When we last left the Carolina Hurricanes, they were sitting atop
the Southeast Division with a 6-5-3 record.
If you remember correctly, I stated that the Hurricanes' upcoming
schedule was going to show a lot about this team. A road trip to
the West Coast against clubs like Anaheim, San Jose and Los
Angeles was a perfect way to gain some ground and separate
themselves in what is a weak division.
Clearly, the Ducks, Sharks and Kings haven't exactly been ripping
things up in the NHL, yet the Canes fell 5-4 and 3-0 before
salvaging a 5-4 victory at LA. Going 1-2-0 wasn't what Paul
Maurice's club had in mind, but three days later, on home ice,
they produced another five-goal performance in downing Montreal
5-4.
Test Result..."F"
In the last issue, I said three games against New Jersey and
Philadelphia in four days would be a good early test to see just
what the young Hurricanes are made of. Well, Carolina went 0-3
and as a result, I guess I'll have to give them an "F". But, fear
not, the season is far from lost at this point.
The first loss to the Devils back on November 19 was a 3-2 defeat
in overtime. The Canes once again held their own in a 3-1 setback
to Philly the next night. It was a one-goal contest most of the
night until Colin Forbes added an empty-netter. However, Sunday
afternoon's loss to the Devils wasn't exactly pretty.
Perhaps the biggest problem as of late has been the number of
games the Hurricanes have played in a short span of days. On
November 11, the team traveled to Anaheim before having a game in
San Jose the following day. Two days later it was of to Los
Angeles on the 14th. The Canes traveled back to Carolina for a
game on the 17th and were right back on the road to face NJ on
the 19th. It was back home to host the Flyers the very next day,
before taking on the Devils two days later.
"At that point, we were pretty much on fumes," Maurice told the
press after their Sunday game. "We're a tired hockey club,
there's no question about that. It's so difficult when I say this
to you guys because the last thing I want to see in the papers
is, `Maurice uses tiredness as an excuse.'
"It's not an excuse, it's just a fact. There are plenty of hockey
teams that win when they're tired and we haven't, which is
disappointing. I don't have a problem with the physical effort
and we're dragging our butts off."
Stats and Stuff
As I stated before, it's not exactly the end of the world. In
fact, Carolina has actually picked up ground in the division.
They now hold a two-point lead, despite going 2-5-0 and dropping
three in a row - totaling 19 points!
Since the last report, Florida has been the hottest team in the
division going 2-2-2. Still, they've managed 17 points this
season and sit in second place. The Washington Capital continue
to struggle and sit in third. The Caps are 2-4-0 in their last
six. Tampa Bay has just about fallen off the face of the Earth
and are 0-5-0 in as many games. Nevertheless, they're only five
points out of first!
The Hurricanes are 2-3-0 in the second of back-to-games this
year. Losses have come to LA, San Jose and Philly, with wins
against Boston and Washington...
Carolina is now 0-2-2 vs. the Flyers since moving from
Hartford...
This season they're 1-4-1 against teams from the Atlantic
Division...
Irbe has lost five of his last seven starts and has started six
games in a row...
Ray Sheppard extended his goal-scoring streak to five straight
games with a goal vs. NJ Sunday.
Finally!
After going 0-for-44, Carolina finally scored a power-play goal.
It came at the 10:33 mark of the first period off the stick of
Robert Kron in the game against the Kings on November 14. Ten
straight games went by in the span that dated back to October 24
against Ottawa. It was a game in which they won and went 1-for-5
with the extra man.
Amazingly, the team was only 5-5 during the power-play slump. Not
too bad all things considered. Carolina started the year with a
3-for-9 performance against Tampa Bay, but went 3-30 leading up
to the drought!
In the LA contest, they were 2-for-7 and followed that up with a
1-for-4 game vs. Montreal and a 2-for-4 showing at New Jersey.
Since then, they've gone 0-for-9.
Believe it or not, they're still not the worst in the league when
it comes to ranking. While a 23rd ranking and a success rate of
10.58% isn't anything to brag about, Nashville, Phoenix, Los
Angeles and Toronto are still lower. As far as penalty killing
goes, the Canes have slipped there as well, dropping to 16th.
Looking Ahead
The Hurricanes will host the San Jose Sharks Wednesday before
traveling to Long Island on Saturday (Nov. 28). They'll be right
back in action on the 29th, having to travel all the way back
home to host the Ducks for the start of a three-game homestand.
On Dec. 2 they'll host Montreal and Dec. 4 Pittsburgh will be in
town. They'll be on the road that night because the Canes have a
game in Florida against the Panthers the next night.
