Showing posts tagged “Ray Whitney”
Kate Shefte ·
18 Mar 2010, 10:35 PM ·
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Whitney won the goal-that-mattered award tonight, though there were several other qualified candidates. File photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs
RBC CENTER/RALEIGH - Joe Corvo’s two-goal effort…Chad LaRose’s late heroics….Ray Whitney’s overtime wrister led his team to a 4-3 win over Thursday night. There we go.
If all the Washington goals had counted, the ‘Canes wouldn’t have even made it to overtime. But thanks to a Whitney tally in overtime, Carolina won just its second game of the year after going into the second period down a goal. Corvo’s pair couldn’t save the league-leading Capitals, who clinched the Southeast Division last week.
There were two noticeable absences on the ice tonight. League points leader Alex Ovechkin was serving the back end of a two-game suspension for another illegal hit. The ‘Canes announced today that Tim Gleason would miss three weeks with a broken bone in his foot, even though he’d already played two games with the injury. Oh, that Gleason.
“Gleason’s probably the leader of our back end,” defenseman Brett Carson said. “He battles night after night. Obviously not having him in meant some other guys had to step up and play some minutes and I thought we did a pretty good job.”
Carolina got an early break when an apparent goal off the hand of Mike Knuble was waved off immediately with a few minutes left into the first period.
Scott Walker and Corvo have both seen dramatically different and ever-shrinking roles with their new club, the Capitals. Walker sat as a healthy scratch for Washinton’s last two games, but due to injury and suspension, he was called upon to suit up tonight. Corvo got things started when he picked up a rebound to make it 1-0 and Walker got the secondary assist. Corvo memorably scored a hat trick the first time he faced the Ottawa Senators after they traded him, and obviously that was the start of a trend of sorts as he wound up close to another tonight.
“[Corvo] played well. It’s kind of a habit for him to score against his old teams, and I read in the paper today that he wasn’t even pissed off at us,” Whitney said. “If he was, we really would have been in trouble.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Alex Ovechkin, Brett Carson, Chad LaRose, injury, Joe Corvo, overtime, Ray Whitney, Southeast division, suspension, Tim Gleason, Washington Capitals
Kate Shefte ·
11 Mar 2010, 10:27 PM ·
1 Comment
LaRose had a scary moment tonight, but came back for the remainder of the 'Canes' 4-3 overtime win against the Penguins. File photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs
Newbie Brian Pothier and call-up Justin Peters were the heroes tonight as Pothier scored his first Hurricane goal in dramatic fashion 23 seconds into overtime against the defending Stanley Cup champs. Peters backstopped the ‘Canes to a 4-3 win with a 37-save performance.
I’m sure you all enjoyed Jeff Hamlin’s Ottawa recap last week (and David’s far less ridiculous headline) and I have to say, it gave me a little hope. Had I really been so out of it that I hadn’t realized how far this recent surge propelled the Hurricanes forward? No other team can top the ‘Canes’ 8-1-1 record in their last 10 games. But no – still fourth to last in the league. But wait…eight points back? How is that possible? History says all but one team in the top-8 in the Eastern Conference will make it to the postseason. But it’s okay to dream, right?
Peters said the team is going to keep going until it’s mathematically eliminated, and probably well afterward.
“We’re just going to keep fighting,” Peters said. “There’s no quit in this locker room.”
The Penguins pounced on the tired-looking ‘Canes early. Carolina left Jordan Staal alone with plenty of time and space less than two minutes in and he wristed a puck past Justin Peters. Later, on a Patrick Dwyer penalty, Peters couldn’t find the puck and Bill Guerin was happy to assist him.
“At times we looked tired tonight, but we battled through it,” Pothier said.
Sergei Gonchar had a blonde moment and checked Chad LaRose headfirst into the boards. It turned out to be far less nasty than it looked because LaRose popped right back up with an indignant look on his face. 10 seconds into the penalty, Ray Whitney sent a long Joni Pitkanen one-timer whistling past Brent Johnson to make it 2-1.
Jussi Jokinen was felled by a high stick behind the Pittsburgh net and went to the bench with a bloody nose. Somehow that one escaped the referees’ attention. But on the next play, Zach Boychuk made the Pens pay with a nasty, unassisted backhand that seemed to completely befuddle Johnson. I hope even as an NHL regular, Boychuk doesn’t lose that youthful appreciation for each and every goal, because he celebrated his latest as though it was his first.
“It feels nice to score a good one, especially against Sidney Crosby and the Pens,” Boychuk said. “It’s been a lot of fun – one night [Alex] Ovechkin, the next night Crosby.”
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Brent Johnson, Brian Pothier, concussion, elbow, Justin Peters, Matt Cooke, overtime, Pascal Dupuis, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ray Whitney, Washington Capitals, Zach Boychuk
Kate Shefte ·
12 Feb 2010, 3:22 PM ·
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Two Hurricanes apparently not long for this franchise celebrate Cullen's goal Tuesday against Florida. File photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs
Jim Rutherford is true to his word. Just this week, he vowed that Matt Cullen would be gone before the Olympic break and Ray Whitney would depart right afterward, and today he pulled the trigger on a trade that send Cullen packing for third-place Ottawa just before the trade freeze took effect at 3 p.m Cullen will get a cushy role as possible second-line center in Ottawa and he’s almost assuredly playoff-bound.
Carolina allowed Cullen to head north once before, only that time in free agency, due to money issues. Neither party liked how that one worked out. Cullen is like the lost puppy who keeps finding his way home, and like Niclas Wallin, once Carolina gets its act together no one would be surprised to se him come back. He’s a free agent this summer and could easily be back if Ottawa doesn’t offer him a contract extension. But if he doesn’t return, at least he gave us this beauty – his last goal in a ‘Canes sweater – to remember him by.
In return, the ‘Canes collected another second-round pick and second season NHL defenseman Alexandre Picard. There are actually two guys by that name in the NHL, but this one is 24 and an Ottawa native. He’s already suited up for three teams in his short tenure, and one stat that stands out is that he scored all six of his goals on the power play in 2008-2009. Not a bad sign. It seems as though he’s sort of fizzled out during his last two city stops, with Ottawa ganking many of his minutes this season before finally trading him. Perhaps he’ll find his happy place here in Carolina.
So now we know. It doesn’t matter how well the Hurricanes do down the stretch; JR his put the kibosh on this season and is moving forward, pawning off role player for picks. I don’t know that I see the Hurricanes continuing to excel (as they did in last night’s convincing 4-3 overtime victory over fifth-place Buffalo) after the Olympic break with Whitney gone, but this team has finally found the chemistry it so desperately needed in the first half of the season, so perhaps it doesn’t matter. Jussi Jokinen seems perfectly willing to do it all himself anyway.
Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Alexandre Picard, Matt Cullen, Olympic break, Ottawa Senators, Ray Whitney, trade, trade freeze
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 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 ·
5 Dec 2009, 5:11 PM ·
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Carolina survived a late mini collapse and got a hard-earned sixth win at home Sunday afternoon. Erik Cole’s sixth career hat trick – second all-time in franchise history – lifted Carolina over the Vancouver Canucks, 5-3. The ‘Canes made it hard on themselves yet again but didn’t surrender the equalizer and cooled the streaking Canucks, who had won four of their last five.
The win came at the end of a relatively busy week for past, present and future Hurricanes. Rutherford executed a minor deal, sending the rights to 2009 first round pick Philippe “Ron Francis Jr.” Paradis to Toronto in exchange for forward (and amateur porn star - Google fiends will know what I’m talking about) Jiri Tlusty. Tlusty will probably spend must of his time in the minors this season but could join the big league next year.
In addition, Carolina will not have longtime assistant coach Kevin McCarthy calling the shots in practice as he rejoined Peter Laviolette, who finally got hired by an NHL team. The duo will try and pick the Philadelphia Flyers up out of their slump (those who have watched the ‘Canes this season will snort derisively. “Please, you call THAT a slump? We haven’t even won on the road…”) McCarthy was relegated to a box far above the action after Francis came along and will probably take a more active role with the Flyers, not to mention rejoin several old buddies. Break out the Dubble Bubble and hair gel, because Laviolette is back in business. If history repeats, the Flyers will probably win the cup this year.
But now, back to Raleigh. The ‘Canes looked surprisingly fresh after a five day break between games.
“Typically when you lose five in a row, you don’t want to have four days off because it means your coach is going to hand it to you,” Ray Whitney said. “Thankfully, he was good to us. I think it helped give some guys who were laboring for a few weeks some time off. We had five days to think about it and we responded.”
Manny Legace was pretty incredible in turning away 33 shots on goal Sunday, many of them tough looks. He started things off with an incredible block during a penalty to Aaron Ward.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey 5-3, Andrew Raycroft, Erik Cole, Flyers, hat trick, hatter, Jiri Tlusty, Kevin McCarthy, Peter Laviolette, Philippe Paradis, Ray Whitney, road trip, Vancouver Canucks
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 ·
1 Nov 2009, 6:13 PM ·
1 Comment
Happier times in Carolina. Photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs
RBC CENTER/ RALEIGH—Last season, a shootout victory over San Jose started the Carolina Hurricanes on the path to turning their season around. This year, it was just more of the same.
After sleepwalking through the month of October, the ‘Canes didn’t ring in the new month with any sort of inspired showing and fell prey to the same sort of simple mistakes in losing to the visiting San Jose Sharks, 5-1. Reinserting Erik Cole (back from injury) and Tuomo Ruutu (who finished his three-game suspension yesterday) did nothing to help the ‘Canes, who dropped their ninth straight game. Carolina hasn’t gone in a skid quite this bad since it went winless in its final 11 games of the 2002-2003 season.
And to be fair, the ‘Canes haven’t just lost – they’ve face planted. After today’s matinee and yesterday’s 6-1 loss to Philadelphia on the road, the team has allowed 16 goals in three games, often in bunches, and hasn’t scored to make up the difference. The team’s stars seem to be in stunned silence and the veterans still think they’re on summer vacation. When Brandon Sutter and Jay Harrison seem to be the only ones awake and Scott Walker is giving you your best scoring chances, something is very, very wrong.
Meanwhile, San Jose added their weekly highlight reel contributions, displaying their considerable depth and ability to score from all over the depth chart and at any angle. Evgeni Nabokov was incredible, stopping 25 of 26 shots in acrobatic fashion. Well, maybe it wasn’t so acrobatic after all – it just looked very impressive compared to the flailing antics at the other end.
Ray Whitney, who was honored before the game for his 1000th NHL appearance in front of the team that drafted him and the team with which he will likely finish his career, had his chance with the first period half gone, slipping past two Sharks defenders and walking in alone. Though Nabokov easily turned his shot away, it got the crowd excited, at least temporarily.
After the game, Whitney was the first to bluntly address his current team’s shortcomings.
“Obviously, I want to get our asses out of this,” Whitney said. “We can’t afford to be running around like this much longer, with the standings the way they are.”
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey 1000, 5-1, Eric Staal, Evgeni Nabokov, injury, losing streak, Ray Whitney, Rod Brind'Amour, San Jose Sharks, upper body
Kate Shefte ·
21 Oct 2009, 1:52 AM ·
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Ray Whitney (Gregg Forwerck, Carolina Hurricanes)
Before the ‘Canes face off against the New York Islanders on the road tonight, Ray Whitney will suit up for the thousandth time - quite impressive, for a guy who was never supposed to make it to the NHL.
Bought out once and waived twice, Mr. Wizard seems to have found the right formula in Carolina. His point production has taken off during his time with the ‘Canes and he has been one of the team’s most consistent scorers, as he has escaped the lengthy scoring droughts that plague that other franchise star.
Part of that, inevitably, can be chalked up to flying under the radar. Though he is usually one of the more visible players on the ice, he is hardly thought of as one of the league’s leaders, even with the statistics he has quietly amassed (306 goals, 815 points.) Despite this, he has only finished in the positive in plus-minus once during his career in Carolina.
Graciously listed at 5′10, what the winger lacks in size he makes up for in personality. He famously cost NBC a good chunk of change when he dropped the f-bomb on national television while lifting the Stanley Cup and sneaks into the camera shot to make funny faces at the camera while his teammates are being interviewed in the pregame, among countless other memorable moments.
Whitney joins some pretty lofty company in the 1000 club. Here are some statistics compiled by the ‘Canes’ statistic whizzes:
Whitney will become the fourth player in Carolina franchise history to play his 1,000th NHL game with the team, joining Rod Brind’Amour (Nov. 15, 2002 vs. PHI), Glen Wesley (Jan. 20, 2001 vs. LA) and Brian Propp (March 2, 1994 vs. LA).
Whitney ranks 73rd all-time among 1,000-game players in points-per-game average (.815).
Since the start of 2005-06, when Whitney joined the Hurricanes, the team has gone 164-110-25 (.590) when he is in the lineup.
Players reaching the 1,000-game milestone in 2008-09: Adam Foote, Bret Hedican, Jason Arnott, Todd Marchant, Brian Rolston, Kris Draper, Miroslav Satan, Jason Smith, Chris Pronger, Kirk Maltby, Patrice Brisebois, Sean O’Donnell, Rob Neidermayer, Brad May and Ian Laperriere. Martin Brodeur achieved the milestone earlier this season.
Players likely to achieve the 1,000-game milestone this season: Donald Brashear, Bryan McCabe, Radek Dvorak, Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, Daymond Langkow, Daniel Alfredsson, Sergei Gonchar and Craig Conroy.
He’s also the only remaining active member of the San Jose Sharks’ inaugural team.
Congratulations, Mr. Whitney. You’ve earned it, however unconventionally.
In a no less important subplot, the ‘Canes are seeking their first road win of the season at Nassau Coliseum against the winless Islanders in what will either be a suck-off or either team’s coming-out party. ‘Canes fans will get a glimpse of No.1 overall draft pick John Tavares at work and try and put an end to this hemorrhage of penalty minutes that has come with being a bulked-up, more physical team. Half-injured (or half healed, depending on how you want to look at it) minute eaters Staal, Joni Pitkanen and Aaron Ward are reportedly in the line-up.
The big ‘if’ of the game will be whether the ‘Canes will try and stoop to meet their opponent’s pace after back-to-back tough losses. On the other end of the ice is an equally hungry Islanders team who could make them look rather foolish.
Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey 1000 games, John Tavares, New York Islanders, physical, Ray Whitney, winless
Mike Potter ·
14 Oct 2009, 10:54 PM ·
1 Comment
RBC CENTER/RALEIGH Back in the saddle.
If you’re keeping score this is my first Carolina Hurricanes game for Triangle Offense, pinch-hitting for talented young regular beat writer Kate Shefte who was unable to be at tonight’s game. Don’t worry, she’ll be back soon.
Until May I had been the Hurricanes beat writer for the Incredible Shrinking Durham Herald-Sun ever since this building opened in 1999 (and probably still have written about more total wins, losses and ties in this building than anyone else.) Until the day after Game 7 of Carolina’s storied upset of the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, that is, when the Paxton Media suits in Kentucky decided they would replace me with so much air and pocket the big salary.
Anyway, Carolina’s home games in the Eastern Finals against the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Penguins were the first Hurricanes playoff games in the state I did not witness in person.
Pittsburgh, of course, summarily dismissed the Hurricanes in four games, so Carolina should have a bit of a chip on the shoulder coming into tonight’s contest.
Pittsburgh comes in with a 5-1 record, tied with the New York Rangers for the league lead in points, and is perfect in four road games so far. The 2-3 Hurricanes are wearing their black “third jerseys.”
And the Hurricanes recover from a 2-0 deficit after two periods on a pair of Ray Whitney (pictured) goals to tie the score before Chris Kunitz beats Cam Ward five-hole in the third sudden-death round of shootout attempts for a 3-2 Pittsburgh win.
There are always a lot of side stories with this game. Eric Staal and his brother Jordan, who plays for the Penguins, were both at Canada’s most recent Olympic training camp - along with brother Marc who is a defenseman for the Rangers. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is of course on that roster as are both goalies, the Hurricanes’ Ward and the Penguins’ Marc-André Fleury. In an aside, Fleury was the No. 1 pick in the league’s 2003 draft in Nashville while Eric Staal was No. 2. Continue reading »
Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Alex Goligoski, Cam Ward, Chris Kunitz, Craig Adams, Dan Bylsma, Eric Staal, Evgeni Malkin, Joe Corvo, Joni Pitkanen, Jordan Staal, Jussi Jokinen, Marc Andre Fleury, Marc Staal, Matt Cullen, Michael Rupp, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Pascual Dupuis, Paul Maurice, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ray Whitney, Sidney Crosby, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tim Gleason, Tom Kostopoulos, Tuomo Ruutu
