net tonight. My guess is that they will give Michael Leighton a try, but that is an unofficial hypothesis. Perhaps they skipped the morning skate and spent the morning watching video?

For those of you clamoring for major changes, don't expect anything to be done until after the game on Monday night against the Caps. The Canes will then have a few days off and that is always bad news for any struggling team. The down time gives management a chance to process changes.

The Canes enter this contest as the only team in the NHL yet to win a game on the road, (0-9-3). The Sabres are coming off a hard earned win yesterday in Philadelphia. But the home team will be missing a couple of key contributers. Craig Rivet and Paul Gaustad will miss tonight with various injuries while Patrick Kaleta will probably be suspended because of a hit yesterday on Jared Ross.

Buffalo is led by Tim Connolly and Derek Roy.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Tim Connolly	22	6	15	21	-4	2	3	0	2	0	55	10.9

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Derek Roy	22	4	12	16	-5	14	3	0	1	0	55	7.3

Of course Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville are also to be contended with. ~~Elite netminder Ryan Miller will probably take the night off, after having played in Philadelphia. Patrick Lalime is the backup, and he has yet to win a game this season.~~

((UPDATE)): Ryan Miller will get the nod for Buffalo. (glove tap to the Left Wing Lock and Buffalo News).

~~Lalime versus Leighton? (Again, this is an unofficial guess). It could be a real barnburner in Buffalo tonight.~~

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Ryan Miller	19	1122	13	4			37	1.98	534	497	.931	2

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Michael Leighton	5	233	1	2			17	4.38	107	90	.841	0

Apparently, the Sabres are taking nothing for granted by starting Miller two games in a row.

The Canes are led by Ray Whitney, Jussi Jokinen, and Tuomo Ruutu.

This game will be televised locally by FS Carolinas starting at 7. We will have the open game thread here starting at 6:30.

For information about the Sabres, check out our friends at Die by the Blade.

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.

Moving Eric Staal to Wing: Good Idea?

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:08:21 -0000

Carolina Hurricanes forward Eric Staal has always been a "shoot first, ask questions later" kind of player. Would it serve the team better to have him play at wing? (photo by LTD)

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Carolina Hurricanes All Star center, Eric Staal, is on the road to recovery and could rejoin the lineup within the week. The question of the day? Where exactly does Staal fit in when he returns and what will the lines look like afterward?

When Staal joined his teammates for the pregame skate Saturday morning, he was skating as a winger on Brandon Sutter's line. There has been some talk that the team might try moving their leading goal scorer for the past four years, to wing.

Should they risk it?

This is a move that should not be taken lightly. Staal has scored 153 goals over the previous four years for an average of 38 goals per year. Only Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jarome Iginla, Vincent Lecavalier, and Dany Heatley have lit the lamp more times in that same period.

But the center has not been able to match his career best numbers he put up in 2005-06, the year that playmaking forward Cory Stillman was on his line. Could he have even better results playing alongside a prototype, playmaking center? Would it be better for the team if he moved?

If you examine Staal's game, his skill set seems to match those of a scoring forward more than a typical center. The "prototype" center usually is a playmaker, along the lines of Sidney Crosby, Joe Thornton, and Jason Spezza. These players usually have considerable more assists than goals. But Staal not only leads his team in shots on goal, he is also a league leader in shots and was second only to Ovechkin last season. Most of the time he looks for the shot first while the pass seems secondary.

This "shoot first" philosophy appears to more closely resemble that of wingers like Rick Nash, Marian Hossa, Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, and Heatley. And there is nothing wrong with that. Every team needs a sniper who is looking to score. But usually these "goal scorers" need a playmaker alongside them in order to excel.

Ray Whitney would be the teammate who could come closest to fitting that description, and while he and Staal have had some success on the same line, things could be better because Whitney's speed is not what it used to be.

Now with the recent emergence of Brandon Sutter as a scorer, this might be the perfect time to rock the boat and try Staal out on his wing. Of course there is risk involved. Maybe the change will hurt Staal's game more than help it? Maybe Sutter will cool off from the hot streak he has been on since his recall?

Sutter was not necessarily known as an offensively skilled player with scoring instincts, up until recently. While he has nine points, (5G 4A) in 13 games this season, last year he finished with six points in 50 games. (1G, 5A). Although in fairness to the youngster, he played fourth line minutes with no powerplay time last season. But even in juniors, he was not known as a prolific scorer.

Sutter has shown some passing ability as he perfectly fed Tim Gleason for an excellent powerplay goal against Toronto, and also had a nice pass to Ray Whitney that just missed. But 13 games does not a superstar make.

One of Staal's biggest attributes is that he can control possession of the puck behind the net because of his long reach, and then can either try wrap around chances or can feed to players cutting in front of the net. If he changes positions, would he still be able to use that skill set as often?

If Staal is moved to wing, here are some of the possible line combinations:

Sutter, Whitney, Staal
Cullen, Ruutu, Jokinen
Yelle, Samsonov, Cole
Brind'Amour, Kostopoulos, LaRose

or...

Sutter, Cole, Staal
Cullen, Ruutu, Jokinen
Yelle, Whitney, Samsonov
Brind'Amour, Kostopoulos, LaRose

When Scott Walker comes back, it opens up another can of worms.

If people were to ask me what my guess is, (and they have), I would say that after some experimentation, eventually Yelle would get moved to the press box. I don't feel that he is a long term option for third line center. Staal would move to first line center and Sutter would anchor the third line.

Staal, Whitney, Cole
Cullen, Ruutu, Jokinen
Sutter, Samsonov, LaRose
Brind'Amour, Walker, Kostopoulos

Paul Maurice has stated that he is very happy with the Cullen line and it's doubtful that group gets changed anytime soon. But eventually, the team would like Jussi Jokinen to center Ruutu and Samsonov, remaking the "All Euro" line which was so effective during the playoffs last year. The coaching staff really likes Jokinen at center.

If Brandon Sutter can continue his surprising scoring abilities, it could make for an interesting time ahead. Can you imagine the speed and skill of a future line comprised of Sutter, Staal, and Zach Boychuk? That might be the quickest line in the NHL.

What do you think? Should Staal be tried at wing? How would you set the lines?

_____

We will have a game day preview up for tonight's game after lunch.

Poll

Should the Hurricanes try moving Eric Staal from center to wing?

No, leave him at his natural position

60 votes

Yes, give it a shot, why not?

218 votes

Yes, he would probably be better off at wing

36 votes

No, Sutter is not skilled enough to be the true playmaker Staal needs

10 votes

I don't know

20 votes

344 votes | Poll has closed

Fearless Opinion: Head Shots

Sean Zandberg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:16:12 -0000

Continuing on with trying to entertain Canucks fans during the long layoff, I've decided to think outside the Nucks box.

I have to try to contain my anger when the head shot issue is continually brought up on mainstream hockey shows and websites, and I have to try to contain it now. What follows is solely my opinion and I don't care if people disagree with me or not. In fact I welcome the conversation.

I have no shame in admitting that I am a fan of old school hockey. Head shots are not a new phenomenon in the NHL and beyond. It has been going on for years, as Mike Milbury pointed out on CBC's Satellite Hotstove last Saturday night. He is correct. Watch a Scott Stevens hit highlight reel as one example and you can see that also. In the old days, and very rarely today, players would take a head shot and scramble in 10 different directions trying to get to the bench because they got their bell rung. That was the "manly" thing to do. I've always respected that. Nowadays, with all the concussion issues, precautionary procedures by team doctors (stretchers and the like) and change of protective gear (which I'll get more into later), players get smoked and lay on the ice motionless, whether because they are knocked out cold, or are playing it safe.

While I still think the elbowing/charging rules are good ones, I don't want the NHL to change the rules now involving shoulder shots to the head. In a game filled with fast and size-able players, hits in all forms can happen in an instant. I don't want this cloud of fear hanging over aggressive player's heads that they cannot hit someone for fear that they might make contact with the opposing player's head and thus be disciplined for it. I have so many reasons for feeling this way.

-It's f**king hockey! I love hits! Clean hits! Shoulder-to-the-head included, if that comes to pass.

-The various heights of players. Guys like Chris Pronger or Zdeno Chara decking a shorter player (or, like Scott Stevens smoking Paul Kariya for example) are going to lead to a head shot based on that. So these guys need to change their game now to avoid it? Give me a break. The OHL is always "leading the way" with potential new NHL rules, but you can hear the sentiments of Mike Kelly, then coach of the Mississauga Ice Dog's opinion of bigger players hitting less in this clip. "Then that 6'4" defenceman has to avoid the check" he says. I don't think so!

-Whatever happened to players being responsible for their own actions? If you want to cut in the middle with the puck over the opposing team's blue line you're asking for it. If you want to dish a pass and admire it by turning your head, you're asking for it. If you want to bend over and poke at the puck when an opposing player is coming at you, you're asking for it. Like Don Cherry said recently, players have to be aware of who is on the ice for the opposing team at all times.

Allow me to be a little bit random by showing some clips.

1. Mike Richards tags David Booth

A. Cutting in the middle

B. Admiring his pass

2. Doug Weight wacks Brandon Sutter

A. Reaching for the puck with Weight coming at him.

B. Weight may have been trying to make a shoulder-to-shoulder blow but it was too late to react after Sutter leans forward. How is the NHL going to ban head shots when this kind of thing happens? Video review to decipher whether or not the hit was clean? Or does he get a game misconduct immediately? The latter is horse shit.

3. Michael Liambas crushes Ben Fanelli (OHL)

Liambas is suspended for the entire season.

A. Fanelli shouldn't be turning his back there. Not along the boards like that. Hate to see him hurt that badly though. B. Can the NHL/OHL or whoever put some more slack in the boards/glass? It was like Fanelli hit a brick wall. No give in that glass. I see his helmet popped off too.

So, randomness and disturbing images aside, I stand by my point. I don't think head shots should be eliminated. What I think should be changed is:

1. Player awareness on the ice. Who's out there for the opposing team? Don't cut in the middle. Don't admire your passes. Don't turn your back along the boards when an opposing player is coming at you.

2. Every arena should have more flexible glass. Remember how it was in the Forum in Los Angeles? Yeah, just like that.

3. Here is a real biggy that Don Cherry alluded to years ago, and I still think holds true to today:

Get rid of the hard plastic elbow/shoulder pads.

I see that I represent a minority on this issue. I don't care. That's kind of a bogus poll in the wording of it. Like I said before, it does change how a player who is over 6'4" plays his game. He should not be subjected to that.

The intensity and physicality of the game will be somewhat compromised. Great players like Mike Richards will have their game suffer as a result. It's a game of seconds or less when it comes to hits. Head shots happen, whether intentionally or not and whether the League tries to stop it or not.

I'd get into the instigator rule and players "policing" this kind of thing, but I don't need to. I'm old school. Figure it out.

I could go on about this all day. Opinions?

Powerplay Woes Continue as Canes Fall to Habs, 3-2 in Shootout

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:30:46 -0000

More photos » by Paul Chiasson - AP

about 1 month ago: Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price takes out Carolina Hurricanes' Tuomo Ruutu from in front of his net during overtime period in an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 in Montreal. The Canadiens beat the Hurricanes 3-2 in the shoot-out. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)

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The Carolina Hurricanes rebounded from a slow start, took the lead in the second period, but allowed a game tying goal in the game's final three minutes and eventually fell to the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 in a shootout on Tuesday night in Montreal. The team had two powerplay chances in the third period and a very favorable 4 on 3 chance in overtime, but failed to capitalize. They ended up 0-5 on the powerplay for the game.

The loss leaves the Canes winless on the road this season. They are the only team in the NHL who has yet to win a single game on the road.

The Canes fell behind about five minutes into the contest when Max Pacioretty slipped a puck by Michael Leighton, who was heavily screened on the play. Neither team really seemed to be able to mount much offense as the Canes managed just six shots on goal while the Habs had five.

In the second period Carolina scored on a couple of prime chances, even though they only had another six shots on goal. Ray Whitney passed to a streaking Brandon Sutter who tipped the puck past Carey Price. Sutter has been superb since his assignment to Raleigh and now has five goals in 11 games.

About three minutes later, Matt Cullen found an open Jussi Jokinen and the red hot Finn buried a one-timer, giving the visitors the lead.

While Montreal controlled play quite a bit after that, the Carolina defense and goaltending was up to the challenge. Michael Leighton looked like he was gaining confidence after every save, but had to leave midway through the second period with a lower body injury. Manny Legace came in his stead and continued the solid play in net.

At the end of the second period, the Habs had 21 shots on goals to just 12 for the Canes.

In the third period, with the help of two powerplay chances, Carolina matched Montreal shot for shot, (13 shots each), but the Habs seemed to have more jump and they tied the score with just 2:46 left on the clock.

The Hurricanes had a prime opportunity to end the game in overtime when Joe Corvo was knocked down with a high stick with just two minutes left. There is a lot of open ice to work with when a team has a four on three chance, but the Habs stopped it with the help of Carey Price pushing and shoving everyone out of the crease, and the game went to a shootout.

Manny Legace was solid in the shootout and did not allow a single goal until Maxim Lapierre scored on the sixth shot. None of the Hurricanes shooters scored, although Matt Cullen made a beautiful move in the Hurricanes sixth position, but failed to lift the puck into the net.

Give credit to Carey Price. He looked strong and confident between the pipes.

The shooters for the Canes were, Tuomo Ruutu, Jussi Jokinen, Rod Brind'Amour, Sergei Samsonov, Bryan Rodney, and Cullen. After the game, Paul Maurice was asked about some of his choices and he said that he went with the percentages. He defended his choice of Brind'Amour by saying that the captain has done well throughout his career. But it was mysterious why he left a red hot Brandon Sutter on the bench along with Ray Whitney, an experienced shootout performer who has done well in past.

All in all, this is a game that the team probably feels like they should have won. But they sat back a bit too much at times and allowed the Canadiens to control play, and that is asking for trouble with just a one goal lead. That, and their complete and total incompetence on the powerplay, were the primary reasons for the loss.

The Hurricanes will play Toronto at home on Thursday night for a rematch of the humiliating "Battle of the Basement" series, to see who is the worst team in the NHL. They lost to the Leafs last time.

Game Notes:

One can not say enough about Brandon Sutter who continues to shine all over the ice. He finished with a goal, had three shots on goal, was a plus +1, and had over 20 minutes of ice time.
Rod Brind'Amour picked up another minus -1 and remains in last place in the league in that category. (-17). He had zero shots on goal for the game.
For the record, Brind'Amour is 4-10 in shootouts lifetime and went 1-2 last year, which is not bad.
The Hurricanes finished with 24 hits, led by Andrew Alberts with six.
Chad LaRose led the team with six shots on goal followed by Bryan Rodney with five.
Joe Corvo had five blocked shots, high for both teams.
Paul Maurice sounded happy with the effort in the post-game interview. "We played a very good road game, a very smart game", he said. The coach also praised Price for his part. "Give the goaltender credit, he made some fine saves".

Minnesota Wild @ Carolina Hurricanes: Game Recap

nathaneide — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:45:46 -0000

Minnesota Wild 4-5 (so) Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes had come in on a 14 game winless streak, tying the franchise record long streak dating back to when Minnesota Wild head coach Todd Richards was a member of the 1991-1992 Hartford Whalers (long live the Whale). Canes head coach Paul Maurice was sitting on the hottest of hot seats. They were missing their #1 goaltender in Cam Ward and one of their top offensive options in Eric Staal. The Minnesota Wild were wrapping up an Eastern Conference road trip in which they had trounced the bottom-feeding Toronto Maple Leafs, choked away a win against a team outside the top eight in the Tampa Bay Lightning, then lost a tough game to the elite-level Washington Capitals in which Josh Harding faced 41 shots. The Wild should've been looking to roll over the Canes and head back home.

Unfortunately, they looked like they were relying upon a beaten team to show up, and do nothing more than give them two easy points.

Carolina came out swinging. Jussi Jokinen was showing off for Finland Olympic GM Jari Kurri and put the Canes up 1-0 just 2:45 into the game. Then Joe Corvo scored on the power play with 2:11 left in the period to send the teams into the locker room for the first intermission with the home town Hurricanes up 2-0.

Minnesota used the break to regroup and came out with more intensity. However, the march to the penalty box for the Wild continued, as four Ray Whitney took advantage of the power play, and added to the Carolina lead at 3-0. Antti Miettinen then tipped in a goal on a Brent Burns shot to bring it to 3-1. However, the penalties continued to stack up, as Brandon Sutter notched another power play goal, creating a three-goal lead for the Canes again.

At that point, the momentum changed. Robbie Earl circled away from the net, turned and fired a puck over backup goaltender Michael Leighton. The goal was Earl's first career NHL marker. 19 seconds later, John Scott also scored his NHL first. The teams headed into the intermission with a Hurricanes leading 4-3, but the Wild had all the momentum.

Going into the third, it looked like the wheels were coming off for the Hurricanes. Minnesota controlled play, and Robbie Earl added his second of the afternoon, tying the game at 4. Minnesota then relaxed, with the game tied. This turned out to be a fatal mistake. The Wild would never again get a great scoring chance, and the Hurricanes were comfortable to play it out and go to overtime and the eventual shootout.

Once they got to the shootout, the Wild looked uncomfortable again, and the ice got choppy. Miettinen, Mikko Koivu and Marek Zidlicky were all stopped, but Jussi Jokinen sent the fans home with the two points and Minnesota got ready to head back to St. Paul with four points from a probable six on the trip.

A few positives from the game:

Brent Burns was a +4 on the evening
John Scott's first NHL goal
Robbie Earl's first and second NHL goal
Cal Clutterbuck and Kyle Brodziak's never-ending energy

Please read the game recap over at Canes Country

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

Jussi Jokinen (1 G, 1 shootout goal)
Robbie Earl (2 G)
Ray Whitney (1 G, 2 A)

Questions to Answer

In this battle between the worst in the East and the worst in the West, who truly is the worst? Well, frankly, both teams had stretches of incompetence.
Could today be the end of the road for Paul Maurice? No, but Fanhouse puts Richards on the hot seat! Pink Slip Index - NHL Fanhouse
Can the Canes get payback for a bad OT loss to the Wild in October? That they did.
Once again, the Wild get a backup. Can they get on Leighton early and often? No, how about late and often?
Last game, Martin Havlat had 8 shots. Can he actually score this time?? Ugh.

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.