Hurricanes News

Canes get younger; Staal on injured list
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November 20
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"The Hurricanes now have four players on their roster who began the season with the Albany River Rats of the AHL. Center Brandon Sutter and defenseman Bryan Rodney were the first to arrive. Injuries to goaltender Michael Leighton and forward Scott Walker now will have goalie Justin Peters and forward Pat Dwyer on the roster tonight for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Dwyer was called up Thursday from the Rats, and center Eric Staal placed on injured reserve. "We've had some things to maneuver," Canes coach Paul Maurice said. "But we've had some success bringing in some kids to play. Bryan Rodney has come in and played very, very well. Paddy Dwyer can skate and he's playing very well in the ..."
Canes bounce back against Toronto
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November 20
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"It was the kind of game the Carolina Hurricanes probably would not have won a few weeks ago. Maybe one week ago. The Hurricanes trailed the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0 after the first period Thursday night at the RBC Center. The Canes trailed 4-2 in the third period, and they trailed 5-4 with just 29.9 seconds left in regulation after a goal by Leafs defenseman Ian White. And they won. It took a shootout to decide it, but the Hurricanes are used to shootouts. Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi Jokinen opened the shootout with goals, goaltender Manny Legace stopped both Leafs shooters and the Canes skated off with a 6-5 victory that could be - emphasis on "could" - a season-turner. Erik Cole's goal with ..."
Only move for Canes is to wait
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November 19
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"The other worst team in the NHL visits the RBC Center tonight, with the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs each stuck on 11 points. Technically, the Hurricanes are 30th, having played one more game than the Leafs, but the real difference between the teams is expectations. The Maple Leafs expected to be in this position - perhaps not this position exactly, but this was a rebuilding year in Toronto from the beginning. The Hurricanes did not, needless to say at this point. The lofty goals of the offseason have been replaced by a more immediate task: Get to .500 by Christmas. That will require a mere 13 wins in 17 games by a team that hasn't won in regulation in more than a month. As ..."
Injuries have Canes skating on thin ice
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November 19
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"A week from Thanksgiving, could the Carolina Hurricanes' season already be reaching the critical point? "That might be stretching it a little too much," general manager Jim Rutherford said Wednesday. "We're certainly at an important point, but I would not use the word 'critical.' We're not at that point yet." But the Hurricanes, who host the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at the RBC Center (7 p.m., FSCR), are ailing. Center Eric Staal, who has missed the past seven games with an upper-body injury, still may be a week from returning. Goaltender Cam Ward continues to heal from a leg laceration suffered Nov. 7 against the Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio, and has been placed on long-term injured ..."
Canadiens weather shootout storm with 'Canes
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November 18
Montreal Gazette
 
"It hasn't been a great start to the season for Andrei Kostitsyn, but he turned the boos into cheers at the Bell Centre last night as he helped the Canadiens to a 3-2 shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Kostitsyn scored his second goal of the season with 2:46 to play in the third period last night to pull the Canadiens even with the Hurricanes at 2-2. That set up an overtime situation and, as Canadiens fans have come to know this season, the Habs had theHurricanes just where they wanted them. The Canadiens hadn't lost a game in extra time this season and Maxim Lapierre made it 8-0 when he scored on the sixth round of the shootout. While Kostitsyn sent the game into overtime, it was ..."
Canes lose to Habs in shootout
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November 18
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"For the Carolina Hurricanes, winning was a one-game thing. And the Hurricanes, after 10 tries, still are the only team in the NHL without a road victory. The Canes came ever-so-close Tuesday, but Maxim Lapierre's goal in the sixth round of a shootout gave the Montreal Canadiens a 3-2 victory at the Bell Centre. Canadiens goalie Carey Price made great shootout saves on Bryan Rodney in the fifth round and Matt Cullen in the sixth to finish it off. The Habs (10-11-0) have won eight times in overtime or a shootout this season. "We played a very solid road game," Canes coach Paul Maurice said. "Real smart." But Maurice made some interesting moves in the shootout. After Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi ..."
Pitkanen, Walker will miss Canes' road trip
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November 17
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Joni Pitkanen and forward Scott Walker did not make the trip Monday and will not play tonight against the Montreal Canadiens. Pitkanen suffered a lower-body injury and Walker an upper-body injury Sunday in the Canes' 5-4 shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild. Stephane Yelle, who left the game in the third period after blocking a shot, is expected to play. Defenseman Aaron Ward, who missed the Minnesota game with a lower-body injury, also should return to the lineup."
Sutter making a case to stay
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November 17
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Brandon Sutter didn't know what to expect when the Carolina Hurricanes hastily called him up from the Albany River Rats. "They told me to pack for a week," Sutter said. That was more than three weeks ago. Sutter has been with the Canes the past 10 games, and judging by his solid play and the youthful energy and hustle he brings to games, his days in Albany and the American Hockey League are over. Sutter has four goals and three assists. He's being used on the power play, on the penalty kill. He's stronger on faceoffs and heady and effective in the defensive zone. "He's playing well and doing good things with his stick," coach Paul Maurice said. "He's not out there because we're giving a ..."
Carolina Hurricanes finally win one. Cause for celebration?
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November 17
Los Angeles Times
 columnist Helene Elliott
"So, Jim Rutherford, your hockey team won Sunday for the first time since Oct. 9, ending a 0-10-4 streak with a shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild. Congratulations! "I don't see this as a team to congratulate us," the Carolina Hurricanes' general manager said Monday, his tone a mixture of amusement and exasperation. "I had a few people call me last night and offer congratulations, and I didn't know what to say, really." The Hurricanes' streak tied a franchise record set in 1992, when they were the Hartford Whalers, and it was baffling. This is a tremendously talented team and not much different from the squad that made a strong second-half push to earn the sixth playoff seed last ..."
Maurice: Staal may return next week
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November 16
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Canes coach Paul Maurice said today that center Eric Staal may be able to return to the lineup next week. Staal has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury. He had played 349 consecutive regular-season games, the second-longest active streak in the NHL, before missing the Florida game on Nov. 4. "We really want to make sure we don't put him back in and this thing get reaggravated," Maurice said. "We can't go through this again. We need him to come back and play and play his big minutes." A day after their first win in more than a month, the Canes were missing several players for today's practice at the RBC Center. Defenseman Joni Pitkanen and forward Scott Walker, both injured ..."
Canes finally win
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November 16
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Victory. At last. The Carolina Hurricanes, a team that seemed to have forgotten how to win, finally found a way. After going 14 games without a victory, tying the franchise record, the Canes pulled one out Sunday in a tense but thrilling fashion against the Minnesota Wild. Not that it came easily. Oh, no. The Hurricanes lost a 4-1 lead to the Wild, battled gamely through an overtime period, then won 5-4 in a shootout on Jussi Jokinen's goal. "This was a huge win," Canes coach Paul Maurice said. "That was enormous for our players. And staff." Jokinen's shootout goal - a backhander that beat Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom - was the 25th of his career, the most in NHL history. That left it up ..."
Hockey fans sad but not seething
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November 15
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"The Carolina Hurricanes are on a 14-game winless streak, and 10-year old Caleb Sarver knows what the problem is. "When they play, they don't play any defense," said Sarver, a defenseman, after practicing with his Fighting Red youth hockey team at the Cary Ice House on Saturday. "I feel bad for the Hurricanes. They just have to try harder." You know it's bad when grade school kids are offering advice. Fans in the Triangle had plenty on Saturday, a day after the Hurricanes lost in overtime to the New York Islanders to extend their winless streak to a disheartening 14 games. Three seasons after winning the 2006 Stanley Cup, the Hurricanes have matched the franchise record for futility. The ..."
Ruutu returning to form
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November 15
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Tuomo Ruutu is back to skating and barreling around the ice and hitting everything in sight. In other words, Ruutu being Ruutu. Will that mean the Carolina Hurricanes will get back to winning? It takes more than one player at his best to end a 14-game winless streak that has tied the franchise record set in 1992. But having Ruutu hitting - and scoring goals - is a must for a team struggling to score and at times lacking in aggression by its forwards. Ruutu was credited with a team-high nine hits Friday in the Hurricanes' 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders and has three goals in the last two games. Of the Islanders game, and Carolina's rally from an early 3-0 deficit to force ..."
Canes' winless streak reaches 14
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November 14
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"There will be more talk of the Carolina Hurricanes' winless streak. There has to be. It still continues after the Canes' 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Friday at the RBC Center. The Hurricanes can't escape the fact they have not won in 14 games, that they now have tied the franchise record for the longest winless streak. Unless they can beat the Minnesota Wild on Sunday at the RBC Center, the Canes will be holders of the franchise's worst such streak of futility. But the loss to the Islanders was a bit easier to take. Just a bit. Kyle Okposo's goal with 14.4 seconds left in overtime, after he picked off defenseman Bryan Rodney's cross-ice pass in the Carolina zone, left ..."
Losing streak lives
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November 13
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"To the Carolina Hurricanes, a 13-game winless streak seems like a recurring nightmare, as if taking on a life of its own. The players are grumpy. The coaches are grumpy. Canes' fans are angry, antsy. "It's tough to sleep, to do anything," team captain Rod Brind'Amour said Thursday. "It weighs on everybody. You feel like you're letting down a lot of people, and that weighs on you, too." But what about going 30 games without a win? That's what the Winnipeg Jets did in the 1980-81 season, a winless stretch that's the longest in NHL history. Morris Lukowich was a winger for the Jets that season, and what he remembers about that streak - and how he and his teammates suffered but persevered - ..."
Canes' losing skid reaches 13
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November 12
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Tuomo Ruutu, sweat dripping off his forehead, had tried his best to explain and analyze the Carolina Hurricanes' latest loss. The Los Angeles Kings had finished off the Canes 5-2 on Wednesday night at the RBC Center, pushing Carolina's winless streak to 13 games. For those wondering, that's one game shy of the franchise record. Ruutu had scored twice as the Hurricanes rallied for a 2-2 tie early in the third period, not that he cared about such individual things. He had talked about the bounces and penalties, about the Kings' two power-play goals, and how the Canes battled hard in the final two periods - although not all of the first - and had lost again. "We can talk as much as we want, ..."
Canes coach (record 2-11-3) tells CEOs how to build a team
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November 11
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"For $25 a plate, some of the Triangle's most vaunted CEOs got an hour-long pep talk Tuesday on building a winning team, which would be fine except that it came from Paul Maurice, coach of the dead-last Carolina Hurricanes. With his team on a 12-game losing streak and two of his stars hurt, Maurice dished out an early-morning plate of optimism, irony on the side. "My timing has always been impeccable," he said, adding that the Canes were 2 and 2 when he agreed to speak. The idea of a last-place coach offering tips for success might seem like Napoleon giving a PowerPoint presentation on battle strategy post-Waterloo. But to the Association for Corporate Growth, which organized the talk at ..."
Hurricanes owner won't panic
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November 11
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Sitting in the RBC Center, watching the Carolina Hurricanes practice Tuesday, team owner Peter Karmanos Jr. quickly offered up thoughts on a season quickly gone awry. "This is a very good hockey team. I haven't given up on it," he said, his eyes rarely straying from the ice. Moments later, "We have a great coaching staff." A few minutes later, "I'm not worried. I'm not panicked." But Karmanos, like many Hurricanes fans and everyone in the organization, is mystified about the team's stumbling 2-11-3 start and 12-game winless streak. The Canes, who face the Los Angeles Kings tonight, were the talk of the NHL late last season and in the Stanley Cup playoffs, beating the New Jersey Devils ..."
Karmanos not worried, not panicking
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November 10
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Watching the Hurricanes practice today was the man most concerned about the direction of the season -- owner Peter Karmanos Jr. Karmanos said he was in town on business, not to drop by for a few words with the players or try to boost their morale. Like most in the organization, Karmanos said he did not have a clear answer for what's ailing this team or why it can't shake a winless streak that now has reached 12 games. "I've never come close to having a losing streak like that," he said. "And this is a very good hockey team. I haven't given up on it. We have a great coaching staff. "We just need to hang on tight because we're just as capable of winning 12 in a row, or more capable of ..."
Legace to start in goal against Kings
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November 10
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Manny Legace's first start in goal for the Hurricanes will be in his first game with the Hurricanes. Canes coach Paul Maurice said after practice today that the decision had been made to start Legace on Wednesday against the L.A. Kings, ahead of Michael Leighton. Legace was signed Monday to a one-year contract and has put in two practices with his new team. Why Legace and not Leighton? "He's played some and he's practiced some," Maurice said. "Part of it, Mike hasn't played a whole lot of (NHL) hockey here. "So Manny's going to go. He knows that conference very well. He's knows their shooters and I guess they should know him. But I think this is the kind of opportunity he was waiting for, ..."
Legace a part of legacy
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November 10
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Though Manny Legace never played an NHL game for the Carolina Hurricanes or Hartford Whalers - not yet, anyway - he was the Whalers' eighth-round draft pick in 1993, a draft that also brought Chris Pronger, Marek Malik and Nolan Pratt to the organization. Legace found success elsewhere but is still near the top of the list of Whalers/Hurricanes-drafted goalies who have experienced the most NHL success - Tuesday's Top Five. (Putting the list together wasn't too tough; only six goalies drafted by the organization have played in an NHL game.) 5. Mike Lenarduzzi, third round (57th overall), 1990: Lenarduzzi played in four NHL games, 16 fewer than Darrin Jensen (fifth round, 1980), the other ..."
Canes turn to Legace
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November 10
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"With a tap on the helmet before Monday's practice, Carolina Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour welcomed a new teammate. It was goaltender Manny Legace, who signed a one-year contract with the Hurricanes and could be a lifeline for the team in the month or so that star goaltender Cam Ward will be out with an injured left leg. Legace, 36, was playing with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League and was at a rookie dinner Sunday when the text messages rolled in from his agent. He was headed back to the NHL, where he won 177 games, won a Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 - against the Hurricanes - and was an All-Star for the St. Louis Blues just two seasons ago. "He's a ..."
Canes sign Legace
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November 9
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"As expected, the Hurricanes have signed a goaltender and it is veteran Manny Legace. Legace, who has 177 NHL victories, was playing for the Chicigo Wolves (AHL) after a preseason tryout with the Atlanta Thrashers. Legace was signed to a one-year, two-way contract that pays him $500,000 on the NHL level and $105,000 on the AHL level. Legace, 36, has a career NHL record of 177-92-36, with a goals-against average of 2.38, a save percentage of .912 and 23 shutouts in 337 games played with Los Angeles, Detroit and St. Louis. His best NHL season came in 2005-06, with Detroit, when he posted a record of 37-8-0, ranking third in the NHL in goals-against average (2.19), fifth in wins (37) and tied ..."
Canes lose Ward for 3 to 4 weeks
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November 9
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Cam Ward and Eric Staal have been called the cornerstones of the Carolina Hurricanes franchise by general manager Jim Rutherford. But the Hurricanes, caught up in a nightmarish season and winless in their past 12 games, now will be without both stars after Ward suffered a laceration of the upper left leg Saturday in a 3-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Ward will be sidelined a minimum of three to four weeks, Rutherford said Sunday, forcing the team to make a goaltending decision. Staal has missed the past three games with an upper-body injury and should be sidelined another couple of weeks, Rutherford said. "From the information I've been given, it's expected to be about a month," ..."
Ward to stay in hospital; Out indefinitely
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November 9
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Canes general manager Jim Rutherford said today that goaltender Cam Ward would remain at a Columbus, Ohio, hospital another day and that the team may look to trade or sign another goaltender. Ward suffered a laceration of the left leg in the first period of the Canes' 3-2 loss at Columbus on Saturday and was taken to Riverside Hospital. "We'll have to see how it goes," Rutherford said today of Ward's injury and recovery time. "It appears it will be a fairly long period of time." Rutherford said the Hurricanes are looking at different options: a trade, signing an available goaltender or calling up Justin Peters from Albany (AHL). "We're talking over the options. We don't have an answer ..."
Canes lose game and Ward
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November 8
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"The Carolina Hurricanes went into the game with an 11-game winless streak and without forwards Eric Staal and Ray Whitney. And after the first 71/2 minutes Saturday, they were playing without goaltender Cam Ward, who suffered what coach Paul Maurice called a "significant injury" to his left leg. That's asking a lot of a hockey team, and especially one that's struggling mightily. It was asking too much this night as the Columbus Blue Jackets surged in the third period to take a 3-2 victory at Nationwide Arena. Trailing 1-0 after two periods, the Jackets opened the third with a flurry of goals. Nikita Filatov scored 50 seconds into the period. Jared Boll scored at 2:55, and then Rick Nash ..."
Leafs finally grab second victory of season
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November 7
Toronto Star
 
"Rare as it was, the Maple Leafs hope they achieved more than just a victory here Friday. Mixed amidst the palpable relief at squeaking out just their second win of the season was a belief among the players that this could, finally, be the building block on which they can start to construct a much better stretch of hockey."
Struggling Canes hit rock bottom
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November 6
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"The Carolina Hurricanes have hit bottom. The Hurricanes, winless in their past 10 games, and are 30th - that's last - in the NHL standings. They are 30th in the NHL in scoring. They are 30th in penalty minutes per game. They also are 29th in goals against per game, with only the Toronto Maple Leafs worse. And those teams play tonight at the RBC Center. Hurricanes center Eric Staal is injured and out. Now, it appears winger Ray Whitney may miss a few games, as well. Whitney and forward Tuomo Ruutu missed Thursday's practice at the RecZone with upper-body concerns. They're listed as "day-to-day" and were to undergo tests later Thursday. With a need for a forward, the team called up Zach ..."
Injuries, losses piling up for Maurice's 'Canes
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November 6
Toronto Sun
 
"With all due lack of respect to their opponent tonight, the Carolina Hurricanes wake up this morning as the worst team in the NHL. From the Eastern Conference final to the bottom of the standings in five short months, the 'Canes face the Maple Leafs at the RBC Center, rocked and woozy from a horrid 10-game losing streak. "We just have to keep working on what's not working," Carolina coach Paul Maurice said following the team's morning practice yesterday. "When you have a problem, you can complain or you can try to fix it. "Having this start, coming off where we were, in the final four .... that's where it's unacceptable." How bad is it? Carolina is at the bottom of the standings (tied ..."
Hurricanes try to weather storm
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November 6
Toronto Star
 
"Definitive statements by any member of the Maple Leafs' brass have a way of sticking, either to haunt or immortalize. So former Leafs coach Paul Maurice understands exactly where he's treading when he dredges up an old ghost to describe the current plight of his Carolina Hurricanes. "I know you're going to mock me for this but I'm going to give it to you anyway," he said Thursday. "Our feeling is that our goal is to make the playoffs and compete for a Stanley Cup.""
Boychuk called up: Whitney, Ruutu injured
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November 5
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"With the possibility that Ray Whitney and Tuomo Ruutu may miss games with upper-body injuries, the Canes are calling up forward Zach Boychuk from the Albany River Rats (AHL). General manager Jim Rutherford said Boychuk probably would be on Jussi Jokinen's line with Erik Cole. Sutter may be on a wing today on Rod Brind'Amour"s line with Sergei Samsonov, he said. Both Whitney and Ruutu will have MRIs and CTs today, Rutherford said. He said it's possible Ruutu could play Friday against Toronto, but Whitney may have to sit out a few games."
Canes fall to Panthers
Comment
November 5
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"One long streak came to an end Wednesday for the Carolina Hurricanes. But not another streak that has grown much too long for the Hurricanes' liking. The Florida Panthers outlasted the Canes 3-0 on Wednesday night at BankAtlantic Center. Make it 10 straight losses for the Hurricanes, who played without center Eric Staal for the first time since 2004 and whose misery and frustration continues. Steven Reinprecht gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 5:09 of the third when a Cory Stillman shot went off his shin pad and past Canes goaltender Cam Ward. Stillman added a power-play goal with 6:16 to play, and with Tomas Vokoun strong in net with 32 saves, Florida had all it needed. Staal had missed ..."
Fortuitous Panthers benefit from some `lucky' bounces
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November 5
Miami Herald
 
"When the Panthers put players in front of the net, something good usually happens -- especially when Steven Reinprecht is the one near the crease. Reinprecht scored his team-high ninth goal Wednesday night after a puck ricocheted off him, the fortuitous bounce helping to lift the Panthers to a 3-0 victory over the Hurricanes at BankAtlantic Center. Cory Stillman also scored after deflecting a puck while shielding Carolina goalie Cam Ward."
Horton getting praise for improved performance
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November 5
Miami Herald
 
"There are plenty of detractors who have been vocal in their belief winger Nathan Horton doesn't play with passion or gives it his all. Those critics have not had much to complain about lately. Horton, 24, is in the midst of one of his most impressive runs in his six seasons with the Panthers. Horton has one goal and six assists in his past four games, including Wednesday's scoreless game against the Hurricanes. Four of those assists have been on goals by linemate Steven Reinprecht. ``As long as you are contributing any way you can, that's the main thing,'' Horton said. ``It's been fun with Reinprecht and [Cory] Stillman. Reinprecht is hot right now, so we have to get him the puck.''"
Vokoun makes 32 saves for second-straight shutout
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November 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
 
"There he was, camped out in front of the net, in the perfect place at the right time, as he has been so often the past three weeks. Steven Reinprecht didn't need to move to score the winning goal Wednesday night, just stand there and wait for Cory Stillman's shot to go in off his left shin pad. Reinprecht's goal a little more than five minutes into the third period led to the Panthers' 3-0 win against the Hurricanes at BankAtlantic Center — the third consecutive win for the Panthers and 10th straight loss for their Southeast Division rivals, who haven't won since beating the Panthers on Oct. 9 in Raleigh, N.C. "We found a way to get a win tonight," coach Pete DeBoer said. "It wasn't ..."
Hurricanes go back to the basics
Comment
November 4
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"The players stood in their spots and listened, and Paul Maurice lectured, and then they would try to do what he was telling them to do. Then he would correct them, and the players would switch places, and they would start again. It was the kind of practice common during training camp, not November. For most teams, the teaching was conducted long ago. The Carolina Hurricanes, after a start to the season that has been a complete and total disaster, might as well have been back in training camp Tuesday. It was a back-to-basics practice for a team that hasn't just lost its way, but never found it. After spending the first 13 games of the season standing around and watching, then figuring out ..."
Canes hit road without Staal
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November 4
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"The equipment bags, each with a player's number, were being loaded up Tuesday for the Carolina Hurricanes' flight to Florida. No. 30, No. 77, No. 7, No. 24 ... the red bags were being stacked on top of each other in the Canes' locker room. With one notable absence: There was no No. 12 bag. In Eric Staal's locker were his skates, helmets, gloves and other equipment. For the first time since March 19, 2004, Staal will not be in the lineup when the Hurricanes face the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla. The center left Sunday's game against San Jose after the second period for what is being deemed an "upper-body" injury, and Canes coach Paul Maurice ..."
Change coming for Canes
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November 3
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"With his team mired in a nine-game losing streak and free-falling down the NHL standings, Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford promised Monday that changes were on the way. While saying he believes in his coaching staff and players, Rutherford said he would more actively look to make trades. It's also possible other younger players could be called up from the Albany River Rats, the team's American Hockey League affiliate. Rutherford, who accepted the blame for the Hurricanes' 2-8-3 start, said he had hoped to wait until the end of November before making those kinds of decisions. But his attitude changed after the Canes' 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues and then a 5-1 whipping ..."
Time to produce a spark
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November 3
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Now sporting the worst 13-game record in franchise history at 2-8-3, the Carolina Hurricanes need some help. Fortunately, the franchise also has a history of big turnaround games, single games that sparked streaks and changed seasons. The biggest of those make the list (unfortunately for the Hurricanes, two are against San Jose, which suggests they may have missed a big chance Sunday) in Tuesday's Top Five: 5. Edmonton, Jan. 18, 2008: A grim 1-5-0 stretch that saw the Hurricanes outscored 20-11 ended with a 7-2 home win over the Oilers. After that, the Hurricanes ripped off 21 wins in the next 33 games, good enough to make the playoffs if they hadn't lost three of their final four with a ..."
Rutherford accepts blame for poor start
Comment
November 2
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Jim Rutherford said he accepts the blame for the Carolina Hurricanes' stumbling start. With the Hurricanes 2-8-3, 14th in the Eastern Conference and winless in their last nine games, the general manager said today that he still believes in his coaching staff and players. But he said some offseason decisions and the shortening of preseason training camp was a mistake, and said he would be more actively looking to make an early season trade than in most years. "I'd like to get to the end of November and see where we're at, but it has been so disappointing in the last two home games in how we've played and how we've lost games," he said. "We have a responsibility to our fans to win games and ..."
Rutherford: Staal to miss some games
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November 2
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Canes center Eric Staal will miss some games because of an upper-body injury suffered Sunday against the San Jose Sharks, general manager Jim Rutherford said today. Staal has played in 349 consecutive regular-season games, but that streak likely will end, Rutherford said. He has missed just one game in his career, late in his rookie season. Staal left after the second period of the 5-1 loss to San Jose as the Canes dropped their ninth straight game to fall to 2-8-3."
Staal to miss several games after injury
Comment
November 2
TSN.ca
 
"The Carolina Hurricanes will be without star centre Eric Staal for several games, according to general manager Jim Rutherford. Rutherford told the Raleigh News Observer on Monday that Staal suffered an upper-body injury on Sunday during Carolina's 5-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks. "When things go wrong, they go wrong," Rutherford told the News Observer. "All teams have to deal with injuries. We have enough players to step up but we'll have to do it with confidence at an all-time low.""
Hurricanes have fallen far real fast
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November 2
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"In the winter of 2003, after a dismal six-goal loss to the Los Angeles Kings, the Carolina Hurricanes reached the inevitable conclusion that no matter how hard anyone tried or what anyone did, their season was only getting worse. And it proceeded to get worse, all the way to last place. Is it possible the Hurricanes have reached that point on the first day of November, after a dismal four-goal loss to another West Coast team? After all, this is the first time the Hurricanes have gone nine games without a win since then. This team doesn't have the injury problems or overwhelming lack of interest the 2002-03 team developed as it slid down the standings, but it also doesn't have a whole lot ..."
Sharks take bite out of Hurricanes
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November 2
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Rod Brind'Amour doesn't have the answer. Ray Whitney doesn't have it. Neither does any other Carolina Hurricanes player. Paul Maurice wishes he had one, but the coach seems just as baffled as everyone else, almost to the point of being flabbergasted. The Hurricanes have lost nine straight games after being blasted 5-1 on Sunday by the San Jose Sharks. And by game's end, with many of the few fans left in the RBC Center booing, it was easy to forget the Canes had led 1-0 early in the second period on Brandon Sutter's goal. That would be 20-year-old Sutter, the youngest player on the team. The Canes, who aren't lacking for veterans, have one goal in each of the last two games - losing 6-1 ..."
Sharks get goals from unlikely scorers in win
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November 2
San Jose Mercury News
 
"Forward Brad Staubitz needed only three words to explain the fact that the Sharks' first four goals in a 5-1 breeze of a victory over the Carolina Hurricanes came from some unlikely sources Sunday. "Full moon, man," said Staubitz, a fourth-line right wing whose second goal of the season held up as the winner. Douglas Murray had a more technical explanation for the fact that he had just scored his first goal in 109 games and that fellow defenseman Kent Huskins had chipped in his first goal as a Shark as San Jose stretched its winning streak to five games. "I think contributions will come from the blue line when the team is playing well," Murray said. "It's all about coming out clean in our ..."
'Canes can commiserate
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November 2
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
 
"Panthers coach Pete DeBoer and Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice, close friends for many years, exchanged text messages the other day about their early season predicaments. "I think misery loves company," DeBoer said with a laugh before Saturday's 4-0 win in St. Louis, "and neither of us is off to a great start. But the one thing we learned last year when both of us were sitting a long way outside of the playoffs is it's a long year and this is a marathon, not a sprint." The Hurricanes (2-8-3) lost their ninth consecutive game Sunday and are off to their worst start ever. The Panthers, despite back-to-back wins, are 4-7-1. The teams will play Wednesday at BankAtlantic Center. The Panthers, who ..."
Flyers blow past 'Canes
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November 1
Camden Courier-Post
 
"Flyers coach John Stevens made a statement to his players Wednesday when he stripped them of a scheduled day off and told them they'd keep practicing until they started winning games General manager Paul Holmgren made a statement to them Thursday when he said he did not take losing lightly and wanted to start seeing results in the win column. Saturday, the players made a statement to their coach and general manager -- not to mention 19,076 rowdy fans at the Wachovia Center -- with a lopsided 6-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Braydon Coburn pulled himself from a slump with two goals, and David Laliberte celebrated his first NHL game with a goal and an assist as the Flyers snapped a ..."
Flyers storm past 'Canes
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November 1
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"Flyers rookie right winger David Laliberte got into the spirit of Halloween yesterday at the Wachovia Center.He came disguised as Danny Briere.Playing in his first NHL game, Laliberte scored on his second shift, lifting a rebound into the net to help the Flyers defeat the Carolina Hurricanes, 6-1, in front of an announced crowd of 19,076.Laliberte, 23, promoted from the AHL's Adirondack Phantoms to replace the injured Briere, added a second-period assist."It's unbelievable. I couldn't sleep last night. I was too excited about this game," said Laliberte, whose mother, father, sister, and girlfriend drove to the game from Montreal. "It's a dream come true. I just worked hard, and the puck ..."
Big game for Canes in Philly
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October 31
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"It won't be the biggest game in town, by any means, but for the Carolina Hurricanes it's by far the most important. The Canes will play the Philadelphia Flyers today at the Wachovia Center, with the puck dropping a little after 1 p.m. About seven hours later, across the street at Citizens Bank Park, will come the first pitch in Game 3 of the World Series between the Phillies and New York Yankees. But Canes coach Paul Maurice doesn't mind being the afternoon matinee, so to speak. "We'd like to be the main show in town, but we're just not yet," he said. "Not a bad way to go. We're coming in undercover." For the Hurricanes, it's not a matter of exposure. It's simply a matter of trying to ..."
Canes aim to take care of business one on one
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October 30
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Eric Staal and Ray Whitney were fighting for the puck Thursday in front of goaltender Cam Ward, banging bodies, banging sticks, their one-on-one duel intense and competitive. While much has been made of the Carolina Hurricanes' seven-game winless streak and disappointing plummet to 13th place in the Eastern Conference, coach Paul Maurice said a big part of the solution and turnaround lies in a hockey basic: winning battles. "Simple things, close-quarter areas," Maurice said Thursday after a long practice. "You spend a lot of time working on your systems, but none of them are effective if you're not coming up with loose pucks or defending when they have the loose pucks." Coaches all ..."
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