By Bud L. Ellis
A 5-2 lead disappeared Tuesday night in a span of 10 minutes, but the Carolina Hurricanes were well served by youth in the shootout.
Jeff Skinner, who at 18 years old is the youngest player in the NHL, scored the only goal of the shootout round, as the Hurricanes beat Calgary 6-5 in Raleigh, N.C. ( Read More…)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 12:20 pm by bud
Tags: Atlanta Thrashers, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes news, Carolina Hurricanes schedule, Carolina Hurricanes tickets, Curtis Glencross, Eric Staal, Erik Cole, Jarome Iginla, Jay Bouwmeester, Jeff Skinner, Jussi Jokinen, Montreal Canadiens, National Hockey League, Niklas Hagman, Rene Bourgue, Tuomo Ruutu
By Bud L. Ellis
Remember when the Carolina Hurricanes reached the Eastern Conference finals last spring?
That happened just six months ago, but it might as well happened six centuries ago after what the Hurricanes have endured through the first month of the NHL season.
Saturday’s 3-2 loss at Columbus extended Carolina’s losing streak to 12 games, and its 2-11-3 mark is the worst in the NHL. What’s even worse is goalie Cam Ward suffered a leg injury when he was cut with a skate and will miss the next four weeks. Carolina carried the lead into the third period but could not hold on against the Blue Jackets.
Carolina signed veteran netminder Manny Legace, who was playing for the Thrashers’ AHL affiliate in Chicago, to try and bridge the gap until Ward returns. But in reality, a victory — anyway, anyhow — would be a nice salve for a team that truly is scuffling right now.
Monday marked one full month since the Hurricanes’ last victory, and their seven points puts Carolina a remarkable 17 points behind Southeast Division leader Washington. After losing by five, four and three goals last week, Carolina dropped a pair of one-goal decisions last weekend and still have not won a game away from home.
The Hurricanes hope to finally break their franchise-record skid Wednesday when they play host to Los Angeles. Friday, Carolina plays host to the Islanders.
–30–
Monday, November 9, 2009 at 3:15 pm by bud
Tags: Atlanta Thrashers, Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Los Angeles Kings, Manny Legace, National Hockey League, New York Islanders, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
Nine goals allowed in their first 120 minutes of the season was not what the Carolina Hurricanes had in mind.
A 2-0 loss to Philadelphia Friday night opened the 2009 season on a sour note, and the taste grew even more bitter the next night when Boston hung seven goals on the Canes in a 7-2 defeat, a game in which forward Erik Cole broke a bone in his lower left leg (he’ll miss at least a month, perhaps longer).
Heading into Tuesday’s Southeast Division opener against Tampa Bay, a Carolina team that made it to the Eastern Conference finals last season is seeking something positive to turn around what’s been a wretched six periods so far this season.
Only Vancouver and defending Western Conference champion Detroit are 0-2 so far, and maybe there’s a good place to start, the fact that if Detroit is also 0-2 on the season, maybe things aren’t so bad.
But all joking aside, nobody expects either the Wings or Canes to stay below .500 for long. However, defending division champion Washington already is out to a 2-0 start, and Atlanta looked impressive in beating Tampa in its season opener Saturday.
The last thing the Canes need to do is fall behind in the standings early on, as points earned now don’t have to be made up later. With three games this week against division opponents (Tampa Tuesday, Florida Friday, at Tampa Saturday), a good week of hockey will level-set things for Carolina.
But another bad week, and suddenly the Canes could be six or eight points out of first just five games into the season. Not exactly what Carolina, or its fans, had in mind.
–30–
Monday, October 5, 2009 at 8:31 pm by bud
Tags: Atlanta Thrashers, Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, Erik Cole, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals
