Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Make that SIX for TWENTY-TWO
The Carolina Hurricanes were looking for a franchise record eighth straight win tonight, in Buffalo, against the reeling (Bitter, perhaps) Buffalo Sabres. They got that win. And it was beautiful. And you probably didn’t see it. That needs to change.
If you live in the Triangle, and you’re not paying attention to the Canes (what with the riveting NASCAR points race winding down, the Wolfpack just might maybe qualifying for the Poulan Weedeater Bowl, and the Panthers’ TopCats cheerleaders bumping uglies in a Tampa bathroom, I can sort of understand how your attention might otherwise be diverted), it’s time to start. This team represents our region better than any team has since the Jim Valvano-coached NC State Wolfpack beat Houston for the 1983 NCAA championship and reminded the country what it learned when the USA Olympic Hockey team beat the hated Russians at Lake Placid in 1980: when underdogs win, we feel good. The way they are playing, though, the Canes might not be underdogs much longer. It still feels good when they win, though.
And if you live outside the Triangle, you can officially start paying attention to the former Hartford Whalers. I know you sort of glanced their way back in 2002, when they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals and even took the heavily favored (and, frankly, substantially better) Detroit Red Wings to 3 OTs in Game 3. But I also know you realized then they were a bit of a flash in the pan, a hardworking, gritty team that clutched and held their way into the playoffs, but were unlikely to be there the next year. You were right. Those Canes faded into history, and the 2003 squad didn’t even make the playoffs.
This year’s Carolina Hurricanes team, however, is a very good hockey team. They are extremely well-coached, and (more importantly) well-assembled to take advantage of the new-look NHL. They have speed and they have skills. What they don’t have much of is size, but for now at least, size doesn’t really matter much.
They are also extremely cool.
Consider tonight’s game. I picked it up on the radio late in the second period, after the Canes took a 3-1 lead on a Frantisek Kaberle goal. The goal was assisted by Corey Stillman (who also assisted on the first two goals) and Erik Cole, who assisted on one of the earlier goals.
This is the same Erik Cole who skates with an almost reckless abandon, literally throwing himself forward in a desperate attempt to create an advantage – any advantage – on a breakaway. This is also the same Erik Cole who was called for diving not once, but twice, against Toronto last week. The second dive in that game nullified an empty net goal that would have earned Eric FREAKING Staal a hat trick, and a lucky fan a John Deere tractor. Cole’s style of play means he will be called for diving from time to time, but it is especially unusual to see the call made twice in a game. And it’s even odder to see a diving call on an empty net goal. Seriously – why would anyone take an intentional dive on an empty net chance?
For what it’s worth Tim Peel, the referee who made that diving call, approached Cole a couple nights later and apologized for the bad call. Cole called that move “classy.” He’s right, but I digress.
So the Canes had the dreaded two-goal lead, on enemy ice, going into the third period. The same two goal lead the Canes themselves had overcome at least four times this season to win the game. See, a two-goal lead just doesn’t mean what it used to mean in the NHL.
I got home and flipped the game on the TV, but I wasn’t feeling good about how things were going, with a 2-goal lead with 20 minutes to go. The Sabres outshot the Canes a stunning 22-3 in the second period (with two of Carolina’s goals coming on those three shots – it was like watching me play Patrick in NHL 2K6), and they weren’t laying off Canes goalie Martin Gerber at the beginning of the third. Then Jesse Boulerice gets called for tripping, and the Canes were facing a rejuvenated Sabres power play unit. I’ve been watching hockey a long time, and I know how important momentum is to a team. The Sabres were riding a tsunami of momentum at that point. It looked grim.
Then Erik Cole got the puck on a clean shorthanded breakaway. And he was hauled down from behind – a big no-no. The referee pointed to the ice: penalty shot. The most exciting play in hockey (the excitement of which has been diluted significantly by the new shootout rule, but I digress – again). He didn’t whistle Cole for the dive like he did last week (yep, it was Tim Peel, the same ref). Instead, Peel awarded Cole the penalty shot.
Cole skated in on Martin Biron and put an absolutely beautiful backhander top shelf on the glove hand side. It was the sixth successful penalty shot in the NHL this year, in twenty-one attempts. It put the Canes up by three goals with about twlve minutes to go.
It also proved to be the game winner. Thomas Vanek (who’s a lock for the Austrian Olympic team, I am almost sure) scored his first and second NHL goals three and a half minutes apart to get the Sabres to within one goal. That was as close as they got, with Jason Williams adding an empty netter for the Canes to lock it up, 5-3. Canes win eight in a row.
Again, I digress. The point I was trying to make is how cool this team is. Here is how cool they are:
Erik Cole, who was called for diving twice last week because of his hyperenthusiastic skating style, and who scored on a rare penalty shot, got caught from behind on another breakaway late in the third period, and was awarded another penalty shot.
That’s right. One guy. One period. Two penalty shots. Unheard of.
Cole missed his on his second shot, but that’s not really important. What’s important is how the guy who was the goat one night gets rewarded for the same style of play on another night. It’s like karma, and it’s got me thinking this team might have a destiny.
And it’s so fucking cool. Pay attention, folks. These Canes are for real.
If you live in the Triangle, and you’re not paying attention to the Canes (what with the riveting NASCAR points race winding down, the Wolfpack just might maybe qualifying for the Poulan Weedeater Bowl, and the Panthers’ TopCats cheerleaders bumping uglies in a Tampa bathroom, I can sort of understand how your attention might otherwise be diverted), it’s time to start. This team represents our region better than any team has since the Jim Valvano-coached NC State Wolfpack beat Houston for the 1983 NCAA championship and reminded the country what it learned when the USA Olympic Hockey team beat the hated Russians at Lake Placid in 1980: when underdogs win, we feel good. The way they are playing, though, the Canes might not be underdogs much longer. It still feels good when they win, though.
And if you live outside the Triangle, you can officially start paying attention to the former Hartford Whalers. I know you sort of glanced their way back in 2002, when they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals and even took the heavily favored (and, frankly, substantially better) Detroit Red Wings to 3 OTs in Game 3. But I also know you realized then they were a bit of a flash in the pan, a hardworking, gritty team that clutched and held their way into the playoffs, but were unlikely to be there the next year. You were right. Those Canes faded into history, and the 2003 squad didn’t even make the playoffs.
This year’s Carolina Hurricanes team, however, is a very good hockey team. They are extremely well-coached, and (more importantly) well-assembled to take advantage of the new-look NHL. They have speed and they have skills. What they don’t have much of is size, but for now at least, size doesn’t really matter much.
They are also extremely cool.
Consider tonight’s game. I picked it up on the radio late in the second period, after the Canes took a 3-1 lead on a Frantisek Kaberle goal. The goal was assisted by Corey Stillman (who also assisted on the first two goals) and Erik Cole, who assisted on one of the earlier goals.
This is the same Erik Cole who skates with an almost reckless abandon, literally throwing himself forward in a desperate attempt to create an advantage – any advantage – on a breakaway. This is also the same Erik Cole who was called for diving not once, but twice, against Toronto last week. The second dive in that game nullified an empty net goal that would have earned Eric FREAKING Staal a hat trick, and a lucky fan a John Deere tractor. Cole’s style of play means he will be called for diving from time to time, but it is especially unusual to see the call made twice in a game. And it’s even odder to see a diving call on an empty net goal. Seriously – why would anyone take an intentional dive on an empty net chance?
For what it’s worth Tim Peel, the referee who made that diving call, approached Cole a couple nights later and apologized for the bad call. Cole called that move “classy.” He’s right, but I digress.
So the Canes had the dreaded two-goal lead, on enemy ice, going into the third period. The same two goal lead the Canes themselves had overcome at least four times this season to win the game. See, a two-goal lead just doesn’t mean what it used to mean in the NHL.
I got home and flipped the game on the TV, but I wasn’t feeling good about how things were going, with a 2-goal lead with 20 minutes to go. The Sabres outshot the Canes a stunning 22-3 in the second period (with two of Carolina’s goals coming on those three shots – it was like watching me play Patrick in NHL 2K6), and they weren’t laying off Canes goalie Martin Gerber at the beginning of the third. Then Jesse Boulerice gets called for tripping, and the Canes were facing a rejuvenated Sabres power play unit. I’ve been watching hockey a long time, and I know how important momentum is to a team. The Sabres were riding a tsunami of momentum at that point. It looked grim.
Then Erik Cole got the puck on a clean shorthanded breakaway. And he was hauled down from behind – a big no-no. The referee pointed to the ice: penalty shot. The most exciting play in hockey (the excitement of which has been diluted significantly by the new shootout rule, but I digress – again). He didn’t whistle Cole for the dive like he did last week (yep, it was Tim Peel, the same ref). Instead, Peel awarded Cole the penalty shot.
Cole skated in on Martin Biron and put an absolutely beautiful backhander top shelf on the glove hand side. It was the sixth successful penalty shot in the NHL this year, in twenty-one attempts. It put the Canes up by three goals with about twlve minutes to go.
It also proved to be the game winner. Thomas Vanek (who’s a lock for the Austrian Olympic team, I am almost sure) scored his first and second NHL goals three and a half minutes apart to get the Sabres to within one goal. That was as close as they got, with Jason Williams adding an empty netter for the Canes to lock it up, 5-3. Canes win eight in a row.
Again, I digress. The point I was trying to make is how cool this team is. Here is how cool they are:
Erik Cole, who was called for diving twice last week because of his hyperenthusiastic skating style, and who scored on a rare penalty shot, got caught from behind on another breakaway late in the third period, and was awarded another penalty shot.
That’s right. One guy. One period. Two penalty shots. Unheard of.
Cole missed his on his second shot, but that’s not really important. What’s important is how the guy who was the goat one night gets rewarded for the same style of play on another night. It’s like karma, and it’s got me thinking this team might have a destiny.
And it’s so fucking cool. Pay attention, folks. These Canes are for real.
posted by Bill Purdy, 10:33 PM
3 Buffaloes were bitter enough to post comments:
I had to work last night, but through the glory of DVR, I had it waiting for me. Except for two things;
My best friend is from Buffalo, and is a casual fan of the Sabres. She was watching the game and kept text messaging me with the updates in the first period. I had to call her to tell her to cut it out. When I can't watch it live (or live TV), I like to watch the whole thing on DVR, start to finish without knowing the result.
Great.... except the memory got full and it cut off the last five minutes of the game. I had to internet it to find out what happened.
I have to say that I was really impressed by Thomas Vanek. He'll be a great player by the time it's all said and done.
My best friend is from Buffalo, and is a casual fan of the Sabres. She was watching the game and kept text messaging me with the updates in the first period. I had to call her to tell her to cut it out. When I can't watch it live (or live TV), I like to watch the whole thing on DVR, start to finish without knowing the result.
Great.... except the memory got full and it cut off the last five minutes of the game. I had to internet it to find out what happened.
I have to say that I was really impressed by Thomas Vanek. He'll be a great player by the time it's all said and done.
Vanek seems to be intent on joining Eric Staal as the 2003 NHL Entry Draft pick most likely to improve a struggling team. If Miller hadn't been injured, I think they could've wound up making the playoffs and even getting to the second round. But with Biron in goal, it's just not gonna happen.
That's what had me worried most about the Canes early in the season -- that they were one injury away from another crummy season. Now I am starting to realize they have some real depth, with role players who can step in on any line and contribute. Glad I bought tix this year.
That's what had me worried most about the Canes early in the season -- that they were one injury away from another crummy season. Now I am starting to realize they have some real depth, with role players who can step in on any line and contribute. Glad I bought tix this year.
Hockey is better than ever, but less people care now. Stupid people are missing a LOT!
OK, so your 'Canes have some depth at goalie, but I think it's too early to get TOO excited. These guys may be on Eric FREAKING Staal blown-out knee away from mediocrity. Like to hear about Cole being assertive as well.
BTW, seems not even a 4-goal lead is safe anymore, eh Purdy?
OK, so your 'Canes have some depth at goalie, but I think it's too early to get TOO excited. These guys may be on Eric FREAKING Staal blown-out knee away from mediocrity. Like to hear about Cole being assertive as well.
BTW, seems not even a 4-goal lead is safe anymore, eh Purdy?