The names of what is now Hurricanes history still ring in our ears. Cory Stillman. Mike Commodore. Most recently, Andrew Ladd. Carolina General Manager Jim Rutherford did not let the trade deadline pass quietly, and has taken a big gamble in giving up three key players to try to fortify the team for the playoff stretch. The youngest, Ladd, was playing the best hockey of his short career in the weeks leading up to his departure. Having the organization move these guys, in particular, initially bewildered and downright annoyed the Caniac fan base. Tonight, it is evident why Mr. Rutherford doesn't allow the fans to make roster decisions. In a divisional battle with the Tampa Bay Lightning, each of the four replacement Hurricanes factored in the scoring and contributed on both ends of the ice in a dominant 5-1 victory at the RBC Center.
Sergei Samsonov was written off by his old team, the Chicago Blackhawks, and by the rest of the league. His career had peaked, and his play had seemingly tapered off. In what is now looking like the best pickup of the NHL season, he was snagged off re-entry waivers by J.R. on January 8th. At the time, he was merely a warm body filling an injury void in the third or fourth line. Gelling instantly with the 'Canes, it is apparent now that Samsonov is in the midst of a second coming; his previously-stagnant career showing new signs of life with his new mates. Shut out in the first period, he racked up an assist and a goal in the second, and added another goal in the third to complete a three-point night. The effort brings his totals up to eleven goals, two of them game-winners, and ten assists, all in just 24 games with the team. Plus-minus in 23 games with the Blackhawks: -7. Plus-minus in 24 games with the Hurricanes: +10. You could say he's producing.
Joe Corvo has also shown his ability to join seamlessly with his new teammates. Working the point on the power play, the Hurricanes man-advantage offense has improved almost immeasurably since his addition on February 11th. Now, with Matt Cullen recently back in the lineup, the two have been a formidable tandem at the top of the power play. In his 10th game with the Hurricanes, Corvo finally rang the bell for the first time on a laser slapshot from above the circles just as a Lightning penalty expired early in the second period. The shot was labeled for the top corner, blocker side, and had eyes through the traffic to beat goalie Mike Smith, a newly-acquired Lightning in his own right.
“I had been using an 85-100 flex and I switched to 110 today to feel a little more solid, get a little bit more snap on it,” said Corvo. “That shot was pretty hard.”
That was a soft way to put it. In the third period, Corvo fired another blast from the point that knocked Smith backwards a step and sent his stick flying from his hands. He's no Al MacInnis, but I would guess he has the hardest shot on the team. Corvo tallied a team-high 22 minutes of ice time and was a +2 on the night.
Patrick Eaves, acquired from Ottawa alongside Corvo, also put his name on the score sheet in the third period, recording an assist on the second Samsonov goal. The helper was Eaves' second in just three games as a Hurricane, and he's still seeing very limited ice time as he continues to heal from the pre-trade injury.
And then there's Tuomo Ruutu, Mr. Massive Facial Injury himself. Of all the roster moves made by J.R. in the past weeks, none was more controversial than giving up Andrew Ladd, once thought to be the future of the team. Ruutu, howver, is doing his very best to make the fans forget all about Ladd. He assisted on the 'Canes first goal of the game by Eric Staal, created traffic in front of the net for one of Samsonov's, and not to be outdone by Corvo, also tallied his own first goal as a Hurricane. Ruutu was thought to be a strong third line-caliber player, but has been forced to jump into the top line with the injury-afflicted Hurricanes. Tonight, Ray Whitney was out of the lineup fighting an infection, and Ruutu managed a +3 skating with Eric Staal and Erik Cole.
Those four players are showing the ownership and the fan base that they belong here on this team, and are giving their full effort night-in and night-out thus far. Coach Peter Laviolette commented on them following the victory: "We needed contributions at a time when injuries were happening. You get long-term injuries where you know guys are going to be out for three months, four months, possibly a season. You need other people to step up and that's what's really happened here. Guys have committed to it, and they've played some good hockey."
Sergei Samsonov was written off by his old team, the Chicago Blackhawks, and by the rest of the league. His career had peaked, and his play had seemingly tapered off. In what is now looking like the best pickup of the NHL season, he was snagged off re-entry waivers by J.R. on January 8th. At the time, he was merely a warm body filling an injury void in the third or fourth line. Gelling instantly with the 'Canes, it is apparent now that Samsonov is in the midst of a second coming; his previously-stagnant career showing new signs of life with his new mates. Shut out in the first period, he racked up an assist and a goal in the second, and added another goal in the third to complete a three-point night. The effort brings his totals up to eleven goals, two of them game-winners, and ten assists, all in just 24 games with the team. Plus-minus in 23 games with the Blackhawks: -7. Plus-minus in 24 games with the Hurricanes: +10. You could say he's producing.
Joe Corvo has also shown his ability to join seamlessly with his new teammates. Working the point on the power play, the Hurricanes man-advantage offense has improved almost immeasurably since his addition on February 11th. Now, with Matt Cullen recently back in the lineup, the two have been a formidable tandem at the top of the power play. In his 10th game with the Hurricanes, Corvo finally rang the bell for the first time on a laser slapshot from above the circles just as a Lightning penalty expired early in the second period. The shot was labeled for the top corner, blocker side, and had eyes through the traffic to beat goalie Mike Smith, a newly-acquired Lightning in his own right.
“I had been using an 85-100 flex and I switched to 110 today to feel a little more solid, get a little bit more snap on it,” said Corvo. “That shot was pretty hard.”
That was a soft way to put it. In the third period, Corvo fired another blast from the point that knocked Smith backwards a step and sent his stick flying from his hands. He's no Al MacInnis, but I would guess he has the hardest shot on the team. Corvo tallied a team-high 22 minutes of ice time and was a +2 on the night.
Patrick Eaves, acquired from Ottawa alongside Corvo, also put his name on the score sheet in the third period, recording an assist on the second Samsonov goal. The helper was Eaves' second in just three games as a Hurricane, and he's still seeing very limited ice time as he continues to heal from the pre-trade injury.
And then there's Tuomo Ruutu, Mr. Massive Facial Injury himself. Of all the roster moves made by J.R. in the past weeks, none was more controversial than giving up Andrew Ladd, once thought to be the future of the team. Ruutu, howver, is doing his very best to make the fans forget all about Ladd. He assisted on the 'Canes first goal of the game by Eric Staal, created traffic in front of the net for one of Samsonov's, and not to be outdone by Corvo, also tallied his own first goal as a Hurricane. Ruutu was thought to be a strong third line-caliber player, but has been forced to jump into the top line with the injury-afflicted Hurricanes. Tonight, Ray Whitney was out of the lineup fighting an infection, and Ruutu managed a +3 skating with Eric Staal and Erik Cole.
Those four players are showing the ownership and the fan base that they belong here on this team, and are giving their full effort night-in and night-out thus far. Coach Peter Laviolette commented on them following the victory: "We needed contributions at a time when injuries were happening. You get long-term injuries where you know guys are going to be out for three months, four months, possibly a season. You need other people to step up and that's what's really happened here. Guys have committed to it, and they've played some good hockey."
Despite those show-stealing new guys taking all the credit, Eric Staal had himself a big game as well. In the absence of Captain Rod, Staal is the guy that has taken the lead on this team. Tonight, he got the equalizer in the first, just 3:29 after his team went down by one. He also helped out the new guys, getting an assist on both Corvo and Ruutu's first goals with the team. The Corvo assist was a bit generous -- he hadn't touched the puck in a minute, it seemed like -- but he made a flawless backhand pass to set up Ruutu's marker on a two-on-one breakout late in the contest.
For the Hurricanes, it was almost a sixty-minute effort, although they did come out of the gate a little on the flat side in the first period. Cam Ward allowed a bit of a softy seven minutes into the contest, as the defense in particular looked a little sluggish early. From then on, though, it was quite a one-sided affair in the other direction. Tampa Bay showed all kinds of fatigue, both mental and physical after playing their second game in as many nights, and being without a chance at postseason play with a month left in a disappointing season that they can't wait to get out of. They put eighteen shots on Cam Ward in the first two periods, but managed only a paltry four in the third. They committed five lazy impeding penalties, seven in total during the course of the match. Superstars Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier were virtual no-shows, as they have been struggling for their team in the last eight or ten games.
Tim Gleason returned after his one-game absence fighting blurry vision after the boarding incident with Devil's Michael Rupp. He seemed to show no lingering ill effects, and logged nearly nineteen minutes of play, a pair of hits, a blocked shot, and was a +2 on the evening. When asked how he was feeling today after being cleared to play, he responded, "110 percent." Gleason's recent play puts him at or very near the top of the list as the team's best defenseman, and his absence in the Rangers game was a big detriment. His defensive partner, Bret Hedican also had a very solid game, two nights after having one of his worst of the season against those same Rangers.
The Hurricanes increase their point total to 73 and are in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference. They lead their division by five points over the Washington Capitals, who lost to the middling Toronto Maple Leafs tonight as well. The Caps have two games in hand over the 'Canes, but Carolina is comfortably in control of their own fate in the playoff race. They leave the friendly confines of the RBC Center for the first time since February 18th on Wednesday night, when they travel to Atlanta for a 7:00 date with the Thrashers. The game will be televised locally on FSN South.
My 3 stars: S. Samsonov, E. Staal, T. Ruutu
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