Time In A Bottle: A Look Back At 2008
by Bob Wage on Mar 24, 2011 11:39 AM EDT
in Carolina Hurricanes Analysis
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PrintCurrently, the Carolina Hurricanes are three points out of a playoff spot with just nine games to go. You don't need an odds calculator to tell you that, chances are, the team will not make it to the postseason. But just in case you are curious of the exact odds, Sports Club Stats has Carolina's chances of making the playoffs at 22.6%.
Interestingly enough in the Spring of 2008, the Canes were at the other end of the percentages.
With just eight games left in the season, Carolina had a three point advantage over division rival Washington. The Canes finished those eight games with a 4-3-1 record, not too shabby, but not as good as the Caps 7-1-0 record.
As we all remember, the Caps overtook the Canes, won the Southeast Division title, and went on to begin what has become their annual disappointment in the playoffs.
What happened in those eight games for Carolina? Let's take a quick look back.
The team had to face Southeast Division opponents in all eight games, facing each of them twice. They swept the Thrashers, split with the Panthers and Lightning, but lost both games to the Caps, one in a shootout.
After earning a 3-0-1 record in the first four games of the stretch, (and pushing the Sports Club Stats odds up to 90%, to being in the playoffs), they dropped their last three of four, including a heartbreaking season final game at the RBC against the Florida Panthers, a game which probably still gives former Carolina coach Peter Laviolette nightmares.
The collapse was the beginning of the end of Laviolette's reign in Raleigh, as he was released after the start of the following season.
The final games came with a bit of controversy and drama as previously injured vets, Ray Whitney, Matt Cullen, Chad LaRose, and Justin Williams each returned to the lineup, albeit too early, (except for LaRose). But check out the lines Laviolette had to work with because of all the injuries. (prior to the first Atlanta game).
- Staal-Cole-Samsonov
- Aucoin-Walker-Bayda
- Letowski-Ruutu-Hamilton
- Brookbank-Conboy-Jensen
- Corvo-Kaberle
- Wesley-Wallin
- Hedican-Gleason
Not sure I can blame him for bringing in the reinforcements if they claimed they were ready to go, but Williams re-injured himself his first game back. Whitney and Cullen looked off. But LaRose started a scoring streak and scored his first NHL hat trick against the Lightning. The lines, (they ended up benching Brookbank and played Seidenberg as the 7th defenseman), for the Lightning were as follows:
- Staal-Cole-Whitney
- Aucoin-Walker-Bayda
- Cullen-Samsonov-Ruutu
- Letowski-LaRose
- Hedican-Gleason-Seidenberg
- Corvo-Kaberle
- Wesley-Wallin
Then came the final game against Florida, a team which hadn't won a game at the RBC since 2002.
Carolina went 0-9 on the powerplay, Cullen coughed up a puck for a shorthanded goal, Whitney didn't play well again, and the Canes looked like they had zero physical presence after Brookbank and Tim Conboy were benched. The Panthers won, 4-3.
So, can Carolina do the opposite this season? It won't be easy, but Buffalo has a similar end of season so at least the schedule is fair.
First up for the Canes is a back-to-back and home-and-home matchup against a Tampa Bay team which is currently struggling. Then they will travel to Washington and return home to face Montreal for another back-to-back.
Next up will be the New York Islanders, then a return home for another back-to-back, this time against the Sabres. That game could very well could mean the season for either team.
They will finish up with a home game against Detroit, then their final two games will fittingly be another back-to-back scenario, first in Atlanta, then finishing out at home against the Lightning.
The Sabres also have four back-to-backs to contend with. They start off at home against the Panthers and Devils this Friday and Saturday. Then they travel to Toronto, always a tough game for them. They return home to battle the Rangers the following night.
They will play the Capitals before traveling here for the big Sunday game, then will face Tampa Bay at home before their final back-to-back, a home game against the Flyers and a roadie in Columbus to finish their season.
The Hurricanes have their work cut out for them but as we witnessed back in 2008, anything is possible.
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The lessons of 2008:
if a young player is playing well, keep him playing. If the team is relying upon the energy and raw skills of young, enthusiastic players with fresh legs, do not bench them, do not reduce their time on ice. Run with what is working.
don’t under-estimate the importance of physical presence in inspiring the Hurricanes;
POINTS OF OBSERVATION:
Bowman and Samson bring a physical edge that helps the team. Bodie’s absence takes away some of the physicality and at some point, the Hurricanes will want to assess how to give Bodie some more time. Maurice was not around the Hurricanes during the end of the 2008 season; but hopefully, the Hurricanes organization remembers that fiasco and what led to it. At minimum the Hurricanes have to win 6 of the last 9 games and have to beat Buffalo. It’s a tall order; and will be huge challenge to accomplish.
As we all remember, the Caps overtook the Canes, won the Southeast Division title, and went on to begin what has become their annual disappointment in the playoffs.
ohsnap.jpg
While acknowledging the Highlander sentiment that “there can be only one”, I was one of the crowd that rose for a sustained standing ovation during the final minutes as the Canes lost their 2001 first-round playoff series in Game 6 against the defending Stanley Cup champion and #1 Eastern Conference seed, the New Jersey Devils.
Lost the first three games of that series, two by shutouts, and the brooms were out in force. But the team fought back to win 3-2 in OT (Brind’Amour with the GWG) at home in Game 4 and then won 3-2 in Jersey again to bring the series back home to their fans, who were witnessing their first playoff series in Raleigh.
Can’t say that I was disappointed. In fact, I was damned proud of them. :-)
Here we are now...entertain us.
I wasn’t around back then, but I recall doing the same during Game 4 of the sweep by the Pens in the 2009 ECF. And just as proudly.
Calm down a little and find a way to score...
SISU
by Jamie Kellner on Mar 24, 2011 3:25 PM EDT up reply actions
I still get goosebumps from Game 6 vs. NJ in 2001. You can point to two games in that series….Game 4 and Game 6 and say that’s when things started down here.
The ovation in 2001 was the whole arena for the last five or six minutes of regulation in a 5-1 loss.
That game and the 2002 run was something else to watch unfold. How an area new to the game grew to embrace a team. I think the best part of those two runs were how new it was to everyone (even transplants like myself who grew up on hockey).
I watched highlights from the 02 Devils series the other night. And Erik Cole, then a rookie, blowing past public enemy #1, Scott Stevens, on the right wing and leaving him in the dust still got me to jump out of my seat like it did nine years ago. I had forgotten how much people raved about what he did to Stevens that series.
But more so than them winning the Cup in 2006 – Game 6 in 2001 is my favorite Canes moment. It really was when I set aside my Pittsburgh roots, and was full fledged Canes fan.
http://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2011/02/in-honor-of-rod-brindamour-night-30.html
by Adam's Journey on Mar 24, 2011 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Good read!
Simon’s Soldiers…blood pressure rising…yeah, I remember them, too.
Man, can’t wait until our first intra-divisional playoff series, like say with the Caps.
A series like that could birth a sports hatred that would last for years. :-D
Here we are now...entertain us.
Here’s a shocker for you. I didn’t directly participate, but at that time I was on the other side of Simon’s Soldiers (living in DC and very familiar with Elliot in the Morning and the crew who spearheaded that trip).
Calm down a little and find a way to score...
SISU
by Jamie Kellner on Mar 24, 2011 10:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Amazing how small of a world it can be.
“Simon’s Soldier’s” got to the game early – and were literally walking around the concourses chanting “Si-mon’s Sol-diers” clap, clap, clapclapclap. It was Buffalo like. You could hear it throughout the arena prior to warm-ups.
The one thing I also remember about leaving the Caps game that night…was that their fans were going on and on about how they were winning the division and making the playoffs. I just said, hey you’re gonna face Pittsburgh and lose again. And sure enough, they did! :-p
by Adam's Journey on Mar 25, 2011 9:44 AM EDT up reply actions
Having been at both games, there was something magical about the 2001 Game 6; the circumstances can never be repeated. We had been out of town for the beginning of that series and I recall buying ticket to game 6 DURING game 5’s broadcast. Very happy that we did. Amazing moment.
efrancis,
You are right – I was also at both games as well. 2001 was totally organic and out of nowhere. And considering Game 4 was well short of a sellout, i think there were a lot of people like yourself that bought tickets during/game 5.
That was such a special day.
2009 – it was different. We as fans applauded but it just wasn’t the same. It’s so hard to explain, but you were there – so I think we both know what we mean! :-p
As an aside, I was at Game 4 vs. Detroit in 2002 as well (3-0 loss). Fans wanted to do the same that game, but didn’t know what to do. They could win Game 5 and return for Game 6 and it would be silly do to applaud, but the realization that the run was going to end was also there. Definitely a conflict of emotions that night.
by Adam's Journey on Mar 24, 2011 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions
This is an awful video (which no doubt was actually on video tape) but I found this on youtube where you can sort of get the vibe (for anyone that was not there).
Even now, the mere thought of those moments and what that team willed itself to do brings tears to my eyes, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Thanks for sharing that video, although it is the audio that makes it special, not the video component.
This is where it all began. The enduring love affair between team and fans was consummated here.
What a sports moment.
Here we are now...entertain us.
I have to agree. I was at game 3 (was out of town for the rest of the series), and the building was so quiet, espexially after Scott Stevens torpedoed the Franchise (he had already knocked out the rookie that we traded for Kevin Weekes whose name has slipped my mind).
I was really impressed when my friend told me what happened in game 6. Elsker, you are absolultely right – this is where it all began.
What really impresses me is that when the Canes went to the Meadowlands in February of 2006, after Ron’s number was retired (and Atlanta did not come out for the ceremony), the Canes did come out for the ceremony to retire Scott Stevens’ number.
It was Shane Willis that was traded….
by Adam's Journey on Mar 24, 2011 6:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Shane Willis is who you are thinking of, who was never quite the same after that hit.
He’s #10 on this Scott Stevens Greatest Hits video and Ron Francis is #4.
The image of the Franchise trying to get back to the bench after that hit still haunts me.
Here we are now...entertain us.
as mentioned above, we were out of town for the beginning of that series. my husband returned home to work while the rest of us stayed in FL camping with extended family. So in the day before smartphones checking in via cell phone was the only way to stay updated. I can still remember how sick my husband sounded as he tried to describe what had happened to Francis (no relation, lol) after that hit.
Wow…that gives me chills….it was even louder than what came across on TV and it just started out of nowhere…it started with five or six minutes left. Everyone just wanted them to score one more goal as well.
The comment from Doc, “They won two games from New Jersey, and a lot of fans.” Couldn’t say it better.
I had found the intro to Game 6 the other night, i wanted to somehow find the ovation, I should have looked harder.
What a moment to be a part of indeed.
by Adam's Journey on Mar 24, 2011 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions
I think the thing about Game 6 in 2001 is that not only were the fans proud of the team…but the ovation was really the first connection between the fans and the team that Sunday afternoon.
I always say this..
2001 Playoffs – Started the connection
2002 Playoffs – The team gets the attention of and wins the Triangle
2006 Playoffs – The team gets the attention of and wins Eastern NC
2009 Playoffs – The team gets the attention of and wins Charlotte
by Adam's Journey on Mar 24, 2011 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I just wish that there was less of a gap between some of those key playoff years.
by Adam's Journey on Mar 24, 2011 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah?
Ask a team like Toronto about playoff gaps.
Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.
Panthers '010: Save the Richardson family coffers! We'll take the winning if we stumble into it.
by MichaelProcton on Mar 24, 2011 7:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Absolutely, I think a fan base experiencing their first run to the finals is something to behold. (I’m originally from NC and had the joys of being at games in both the 2001 and 2006 runs)
Now, it may be I’m just tired of the jabs at the caps for 2 first round exits in the past few years – but I just don’t care – first round, conference finals, hell even the finals are all the same, losing. I guess I’m at a point where you’re either winning it all or losing – all that matters is how much extra hockey you get to watch.
Intersting as well...
Got to point out that Justin Willimas was just recently injured this year and is out for the regular season at least….
2008 doesn’t seem so long ago- nice recap, and set up to the final 9 games. The back end of the back-to- back games could be the key. The boys have not been great in those second games. If they can sweep a couple of them that would be a huge boost. 8-2 over the last 10 has been the result most feel the team need to get in. If they could go 7-3 that would seem to give them a fighting chance.
is that point in time in 2008 when the caps got a new coach?
My opinion on Maurice remains the same.
Not sure you are looking for an aswer, but yes that’s when Boudreau started. I think it was in November 2007.
by hotchipsnsalsa on Mar 24, 2011 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Glen Hanlon was fired on Thanksgiving Day 2007. Boudreau was named interim head coach at the same time, then assigned permanently as head coach on December 26th. So yes, that was when they started their run.
Calm down a little and find a way to score...
SISU
by Jamie Kellner on Mar 24, 2011 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions
I didn’t move here until the year of the lockout, so 2005-06 was my first year as a Canes fan, and quite frankly it was pretty easy to be a Canes fan when your team was bringing home the Stanley Cup as the end of your first season.
But it was this game on April 4, 2008, when I really knew how deep my roots are for this team. Outside of February 18, 2001, that was my saddest day ever as a sports fan, especially to be in the arena to witness it live and in person. Fan Appreciation Night. The players having to come back out on the ice to give the shirts off their backs. Sheer torture. And the day after, when you already knew it was over but you tried to give yourself the glimmer of hope that a small miracle might occur although you knew it wouldn’t.
Still hurts to think about it.
Silver lining? We survived it, and in the long run it will make us stronger.
Calm down a little and find a way to score...
SISU
Death by Florida?
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? Somehow, seeing Panthers in that equation seems odd. But they did go to the Stanley Cup finals in like 1993.
It was 1996…Year of the Rat. I’ve experienced death by Florida twice. the Pens losing a game seven in the 1996 East Finals. Just ask Tom Barrasso about Tom Fitzgerald. He got beat by a 60 ft shot.
by Adam's Journey on Mar 24, 2011 8:10 PM EDT up reply actions
in 2000…the team charged hard and won on the last day of the season only to see Buffalo tie and beat the Canes by a point. That was a feeling of coming up just short. That loss in 2008 to Florida; however, was 1000x worse.
by Adam's Journey on Mar 24, 2011 8:08 PM EDT up reply actions
I think a better comparison is...
…the 1999-2000 or the 2000-2001 seasons.
The team was battling or 8th place in both. The 99-2000 team was in the same battle with Buffalo. In the last 10 games of the season, the Canes went 7-3-0 and the Sabres 7-1-1-1. The teams split two games with each other in that stretch each winning on the road (3/27 and 3/31).
Going into the last day of the season, the Canes were two points behind the Sabres and needed to beat Atlanta and Buffalo lose to the Caps.
The Canes who won at Atlanta the night before 4-3 beat the Thrashers at the ESA 2-1. Yet Buffalo would tie the Caps 1-1 in Washington and beating the Canes out by a point.
Buffalo finished with 85 points. The Canes finished with 84. A key for Buffalo was a 2-1 OT loss to Pittsburgh on April 7th.
Was also at that game.
And, in pre-instant-connectivity days, we knew in the stands that we were out of the playoffs when they quit supplying score updates on the videoboard near the end of the game.
No news was bad news.
Here we are now...entertain us.
I went to that Atlanta game too and ended up watching the Buffalo game on the TV’s in the mezzanine. I always blamed Primeau for holding out and costing us the needed point’s.
by drifterscape on Mar 24, 2011 10:42 PM EDT up reply actions
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