Reversal Of Fortune: Canes Rally for 2-1 Win
by Cory Lavalette on Nov 8, 2008 12:00 AM EST
9 comments
Ottawa fans have a whole new reason to holler "Uh-Oh Corvo!"
For the second time in two outings against his old team, defenseman Joe Corvo — who was criticized endlessly during his time in Canada's capital —got revenge by contributing to a Carolina win, this time a 2-1 come-from-behind victory. His wrister from the right circle with 2:40 left in regulation beat ex-Cane Martin Gerber and gave coach Peter Laviolette his 240th career victory, passing John Tortorella for the most all-time victories by an American-born coach. Last season, in Corvo's only other game against the Senators, Corvo had a hat trick and also was credited with the game winner.
The game was eerily similar to last night's crushing loss to division foe Washington, when the Canes blew a one-goal lead in the third period and lost with 10.8 seconds remaining. This time, the Senators got on the board first when Mike Fisher tapped in a rebound of a Daniel Alfredsson shot near the end of the second to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead.
But Carolina's power play clicked at an opportune time, as Dennis Seidenberg's shot from the point beat Gerber to tie the score with less than nine minutes remaining. Six minutes later, Corvo found a loose puck at the right circle, turned and fired the puck over Gerber's left shoulder. Corvo, who assisted on Seidenberg's earlier goal, registered a game-high seven shots.
Credit is also due to Michael Leighton, who stopped 22 shots and improved to 4-1 on the season. The Canes' defense was also solid, limiting the dynamic duo of Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza to five total shots and holding them pointless and the penalty kill sent Ottawa to an o-for-5 night.
On the injury front, Patrick Eaves did not play due to an injury (rumored to be a concussion). Recent call-up Michael Ryan played in his place and in his Carolina debut played 4:52.
The win makes Carolina 3-0 on the back end of back-to-back games this season and improves the Canes to 8-4-2, good for 18 points and first place in the Southeast. The Capitals are at 14 points with two games in hand.
The Hurricanes next play Sunday, hosting Atlanta at 3 p.m. It's the league's lone matinee and will not be televised by either team's broadcasters. You can hear the game on 99.9 FM.
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I don’t know what Ottawa was thinking about Joe Corvo. I think he is one of the most offensivly gifted defenseman I have seen in the last 10 years. Some of the moves he makes out there are just not seen by a defensman. It seems like all the negative stuff out of that place may have affected his on ice play while he was up there. This guy is unbelievable with the puck. He is a lot like Sandis Oselinch without the turnovers. Keep it up Joe, you are fun to watch play.
by Ken on Nov 8, 2008 7:39 AM EST reply actions
I don’t know that I’d heap that much praise on Joe, but he is very good at what he does. It’s funny considering now all the talk in Ottawa is their need for a puck-moving blueliner. Yet in the past year they’ve dealt Corvo and let Redden leave for the Rangers.
by Cory on Nov 8, 2008 9:12 AM EST reply actions
It is a shame it took an injury to put Eaves in the press box. The big hockey media outlets want to talk about how samsanov is not contributing, but you at least notice sammy out on the ice at least trying to create some O. I rarely notice 44 when he is on the ice, and half of the time I do, it is because he is loosing a battle for the puck.
I am glad we got the win, but I am not going to start to feel really good about this team until I see them destroy someone from top to bottom, shots, hits, takeaways, and the socre board. When I see that happening, then I will feel better.
by wylde4canes on Nov 8, 2008 9:23 AM EST reply actions
Cory,
Name someone that has Joe’s skill.
1)BLAST OF A SHOT
2)CAN MOVE THE PUCK LIKE A WINGER
3)PASSES LIKE CORY STILLMAN
4)SEES THE ICE VERY WELL
5)SETTLES THE POWER PLAY
6)HOLDS THE BLUELINE LIKE NO ONE ELSE.
The only knock on him may be that he is not very physical. I just think in this NHL, this kind of defenseman is very valuable. He started out slow this year but as he improves, so will the team. The guy is impact.
by Ken on Nov 8, 2008 9:51 AM EST reply actions
My main complaint is Corvo struggles carrying the puck up the ice. If you watch the PP, you’ll notice he will give up the puck 99 percent of the time for someone else to carry it up the ice. He’s an OK passer, but he’s nowhere near Stillman’s level.
I like Corvo and am thrilled Ottawa was happy to pawn him off the Canes, but there are 20 defenseman in the league that have those skills and beyond. That’s why Corvo’s not a No. 1 blueliner. Guys like Lidstrom, Niedermayer, Gonchar, Zubov, Weber, Phaneuf, Burns, Green, Markov, Rafalski, Pronger and Bouwmeester (and some more) are the elite, No. 1 d-men in the league. Corvo’s in the second tier, IMO, with guys like Liles and Wideman.
And there’s nothing wrong with having a guy at that level on the team. But there’s a reason JR went out and got Pitkanen. Pitkanen has the skill set to join that above group if he puts it all together.
by Cory on Nov 8, 2008 10:14 AM EST reply actions
Well, clearly we see this guy differently. I would point to the fact that he had nearly a point per game for nearly half a season last year after joining the club. If you put Corvo on wing like Stillman, you would see big numbers but he is a defenseman so hard to compare. He has excellent vision.
People are people. Joe Corvo thrived under our system because he wasn’t carring the burden of Ottawa anymore. I am willing to bet that three months from now, you will be a believer too.
99….hhhmmm. A bit of an exageration. Why not let someone who can more easily penetrate the offensive zone bring it by the other teams defense? It gives our defense time to set up and position itself. The key to this is to mix it up so the opposition doesn’t key on certain players. He could carry the puck a bit more, I think if you actually run the experiment, you will see he carries into the zone about 8-10 of the time. It would be interesting to calculate the actual number.
Those players are very good but they play a different game. Most of these guys in my opinion are not as skilled with the possible exception of Lindstrom and Phaneuf. Green is a nice player but not nearly the slap shot. Gonchar is not the passer that Joe is. Pronger is big and slow. I think he is very overrated. I also think he is not a good team guy. Rafalski doesn’t have the big shot either. These guys may have a portion of their game at a higher level than Joe but not the overall package, no way.
Do me a favor. Next game you see live, just isolate on Joe Corvo for a shift or 2. If you do that, perhaps you will begin to see what I see.
Pitkanen, we just haven’t seen enough here in Raleigh have we. I am very interested to see what happens to the team defense when he gets back. He clearly will help open the ice up as he can shoot from anywhere and stick handles very well. That commands respect. I think he was a very nice pickup. I am sure that the defense will be more explosive when he gets back.
Bottom line, Joe Corvo was the Canes best defenseman during the time he was here last year no doubt. The defense is more mobile and more willing to shoot since he has been here and he is the perfect player in this system. I think the Canes have a very good chance to have an absolutely explosive defensive group. How about a team that can score from any position by any player on the ice. This team is going to come together nicely.
Samsanov will get it together. Brind’amour looks slow and has been turning the puck over too much. We are looking at a player on the down swing of a great career. I think the team was much better without Brind’Amour in there last year. Under Staal, they were fast, mobile, intimidating. Rod is slowing the play down. Staal’s team was fast break hockey, Brindy’s team is possession defensive hockey. What we have right now is a disfunctional mix of both. Rod should be on the side lines until he is at least healthy because a 80% Brind’Amour is not good enough in this league anymore.
Just what I see.
by Ken on Nov 8, 2008 10:51 AM EST reply actions
I agree that this defense has tons of potential. Gleason, for my money, has become one of the best shutdown d-men in the game. I don’t think anyone in the league has as active a stick as Gleason. He waves it around with just one hand on it and it works for him. It was funny to hear that Ron Wilson was coaching Luke Schenn to play with two hands on the stick at all times. It made me think of how, technically, Gleason would drive most coaches nuts. And there’s still more to come offensively, in my mind.
The emergence of Seidenberg has been great, and Kaberle and Wallin look like they did in the Cup season. I’m not thrilled with the bottom pairing right now, but if the team’s 100 percent on the blueline those two aren’t playing.
I like Corvo, but he’s really a No. 3 in the league, IMO. I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on the guys I listed. Weber, Gonchar, Zubov — those are some amazing players. Corvo lacks confidence carrying the puck (his constant looping back into the defensive zone is always a nail-biter) and is streaky. Right now he’s hot and the team is benefiting. In the first 10 games he had two points. He’s a lot like Cullen: he’ll have six- or seven-game stretches when he’s the best player on the ice, then maybe the same amount of time when he’s a little invisible.
Also, no way you sit Brind’Amour right now — he’s the only guy who can win a faceoff. :D And even though he’s struggled, he still has the most clutch plays early in the season. I’m more concerned with Staal right now. Clearly something’s not right.
by Cory on Nov 8, 2008 12:39 PM EST reply actions
I’m between Cory and Ken on this one. I think Ken tends to over rate Corvo (slightly) and Cory doesn’t give him enough credit (to a far greater extent) What makes me more impressed is something neither of you mentioned. Since Pitkanen went down, Joe has stepped up his game. He has picked up the slack that Joni left when he went out. That’s a real positive, in my eyes. And, even though he has his share of turn-overs, he’s a long way from the “Uh Oh Corvo” that Ottawa accused him of being. Also, maybe Anton and Melichar aren’t a spectacular pair, but a lot of teams would be really happy to have tham as 3rd pair. Heck, some of them would be happy to have them as 2nd pair.
by NCYANKEE on Nov 8, 2008 3:22 PM EST reply actions
I think the two positives so far this season are the defensive scoring and the goaltending. However the offense has been a little on the rocky side. I think the only offense we have is in Ryan Bayda, Tuomo Ruutu, and Chad LaRose. Carolina needs Whitney (albeit he has contributed at times), Brind’Amour, and especially Staal to step up their game more. Idk if Brindy’s game is being affected by this divorce thing he is going through, but something is not right with the Captain. However Staal’s play is very puzzling. The guy who led us in points last season has yet to do much offensive (lets be honest here, many of his goals were open netters). If only we would get more offense out of our key players, we would be in a top position in the league right now.
The goaltending in my opinion has almost been superb. Leighton has been a godsend in net, and Wardo has played very solid (although he needs to stop letting in those stupid easy shots). The defense has also been fairly good. I think that the offense has been better for the defense more so that their D play so far. Nic Wallin and Dennis Seidenberg have been excellent so far this season. Seids has been invaluable on the PP as of late.
As soon as people get healthy (mainly Pik for our PP woes), this team could be very dangerous in the eastern conference. They just need to give a 60 min effort every night instead of 58 min effort (i.e. the Washington game). Carolina can be great, they just need to play well consistently.
by Ivan on Nov 8, 2008 10:53 PM EST reply actions
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