Mike Maniscalco
Mike Maniscalco is the co-host of "The Insiders" during the week from 3 to 7 p.m. on 99.9 FM The Fan ESPN Radio. He is also the host of the Carolina Hurricanes pregame and postgame shows.
By Mike Maniscalco
Yesterday at 10:56 p.m.
Carolina Hurricanes' Zach Boychuk (11) tries for the rebound from Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Jonas Gustavsson (50) with Maple Leafs' Francois Beauchemin (22) nearby during first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, Nov. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
The Carolina Hurricanes surrender three straight goals to Toronto and are now winless in 11 games.
Game Breakdown: The Canes jump out on the Leafs early as Brandon Sutter has scored his third consecutive goal for Carolina (spread out over four games), a great play by Rod Brind'Amour to get the puck to the net and Sutter cashes in. 10 minutes later Sergei Samsonov deposited a rebound off an Andrew Alberts shot behind Jonas Gustavsson for his second of the season. Carolina out skated he Leafs int he first twenty and when Toronto had scoring chances, Cam Ward ward answered the bell on a solid save early on Jason Blake and one later on Phil Kessel. Canes up 2-0 after twenty minutes, the first time since October 9th that the Canes have had the lead going into the second period. The second period belonged to Toronto scoring 1:12 in the period on John Mitchell's first. Carolina had plenty of scoring chances but couldn't cash in. Toronto ties it
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By Mike Maniscalco
Nov 1, 2009
San Jose Sharks' Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) scores on Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward (30) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. San Jose won 5-1. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
The Carolina Hurricanes get hammered 5-1 by the San Jose Sharks and fin themselves with the second worse start in franchise history at 2-8-3.
Game Breakdown: The Canes and Sharks play an even first period, after starting out with chances early Carolina withstood San Jose's first few scoring chances. After a scoreless first period, Brandon Sutter opened up the scoring with his second goal of the season and his second in as many nights blistering a shot past Evgeni Nabakov, from there it was all San Jose. The Sharks score twice 1:22 apart on goal by Kent Huskins and Brad Staubitz. Huskins goal comes from a bad angle and off of Ward, Staubitz caps off a great shift by giving the Sharks a 2-1 lead. 10 minutes later the Sharks score again and have a 3-1 lead. In the third period the Canes pressured the Sharks but could not solve Nabakov, Chad LaRose rings a shot off the post and Ray Whitney was denied on a great chance that lead to a two on one the other way that ends
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By Mike Maniscalco
Oct 29, 2009
St. Louis Blues' Cam Janssen (55) is punched by Carolina Hurricanes' Tim Conboy (38) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
The Carolina Hurricanes can't overcome a bad start and fall to St. Louis
Game Breakdown: The Blues jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first period. The Canes gained life on Joe Corvo's power play goal but could not carry that momentum over to the second period. The game started out chippy, with a two fights in the first 20 minutes, Jay Harrison taking on Brad Winchester and Tim Conboy mixing it up with Cam Janssen. The Canes had a line change miscue in the the second that resulted in an odd man rush for St. Louis that Andy McDonald deposited behind Cam Ward. Carolina could not solve Blues goalie Chris Mason and the Canes continue to have issues passing the puck. Scott Walker scored in the third period to make it 4-2 but that is as close as it would get, as David Perron added an empty net goal to send Carolina to the 5-2 defeat. The Canes toughness and taking penalties aren't the issue in this one, but the problems in the offensive end continue
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By Mike Maniscalco
Oct 15, 2009
The Carolina Hurricanes storm back to tie Pittsburgh, but Pens prevail in shootout for the 3-2 win.
Game Breakdown: Carolina stormed out against Pittsburgh with an early push, but fell behind 2-0 after two periods. Mike Rupp had the Pens first goal in the first period and Evgeni Malkin beat Cam Ward to the near post to stake the Penguins to the lead. The Canes answer with Ray Whitney in a monster third period with two goals, both on deflections. Both goaltenders came up with timely and big saves as Marc-Andre Fleury and Ward were spectacular at times. Ward had 36 saves to Fleury's 27, and none bigger than Ward's glove save in the third period on Bill Guerin to keep the game 2-1 Pittsburgh. In the shootout, Jussi Jokinen was the lone goal scorer for Carolina, although Matt Cullen had the game on his stick and hit the crossbar. Pittsburgh had Sidney Crosby score on a patient move waiting to go to the back hand to beat Ward.
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By Mike Maniscalco
Oct 14, 2009
N.C. State head coach Tom O'Brien on September 26, 2009.
Let me just start this out by saying I am a fan, I have felt joy in championships and pain in losses. I also have covered teams for 15 years now, if you include my college reporting days, and have noticed a nasty trend developing, nasty being the key word. If a team loses to a weaker opponent then it is time to fire everyone.
Folks just need to calm down. A caller to Tom O’Brien’s coach’s show this week had a rather unflattering suggestion for the N.C. State head coach, which is to pack his bags. Really? Is this where we are as sports fans?
Look, a fan base that has given money at a level on par with Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas and Oklahoma expects results and it is great to want your team to be that great. The reality is that O’Brien was asked to build a program from scratch, a cupboard left bare by the previous regime that promised and did not deliver, and it doesn’t happen in three years. O’Brien builds winners and student-athletes who
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By Mike Maniscalco
Oct 10, 2009
The Carolina Hurricanes won convincingly over the Florida Panthers 7-2. Carolina is now 2-2 on the season.
Game Breakdown: The Hurricanes used a complete game effort to move back to the .500 mark on the season. 12 different players put their name on the score sheet and 7 players scored a goal, throw in the fact the Canes had a superior effort on the penalty kill and Florida looked like a team that hadn't played in 6 days and flew across that Atlantic and it leads to a 7-2 win. The Canes wanted to get bigger and more physical on defense in the off season and tonight it paid dividends, Carolina was able to push the Panthers around and break up plays down low. Cam Ward was stellar again making 25 saves and keeping the game out of reach for Carolina.
Tom Kostopoulos scored his first goal in a Carolina uniform, short handed at the 7 minute mark of the first period and that opened the flood gates. Carolina scored the games first four goals, before
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By Mike Maniscalco
Oct 7, 2009
The Carolina Hurricanes notched their first win of the season beating division foe Tampa Bay 2-1 in a shootout.
Game Breakdown: Carolina received a big effort tonight out of their goaltender in a game that shifted from wide open in the first period to a defensive struggle in the third. Carolina grabbed its first lead of the season as Jussi Jokinen scored a power play goal of a laser pass from Joni Pitkanen in the first period. Carolina gave up a power play goal on a 5 on 3 disadvantage in the second period to tie the game at one.
Carolina surrendered 8 power players, killing off seven but spent far too much time in the penalty box. While two calls were questionable, (phantom Sergei Samsonov and Chad LaRose interference calls) the Canes are near the bottom of the league in penalty minutes taken. An uncharacteristic trait for a Carolina team. The game went to the shootout, where Samsonov put a great move on Tampa goalie
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By Mike Maniscalco
Oct 2, 2009
The Philadelphia Flyers shutout the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 in the season opener.
Game Breakdown: The Canes get beat by a solid defensive unit in Philadelphia. The Hurricanes going 0-8 for on the power play and two power play goals 22 seconds apart to start the second period for the Flyers puts this in the loss column for the Canes. Carolina seemed a step behind, missing on passes and not getting shots through on the man advantage. Carolina missed golden chances in the second period on the power play with Eric Staal hitting a post and Rod Brind'Amour miss firing after being left alone in front of Philly goalie Ray Emery. This was more a game of what the Canes did not do than what Philly did, but in the end the Flyers defense tightened up and limited the scoring chances. No Joni Pitkanen still recovering from knee surgery, his presence will help the power play.
The Difference: Carolina 0-8 on the power player, Philadelphia 2-5 that's
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By Mike Maniscalco
Oct 2, 2009
The Carolina Hurricanes will have much of the same look as last season but made significant steps to move forward. A Canes team that finished eight wins away from winning the Stanley Cup now begins the task of 82 games to just get back to the playoffs. The question marks of previous seasons - like will this team be a playoff contender? - have now been replaced by, How far can this team go in the playoffs?
Here is how the Canes will look for the upcoming season:
Up Front:
Carolina doesn’t have to replace much up front, as Ryan Bayda is one of the only players who contributed a regular amount to leave the organization. Carolina kept Erik Cole and Chad LaRose, who were unrestricted free agents, and brought in toughness in Tom Kostopoulos and veteran presence in the middle with Stephane Yelle.
The top line of Eric Staal, Erik Cole and Ray Whitney will be called on to do the brunt of the scoring for the Canes, and there is reason to believe
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By Mike Maniscalco
Sep 26, 2009
The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Atlanta Thrashers 4-2 for their first win of the preseason.
The Difference: The Carolina Hurricanes skated with a purpose early out shooting a B team of Atlanta Thrashers and jumping on the scoreboard early and a 15-1 shots on goal . Ray Whitney scored the game winner that put the Canes up 4-2 on a pretty feed from Erik Cole with under 3 minutes to give Carolina the lead. The Canes also tightened up their game in the defensive zone moving the puck out of trouble.
Impact Player: Tie between Eric Staal who scored his second goal in as many pre-season games and delivered one for his new born son Parker and Scott Walker. Staal had a great jump in his game and Scott Walker was creating havoc in the Thrasher end which led to the Canes first goal.
Off the Boards: Tom Kostopoulos was sent to the dressing room after a fight with Josh Gratton. The official report was upper body,
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