Tough Extended Weekend Ahead
The Carolina Hurricanes sit tied for last in the Southeastern Division with the Winnipeg Jets and the road doesn’t get any easier for Carolina.
This weekend the Hurricanes play at the New York Rangers on Friday and then return home to host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday and the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins on Monday. The Canes’ captain is struggling offensively this season and without Jussi Jokinen for another three weeks or so, the Hurricanes have a lot of work ahead of them. Since losing Jokinen on the November 1st win against the Lightning, the Canes have lost three straight games. Now is the time for some of the seasoned leaders to step up.
Eric Staal has not played in Madison Square Garden since laying a hit on his brother, Marc, and concussing him on a vicious check in late February. What brothers don’t butt heads every once in a while? But with Staal off to a slow start (3G, 2A, -16 rating), the Hurricanes need to find another star to carry the team. The captain has the worst +/- rating on the team and has a pathetic 5.5% scoring percentage. I case you were wondering, $13 million defenseman Joni Pitkanen owns the second worst rating on the team with a -10.
The Hurricanes have dropped three straight games this month so maybe it’s time for Alternate Captain Brandon Sutter to step up his play and show he can be a consistent leader on the third line. Sutter is currently tied for second on the team in goals but if the Hurricanes can rally around one or two players and find some offense, it will translate into more wins. The Hurricanes will not blow any teams away with their top line, so they need to find production and get mismatches on the ice. Sutter, Pitkanen, Tuomo Ruutu, Chad LaRose and Anthony Stewart scored Carolina’s last five goals. What does that tell us? There are no leaders. Who is stepping up to score the big goal? Jeff Skinner is the only player on the roster with double digit points this season after 15 games.
Aside from all-star Jeff Skinner, it’s hard to find another player who is as important to this team as goalie Cam Ward. Ward in 5-5-2 on the season with a .912 save percentage and one shutout. But Ward can’t do it all between the pipes. He needs help and he needs it fast.
We can only hope 11/11/11 is the day the Hurricanes put things together against the Rangers. In my opinion, head coach Paul Maurice should be on the hot seat because he has not been able to coach this team to their full potential.
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