I don’t know if it was because of the wing’s defense or our mistakes, but it seemed like if they could have just kept the passes out of their skates, they might have finished several of their chances.

I think the passing was not crisp due to the stifling defense of the red wings. It seemed like they always had a stick in the passing lanes or on the puck. I agree that Carolina took dumb penalties, but I think part of that was frustration over the way the Wings control the neutral zone. At times it seemed like the wings were just this side of obstruction.

It was nice to see the physical effort last night, as well as a more complete defensive effort.

Overall, maybe the best 60-minute effort of the season. That being said, they were bitten by big screens in front — which I mentioned was a key to stopping Detroit’s PP and winning the game — and couldn’t beat Conklin with a few very good chances.

I really can’t fault anyone for the way they played. I thought the team got a good effort from everyone and just ran into a very, very good team. The key now will be not relaxing when facing a clearly less-accomplished L.A. team Friday evening.

Off topic but, RIP Cherepanov. Total travesty that the medical crew can’t check a battery in an AED. Even worse that he had to wait 45 minutes for an ambulance. Unthinkable that they didn’t even have a freaking stretcher for him.

Maybe someone can enlighten me. I have been a plan holder for the past 7 years and I like the action, however, I am still not an expert about what happens on the ice as far whats really good execution and whats not like I can in football, but I still enjoy it. But wasn’t the ice a little chippy last night? It seemed like the pulling was rolling around a lot and that had something to do with our control of the puck(and theirs as well) Not making excuses, but just trying to improve my “eye” of the game.

hotchip – I can’t vouch for the condition of the ice, I don’t know. No one mentioned anything about it.

Good observation Hotchip … they said on the telecast, actually, that ice was too hard last night, and that makes it choppy. Better than soft ice like at MSG, I suppose, but still not ideal.

Excellent reporting, as always, Bubba. You and Cory covered all the bases and issues. What a game, though! The Canes’ heart and physicality was clearly demonstrated (against an amazing team)… they have a lot to be very proud of and they are laying a strong foundation.

wylde4canes – Great posts today and always! Agreed.

Pretty sure I heard Don and EJ say Coach Laviolette is going to be on NHL Live today.

thanks for the heads up SamsonovFan and the kind words as well!

I Thought the Canes played an excellent game as well. I thought Ruutu was everywhere, and hitting anything that moved. I thought Ward looked really good in net also. He made one really nice kick save off a rebound while he was still in a split from saving the first shot. The way he was snatching pucks with his glove hand he looked really confident…..hope that can carry over.

Oh, and Detroit may have won the game, but the Canes won the fight!! While I dont think we want to play them again……I dont think they want to play us again either!!

I really liked the hits tally. Nice to finally see those numbers. Bayda, Ruutu, and Corvo were beastly last night!! Staal’s 26 minutes… wow. Ward was remarkable, especially considering Holmstrom’s presence. Team toughness.

does anybody know what the trade rumour for the hurricanes

Some stuff out there about them moving a d-man for a forward. But I don’t see them dealing inexpensive guys (Melichar, Babchuk) for a forward that would be a true upgrade. I think they’ll see how Boychuk does this weekend and going forward before doing anything.

This was a good test for the Canes. The biggest difference between the teams is in a word….anticipation. The Red Wings seem to be scating to where the puck will be, while the Canes seemed to be chasing the puck a lot more. The Wings will do this all year long. They will even improve a bit. The league will catch up by sometime in January. Seems like they just practice puck handling, passing and anticipation. This is the deal on offense and defense. The Canes really don’t match up well against this style. It takes the posession game away from us. The way to nulify this stuff is with physical play. They did a lot of that but in the end, it was a hard earned win by Detroit. There are teams in the west that can beat Detroit in the play offs with physical style. Very interesting very entertaining stuff. Looking forward to the rest of the season. I hope we get another chance at them for the cup.

Good game by the Wings, I just think that if you want to be champs, you have to beat the champs, and the Canes showed last night that they are just not playing at that level yet. Hanging with a good team is not going to win the game. The Canes said they were eager to win and show their stuff and show that they are one of the elite teams in the NHL. They failed to make that statement last night.

On a side note, I think its kinda funny how we could win 8-0 and Lavi would still have the same demeanor during a press conference.

Had a blast last night at the game. Just a few observations….Corvo finally looks ready to play….Pitkanen is a super star in the making in our system, he played as many minutes as Staal, though he may never get the love he deserves from Caniacs considering whom he was traded for…going to go out on a limb here Pitkanen scores more points this year than Cole.
Staal is a beast, Roddy looked to get stronger as the game went on, we need him on the PK. Sutter’s upside is limitless. Is that the REAL Frankie Kaberle I’ve seen thru three games, he may be back. Cullen has his confidence and speed back, but he can’t be in our top six long term, he needs to center a solid third line. Anyone seen Eaves after game one? If Eaves can’t skate in the top six we mos def need another forward.
The Redwings are faceless, I mean that as the highest compliment. It didn’t seem to matter who was on the ice…the positioning and play were the same. Damn what a team!
Rutuu will have his best season of his career on Staal’s wing.
Have the officials collectively decided to not call tripping penalties? and i’m not just talking about Canes games, have seen glaring lack of obvious tripping calls on the young season.
Thanks to Bubba for giving us this forum to rap.

My take on the game……

Period 1- Conklin looked shaky in th net, and was out of it way too much. The Canes should have capitalized on that. But despite that they didn’t, I saw a fiery and excited team in them.

Period 2- how do you stop the Wings PP? They are great, but the Canes kept it coming. They were stealing pucks, picking pockets, and have done alot and come a long way from last year.

Period 3- Hey, they kept it 2-1, and that was great. The open netter, well, how do you stop Zetterberg on a break away of sorts.

Overall, while for one nightat the RBC, I was rooting hard for my Wings, I was very happy and pleasantly surprised at the grot and physicalness of the Canes. They played hard, never sat back, and stayed solid for 60 minites. Cam wasgreat in the net. I think that we all can take from this game, and it is early, that we have a hungry team, and a team that despite pre-season rankings, will do much better than expected. Or will they fall apart aroundDecember? Who cares. They look good, the chemistry is there, and I am proud of them. Hell, even Staal stepped it up!

Sean