Finding A Silver Lining: Positive Tidbits Through Two Hurricanes Games
by Cory Lavalette on Oct 5, 2009 12:45 PM EDT
41 comments
It would be easy to throw out statistics to verify how bad the Carolina Hurricanes were in the season's first two games. but there were some positives that can be built on heading in to Tuesday's game at home vs. the Lightning.
- If you're going to have success in the NHL, puck possession is key. Where does that begin? In the faceoff circle, of course. As expected, captain Rod Brind’Amour has been dominant in the early going. But his 27-wins-to-nine-losses start (75 percent) borders on the absurd. The team currently ranks seventh in the league at 55.3 percent, a couple spots better and about four percent higher than last year. Most importantly, Eric Staal seems to have improved on the draw, something that seemed evident in the preseason and is thus far confirmed through two games. He's won one more than he's lost (22-21) and has a 51.2 winning percentage. Staal won just 45.3 percent of his faceoffs last year, and that was the best of his career. Faceoffs have been Staal's one glaring weakness, but he may have finally turned a corner on them.
- Aaron Ward and Andrew Alberts have added some of what they're known for in the early going, even if their overall results haven't been so good. Ward leads the team in blocked shots with five, taking on a role he has throughout his career and filling the gap left by the departure of 2008-09 leading shot blocker Dennis Seidenberg. Alberts has dished out five hits, including his best-hit-of-the-year-so-far entry on Jeff Carter in the opener. On the negative side, Alberts has been on the ice for a team-worst six goals against (three while killing penalties).
- Carolina was outscored 9-2 in their first two outings, with only Scott Walker, Ray Whitney and Sergei Samsonov yet to be on the ice for a goal.
- A cure for what ails you? How about Tampa Bay coming to town Tuesday. The revamped (again) Lightning got off to a rough start, dropping their opener 6-3 to Atlanta. The Canes won all six games against the Bolts last season. It's also a chance to see No. 2-overall pick Victor Hedman, who logged 26:27 of ice time against the Thrashers and got his first NHL point when his shot was tipped in by Martin St. Louis.
- River Rats Drayson Bowman and Chris Terry each got their first professional goals in Albany's season-opener against Manchester, a 6-3 loss. Brett Carson had the other. Zach Boychuk and Jerome Samson netted assists for the Rats.
- The Panthers signed free agent Dominic Moore, adding a little more firepower to their lineup. Moore isn't going to score 25 or 30 goals, but he has an outside shot at 20 if he gets a lot of ice time. Just like their signing of Seidenberg, the Panthers gave Moore a one-year deal.
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Nobody's dead yet?
I have season tickets?
Tuesday is $1 hot dog night?
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
1st $1 dog night is Nov 13
tuesday night is Car and Schedule Magnet Giveaway
by camwardsaysno on Oct 5, 2009 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Crap
I was going to bring the beer and tailgate before the game, eat the $1 dogs during the game and vomit after the game.
Whatever am I going to do now?
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
Skip the dogs and go straight to vomiting?
It is college night!
by Iggy Reilly on Oct 5, 2009 3:06 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Yeah but I need a catalyst to vomit.
I guess I could forget the food and go to “beer screwdrivers”. Nothing but vodka cut with MGD. God, it don’t get worse than that.
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
I hate college night…. The stupid students get tickets cheaper than season ticket holders… they get plastered before they come to the game… they get in and do not know how to act…. what a headache… I might skip the game now. Thanks for the heads up!
If I could pick one thing for the Hurricanes promotions staff to cut out I would pick damned college nights!!!
by Mateos_Canes_Lamp on Oct 5, 2009 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions
The problem is.....
that’s how you get future fans who bring in their little future bundles o’ joy and start a real fanbase.
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
There are plenty of families doing that already, and that seems to be the plan from marketing.
The reason for college night is to sell tickets to games that would otherwise not be sold. It’s why college nights are weekday nights against crappy opponents.
5 seconds left.
Do you believe in miracles?
YES!!
I wouldn’t have a problem with college night if the stupid college students would not act like they were raised by monkeys….. You know…. treat the people around them w/ common courtesy… and acknowledge the fact that there are actually people there who are there to WATCH A HOCKEY GAME!!!
If the college students need a cheap place go to act like jackasses then send them to PB’s or some other place where college students “hang out.”
I fear for the future of our nation….
by Mateos_Canes_Lamp on Oct 5, 2009 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Hey now...we're not all bad
Some of us (not many, but some) weren’t raised in barns and know how to interact with people. :) As far as the alcohol part, I will agree with you for the most part. I tend to avoid college night games as much as possible just because I put up with enough drunk frat guys at school. However, I’ve seen non-college aged fans acting just as poorly once they get a few drinks in them.
Thank you for being the Exception :-)
by Mateos_Canes_Lamp on Oct 5, 2009 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Anytime. Hopefully, Tuesday night won’t be so bad. And if it is, I apologize on behalf of my generation. :D
don't worry
I’ve seen guys Mateos and my own age act like 14 year olds after 3 beers.
In other words, they matured slightly
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
How does everyone suddenly know my age? make me sound like an old man or something (is 31 old?)
by Mateos_Canes_Lamp on Oct 6, 2009 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions
31? Wow, I’m 46 but still what I said holds true.
I’ve seen guys your age, my age and older act like morons too.
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
Oh…. for sure! LOL…. people tell me that I act like an old man….
Crazy thing is that I have actually been seen hanging out (before select games) w/ Canescup (God Bless His Wife) LOL!!!!!
(I really did just LOL)
by Mateos_Canes_Lamp on Oct 6, 2009 9:49 AM EDT up reply actions
i"m the exception as well
Although I might be PLASTERED…
I know how to act, and I know the game.
I gotta admit… the deal is AWESOME for us students, but rips the season ticket buyers.
I had 4th row seats to the Canes/Sabres game last year that I paid $40 a piece for.
by packpigskinfan25 on Oct 5, 2009 8:26 PM EDT up reply actions
yeah…. It kid of peevs me that I have had season tickets since the 2000-2001 season and still college students get a way better deal on tickets than I get….
oh well… I guess life is not all about me….
(LOL… that sounded like a "deep thought by Jack Handy)
by Mateos_Canes_Lamp on Oct 6, 2009 12:12 AM EDT up reply actions
Some of us still have .edu emails and like the cheaper tickets too.
by Iggy Reilly on Oct 5, 2009 5:01 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
It’s been a while since I’ve seen us play this bad. God I hope we gain some wins in our own division.
I still think Cole has played the best on our team and its a shame to see him out for a month or so now.
He was definitely playing with some jump … though i thought it was a bit like Staal last year in the early going where he was trying to do a lot on his own. FWIW, I think Staal has played well, too. Well, as well as one can play when your team is outscored 9-2 in two games.
by Cory Lavalette on Oct 5, 2009 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions
more positives
We have been shellacked by two of the best four teams in the Eastern conference. As much as we want to believe differently — myself included — Washington, Pittsburgh, Boston, and Philly are clearly the 4 best teams in the conference. Until and if the Canes can raise their game, they will be in the second tier with Buffalo and New Jersey, fighting over the 5th spot in the conference.
The good news is we play TB and ATL the next two games. This is a chance for the Canes to build their confidence and get things moving in the right direction. If we see the same lackluster performance against 2 of the weakest teams in the conference, then it might be time to panic. It’s still early, but not too early to perceive trends. The top lines need to produce, the D needs to be more solid, and frankly (my wife will hate this) Cam Ward needs to show why he’s being paid as one of the top goalies in the league. The coaching staff needs to get the boys on the same page and moving forward. After 2 games we’ve been terrible for 60 minutes and 25 seconds. Can the coaching staff get the ship righted? There is a lot of time left in the season but we need some direction that the players, and fans, can latch on to.
Face Offs......Bah Humbug!!!!
I’ve never been sold on face off stats. Nine out of ten times that you do win a face off 2 seconds later the other team has it back. I can see if you’re on a power play it would help to win the draw. Not saying there is not some technique to it but most of the time it’s pure luck who wins it. Sort of like putting 4 red and 4 black marbles in a bag you’ve got 50% chance of pulling one or the other out. The ref alone can determine who wins it by the way he drops it or throws the puck down.
I guess I’m trying to say if this is the positive in the last two games and it didn’t help we are in alot more trouble than fans want to admit.
Not to put a downer on this silver lining
The Canes are now 1-8 in their last 9 meaningful games. All of the games have been against top notch opponents but I think it shows that this team is not a contender and won’t be until they give Staal some much needed help in the scoring department. I think they will bounce back from this start but if they don’t fix the powerplay with some sort of personnel changes, they will struggle to put up wins. Pitkanen can’t get back soon enough and it’s obvious that letting both Babs and Seids go was a mistake. EIther one would have helped on the powerplay. Both Ward and Gleason would be the first to admit that they should not be playing on either unit. Cullen is fine for the second unit but I don’t think JR should wait too long to either bring up Rodney or find help elsewhere.
Wow. Is this a "Depressories Calendar" or a site for Canes' fans?
Yeah, the Canes lost two this season. Like winning, what you did last season is last season.
Still, game 1 could have easily gone either way. The ice was so crappy that neither the Canes not the Flyers could hit the puck all that well. Saturday night? Yeah, that sucked but if they were sick, I think we can see where some of that came from.
Besides, does anyone remember that team that came out of the gates fast last year and then fizzled around December? Then they were no where in site for the playoffs. Yeah, the Canes left points behind. Hey, they will leave more points later.
I’m not saying I’m happy nor did I like their performance but like a 2 game winning streak, a 2 game losing streak means just as much.
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
I'll disagree with that
It’s hard to say a game could’ve gone either way if one team never scores.
Satan is just a coping mechanism for monotheists.
Philly could barely score
and the Canes were close more than a few times.
The ice was crap on Friday.
A conservative is someone who wants to get rid of all illegal immigrants,
Just as soon as those guys finish mowing his yard and building the shed
Yes, Samsonov hasn’t been on the ice for any goals. However, he was in the penalty box for two.
I ‘d like to know where to see that stat. How many goals against while a player’s in the box.
That is a stat I have been wanting the NHL to keep for years. It’s just dying to be in a fantasy league.
And as for the two he was in the box for, I’m still unable to see the penalty when I watch the review on TSN.
5 seconds left.
Do you believe in miracles?
YES!!
I’ve watched the 4 min. high stick in slow motion several times and he got Sammy’s elbow not a stick. You can easily see Sammy’s stick never leaves the ice.
Amen!
That was a bogus call if there ever was one. The blade of his stick was clearly on or within a foot of the ice the whole time. The defenseman came in with his head down and got hit in the face by a flying elbow that was working the stick. The call was not made until the defenseman brought his hand to his face to check for blood.
Frankly i was surprised at the cavalier way that “our” announcers accepted the call.
Chip Alexander (finally) made the point that I am always preaching:
“Carolina was 18-5-5 with Conboy in the lineup last season and is 31-9-7 overall when Conboy has played the last two seasons. "
the guy does not have all the skill…. but there is just something about him that turns up the fire in the rest of our players…..
by Mateos_Canes_Lamp on Oct 6, 2009 12:21 AM EDT reply actions
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