WRAL Sports Fan

Hurricanes

Canes shake up lines

By Mike Maniscalco

Jan 9, 2009

The Carolina Hurricanes are shaking up the line combinations before playing the Boston Bruins Saturday afternoon. Head coach Paul Maurice moved Matt Cullen to center a line with Ray Whitney and Justin Williams and placed Rod Brind’Amour with Scott Walker and Chad LaRose at today’s practice.

Maurice told reporters, “Part of it is Boston. We felt we got as much as we could out of the original set up. We saw it, we know what it is. It’s possible too much of the same things on two lines. ... Willie and Whit and Roddy and then the other guys a lot of speed. We felt we need to balance that more.”

The Hurricanes are coming off a 4-2 loss against the Florida Panthers that snapped a four game winning streak. Carolina had zero power play opportunities against Florida, and while the Canes statistically are twenty-second out thirty teams in power play efficiency, Carolina had scored a power play goal in each of the last four games.

The team is averaging 2.64 goals per game since Maurice was renamed head coach in December. The Canes looking to find more five-on-five scoring, and without making a trade, shaking up the line combinations is one of the only options the staff has.

Moving Cullen to the line with Williams and Whitney will give the Canes a more offensive minded trio, while having Brind’Amour center LaRose and Walker will give the Canes a tough grinding line that can shut down an opponents scoring line with physical, smart play and score the hard nosed type goals. The new combinations will be put to the test against a Boston team that has only lost three times in regulation at home this season.

99.9FM The Fan’s Canes coverage starts at 12:30 tomorrow with “The Canes Hockey Insider”, followed by the face-off from the TD Banknorth Garden.