Dancing Queen - Thrashers at Hurricanes Pre-Game
The Atlanta Thrashers are in town to take on the Carolina Hurricanes tonight in yet another pressure packed game with playoff implications. Believe it or not, the Thrashers have won 5 straight at the RBC. Both teams are coming off losses from their most recent contests, the Canes after a shoot-out thriller with Boston on Tuesday night, and Atlanta after losing to the Islanders way back on Saturday night. The Thrashers could only muster 10 shots on goal in that game, which set a franchise record.
Casey Borer has been sent back to Albany and surprisingly, Tim Conboy will get the nod tonight which means that we will probably get to hear the good old, “Convoy” song again. (one thing about Canesvision, they are not afraid of repetition.) Conboy is pretty flexible in that he can fill in as a forward or defenseman for the club and of course brings his “fists of fury” with him.
Bret Hedican has been cleared to play again after “re-tweaking” his hip last week. Speaking of Hedican in case you have not heard, his lovely wife Kristi Yamaguchi will participate in this season’s Dancing with the Stars. That ought to be interesting. I’ll save the jokes for later.
LSB is reporting that the lines tonight will start out as following….
- Staal-Whitney-Cole
- Cullen-Ladd-Samsonov
- Aucoin-Walker-Bayda
- Letowski-Brookbank-Conboy
- Wesley-Corvo
- Gleason-Hedican
- Wallin-Kaberle
Cam Ward will be in goal. Start time is at 7 and once again there is no local television. I’ll rant about that later and also give some analysis about what Rutherford might do about adding a center before trade deadline.
Both teams need this 4 point swing game badly, but who wants it the most?
ABBA
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 
Fred | Feb 21, 2008 | Reply
When they were announcing during the game on Tuesday that KY would be on DWTS, Grahame couldn’t help himself.
He was staring at the JumboTron relentlessly!
Ken | Feb 21, 2008 | Reply
Sorry, I have to get a few things off my chest. First, I’d like to know what management has against Hamilton. It’s pretty clear he’s being prejudiced against. Okay, the guy hasn’t played like he did last year, but the management has shown him NO confidence. On the other hand, I think an argument could be made that Letowski has some kind of “special” relationship w/management, because no matter how horrible an eyesore he is, he continues to play, play, play. Look at the stats. Hamilton is a -8, Letowski a -15. Hamilton has played 5 less games yet has 19 points to Letowski’s 8. What is going on here? You can say all you want about Hamilton not trying hard enough, but everything you say is ruled out by Letowski playing and Hamilton riding the pine. Until I have an answer to that that makes sense, I will continue to blame management as part of this year’s problem. Problem-o number 2…defensive pairings. What kind of sense does it make to pair Wallin w/Kaberle…our 2 clearly worst defensemen? One is a -8 and the other a -15…we’re pretty much waving the “Score a Goal for Free” flag every time they get out there. The only sense this makes is if they are being short-shifted or their line is being skipped completely, which I don’t believe is happening. Again, this doesn’t make sense to me, sorry. Players like Borer bring excitement and energy while players like Letowski, Kaberle, and Wallin bring dullness, errors, and goals against. Maybe some time in the minors would help these “get it back on”…okay, I’m done.
janeybell | Feb 21, 2008 | Reply
Ken, haven’t you noticed that once you’re on Lavi’s “crap” list, you’re there to stay? I have a feeling that he and Hamilton didn’t see eye to eye on something and it went downhill from there. That’s the only reason I can think of….and yes, it’s prejudiced, but it’s the coaches choice who plays.
Ken | Feb 21, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for the support, JB…I will give credit where it’s due though and mention that the coaching staff’s new “brilliant idea” about actually throwing puck on net instead of in the corner is actually working! Read the recap of tonight’s game on nhl.com, and you’ll see Walker revealing that strategy. Wow, can you believe it? We’re actually putting our offensive talent where it belongs…on the net, instead of sending guys into the corner to get injured!!! Halleluia! God be praised! Woo-hoo!!! 40+ shots on goal per game…now that DOES make sense! (Forgive me…I actually played hockey today, so I’m a little pumped up.)
Ken | Feb 21, 2008 | Reply
Sorry, just a few more comments, promise. Kudos to the AHL-ers!!! Keep them!!! The Canes are starting to play like a playoff team. We seem so much younger and energetic now. Also, the new Flavor of the Game videos on nhl.com are very entertaining…great idea.
Ken | Feb 21, 2008 | Reply
Sorry, couldn’t help it…this a quote from tonight’s recap:
“Carolina, still last in the NHL shorthanded, have allowed at least one power play goal in its last five games – the worst streak of the season.”
Let’s see…who’s on the kill line…mmmm…is it Hamilton? Nope. How about Letowski??? Guess who was on the ice tonight when Atlanta scored their PP goal? Hamilton? Wrong, again. Letowski. 2/19 against Boston, 1st PP goal, Letowski on ice. 2/19, New Jersey, only PP goal, Letowski on ice. 2/14, Pittsburgh, only PP goal, Letowski on ice. 2/9, New Jersey, 1 of 2 PP goals, Letowski on ice. 2/2, Pittsburgh, 1 of 2 PP goals, Letowski on ice. That’s just the past few weeks!!! Bubba, please send this on to Canes mgmt…before it’s too late. What are they THINKING?!?
C-Leaguer | Feb 22, 2008 | Reply
Ken, Let me say that I am not hear to overly praise Letowski. I think he’s been a disappointment for the most part. What Letowski does bring to the table right now is the ability to win a face off, something Hamilton hasn’t been able to do. Hopefully Staal will continue to have 15 for 26 nights in the circle and we won’t need Letowski to win an occaisional face off. Couple that with Staal, Cole and Whitney playing the PK and it should be the end of Letowski and the start of Hamilton.