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HEAD COACH
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Paul Maurice
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ROSTER
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C - Ron Francis, Keith Primeau, Jeff O'Neill, Kent Manderville. RW -
Ray Sheppard, Sami Kapanen, Kevin Dineen, Robert Kron. LW - Gary
Roberts, Martin Gelinas, Paul Ranheim, Bates Battaglia, Byron Ritchie.
D - Paul Coffey, Steve Chiasson, Glen Wesley, Adam Burt, Curtis
Leschyshyn, Sean Hill, Dave Karpa, Nolan Pratt, Mike Rucinski, Marek
Malik. G - Trevor Kidd, Arturs Irbe.
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INJURIES
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Jeff O'Neill, C, neck strain, day-to-day; Steve Chiasson, d,
back, injured reserve; Dave Karpa, d, knee surgery, injured
reserve.
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TRANSACTIONS
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January 29th - Assigned defensemen Steve Halko and Mike Rucinski to
New Haven of the AHL. February 1st - Agreed to a multi-year contract extension with
right wing Sami Kapanen. February 5th - Recalled forward Shane Willis from New Haven of
the AHL.
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GAME RESULTS
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01/26 at Pittsburgh W 5-3
01/28 NY Rangers W 3-2 (OT)
01/30 at Montreal W 3-1
02/01 at Boston T 0-0
02/03 New Jersey L 4-1
02/05 Washington L 4-1
02/06 Florida T 3-3
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STANDINGS
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Southeast Division GP W L T PTS GF GA
Carolina 52 23 20 9 55 132 129
Florida 50 19 18 13 51 125 132
Washington 50 20 26 4 44 127 132
Tampa Bay 51 11 36 4 26 102 184
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team news:
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by Scott W. Pagel, Carolina Correspondent
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The Hurricane’s up and down season continues to roll on as the winning and
losing streaks continue to pile up. The latest streaks saw Carolina go four
games without losing before recently going winless in their last three. Wins
against Pittsburgh, the Rangers and Montreal still have the ‘Canes sitting
atop the Southeast Division. Unfortunately, at the top there is no where to
go but down, and two teams, the Washington Capitals and the Florida Panthers,
would like nothing more than to prove that true.
More worries...
Just when it looks as if the Capitals are dead in the water, some guy named
Peter Bondra comes along to give them some life. As if Pavel Bure coming to
Florida wasn’t bad enough, both the Caps and the Panthers have what it takes
to overcome a slim deficit - a superstar scorer.
Thanks to the lowly Tampa Bay lightning, Washington is now scoring goals again.
That’s the worst thing that could possible happen to the Carolina Hurricanes.
If it isn’t bad enough holding off a hungry Florida team, now Washington is
beginning to make their charge as well.
In a 10-1 victory, Bondra exploded for four goals and a few nights later, Bondra
again lit it up, this time on the Hurricane’s themselves, as the Capitals
prevailed 4-1. "We didn't pass the puck very well," said Carolina coach Paul
Maurice to the media after the game. "Right from the start of the game we
couldn't get the puck out of our own zone. We made a number of bad situations
worse by not being able to complete a pass."
The loss to Washington was the second in as many games for Carolina. Prior to
that, they dropped another 4-1 decision, this time to New Jersey. Only a late
goal by Keith Primeau prevented another blanking, because a few night before that,
they played the Boston Bruins to a 0-0 tie. The math isn’t too hard to figure
out and as a result, scoring two goals in three games is not going to get you
many points in the NHL. "We had a problem putting the puck in the net," coach
Paul Maurice said to the press after the Devils game. "When you play New Jersey,
they play such a tight game that you're not going to get a lot of chances."
It’s a close race...
As terrible as it sounds, the injury to Pavel Bure is only temporary. It’s
not a bold statement to say the Panthers are a different team with Bure in
the lineup. Just look at the stats so far: In seven games, the Russian star has
8 goals and 3 assists for 11 points. Bure has not only won over his teammates, but
the fans as well. So, as we enter into the season’s fifth month, Carolina finds
themselves with a slim four point lead in the Southeast Division. Their total
of 55 points is seventh in the Eastern Conference and tenth in the league. Yet,
that division title means a number three seed in the playoffs. Florida, meanwhile,
has 51 points and two games in hand on the Hurricanes. Washington trails by 11
points. To show you how evenly matched all three teams are, Carolina is scoring 2.54
goals a game while giving up 2.48. The Capitals, who you hear never score
goals, ironically average 2.54 goals a game as well, giving up 2.64. Florida also
surrenders 2.64 a contest, and scores at a rate of 2.50 per game. Don’t expect
those numbers to say that close, especially with a red-hot Bondra and Bure in the
division.
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