I was watching the Rangers get drubbed by the Islanders today (which now makes them as easy to pass as Buffalo, assuming we beat the Sabres on Sunday) and Henrik Lundqvist got pulled after a subpar performance.  Lundqvist, just like Carey Price coming into his brief night in Raleigh, was riding a long streak of consecutive starts and was starting the second of a back-to-back.  Both Lundqvist and Price are considered Vezina contenders this year, and both wilted under the pressure, despite desperately needing wins to stay in the playoff picture.

Now consider that Cam Ward leads the league in games played and consecutive games started, has faced far and away the most shots, and made the most saves; all while maintaining a +.920 save percentage.  Then think about the insane amount of back-to-back games that the Hurricanes have had to play this year.  It's hard to put a number on it, but I'd have to say that Wardo would also be tops in the league in grade A saves.

I never really thought Ward lived up to the proverbial "hype" following his Con Smythe performance, despite never having anything close to a top tier defense in front of him during his years as a Cane.  That being said, this is by far the best season of his still young career and I think the example of Lundqvist and Price above should give everyone here a bit of perspective on how great Cam has truly been despite the heavy work load he's had to endure in order to keep us in the playoff hunt.  The fact that Ward can maintain such a high level of performance despite playing in so many games (many of them back-to-back), and face so many shots (many of them grade A chances) puts him in a class above most others.  I think most NHL analysts and even some of us here at CC have greatly under-appreciated the season Cam Ward is having.  With any "average" goaltender playing for us, we'd probably only be contending with Florida for last place in the Southeast.

It's a shame that GAA is factored so heavily in the decision of awarding a Vezina trophy winner, and that not enough importance is placed on the team defense in front of said goalie.  It's also a shame that Cam plays in a small, non-traditional market and most of  "hockey nation" hasn't watched and/or doesn't care about his remarkable play this season.  The biggest shame though, will come when Ward isn't even mentioned in the same breath as the eventual Vezina finalists.  Don't get me wrong, if I were voting, Tim Thomas would be my Vezina winner without a doubt (I mean he's just been incredible this year), but Cam Ward deserves to at least be considered.  One thing is for sure though.  He's the Carolina Hurricanes' MVP this year.

I just hope he has enough fuel in the tank to add another Con Smythe to his trophy case this Spring.

First of all, how does a failed high-end prospect/journeyman/cast off like O'Sullivan, who wasn't highly coveted around the league in free agency, end up on our first line?  Apparently O'Sullivan is having a good camp, but has his play really excelled that quickly, or is it more a sign of our lack of talent at the wing?  I just feel like a player who is truly talented enough to be a first line winger on an NHL team would have garnered a higher contract. So, I don't know whether to be excited we got a steal in free agency, or wary that we currently don't have anyone better to be on Staal's left side.

Secondly, when Samsonov comes back to the lineup, which line is he going to play on and which player gets bumped?  Obviously, no one here can be 100% sure, but again, I'm just looking for some personal insight and educated guesses.

Finally, am I the only one who is perplexed at Dalpe being on the 4th line?  This is a kid who was a 2nd round pick (whom many thought to be a steal there) and has only played 9 games as a pro (scoring 8 points).  From all reports he had a great camp and seems to be playing well in preseason, and far out performed any of the other young guys who had a crack at third line center, yet Jokinen got moved there, and Zac is on the 4th line.  It seems to me that Dalpe has the ability to be a 2nd line center in the NHL, and he's still quite young, with virtually no professional experience under his belt.  So why on Earth are we giving him 4th line minutes???!!!

Any and all insight is greatly appreciated.

I know it's only preseason but...

...we've got a LONG way to go.

This is the first in a series of posts I hope to do after each preseason game, and I may continue it into the regular season if it's successful.  I took notes throughout the game and these are the 'Big Hits' (the most important things to look at following the game).  I didn't hit on everything, especially because a lot of the These are strong opinions and it's early, so feel free to take them with a spoonful of salt.  But I feel that these are pretty dead on.  Dispute them at your peril.

OFFENSE: 

- DWill was his old self in the short time he was on the field.  Expect much of the same from him and JStew this year.

- The starting O-Line looked out of sync for the most part, but it's expected because it's so early in the year.  I expect them to be fine with Otah back in the regular season.

- Backup O-line was as porous as advertised.  Let's hope we can keep our starters as healthy as possible.  Perhaps there are some projects: diamonds in the rough.

- Sutton and Vaughn looked good.  Not good enough to be second string RB's, but decent enough to make the team.  Sutton shows promise if he stops shifting around in the backfield with the ball and just hits a hole and keeps moving forward.  Reminds me of a rookie DWill actually.

- I was really disappointed by our Wide Receivers.  To be honest, I thought D. Jarrett looked the best out of all of them.  I don't know if that's good or bad.  It's only one preseason game, but based off of what I saw, he looks like the front runner for the number 2 spot. 

- Kenny Moore looked good too, made a great catch in traffic, looks to be the front runner for the slot position. 

- You can see Lafell's promise, but he needs to show it on the field in a game.  He's not ready yet.

-  A. Edwards looks to be a year long project before he makes any sort of significant impact.  I don't even know if he'll be able to cut it as a return man this year.

- Claussen is as polished a rookie QB as I have seen in some time.  I honestly believe he could step in as a rookie and be a serviceable QB.  Made some good throws.  He may be a total jerk in the eyes of some, but he has that "it" quality of determination and cockiness that you need to be a big time QB.  I'm excited about this kid.  Moore may have to have a Pro Bowl type season to keep Jimmy off the field next year.

- Moore made some over throws that were his fault, but to be honest, the offensive line didn't really give him much of an opportunity to showcase himself in the short time he was out there. The Ravens starting D did NOT go with a vanilla scheme.  They did quite a few blitzes against our ones.  I'm not worried about M. Moore yet.

- I can see why the team is so big on Cantwell.  He has one hell of an arm.  Definitely the best of all our QB's.  But it's clear he doesn't have the polish or intangibles that Claussen has.  I'd be surprised if Pike beats him out for the 3rd spot though, because another team would pick up Cantwell based on his arm strength alone.  Look for Cantwell to be Jimmy's back up next year after we trade Moore in the offseason.  You heard it here first.

DEFENSE:

- Brayton was our only starting D-Lineman that showed something out there.  I fully expect him to be a starter all year.

-  C. Johnson looks like a serviceable DE on the other side, but I don't think he will be anything more than that.  He's just serviceable.  Nothing special.

- It's just one preseason game, but E. Brown looks like a bust out there.  He didn't do anything. Not on D.  He missed a tackle on ST.  He was manhandled by their starting OT. 

- We need to make sure to take everything we saw of G. Hardy with a big grain of salt.  It's preseason, and he was playing against their backup O Line.  That being said, he looked like an absolute man possessed out there.  He must be playing with the biggest chip on his shoulder in the world.  He did NOT look like a 6th round draft choice, and he knows he's a legitimate starter in the NFL.  He was getting consistent penetration, and was getting to the QB, not just pressuring him.  The most important thing that I saw from him though, was that he finished plays.  He's fast and strong enough to make an impact on the running game and looked a LOT like Julius Peppers did against the run when he actually felt like playing.  Again, BIG grain of salt.  The coaching staff needs to see what he can do against a starting O-line, but if I'm a coach, after that one game, G. Hardy would be starting opposite Brayton at DE.

-  Our defensive tackles looked pretty awful.  No penetration whatsoever against Baltimore's starting O-line.  Ed Johnson looks too slow.  The Panthers need to be genuinely concerned about their DT situation.  The media has been harping on it, and we fans have been trying to say that it will be okay with T. Tyler and L. Leonard and/or whomever, but we need to take off the rose colored lenses and realize that we may not make the playoffs or even go over .500 with the DT situation being what it is.  We clearly made the right choice in choosing Claussen in the second round, because he looks like a franchise caliber QB, but an overweight T. Cody right now, is better than anything we have at DT.  Just saying.

-  The jury is still out for our linebacker lineup situation.  It's hard to tell just yet if Beason at WLB is going to be better for the team or not.  He's clearly our best defensive player, so I think it's best to put him wherever he's most efficient (MLB), and then plug up the other holes best you can.  Connor looked serviceable at MLB, nothing too special.  J. Anderson didn't look good at all this game.  Again, it's early, but it looks as if we're going to need penetration from our DT's much more with T. Davis out.  The Panthers have to be praying that Davis can play in the last quarter of the season.

- Norwood showed some flashes in the time that he was on the field and he looked pretty fast out there.  Also showed a knack for getting to the football.  He may be a bit too raw, but he could find himself in a starting role at OLB later on in the season.  Look for him to be effective in passing downs, as it seems that that is how he will be utilized most this season.

- The starting secondary didn't really impress, but they didn't stink up the place.  Again, they're only going to be as effective as our pass rush.  We went with a fairly vanilla defensive scheme against the Ravens and didn't really do too much blitzing, but Meeks is really going to have to use an effective blitz scheme if we want to win games.  Otherwise we may be allowing scores in bunches. 

- It appeared Munnerlyn got a little shove in the back on the touchdown against him.  If the NFL is going to call any sort of little contact that the defensive player does against a Wide Out, then they should be doing the same against the Wide Receiver.  The fact is, if Munnerlyn wanted to prevent that touchdown, he would have had to have placed a hand on the receiver and I can guarantee it would have gotten called.  Again, another reason we need to put pressure on the QB to have an effective pass defense.

- I really don't put any credence into what the backup secondary did or didn't do.  It turned into a wet, sloppy game against their backups, so nothing to read into. 

- E. Moore and Ivy looked decent out there, but again, it was against backups in a sloppy second half, and they will have to contribute more on ST's if they want to stick with the team.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

- Bad.  Pretty terrible.  And just plain awful. 

- Again, it's early days, and I would say, of the three phases of the game, special teams requires the most practice and polish to get right, but it doesn't look like we've made any progress from last season.  Perhaps it wasn't Crossman after all.  Ugh.

- The game last night also affirmed my thought that letting go of Rhys Lloyd was probably our worst offseason move.  Really?  You want to save one million dollars?  Lloyd was the only reason we didn't lead the league in kickoff returns for touchdowns last season.  We could be in trouble.

- On a positive note, Baker appeared to be in Pro Bowl form.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

- Claussen looks legit and it will take a big push from Moore to fend him off for the starting spot next season.

- Our rookie WR's are RAW, to say the least. 

- D. Jarrett has a real opportunity to have a break out year.  It's now or never.

- G. Hardy could be a starter in game one this year.

- E. Brown doesn't look like he's worth the trade.

- Our DT position is obviously our weakest position.

- Beason at WLB may not be the best idea.

- Our special teams has lots of work to do.

- We currently do not have an answer for the loss of Rhys Lloyd.

- It's early, but we've got a long way to go before week one.  On the bright side, this means lots of room for improvement, plenty of tape to go over, and plenty of things to work on for the remainder of the offseason.  The key is just improving each week.

Projected record based on play up to now: 7-9

Now, admittedly, I'm a little inebriated while writing this post.  And, it should also be noted that this post is being written fresh off the loss against the Cowboys on Monday night.  However, I think that when you read the points that are made, you will either full heartedly agree with me, or you will be a blind, naive optimist towards the Carolina Panthers.  During this post, I am going to go position by postion in every major position regarding the team (specifically coaches) and tell you why that person needs to be fired in order for us to EVER be good again and win a Super Bowl.

Continue reading this post »

Well, 0-4 isn't exactly the way the Panthers wanted to finish this preseason, but thankfully, preseason records mean absolutely nothing in regards to the regular season.  Lest we all forget that the Lions went 4-0 last preseason and then promptly went 0-16 in the regular season.  However, there are some trends and performances that we can look at to base our expectations on for the regular season:

Continue reading this post »

This fanpost was inspired by a previous fanpost by bigdavis.  In this forum I encourage everyone to reply with a bold prediction about the Panthers and then one about any NFL team or player for the 2009 season.  These are meant to be predictions that have a high risk of being wrong but a huge reward when you're right.  Perhaps at the end of the season we can look back and see who was right and laugh at those that made some terrible predictions.  Please do not make any safe prediction like the Panthers will make the wild card and don't preface you're statement by something like assuming everyone stays healthy.  This is just for fun, so go crazy.

I'll start us off:

Julius Peppers will lead the league in sacks.

The Panthers will beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Sorry to post such a blunt title, but he showed his true colors after the game was over.  Good for him for winning the cup and being the face of the league and whatnot, but when you win the Cup you should ACT like a champion.  The FIRST thing you should be doing is congratulating the other team and acknowledging their hard work and a well fought series.  He is their captain after all, one of the most important players in the line to shake hands with. Even if you buy the fact that the media FORCED him from shaking hands or that Lidstrom left the ice too soon (which btw is a bunch of bull, because it takes anyone a good couple of minutes to go through the entire line after the game), I still think his complete ignoring Babcock after the game in front of national tv audiences says it all about Crosby. 

At the end of the game, with the cameras rolling, while Crosby was skating around, avoiding the handshake line and NOT doing interviews, Babcock sought Crosby out, shook his hand and audibly said, "Great job.  You showed alot of leadership..."  Crosby then either said nothing or mumbled a one word response so low you couldn't hear it, AVOIDED eye contact with Babcock, and skated away before Babcock could finish.  Nice job Sid.  Very classy.  That's the kind of player we want on national tv, being the face of the league.  Little kids turning around asking their parents if all hockey players are such huge tools. 

Penguins fans may say that Crosby was justified in acting like a d*ck to Babcock because of Babcock not giving Crosby any respect during media conferences but what do you expect? He's the star player of the opposite team.  He wants his team to hate the guy, not love him.  A Pens fan said Babcock was the jerk in all of this for referring to Malkin and Crosby to the media as 71 and 87 (by their numbers).  Are you kidding me?  Babcock is a jerk just because he didn't address them by their names during the series?  Who cares? He never badmouthed them, he just wanted to dehumanize them for his team.

After watching the postgame I immediately texted my friend that Crosby was a jerk and he vehemently agreed.  The next day ESPN posted an article about it and Detroit's reaction to Sidney's actions which further reaffirmed my thoughts on the matter.  You can say Detroit was just eating sour grapes all you want, and maybe they shouldn't have said anything publicly, but I can tell you that I and many NHL fans and players around the nation have lost a ton of respect for the so called face of the league.  Maybe Sidney is too young, has too much talent, too much money, or was too caught up in the moment. But if you ask me, a classy player like Henrik Zetterberg deserves to be hoisting that cup more than a person who acts like a child after a game despite being the victor.

Oh, and this whole postgame immaturity is pretty audacious coming from a player who (injury or no injury) did absolutely NOTHING to help his team win that game 7.

I have to say, it's a pretty ballsy move by the Pirates to bring Morton up for his first big league start of the season against his ex-team. This could really blow up in Neal Huntington's face who's already facing a lot of backlash from Pirates fans over his most recent trade with the Bravos. Most Pirates fans are outraged (in my opinion rightly so) over the trade of their best power hitter despite the fact that the Pirates are one of the worst power hitting teams in the league. This coincides with the Pirate's current 6 game streak without a homerun. Some feel Huntington's decision was more justified after recent call-up and McLouth replacement Andrew McCutchen got off to a blazing start against the Braves, however the addition of Gorkys Hernandez (a similar blazing fast center fielder with little power) does nothing to address the Pirates lack of power hitting and gives the Pirates something they already have. Now, if Charlie Morton blows up against his former team (which recent big league starts point towards), Pirates fans, and perhaps some of the front office, will have a shortening fuse. Jeff Locke could be the caveat in all this and despite some minor league struggles this year was one of the Braves top pitching prospects and could turn out to be a good starter for the Bucs. Also, Charlie Morton has, thus far this year had exceptional numbers for both the Braves' and Pirates' (one start) AAA affiliates. Needless to say, tonight's game against Charlie Morton could really tip the boiling point in the recent trade outrage and I can't even fathom what a McLouth homerun against Morton might cause. Of course, I could be overreacting.

Well, despite the fact that I consider myself a realist and borderline cynic, I have been forcing myself to thinking positvely about the Canes Pens series despite all the evidence to the contrary.  This is primarily because the idea of traveling 6 hours and spending hundreds of dollars on a game that will ultimately not mean much is not a pleasing thought.  So, I figured it best to think positively and treat the game like the beginning of a 4 game win streak.  As unlikely as it sounds, mostly due to the dominating play of the Penguins and the fact that its only happend twice in playoff history, let me list some reasons why the Canes still have a shot at this thing and perhaps even you could have something to feel good about.

Obviously if the Canes were to look at their task as winning 4 straight games it would seem pretty daunting, so obviously they'll be taking it one game at a time.  Winning one game is not too much to ask, and each win will carry more momentum to the next game. 

Here's the thing that really got me thinking though.  The Canes have been the lower seeded team in all 3 series so far and have thus played on the road a total of 10 times.  Recently they had to spend an extra day in Pittsburgh due to the 2 day layoff from Game 1 to Game 2.  This time they will be able to spend a total of 4 nights in a row in Raleigh with their families (most of them) and will have an extra day of rest to recoop and change things in Game 4.  This could be just enough time for Coach Maurice to motivate his team and figure out what's needed to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Lets also keep in mind that Cam Ward has yet to lose a playoff series and is undefeated in elimination games.  Despite the previous 3 games, that is still an impressive stat and if the defense can limit the mistakes and put bodies on people around the net, Ward could do what is necessary to keep a lead.  I believe all of this and the extra motivation of elimination at home will add up to a Hurricanes win in Game 4.

So, the series will then be 3-1.  Just like it would be if we had won Game 3 and lost Game 4.  Not as daunting as before right? The real wild card is figuring out a way to win in Game 5. But if we have won Game 4 then we must have done something right so perhaps more of the same atitude and the same kind of determination that was shown in both of our Game 7's could put us over the top.  A big if.  I know.  Especially because that game will be back in Pittsburgh and they will be wanting to close us out to avoid going back to Raleigh. 

However, if we do win Game 5, all of a sudden we're coming back to Raleigh with all the momentum in the series.  If we can feed off of the crowd and win another home game (seeing as how we won 2 of 3 in both series earlier) the series would all of a sudden be tied for a Game 7.  And in one game, anything can happen.  You've seen what we've done in previous Game 7's.

So, like I've said before.  It's not over.  Not yet anyway.  All we really have to do is win 2 in a row and it' s a completely different ballgame.  That's the key.  Stranger things have happened and it's happened twice before in hockey, even once in baseball.  Remember how bad the Bosox looked when they were down 0-3 to the Yankees?

So, for now, one game at a time.  Hopefully this extra time off will help the Canes regroup. God knows they need it.  But they're banged up, tired, and have been on the road alot.  I think it could be just what they needed.  We reeled off what, 9, 10 in a row in the regular season? Who's to say we can't do 4? (fingers crossed)

Well, after a good bit of brooding I decided to listen to some music and calm down after the crushing defeat the Canes suffered in Game 3 at the RBC no less.  What made it worse was that I am the proud owner of tickets for Game 4, now a potential ticket to watch my team get swept in their own arena.  However, I've been with this team through thick and thin, through rough spots and win streaks and I'm not about to turn my back on them now.  Yeah, we're down 3-0.  Yeah we've been thorougly outplayed in all three games.  But last I checked it was a best of 7 series, not a best of 5 series.  I know...it's pretty unlikely that we reel off 4 wins in a row against this machine-like Pens team.  But you know what?  Crazier things have happened.  It's just 4 games.  There'll be a two day break for our team to regroup and come out with fire...if only to give the fans at the RBC one last hoorah.  We're down....but we're not out.  I've seen enough magic from this team in the past to make me a believer and I'm not about to quit now.  So if the rest of you wanna turn your backs and admit defeat, you won't see me joining you until the final buzzer has sounded.  But if you're willing to believe in this team when no one else will...it could turn out to be a pretty special trip if they come out on top.  And you could be the one who said I was there...I never gave up.  So Canes, you'll see me there cheering and waving my towel just as loudly as Game 7 in 2006 and maybe I will be able to say that I saw the beginning of the Carolina Miracle.  Maybe some of you Caniacs will join me?

If the Canes needed any motivation going into their homestand against the Penguins perhaps Bob Smizik's blog at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is all they'll need.  His post Overrated Hurricanes are overmatched pretty much strokes the ego's of the entire Penguin team.  But if that title isn't enough to stir the feathers of Canes fans and players perhaps his last line should be: "The next dose of difficulty, if any, for the Penguins will come when the opposition is the Detroit Red Wings." Of course, Bob Smizik is not alone in his thinking that this series will be a cakewalk for the Penguins...this despite the fact that Game 1 was highly contested and nearly went to overtime and Game 2 was close until the final 7 minutes of the third period.  I think people may be reading into Malkin's amazing performance a bit too much.  The Canes made a lot of defensive mistakes during that game but they were just outworked in the third period.  But let's keep in mind that both of those games were in Pittsburgh and the Canes were without their leading checking forward in Game 2 (Tuomo Ruutu).  As a Canes fan I'd like to think this series is far from over.  Do Pens fans and writers not remember how the Washington series played out? Did that end up being a cakewalk? Even after Ovechkin's (another amazing Russian) dominating performance? The Canes obviously cannot get caught in another shootout like last night.  They will lose, even the high powered Capitals lost when they tried to do that.  However, the Canes are back at home and will be looking to simplify things, concentrate on defense, and will use the energy provided by the fans.  Pens fans and writers may be eating their words soon, because folks, this thing ain't over yet.

What in the world are the Braves going to do when Hudson comes back?  It is a good thing that we have all this pitching depth, but unfortunately right now there's a log jam of a couple sub par pitchers clogging up space for younger more promising pitchers.  I heard that Hudson is way ahead of schedule and is ready to come into the rotation after the all star break.  That's great news, but it actually puts the Braves in quite the predicament.

The Braves won't have room for him.  Yeah I suppose you could always trade some folks around, heck, maybe you'd even get a power bat or live arm to help the bullpen.  But who are you going to trade?  Let's go through all of our possible pitchers at that point.

Lowe (Uhh, he's here for a while)

Jurrjens (He'll be a Brave for a long time)

Vasquez (He'd bring alot in return based on the season he's having if you want to try and move him, but I don't think the Braves can afford to trade him based on the season he's having.)

Kawakami (He's been really sub par so far this season and is taking up a rotation spot that would be better served in the hands of a promising rookie.  Unfortunately there's alot of money and PR tied up in him, so I can't see the Braves moving him either.)

Glavine (As far as I know the Braves are close to activating him and putting him in at the 5th spot.  This is a horrible move in my opinion.  He just needs to retire and save this team the money and trouble.  He's going to cost the team a couple million just by being activated and Lord knows he doesn't have anything left in that arm but decent control.  He'll be lucky if he has an ERA sub 4.5 but it could be as high as 5.  But once the Braves do activate and use him, they can't just turn around and cut him or trade him after they spent all that money and time on him.  Why, that would look like you don't have a clue what you're doing. I suppose he could go to the bullpen, but would we really be willing to do that?  Would he even be effective there?)

So, where does Huddy go?  He's got to go somewhere.  He's a potential ace.  So who do you move? And how?  This doesn't even answer the question of what the Braves will do with Hanson.  Are they going to keep him in the minors for a full season?  Does Hanson really need to stay down there and could the Braves afford to do that when he'd be better than our 4th and 5th starters?  Also, what if Medlen comes up and pitches lights out?  I don't think you can afford to move a young potential starter to the bullpen, or back down to the minors if he's killing it in the bigs.  That would just make things worse for the Braves. 

I know, I know.  This pitching depth is a good problem to have.  But as you can see the Braves are going to have a heck of a time figuring out where to fit everyone.  They may try going to a 6 man rotation, but why would you want to rob guys like Lowe and Jurrjens of potential starts?  The silver lining in this is that if the Braves can somehow figure out how to manage a trade, we may be able to get a power bat to help our dismal offense or a power arm to help our mediocre bullpen.  I just don't see how they're going to do it.  Any thoughts Braves fans?

This was the response I came up with to a Pens fan (namely Holiday Park) who said that the Brashear hit that warranted a 5 game suspension wasn't half as dirty as Scott Walker's punch to Aaron Ward.  He then made a comment, (and I'm paraphrasing) Carolina fans should get in their porch rockers and go back to whittling.  I was going to respond on that thread but it was rather old and I wasn't sure how well it would fly over there.  But this is for your enjoyment Caniacs...my response:

Your fellow Pens fans should ask you to stop. You're making them look bad.  Brashear drilled a player who was innocently skating by, completely unaware of Brashear's bad intentions.  He was a sitting duck.  Aaron Ward had returned chest jabs from Walker, had his arms up, and was looking and jawing right at Scott Walker.  Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough to protect his face or move out of the way.  It was a mistake by Walker and he immediately felt remorse when he saw Ward fall to the ice...Brashear kept skating after he leveled the innocent bystander that skated past him.  Completely different.

As for your paltry attempt to classify and belittle people from North Carolina (which shows just as much ignorance in yourself as you purport us to have) let me just let you know that I have the utmost pity for you.  Because when you try and classify southerners with the tired cliche remarks that all other pseudo-elitist "northern hockey fans" use, I know that in reality you're just plain miserable.  Miserable that you probably have to wake up at 4 in the morning in your trashy suburban neighborhood outside of your ugly city where you commute to your miserable steel mill job so you can then come home and drink yourself into oblivion before you beat your mannish looking wife in between intermissions but still somehow sleep easy deluding yourself that you have it so much better than someone living in the south.

There...is that enough of a vague unrealistic classification of a broad and diverse people from a particular geographical locale? 

I hope I made my point.  I get tired of the NASCAR and deliverance jokes. If you wanna talk hockey, then by all means.

You know what really bugs me? (Your response: What?)  Well I'll tell you what.  So called NHL analysts.  Before each series of the playoffs I get really pumped and excited and read as much analysis and predictions as I possibly can.  But it can be a little disheartening when every NHL analyst on ESPN, TSN, NHL.com, etc. (save Barry Melrose) constantly picks against us. 

Let me just say that Barry Melrose has become by far my favorite NHL tv analyst and if he were as good at coaching as he were at picking winners he'd have 4 Stanley Cups by now.  Not only was he the only person on ESPN to pick the Canes to win against both the Devils and the Bruins, he was also the only person to pick the Ducks to upset the Sharks. But pretty much every other analyst apparently thinks we're not any good. Well normally that wouldn't bother me...but we were the hottest team in the NHL at the end of the season (with the Penguins) and were only a couple points away from 4th place in the Eastern Conference.  It's become exceedingly apparent that no one save Melrose watches the Carolina Hurricanes play. 

Perhaps the worst offender is John Buccigross.  He's a great writer, I like alot of his stuff, don't get me wrong.  But he never has any clue about the Hurricanes or any other southern team for that matter.  He constantly picks against us and he obviously never watches us play which means he isn't doing his job.  He picked us to lose a close one against Jersey.  Fine.  However, after the resolve we showed in that series, he picked us to win just one game against Boston.  In fact no prominent NHL writer but Melrose picked us to win the Bruins series. 

If we were some cinderella team like in 02 this wouldn't bother me.  But we're not.  We have one of the best goaltenders and scorers in the league.   We were (save Pittsburgh) the best team in the NHL at the end of the year.  It's nearing the edge of irresponsible journalism if you ask me.  I mean there is a clear bias against not just the Canes but against most non traditional hockey market teams.  No one watches us, no one cares, yet they still are forced to write some BS about us come playoff time...and they all write us off. 

And this bias doesn't just run in writer's circles, its common in the NHL front office, league officials, and 90% of hockey fans.  (Did you see the booth reviews, ref decisions, and officiating of the first 2 series??? We couldn't buy a break.)  Some writer for TSN wrote that of the 4 possible finals matchups, the worst 2 would be any matchup involving us.  I mean there were Red Wings fans (RED WINGS FANS!!!) commenting on the story that he's crazy and has obviously never watched the Canes play.  That TSN writer is not alone.  75% of America doesn't want to see us in the finals and the NHL knows this...thus some of the questionable calls. 

So, once again every major NHL writer has picked against us in the Pittsburgh series.  That doesn't bother me as much.  I mean Pittsburgh is loaded with talent (they should be after 4 straight  top 2 draft picks)  and are gonna be a really hard team to beat.  I get that.  But many writers and fans have them winning in 6 games.  Does that make any sense?  They expect the Penguins to beat us at home, where we have perhaps the greatest home ice advantage in the NHL, despite the fact that Cam Ward is undefeated in playoff elimination games and we won 2 straight game 7's on the road???  Uhhh...shouldn't you at least think before you write about a series or make a prediction???

Has everyone among hockey circles forgot we won a Stanley Cup just 3 years ago???  Why is everyone so surprised at our recent playoff run? And, more importantly, why do consumate playoff losers like the Bruins get 10 times more respect than a recent Stanley Cup champion???  No, it's not because of the regular season records, most people should know that once the NHL playoffs begin you can throw out the regular season (just ask the Sharks).  The answer is the city.  Boston is a larger and more traditional market and Raleigh is not.  In no other sport is there a worse media bias against small/non-traditional market teams.  Certainly not in the NFL, MLB, or NBA.  It's primarily because 80% of major NHL writers are Candian and half of them have never been south of the Mason-Dixon line.  They could care less about the South and their hockey teams. 

When writers, bloggers, and fans from the North (whether it be American or Canadian) talk about the Carolina Hurricanes they usually use tired NASCAR cliches and make assumptions about our fans and team skill based on our geographic location.  Look, I hate the Rodney Dangerfield complex as much as the next guy.  It's cliche and sounds like whining. And I know I should be glad that we're always over looked and underestimated.  It creates a chip on every Hurricane's shoulder.  But I'm tired of talking to "hockey fans" that laugh when I tell them I'm a Cane fan.  I'm tired of reading articles on the Canes from writers who have never watched them play.  I'm tired of having to live in North Carolina in order to watch any of their games (EVEN PLAYOFF GAMES). 

If you don't include the 30 minute joined in progress broadcasts, so far in the playoffs the Hurricanes have had just 2 nationally televised contests.  Two.  Which is TWICE as many as we had in the regular season.  One.  All of which have been on Versus...NONE on NBC. This despite the fact that we have been more exciting than any other team in the playoffs.  I mean no team in the history of the NHL has won a game, yet alone a playoff game, with time expired.  Not to mention our countless overtime games and two game 7's. 

Honestly, ask yourself, as a Canes fan:  Do you think any of this will change if we somehow win another Stanley Cup this year? Do you think we'll get even half the nationally televised games that the Red Wings and Penguins do? Do you think there'll be any whisper of a hint at a possible dynasty despite 2 Stanley Cups within 4 years? Of course not. 

Yeah, I'd like for it to change, but when I hear the silent crowds at the stadiums of perennial winners like Devils games and the lackluster efforts and high pressure that attend Habs and Leaf players, maybe its for the best that in Raleigh it's us against the hockey world.  Maybe that's why we play so hard in the 3rd period.  Maybe that's why we're the "Loudest House in the NHL."  So, if you have a drink on hand, make a toast and drink one for me, because this is what it's like to be a Caniac.

Without going into too much detail here's what you need to know about the Canes, the good and the bad.

(According to the lines of Game 7)

Line 1 -
Staal, Whitney, Walker

By far the best line for the Canes in the playoffs. Both the Bruins and especially Devils had a real tough time shutting this line down.  Believe it or not that's mostly due to Ray Whitney (There's a reason they call him the wizard)  He's been our most consistent offensive performer in the series and is one of the best in the league at puck handling and setting up scoring opportunities (See Scott Walker's series winning goal).  Staal however is our best talent and can put the team on his back with his ability to control the puck behind the net and his scoring and skating skills.  Scotty Walker brings alot of grit and heart to the team and is not the villain the media tried to paint him to be.

Line 2
Cullen, Cole, LaRose

In terms of talent a very good line that has the potential to score regularly but hasn't been able to put it together consistently.  Cole is perhaps our most overrated player (except for perhaps Brind'amour) and it's sad because his play has never really been the same since his neck injury at the hands of Penguin goon Orpik.  He still has great speed and grit but has trouble finishing on scoring opportunities and has a very inconsistent shot.  Cullen is on par with the talent level of Jordan Staal but is a very streaky scorer.  LaRose has really blossomed into a great player in these playoffs.  He's a very hard worker with good speed and determination and has shown skill in setting up goals (like Staal's series winner in NJ and our short handed goal in NJ) that I didn't know he had. 

Line 3
Jokinen, Ruutu, Samsonov

This line has been the jewel in the rough for the Canes and perhaps my favorite to watch in the playoffs.  Nicknamed the "Euro line" for obvious reasons.  Jokinen as most know by now has been Mr. Clutch so far in the playoffs and just always seems to be in the right place at the right time when it matters most.  Ruutu (like LaRose) had a career regular season although he hasn't quite put up the scoring numbers in the post season.  Although Ruutu (like Walker) brings a physical edge to the Canes and will take a run at anybody and has delighted Caniacs with big hits throughout.  Samsonov really came on in the Bruins series after a relatively quiet NJ series.  He has tons of skating and puck handling ability but has the tendency to not do anything productive but "skate in circles" as one Bruins fan put it.  He, like Cullen, tends to be a streaky scorer so we'll have to see if his hot play continues on into the Pens series or if he was just motivated to get back at his old team.

Line 4
Brind'amour, Bayda, Eaves

This line doesn't get a whole lot of ice time and is far inferior to our top 3 lines.  I hope I don't infuriate too many Canes fans with this next bit and let me preface it by saying I have loads of respect for our captain and believe he was one of the main reasons for our Cup win.  However, Brind'amour has been one of (if not the) worst players on our team this year. During the regular season he was among the league leaders in minus ratings and has been the direct cause to several goals scored against us in the playoffs. (See game tying goal in Boston Game 7)  He is still very good although no longer elite at winning face offs and is valuable on the power play due to his good passing and quarterbacking skills.  But he has become a huge defensive liability for the Hurricanes, thus his move to the fourth line.  He has lost a step or three and turns the puck over much more than he used to.  Bayda has a good shot and has the talent to be on the third line of most teams but doesn't get much ice time.  Eaves has good speed and puck handling abilitites.  Like Cole he has tons of talent but has real problems at finishing.

Corvo, Gleason

Gleason is our number one shut down defenseman and will probably be matched up against the Crosby line in the Pens series.  He is one of the most underrated defensemen in the league because he is a strictly stay at home D-man.  Corvo is an offensive minded defenseman who has great skating and passing ability for a D-man and a plus slap shot.  He his a valuable asset to the power play and is still a great defender. 

Pitkanen,  Seidenberg

These 2 defensemen make any line much more dangerous when they're on the ice.  Pitkanen eats most of our ice time and is in my opinion one of the best offensive defensemen in the league.  He has exceptional speed and passing ability for a D-man.  Seidenberg has good legs, a good shot, and great passing vision as well.  I can't say enough about Pitkanen though.  He really acts as a 4th forward in terms of offensive ability and is the sole reason Samsanov scored the go ahead goal in game 7 in Boston. Pitkanen also really impressed me with his defensive abilities throughout the playoffs of which Seidenberg is no sloud either.

Wallin, Kaberle

Wallin has lost a couple steps since his playoff heroics of 06 but is still a good skater and has valuable experience.  He is a smart stay at home defender but looks a bit slow this year.  Although he does have a bit of magic.  Kaberle can sometimes be a liabilty on defense but is a smooth skater and good passer.  Babchuck sometimes plays in place of Kaberle and is loaded with potential and has a wicked slap shot but over the playoffs has really made some bone headed mistakes and perhaps has let the playoff jitters get to him. 

Cam Ward

What can I say about Cam Ward that hasn't already been said?  He's really turned into an elite goaltender since former Pen Barasso has worked with him.  He is one of the most clutch goaltenders in the NHL.  His postseason record in Game 7's speak for itself and he always seems to come up with huge saves when they're need most.  He single handedly kept us in striking distance in Game 7 against NJ.  Perhaps his greatest strength was Tim Thomas's greatest weakness: controlling rebounds.

(This is in partial response to a Pittsburgh fan wanting to know about the Carolina Hurricanes who it seems nobody outside of North Carolina will ever know or care about.  Ah well, the plight of being a Caniac.)