Object Lesson the first

This is how they should play. Every night. Without fail.

Ward and Staal? Awesome and awesome. Nice to get Hamilton and Ladd on the board too. Good game overall for the good guys.

Great win, two sent down

I was unable to actually attend the game tonight (my wife was out of town and I was not about to take my kids since they were not in the best of spirits today). I gave my tickets to a friend and listened to Chuck and the letter K on the radio.

My impressions:

• Cam Ward is a stud. The kid played out of his mind and should have an interesting season if he continues this level of play.
• Nine rounds of the shootout? Damn - that would have been something to see. I hope someone has some video somewhere. Hamilton and Cullen are blanked and it's Andrew Ladd who nets the winner? Huh?
• Penalties much? What in the hell was going on?

Before the game, the Canes sent Borer and Carson to Albany, bringing the Canes to their opening night roster. Not unexpected, and I'm actually excited that we have three guys (including Babin) who can step up at defense should we need it.

Training camp update

OK, I went to the Group C practice with two guys from work.

GROUP C (noon Friday)
Mike Angelidis, Keith Aucoin, Noah Babin, Ryan Bayda, Nicolas Blanchard, Wade Brookbank, Mike Commodore, Matt Cullen, Patrick Dwyer, Bret Hedican, Bobby Hughes, Andrew Ladd, Kirk MacDonald, Joey Mormina, Justin Peters, Harrison Reed, Jerome Samson, Scott Walker, Cam Ward

This is what I saw:
Red: Erik Cole (#26), Eric Staal (#12), Cory Stillman (#61)
Yellow: Jerome Samson (#67), Mike Angelidis (#52), Kirk MacDonald (#31)
White: Bobby Hughes (#44), Harrison Reed (#41), Nicolas Blanchard (#72)
Black (Defense): Bret Hedican (#6), Mike Commodore (#22), Noah Babin (#43), two other defensemen whose numbers I didn't get before I left. Mormina and Brookbank maybe?
Goal: Cam Ward, Justin Peters

Hedican looked healthy and fit, showing no problems whatsoever in his skating. Cole looked ready to go and Babin looked nice as well. None of the young kids really stood out in a good or bad way. Both Ward and Peters looked very solid in net.

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Some injury updates (via Luke DeCock of the N&O):

• Chad LaRose - sprained knee during practice - out 3-6 weeks
• Andrew Ladd - sore back - unknown
• Frank Kaberle - knee surgery - unknown, but doing light skating
• Jeff Hamilton - hip - unknown
• Stefan Chaput - infection - not attending camp

Finishing with style

The Atlanta game was disgraceful, but the game tonight was actually a special way to end the season. I don't know what it is about the Panthers, but they are the Washington Generals to our Harlem Globetrotters. They always look like this will be the time they beat us, but the third period was just downright silly. Tanabe was on fire, the Staal-Cole-Ladd line looked great, and the Captain finished it in overtime.

This is the offense we've been looking for (barring the first two periods) all season. That is the energy we've missed. We'll see what moves we make in the offseason and how everyone heals up and gets some rest.

Late start

When I finally got around to turning the TV on (we had company over) the score was 3-1, nope 4-1, oh, 4-2. Crazy game. We had our chances, but we blew it too many times defensively to have earned it. The Canes need to play better as a whole on both sides of the ice to make the playoffs. It's too tight.

Anyway, Staal was phenomenal. Ladd and Whitney were both very good as well. When I turned the game on, Grahame was already in the game, so I don't know if Wardo was bad or the Wild was just very, very good. The replays I saw showed some pretty solid shots by Parrish and Gaborik, so I don't know how much fault I can find with Cam without seeing everything else.