The picture that says a thousand words

Random Thoughts - Pre Playoffs Edition

Wow, what a difference a month makes. Who in God's green earth would have thought that the Canes would be fighting for home ice in the postseason, much less clinching a playoff birth with several games remaining in the reggie season? What a ride it has been for this team and the fans. Together, they've been through a river of doodie and came out somehow smelling like roses.

- I've been to the majority of the home games over this stretch and it has been some of the most fun I've ever had. The Rangers game from Thursday 4/2 during the third period in particular was an extremely memorable occasion. The 3rd period as Brindy and LaRose scored seconds apart was extreme elation and it gave me the shivers as the entire building was shaking from crowd response alone. My ears were ringing all night after the game and a little still the following morning. It would have been interesting to see the 'ol decibel meter during that ruckus. That's what its all about, dude.

- Months ago, I was at a game - maybe it was the Maple Leafs, can't really remember. But I was wearing one of my Brind'amour jerseys as he was still in his sucktastic slump. Some fans of the visiting team who were enjoying their adult beverages perhaps a bit too much were having fun yelling at me that it's time for Rod to hang up the skates and retire. I just laughed it off, did the 'ol cheers to them and carried on. I had the same thoughts of course and others probably shared the sentiment. But all along, I kept saying this:

"I don't care if he does have the worst +/- in the NHL, if your team is in the playoffs - you want a Rod Brind'amour on the team, warts and all."

Halle-lu-jah that he turned it around as he couldn't have picked a better time. As soon as he kicked his game back in gear, the team followed suit and every team they played - they ripped them a new one. Welcome back Roddy. Glad you're along for the ride and knowing your style - you'll sign a contract extension to play well into your late 40's.

- Chad LaRose is all that is man. Loved his "Day In The Life" that aired on the NHL Network too. He could have his own reality show and it would blow American Idol and Dancing With the Stars ratings away. Because many of you already know this, but when Chad LaRose is on a breakaway - he doesn't have to deke, the ice just shifts accordingly out of fear alone. Oh yeah, and he's about to get PAID this summer, son.

- OK - time to stop blowing sunshine up your butts for a minute. Lost amidst all the happy winning good times here lately - Sergei Samsonov has been stinking it up. We know enough based on his history that he's going to have hot and cold spells. He's only got two points in his past five games with an even +/- when the majority of the team has benefited from the beatdowns of other teams. Beyond the stats - if you just watch him he appears to have no confidence, turns the puck over and looks real loose trying to connect on passes. At what point do we worry about this? I know he can be as flaky as all hell, but damn. When Cullen returns to the line-up - do you keep Sammy in the line-up?

- Back to the sunshiney thoughts. I have no problem with admitting when I'm wrong about something. Though I never really came out and said that the Paul Maurice hiring was a terrible idea, a certain other writer for this blog did in more ways than one. I was certainly skeptical of Mo - but he has earned a new contract and proved many of the doubters wrong. East of Here - got anything to say in response?

- In regards to playoffs tickets, I'm thrilled that they are selling out so quickly. I decided in March to re-up for next year's season ticket package (and "iced my price" for the following two seasons). With that happening, the budget isn't ready to allow playoff ticket purchases. While I shall do my best to attend one game in the 1st round, I have no problem with enjoying the games on the home TV with good friends and good beverages.

- For those who may have missed it: I had the pleasure of interviewing the lovely Carrie Milbank over at Barry Melrose Rocks. Do check it out please.

I leave you today with a NSFW, yet side-splittingly funny Billy Mays "KABOOM!" re-dub. I've already shown it to many of my friends but I just can't get enough of it. Enjoy:

Guess what? Caniac Nation was right

I'm an easily amused guy. This much is obvious. But I always get a kick out of reading the opinions via comments to sports blogs. Other than PD, the most frequent one I visit is Canes Now.

(side note: Canes Now is a little better than "Lord Stanley's Blog", but is that the best they could have done? It falls in line with the "ACC Now" blog @ the N&O. At least it takes away the irony of naming the beat writer's blog after a 2006 cup run while failing to make the postseason the following two years..I digress)

Frequent commentators have been screaming for he of the worst +/- in the NHL Rod Brind'amour to be benched or other similarly drastic.

Strip him of the captaincy!
Trade him!
Send him to the minors to force retirement!
Sit him!

Whatever ridiculous ideas that were proposed, one swimmingly good idea was to demote him from the top two lines to fourth line duty. While he's been back-and-forth between 3rd/4th, it certainly has been the best we've seen Brind'amour to date this season. It works because he can run his shift w/ Bayda/Jokinen/Sutter/Conboy/etc.. but also jump out for face-off duty. He shares the league lead and has been in front for the most of the season in FO % with a challenge from Radek Bonk of the Preds.

What award can we get for Brindy for face-off performance? The Rod Brind'amour award?It's working. That's all I/you need to know about Brindy. Also, that if/when the Canes make a playoff run you want him on this team, hello.

Look, I love the guy. I have two of his jerseys, one pre-captaincy and one post. I think he's HHOF material big-time. But he's sucked this year. He's too much of a man to admit any injuries, but he'll be clutch when he needs to be. Bank it.


Another thing that the fan base was right about was Timmy Conboy.

Dude's MF crazy, no doubt. He's earned a reputation around the league for being a prick on the ice (rightfully so). But damn if his teammates and Canes fans don't love him. How can you not like this guy being on your team when he stands up to an enforcer nearly 147 times his size in his first NHL shift?:



He doesn't ever err have to win the fights but he's not going to back down from anybody. He's like Chad LaRose minus the offensive skills, plus the PIM team leader and bat-shit craziness. He needs to stay in Raleigh though the team management will have one hell of a decision to make when Walker and Williams return to health. You would think that it is obvious what to do, but management usually won't listen to the fan cries. What happened then? Doh.

Rod, please don't make this list

Halfway through the season and ready to watch the All-Star game this weekend I felt it was a good time to bring up our Captain's plus/minus record. Do you think he will break out the 2nd half and redeem himself? Or do you think he will toil at the bottom and add his name to this ugly record? If he does he will join a former Cane rental player (keep reading)

Brindy is currently last in the league with -29. There are only 3 others in the -20 range so he does have some company. I believe he can and will move up the list and not end at the bottom. Especially if his ice time keeps lowering it might not get worse!!

As of 1/24 ==>

Any guess what the worst plus/minus in history was? I took a quick check on the net to see.
http://www.lcshockey.com/feb06/072206.asp

LOWEST SINGLE-SEASON PLUS-MINUS

Year Player, Team                    +/-
1. 1975 Bill Mikkelson, Washington      -82
2. 1975 Greg Joly, Washington           -68
3. 1975 Mike Marson, Washington         -65
4. 1974 Reggie Leach, California        -61
1976 Larry Johnston, Kansas City     -61
1981 Dave Babych, Winnipeg           -61
7. 1984 Pat Boutette, Pittsburgh        -58
8. 1975 Dennis Patterson, Kansas City   -57
1978 Brad Maxwell, Minnesota         -57
1981 Norm Dupont, Winnipeg           -57
1983 Doug Sulliman, Hartford         -57

YEAR-BY-YEAR LOWEST PLUS-MINUS

Year Player, Team                       +/-
1968 Elmer Vasko, Minnesota             -36
1969 J.P. Parise, Minnesota             -44
1970 Bill McCreary, St. Louis           -44     
1971 Doug Roberts, California           -56
1972 Gil Perreault, Buffalo             -40
Real Lemieux, Los Angeles          -40
1973 Bill Mikkelson, NY Islanders       -54
1974 Reggie Leach, California           -61
1975 Bill Mikkelson, Washington         -82
1976 Larry Johnston, Kansas City        -61
1977 Al Cameron, Detroit                -43
1978 Brad Maxwell, Minnesota            -57
1979 Rick Green, Washington             -45
1980 Steve Sullivan, Winnipeg           -45
1981 Dave Babych, Winnipeg              -61
1982 Dwight Foster, Colorado            -53
1983 Doug Sulliman, Hartford            -57
1984 Pat Boutette, Pittsburgh           -58
1985 Doug Shedden, Pittsburgh           -51
1986 Randy Ladoucer, Detroit            -54
1987 Grant Ledyard, Los Angeles         -40
1988 Brian MacLellan, Minnesota         -44
1989 Tom Fergus, Toronto                -38
1990 Bryan Fogarty, Quebec              -47
1991 Vincent Damphousse, Toronto        -31
1992 Paul Fenton, San Jose              -39
1993 Neil Wilkinson, San Jose           -50
Rob Zettler, San Jose              -50
Doug Zmolek, San Jose              -50
1994 Gord Dineen, Ottawa                -52
1995 Chris Dahlquist, Ottawa            -30
1996 Craig Janney, San Jose             -35
1997 Alexandre Daigle, Ottawa           -33
1998 Paul Ysebaert, Tampa Bay           -43
1999 Darcy Tucker, Tampa Bay            -34
2000 Yannick Tremblay, Atlanta          -42
2001 Patrice Brisebois, Montreal        -31
2002 Tyler Wright, Columbus             -40
2003 Wayne Primeau, Pittsburgh          -30
2004 Rico Fata, Pittsburgh              -46
2006 Mark Recchi, Carolina              -36 

Lets hope Rod doesn't add his name here.

Would you like some catch-up with your maple syrup?

OK then, back at it.

The Canes are extremely fortunate to have a 7-3-2 record through 12 games considering they way they've been playing. We've yet to see a "complete" game. It's kick the crap out of them a period at a time, then just "hang out" and watch the other team come back to life. Or vice versa. How good could this team be if they could string three periods a game together?

Toronto is better than anyone expected. Grabs is on point as well as Niklas Hagman. Toskala is a legit #1 and Ian White has quite the porn-stache underway. Good on Ron Wilson for (so far) over-achieving with this Maple Leaf team. They're still gonna need quite a few therapy sessions this season however:
My prediction that Samsonov would score 89 goals this season? Doh. He'll get it kicked back up soon enough. My guess is that once Brind'amour gets back to playing at a + rate, Sergei will be right behind him.

Nic Wallin is a pimp. It's no secret.

Scotty Walker is back but needs to be paired with Ryan Bayda to get their cycle-game on. Any chance he can just use Pronger-style elbows if needed since he can't punch anybody?

The fact that we haven't heard any updates on Brandon Sutter is unnerving. WTF is going on with him? Can he walk? Drive? Skate? See straight?

Seeing Dwight Helminen skate so fast in a #63 jersey just doesn't look right. Quite used to seeing a big slow Czech wearing that number for the red & white.

Big game Thursday night at the Verizon Center. Its the most important game of the season so far. Here's a juicy reason why:

"I would expect the Capitals to begin to pull away from the crowd soon and leave their divisional opponents in the dust. Their collection of talent eclipses that of any other teams in this division." - Ted Montgomery @ USA Today

Not so fast, Ted. The Caps do have the collection of talent, but who has led this division for the majority of the previous three seasons? The game will be a great early test for both squads. Ovechkin is primed for a breakout game. He's got 29 points in 24 games vs. Carolina. Washington is 9-0-1 in their last 10 at home. Something's gotta give. It is beyond obvious that the Hurricane squad that can kick ass for an entire game will need to show.

Bring the noise, son.

Canes @ Flyers, Flyers @ Canes

First of a home & home today with the farewell game to the Philadelphia Spectrum. Not sure who the Flyers plan on icing for this game, but it probably won't match the number of minor-leaguers that the Canes are playing. You see stuff like this and wonder just how successful of a year Carolina can have when two games in, these are the injured:

Corvo, Wallin, Whitney, Brind’Amour, Williams, Samsonov, Babchuk, Gleason, and Ruutu

a big WTF there. Is it possible for them to fake injuries so that they don't have to play the vets in the pre-season?

Even though Brindy is hurt, I'm wondering if he was invited to participate in any the of Flyers festivities today. He played a butt-load of games at the old Spectrum and it would be a fitting tribute to at least show him on the jumbo-tron waving from the press box. Or maybe instead of a wave, he could do some push-ups.

Did Brind'amour hurt himself in the Friesen 5K Run?

This probably will end up as nothing, but I can' help but wonder: Did Rod Brind'amour injure himself before or during the 5K run on Sunday at the RBC?

If you watch this YouTube clip, you will see a struggling Brindy coming across the finish line around the 2:40 mark:

To boot, he ended up missing informal practices at the RecZone the following day. Some folks who were able to make it to the run saw him head into the RBC Center with an obvious limp following his finish. Seriously doubt that it's anything serious, but what a blow this would be.

Camp Brind'amour in full swing

(Photo: Canes Country Bubba)

Ready for some hockey? Can't wait until training camp officially starts? Can't wake up at the asscrack of dawn to watch Brindy and the X-Canes skate at the RecZone? Good - me neither.

Thankfully, it appears that some more reasonable time slots are now scheduled for "Camp Brind'amour" at the Canes' practice facility:

Current RecZone Schedule

"11:00 - 12:00 Private Ice Rental RecZone : Rod" is posted for the next couple of days and something tells me it's not reserved for Rod Stewart or Rowdy Roddy Piper (although that would be interesting).

Starting on Monday 10:00-12:00 it will be "Hurricanes skate". Get out and see some hockey, folks.

Glove tap to the LGC again on finding the linkage..

The perfect blogger's accompaniment

After these bad boys came in this week, I set the display case up with the other Canes figurine stuff on my already crowded blogging desk. Now considering I write the majority of the posts from this said "Man Room", these bobbleheads that came out around 2001 from Hardee's restaurants fit in quite nicely. I still can't pat myself on the back enough for finding these on Craigslist for $15 (Thanks again, seller!). They were all in the original boxes and plastic wrapping even.

The bobbling heads are certainly getting put to work here though. I'm what they call an "agressive typer". My co-workers know when I'm busy or not by the sound of my keyboard being abused. So as I log in to blogger and pull things out of certain orifices for Hockey-related material on COI; Jeff O'Neill, Ron Francis, Arturs Irbe & Rod Brind'amour all sit here smiling and staring me down. It can get downright creepy actually:

It's a good thing that I'm so easily entertained.

Johnny Random stops by

Some random items for you:

The new jersey numbers are posted at Ch.com now, and Melichar will be sporting Commodore's old #22, Anton Babchuk is leaving #48 behind in lieu of #33 this season and Pitaknen will rock the #25 jersey.

There are also new Bios posted under player's roster pages now, the highlight being the question to Ray Whitney, "What song is playing on your iPod?" and his response, "Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way."

The Cary Ice House is having a clearance sale on their new style replica jerseys (no names or numbers on them). Stop by their pro shop on Buck Jones Rd. and pick them for $61 bucks (you'll pay $100-$110 everywhere else, normally).

Congrats to East of Here on his Bettman Pee-Wee Herman photoshop getting an honorable mention in the Puck Daddy contest.

Added to the Carolinas Hockey Links: NC Trailblazers, Women's Ice Hockey and The Citadel Club Hockey site.

Welcome Cory Lavalette into the Canes blogosphere as he joins in the fun with Bubba @ Canes Country.

I found a hidden gem among the Raleigh-Durham Craigslist: the entire set of the Hurricanes Bobbleheads from 2002 that were originally sold at Hardee's.

Included are Jeff O'Neill, Ron Francis, Arturs Irbe & Brind'amour. Awesome.

I believe as hockey fans we're all looking forward to the day when we don't have read the word "Sundin" in the headlines. Enough already!

Is October ever going to come?

In praise of Casey Borer

At a time in last season, the Hurricanes were struggling to muster up any kind of good consistent effort. As they were "circling the drain", forwards and defenseman alike were dropping like flies due to either injury or the "Bucket in front of you - while you're stuck on the toilet - and losing 12 lbs. for 3 days" flu that struck the whole team.

One bright spot among that rather crap-tacular period was the call-up of Albany River Rat and St. Cloud State alum, Casey Borer. There was something about him that Caniac Nation immediately approved of. I myself, was just happy to see team management give someone else a shot. The D-corps seemed either tired, complacent or too old if they weren't on the shelf due to injury/flu.

In eleven games on the Carolina bench, Borer registered 2 assists and 1 goal (I won't forget seeing Roddy Brind'amour go down and snatch the puck up for Casey's souvenir). He may have been a -3, but his 6 goal, 13 assist and +19 in 61 Albany games seem to suggest he's defensively sound enough to cover up for any potential flaws in his game.

In March, Casey was playing a game against the Syracuse Crunch when this happened:
"It was the start of the period, and they didn't let the ice freeze," Borer said. "I was carrying the puck up and it got stuck in the water, and I kind of twisted back for it with my torso, and my knees didn't come with me. The guy was already lining up to hit me, and I was in a vulnerable position. My knee must have been exposed, and we just got twisted up weird." - Wikipedia

Assuming that he can make a full recovery, I'd be surprised if Borer is not a part of the 3rd line D-pairing for the Canes come October.

Besides, with John Grahame banished signing to play in Russia - who is there on the team for the stalkers? Casey has had at least one fan girl vowing for his love since his college days:

Random thoughts

Writing in complete sentences is hard and stuff.

-Is it October yet?

-Bubba @ Canes Country is the Champion blogger. When none of the restavus Canes bloggers have anything to update about - he pulls out all the stops with some full analysis or interviews some V.I.P.'s. Keep up the great work, bud. Something tells me that the team will be embracing your talents soon enough.

-As far as free agents go - don't expect any big splashes. Remember last summer when our big acquisition was (drum roll) - Jeff Hamilton? I just don't see my boy, Jimmy, going over the top for any of the big names. JM Liles would work out well in this system but is probably going to land a much more lucrative deal elsewhere this summer. If I had to gamble on one - I'd put a shiny wooden nickel on Commodore returning. Also expect someone you may have never heard of.. (AKA an affordable guy).

still can't get used to seeing this

-Speaking of Green Eggs & Hamilton - I feel the need to send him off properly. After a kickass start to the season, I was shouting on high how smart JR was for signing this guy. He had a rocket of a shot, he seemed to pickup an assist every time there was a power play goal and by all reviews of him - he was a great character guy.

As his point total started to decline, so did his ice time as other teams started to crack down on the "Five Forward Power Play" that had worked so well. It's unfortunate that heart doesn't win you games - because Jeff Hamilton has plenty of it. Best wishes, Hammy.

(image via Flickr user MaesMama)

-I've been wanting to do a post about the whole free agent frenzy using the dude, "I Need Money" from the movie How High. Oh well. There it is.

-WTD with Chad LaRose? Management wants to get bigger on the 4th line? What does that have to do with The Chuck Norris of Hockey? Why even associate 4th line and Chad LaRose in the same sentence? Come on, dude.

(image via Flickr user [Keith] )

-What's Sergei Samsonov doing this summer? Wodka, Wodka, Wodka?

-Roddie Brind'amour is a beast. Something tells me that next season is going to be a career best for him. Just sayin'.

-$5 bucks says Matt Cullen has more points next year too. Oh yeah! Carolina On Ice is now the sponsor of his page at hockey-reference.com! I can't even remember how long ago that started.

-Darcy Hordichuk can suck one.

-Sure, I spend a good amount of time on hockey blogs and hockey related sites. I think I've seen this girl staring at me - ohhhh - I'll guess about 700 times in the past 30 days.

She's everywhere!!!!

Happy Cup Anniversary Caniacs

Today marks two years to the date that the Hurricanes raised Lord Stanley's mug after Game 7 in Raleigh. It can seem like it was just yesterday; the nervousness before the game, the sweating, the "it's really OK if they end up losing - I have a life outside of the team, right?" thoughts... but it can also seem like a REALLY long time ago if you consider that there has been two other teams now that have raised it since the Canes.

Anyhow, Happy Cup Day to you all.

Because hockey people are good people

Back in September, the wife and I had arguably the worst week of our lives. Nothing turns your life upside down like an unexpected tragedy. As the late great Phil Hartman would say during his SNL Frankenstein , "FIRE BAAAAD!!!".

Well as I returned from hiatus, I titled a post "I might have to buy a new jersey after all". My Roddy Brind'amour "A" jersey that I'd had since 2003 and worn (without washing) all through the 2005-2006 Cup run year was in the same condition as all of my other clothes: covered in a nasty yellow soot stain.

I had been tinkering around on the Canes Country Forum and made some e-friends, but had yet to meet any of them. We had been discussing joining up for a tailgate party before a Canes game.

It ended up being one of the 40 games we had against the Florida Panthers last season.

So there we were, having a grand 'ol time enjoying the pre-game festivities. My new friends and I were getting along like we had all known each other for years.

With about an hour or so before the 7:00 puck drop, people starting telling everyone to gather around me. Someone went to their truck to get something. He came out with a white bag from "The Eye" (the Hurricanes merch shop). Sure enough, they had bought me a shiny white new Rod Brind'amour jersey.

I was speechless. I still am. How could these people do something so nice for someone that they had never even met? With a poo-eating grin on my face, I happily accepted it and immediately threw it over my body. Fit like a glove.

So Thank you to Bob, Janey, Brian & East for what you did for me. I won't forget it.

Everybody Clap Your Hands!

Just pretend these are the game highlights:



Because our #1 beat writer is the man: Carolina 5, Atlanta 3

But be sure to check out this must read: Knee rehab can't slow down Brind'amour

Woooooooooooooo!!

Canes handle Pens as power play explodes

Yeah. That's right. The Albany Hurri-rats, RiverCanes, whatever you wanna call them - joined forces with the remainder of healthy regulars and dominated the surging Pittsburgh Penguins tonight atta the RBC. Check out a newb's recap with CaniacD as I'm too zonked to let it flow.

But the win comes at a cost. Brindy leaves the game with a knee injury. Hope for the best. This is the last thing this team needs right now.

Update**** Dear God. Brind'amour tears ACL. Likely out for season. Seller mode time? Stay tuned, but more than likely - this team is screwed.

Another KO in OT on TO

Downright entertaining game last night at the giant ATM with the Canes finishing off the Leafs in OT on a Brind'amour goal. 'Twas a fine way to close out the month of January winning 4 of their last 5 and two in a row.

Despite giving up the 1st goal (again) to internet dong-slinger Jiri Tlusty, the Hurricanes maintained pressure and had their way with the Leafers in the offensive zone.

How about Tim Gleason? The man played a sound defensive game but scored the 1st goal and had the primary helper on Scott Walker's tip-in in the 3rd. Who needs Jack Johnson? :)

The team will hit the road for what will be the longest remaining road trip of the season starting Saturday night in Pittsburgh. Great way to begin the trek with a head full of steam.

Canes At Kitties: News in pictures

Captain Answers The Call

Booo Yaaahhh!

The 37-year young Brindy scores two goals with an assist from Caps goalie Olie Kolzig on his 2nd! Tonight was a little more like the Hurricanes of the October 2007 team. Even when the puck normally wouldn't go in -- it finds a way.

Al Ovechkin scores 2 of his own and played an all around great game. He nails one in the first blink of a Caps man advantage. Whether you're on the power play or not, if you leave AO wide open in front of the net, you deserve to be scored on. After his 2nd one, he jumped on the glass like he had just won the Stanley Cup, Hart Trophy, World Cup and Super Bowl. He hit the glass then proceeded to bust his ass on the ice.

Williams continued to stay -1 from career point #300. He'll get there here in two shakes of a lamb's tail.

Last chance to see the Canes play at home for a hot minute. They'll hit the road with a fire under their butts.

About The Mini-Slump & The Overcoming Of It

Fresh off of a Philly-style beat-down last night, Hurricanes players and coaches are chirping about their recent lack of scoring.

Not that they've been awful so far, and not that I would for a second doubt the laser shooting eyeballs War Chief, but if there are two people that can, should and will get the Canes back in the right direction -- it is Justin Williams & Captain Brind'amour.

In the forever juggling of lines in the past seasons - the pairing of these two is almost always a constant. One of Rod's sons comes up to hug his dad after winning the Stanley Cup. He was wearing a Justin Williams #24 jersey. Once these guys can get it chunking again the rest of the team will follow their example.

Lets. Go. Canes.