Showing posts tagged “Michael Leighton”
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 ·
15 Dec 2009, 5:15 PM ·
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There were some interesting developments in Carolinaland today. Oh no, the ‘Canes haven’t gone anywhere. They’re dead last in the league and as the injuries continue to mount, it may take a little divine intervention to keep Taylor Hall off this squad. But Philadelphia plucked its third former Hurricane and second goaltender out of limbo today, pulling Michael Leighton off re-entry waivers to join John Grahame (on a try-out with Philly’s affiliate) and Peter Laviolette in the City of Brotherly Love. Leighton re-joins the team he started four games for in 06-07.
Philly is in a similar situation to the one the ‘Canes were in a few short weeks ago and are desperate for goaltending help. They’re looking everywhere, including wherever John Grahame crawled out of (were their options really that limited?) After an unsuccessful stint in the KHL last season, Grahame didn’t play this year but could now share time with the guy who took his job. I also seem to remember Laviolette being rather vocal about not having any faith in Grahame when both were here. There’s just all sorts of awkwardness going on there that makes being in Carolina sound at least a little more appealing for the time being.
And now, back 345ish miles in a southwesternish direction to Raleigh. Furthering the evidence that those Beantown leftovers have started to go bad, Aaron Ward was placed on waivers today after not even looking like the same person Carolina won the cup with through 30 games. I was pretty stoked about his return to Raleigh, like many others, but it hasn’t worked out the second time around. He could be claimed, assigned, or maybe just kind of marinate there like Stephane Yelle did. Carolina will wind up paying for at least some of the remainder of his $2.5 million salary.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Aaron Ward, Michael Leighton, Philadelphia Flyers, Tim Gleason, waivers
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 ·
30 Nov 2009, 11:33 PM ·
1 Comment
RBC CENTER/ RALEIGH—Caniac Nation couldn’t take another five-goal third period meltdown, and thankfully the ‘Canes provided an alternative – they lost this one the old-fashioned way. 39 shots on goal and a very late – like, 14 seconds left in the game late – Matt Cullen comeback bid didn’t pan out and the ‘Canes dropped their fifth in a row.
The entire game was a sideshow to the drama that unfolded in the first period, which saw Alex Ovechkin deliver an illegal blow and injure himself in the process. But while the Capitals recovered from the loss of their unequivocal leader, Carolina couldn’t muster enough to win after losing underrated defenseman Joe Corvo to injury.
***UPDATE: The ‘Canes announced this morning that Corvo will miss 8-10 weeks after undergoing surgery. He has been placed on injured reserve.***
Corvo got the scoring started four and a half minutes in on the power play when he scooped up a Tuomo Ruutu rebound and found a way around Jose Theodore.
Corvo strikes early in the first period, though would soon leave the ice with a sliced-up leg. Photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs
After that, Carolina players started dropping like flies. Less than a minute after his goal, Corvo sidestepped an innocent looking hit in front of his own bench from Washington’s Karl Alzner. But as Alzner skated away, Corvo clutched the back of his leg as Alzner’s skate cut it. He was helped back to the locker room, almost having to be carried by six Carolina trainers.
Corvo was taken to the hospital immediately to get the cut closed. Hopefully it isn’t too serious – the ‘Canes have had more than enough deep lacerations for one autumn.
Maurice knew just about as much as everyone else after the game, though he said it was a “significant” injury.
“He went to the hospital. He’s stable, he’s fine,” Mo said. “We won’t know the extent of the injury until the doctor looks at it and sees how deep it is and what [the blade] caught.”
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Ovechkin, hit, Joe Corvo, knee, laceration, Michael Leighton, Nicklas Backstrom, surgery, suspension, Tim Gleason, Washington Capitals
Kate Shefte ·
11 Apr 2009, 4:40 AM ·
3 Comments
The trophies we would give out if, you know, we gave out trophies...
Well, fans, we’re finally here. The playoffs are headed back to the Triangle. After 81 tough games and half a season of nervously watching the standings, Caniac Nation will finally be able to show what it’s made of again on the national stage. Forget home-ice advantage; after getting hot at exactly the right time, the team that many had written off halfway through February can now finish no lower than sixth place.
“We’ve played phenomenal for a long while now. We’re a team that I wouldn’t want to face in the playoffs, and we’re looking forward to that,” Eric Staal said after the Buffalo drubbing on Thursday night. Even after that loss, it’s hard not to be confident, even with the threat of a first-round match with the tough, talented Philadelphia Flyers looming on the horizon.
In honor of today’s final regular season match-up against the New Jersey Devils, I thought it might be cool to honor (and crack on) a few of the performances this season. If the ‘Canes make some noise in the playoffs, maybe we’ll distribute some more fake awards around in a few weeks. But for now…the first annual Triangle Offensies!
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey awards, Cam Ward, end, Eric Staal, Michael Leighton, playoffs, Ray Whitney, regular season, Tim Gleason, Tuomo Ruutu
Kate Shefte ·
6 Feb 2009, 2:39 AM ·
10 Comments
The Carolina Hurricanes took down an opponent that, on paper, they didn’t stand a chance against – the Western Conference-leading San Jose Sharks. Carolina limped into the hostile confines of the HP Pavilion down a captain, a grinder veteran, and two starting defensemen, but held up against a team that has gone 23-2-3 at home so far this season. However, with this win came some horrifying news: Eric Staal went to the locker room for the second intermission and didn’t return. He has been smacked with another horribly vague “lower body” label and is questionable for Saturday at Phoenix.
The ‘Canes crawled back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits for the second game in a row. However, this time they held strong in the final minute and took it to overtime. Sergei Samsonov and Tuomo Ruutu scored in the shootout and goaltender Michael Leighton, playing in relief of Cam Ward, stood on his head and turned away 37 shots in regulation and OT and two of three in the shootout.
(To put things in perspective, this was the first time the Sharks have dropped two in a row at home in over a year. Yeah.)
Oh, where to begin? There are so many plot lines to choose from. The Hurricanes’ supporting players had to band together and tough it out against the high-scoring Sharks without their captain and leading goal scorer. Ray Whitney, Leighton and Matt Cullen – who, up until a few games ago, was having a stinker or a season – carried the team on their shoulder pads to victory. Cullen, who has 11 points in 9 games, scored on a penalty shot just after San Jose jumped out to a two-goal lead. The call itself was questionable; Cullen was clearly hooked from behind while skating in alone, but he was not denied a good scoring chance. In any case, Cullen brought one of his vintage moves out of storage and beat Evgeni Nabokov cleanly. Later in the game, Cullen sent an absolutely breathtaking – no seriously, look for it on highlight reels – pass to a wide-open Ray Whitney to tie it up. Cullen had two Sharks defensemen on him, but passed the puck behind his back to Whitney at the right circle who knocked it home.
Leighton took over for Ward, who had started 17 consecutive games for the ‘Canes, and showed the same form he displayed in Albany last season against the far more talented Sharks. I didn’t think Ward played all that terribly against Vancouver, but clearly Maurice saw differently. However, it turned out to be the right choice as Leighton was the difference in this game.
Call-up Jakub Petruzalek, making his Hurricanes debut this season after Rod Brind’Amour went down with an injury, scored his first NHL point with an assist on Sergei Samsonov’s goal, which made the score 3-2. And it was a beauty. Petruzalek watched the incoming Samsonov from the boards and passed it right onto his moving stick. Samsonov deflected the puck neatly past Nabokov while being tugged at by a Sharks player.
Although Samsonov had a goal and the deciding tally in the shootout and Cullen and Leighton both made strong cases, the underrated Anton Babchuk was named the game’s first star after a stellar defensive effort. Babchuk played just under 26 minutes and blocked 6 shots.
Of course, the shootout must be addressed. The Hurricanes were so abysmal in the shootout last season that when the clock hit 0:00 after overtime, it was basically a death sentence. Maurice went with his hot hands: Ruutu, Cullen, and Samsonov, though none of the three have scored consistently mono-a-mono. Cullen’s tricksy moves didn’t work this time around, but Ruutu and Samsonov converted and Leighton took care of the rest. For once, the Hurricanes had all the momentum they could possibly have generated going into the SO and that was just the tonic they needed.
This was a throwaway game, but somehow the badly-depleted Hurricanes turned it into a match that could quite possibly turn the season around. They will put that to the test against the Coyotes, who are also gunning hard for a playoff spot, on Saturday at 9:00 EST.
(Carolina got its happy ending tonight, but hopefully Staal will be back against the Coyotes. Otherwise, the Hurricanes might be in deep six. Just throwing it out there.)
Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Anton Babchuk, Eric Staal, HP Pavilion, injury, Jakub Petruzalek, lower body, Matt Cullen, Michael Leighton, Ray Whitney, San Jose Sharks, Sergei Samsonov, shootout, western conference
Kate Shefte ·
16 Dec 2008, 9:10 PM ·
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The Hurricanes fell twice in the shootout in their two match-ups since that convincing win against Washington last Sunday, a 6-5 loss at Philadelphia and a 3-2 loss against the Rangers. In the latter game, they barely made it to the extra inning; in the former, they surrendered a four-goal lead in the third period. The loss, in which the ‘Canes led 5-1 with 19 minutes remaining, was one the Hurricanes would rather forget, but at least the Flyers fans in attendance were able to witness history; it was Philadelphia’s biggest comeback in almost 20 years.
Philly’s Scott Hartnell notched a hat trick to put Hurricanes fans watching from home on the ends of their seats, but the Flyers weren’t done; the Hurricanes’ young defense collapsed and allowed Scotty Upshall and Simon Gagne to tie it up and prompted the crowd to hit a new decibel, never before heard by human ears. The Hurricanes limped into overtime, confidence shattered, and made nothing of a 4-on-3 power play. Gagne scored the deciding shootout goal, and Rod Brind’Amour and Tuomo Ruutu – the only ‘Canes to have won a shootout for their team this year, against the Tampa Bay Lightning – managed weak shots on Antero Nittymaki, which were enthusiastically turned away. A three-point effort by Eric Staal went to waste and Michael Leighton quickly became the scapegoat of the game after his shootout save attempt on Gagne saw him lying on his back, well out of the crease, while the puck soared over him into an empty net.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey comeback, Eric Staal, four-goal, hat trick, Michael Leighton, Philadelphia Flyers, save, Scott Hartnell, shootout
Kate Shefte ·
7 Dec 2008, 8:26 PM ·
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This time, it was the Capitals that suffered a heartbreaking, late-game letdown. With the score tied at one late in the third, Carolina’s marquee names came up huge and scored two goals in a span of two minutes and seven seconds, giving the Hurricanes their second win in eight games and their first during the second coming of Paul Maurice.
Eric Staal scored the game-winner, his first since Nov. 21 against Phoenix, and Ray Whitney added his second of the night with an insurance marker. The ‘Canes snapped an eight game losing streak and crawled within four points of the Southeast-leading Capitals.
What a difference one game makes. The Hurricanes, who couldn’t score first, score more than two, or climb back into the game late did all three tonight. Oh, and backup goaltender Michael Leighton stopped “Alexander the Great” on a penalty shot. No biggie.
“It’s not a guy you want to give a penalty shot to,” Leighton said sardonically, “but sometimes you’d rather almost take the penalty so you can set it up and get ready for it.”
Ray Whitney scored his eighth of the season 13:18 into the first, snapping a 12-game streak in which Carolina gave up the first goal.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Alex Ovechkin, Alexander, Anton Babchuk, defensemen, Eric Staal, Injuries, Michael Leighton, Paul Maurice, penalty shot, Ray Whitney, save, third period
Kate Shefte ·
7 Nov 2008, 10:23 PM ·
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The ‘Canes can’t seem to decide whether or not they’re a third period team. Tonight, they most definitely were.
Carolina came off last night’s bitter defeat only to face the white-hot Senators, who were 4-0-1 in their last five games.
The Hurricanes might have fallen behind early if not for a sneaky, ninja-like move by Michael Leighton, who started in net in place of Cam Ward. The puck dribbled behind Leighton as he went into a split,
Joe Corvo (courtesy of Gregg Forwerck, Carolina Hurricanes)
but the goaltender reached over the goal line and covered the puck. The play was reviewed, but the video couldn’t confirm whether or not it crossed the line because Leighton’s glove covered it.
“It was kind of a scramble in front of the net,” Leighton said. “I felt it hit the back of my leg and I reached back to get it. The ref said that the glove blocked it, and if it went over, it was a good move.”
The Hurricanes’ 2005-2006 regular-season workhorse Martin Gerber was giving up some juicy rebounds for the ‘Canes, but the team couldn’t get a stick on them or catch a lucky bounce. The Senators’ Mike Fisher broke through with 1:52 left in second, trailing Daniel Alfredsson and snagging the rebound. Leighton never had a chance.
The only place the Hurricanes looked at home for much of the game was on the power play, a far cry from just a few games ago when they couldn’t make anything happen with the man advantage. Dennis Seidenberg scored from the point at 11:06 of the third on the power play.
It seems to take a match-up against his former team to get Joe Corvo pumped and ready, and the defenseman played an inspired game. After three consecutive blasts from the point in the second period, he went back and sacrificed his body to cut off a pass that, more likely than not, would have resulted in a goal. He scored a hat trick the last time he faced the team he played for from 2005-2008 and managed to get into the scoresheet twice, even with the night’s meager offensive output. He notched the secondary assist on Seidenberg’s goal and potted one of his own, the game-winner.
“It’s something special,” Corvo said. “It’s crazy that things like that keep happening.”
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey American, Coach, Dennis Seidenberg, Joe Corvo, Michael Leighton, Ottawa Senators, Peter Laviolette
Kate Shefte ·
3 Nov 2008, 1:19 AM ·
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With both teams having played last night – Toronto mounted an improbable comeback against the New York Rangers and Carolina fell to Edmonton, 3-1 – this game featured a battle of the backup goaltenders. Curtis Joseph was in for Toronto and Michael Leighton manned the net for Carolina.
Peter Laviolette reportedly took his team to task this morning for its third period effort against Edmonton. Instead of coming out like a lion, Carolina barely mewed in the first period, managing one shot on goal in the first 15 minutes. In (miraculously) the only goal of the first period, the ‘Canes defense allowed Ian White to stand in front of Michael Leighton for a good few seconds and pick his shot. White was playing in his first game of the season after serving as a healthy scratch for Toronto’s first 11 games of the season.
“Everyone was playing on their heels, not really skating and playing a little bit cautious,” Ray Whitney said. “At times this year, our problem has been that we’re thinking before we’re actually moving.”
Sergei Samsonov and the Hurricanes’ power play finally got on the board in the second period. Samsonov finally ended his dry streak with the secondary assist on Joe Corvo’s power play goal and received thunderous applause.
Mikhail Grabovski scored twice to put the Leafs ahead 3-1. The second was the only truly weak goal of the night; the Hurricanes couldn’t recover the puck, and left Leighton standing upright and far out of position.
That’s when the ‘Canes came alive. Whitney and Dwight Helminen scored 1:17 apart late in the second, and Tuomo Ruutu scored 2:13 later. Helminen, called up from Albany last Monday, tallied his first NHL goal and assist in his second game in the big leagues.
“I think I’ve shown that I can compete at this level and make some plays,” Helminen said of his efforts.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Chad LaRose, Dwight Helminen, Ian White, Michael Leighton, Ray Whitney, Steve Dangle, Toronto Maple Leafs
