(pic via MaineToday.com)Ugh. Back to the Holy Shit Buffalo's Cold Arena tonight for the Hurricanes tonight. Attempting to snap the skid - this easily still looks like a team that could lose a few more before they right the ship.
Some random thoughts for you on a frozen tundra of a Saturday:
Paul Maurice's performance as coach so far hasn't blown away anyone. In a way, deep down I'm sort of glad he's not killing-it-good as I eagerly await the eventual hiring of Ronnie Francis as the new head coach next summer (ready or not).
Tim Gleason is never one to stop short of providing some good press. He's dropped some jewels this year including the now infamous "That's what happens when you suck" and accurately summed up the Toronto effort as "piss-poor".
I like coffee. A lot.
D-Lee is an underground Sabres homer, apparently. How sweet of him. (I kid, of course - David is my hero.)
Like the Canes, the Sabres have been riding the "meh"-boat this season. They certainly have the talent and have shown the potential to dominate games but have lacked the consistency on a game-to-game basis. Sounds familiar right? There are several worthy Sabres blogs out there, but my choice is the vintage BfloBlog.
Lindy Ruff is a great coach, but I still think he's an ass.
Staal did his Hay-zeus Christo impression during his goal celebration Thursday night. I likes.
I heart the NHL Network. What the hell would we do without it? Further more, why isn't Carrie Milbank working for Versus full time yet? Of course she's a stone cold stunner of a beauty - but she's entertaining, accurate, enlightening and knows her hock-ah-jah-wee-ah pretty well.
Speaking of Versus - I still don't understand why they can only show two games a week. Monday & Tuesday nights are apparently the only nights that important games are played in the US of A. Johnny Forslund has been a stud on his VS appearances though. I always dig reading what Steve Lepore has to say about the pucky media. Check him out.
You will freeze your nips off outside today. The Leafs came and brought their weather with them as they came and shat on the South (they beat the Thrash Friday night). Stay inside by the fire all day. Watch TV. Cuddle up with your doggy or kitty.
If you're a drinker - try this recipe for BunWarmers and you'll thank me later.
Go Canes.
and a special shout-out to Coach Kay Yow, who is an inspiration to us all. Hang in there, Coach. 
Case in point - Jerko Ruutu's shenanigans last night in Buffalo:
Listen, it's great to be aggressive. It's a good thing to be a little crazy and unpredictable. And while Tuomo Ruutu may get called with a questionable hit or check from time to time, you (hopefully) won't ever see him resort to this kind of BS.
Speaking of Ruuty, I'm loving his game-winning goal highlight from the Devils game last night:
Tuomo has had some big time, clutch goals this year. The MTL OT winner comes to mind. As does the game at St. Louis. Last night just added to the Ruutu lovefest in Raleigh.
Anyone remember this quote from then coach Denis Savard as Ruutu left Chicago for Carolina?:
"watching him play for a couple years, a lot of times he had complete possession of the puck and just fell down."
Unfortunately, Savard was spot-on with that assessment. You've got to love him if you're a Caniac, but damn if he isn't the clumsiest skater I've seen. My zinger whenever he gets the puck is "Arrrrrrrre You Ready To Stummmmmmmble?!?!?!?" Not exactly as sure-footed as a mountain goat.
Good times.
When the Hurricanes signed forward Matt Murley to a contract during the pre-season, he was expected to be one of the top wingers for the River Rats. An early call-up was expected knowing the injury rates of the Canes, as he was destined to make the trip to Raleigh at some point barring a completely FUBAR'd season.
He had a good pre-season, scoring a goal on a beautiful feed from Joni Pitkanen in Philadelphia. He was one of the last to be cut from the opening day roster. Then, shortly after his assignment to Albany, he bolted his way to Russia to play in the KHL. See ya, bastard.
Michael Ryan is a winger who played in Buffalo's minor-league system the past few years and appeared in a forty-odd games with the Sabres last season. He signed a contract with HC Dynamo of the KHL over this past summer, thinking he would be heading for the lovely land of Belarus.
Ironically enough, as news broke that Alexander Radulov would not be returning to Nashville to finish out the last year of his contract because of his lucrative deal with the Kontinental Hockey League, Ryan then showed up at the Pred's training camp on a try-out basis. He was released after having a team worst -3 in the pre-season.
Flash forward to last Friday (Halloween). He's signed by my boy Jimmy to be assigned to Albany and bring a veteran scoring presence to the River Rats. He scored the gamewinner for the Rats on Sunday in a comeback over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He's also got two assists in Albany.
So the KHL gets a Murley and the Hurricanes steal one back in the signing of Michael Ryan. Touché, KHL., 
Scott Walker didn't want the trainers in the recovery room to get too lonely, so he hit the IR today after hand surgery. Out 6 weeks, but he can still inflict fear upon opposing teams from the press box if necessary.
With Walks out, Dan LaCouture got signed to the club today. Hey - is it just me - or are we seeing a Jon Favreau seperated at birth thing going on here with Danny boy?:
Dear Jimmy Rutherford: Plze 2 not sign Brendan Shanahan. With all due respect to his career, there is no shortage of damaged goods around here already.
From Puck Daddy via Japer's Rink.. proof that God has forsaken the Sabres fans:
ECU hosting UVA this weekend in Greenville and raising money in the name of Hockey Fights Cancer. The game is Friday night at Bladez On Ice followed by Saturday's football game with the Pirates vs. the Cavs.
4 days until Carolina vs. Florida opening night. Tailgating arrangements are already well underway.
On second thought, maybe we'll just stay home in NC for it. Didn't anyone tell people up there that it's now March?
As it appears that busloads of Sabres fans are trecking down from the greater Buffalo area, it would only be proper Southern hospitality to offer those fine folks some pointers on entertainment outside of the hockey game this weekend! Well Buffalonians, look no further than your trusty dusty bloggers here at Carolina On Ice... We know all about Raleigh's hot spots and must-sees.
As you are coming down Us-1 South, be sure to speed through the small town of Kittrell, just around Henderson. Don't worry, there are never any cops there.
Once in Raleigh, I would certainly reccommend checking into any one our fine area hotels.
In between the RBC Center / NCSU area and downtown is a lovely place where we keep the North Carolina Welcoming Committee. Stop on by 1300 Western Blvd. and let them know you'd like the tour.
When you're ready for a meal, be sure to head over to the Ten-Ten Grand Buffett over off of Western as well for a dinner fit for a king.
Up for a flare of the nightlife? Get in touch with your wildside at Raleigh's hottest nightclub, The Foxy Lady. You won't regret it, trust me.
Why, you ask, should a bunch of Caniacs offer to help out fans of a rival team? We just did this to offer the olive branch. We'll welcome them down here. After all, a good chunk of them have already moved here. Can you blame them? The suggestions here are just a few of the many great things to do!
But hey, we looked out for them - so please, no more stealing meat from grills, destroying our cars, punching out ANYONE or cursing like a sailor for Saturday's game. Cool?
Buffalo 8, Hurricanes 1
Kickass game last night at the RBC. Canes showed that 3rd period prowess that made them so successful 2 seasons ago.
Hi all,
As all of our loyal readers (yes, both of them) know, the Wuf is prowling Jamaica, swilling Red Stripe while we are resigned to watching other teams navigate the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Thus, I find myself filling in, upon request. I'd hoped to cobble together some (hopefully) semi-humorous rant for this momentous occasion; but unfortunately, without a Canes playoff run, I seem to be in a creative funk.
And so it was, this weekend I found myself flipping between several playoff bouts on center ice, NHL and the Channel formerly known as OLN. The games were entertaining, but something was missing. It suddenly occurred to me that I had not picked a team to pull for and was thus lacking the requisite emotional attachment to truly enjoy these games. (Well, except for obviously pulling for the Islanders, bless their hearts...). So I got to thinking about it and I found that I was incapable of picking one team. I really wanted to pull for the Rangers because of the presence of Matt Cullen and Kevin Weekes. But it just didn't feel quite right to pull for Jaromir Jagr. Pittsburgh was a tantalizing choice because of Staal Jr. and Mark Recchi, but pulling for Brooks Orprick and Colby Armstrong just gives me the heebie-jeebies. The Islanders have enough of the underdog factor to interest me, but it is just a bit too weird watching Sean Hill actually stay out of the penalty box for me to be truly comfortable. I could probably pull for Ottawa; but given past history, I can't help but feel like that effort would be in vain. The Lightning have the advantage of being from the Southeast Division, but I just can't bring myself to pull for Martin St. Louis (the Baggins can't have my precious...). Atlanta is from the Southeast as well, but Bellanger and Koo Koo for Kovalchuk (thanks C-Leaguer...) irritate me more than St. Louis. I could pull for the Devils... oh who am I kidding, no hell I couldn't. And to be honest, as a true Caniac, I'd rather see my sister in a whorehouse than the Stanley Cup in Buffalo. So I find myself mentally drifting as to which way to go.
Increasingly, during the commercial breaks (when I am able to phase out the Geico and Herpes commercials), I swear I can hear the faint echoes of the spirit of Horace Greeley directing me: "Go west young man. Go west".
I hear San Jose is nice this time of year...
