 |
| Carolina Hurricanes - Opening night in Raleigh - PKS Consulting LLC |
---
Since the first day of training camp, the excitement generated in Raleigh, N.C. that NHL hockey was back was electric.
Fans poured into PNC Arena to watch the team go through its paces for a week and now they get to open the season with the Hurricanes first home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Hurricanes dropped their first game of the season, on the road against the Florida Panthers, a 5-1 decision while Tampa Bay split its first two games of the season with a 6-3 win over the Washington Capitals and 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders.
---
1st Period:
- Play opens up with both teams sizing each other up
- Carolina rolling all four lines to match up with the Lightning's lines
- Tampa Bay gets on the board first with Tom Pyatt scoring on a setup from Vincent LeCavalier and Matt Carle - 5:18 into the game
- Kirk Muller making many changes to line combos early
- As play settles back in, Tampa Bay making strides into Hurricanes zone and the hard work pays off as Cory Conacher scores on a rebound on the crease after LeCavalier drove the crease on goaltender Cam Ward
- Tampa Bay leads 2-0 with 7:16 to play
- Both teams tied with six shots apiece at this point
- First penalty of the game assessed to Tampa Bay's B.J. Crombeen - first power play of the night for Carolina
- Jordan Staal, Eric Staal, Jeff Skinner, Alex Semin, and Joni Pitkanen on the ice for the man-advantage
- Second power play unit that Muller rolls out is Jiri Tlusty, Jussi Jokinen, Chad LaRose with Joe Corvo and Justin Faulk
- Penalty is killed off successfully by the Lightning - still leading 2-0 with 4:12 remaining
- Jordan Staal takes a tripping penalty at 2:51 and the faceoff is to Ward's right in the Carolina zone
- Jay Harrison blocks a shot for Carolina and he ices it
- Just over a minute to go in the power play and Tampa Bay gains the zone, but Faulk sends the puck down the ice
- The Hurricanes kill off the penalty successfully as play is in the final minute of the period
- LaRose gains the zone and drives into the right corner and around the net, but can't wrap it and loses control of it in the slot
- Semin comes down on one final rush but his shot attempt from the right wing is deflected as time runs down
---
2nd Period
- Early in the period, Tampa Bay goalie Mathieu Garon tested with back-to-back shots from Dwyer and Tlusty on set-ups from Jordan Staal
- At 18:31 Conacher goes to the box for boarding and the Hurricanes are on the power play again
- Semin gets a shot off from the point, but Garon has both eyes on it as Jordan Staal tries to jam the puck loose
- Hurricanes set up again with Eric Staal at the point
- Staal gets a pass to Skinner who slides it to Semin and he rings a shot off the right post
- Shortly afterwards Ryan Malone cross-checks Eric Staal from behind and is called for boarding at 16:45
- Staal is okay and is out on the 5-on-3 power play
- Semin takes a shot on Garon who makes the save and Jordan Staal swipes at the rebound which dribbles across to the right slot and Skinner backhands it into the top corner of the net at 16:25
- Hurricanes now trail 2-1 with 15:51 to play and are outshooting Tampa Bay 13-9
- Bowman finds Staal breaking down the left side and he takes a shot that bounces off Garon's pads back into the slot where Semin can't get a stick on it for the rebound
- Hurricanes continue to apply pressure even as Tamp Bay tries to break out
- After Faulk carries the puck deep into the Lighting zone and tries a wrapround on Garon, Tampa Bay comes the other way and Ward is tested for the first time in a few minutes
- With 14:02 to go Lightning still lead 2-1
- Skinner showing more confidence breaks down the left wing and winds up with a shot that Garon stops with his pads
- After Tampa Bay's Teddy Purcell takes a long slapper from the top of the left circle on Cam Ward, Jordan Staal turns the puck over and feeds Tlusty but the winger deflects it wide
- Carolina keeping shifts short and rolling all four lines this period so far
- Eric Staal and Semin starting to find open space to get shots on Garon
- Bowman takes a hooking penalty at 10:46 and Tampa Bay is on the power play
- Dwyer and Jokinen out on the first PK unit and manage to send the puck down the ice on two different occasions
- Jordan Staal and Tlusty do the same as the second unit on the penalty kill
- Eric Saal and Semin come out at the tail end of he penalty and they successfully kill it off while drawing another one
- Matt Carle called for upending Eric Staal at 8:50 mark
- Skinner is the target and he's taking shots from the slot to Garon's left but gtting blocked or deflected as Jordan and Eric Staal looking to corral the rebounds - the puck goes out of bounds
- Second power play unit of Jokinen, LaRose, Tlusty with Faul and Corvo are creating opportunities but can't finish them as the penalty to Carle expires
- Still 2-1 lead for Tampa Bay with 5:48 to play now
- Puck moving from end to end now as both teams have open up the ice to skate freely
- Jokinen called for interference while fighting for the puck with Tom Pyatt in his zone at the the 3:32 mark
- Hurricanes with Staal and Tlusty on th penalty kill send the puck down to the Tampa Bay end a few times
- Jordan Staal and LaRose on the penalty kill and keep the Lightning from get any quality shots on Ward so far
- Carolina kills the penalty off and with just over a minute to play have Semin, Eric Staal and Bowman out to try to generate some offense before the end of the period
- Tampa Bay keeping control of the puck in the Carolina zone and Ward has to come up with a big save on Pyatt who got the feed from Crombeen from behind the net
- Skinner is on the ice now and is upended by his blue line - no call as play continues on until the horn sounds to end the period - Hurricanes currently outshooting the Lightning 21-19
---
3rd Period;
- Tampa Bay opens the scoring in the period with a goal by Keith Aulie after he wires a shot over Ward's shoulder from the right circle with 18:23 to play - extends Lightning lead to 3-1
- Tampa Bay controlling much of the play early in the period while Hurricanes are still trying to generate scoring opportunities
- Even with offsetting penalties, both teams don't capitalize on the 4-on-4 opportunity to utilize the open ice
- Hurricanes kill off earlier penalty to LaRose for interference, still trailing 3-1 with 11 minutes to play
- Garon standing tall in the pipes denying Eric Staal on his wraparound attempt and then Semin's shot from the top of the right circle
- As Skinner comes from the right boards in the Lightning zone, linemate Jokinen is penalized for hooking - Tampa Bay gets another power play at 10:24
- It doesn't take long for the Lightning to score as Malone cleans up the rebound created by Martin St. Louis as bother were hovering around Cam Ward's crease - Lighting now lead 4-1 with the goal coming at 10:03
- Even outshooting the Lightning 30-25 is not helping the Hurricanes as Garon is in firm control at this point repelling each one as it comes
- LeCavalier gets a two-minute minor for delay of game as the puck sails over the glass giving the Hurricanes another power play at the 7:23 mark
- Semin, Staal, Skinner, Staal and Pitkanen can set anything up and as the puck travels the length of the ice, captain Eric Staal lets his frustraion out by dropping the gloves wih Adam Hall in the Lightning end
- 6:40 to play and off-setting penalties for roughing keep the power play with Carolina
- Big chance for Carolina as Semin feeds Bowman with a pass and he lets one rip from the left circle and Garon gets a pad on it and Jordan Staal can't slip the rebound past him as a defender gets a stick on it
- Under four minutes to play and Hurricanes continue to apply pressure on Garon
- Skinner tries his spin move in the Lightning slot area and is knocked down while Staal's rebound shot is stopped by Garon
- Carolina outshooting Tampa Bay 34-26 with 2:30 to play and the Hurricanes continuing to swarm in the Lightning zone but with no tangible results
- Final two minutes of play and Staal, Semin, Skinner keep putting shots on Garon and he comes up with save after save - latest one on Skinner after Staal hit a defender's skate on his previous shot
- With 1:14 to play, faceoff in the Lightning zone again - pressure from Carolina stays consistent
- Semin skates up from his end and dumps it in but the Lightning clear it as time winds down
- The home opener for the Hurricanes ends up as a loss - their second in a row during this early part of the season
- Eric Staal takes a penalty for slashing with 20 seconds left and that is how it ends
Recent Carolina Hurricanes news on Examiner.com:
No comments:
Post a Comment