When the comforts of the road are mentioned, you may think of
years-old chewing gum in the glove compartment, a rest area with
clean toilets, and a Wendy's at every exit. But to the Canes,
there are no such thing as comforts on the road. The Hurricanes
have gone 1-3-2 since the last issue, ending a tough four-game
road trip with an OT loss, a tie, and two other losses.
Sami Kapanen had some things to say about the loss. "Forwards
were overskating the puck," Kapanen said. "We didn't handle the
puck well at all. Most of the night we were a half-second off and
we didn't have enough patience."
"Obviously, we have to regroup now because this is not what we
expected," said Kapanen after the Canes ended a winless four-game
road trip with their worst performance by far with a 5-2 loss
against the average-in-the-West St. Louis Blues.
While you're searching your pockets for the gum and Wendy's
receipts, I'll begin the wrap up on the trade deadline for the
Canes. But don't get yourself too excited...
NOT A TRADE IN HADES: Well, the deadline came up to us all
of a sudden, and the land was abuzz. "Wendel Clark's coming to
Carolina! No, wait, Linden's better, maybe cheaper...or is it
Turgeon we're getting? JR will build this team into a winner!"
Yeah, and I'll watch Ally McBeal.
Unfortunately, there were no Canes trades, which was too bad
because with all the "young" crap being shopped around, we
could've easily made out like bandits. Gelinas and O'Neill are
worth something, at least a support man like the Russian Tank. Oh
well. Another chance come and gone. Despite the fact we got
nothing, it is well known now that we were runners up to get
Recchi, Fleury, and Chelios. Plbbt. That got us...um...no one.
SPEAKING OF CRAP: We have our very own sub-par youth to
toss away in Marek Malik. Malik has made some bonehead plays
throughout his NHL career, screwing up in Hartford as well as in
New Haven. But nothing is like how bad he has done on this road
trip. He continues to plunge his +/- without offering anything to
the team.
As a rookie, it is suspected that Marek has some potential, but
that hope is stopped faster than a guy wearing a Yankee hat in
Raleigh. He went -3 for the night in St. Louis, outdoing everyone
on the team. At least there's something he can win at.
I can't help but say that the Canes should of dealt Malik for
Janney. Well, since the Isles aren't that stupid, we'll toss in
an 8th-rounder. At least Janney can skate....sort of.
TANK LIKEY: Yessir, the Russian Tank has actually asked to
be in Carolina. He likes it here. In case you missed his quote,
he watched the Three Musketeers and "wants this team to be like
that". Yeah, it's cheesy, but since he's an RFA this season and
has performed well and loves the team, I'll bet on him staying.
"I have to show everybody that I love this game and I love this
team," said Kovalenko, a restricted free agent after the season.
"I want to sign a long-term contract with this team."
GAME RECAPS
Pittsburgh, 3/10, 3-2 L
Despite being up 2-0 going into the third, the Canes let this one
slip into overtime, where it once again slipped (must have been
the bad ice) into a 3-2 loss thanks to a bit of luck from Kip
Miller -- Irbe made an uncharacteristically bad play, mishandling
a loose puck. Kapanen scored twice for Carolina, who had trouble
handling the puck after the first two periods. Which means Jagr's
line spanked us.
Calgary, 3/12, 2-1 W
The only win of these six games against the dismal Flames was a
physical, gritty game, the sort of stuff our pal Gary Roberts
loves. He and Nolan Pratt made sure the Flames didn't push around
the Canes in this 2-1 win, highlighted by a goal from Bates
Battaglia and the Russian Tank, who popped a backhand over Ken
Wregget's pads.
Phoenix, 3/15, 5-5 T
A phenomenal comeback in the third period led by the third line
of O'Neill, Kovalenko, and Gelinas, the Canes overcame a three-
goal lead by the slumping Yotes to stick this one into the books
as a tie. Another poor outing by the Latvian who let in four
goals (three were the defense's fault) sent Kidd into the net.
Kidd flopped around like a fish but made some saves while
imitating Hasek, enough to keep the Canes in the game. Hey, but
we paid two million for a backup, so he's GOTTA be good!
Colorado, 3/18, 3-2 L
Patrick Roy was Patrick Roy and the Canes couldn't manage the
same sort of comeback against the Coyotes versus the Avs. Roberts
continues to be snakebit, having been stopped by Roy in the last
few minutes of the game at point blank range. Kovalenko scored,
and Francis -- get this -- got a power-play goal! And it was
fast, just over a minute into the first. Almost made up for the
loss. Almost.
