Showing posts tagged “Cam Ward”
Kate Shefte ·
30 Jan 2010, 10:25 PM ·
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Jussi Jokinen has been practically demanding that Team Finland hand over a roster spot with a letter of apology. File photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs
RBC CENTER/ RALEIGH—Tonight was the seemingly tall tale of how the second-best team in the NHL lost to the second-worst in front of 6,896 of the Hurricanes’ and Blackhawks’ most faithful Triangle fans…or at least, those with four wheel drive. Despite being outshot 41-24, Carolina won its fourth straight, 4-2, over a powerhouse Blackhawks team off Brandon Sutter’s go-ahead goal midway through the third period. Cam Ward played out of his mind to keep the Blackhawks off the board.
“It’s been a fun game,” Ward said. “Tonight we were playing against arguably against one of the best teams in the league and to be able to grab a win is a big confidence booster. We’ll be in good spirits going out west.”
When I say there was no one there to see it unfold, I really mean no one. Even the ‘Canes’ usual goal announcer didn’t brave the mess on I-40. Under seven thousand fans, approximately a third of what the building holds, made the trip while the rest will cash in their tickets at a later date with the approval of the ‘Canes’ brass.
Should they have canceled the game outright? It would have been costly and probably very difficult. Only once, at least as far as I can remember, has an NHL game been scrapped due to weather. That was in Denver, and no one was getting anywhere during that blizzard. The only unfortunate thing was that most North Carolinians were ill-equipped to get out and see a good West-East match-up and what proved to be an exciting game.
The fact that Carolina wasn’t down in the first ten minutes was an accomplishment in and of itself. The Blackhawks were up on the best team in the league, the San Jose Sharks 3-0 Thursday night. However, the Sharks came back to tie it and the ‘Hawks had to close it out in overtime, so perhaps a bit of that sloppiness carried over. In addition, Carolina has jumped out to uncharacteristically early leads in its last several games – all wins. Fancy that.
The first period included some excellent rebound control by Cam Ward and his defensemen even though their team was being out chanced. Ward stretched to deny Chicago from close in and Joni Pitkanen played some smart, legal defense stopped John Madden on a partial two-on-one.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey blizzard, Cam Ward, Chicago Blackhawks, doorstep, four game, Jussi Jokinen, Olympic break, Patrick Kane, RBC Center, road swing, snow, winning streak
Kate Shefte ·
28 Jan 2010, 10:22 PM ·
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Ward has had to scoop far fewer pucks out of the back of his net lately. File photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs
RBC CENTER/RALEIGH - There’s something fishy going on at the ol’ RBC right now…like, alternate dimension fishy. Carolina won its third in a row and fourth of five, the latter two of which were on back-to-back nights with commute. In addition, Eric Staal and Ray Whitney stretched their points streaks to seven games apiece and Staal reached a nice personal and franchise milestone with his assist on the empty-netter. The ‘Canes have tapped into some long-dormant potential and can’t seem to stop scoring, early and often.
Now, I’m someone who doesn’t mind admitting I’m wrong. It’s a good skill, I think, especially when it’s been known to happen. Chad LaRose is nowhere near the worst thing to happen to hockey since the “glowing puck” fiasco of the mid-90’s. Getting those free agents from Boston didn’t turn out to be quite the boon I thought it would be. And Staal seems quite taken with this whole captaincy thing, even though it initially appeared to be a no-win situation. The ‘Canes don’t seem to mind having him at the helm either. Staal scored the game’s first goal off his own rebound, his eighth in five games since donning the ‘C.’
And he’s not the only one. From the bottom up, Carolina looks better. All of the sudden, when any hope of recovery has all but gone the way of the dodo and players are just about to start being pawned off for draft picks, someone flipped the “on” switch on the back of the ‘Canes’ helmets. Three straight explosive starts, 21 goals in five games, some pretty decent numbers for Ward…maybe Taylor Hall shouldn’t be picking out red-and-black wallpaper just yet.
Ward says he sees the guys in front of him “making plays and not second guessing themselves.”
Let’s say it all together, folks: “Where has this team been all season?!” It’s not a matter of players coming back or a trade shaking things up. The exact same squad that stunk to high hell a few weeks ago is now looking like its posturing for home ice advantage. Could Staal really have had that much of a difference? Naaaah. (Right?)
Ward certainly thinks so. “He’s picked everyone else up. He’s the leader of this team and he’s playing at the top of his game right now,” he said.
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Uncategorized Cam Ward, captain, Eastern Conference, Eric Staal, hot streak, Jim Rutherford, Jussi Jokinen, Matt Moulson, New York Islanders, Rick DiPietro, standings, streak, trade
Kate Shefte ·
11 Jan 2010, 4:49 AM ·
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The captain has put together a pretty decent point streak. File photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs
RBC CENTER/RALEIGH - Two struggling stars and a pair of role players tallied in Carolina’s 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators Sunday afternoon. The ‘Canes had to grind it out for the win in front of hundreds of fans with ties to the armed forces on Military Appreciation Night.
The theme was even more appropriate because the game also served as the battle of the M*A*S*H units. If there was ever an NHL team with a vague knowledge of what the ‘Canes are going through, it’s the Senators. Though they currently sit in the top seven and could easily see a postseason, they have been absolutely slammed with injuries to top scorers. Chris Kelly was the only one who found a way around the zen Cam Ward tonight, but not for a lack of trying.
Andrew Alberts had an ugly giveaway a few minutes in right in front of his own net as his stick snapped when he tried to clear the zone. Ward had to flash out his glove in order to deny it.
All Aaron Ward seems to relied upon for these days is taking undisciplined penalties at inopportune times. He took one with a half minute left in the first and gave Ottawa a decent stretch of five-on-three, which they somehow couldn’t use.
The Sens did strike first, however, seven minutes into the second period. Chris Kelly didn’t have a good angle on Cam Ward but he somehow found a seam and roofed it to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead.
After a TV time-out, Brandon Sutter turned around and set up Tom Kostopoulos with a beauty off a two-on-one. Sutter maneuvered around his defender and put it right ahead of Kostopoulos, who tapped his fifth of the season easily past Pascal Leclair and went barreling into the boards.
Rod Brind’Amour followed up with a goal of his own, a one-timed blast from the blue line, with just under two minutes remaining in the middle period. The captain, who has had a lackluster 2009 campaign so far, has doubled his goal scoring in the first three games of the second half and is on a three-game scoring streak. Patrick Dwyer put the puck on his stick and he fired it through traffic past Leclair, who was screened by a moving Niclas Wallin.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Brett Carson, Cam Ward, Chris Kelly, Eric Staal, Ottawa Senators, Pascal Leclair, Ray Whitney, Rod Brind'Amour, sister in law
Kate Shefte ·
8 Jan 2010, 10:39 PM ·
3 Comments
Ward was 15 seconds away from shutting out Colorado, a margin he thinks might be his smallest ever. File photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs
RBC CENTER/ RALEIGH— Cam Ward looked like he wanted his first shutout of the year. Ray Whitney looked like he wanted his first hat trick in some time. And the ‘Canes looked like they wanted to give it to both of them. But both left some unfinished business on the table as Whitney couldn’t find an open net and a garbage goal with 15.5 seconds left spoiled Ward’s shutout bid.
This game looked ugly on paper, with the already struggling Carolina adding sleep deprivation to its growing list of maladies. The ‘Canes got in early this morning from Nashville and had to face Colorado, one of the “feel good” stories through the first half after reinventing itself and streaking to the top of the Western Conference, some 17 hours later. But the last game between these two teams was drama-filled and close, despite Carolina being in the middle of its 15-game bender, and this game was similar. The Avalanche couldn’t get anything past an injury ravaged team for the first 59 minutes and fell, 2-1, in Carolina.
Jiri Tlusty – whose immigration issues are all worked out now – put the ‘Canes behind early with a tripping penalty. During the penalty, Darcy Tucker wasted no time in settling an old score and squaring off with Tuomo Ruutu. Ruutu sent him into the boards headfirst the last time these two teams met, on Oct. 23, and knocked him out of action for eight games with a concussion. Ruutu incurred the wrath of the league, but that wasn’t enough for Tucker.
Occasionally these situations are overhyped and, ultimately, anticlimactic (see: Cole and Orpik) but Whitney said it wasn’t surprising Darcy was out for blood.
“It’s kind of a code of ethics. When you hit a guy the way he did and knock him out, you have to kind of answer it,” Whitney said. “He was a man about it and lined up with him. He did what was required in the game of hockey, and unfortunately, he hurt himself doing it. But as his teammates, you respect him even more for standing up and doing what was needed.”
Despite not being a frequent dropper of gloves, Ruutu held his own, landing two hard punches before tackling Tucker.
But Tucker got what he wanted. Ruutu won the fight but left the game with an upper-body injury and never returned. Coach Paul Maurice said it’s probably “more than day-to-day,” but he would have more information tomorrow. Is there even anyone left in Albany to call up? If all else fails, how about the stick boy?
“We’re almost at the point where when someone leaves the bench, we don’t expect them to come back,” Maurice said. “We can’t afford many more.”
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey board, Cam Ward, Colorado Avalanche, concussion, Darcy Tucker, fight, hit, penalty kill, Tuomo Ruutu, upper body injury
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 ·
1 Comment
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 ·
19 Dec 2009, 10:27 PM ·
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That's not illegal or anything...Ray Whitney is held up the last time Florida played Carolina in Raleigh. File photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs
RBC CENTER/RALEIGH – After yesterday’s winter weather headfake, 12,700 fans filled into the RBC Center to see some snow that hadn’t been washed away yet. What they saw was a game in which Carolina built a 3-0 lead through two periods and held on during a late scare for a 3-2 win.
Don’t look for blowouts from this Carolina team this season. It’s become a comical trend this season – the ‘Canes jump out to a large lead and can never hold onto it, allowing their opponents to get within one at least. The ability to survive the collapse with a scrap of the lead intact has given them most of their nine wins in 35 games.
After allowing five goals on 26 shots before being yanked from the net last night in Florida, Cam Ward was a steel trap for the first and second periods. Only luck and a rash of undisciplined play from his teammates ended that streak.
“We needed to respond and come up with a big effort,” Ward said. “I had a bit of a rough night last night with things not going as I hoped, but that was the good thing about it, being able to redeem ourselves within 24 hours in our home arena.”
The game started with a dizzying fight that saw Tom Kostopolous and Gregory Campbell spin around so many times you’d think they were auditioning to be sugarplum fairies in The Nutcracker. I wouldn’t say either won outright, but they get A’s for effort and B’s for form (toes pointed, gentlemen!)
Call-up Patrick Dwyer continued to impress as he opened the scoring against the Panthers in back-to-back nights. He absorbed a hit, then went to the net and waited for Matt Cullen to find him again. Ray Whitney got his 300th Hurricanes point with the secondary assist.
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Carolina Hurricanes 3-2, Cam Ward, fight, Florida Panthers, Gregory Campbell, home, Matt Cullen, Patrick Dwyer, RBC Center, Scott Clemmensen, Shawn Matthias, snow, Steve Reinprecht, streak, win
Kate Shefte ·
16 Dec 2009, 10:35 PM ·
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Tuomo Ruutu, seen here earlier this season in Carolina's thirds, starred in the 'Canes' effort against the Stars. File photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs
RBC CENTER/RALEIGH - No dejected one-liners, no sorry statistics. The ‘Canes got almost a complete effort night and downed the Dallas Stars, 5-3, Wednesday for their eighth win of the season. Carolina put on a show for its home crowd again and got its second consecutive hat trick on home ice (the last was Erik Cole’s against Vancouver last Saturday) thanks to Tuomo Ruutu’s first career hatter and a three-goal night from the power play.
White rally towels were given out to fans before the game so it looked more like a towel trick than a hatter, but Ruutu will take it.
“The hat trick feels good,” Ruutu said. “I’ve never scored one before and at the same time, I thought we played a great game. We won and now we’re playing some music in the locker room, and that’s fun.”
Jussi Jokinen got the ‘Canes on the board in the waning seconds of a power play. Bryan Rodney sprung him with a long pass and Jokinen took off, unleashing a shot from the left circle that Marty Turco got a chunk of. It skittered past him into the net.
Tuomo Ruutu took his countryman’s lead 1:44 later and followed it up with a stunning goal. He took a cross ice Eric Staal pass and spun around to dodge his defender, then deflected a shot past Turco.
Staal, whose scoring slump has started to gather some attention, took a feed in the crease for his fifth goal of the season. He looked like the franchise player of old with three points on the night. Jokinen got the primary assist on Staal’s goal and Rodney added to his total after being called up from Albany yesterday.
Jussi Jokinen felt so giving – with it almost being Christmas and all – that he decided to set up Dallas’ goal as well. 15 seconds into his hooking penalty, Steve Ott had a wide-open net and cut the lead to two.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey 2010, Cam Ward, Dallas Stars, Eric Staal, Europe, Fall, Finland, Finnish, hat trick, Joni Pitkanen, Jussi Jokinen, power play, slump, Tuomo Ruutu
Kate Shefte ·
8 Dec 2009, 12:05 AM ·
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Captain Rod Brind'Amour served as a healthy scratch against Pittsburgh after a career's worth of injuries caught up with him. File photo by Dreier Carr, IndyWeekBlogs
With more offensive bodies healthy than needed for a change, Carolina needed to kick someone to the curb – er – press box. Instead of sitting signee-that-didn’t-work-out Stephane Yelle, who has already been waived and passed over this season, or perhaps Scott Walker, who has been invisible on the ice these days (he wound up playing under seven minutes tonight,) who did the ‘Canes brass decide was expendable?
Yep. Oh captain, their captain, Rod Brind’Amour.
It isn’t often that an NHL team will sit its captain, even when he isn’t playing well. It’s a matter of respect and fear of upsetting chemistry. It also seems like it would send all sorts of mixed messages. But you know what? It worked. Carolina won its first game on the road over two months after the start of the season against defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh.
This move has been needed for a long time and it’s good to see that they finally had the stones to do it. Brind’Amour has passed the twilight of his career – he’s in statistic quicksand right now, having held on far past his expiration date. It’s almost painful seeing him go up and down the ice these days, and he’s a liability on and off the puck.
Eight points in 28 games and a team-worst -19 are the best way to back that assessment up. He’s still pretty good in the faceoff circle and clocks in at over 60 percent in his last seven games, but his ice time has dwindled. A lot of that isn’t his fault – this team has played horribly for the most part. But when you’re stuck in a bad season, your weaknesses tend to be more glaring obvious.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey 3-2, Andrew Alberts, Cam Ward, healthy scratch, Manny Legace, Martin Brodeur, Michael Leighton, Pittsburgh Penguins, plus minus, Ray Whitney, retire, road, Rod Brind'Amour, shut out
Kate Shefte ·
29 Oct 2009, 2:08 AM ·
1 Comment
{Insert witty, overused variant of "St. Louis gives 'Canes the Blues" caption here.} Photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs.
RBC CENTER/ RALEIGH—File this one under the “pathetic” category and call it a night.
The evening celebrated 10 years of Hurricanes hockey in the RBC Center – the first game in the building took place 10 years ago tomorrow – but there wasn’t much for the home crowd to celebrate in the ‘Canes’ seventh straight loss, one in which they came out strong but quickly fell flat. It was one of those games where, even though the home team trailed by two in the third, it seemed like much more.
The Blues, 12th in the West, made a mockery of Cam Ward’s goals-against, scoring four goals on 18 shots and added an empty netter en route to a 5-2 victory.
Since we’re on the topic of reasons Carolina is mired in this streak of horrendous play, here’s another reason – an inability to recover and learn from past mistakes. The ‘Canes have now given up two goals in less than a minute in five of 11 games this season. Perhaps they’ve taken a page out of N.C. State football’s game plan and let their team defense turn to mush. (I’m not bitter, swear.)
Both teams came for a fight in the first period and a hockey game broke out. Before the seventh minute had passed there were two circling, barefisted one-on-one fights featuring Jay Harrison and Brad Winchester and, later on, Tim Conboy and longtime NHL tough guy Cam Janssen.
In trying to stop the endless march to the penalty box – the ‘Canes are first in the league in penalty minutes and on pace to more than double last year’s season total – the new theory seemed to be, “if I’m going to the box, I’d might as well take one of them with me.” Harrison and Winchester unleashed their fists of fury three minutes in before things really started. Harrison got in a few good punches before both men fell to the ice.
Conboy vs. Janssen was far less exciting. Janssen got a hold of Conboy early, but Conboy ducked so far away he couldn’t get a good shot in. That one ended in a stalemate.
David Perron scored off a rebound while the majors expired. Three Blues players broke out from the boards after a session of little kid soccer – everyone standing in a circle, kicking it around without it ever really going anywhere – along the boards and before the ‘Canes really seemed to know what happened, Ward turned away a shot, Ray Whitney cleanly missed sweeping away the rebound and Perron put it behind Ward.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Blues, Cam Ward, David Perron, losing streak, Mo, Paul Maurice, postgame, St. Louis
