The Carolina Hurricanes had an evening in Boston following yesterday's win over the Bruins before flying south to Washington earlier this morning. No word if they will be practicing on the ice in DC today, but I'll update this with links if they come through.
**SUNDAY UPDATE - These two thorough pieces on Paul Maurice's career and game #1000 popped up overnight.
- Maurice has worked hard for his milestone - News & Observer
- Maurice Makes History at 1,000 - Paul Branecky, TTS Blog
Hard Hits feature: Paul Maurice coaches 1,000th game - HurricanesBeat.com What he has stitched together is a work in progress. There is no finish line in a coaching journey. The good ones know there is always room for improvement. Earlier this week, LTD posted the full text of comments from Maurice (at the annual Season Ticket Holders event) which you don't want to miss.
The Hockey News: Ryan Kennedy's blog: Hurricanes roster being built to last The shrewd workings of Carolina GM Jim Rutherford is helping to balance his team for now, without sacrificing a promising future.
After the jump, following up on Cam Ward's shutout in Boston, news on the prospects, a tour around the NHL, Calder talk, and what was revealed by a mole at The Eye.
Recaps and other thoughts from Boston
Inspired Ward, Canes blank Bruins - NewsObserver.com Two days after the birth of his son, Cam Ward said he wanted to give him something to remember.
Audio/Video links
Maurice postgame audio, in Boston, talking about Peters, the power play and the Nolan effect (where we learn Ron Francis had a hattie the first game after his first son was born).
Cam Ward on XM Home Ice following shutout at Boston [audio quality is not good for me?]. Also be sure you check out the must-see video of Cam Ward talking with John Forslund and Tripp Tracy after the game.
Looking ahead to tomorrow's rematch at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC, let's not forget newcomer Troy Bodie will be patrolling the ice. I can't remember the last time I wanted to link a Hurricanes player featured at hockeyfights.com. Enjoy: Matt Bradley vs Troy Bodie, Nov 24, 2010 - Caps vs Canes
Prospect news from Charlotte and elsewhere
The Checkers are in Worcester, Mass today where they'll be facing the San Jose Sharks' AHL affiliate. Tomorrow at 5pm, they'll be in Hershey, PA, to take on the Capitals' farm club. Jon Matsumoto rejoins the roster, and other notes in this game preview.
Looking forward, next weekend the Checkers will return home where they host the Syracuse Crunch (Anaheim Ducks) as two familiar faces Matt Kennedy and Stefan Chaput return for a pair of games.
Two great reads from the Hurricanes site this week, looking at the prospects:
- Brett Sutter Adds Grit, Depth to Organization
- In the System: Checkers Learning to Win Close Games which also profiles defenseman Mark Alt, a freshman at the University of Minnesota this season.
Some more background on Brett Sutter's story from the Calgary Herald: Brett Sutter reflects on 'hard week' that culminated in trade One of the worst parts of moving, Brett said, is leaving behind his brother Christopher, who has Down syndrome
Great interview with Jared Staal from Naples, Florida: Youngest Staal tries to reach the NHL | The News-Press
And in the OHL, Shugg makes case for World Juniors in Majors win - Examiner.com
[Justin Shugg] leads the Majors with 16 goals and 31 points in 24 games played, highlighting his finishing touch in front of the net. He has quick shot that fits well with the 2012 Canadian team and a great presence around the crease.
Around the NHL
Thirteen games around the NHL on Friday makes for many an interesting story line:
A skate blade lacerated veteran Mike Modano's wrist late in the Detroit Red Wings win over the Nashville Predators. Here's what we know: Red Wings' Mike Modano out indefinitely after surgery | Detroit Free Press
Up at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh: Controversial goal lifts Penguins over Senators | Toronto Sun Golly, that sure sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Video: Enforcement of 'Avery Rule' bites Flyers in loss - Puck Daddy in which Chris Pronger says, "It's he said, she said... and I'm he". God bless him.
While the headline for the Atlanta Thrashers is their four-game winning streak since Andrew Ladd was named Captain (including dominating performances over the Capitals, the Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens) this footnote from yesterday's 3-zilch win over the Habs is worth following as well: Fight Video: Zach Bogosian tangles with P.K. Subban and his 'act' - Puck Daddy .
The New York Islanders finally snapped their 14-game winless streak. How? By shutting out the New Jersey Devils. In related news, Canadian hockey blogger Ryan Classic is keeping a running list of Defencemen with more points than Ilya Kovalchuk: The Classic Blog
Last, for a big picture review of how the hockey media rates the best and worst teams this week, here are your Aggregated NHL Power Rankings: Week 7 - From The Rink. [to save you the click, the answer is 23rd, up from 24th last week]
Calder Talk and more Rookie Thoughts
The so-called quarter pole mark in the season has brought a large collection of statistical analyses and trophy race predictions. I've clipped a bunch focusing on the Calder (which is the NHL's Rookie of the Year award) race.
TSN's Scott Cullen: First Quarter NHL Awards and Stats For the Calder 1) Sergei Bobrovsky, PHI 2) Logan Couture, SJS 3) Jeff Skinner
Kevin Allen from USATODAY.com with his updated rookie rankings 1) Bobrovsky, 2) John Carlson (WAS)
3. Center Jeff Skinner (Carolina): He leads all rookies in scoring, and he's third on the Carolina team with 16 points in 20 games. When you watch Carolina, he always looks like he's on verge of scoring. He's a dangerous youngster. It's not unthinkable that he could end up being the best player from last June's draft.
I enjoyed this conversation with another rookie turning heads this season. Chatting with San Jose's Logan Couture about Movember cheating, rookie scoring race and why he's extra polite to refs - Puck Daddy
Boston.com Forums: Skinner vs Seguin [Boston Globe] I thought this fan discussion provided some insight to how the Boston fans regard Claud Julien and his coaching of this year's #2 overall pick, Tyler Seguin and what they noticed about Skinner yesterday. (Hint: it looks like Jeff's having fun)
With similar rankings as USAToday, here's NHL.com's Calder Trophy tracker: 'Bob' leads the pack Bobrovsky at the top, then Skinner and John Carlson as the third. Loved this video, where we hear: "Skinner Skinner Chicken Dinner" aired on NHL Networks's On the Fly, thanks to Kevin Weekes:
Finally, intriguing news on the All Star Game Jersey designs
There was a mole at the Season Ticket Holders' event Monday night it seems: Pass or Fail: 2011 NHL All-Star jerseys sound rather audacious - Puck Daddy According to the source, the manager of the Hurricanes' pro shop spilled the following details about the 2011 All-Star Jersey.
With the Blue Jackets and Ducks franchises both unveiling new "alternate" jerseys this weekend, here's a primer on where all these new retro-look jerseys come from: PuckDrawn: Designing the next NHL team alternate jersey I'm not sure which NHL team is next in line to unveil an alternate jersey, but PuckDrawn will make designing it VERY easy for them. You see, there is a simple three step process to designing an alternate jersey these...