She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy

by Bob Wage on Nov 6, 2007 1:52 AM EST

Cory Stillman scored a natural hat-trick in the first period, Cam Ward earned a shut-out, and Eric Staal added two more goals as the Carolina Hurricanes buried the Washington Capitals last night, 5-0. Stillman's hat-trick won some lucky fan a tractor! (not the one pictured above.) The Canes powerplay cut through the Caps defense like a surgeon's scalpel. If they haven't got the number one powerplay in the league, it must be close to it. Stillman's natural hat-trick was the fastest ever scored in any first period in franchise history. It was the 2nd fastest ever scored for the franchise, (second only to Ray Whitney's beauty against Boston last year).

Needless to say, it was a lot of fun to be at the RBC last night! The game started off much differently than one might expect though. The Capitals were very hungry for a win and came out firing on all cylinders. They actually outshot the Canes 19-10 in the first period, but had nothing to show for their effort. Cam Ward was razor sharp, but to be fair the chances that he was facing were not nearly as potent as the chances that the Canes were generating down at the other end. Washington definitely missed their injured players which included Alex Semin and Chris Clark. Alexander Ovechkin was all over the ice as usual, but couldn't get any of his 5 shots on goal past "Wardo". I thought most of the team had a very good night except for Frank Kaberle who turned the puck over several times, once or twice directly in front of Ward. Although after looking at the "time on ice" chart, I see that Frank led all defensemen with over 20 minutes of ice time. Perhaps Peter Laviolette didn't see it the same way that I did! David Tanabe played as the 7th defenseman, but also served a few shifts as a forward. I'm sure he was happy to get some ice time, regardless of the position. Dennis Seidenberg left the game early after getting boarded by perennial goon, Donald Brashear. Brashear was awarded a 5 minute penalty and a game major. Hopefully, Seidenberg will be all right.

The Hurricanes lead the entire league in scoring with 58 goals so far! They now have earned 21 points which keeps them a safe 7 points ahead of 2nd place Florida in the Southeast Division. They are also currently in second place in the Eastern Conference, (behind Ottawa's 24 points) and have earned the third most points in the entire league! Obviously it's a great start to the season for the club and they will continue trying to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the division with these future inter-divisional match-ups this month. Next up is an ailing Tampa Bay, who has lost 6 in a row and has yet to win a game on the road all year (0-7). Let's hope the Canes keep it that way on Thursday night!

Tonight, Carolina General Manager Jim Rutherford will be the guest on RBC Centura's new show, "Canes Corner". Mike Maniscalco will host the show beginning at 6 which will be broadcast live by 99.9 The Fan from the Village Draft House in Cameron Village. Come early, stay late, and ask the past NHL executive of the year a few questions!

Kenny Chesney

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Seidenberg came back to the bench and resumed his regular shifts only a few minutes after heading back to the dressing room. He’s one of my favorites so I end up watching for him on the ice and noticed him coming back out the tunnel. Looked like he got cut and maybe took a few stitches. The boarding was down at the other end of the ice from where I was sitting though. I couldn’t tell why the major for it except maybe it was Brashear and his reputation as being a tough guy. Any thoughts on what made it a major?

by jwalther420 on Nov 6, 2007 8:13 AM EST reply actions

Yes, I was sitting in 105 and you could defintely see the blood running down the from above his right eye somewhere. He’s one tough SOB.

by fredwiAtSAS on Nov 6, 2007 8:24 AM EST reply actions

Yea…he is definitely a tough guy. I’m not sure why but I sort of mentally “adopted” him as a favorite of mine when we traded for him last year. I always root for the new guy to fit in. I don’t think he was given much of a chance last year until the canes were forced to play him toward the end of the year. By the last week of the season, I thought he was playing one of the best games of the defensemen.

This year, despite him being one of the pick-on guys for some of the blogs (not this one), I think he has really shown a good game. He has a wicked shot that isn’t often rewarded with points. He can hit with the best of them, and he can actually move the puck. Last night wasn’t a great night for his puck-moving skills as he turned it over in the neutral zone a few times but usually he’s bringing the puck out with some serious speed. Anyway, glad he wasn’t hurt. I didn’t like Tanabe’s game last night. We need Dennis in there.

by jwalther420 on Nov 6, 2007 9:06 AM EST reply actions

I was sitting next to some fool Craps fan and he actually tried to tell me they were losing because they were down Semin, Clark, and Poti. I was like, Yeah like how were not down Walker, Ladd, And Wallin? Our squad is much better chief, from top to bottom.

by HANRAHANFAN1 on Nov 6, 2007 9:38 AM EST reply actions

I agree, I like Seidenberg’s game for the most part. Right now I would pick him over Tanabe, if nothing else because of his physical play but I think he has a better, harder shot as well.

As for the call on Brashear, from my viewpoint my first inclination was that it would be a 2 minute boarding call, but apparently since it was to the head they called it a 5 minute major. Then after the refs found out that Dennis was bleeding, they added on the game misconduct. They were talking about it a bit after the game on one of the radio stations, (I was flipping back and forth). I guess there is a zero tolerance now on head shots, as well there should be. The refs should enforce it more often.

by Bubba on Nov 6, 2007 9:46 AM EST reply actions

Did anyone catch that sweet and classy move by Cole late in the third? He was moving in on Johnson, with a Cap behind him. Staal was behind the Cap and moving in to. Cole had a clear shot on net, but opted to pass it backwards to Staal, for him to take the shot. He missed, but it sure did look like one of those" here’s your chance for that hat trick kid" moves. Kudos to the boys for a great game last night It was a good effort by all. Stillman was amazing and Cam got his shut out. The team played very well together.

I have to be the one to admit though, unless Tanabe beefs up his game, JR may just opt to use that “two way” contract soon. Granted, he has not played much, but when you get your shot, you need to take advantage of it. He needs to realize that some guys from Albany have showed alot more skill and hunger this season than he is right now. Of course, he could always be trade bait at some point. Though not likely due to all the offers he received in the off season. I like the kid, but he really needs to come up to speed. If what we have seen is the best he has, I would be looking for an upstate apartment soon.

Sean

by CaniacSean on Nov 6, 2007 5:04 PM EST reply actions