This must be Vancouver
Feb 3, 2009
Hey everybody and hello from of the most beautiful cities on the circuit. Vancouver, BC, is a showplace for all that is good, Canadian and Western.
It sits adjacent to the majestic beauty of the Pacific and is embraced by snow-capped mountains and this is for a place that is under overcast conditions for much of the winter.
Today is no different than most - cloudy, rainy and a little chilly but the beauty of the city overrides the weather nine times out of 10. It was a long travel day out here yesterday. The Canes made the trek some 6 and half hours west and were checked in and unpacked by the late stages of quarter one of Super Bowl 43. By the way, was that game ever one to remember and how about the Boss getting us through halftime that was truly memorable.
For the Canes it was back to work Monday at GM Place. They worked through a hour-plus practice which sets up tomorrow's clash versus the struggling Canucks. Vancouver has lost eight in row and nine straight at home so you can just imagine, things are not that pleasant in Canuck-Land. Here are some random thoughts to ponder as we await the late start Tuesday night.
Ward in good company ...
The Hurricanes' team defense has moved up to 14th overall. This for a team that has spent the majority of the season at the lower end of that scale.
Cam Ward continues to anchor the most important end of the rink and his numbers now rival some of the NHL's elite.
He is doing it in underrated fashion. They say that perception is nine tenths of reality well take a look at the following goaltenders who trail Carolina's number 30 in save percentage. Evgeni Nabokov, Christobal Huet and Henrik Lundqvist all have save percentages lower than Ward. Montreal's Carey Price is tied at .913 and Canuck captain Roberto Luongo percentage is just three hundredths of a point ahead of the soon to be 25 year old.
The point here being that Ward continues to spike Carolina's "D," he needs to be included in the same conversation with the above mentioned names that are considered some of the best in the business annually.
Kill it off ...
Canes' PK has now killed 17 of 18 opponent power plays in the last six games. They have also scored short-handed goals in consecutive games. Role definition among the players is vitally important. Paul Maurice has been able to identify a few players of late who are relishing in that role. Matt Cullen, Chad LaRose, Patrick Eaves and rookie Brandon Sutter have all picked up that responsibility and running hard with up ice pressure. The Canes have become more active up the ice and these four players have flourished. Before it gets to the "D" and the last line, the goalie, that been a noticeable difference in their shorthanded success.
Underrated Leader ...
Ray Whitney gets a lot of credit for his scoring and off the ice for his glib personality but within the last week he has done a tremendous job of taking ownership over the team's fortunes. He has become and inspiration and vocal presence as the Canes faced critical home games against Tampa and Atlanta. Talking to his teammates they point to some internal discussions in which the Wizard sounded off which set the table for the two "must haves" at home. This is nothing different for Carolina's 13, but certainly he doesn't get a lot of notice for being part of it's leadership core. He has his arms around this situation moving forward.
Tomorrow's line up...
No changes are expected for the game. It should set up this way
Samsonov-Staal-Ruutu
Gleason - Corvo
Whitney-Cullen-Williams
Pitkanen-Babchuk
Larose-Brind'Amour-Eaves Kaberle-Rodney
Bayda-Sutter-Ryan
Dennis Seidenburg (groin) and Scott Walker (head) are not with the Canes on this trip. Nic Wallin (ankle) skated hard today and could be a possible addition soon.
Enjoy staying up late this week.
