Carolina Stays Winless in OT: Panthers 3, Hurricanes 2 OT

by Bob Wage on Dec 18, 2011 9:48 PM EST in Carolina Hurricanes Game Recaps

The Carolina Hurricanes dropped a close one with the Southeast Division leading Florida Panthers on Sunday evening, 3-2 in overtime. The Canes remain one of only two teams in the league yet to win a single game that has gone beyond regulation, (0-6). The Calgary Flames are 0-4.

The first period was a mixed bag as the Canes got off to a slow start but picked up their skating later in the period.

Just four minutes into the game, Sean Bergenheim skated from end to end and beat Cam Ward when he knocked in a pass to himself off the end boards. But late in the period, Tim Gleason tied things up with a shot from the point.

It was Gleason's first of the season and first goal in 97 games, dating to November of last year.

Carolina fought back hard and dominated play the second period. They finally were able to cash in when Chad LaRose stole the puck and whistled it past Jose Theodore, 13:45 into the period. They outshot the Panthers, 16-4 in the second.

The third period was all Florida though as the Canes could only muster two shots on goal in the entire period. Jason Garrison tied things up for the Cats, but neither team could notch the game winner in regulation.

Kris Versteeg was in the right place at the right time and netted the game winner on a rebound at 3:08 into overtime. The Panthers outshot the Canes 3-1 in the extra stanza.

The Canes will do some charity work on Monday and then will prepare for their next match which will be against the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday night.

Game Notes:

The Canes did a nice job in the circle and won 60% of the game's faceoffs. (Staal 62%, Jokinen 67%, Sutter 50%, Brent 67%)
For the game, they outshot their opponents 26-25, mostly thanks to that dominating second period. But they could generate little offense in the third. Staal had a team high five shots on goal.
The powerplay took a step back in this one and went 0-3. They allowed one goal while playing shorthanded as the Cats went 1-3.
They were given credit for 21 hits led by Jay Harrison with four.
Tim Gleason played a team high 25:12 on this night. Staal played 23:42. Anthony Stewart played a team low 3:26.

For post game interviews, check out Canes PR.com.

Tweet Comment 40 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Good game until the 3rd period. No excuse to have only 2 SOG in 20 minutes of play.

Harrumph

by ivyleager on Dec 18, 2011 11:13 PM EST reply actions

faulk harrison and ruutu looked terrible on the last goal. how did campbell elude the entire team there? faulk needs to step up, ruutu could have taken the body, harrison could have paid attention. that’s the 2nd sloppy overtime goal against this week. still waiting for another player to step up & be as assertive as larose. where’s the “accountability” the coach keeps preaching?

by tarheelicane9 on Dec 18, 2011 11:57 PM EST reply actions

all i can say is that even though i am truly impressed with the slow transformation that the team seem to be undergoing since the arrival of muller, it’s still horribly annoying to stay up the entire night (i live in stockholm, sweden) for the nth game this season in which the teams just seem to not give a damn about playing the entire game through… and the fact that larose is among our top scorers is just – sad, really…

…on the other hand though i do feel like staal is finally starting to play better (didn’t show in the stats, but still…), which is encouraging.

a happy swede who's been following the whalers-/hurricanes franchise since 1987...

by thearoux on Dec 19, 2011 1:55 AM EST reply actions

I think it looks more a case that they cannot play an entire game at the pace Muller wants.

by rmmeli on Dec 19, 2011 7:11 AM EST up reply actions

This is the NHL. If anyone can’t keep up the pace, then he isn’t earning his pay. I especially include the eight-million dollar man in that. I fault JR for wasting salary on players who can’t carry the load.

by GordonKeehn2 on Dec 19, 2011 2:49 PM EST up reply actions

Stewart

very, very confused here…last game, in a win, he plays on the first line w/Staal for a bit and had an assist on a Bowman goal, looked good. This game, 3 minutes of ice time. Does he just not show up for practice? Do the coaches hate him? What is the deal for picking up this guy in the offseason and then playing him in a jekyll-and-hyde manner?

Good for Rosie making a contribution, I don’t care if people think it’s sad he’s one of our leading scorers, I’m glad somebody is scoring.

Staal on that play in front of the Panthers’ net — what was that, exactly? Can’t figure out what he was thinking.

Gleason sighting = good. Still looking for that Jokinen guy we used to have playing on our team.

LET'S GO CANES -- THE SEASON AIN'T OVER YET!!!

by Capt. Stinky on Dec 19, 2011 6:28 AM EST reply actions

Some good points Stinky. Many of us have posted about LaRose being over slotted, but he is scoring. At this point, on this team, he is a first line player. Sad that other players who should be doing more than he is based on ability are not.
I also wonder if where Jussi went. He is not the 30 goal scorer that he put up a couple of years ago, but he is not this either. Health issues? New daddy ?

by Hockeydog on Dec 19, 2011 7:16 AM EST up reply actions

LaRose Had a Solid Game in All Facets

Maybe Muller, MacLean and Brind’Amour have been able to communicate with LaRose in a way to help him stick with his strengths while avoiding some of his flaws, such as poor positioning and ill-timed penalties. He had a very solid game and is well on his way to a 20+ goal season. Muller’s arrival gives everybody a clean slate. I am trying hard to do the same thing with the players because how a coach teaches and how a coach wants a team to play stylistically really affects the performance and really value on the team of a player. It’s something I’ve experienced first hand in sports.

A coaches style may make one player much better while hurting the performance of another because of each players’ skill sets. LaRose may well be the beneficiary of a head coach experienced in the NHL as forwards and of an uptempo game. LaRose could be one of those NHL players who succeeds, but plays a somewhat ugly game doing it. Who cares as long as he succeeds. Semin has all the skill in the world, but what good does all that skill do when Semin uses it about 10% of the time?

by abramsdoug on Dec 19, 2011 7:33 AM EST up reply actions

Agreed about LaRose. I don’t think he’s a first line player but on this team he is. Looking better and producing more than Ruutu or Jokinen at the moment.

"I'm not going to waste my time with Tuukka Rask" - Cam Ward

by anonymousJ on Dec 19, 2011 9:13 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

well

he’s the only one out on that line making an effort every shift….

by rattleskate on Dec 22, 2011 12:34 PM EST up reply actions

Stewart

Good observation about Stewart. What in the world could he have possibly done/not done to earn 3+ TOI. Make a mistake ? On this team ! He must be punished.

And Staal was over 23 TOI with the entire 4th line well under 10 TOI.

Cam had a couple of huge one-on-none breakaway saves which I thought was a good omen for the shootout, but we didn’t make it that far. Cam didn’t flip out again, which I guess is a good thing.

by drifterscape on Dec 19, 2011 11:46 AM EST up reply actions

Quite Paul Maurice like w/ that 4th line minutes. GASP!

Harrumph

by ivyleager on Dec 19, 2011 2:48 PM EST up reply actions

Along the same lines, I’ve been wondering when the speculation would spring up that LaRose has now acquired incriminating photos of Kirk Muller.

Twitter @HMof2

by Carolyn Christians on Dec 19, 2011 3:31 PM EST up reply actions

Hard to argue with results…

by Squeaky83 on Dec 19, 2011 4:07 PM EST up reply actions

LaRose

LaRose is playing ugly hockey, but successful hockey. He’s getting the job done, even though he would not qualify as the most graceful skater ever to hit the NHL. At this rate, LaRose may score as many goals as Cole did last season. Hockey is really a strange sport at times.

by abramsdoug on Dec 19, 2011 6:20 PM EST up reply actions

Good Morning Folks

I too agree this edition of the canes still has issues but and using the half empty discription. Yet this fan is happy plyers like Faulk,Bowman,Rosie Staal and the Juice have stepped it up doing the best they can…Even Spacek is doing all he can ..Not making excuses,but putting out there that and while the Canes are still missing a few key pieces..we are gonna have to be “patient” a wee bit longer …now exactly..how longer that will be physically…but like cold mapel syrup that flows slower in Alaska in January,can or will we of the fan base put up or tolerate Jr’s way/style of “doing business” as many here know that some of “our” stars" would be lower line players with other teams…so where do we as fans draw The Line ? Myself,I’m gonna hang on for the rest of this season..and for the future too…As the coaching staff,and the players do need to get their acts together,maybe just maybe the team can focus on getting to 500% and that would be a pretty good Christmas Present for this fan ..:-)

9/11/01 - Never Forget !!
Long Live #63 The Condor
Go Canes & Checkers !!!

by CaniacSteve on Dec 19, 2011 8:07 AM EST reply actions

That’s a point in 4 of 5 games so that’s some progress.

Any word if Jokinen has a date with Shanahan? That was certainly a dangerous hit he put of Versteeg. Also, the 2nd line is abysmal at the moment. The Finns with Poni are completely MIA.

"I'm not going to waste my time with Tuukka Rask" - Cam Ward

by anonymousJ on Dec 19, 2011 9:10 AM EST via mobile reply actions

That OT goal was on mainly on Faulk and Juice, not harrison or ruutu…

by sdbrassfield on Dec 19, 2011 9:50 AM EST reply actions

Ruutu took the comedic route just to punctuate the other two’s clown act.

by Hockeydog on Dec 19, 2011 9:55 AM EST up reply actions

Old habits reappeared

Blind passes on the entry to their zone led to turnovers and odd man rushes at our goal. Upon pressure by the Cats every Cane turned into a panicked puck chaser leaving Ward without help. Easy open net goal for the game winner for the opponents. Deja Vu, again. Hopefully good video for Muller, et. al., to break this routine.

by surgalt on Dec 19, 2011 12:09 PM EST up reply actions

Well, who fell down on the play lunging to poke the puck away? It was either Staal or Ruutu. Never leave your feet. Not a very wise decision.

Harrumph

by ivyleager on Dec 19, 2011 2:49 PM EST up reply actions

Ruutu.

Jokinen also left his man Versteeg. Faulk was a bit deep as well.

by hurricane9 on Dec 19, 2011 3:02 PM EST up reply actions

Bowman

How did he play?

by cape2 on Dec 19, 2011 9:56 AM EST reply actions

Not greatly noticeable except he had a couple good rushes up the ice and held and protected the puck well. Made good passes, but nothing came from them. I guess compared to the rest of the team he didn’t seem to make bone head plays. I remeber one decent shot, but it was stopped.

by Squeaky83 on Dec 19, 2011 10:48 AM EST up reply actions

I saw him crowding the net to or three times, which is a good place to be.

by Gillimus on Dec 19, 2011 12:13 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, he had good position in front of the net. Definitely willing to score the dirty goal.

by Hockeydog on Dec 19, 2011 12:16 PM EST up reply actions

thanks.

by cape2 on Dec 19, 2011 3:06 PM EST up reply actions

I also saw Bowman deliver some solid NHL caliber checks – creating turnovers (strong forechecking).

Maybe he’ll develop into a Cole-like player (speed, physicality) with better hands, though 205 lbs may be a bit of a stretch. He’s listed at 6-1, 190 at age 22 – is 205 too much to get to in 5 years?

Twitter @HMof2

by Carolyn Christians on Dec 19, 2011 3:36 PM EST up reply actions

it should be no problem is he switches to the right type of beer.

by Go_Shelf on Dec 19, 2011 3:59 PM EST up reply actions

There ya go. He also, like Cole, might learn to grow 5 lbs of facial hair.
Imagine

(photo by Jamie)

Twitter @HMof2

by Carolyn Christians on Dec 19, 2011 4:34 PM EST up reply actions

Apologies – I forgot to put a “title” on that to be able to minimize it. Been a long time since I posted a picture in the comments.

Twitter @HMof2

by Carolyn Christians on Dec 19, 2011 4:52 PM EST up reply actions

side note: if anyone’s got a link to the WJ CAN vs FIN game tonight it would be appreciated.

by Go_Shelf on Dec 19, 2011 5:03 PM EST up reply actions

Comparison SO not fair

By comparison, here’s Drayson Bowman’s facial hair three rounds into the playoffs last year.

twitter @jbk_ltd

by Jamie Kellner on Dec 19, 2011 7:15 PM EST up reply actions

I forgot you had that “3 rounds in” for Bowman – perfect apples-to-apples comparison. Cole’s is 3rd round of 2009.

Twitter @HMof2

by Carolyn Christians on Dec 19, 2011 9:15 PM EST up reply actions

Overall a game that the Canes took one step forward in the 2nd period and then immediately took one step back in the 3rd period. That high contrast change in a very short period of time was painful to watch at the end. Certainly lost all if not most of their focus.

I want to say something about Chad besides the fact he had a great goal shot last night. I am sort of staking myself out on my belief in him. LaRose has been a true soldier for the team and the club. He has followed his orders from the coaches as best he could and has done that throughout his career. I have followed LaRose in real time since he was signed as a free agent and began his career with the Canes with the FL ECHL team. His performance has exceeded his abilities at each hockey level through the force of his raw will-power and desire. He continues to learn and mature along the way. He has become a fan favorite because he has really earned it. Things like that are noticed.

I really think Chad has hit the wall with how far up the ladder he can get with what talent he has. We all face that sooner or later, except perhaps folks like Gretzky and Crosby. Once Chad and the team realizes a 1st or second line assignment is not in the team’s or his best interest he will be re-tooled back into that 3rd line and sometimes 4th line person he is so well suited. Chad can excel there. I think this is what is happening right now with the coaches and Chad. He will not like it but like a good soldier he will deal with it in a positive manner.

However, over the rest of the season he will be tapped on the shoulder to skate on the 1st and 2nd line occasionally or maybe regularly. I know he will give it his best when that happens. Chances are he will not be as good as he wants to be or that we want him to be. But he will give it his all and that is all I can ask. I will not blame him for a coaches decision to place him on one of the top two lines. His improbable ride to a regular NHL berth may continue to surprise us and if so we are all the better for it. A team has to have a few of these type soldiers and I would hope Chad continues to be one of them.

There will be an extra day before the next game Wednesday. I expect they will re-charge well enough for a decent 60 minute game. Our friend Ray will be coming to town as well as Vrbrata who is becoming everything we were hoping he would become. Just wish he could have done it sooner and here.

So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.
Sun Tzu circa 4th Century BC

by hurricanefever on Dec 19, 2011 3:54 PM EST reply actions