Showing posts tagged “Brandon Sutter”
Kate Shefte ·
26 Dec 2009, 10:37 PM ·
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Jussi Jokinen's late heroics earned the 'Canes a point, if not that coveted tenth win. File photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs
RBC CENTER/RALEIGH – In a match-up intriguing for its promise of old teammates and ousted coaches facing one another for the first time, the Philadelphia Flyers bested Carolina, 4-3, in the shootout. Both struggling teams saw their weaknesses exploited as Carolina fell into a large deficit through two periods but mounted a surprising comeback in the third as the Flyers fell flat.
The game was spookily similar to the teams’ season opener, a 2-0 loss at the RBC Center Oct. 2, even though the teams’ benches and expectations were radically different. The Flyers amassed a comfortable lead early and played shut down defense to maintain it, leading to a boring but effective game.
But a late ‘Canes comeback spoiled any chance of a similar outcome. Jussi Jokinen tallies sandwiched a Brandon Sutter goal and brought the ‘Canes back from a three goal third period deficit to force overtime. There, Leighton stoned two guys who were his teammates less than two weeks ago and won the game for the visiting team.
“He hasn’t played that much hockey this year and his confidence can’t be that high,” Jokinen said of Leighton. “We shot some pucks and we were able to score some ugly goals, which we haven’t been able to do this year. But we got one point and we wanted two, so that’s still a tough loss.”
Jokinen almost started the scoring off early. He batted it past Michael Leighton and it trickled toward the goal line, but Philadelphia’s Matt Carle saved it just before it went in.
Later on that same play, Mike Richards scored for the Flyers. Ward stopped the initial shot on a three-on-two but had the puck taken away from him and sent into the net.
The Flyers appeared to go-ahead goal moments later, and even though the goal light went on and the Flyers seemed pretty sure they scored, the puck was determined to have been batted into the net by someone’s glove. The referee on hand waived it off immediately.
Philadelphia got it back later in the first when Scott Hartnell sent a puck out to a pinching Jeff Carter, who caught Ward way out of the net and less square to the shooter than he probably would have liked.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Brandon Sutter, Cam Ward, Daniel Briere, Eastern Conference, Jeff Carter, Jussi Jokinen, Michael Leighton, Mike Richards, Peter Laviolette, Philadelphia Flyers, Scott Hartnell, shootout, standings, Tuomo Ruutu
Kate Shefte ·
23 Dec 2009, 10:21 PM ·
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Late addition standouts Legace and Sutter couldn't save the 'Canes tonight. File photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs
RBC CENTER/RALEIGH - After a stingy effort against the Rangers two days ago, Cam Ward lasted just nine and a half minutes in net against the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday at the RBC Center. Carolina dropped the game, 5-1, after handing out power play goals like Christmas presents. The game’s scoring started and finished with Aaron Ward in the penalty box.
Five goals allowed on 20 shots is embarrassing, but Carolina ran into yet another hot goalie in Jaroslav Halak. They put a season-high 47 shots on yet and managed one goal. Yeah.
“We had chances,” lone goal scorer Brandon Sutter said. “We were throwing pucks at the net and they weren’t going in. We just couldn’t keep up.”
Carolina’s stretch of almost penalty-free play came to a screeching halt 24 seconds in when Aaron Ward was whistled for boarding. The ‘Canes didn’t even look awake yet and couldn’t clear the zone, allowing Andrei Markov to score easily at the back door.
The Habs continued to pour it on when three minutes later, Niclas Wallin and Aaron Ward took a coffee break and allowed Andrei Kostitsyn to walk in easily and score from the same location.
Scott Gomez copped a ‘tude after earning himself a cross checking minor and the referees tacked on an unsportsmanlike conduct, giving Carolina four minutes to tie the score. I wasn’t at ice level, but I would be surprised of that one wasn’t a bit of a freebie for the ‘Canes. Brandon Sutter got his eighth and first in seven games when he picked up a Tim Gleason rebound and scored on Halak.
Carolina almost had one go the other way when the Habs rung one off the post. They came close, but didn’t score and immediately after the latter penalty expired, Andrei’s brother Sergei Kostitsyn scored his first of the season five-hole under a sliding Ward. The orchestra played the ‘Canes starter off the stage and Manny Legace assumed his spot.
Legace said he was ready to go, but his equipment wasn’t.
“I had to go in with my new set of pads, and they aren’t ready at all,” Legace said. “I sort of panicked in the first period a little bit.”
And so the ‘Canes amassed the final score of 3-1 Monday’s loss against New York in the first 9:32. Things did not look good, and with three minutes left, Glen Metropolit sent the puck high over Legace’s glove to make it 4-1.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey 5-1, Brandon Sutter, Cam Ward, Glen Metropolit, Jaroslav Halak, Manny Legace, Montreal Canadiens, pads, power play, pulled, two goals
Kate Shefte ·
15 Nov 2009, 5:21 PM ·
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RBC CENTER/ RALEIGH—When you haven’t won in over a month, any small edge you can get against your opponent will do. Saturday afternoon, two ‘Canes utilized knowledge of the man at the other end of the ice’s shootout tendencies and used that to earn Carolina’s first win since Oct. 9.
The ‘Canes connected for three goals on the power play, but that wasn’t enough to smother all their inadequacies. Two nights after erasing a three-goal lead against the Islanders, Carolina allowed the Wild to close the gap after holding 3-0 and 4-1 leads, respectively. But Jussi Jokinen put the moves on Niklas Backstrom in the shootout and Leighton stopped all three attempts to give the ‘Canes their first win in 15 tries, 5-4.
“Every bounce that they got was just like ‘wow,’” Leighton said. “You almost think, ‘what else could go wrong in that game.’ Everything that could have gone wrong in that game went wrong, except that we got the win.”
Jokinen scored from his knees (no pun intended?) right after a faceoff to give the ‘Canes an early lead. He took a pass from Tuomo Ruutu and was tripped up, which would have resulted in a power play had he not batted it by Backstrom back door.
A steady trickle of Minnesota players from the ice to the penalty box gave the Carolina power play a chance to catch fire. Bryan Rodney fed Joe Corvo for a goal with two minutes left in the first. Ruutu placed himself immovably in front of Backstrom, where he was for most of the period’s scoring chances, and screened the goalie while the shot made a beeline for the net.
Ruutu screened Backstrom again during a power play to the Wild’s Derek Boogaard and Ray Whitney sent another long shot through traffic that went off the post and in.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey 14 game, 15 game, 5-4, Brandon Sutter, first NHL goal, Jussi Jokinen, Minnesota Wild, Nicklas Backstrom, Ray Whitney, shootout, slump, Tuomo Ruutu, win
Kate Shefte ·
13 Nov 2009, 10:40 PM ·
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RBC CENTER/RALEIGH - Carolina made a baby step in the right direction during the latter portion of a 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders, picking up one point and coming within 14.4 seconds of a chance to seal their third win of the season in the shootout. Tuomo Ruutu sparked the ‘Canes again and got his third goal in two games and Tim Gleason tied it up late to complete a three-goal comeback and force the extra inning. There were signs of life on the Carolina bench tonight, but the Islanders started and finished stronger.
Even though it looked as though the ‘Canes had some jump early, Gleason took a roughing penalty three minutes in and heaped an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on top when he made his displeasure known.
That was when some kooky Friday the 13th luck bit the ‘Canes in the butts, as if they needed it. It took the Islanders 44 seconds to score one of the weirdest goals I’ve seen in a while. Matt Moulson sent a shot high and well over the net. It ricocheted of the glass perfectly and came right back in front of the net, where John Tavares batted it out of midair while Legace and his defensemen were looking around wildly.
The Islanders scored on the back end of the pair of penalties as well to sink the ‘Canes into a deeper hole. Mark Streit blasted one into the net with minimal traffic in front of Legace, who probably should have had that one.
“[Gleason]’s an honest guy. He doesn’t take a lot of stupid penalties,” Mo said after the game. “Usually an unsportsmanlike doesn’t come that early in the game – you get a bit of a lather, not a bake sale going on.” (Huh?)
The Islanders hit two posts in their quest to open a larger lead, but after an Aaron Ward tripping penalty expired, a pile-up in front of the net resulted in a 3-0 New York lead.
Brandon Sutter played with Erik Cole and Ray Whitney on the top line and finished with two assists.
“Our first was a little slow again, but we got through it,” Sutter said. “I can see how close we are. It’s just a matter of a bounce or two.”
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Add new tag, Brandon Sutter, Kyle Okposo, Marty Biron, New York Islanders, overtime, Tim Gleason, Tuomo Ruutu, unsportsmanlike, winless streak
Kate Shefte ·
6 Nov 2009, 10:21 PM ·
1 Comment
Sutter's attack on goal is fended off by a Maple Leaf's defenseman. Photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeek Blogs
RBC CENTER/RALEIGH - After so many weeks of struggling, this one looked laughably easy…for at least the first period. Propelled by its young call-ups, the ‘Canes came out strong but finished weak, falling to Toronto by a final tally of 3-2.
Gleason and Cullen wore the A’s in the places of injured Eric Staal and Ray Whitney. Aside from looking like a munchkin next to other NHL players, 5’10ish Zach Boychuk looked strong in his season debut. Brandon Sutter continued to be the only ‘Canes player who can put the puck in the net at will and scored his third of the season – the only three goals Carolina scored during a span of 180 minutes of play and change, incidentally.
“We let the lead slip, but I was getting a lot more chances, especially in the second and the third,” Boychuk mused. “I’m happy with the way I played.”
It was a battle of the underachievers, as Toronto and Carolina were tied for dead last in the league with seven points apiece coming into Friday night. This is the kind of game I like to call a “suck-off.” It doesn’t matter who wins – just who sucks less. Use it at will, but just remember Indy said it first.
Brandon Sutter picked up a loose puck and scored his third goal since being recalled from Albany. The guy there wasn’t room for in the roster to start the season is now second only to Ray Whitney in goal scoring.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey 11, basement, Brandon Sutter, Eastern Conference, eleven, game, Jason Blake, John Mitchell, Jonas Gustavsson, losing streak, Sergei Samsonov, suck-off, Toronto Maple Leafs
Kate Shefte ·
2 Nov 2009, 3:41 PM ·
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The News and Observer has the 411 about Eric Staal’s “upper body injury” sustained during the second period of the team’s 5-1 slaughter at the hands of the San Jose Sharks. Staal never returned after the period break. His 349-game iron man streak, which stretches back to his rookie year when he sat out one game with a torso injury, will likely come to an end this Wednesday at Florida. Staal has been rumored to have been playing through injury through the ‘Canes’ first 13 games, so maybe this break will get him back to full health.
As for who will take his place centering the top line, how about the only one who is finding the net?
Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey 349, Brandon Sutter, consecutive games, Eric Staal, Florida Panthers, injury, iron man, San Jose Sharks, second intermission, streak, upper body
Kate Shefte ·
29 Jan 2009, 10:17 PM ·
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Believe it, folks. Not the beating the Lightning part – the Hurricanes have done that four times this season. But in the win, Chad LaRose scored that elusive first shorthanded goal to tie the score at one.
The ‘Canes benefitted from a few calls early in the game. Martin St. Louis deflected a shot into the net just after a ‘Canes power play for too many men on the ice expired, but after a brief review, his stick was determined to have been above the crossbar.
After Anton Babchuk and Tuomo Ruutu combined for one ugly giveaway a few feet in front of the net, Mark Recchi got the goal right back for the Lightning.
LaRose took a heads-up pass from Matt Cullen at the boards and deflected it past Mike Smith for Carolina’s first shorthanded goal since March 28th, when Trevor Letowski scored with his team a man down in a 7-1 win against Atlanta.
“He was the first person I played with when I first got called up, so we’re familiar with each other,” LaRose said of Cullen. “We work well together.”
The CanesVision crew complied a touching tribute to N.C. State’s women’s basketball coach, Kay Yow, who died on January 24. The video montage showed several highlights of her career and featured Kay Yow’s ceremonial puck drop before a Carolina-Vancouver game last year. Yow, dressed all in pink, embraced captain Rod Brind’Amour before being escorted off the ice.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Brandon Sutter, Cam Ward, Chad LaRose, Eric Staal, hit, Martin St. Louis, Matt Cullen, shorthanded goal, shortie, Tampa Bay Lightning
Kate Shefte ·
8 Jan 2009, 1:20 AM ·
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The game was billed to be a father-son bonding experience for New Jersey head coach Brent Sutter and his son, Carolina forward Brandon, but Tuomo Ruutu and Sergei Samsonov stole the show and gave the Hurricanes their fourth straight victory. The team is 3-0 in the new year heading into tonight’s match-up in Sunrise, Florida.
Ray Whitney scored a minute and three seconds in to start the ‘Canes off in the right direction and put New Jersey on its heels. Sergei Samsonov scored his 200th career goal – last year, for him, it probably looked as though that would never happen – on the power play during the second period, and it looked as though that would be enough. However, Tuomo Ruutu’s third period goal off a tic-tac-toe play with Eric Staal and Anton Babchuk, turned out to be the game-winner. Ruutu soared through the air, Superman style, and fired the puck past New Jersey goaltender Scott Clemmensen. Babchuk had to move to avoid stepping on him as he slid over the ice, belly-first, and the goal horn sounded.
Perhaps Ruutu felt compelled to polish off his tarnished family name, as his older brother Jarko – a forward with the Ottawa Senators – broke the skin when he bit his opponent’s finger earlier in the night and later incurred a two-game suspension. This is the second time Jarko has been suspended this season. Here’s the video evidence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVLBUToVM4w&feature=related
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey 200th goal, bite, Brandon Sutter, Brent Sutter, finger, four, game, Jarko Ruutu, Sergei Samsonov, streak, Tuomo Ruutu, winning
Kate Shefte ·
19 Dec 2008, 12:44 AM ·
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Believe it or not, there were other contributions to the sports world tonight besides Tyler Hansbrough’s usurpation of the UNC all-time point holder title. Justin Williams scored his first of the year and Joe Corvo scored a beautiful goal-scorer’s goal in overtime to carry the Hurricanes over the Panthers in overtime. It was the resurgent Corvo’s second game-winner in as many games.
The ‘Canes have taken a lot of points from Florida over the years, spanning all the way back to 2002, but as a certain Emerald City resident once said, this is a horse of an entirely different color. Despite trading away the cornerstone of their offense, Olli Jokinen, in the offseason, the Panthers now sit three points behind the Hurricanes with a game in hand and are battling for Southeast supremacy.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Brandon Sutter, fight, Florida Panthers, goal, injury, Joe Corvo, Justin Williams, overtime, power play, Ray Whitney
Kate Shefte ·
18 Nov 2008, 10:19 PM ·
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For the second straight game, Caniacs had to sit through an entire half a game before they were allowed to “Wooo!” with Ric Flair.
(Speaking of Ric Flair, the ‘Canes staff managed to wheel him in to sound the warning siren before tonight’s game.)
Gone were the 10 and 11-goal contests of Montreal vs. Carolina games past. The Hurricanes were forced to win a nail biter over their storied playoff rivals from the north. Cam Ward finished the night with 29 saves and the ‘Canes managed 48 shots on Carey Prince, their largest total of the season thus far.
Sergei Samsonov finally got the monkey off his back and scored his first goal of the season. Ray Whitney potted one of his own, which turned out to be the game-winner, midway through the third.
“It’s a bit of a relief,” Samsonov said. “Whenever you get into a slump, it’s more of a confidence thing than anything, and it was good to see that one go in.”
The only thing that could have made the night better would have been a breakthrough Eric Staal goal, or at least a point – not that the franchise center didn’t come very, very close. Everyone on the team is all about getting Staal out of this scoring slump, because as the past few seasons have shown, as goes Staal, so go the Hurricanes. Staal came within millimeters; his perfectly-placed shot glanced off the side of the post during the Canes’ first power play of the night. He then appeared to have shoved it behind Habs goaltender Carey Price seconds later, only to have the netminder spit it right back out. He later zoomed in with Sergei Samsonov on a 2-on-1, but Price got over in time to stop his wrister.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Brandon Sutter, Eric Staal, Montreal Canadiens, Ray Whitney, Ric Flair, scoring, Sergei Samsonov, slump
