Showing posts tagged “Rod Brind’Amour”
David Fellerath ·
5 Mar 2010, 1:46 AM ·
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Kate Shefte couldn’t catch tonight’s Hurricanes game, so Jeff Hamlin stepped in to file this report. Kate will return when the Hurricanes next play at home, March 11 versus the Pittsburgh Penguins.
RBC CENTER/ RALEIGH—There was some scoreboard watching among Carolina Hurricanes fans at the RBC Center on Thursday night. Not for playoff implications, mind you, but to see how some familiar names fare in their new towns and uniforms.
Certainly, there was enough to enjoy from the home team. Tom Kostopoulous and Rod Brind’Amour opened with consecutive goals in the first period, and the Canes cruised past Ottawa 4-1 for their seventh straight win. Manny Legace turned back 26 shots to improve to 8-5-2.
Yet the franchise’s past was every bit as prominent across the National Hockey League on Thursday as the present. There was Scott Walker, who was dealt to division-rival Washington on Wednesday, scoring twice in a span of 2:58 in the third period, including the game-winner, in leading the Capitals past Tampa Bay 5-4. Or Joe Korvo, also dealt to Washington Wednesday, piling up over 20 minutes of ice time in his first game with his new team.
Out in Phoenix, veteran forward Stephane Yelle was back in Colorado, where he helped the Avalanche to the 1996 Stanley Cup, their first season in Denver. It didn’t help on Thursday, as the Coyotes topped the Avalanche 3-1.
Tonight, Andrew Alberts will make his debut in a Vancouver uniform at Chicago. Aaron Ward, also traded Wednesday, will skate Saturday against Phoenix.
Overall, General Manager Jim Rutherford dealt away seven players over the span of a month, many of whom were instrumental in the Hurricanes’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
Heck, even the only glimmer of offense from Ottawa against Rutherford’s own team Thursday came from a player he traded three weeks ago. Matt Cullen, dealt on February 12th for Alexandre Picard and a second-round draft pick, scored on a wrap-around at 11:55 of the third period to ruin Legace’s attempt to notch the ‘Canes first shutout of the season.
Cullen, who was dealt before the two-week Winter Olympic break, felt that a few weeks off after the trade served as a help more than a hindrance.
“I was expecting the trade,” said Cullen, whose pregnant wife remains in Minnesota. “I was thrilled when Jim sent me to Ottawa. I was thankful. Now, I’m just trying to find my role on this team. The break helped me. It helped my family get settled in back home. And I can get used to a new system. Hopefully, it will pay off.”
Curiously, despite all the player movement, the Canes continue to play their most consistent hockey of the season. They’ve now won seven straight games, 11 of their last 13, and remain seven points behind Atlanta for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East with 19 games remaining.
Defenseman Brian Pothier, dealt from Washington in the Corvo trade, was in uniform for his Carolina debut Thursday. He was credited with five blocked shots. The other player obtained in the Korvo trade, Finnish forward Oskar Osala, is expected to dress for Saturday’s game at Florida.
OTHER NOTES: Zach Boychuk had two assists in Thursday’s game, the first multi-point game of his career…Legace has now earned a victory over all 30 NHL teams in his career. Ottawa was the last team on the list…Forward Jussi Jokinen had his ten point scoring streak come to an end…The ‘Canes have outscored their opponents 29-12 during their seven-game winning streak.
Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Aaron Ward, Alexandre Picard, Andrew Alberts, Brian Pothier, Jim Rutherford, Jussi Jokinen, Manny Legace, Matt Cullen, Oskar Osala, Rod Brind'Amour, Scott Walker, second-round draft pick, Stephane Yelle, Tom Kostopoulos, Zach Boychuk
Kate Shefte ·
20 Jan 2010, 5:41 PM ·
2 Comments
Don't look so surprised, Eric. Okay...look a little surprised. Photo courtesy of Gregg Forwerck, Carolina Hurricanes
By now, most ‘Canes fans have heard about the mid-season changing of the guard in Carolina. Eric Staal is now the 13th captain in franchise history and fifth since it relocated to Raleigh, replacing Rod Brind’Amour. Brind’Amour, in the twilight of his career, will stay on as an assistant captain and advise.
Maurice had plenty of flattery for the 25-year-old center, whom he first coached as a teenager.
“He’s been bred to be a captain of a hockey team and knows exactly what to do with it. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s ready for this,” Maurice said. “However, you cannot fully know what it is like to be the captain of a team in the National Hockey League until you experience it.”
Apparently, the move had been in the works for months and Brind’Amour was given the final say. (What was he going to do? Throw a temper tantrum? Be the bad guy?) and today, everyone gave up the ghost. No more talk of pulling themselves out of it or making a good run down the stretch to get back into playoff contention. Brind’Amour talked about needing to move in the right direction. Maurice talked about moving in the right direction. Rutherford threw phrases around like “put on a show for the fans” and “honor the integrity of the game” in the remainder of the 2009-2010 season. The giant elephant in the room – that the ‘Canes tanked it early and are not coming back on some miracle run – was chased out with today’s captain switch.
Now, the youth movement that was rooted in Carolina years ago has finally grown branches. When Rutherford plunked down over a quarter million dollars in front of his star center last year, he was buying himself a new captain. The team has a young leader who can communicate with the youngsters, as Rutherford put it, because apparently they speak in completely different tongues. There is about to be a complete overhaul.
It’s a little weird that they didn’t let the captain of five seasons finish out his tenure. What could it honestly hurt? But Brind’Amour brushed it off, calling it the “natural” progression and reminding everyone that this wasn’t out of the blue and it wouldn’t be as big of a deal as people may thing because Staal has been groomed for this responsibility for some time.
“It made sense to go do it now so we don’t have to deal with it next year,” Brind’Amour said.
He reiterated over and over again as though trying to convince his audience that he was really, truly giddy that the young star was finally usurping the grizzled veteran while the latter was still around. Maybe he is actually happy. If not, he did a good job of putting on a show. He also addressed his underwhelming past season and a half with Carolina.
“You’ve got to be out there doing your thing, and hopefully your teammates are going to see that and be motivated by that,” Brind’Amour said. “My role in the last few months hasn’t dictated that. [The switch] needed to be done.”
But why now? Rutherford had his take.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey captain, Eric Staal, franchise, Hartford, Jim Rutherford, Rod Brind'Amour, switch
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 ·
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 ·
19 Aug 2009, 12:13 PM ·
2 Comments
Yelle kicks it old school with former 'Cane Owen Nolan. Photo courtesy of FrenchKheldar, flickr.com
It looked as though the ‘Canes might be finished, but JR and company plucked veteran center Stephane Yelle out of free agency this morning.
From a Boston perspective, it probably appears as though Carolina is picking up the Bruins’ veteran leftovers. The Bruins have some budgetary concerns and were forced to let go of some guys they probably would have preferred to hold on this offseason, and Carolina has added another castoff into the fold. However, Yelle is much better than his salary suggests. He has been consistently good in this league for a long time and seemingly still has several years to go before his career winds down.
He pots the occasional goal and is solid on the back end and has been one of the best face-off men in the league for a decade. If Eric Staal works on his face-offs this summer and Rod Brind’Amour continues to do his “thang,” the ‘Canes could be a force to be reckoned with in the circle.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Aaron Ward, Boston Bruins, center, faceoff, free agent, Rod Brind'Amour, Stephane Yelle, veteran
Kate Shefte ·
15 May 2009, 2:54 PM ·
2 Comments
Scott Walker and Matt Cullen scrum for the puck in Game 6. Photo by Peggy Boone, IndyWeekBlogs
FS-CR/TV—David ultimately trumped Goliath, yet again, except this time the story took an unexpected turn. Goliath woke up, saw the rock embedded in his forehead, realized what was happening and pounded David into dust before David could finish him off. Dazed and discouraged, David turned to his friend, Scotty Walker, who was hated by the village people (not those Village People…) Walker took his stone and sling and flung it into the net in the eleventh hour, and the spectators at the arena slunk out in horror while Walker, David and crew celebrated. “Tea parties? How about tee times?!” David taunted over Goliath’s prone form.
Was that weird? Apologies. Rod Brind’Amour, Sergei Samsonov and Scott Walker scored and the ‘Canes tightened up their defensive game in Game 7, ensuring an Eastern Conference Finals berth for Carolina for the third time in seven years.
For the first time in the 2009 playoffs, the Hurricanes won when Eric Staal didn’t score. Though almost every Game 7 statistic was against Carolina – home ice advantage, first goal scored, ect. – one remained true. Carolina became the seventh consecutive road time to win in Game 7 of overtime. In addition, though it might not be doing much to improve their fans’ blood pressure, the ‘Canes continued to thrive in Game 7’s, winning their fourth in a row.
And who was the quick-handed speed demon that made it happen in extra innings? Er…a grinder. Scott Walker, Boston’s most hated after he non-suckerpunched Aaron Ward in the face during Game 5 and the league opted against handing down a suspension, put it away for the ‘Canes in the textbook definition of a storybook ending.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Boston Bruins, Eastern Conference Finals, Game 7, OT, Pittsburgh Penguins, Rod Brind'Amour, Scott Walker, Sergei Samsonov, Sidney Crosby, suckerpunch, victory
Kate Shefte ·
9 Apr 2009, 10:17 PM ·
2 Comments
RBC CENTER/ RALEIGH— So. We’ve given this whole “losing” thing a fair trial…and I’m not sure about you guys, but I, for one, am not a fan.
It was inevitable. Cam Ward showed that he was, in fact, only human, and two nights after putting together a record-setting nine-goal shutout, the ‘Canes were lit up themselves for 5 goals by the Buffalo Sabres, who were hanging by a thread in the Eastern Conference playoff race. However, New York won and Montreal earned a point in OT, so Buffalo’s impressive effort was all for naught.
Eric Staal provided the only positive event of the night when he scored his 40th goal of the season and fourth in two games with a half minute remaining in the game. In just over two days, Staal’s season went from statistically unremarkable to actually quite impressive. Unless Rick Nash, Dany Heatley or Tomas Vanek make some magic in their last game, Staal will be one of six 40-goal scorers in the NHL this season.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey 40, 5-1, Buffalo sabres, Daniel Paille, elbow, eliminated, Erik Staal, goals, hit, Jason Pominville, loss, Rod Brind'Amour, Tim Connolly
Kate Shefte ·
2 Apr 2009, 10:24 PM ·
2 Comments
RBC CENTER/ RALEIGH—The Carolina Hurricanes came alive in the third period and took down a Rangers team, 4-2, that clearly had standings leapfrogging in mind. In front of a home crowd that was as loud as it has been for three years, the ‘Canes broke a franchise record with ten straight wins at home. It is their seventh win in a row overall.
Staal converted on the power play four and a half minutes in to start the scoring. With Erik Cole’s big behind planted squarely in front of Lundqvist, Staal tucked his shot from the point into the miniscule space between Lundqvist’s pad and the post.
The least-penalized team in the league certainly didn’t act like it in the first period. Hurricanes took four back-to-back penalties of their own immediately after Staal scored. The team had been off since Saturday, and as Ray Whitney put it, a few players may have been a bit overexcited.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Cam Ward, Chad LaRose, Eric Staal, franchise record, Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers, penalty kill, Ray Whitney, Rod Brind'Amour, ten game, two goals
Kate Shefte ·
25 Mar 2009, 10:32 PM ·
1 Comment
RBC CENTER/ RALEIGH—What happens when you put two red-hot teams together on a sheet of ice? Apparently, they cool each other off. After two periods without a score, the Ottawa Senators finally got a goal and the Hurricanes answered twice en route to a 2-1 win.
Although they are well out of the top eight, the Senators came in having won five in a row and nine of 10. After a coaching change almost two months ago, they have not been the same team. However, the ‘Canes reminded them how to lose tonight when Rod Brind’Amour and Anton Babchuk tallied late in the third to edge the Sens.
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Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Anton Babchuk, Eastern Conference, Ottawa Senators, Rod Brind'Amour, Tuomo Ruutu
