New Season, Same Start

The Carolina Hurricanes offense is off to a better start this season. The Hurricanes peppered Detroit Red Wings Goalie Petr Mrazek with 47 shots, 12 on the Power Play, while only giving up 19. The problem with that is the Hurricanes only got three goals by Mrazek while the Red Wings slipped four by Hurricanes Goalie Cam Ward.

Hurricanes rookie Defenseman Noah Hanifin got his first professional point when he assisted on the first Hurricanes goal by Victor Rask in the second period. Nathan Gerbe and Justin Faulk scored the other two goals.

The Hurricanes took a 3-2 lead into the third period but could not make it hold up.

This is the beginning of Bill Peters second campaign as the head Coach of the Hurricanes and the Hurricanes can ill afford to get off to an 0-6-2 start like they did last season. Injuries played a major part in last season's start and James Wisniewski's injury in the first game dealt a blow to the Hurricanes experience on the blue line. The Hurricanes recalled Defenseman Danny Biega who has all of ten games of experience in the NHL to take Wisniewski's place on the roster.

The Fast, Furious Minute

There is nothing more exciting in sports than the last minute or so in hockey when one team is behind a goal and they pull their goalie, leaving an open net, so they can put an extra attacker on the ice. There is not waiting on the final pitch or hit as in baseball, the two minute drive in football, or the last minute of a basketball game where it can take 20 minutes to play with all of the timeouts being called. In hockey it is six attackers facing five of the opposition and a goalie going after him as hard as they can. It is a constant battle for the puck, the opposition trying to pepper the Goalie with shots, putting men in front of him hoping to get a rebound or a tip, and put in the game tying goal. The defense is trying to gain control of the puck with an open net to shoot at and at least kill some time by firing it to the other end of the ice.

The Carolina Hurricanes had a 3-2 lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets going into the last minute yesterday. Both teams were battling for the puck, the Blue Jackets kept firing shots at Anton Khudobin and he made several good saves. The Hurricanes had a couple of breakout opportunites with the best being Nathan Gerbe. He had a wide open net but one of the Blue Jackets Defenseman intercepted his shot before it got to the crease. The Hurricanes held on for a 3-2 victory but the energy by both teams in the last minute was amazing.

Taking Care Of The Leafs

The Carolina Hurricanes easily handled the Toronto Maple Leafs at home last night 4-1 to break a six game losing streak. The stars were many for Carolina. Justin Faulk had a Short Handed Goal and an Assist, Andrej Sekera had a Power Play Goal and an Assist, and Eric Staal and Nathan Gerbe had two assists a piece. Elias Lindholm finished off the scoring with his 8th Goal late in the Third Period. It was an impressive win and a badly needed win for the Hurricanes and came over a hot Toronto Maple Leafs team.