NO KOVY OR NIEDS, NO PROBLEM
CAROLINA 
The Hurricanes patiently awaited the conference rival the New York Rangers on Monday. Both teams were looking for some much needed points but on this night, the Canes were not willing to let up.
Jose Theodore got the all important start and the veteran netminder didn't let up. A supposed confidence issue, a rumour started by some of the local media, was quickly put to rest as the offensive wingers of the Rangers were unable to get under Theo's skin.
"I think a lot of the garbage I have read about Theodore is just crap started by someone who has nothing else to write about," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "I can assure you that our team has full confidence in Jose and he will not let us down. He is about as focused as anyone in this league and can steal a game with the best of them."
The losses of Alexei Kovalev and Scott Niedermayer after the brutal Vancouver Cancucks game were harder to deal with. Both players are cornerstones and often share most of the offensive load, but on this night, their veteran presence was not needed. Jay McKee and Cory Stillman each picked up two points in the victory.
"Last time I looked, our squad had other guys," said McKee. "We have a great group of guys, young guys, who are more than willing to pick up the slack. If one day Kovy or Nieds were to be dealt, our team could handle it. Hell, if I was dealt, our team would be fine."
The first started off slow as neither team could get much going. The see saw battle ended in the second however when speedy winger Scott Walker took a feed from Cory Stillman and buried his first. The Canes took the lead 1 to nothing.
About five minutes later, captain Shane Doan went into the corner to retrieve a loose when Ossi Vaananen chased him. Doan stopped to feed the puck back to the point when Ossi skated over to him and headbutted him.
"I looked at him and thought 'did he just do what I thought he did?'" said Doan.
The ref immediately whistled the play dead and Vaananen was assessed a 5 minute major. The Canes, however, could do nothing with the man advantage.
In the third, Jesse Wallin took an elbowing minor as he got his elbow a bit high on forward Mike Ribiero. Wallin complained that Ribiero is under 5 feet tall and that he didn't have to raise his elbow to hit him. The ref would hear nothing of the matter and Wallin was given two.
With Rick Nash planted firmly in front of the net, Tjutin went to feed the big winger in front, but an alert Gordie Dwyer dove to intercept the pass and chipped the puck to Mckee. Stillman, sensing a break down rushed out to center ice and Mckee fed the offensive dynamo who went in alone on Mike Dunham and made no mistake. The Canes took the lead 2 to nothing and held on for the victory.
"Overall, I think we played well," said Doan. "We had our chances, we were patient and we stuck to the plan. A good win."
The Hurricanes patiently awaited the conference rival the New York Rangers on Monday. Both teams were looking for some much needed points but on this night, the Canes were not willing to let up.
Jose Theodore got the all important start and the veteran netminder didn't let up. A supposed confidence issue, a rumour started by some of the local media, was quickly put to rest as the offensive wingers of the Rangers were unable to get under Theo's skin.
"I think a lot of the garbage I have read about Theodore is just crap started by someone who has nothing else to write about," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "I can assure you that our team has full confidence in Jose and he will not let us down. He is about as focused as anyone in this league and can steal a game with the best of them."
The losses of Alexei Kovalev and Scott Niedermayer after the brutal Vancouver Cancucks game were harder to deal with. Both players are cornerstones and often share most of the offensive load, but on this night, their veteran presence was not needed. Jay McKee and Cory Stillman each picked up two points in the victory.
"Last time I looked, our squad had other guys," said McKee. "We have a great group of guys, young guys, who are more than willing to pick up the slack. If one day Kovy or Nieds were to be dealt, our team could handle it. Hell, if I was dealt, our team would be fine."
The first started off slow as neither team could get much going. The see saw battle ended in the second however when speedy winger Scott Walker took a feed from Cory Stillman and buried his first. The Canes took the lead 1 to nothing.
About five minutes later, captain Shane Doan went into the corner to retrieve a loose when Ossi Vaananen chased him. Doan stopped to feed the puck back to the point when Ossi skated over to him and headbutted him.
"I looked at him and thought 'did he just do what I thought he did?'" said Doan.
The ref immediately whistled the play dead and Vaananen was assessed a 5 minute major. The Canes, however, could do nothing with the man advantage.
In the third, Jesse Wallin took an elbowing minor as he got his elbow a bit high on forward Mike Ribiero. Wallin complained that Ribiero is under 5 feet tall and that he didn't have to raise his elbow to hit him. The ref would hear nothing of the matter and Wallin was given two.
With Rick Nash planted firmly in front of the net, Tjutin went to feed the big winger in front, but an alert Gordie Dwyer dove to intercept the pass and chipped the puck to Mckee. Stillman, sensing a break down rushed out to center ice and Mckee fed the offensive dynamo who went in alone on Mike Dunham and made no mistake. The Canes took the lead 2 to nothing and held on for the victory.
"Overall, I think we played well," said Doan. "We had our chances, we were patient and we stuck to the plan. A good win."
posted by Lohaus at 10:00 AM
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