The Carolina Hurricanes began their season in Helsinki, this year, playing two games against the Minnesota Wild as part of the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere. This year, I’ll discuss in-depth each Hurricanes game I get to watch and will touch on those I don’t, plus I’ll provide random news and notes bits from around the NHL.
In game one on Thursday afternoon, the ‘Canes skated away with a 4-3 victory. New alternate captain Brandon Sutter had two goals, one on the power play and the other the game winner, to lead Carolina. Anton Babchuk and Jussi Jokinen (also with the man advantage) scored the other tallies for Paul Maurice’s squad. Cam Ward had 26.
I saw some great things from Carolina on Thursday and some things that worry me.
To start with the bad news, the Hurricanes started slowly. They gave up Minnesota’s first goal by winger Guillaume Latendresse 3:36 into the first period on a horrible defensive breakdown after Minnesota captain Mikko Koivu penetrated the zone and got behind the net, finding Latendresse easily. Carolina lost the first nine faceoffs. They looked sloppy. During their first power play about 10 minutes in, Joni Pitkanen tried three times to get a lead pass for a breakout but the Wild read all of them. Last year the Hurricanes suffered a 2-13-3 start, including a 14-game losing streak from Oct. 10 to Nov. 13. I flashed back to that after the ‘Canes’ sluggish start Thursday.
But then I remembered the great things about Carolina. Cam Ward did give up three goals, but he made several crucial saves. He has always been a slow starter; it’s not unusual for him to give up an early goal. But something about him clicks, and he forgets that goal as soon as it happens and takes his game to the next level. It’s why he is one of the NHL’s best goaltenders. The Finns played their game; the line of Tuomo Ruutu (Finnish), Jussi Jokinen (also Finnish) and Jeff Skinner (Canadian) showed that they will be potent this year. All three skaters have produced, in the first two games, more than any other line so far (5 points, 3 from Jokinen). And Brandon Sutter, with two goals -- two very different goals -- is already leading the ‘Canes. That is what the coaches have wanted out of Sutter, but after the game, coach Paul Maurice pointed out how strong Sutter’s defensive play was and how important that was to the team’s success. They are hoping he can replace defensive and faceoff genius Rod Brind’Amour, who retired after last year. I believe Sutter will do even more than that.
In game two, the Hurricanes stole a shootout decision 2-1 from the Wild. Jeff Skinner scored the only goal in the shootout while Tuomo Ruutu scored in the second period off a pass from Skinner. From what I saw of this game (a period and a half and the last two rounds of the shootout), Skinner, the Hurricanes’ top pick in this summer’s entry draft, is making a strong case for staying with the big club.
And Ward once again proved he is a serious Vezina candidate. In the first period, when the Wild scored its only goal, he stopped 17 shots. All told, he made 44 saves. That, if you don’t know much about hockey, is an insane amount of saves. And a good bit of the saves that Cam Ward made were remarkable saves.
Next week, the ‘Canes play one game, taking on Sergei Gonchar and the Ottawa Senators in Ontario on Thursday night. Carolina comes back from a very successful European trip where it picked up four points.
NHL News and Notes: New York Rangers’ rookie center Derek Stepan recorded a hat trick in his first career game on Saturday night against the Buffalo Sabres in a 6-3 victory. Stepan was New York’s second round pick, 51st overall, in 2008 and is the fourth NHL player to do this, following Dallas’ Fabian Brunnstrom in 2008, Quebec’s Real Cloutier in 1979 and Montreal’s Alex Smart in 1943...Atlanta Thrashers’ goaltender Ondrej Pavelec collapsed on the ice 2:25 into the first period on Friday night against the Washington Capitals. He was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a concussion. Pavelec is alert and is undergoing further testing...The Hurricanes and the Wild were not the only teams to partake in European experiences this week. The Phoenix Coyotes and Boston Bruins played twice in Prague, and the San Jose Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets faced off two times in Stockholm.