Red Wings tip Canes 3-1
The Detroit Red Wings beat the Carolina Hurricanes Monday night by a score of 3-1 in a tight, action packed game at the RBC. The Stanley Cup Champs scored two powerplay goals, then added an empty netter for good measure near the end of the game.
The Hurricanes played their most physical game of the season and were credited with 32 hits to the Wings 23, but penalties ended up killing the hometeam as special team play was the difference in this contest.
In the first period, Ray Whitney was called for a hooking penalty, the first of two penalties by him, and the Red Wings took immediate advantage when Nick Lidstrom scored on a blast from the point.
Joe Corvo evened the game early in the second period, but another Detroit powerplay goal, this one by Tomas Holmstrom who, as usual, was planted right in the crease, made the score 2-1.
The Hurricanes tried hard to tie the game and played pretty even five on five hockey, but were ineffective on their powerplay chances. That ended up costing them. Henrik Zetterberg added the empty netter for his first goal of the season.
The Red Wings played their typical puck possession game and out-shot the Canes in the first two periods, but Carolina came on strong in the third and out-shot the world champs, 13-8. Cam Ward was sharp through most of the game, but his ears were ringing as Detroit hit iron on more than one occasion.
The Canes had their chances as well. Tuomo Ruutu had a wonderful opportunity in the first period, but the puck was rolling and he could not back-hand it cleanly into the open net. He ended up sending it wide.
Carolina had almost 30 seconds of 5 on 3 advantage, but could never get anything setup and ended up taking another penalty themselves.
In the second period, Brandon Sutter had a great chance, but Ty Conklin somehow made the save. The goal judge lit the lamp on the play and the goal horn went off multiple times, fooling much of the crowd into thinking that there was a score. The goal judge did the same thing on Friday night, on a similar close play. Someone should give the judge a memo, don’t light the lamp until the puck is actually in the net.
The team improved on faceoffs as Eric Staal went 12-12 and Rod Brind’Amour went 11-9. Brandon Sutter went 1-9, but otherwise played a pretty good game and generated quite a few chances.
Staal played over 26 minutes, as did Joni Pitkanen.
The loss gives the Canes a 2-1 record as they take their show on the road for the next six games.
After the game, the team admitted that they could have played better, but also gave the Red Wings credit for making things difficult on them. Everyone mentioned that committing so many penalties was a problem.
In this press interview with Joe Corvo, he talks about still needing to come out a bit more “crisper” from the gate and mentions that he went to school with Ty Conklin. I would bet that Corvo lit him up a few times there as well.
In the following press conference with Peter Laviolette, the coach says that the “lazy hooking and holding penalties will eventually kill us”.
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 
zoodani | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
I don’t know if it was because of the wing’s defense or our mistakes, but it seemed like if they could have just kept the passes out of their skates, they might have finished several of their chances.
wylde4canes | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
I think the passing was not crisp due to the stifling defense of the red wings. It seemed like they always had a stick in the passing lanes or on the puck. I agree that Carolina took dumb penalties, but I think part of that was frustration over the way the Wings control the neutral zone. At times it seemed like the wings were just this side of obstruction.
It was nice to see the physical effort last night, as well as a more complete defensive effort.
Cory | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
Overall, maybe the best 60-minute effort of the season. That being said, they were bitten by big screens in front — which I mentioned was a key to stopping Detroit’s PP and winning the game — and couldn’t beat Conklin with a few very good chances.
I really can’t fault anyone for the way they played. I thought the team got a good effort from everyone and just ran into a very, very good team. The key now will be not relaxing when facing a clearly less-accomplished L.A. team Friday evening.
wylde4canes | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
Off topic but, RIP Cherepanov. Total travesty that the medical crew can’t check a battery in an AED. Even worse that he had to wait 45 minutes for an ambulance. Unthinkable that they didn’t even have a freaking stretcher for him.
hotchipsnsalsa | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
Maybe someone can enlighten me. I have been a plan holder for the past 7 years and I like the action, however, I am still not an expert about what happens on the ice as far whats really good execution and whats not like I can in football, but I still enjoy it. But wasn’t the ice a little chippy last night? It seemed like the pulling was rolling around a lot and that had something to do with our control of the puck(and theirs as well) Not making excuses, but just trying to improve my “eye” of the game.
Bubba | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
hotchip - I can’t vouch for the condition of the ice, I don’t know. No one mentioned anything about it.
Cory | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
Good observation Hotchip … they said on the telecast, actually, that ice was *too* hard last night, and that makes it choppy. Better than soft ice like at MSG, I suppose, but still not ideal.
SamsonovFan | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
Excellent reporting, as always, Bubba. You and Cory covered all the bases and issues. What a game, though! The Canes’ heart and physicality was clearly demonstrated (against an amazing team)… they have a lot to be very proud of and they are laying a strong foundation.
wylde4canes - Great posts today and always! Agreed.
Pretty sure I heard Don and EJ say Coach Laviolette is going to be on NHL Live today.
wylde4canes | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
thanks for the heads up SamsonovFan and the kind words as well!
TylerA | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
I Thought the Canes played an excellent game as well. I thought Ruutu was everywhere, and hitting anything that moved. I thought Ward looked really good in net also. He made one really nice kick save off a rebound while he was still in a split from saving the first shot. The way he was snatching pucks with his glove hand he looked really confident…..hope that can carry over.
TylerA | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
Oh, and Detroit may have won the game, but the Canes won the fight!! While I dont think we want to play them again……I dont think they want to play us again either!!
SamsonovFan | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
I really liked the *hits* tally. Nice to finally see those numbers. Bayda, Ruutu, and Corvo were beastly last night!! Staal’s 26 minutes… wow. Ward was remarkable, especially considering Holmstrom’s presence. Team toughness.
canes fan 1983 | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
does anybody know what the trade rumour for the hurricanes
Cory | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
Some stuff out there about them moving a d-man for a forward. But I don’t see them dealing inexpensive guys (Melichar, Babchuk) for a forward that would be a true upgrade. I think they’ll see how Boychuk does this weekend and going forward before doing anything.
Ken | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
This was a good test for the Canes. The biggest difference between the teams is in a word….anticipation. The Red Wings seem to be scating to where the puck will be, while the Canes seemed to be chasing the puck a lot more. The Wings will do this all year long. They will even improve a bit. The league will catch up by sometime in January. Seems like they just practice puck handling, passing and anticipation. This is the deal on offense and defense. The Canes really don’t match up well against this style. It takes the posession game away from us. The way to nulify this stuff is with physical play. They did a lot of that but in the end, it was a hard earned win by Detroit. There are teams in the west that can beat Detroit in the play offs with physical style. Very interesting very entertaining stuff. Looking forward to the rest of the season. I hope we get another chance at them for the cup.
Ivan | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
Good game by the Wings, I just think that if you want to be champs, you have to beat the champs, and the Canes showed last night that they are just not playing at that level yet. Hanging with a good team is not going to win the game. The Canes said they were eager to win and show their stuff and show that they are one of the elite teams in the NHL. They failed to make that statement last night.
On a side note, I think its kinda funny how we could win 8-0 and Lavi would still have the same demeanor during a press conference.
Swenk | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
Had a blast last night at the game. Just a few observations….Corvo finally looks ready to play….Pitkanen is a super star in the making in our system, he played as many minutes as Staal, though he may never get the love he deserves from Caniacs considering whom he was traded for…going to go out on a limb here Pitkanen scores more points this year than Cole.
Staal is a beast, Roddy looked to get stronger as the game went on, we need him on the PK. Sutter’s upside is limitless. Is that the REAL Frankie Kaberle I’ve seen thru three games, he may be back. Cullen has his confidence and speed back, but he can’t be in our top six long term, he needs to center a solid third line. Anyone seen Eaves after game one? If Eaves can’t skate in the top six we mos def need another forward.
The Redwings are faceless, I mean that as the highest compliment. It didn’t seem to matter who was on the ice…the positioning and play were the same. Damn what a team!
Rutuu will have his best season of his career on Staal’s wing.
Have the officials collectively decided to not call tripping penalties? and i’m not just talking about Canes games, have seen glaring lack of obvious tripping calls on the young season.
Thanks to Bubba for giving us this forum to rap.
CaniacSean | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
My take on the game……
Period 1- Conklin looked shaky in th net, and was out of it way too much. The Canes should have capitalized on that. But despite that they didn’t, I saw a fiery and excited team in them.
Period 2- how do you stop the Wings PP? They are great, but the Canes kept it coming. They were stealing pucks, picking pockets, and have done alot and come a long way from last year.
Period 3- Hey, they kept it 2-1, and that was great. The open netter, well, how do you stop Zetterberg on a break away of sorts.
Overall, while for one nightat the RBC, I was rooting hard for my Wings, I was very happy and pleasantly surprised at the grot and physicalness of the Canes. They played hard, never sat back, and stayed solid for 60 minites. Cam wasgreat in the net. I think that we all can take from this game, and it is early, that we have a hungry team, and a team that despite pre-season rankings, will do much better than expected. Or will they fall apart aroundDecember? Who cares. They look good, the chemistry is there, and I am proud of them. Hell, even Staal stepped it up!
Sean