Life goes on "bra", and life will go on for the Carolina Hurricanes and their Caniacs as well. I've been reading articles all over about what a huge disappointment and failure it was for the Canes to miss the playoffs this year. Yes, it was a disappointment and failure, but will it kill the franchise? Does it mean the team sucks and won't be winners again? Does it mean last year's Cup win was a fluke? Will Staal be traded and Laviolette be fired? Of course not! Much has been made about Carolina being the first Cup winner since the Devils in 95 not to make it to the playoffs the following year. Guess what? The Devils won the Cup two more times after that, so maybe the Canes and the Devils will have more than just that in common? Maybe a little adversity will make the team stronger for the future? Maybe a little less celebration during the summer will make the team hungrier? The core of this team is very young and I have all the confidence in the world that they will be back in the running for another championship sooner rather than later.
But before we talk about next year, we have a game to attend tonight! The Atlanta Thrashers are in town and playing for the division title. They are ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning by a single point, so this game is very important to them. The Canes of course are already eliminated from the playoffs, so this game is almost like a pre-season game, it's pretty much meaningless to them as far as points go. What kind of intensity will we see from the Hurricanes tonight? I hate to say it, but there have been a few times this year where the team has had trouble generating much intensity. If they can't get fired up for a game that means something, then I doubt we will see much fire inside the Canes tonight. I just hope it's not a blow out. My prediction is that we will see a loss tonight and a win tomorrow night. Win or lose, let's enjoy it! Go Canes!
The Beatles