Bad Medicine
In this day when bad means good but can also mean bad, you can take this post title anyway you want to. Either way, the Carolina Hurricanes need some medicine, they need it badly, and they need it right now. I’m not going to get into the details of the game last night. It started out horridly. There were multiple turnovers in the Canes end. Then the boys picked up the intensity somewhat, but it still wasn’t good enough to really make a decent game out of it. After awhile it seemed like they wouldn’t have been able to hit an open net even if they had picked up the puck and tried to throw it in. No matter how hard they tried, they just seemed inept. Of course a lot of that had to do with playing against the best team in the east for the past 2 months. Ottawa played a great, tightly checking game. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind who the better team was last night.
The final score was 2-0 as Carolina tied the franchise record for being shut out the most times in a season with 8. That’s one record that most fans didn’t think would be broken at the beginning of this year. After Sunday’s game in Atlanta, the team gets a few days off. I’m sure they are all looking forward to that, as are many Caniacs. The next game is Friday night though against the Penguins at the RBC. The Pens are playing tonight, so they should be a bit tired on Friday. Will that make any difference compared to the listless Hurricanes? Will the Canes be able to take advantage of it? We will see.
On the good news front, Katherine Fritsch won the latest round of “Living Room Live”. She will go into the finals next week against 2 other previous winners. We’ll talk more about that later. Have a good one!
Bon Jovi
About the Author: Bubba is a hockey fan/citizen journalist who has always wanted to be a sportswriter and is pursuing his dream. He also writes a Hurricanes blog for 
Dustin Lammers | Mar 1, 2007 | Reply
Hi Bubba,
I’ve been a Canes fan since Ron Francis played with Hartford - I’m from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan so it’s good to get this blog to read more up on my team.
Anyway just wanted to make a comment after watching the game last night. I think we’re desparately lacking a third center. Belanger wasn’t the answer, and I’m not sure if getting Vasicek again is either. With the 11 forwards that we normally play, it’s hard on Staal and Brind’Amour. I have seen about 10-15 games this year and Staal has looked tired in every one. I think we need to develop a good center with some size and speed (Joe Barnes played with Saskatoon’s WHL has some skill) to bring in for next year, I thnk losing Cullen hurts more than anyone expected. This season isn’t over yet but this past home-and-home series was huge, and the competition is only stronger with the trades. How do you feel about the centres on the team besides 1 and 1A?
Again thanks for this great daily read.
-Dustin
Biggie | Mar 1, 2007 | Reply
I agree, last year we had 7 or 8 guys who could play center. Belanger wasn’t happy here and didn’t seem to fit the system. Chad LaRose is finally getting to play at his natural position and I was hoping he’d get some time on the 3rd line to show his skills, but that hasn’t really happened. Big Joe must be blackmailing the front office, I can’t figure out what they see in him that they like so much?
Bubba | Mar 1, 2007 | Reply
Welcome Dustin! I know we have several out of towners who check in here regularly. It must be difficult trying to keep tabs on your team from so far away.
I agree with what you and Biggie mention. The 3rd line center position has been lacking all year and is a major problem. Maybe we were spoiled with Cullen last year though? How many 3rd line centers around the league get 25 goals? I’d have to research that, but I doubt there are many. The point Dustin makes about Lavi usually only using 11 forwards is a very important one. That means that Brind’Amour and Staal are double shifted. While the theory is a good one, it’s not working in practice. Staal looks very tired, mentally and physically. One has to wonder how many minutes a game Brindy can keep playing at his age, no matter what shape he is in. This double shifting along with the minimal production from the 3rd line center position has made things tough on Staal and Brindy.
Joe Vasicek has been playing hard and trying since he came back. I’ll give him credit for that. One can still hope that he will eventually learn to take advantage of his size, (6′5) and score some goals as well as he can cycle. It looks like he will have that chance until the end of the year, but then all bets are off.
Joe Barnes may very well be the answer next year, we can only hope. He had a very strong rookie camp this year, but to be honest I have not tracked him since then and don’t know how he’s done.
Tomorrow I will post more about where I think we are lacking this year compared to last. There’s enough blame to go around! Take care guys.