Huge game in the East tonight as the Washington Capitals take on the Boston Bruins at 7:30 in Beantown for the final game of their series which is all tied up at 3-3. Much is being said about the Bruins winning three game seven's last year, but the Hurricanes, with the help of Scott Walker's overtime goal, were able to get the job done on the road in 2009.

Usually the better goalie will win these types of games. Either way, tonight should be special.

We have had a few requests to offer open threads for discussion during the playoffs. Effective today, we'll start doing so daily at about 5 p.m each day. Feel free to use these threads to discuss playoff games or anything else hockey related that you feel would be of interest.

There are three games scheduled for tonight and each of the series are tied, 1-1. The Rangers visit Ottawa, the Bruins travel to Washington, and the Blues go to the Shark Tank.

It is going to be another long one, but most of you familiar with the blog over the years know that we do not hibernate during the offseason at Canes Country. To ensure that we stay as active as we have in the past, we have enlisted the help of three new contributors. Please welcome Corey, from The Shut Down Line, as well as C-Leaguer and PackPride17 to the staff.

Our goal is to have fresh content on a daily basis here. Soon, we will start with our ever popular Exit Analysis reports where our readers get to grade each of the Hurricanes and the coaching staff. As always, we'll be running mock drafts and a lot of draft analysis leading up to the end of June. We will also have some opinion pieces, statistical analysis, and perhaps some general ideas of what the club should do in the future, focusing on possible trades and free agent acquisitions. Of course, we will be reporting any breaking news that happens to come up as well.

Tim Donelli will continue helping us with our coverage of the Charlotte Checkers and we will be following them closely until their season is over.

We really appreciate the fact that our readership helps to keep things current with informative Fanposts and comments as well. We will be sending popular Fanposts to the front page or ones that we think deserve some extra attention.

I know it has been slower than normal here for the past couple of months but we are taking steps to correct that and look forward to even better coverage next season. A big thanks to all of you who actively participate and who come back here on a regular basis.

If anyone has questions or suggestions feel free to email me at canescountry@gmail.com.

The Carolina Hurricanes could have signed one of the best defensive prospects in the history of the franchise today with the signing of Boston College defenseman Brian Dumoulin. The blueliner just helped his college team win the National Championship and had the second best plus/minus in the country at (+27).

Dumoulin will report to Charlotte and will join the Checkers as soon as possible. The team's press release is after the jump.

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Cam Ward came within 13 seconds of a shutout and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Ottawa Senators, 2-1 on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Place. Ward made 38 saves on 39 shots and looked like he was on his "A" game throughout.

Brandon Sutter and Tuomo Ruutu scored for Carolina, their 17th and 18th goals respectively.

Sutter scored on a shot that goalie Craig Anderson got a piece of and Ruutu's was a powerplay tip in off of a nice pass by Jussi Jokinen.

The Canes have two games left for the season, the next one a match against Erik Cole and the Montreal Canadiens at home on Thursday night.

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The Carolina Hurricanes were steamrolled by the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night, 5-0 in front of another announced sell out crowd of 18,680 at the PNC Arena.

The Devils came out strong in the opening period and outshot the Canes, 17-7. The visitors scored a goal late in the first, three more in the second, and another in the third, to put the game away.

Brian Boucher picked up the loss for the home team as he allowed all five goals on 31 shots. The Hurricanes had just 22 shots for the game. Martin Brodeur earned the shutout for Jersey.

Boucher said after the game that the Devils were coming at him "in waves".

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Former Hurricane Andrew Ladd scored the game winner just 16 seconds into overtime as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-3 (OT) on Friday night at the PNC Arena.

The Canes, who gave up a 4-1 lead just a couple of games ago in a loss to the Detroit Red Wings, led this game 3-1 before the Jets tied it with 4:47 left in regulation.

After Nik Antropov scored just 2:27 into the game, the Hurricanes controlled much of the play until midway through the second period.

Derek Joslin tied things up in close off of a nice pass from behind the net by Jeff Skinner.

Eric Staal then made a beautiful play shorthanded as he took the puck away near center ice then skated it in on Tim Stapleton. The Carolina captain out-muscled the defenseman and beat Chris Mason to give the Canes a 2-1 lead with three minutes and change left in the first.

Then Brandon Sutter scored midway through the second when he found a loose puck near the crease during a scramble in front of the Winnipeg net.

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Cam Ward posted his fifth shutout of the season, (the 21st of his career) and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-0 at the ACC on Tuesday night.

Jussi Jokinen (12), Tim Brent (12), and Jay Harrison (9) each scored for Carolina.

Ward stopped all 30 of the shots he faced while the Canes chased Jonas Gustavsson just 37 seconds into the second period with the third goal of the game. Rookie Jussi Rynnas came in for the Leafs and did not allow another goal.

The Canes are now home for a twin bill this weekend and will have many activities for fan appreciation week. More about that later.

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The Carolina Hurricanes took a 4-1 lead late in the second period but were unable to hold off a Detroit Red Wings onslaught as they lost to the Wings, 5-4 on Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena.

The Canes allowed a total of 50 shots on goal for the game and ran out of gas in the third period as they could only muster three shots on goal themselves while Detroit threw 19 at Cam Ward.

Jiri Tlusty scored twice, his 16th and 17th of the season, while Chad LaRose and Jamie McBain had one goal each for Carolina. This game completed the 15th of 16 back-to-back sets for the team. They are 10-4-1 in the front half, but 4-8-3 in the second games of the back-to-backs.

The Carolina franchise has not won a regular season game in Detroit since 1989, when they were otherwise known as the Hartford Whalers.

Next up will be a game in Toronto on Tuesday night.

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R.J. Umberger racked up a hat trick and the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1 on Friday night at Nationwide Arena. Goalie Steve Mason made 39 saves on 40 shots and stayed undefeated, (4-0-0) against the Canes.

Carolina goalie Cam Ward remains without a career win against the Columbus franchise, (0-4-0) and allowed five goals on just 26 shots.

Carolina fell behind 2-0 before Drayson Bowman would make things interesting with his sixth goal of the season in the second period, but Umberger would score a minute and change later and the Jackets would put the game away in the third.

Next up will be the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.

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The Carolina Hurricanes are back on the road again and they packed their slim playoff hopes with them as they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at 7 p.m. The Canes are telling anyone who will listen that they have not given up on the playoffs yet. The big question is though, do they have a legitimate shot?

The team has spent much of the season wallowing at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but now they are one of the hottest teams in the league as they continue to battle every night. Is it too little too late?

According to NBC Sports Pro Hockey Talk, it will be if they lose tonight.

Regardless of how well they’ve played lately, if Carolina can’t beat the worst team in the NHL on Friday, then any chance of a Cinderella story will be all-but lost.

Kirk Muller is not pulling any punches and will be starting Cam Ward in this, the first game of another series of back-to-backs for Carolina. The boys will fly to Detroit after the game for a contest against the Red Wings Saturday night.

I would expect the Canes to stick with the same lines which have been successful of late:

• Tlusty, Staal, LaRose
• Ruutu, Jokinen, Skinner
• Dwyer, Sutter, Bowman
• Stewart, Brent, Nodl
• Harrison, Faulk
• Gleason, Allen
• McBain, Pitkanen

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(We are very pleased to announce that Tim Donelli will be joining us as a correspondent and will be covering the Charlotte Checkers for Canes Country as they push to the playoffs and hopefully beyond. Tim is Team Chaplain for the Checkers as well as the Southeastern USA Team Leader for Hockey Ministries International. He also helps with the HMI summer camp coming up soon in Raleigh, Raleigh Camp Website. Tim is also a freelance reporter for the Charlotte Observer and the Greensboro News and Record. We look forward his insight and perspective.)

CHECKERS SNAP THREE-GAME SKID WITH 6-2 WIN OVER PEORIA

CHARLOTTE HAS 12 GAMES LEFT TO SECURE AN AHL PLAYOFF BERTH

by Tim Donelli - Correspondent

(Charlotte, NC – Wednesday, March 21) The Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League are coming down the stretch in their second season as the top affiliate of the Carolina Huricanes. But with 12 games remaining in the 2011-12 season, the Checkers are in a much different spot than they were at this same time last season.

Last March a playoff berth in the AHL was not in doubt. In fact, the Checkers made the playoffs and knocked off the favorite Hershey Bears and Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins en route to the AHL semi-finals. The eventual AHL champions, the Binghamton Senators, finally ousted Charlotte in four games. The 2010-11 season was a great start for Charlotte in what will hopefully be a long-term relationship between the NHL Canes and the AHL Checkers.

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The Carolina Hurricanes continued their winning ways as they defeated the also streaking Florida Panthers, 3-1 on Wednesday night at the PNC Arena. The Canes extended their winning streak to a season best four games while ending the Cats' at five.

The Hurricanes also have an unusual scoring streak going as they have scored at least one goal in 10 straight periods of play.

Eric Staal stayed hot and got the scoring started less than a minute into the game on a wrap around chance that banked in past Jose Theodore.

Mid way through the second period, Joni Pitkanen made the score 2-0 when he took a nice drop pass from countryman Tuomo Ruutu and blistered a shot to the net. This was Pitkanen's first game after a 44 game hiatus.

Florida made it 2-1 less than two minutes later when a shot went in off of Pitkanen's skate, but Staal would score again on a powerplay attempt 8:14 into the third. It was the captain's 23rd of the season.

The club hits the road again and will face Columbus on Friday night.

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The Carolina Hurricanes recently activated Joni Pitkanen and the defenseman will play tonight as the Canes take on the Southeast Division leading Florida Panthers at PNC Arena.

Pitkanen has missed the last 44 games because of various injuries, including a concussion. He has missed a total of 52 games this season.

The Canes still have not given up on the playoffs, though they are currently seven points behind the eighth place Washington Capitals. They have yet to beat the Panthers this season, (0-2-2), but both teams are on recent winning streaks. The Hurricanes have won three in a row and the Kats have won five games in a row.

According to various reports, Pitkanen will be paired with Jamie McBain to start out with and the popular Finns/Skinns line will be reunited now that Jeff Skinner is back from suspension. Look for the following lines:

• Tlusty, Staal, LaRose
• Ruutu, Jokinen, Skinner
• Bowman, Sutter, Dwyer
• Stewart, Brent, Joslin
• Allen, Gleason
• Harrison, Faulk
• McBain, Pitkanen

Scott Clemmensen got the win for Florida against Philadelphia last night, meaning that Cam Ward will most likely be facing Jose Theodore in net tonight.

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Drayson Bowman scored two goals and had an assist as the Carolina Hurricanes came from behind to defeat the Minnesota Wild, 5-3 on Saturday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center.

Bowman started things off just a minute and change into the game as he stole a pass and backhanded a pretty shot past Matt Hackett to make the score 1-0, but the Wild would score three goals in a row to take a commanding 3-1 lead, until Bowman scored again 17:14 into the second period.

The Canes owned the third period and scored three more goals, one each by Brandon Sutter, Tim Brent, and finally an empty netter by Chad LaRose.

Sutter had a "Gordie Howe hat trick" as the young center had a fight in the opening period as well as an assist in the second, and his goal in the third.

Brian Boucher earned his first win of the season, his first as a Hurricane, with a 23 save performance.

The Canes will next do battle with the Winnipeg Jets Sunday night.

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Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward commemorated his 200th career win with a 40 save shutout of the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night, as the Canes won 2-0 at the newly named PNC Arena in Raleigh. It was the fourth shutout of the season and the 20th of his career for the one time Conn Smythe Award winner.

After two scoreless periods of hockey, Chad LaRose knocked in the eventual game winner on a wrap around attempt which was deflected past goalie Brian Elliott at 12:08 into the third. Elliott played a solid game in net himself, but also allowed a Jeff Skinner goal with two minutes and change left when Skinner made a dipsy do move to get around two defensemen.

It was Skinner's 20th of the season.

The Blues have the best record in hockey at the moment but Ward was quick to point out that "anyone can beat anyone" in this league. The Canes swept the Bruins, but were swept by the Islanders, so they have seen extremes in their play this season.

Next up for Carolina is a 2 p.m. afternoon game in Minnesota on Saturday.

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The Carolina Hurricanes did not fare well at all against New York teams this season and ended up being swept by both the Islanders and Rangers as the Blueshirts took care of business, 4-2 against the Canes on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Carolina could get one past Martin Biron, a powerplay tally by Tim Brent 14:44 into the second period. Then just 32 seconds later, Drayson Bowman would score his third of the season to make it 3-2, but the Rangers would score the only goal of the third to take the win.

Brad Richards had two goals and an assist for the home team.

The Canes return home to take on the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.

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The Carolina Hurricanes have been in their "playoff mode" as of late but could not find the back of the net against the Florida Panthers on Sunday as they lost a key matchup, 2-0 against the Cats. The Canes have yet to defeat Florida this season, (0-2-2).

Jose Theodore earned the shutout, his third of the season, to keep the Panthers in first place in the division. The Capitals also won Sunday, putting the Hurricanes that much further back in any potential playoff chase.

Carolina played the night before and started this game off slowly as they only mustered five shots on goal in the opening period, but put 19 shots on Theodore in the second period. They outshot the Panthers for the game, 34-33, but it was not enough.

The Canes are now 3-7-3 in the second games of back-to-backs this season. They traveled to New York after the game and will take on the Rangers on Tuesday night.

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Less than 24 hours after defeating the Lightning in Tampa Bay, the Carolina Hurricanes are in Sunrise, Florida to do battle with the Florida Panthers in another important Southeast Division matchup.

The Panthers are clinging to first place in the division by a single point over the Washington Capitals, 75 points to 74. The Cats are 4-4-2 in their last 10 and they are coming off a huge overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.

For more info about the Panthers, check out our buds at Litter Box Cats.

There has been no official word out of "Camp Carolina" about starting goaltenders yet, but one would have to assume that Brian Boucher would get s start this afternoon, if he ever gets another start.

(UPDATE) According to Canes Now, Cam Ward will get the start.

Jiri Tlusty left the game early last night with an upper body injury and there has been no official word about his status. Either Drayson Bowman or defenseman/forward Derek Joslin are available to take his spot of necessary.

The Canes have yet to win against this Florida team this season, (0-1-2). Can they break through today? We will post updates as they come in the comments here and will have our open game thread starting at 4:30ish.

Jeff Skinner scored two goals and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-2 on Saturday night at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Skinner gave the Canes a 2-1 lead at 12:29 into the first period and then scored the game winner 6:36 into the third when he circled behind the net and roofed a perfect shot over Tampa Bay goalie, Dustin Tokarski.

After the Lightning took a 1-0 lead just 1:20 into the game, Jaroslav Spacek tied the game 2:26 later with a seeing eye shot from the point. Then Skinner's goal gave Carolina the lead later in the first, but the Bolts tied the game with 2:46 left in the opening period.

The teams battled through a scoreless second as Cam Ward stopped 18 shots in that period alone, then Skinner scored the winner and Chad LaRose tallied an empty-netter to close things out late in the third.

Ward made 36 saves and picked up his 24th win of the season. The Canes were out-shot in every period and shots ended up 38-26 for the game.

There is no rest for the weary as Carolina will next take on the Florida Panthers tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 p.m.

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The Carolina Hurricanes were called for seven penalties and the last one proved fatal as they dropped another overtime game while shorthanded, this time to the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 (OT) on Wednesday night at First Niagara Center.

The Canes allowed an earlier powerplay goal just one minute into the second period but were able to kill two Jussi Jokinen penalties in the third. Bryan Allen was then called for hooking with less than a minute remaining in regulation. The penalty kill unit was able to kill it off until overtime, but stopping the ensuing 4-on-3 proved too much as Jason Pominville beat Cam Ward for the game winner.

The game ending shot seemed similar to how Steven Stamkos scored to finish things on Saturday night in Raleigh.

Former Sabre, Jaroslav Spacek, opened the scoring 2:47 into the game to give Carolina a 1-0 lead. But Buffalo opened the second period with a flurry and would score two goals within 40 seconds to take the lead.

Chad LaRose tied the game later in the second and the score remained tied the rest of the way until overtime.

The Canes had about 40 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage midway through the third period, but could not convert.

Cam Ward was busy again in this game and made 39 saves on 42 shots on goal. The Canes only managed 24 shots for the game, but of course they were killing penalties for much of this one.

Next up will be the Lightning again this Saturday night.

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Starting goalies:

The Carolina Hurricanes have not had the best of luck in overtime this season but they used a perfect pass by Brandon Sutter and shot by Justin Faulk to defeat the Washington Capitals, 4-3 in the extra period on Tuesday night at the Verizon Center.

It was the rookie defenseman's eighth goal of the season and came 3:38 in overtime.

After falling behind 2-0, Jiri Tlusty scored his 15th of the season four minutes and change into the second period off of a nice pass by Jerome Samson. Eric Staal got the second assist on the play which extended his scoring streak to 12 games. The Captain's assist also set a Carolina/Hartford record for consecutive games with assists, (11).

Chad LaRose would then tie the game with a put-back of a wide Tim Gleason shot.

The game remained tied until Sutter broke into the clear just 1:45 into the third period. The young centerman put a nice move on Michal Neuvirth and roofed a backhander over the goalie to make the score, 3-2 Carolina.

But Brooks Laich would score with just 2:52 left in regulation to tie things up once again. The Caps were generating a ton of chances and had 18 shots on goal in the third period alone.

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The Carolina Hurricanes, (24-27-14) are finished with their long six game homestand and will now take their act to the road as they play the first of a back-to-back tonight against the Washington Capitals, (32-28-5).

The Canes are currently in 14th place in the East and have a 4-2-4 record in their last 10 games.

Patrick Dwyer is healthy and will return to the third line tonight. Zach Boychuk was sent back to Charlotte as Kirk Muller made a couple of other changes to the lines. According to CH.com, look for these lines to start out, including Joslin to remain in at forward and Drayson Bowman as the healthy extra out with sinus problem:

• Tlusty, Staal, Stewart
• Skinner, Jokinen, LaRose
• Dwyer, Sutter, Nodl
• Joslin, Brent , Samson
• Harrison, Faulk
• Allen, Gleason
• McBain, Spacek

The expected starter in goal is Cam Ward. He will be facing Michal Neuvirth at the other end of the rink.

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