Night and Day

by Bob Wage on Oct 11, 2007 2:32 PM EDT

The last two games that the Carolina Hurricanes played looked as different as night and day. Saturday night in Washington, the team looked listless and played without energy. Tuesday night in Toronto, they looked the exact opposite and dominated most of the game. Many Caniacs are wondering which team they will see tonight in Ottawa? I'm guessing that we will see more of what we saw against the Leafs. First off, the Canes should have plenty of motivation behind them. The Senators have been one of the best teams in the NHL so far this season and with a record of 5-0, have yet to lose a game. It would be sweet to knock them off their perch! Carolina also has the distinct advantage of being the more rested team because Ottawa had to play in Atlanta last night, then take the long flight home after the game. The Sens won that game 3-1 behind the solid goaltending of their rookie, Brian Elliott. Notice who they were saving for the big game tonight? Ex-Cane Martin Gerber will be in goal for this one to face his old team-mates.

The Hurricanes lineup shouldn't look any different than it was Tuesday night. Mike Commodore and Andrew Ladd are still injured, while Cory Stillman and Bret Hedican are looking good enough to play again. The red hot Cam Ward will be between the pipes for the Canes. This game should be a real barnburner whether it's the 2nd game of a back to back for the Sens, or not! It starts at 7:30 and will be shown on FSN, with a pre-game show starting at 7. For those of you wanting to watch the game with other loyal Caniacs, the Hurricanes are sponsoring the first "Cool Bars" night of the season at the Carolina Ale House in Wake Forest. I've only been to one of those functions myself, but it was a lot of fun.

Before I sign off, another ex-Cane, Jesse Boulerice, who surprisingly made the Philadelphia Flyers roster this fall, is in trouble and soon to be suspended. He crossed checked the Canucks' Ryan Kesler in the jaw during last night's game and drew a 10 minute "attempt to injure" game misconduct. I liked Jesse when he played here, but this was a stupid and ugly incident. There's no place for it in hockey. He's never going to leave his past behind as long as he continues with those type of cheap shots.

Tweet Comment 3 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Boulerice is no longer with us for just this reason. He is a hot tempered thug, and his style has no place in hockey!

Sean

by CaniacSean on Oct 11, 2007 4:37 PM EDT reply actions

Hey bubba.

PLEASE SAy something about these RIDICULOUS power rankings on espn.com
im so sick of espn ignoring hockey,
but ive gotten used to it.
i hear them pronounce names wrong,
theymake stuff up.
its bad.
BUT
these rankings are the worst.
they shouldnt be called power rankings
they should be called:
“i only read headlines and i remember mostly ones from last year” rankings.

granted, i really only follow carolina until christmas when i normally am given center ice as a christmas gift. (fingers crossed)
so maybe im naive. i dont know.

for example.

carolina is 21, which i wont argue with (although the rankings were made after the blowout)(we shoudl be higher)

sitting above us is the capitals (who at the time the rankins wrre made were SUPER hot.) 20?

buffalo (who was 0-2-0 when the rankins were made) is 9 NINE, come on do teams get points for doing well last season or something?

san jose is 3, this is ridiculous. sj has lots of power but they have been underperforming. i could undertsand 8 or even but 3?

it seems to me like
sj and buffalo get bumped up cause it “feels” right. and carolina sits on the bottom for the same reason.

i like the sens at 1 but a 4 year old could make that decision.
is this guy an idiot or am i just not educated enough in hockey?
please teach me.

-chris

ps. i noticed they did not credit the rankings to anyone.. SO who do i email? ha

by cpjuenge on Oct 12, 2007 9:22 AM EDT reply actions

I noticed those power rankings myself and I agree, some of them do seem absurd. Of course at this point in the season, it’s still guesswork. I used to send emails to complain to Scott Cullen about his TSN power rankings 2 years ago, and never got anywhere with the guy. At times during the season, the Canes had the best record in the league and had just beaten someone ranked above them, and Cullen would still have them ranked at 4rth or 5th position.

Next week we’ll see what the rankings are again and I’ll critique them at that time. Thanks for the idea!

by Bubba on Oct 12, 2007 10:00 AM EDT reply actions