Thought I'd drop in and see what's cookin'. Done with my MLB prep, so I finally have time for some pucks again.
CAR -0.5 -175
NJD -0.5 +115:brows:
Good hunting
CAR -0.5 -175
NJD -0.5 +115:brows:
Good hunting
Back from the desert
- Thread starter Man O' Vegas
- Start date
Be careful of that Canes pick, that's a lot of chalk to lay if Kevin Weekes in is goal for Carolina.
This year, Weekes: 3-9-0 GAA=2.90 sv%=.915(pretty respectable save percentage)
Article from espn:
For the past seven games at a basketball building disguised as an NHL arena called the Entertainment and Sports Arena, a growing band of fans have been treated to a record-setting performance by their heroes.
Pardon Paul Maurice if he's not keeping close tabs on the 'Canes' record for ties at home. It might have elicited more than a few thousand roars of relief Monday when Sami Kapanen scored with 11 seconds left in regulation to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 1-1 tie with the Montreal Canadiens. But in so doing, he was just extending a dubious of achievement -- the NHL record for consecutive ties at home.
It was No. 7, which doesn't leave any of the people in the locker room feeling lucky.
"Who could expect to play seven games at home and have them all ties?" Kapanen said hours before another pressurized Carolina home game, Thursday night against the Florida Panthers. "A couple of those games have been one-goal games and with low scoring. But it seems like we keep our game fairly simple on the road, and when we get home, we start pressing more early to get the offense going. And then if it's been something like 2-all after two periods, we're not feeling so good. So it's become a mental thing for us."
The Hurricanes shouldn't try to over analyze their recent flatline home record, however, because there's precious little time to do so. Just a few weeks shy of the playoffs, they might look like they have the third seed in the East wrapped up, but that's only if they pad that lead with more than a few more points. Through home victories or otherwise. "All I know," Jeff O'Neill said, "is it's better than losing."
The Hurricanes should know. They have an NHL-high 14 ties and -- lest we forget -- SEVEN STRAIGHT at home. They've also played 25 overtime games, three short of the NHL record set by the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers during the 1999-2000 season
So these shaken-but-never-stirred Hurricanes have entertained their home fans to the tune of 1-4-8 since the start of the New Year, though they played at home just once in the month of February.
Even more indicative of its conflicted state, Carolina is 28-23-14-5 overall going into Thursday's game with the Panthers. They are the only NHL team with a winning record that has scored less goals (185) than it had allowed (195).
Neither figure is all that bad for 70 games of work, and of course neither figure is all that good, either. But both are curious clues as to the quality of competition that is closest to the home of the plain 'Canes.
"Well, I always look at it based on losses," said Carolina general manager Jim Rutherford. "There are only two teams in the conference with 20 losses -- Philadelphia and Toronto. Boston has 21 and Carolina has 23. I look at how close that is as opposed to the wins differential or ties differential. I think we're right there. And if you look at the good playoff teams, they are usually those who have a lot of ties during the year -- in ugly games, they're the teams that find ways not to lose."
Then again, in just as many games, they find ways to not win. Such is the dichotomous dilemma facing the 'Canes. But have we mentioned that they're still the envy of the Southeast?
In a division born of uncontrolled expansion, the division that is a combined 0-16-2 against conference runnerup Philadelphia this season, Carolina is once again a runaway leader in its divisional dance. Although the Washington Capitals brought in a pricey god named Jaromir to regain their former East contender status, these 'Canes are easily outdistancing them by skipping along on a point-per-game pace since the last millennium or so.
"We've never been pushed the way some other contending teams are," Rutherford said. "Maybe I shouldn't say that, because Washington's a good team and it's not over by any means. But up until now, we really haven't been pushed. That's not a good excuse for us not to get more points, but you look at good teams like Ottawa and Boston and Toronto -- they're pushed."
Down in the Southeast, however, there's been more pratfalling than pushing.
Imagine the joy in Carolina after Calgary's Craig Conroy scored with 1:19 to play a week ago Monday, giving Calgary a tie and handing the NHL record of six straight home ties to the 'Canes.
"If we were 0-7 instead of 0-0-7, I'd say yes," coach Paul Maurice said when asked if the 'Canes were jinxed at home. But when told that his team was actually 0-0-6, Mo said, "Not seven? Just the six? After three or four you stop counting."
There has to be some reason why Maurice has stuck with one team over seven years in the NHL, the most trigger-happy league in sports. He always maintains -- what else -- an even keel.
"It's tough to be upset or excited after a tie," Maurice said. "There have been so many of them. You need those wins to drive you and keep you going."
Since the move to Raleigh, the crowds have seemed to steadily grow. A six-year postseason absence ended in 1999, their second season since arriving in North Carolina. Last year, although they were down and just about out of their first-round series with the New Jersey Devils at the time, the Hurricanes excited their fans by winning a couple of games and making the inevitable end result respectable.
Season ticket sales blossomed. Now if only their team would win.
Certainly the effort has been there. Maurice might always look tired, but he's a relentless worker. And Rutherford might have turned his phone off at the trading deadline, but he had already improved his team by trading Sandis Ozolinsh to Florida.
Rutherford also brought in goaltender Kevin Weekes, who he had not only coveted for some time, but was actually under the age of 35.
Acquiring Weekes from Tampa Bay cost the club one of its once-promising prospects, sophomore forward Shane Willis, whose struggles were a two-year trial. But parting with him wasn't easy, since Rutherford and Maurice had watched O'Neill get off to a similar slow start and grow into a 40-goal scorer.
"I don't know if he'll ever be a leader," Rutherford said of his prized project and former first-round pick. "But I know he's an important part of the team and fits into our group even if he's not necessarily a captain-type of leader. You always need the kind of personality he brings in your room."
This season, O'Neill is likely to fall short of the 41 goals and 67 points totals of 2000-01, and he still isn't being handed any keys to the kingdom. Ron Francis is still the quiet captain, setting longevity records as he skates toward the Hall of Fame. He's also one of the few players in this quiet locker room with a championship ring on his finger.
Behind him on the leadership board are Rod Brind'Amour and Glen Wesley, the experienced, emblematic assistants, along with respected defenseman Sean Hill, a voice of reason in the clubhouse.
But it isn't always so even-tempered in there. Just ask the Jeff.
"I'm pretty vocal with guys," O'Neill said. "I think sometimes you need to tell a guy to get his head out of his ass and sometimes you need to tell him he made a great play."
If Carolina's marketing masters need a face to focus on, O'Neill's tough mug fills the bill. If the Hurricanes think they could use a different personality other than the one they're acquiring as Team Tie, all they need is to let O'Neill fill newspaper space and air time.
He's the most talented player on the team, and probably is one of the most underrated players in the Eastern Conference. But O'Neill's volatile demeanor sometimes works against him. He briefly wore the alternate captain's "A" last season when Wesley was injured, but was stripped of it after smashing his stick into the glass on the way to the penalty box.
It probably wasn't the first time, and certainly wasn't the last. But that's O'Neill, who never has a problem talking about such things:
After getting an unsportsmanlike conduct minor for complaining about a penalty in Atlanta: "I think our discipline was a little suspect tonight and I was very undisciplined when that happened. It's kind of like golf. The first hole you make a birdie for your partner and everyone feels good about you. On the next hole you make a quadruple bogie, and everyone wants to kick your rear end."
When the Canes' power play was struggling: "It reminds me of my best friends from home when they see a hot babe. They're stunned. They don't know what to do. It's the same way with our power play."
Ties are endemic here, and worse yet, symbolic of the personality of the team.
So perhaps it can be O'Neill who not only can change the team's persona with a hot(-babe) quote or two every day, but also step up his play in the playoffs and lift this good-but-not-great Hurricanes team onto a higher postseason plane.
As in winning a round for the first time since 1986.
"It's not satisfying," Kapanen said. "We've got to find ways to win these games. It's time to show ourselves and all the other people that we can be a good team in the playoffs, too."
This year, Weekes: 3-9-0 GAA=2.90 sv%=.915(pretty respectable save percentage)
Article from espn:
For the past seven games at a basketball building disguised as an NHL arena called the Entertainment and Sports Arena, a growing band of fans have been treated to a record-setting performance by their heroes.
Pardon Paul Maurice if he's not keeping close tabs on the 'Canes' record for ties at home. It might have elicited more than a few thousand roars of relief Monday when Sami Kapanen scored with 11 seconds left in regulation to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 1-1 tie with the Montreal Canadiens. But in so doing, he was just extending a dubious of achievement -- the NHL record for consecutive ties at home.
It was No. 7, which doesn't leave any of the people in the locker room feeling lucky.
"Who could expect to play seven games at home and have them all ties?" Kapanen said hours before another pressurized Carolina home game, Thursday night against the Florida Panthers. "A couple of those games have been one-goal games and with low scoring. But it seems like we keep our game fairly simple on the road, and when we get home, we start pressing more early to get the offense going. And then if it's been something like 2-all after two periods, we're not feeling so good. So it's become a mental thing for us."
The Hurricanes shouldn't try to over analyze their recent flatline home record, however, because there's precious little time to do so. Just a few weeks shy of the playoffs, they might look like they have the third seed in the East wrapped up, but that's only if they pad that lead with more than a few more points. Through home victories or otherwise. "All I know," Jeff O'Neill said, "is it's better than losing."
The Hurricanes should know. They have an NHL-high 14 ties and -- lest we forget -- SEVEN STRAIGHT at home. They've also played 25 overtime games, three short of the NHL record set by the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers during the 1999-2000 season
So these shaken-but-never-stirred Hurricanes have entertained their home fans to the tune of 1-4-8 since the start of the New Year, though they played at home just once in the month of February.
Even more indicative of its conflicted state, Carolina is 28-23-14-5 overall going into Thursday's game with the Panthers. They are the only NHL team with a winning record that has scored less goals (185) than it had allowed (195).
Neither figure is all that bad for 70 games of work, and of course neither figure is all that good, either. But both are curious clues as to the quality of competition that is closest to the home of the plain 'Canes.
"Well, I always look at it based on losses," said Carolina general manager Jim Rutherford. "There are only two teams in the conference with 20 losses -- Philadelphia and Toronto. Boston has 21 and Carolina has 23. I look at how close that is as opposed to the wins differential or ties differential. I think we're right there. And if you look at the good playoff teams, they are usually those who have a lot of ties during the year -- in ugly games, they're the teams that find ways not to lose."
Then again, in just as many games, they find ways to not win. Such is the dichotomous dilemma facing the 'Canes. But have we mentioned that they're still the envy of the Southeast?
In a division born of uncontrolled expansion, the division that is a combined 0-16-2 against conference runnerup Philadelphia this season, Carolina is once again a runaway leader in its divisional dance. Although the Washington Capitals brought in a pricey god named Jaromir to regain their former East contender status, these 'Canes are easily outdistancing them by skipping along on a point-per-game pace since the last millennium or so.
"We've never been pushed the way some other contending teams are," Rutherford said. "Maybe I shouldn't say that, because Washington's a good team and it's not over by any means. But up until now, we really haven't been pushed. That's not a good excuse for us not to get more points, but you look at good teams like Ottawa and Boston and Toronto -- they're pushed."
Down in the Southeast, however, there's been more pratfalling than pushing.
Imagine the joy in Carolina after Calgary's Craig Conroy scored with 1:19 to play a week ago Monday, giving Calgary a tie and handing the NHL record of six straight home ties to the 'Canes.
"If we were 0-7 instead of 0-0-7, I'd say yes," coach Paul Maurice said when asked if the 'Canes were jinxed at home. But when told that his team was actually 0-0-6, Mo said, "Not seven? Just the six? After three or four you stop counting."
There has to be some reason why Maurice has stuck with one team over seven years in the NHL, the most trigger-happy league in sports. He always maintains -- what else -- an even keel.
"It's tough to be upset or excited after a tie," Maurice said. "There have been so many of them. You need those wins to drive you and keep you going."
Since the move to Raleigh, the crowds have seemed to steadily grow. A six-year postseason absence ended in 1999, their second season since arriving in North Carolina. Last year, although they were down and just about out of their first-round series with the New Jersey Devils at the time, the Hurricanes excited their fans by winning a couple of games and making the inevitable end result respectable.
Season ticket sales blossomed. Now if only their team would win.
Certainly the effort has been there. Maurice might always look tired, but he's a relentless worker. And Rutherford might have turned his phone off at the trading deadline, but he had already improved his team by trading Sandis Ozolinsh to Florida.
Rutherford also brought in goaltender Kevin Weekes, who he had not only coveted for some time, but was actually under the age of 35.
Acquiring Weekes from Tampa Bay cost the club one of its once-promising prospects, sophomore forward Shane Willis, whose struggles were a two-year trial. But parting with him wasn't easy, since Rutherford and Maurice had watched O'Neill get off to a similar slow start and grow into a 40-goal scorer.
"I don't know if he'll ever be a leader," Rutherford said of his prized project and former first-round pick. "But I know he's an important part of the team and fits into our group even if he's not necessarily a captain-type of leader. You always need the kind of personality he brings in your room."
This season, O'Neill is likely to fall short of the 41 goals and 67 points totals of 2000-01, and he still isn't being handed any keys to the kingdom. Ron Francis is still the quiet captain, setting longevity records as he skates toward the Hall of Fame. He's also one of the few players in this quiet locker room with a championship ring on his finger.
Behind him on the leadership board are Rod Brind'Amour and Glen Wesley, the experienced, emblematic assistants, along with respected defenseman Sean Hill, a voice of reason in the clubhouse.
But it isn't always so even-tempered in there. Just ask the Jeff.
"I'm pretty vocal with guys," O'Neill said. "I think sometimes you need to tell a guy to get his head out of his ass and sometimes you need to tell him he made a great play."
If Carolina's marketing masters need a face to focus on, O'Neill's tough mug fills the bill. If the Hurricanes think they could use a different personality other than the one they're acquiring as Team Tie, all they need is to let O'Neill fill newspaper space and air time.
He's the most talented player on the team, and probably is one of the most underrated players in the Eastern Conference. But O'Neill's volatile demeanor sometimes works against him. He briefly wore the alternate captain's "A" last season when Wesley was injured, but was stripped of it after smashing his stick into the glass on the way to the penalty box.
It probably wasn't the first time, and certainly wasn't the last. But that's O'Neill, who never has a problem talking about such things:
After getting an unsportsmanlike conduct minor for complaining about a penalty in Atlanta: "I think our discipline was a little suspect tonight and I was very undisciplined when that happened. It's kind of like golf. The first hole you make a birdie for your partner and everyone feels good about you. On the next hole you make a quadruple bogie, and everyone wants to kick your rear end."
When the Canes' power play was struggling: "It reminds me of my best friends from home when they see a hot babe. They're stunned. They don't know what to do. It's the same way with our power play."
Ties are endemic here, and worse yet, symbolic of the personality of the team.
So perhaps it can be O'Neill who not only can change the team's persona with a hot(-babe) quote or two every day, but also step up his play in the playoffs and lift this good-but-not-great Hurricanes team onto a higher postseason plane.
As in winning a round for the first time since 1986.
"It's not satisfying," Kapanen said. "We've got to find ways to win these games. It's time to show ourselves and all the other people that we can be a good team in the playoffs, too."
Luongo was hurt in goals for Florida was replace in the first and not sure if he is going to be in tonight.
Nice article Saint, I have to lke the fact that Weekes is 3-1 in his last 4 starts vs. FLA, and FLA is going to have a tough time generating any offense without Bure and Kozlov, and now without Luongo who was winning games for FLA by himself. Looks very uphill for FLA. As for T.V., nice to hear from you Bon Ami :toast:
