Canes stay winless on road, shut out at Dallas

By Bud L. Ellis

Their recent run of success didn’t last long for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Having won two straight games entering Monday night’s contest at Dallas, the Hurricanes were shut out by Marty Turco and the Stars, falling 2-0.

Manny Legace made 27 saves for Carolina, but the two goals he allowed was enough to keep the Canes winless on the road this season (0-8-3).

It looked like Carolina had slipped one past Turco in the second period. But the officials ruled Ray Whitney kicked the puck onto his stick, and four minutes later Dallas scored off a deflection to double its lead to 2-0.

In the third, Carolina had a golden chance to halve the lead, spending more than 90 seconds with a two-man advantage. But the Hurricanes were turned away time and time again by Turco.

Carolina continues its Westward swing Wednesday at Anaheim.

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Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 8:30 pm by bud

Tags: Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Marty Turco, Ray Whitney

Hurricanes try to weather 12-game losing streak

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.

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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

‘Canes hit road looking to jumpstart offense

By Bud L. Ellis

For a team that’s averaged 97 points the past four seasons, having just six points through eight games and sitting in fourth place in the division is a strange feeling.

The Carolina Hurricanes will look to find themselves and start a winning streak when they hit the road for a Midwestern weekend swing at Colorado and Minnesota this weekend.

The Canes need something to jump start their 2009-10 season, one which has began with lackluster performances and disappointment. The  stumble came Wednesday, when Carolina lost 4-3 to a New York Islanders’ team that was winless on the season entering the matchup.

Offensive woes have kept Carolina from hitting its stride so far this season, Carolina having scored just 18 goals in eight games. And while the Canes are 2-1 in the Southeast Division, they already are six points behind two-time defending division champion Washington.

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Friday, October 23, 2009 at 9:47 pm by bud

Tags: Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, National Hockey League, New York Islanders, Washington Capitals

Canes snag first win of season in shootout

By Bud L. Ellis

It took five extra minutes of overtime and a shootout, but the Carolina Hurricanes finally found their way into the victory column.

Sergei Samsonov and Tuomo Ruutu scored in the shootout, and goalie Cam Ward made 29 saves as the Hurricanes snapped a season-opening two-game losing streak Tuesday, beating Tampa Bay 2-1 in Raleigh for the Canes’ first victory of the season.

For a team that reached the Eastern Conference finals a year ago, the victory erased some of the angst from two ugly season-opening losses last weekend, games Carolina lost by a combined 9-2 score.

But Carolina got it done Tuesday, opening a key early stretch of Southeast Division contest with a victory.

Jussi Jokinen scored for Carolina in the first period, converting on a power play. Tampa Bay tied the game in the second period, but the Canes’ defense held the Lightning at bay the rest of the way.

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Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 9:56 pm by bud

Tags: Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes, Jussi Jokinen, National Hockey League, Sergei Samsonov, Southeast Division, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tuomo Ruutu

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.

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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