Canes curbstomp Isles

(a windows 95 Paint creation, w/help from G!images)

When they're last in the NHL, ya frickin better.

It's hit the fan already - Canes @ Islanders

Go Canes.

The Canes can make the playoffs again if...

(image via Flickr's Kaatiya)

Some of them are saying that this will finally be the year that the Hurricanes make it back to the postseason, while others are still not convinced. After giving it some thought, I'm still undecided on what to expect from this year's team. The past two seasons have seen squads loaded with talent that either couldn't play because of injury or perhaps because of complacence.

I see the Canes being either Division Champs or at least playoff-bound again IF they can avoid their evil twin named "Slackass".

Don't remember him? Let me remind you:

December 12, 2008. Ottawa Senators are in Raleigh to take on the Canes. The Sens were still the hottest team in hockey and hadn't completely dismantled themselves yet. Carolina was coming off of a rather mediocre streak. They played at the Bell Centre in Montreal to remind themselves how to win. Less than 24 hours later, they had to play the eventual SC Champion Red Wings in Detroit and lost 5-2 (but sort of played them respectively).

So in comes OTT on the homecoming for the Hurricanes and instead of playing tough, they let the Sens walk all over them and it led to bloggers posting stuff like this:

East of Here's: Just What Am I Paying For?

and Caniacs in general either drank the sorrows away that night or cried in their collective pillows.

Fast forward a month. The NY Islanders are in the RBC Center. With the exception of Samsonov joining the team, January has sucked for the Canes as they are still losing to teams they can take craps bigger than. The Isles squad manages to score all 3 of their first goals on shorties. It's a NYI record. Outstanding. And D-Lee noted that two of them were on the same Carolina power play. Wade Dubielewicz (and his imposing stature) allows 3 Hurricanes goals but stands on his head to make 44 of 47 saves in a 6-3 win. Pathetic.

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Unfortunately, there are a number of other games that I could have chosen to reference. If the Hurricanes can avoid games like those - they'll hopefully find themselves in a position where they don't have to win their final game of the season to make the playoffs.

Isles, Dubie smoke the Canes

and their favorite movie is "Get Shorty". So many things to be upset about after a game like that. Despite out shooting the Islanders 47-31, someone forgot to tell the point players that they're supposed to, you know, protect against shorthanded breakaways.

Wade Dubielewicz = NY Isles backup goalie, 5' 10", maybe 140 lbs. soaking wet. He didn't have to be fantastic tonight, but he plays like a confident 2nd string goaltender. Hey, the Canes could use one of them!

This team is fortunate to have so few games end in shootouts recently. Ward-O doesn't do one-on-ones. Could we get the fat Cam back? My CanesCast (more on that later) compadres asked me the other night what my thoughts were on Carolina's goalie situation. I responded by saying it wouldn't much matter who is in goal right now because of this NHL worst team defense. Shaky at best tonight.

Speaking of bad D, Frankie K? If I had to nominate someone to receive the Arturs Irbe treatment, myself and several peers outside section 208 are behind me in sending you to lovely Florida.

Plenty of spare time to let this one sting. Oi vay.

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Congrats to the ECU Hockey team in their 3-2 shootout win over NC State last night on College Night. Awesomeness.

(Becka)

Colin Powell would be proud...

... to be there seeing stellar puck handling skills during today's Isles / Canes game. Let's just hope he was watching Ricky D do his thing and not Cam Ward.

When the team hired Tom Barrasso as the new goalie coach, Cam's first response was, "One of his top skills was puck-handling, and if you look at my game, that's one of the areas I'd like to improve on". A collective 'hallelujah' was said, but we're pretty sure that he didn't teach Ward this one:

Luckily for the team, he looked sharp in a back-and-forth gritty victory over NY in betwixt the pipes.

Brindy must have taken AQ's post personally, as he has woken up with 6 points in his last three games.

Cory Stillman was in the right place at the right time and scored the OT chip-in on the rebound as he was knocked down onto his back. Fortunately, he was able to get his skate out from under him thus avoiding a scary incident like the "hey-your-knee-isn't-supposed-to-bend-like-that" fall at Philadelphia in December.

Whew. Rematch, the big bank, Tuesday night.