Tonight's lineup

Player
2 Glen Wesley (A)
4 Dennis Seidenberg
5 Frantisek Kaberle
7 Niclas Wallin
8 Matt Cullen
13 Ray Whitney
14 Brandon Sutter
16 Andrew Ladd
17 Rod Brind’Amour
18 Ryan Bayda
22 Mike Commodore
24 Scott Walker
27 Craig Adams
30 Cam Ward
32 Trevor Gillies
33 Brett Carson
37 Keith Aucoin
39 Patrick Dwyer
43 Noah Babin
47 John Grahame
49 Michael Leighton
51 Jeff Hamilton
53 Casey Borer
56 Jakub Petruzalek
61 Cory Stillman (A)

It looks like Hedican, Gleason, Forrest, Williams, Staal, Letowski, Cole, and LaRose are sitting. I don't think the "official" list sent by the Hurricanes is completely accurate. Three goalies are on the list and, even with that, there are four more skaters than should be allowed to sit on the bench.

It's nice to see Frankie on the roster though.

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Updated: Canes win 3-0! I figured out the extra scratches and verified it on the 'Canes site. A good win by the boys in red, despite the sluggish start. The Preds came out early fast and hard hitting and the Canes didn't really get things going until the second. Once they got it going, they pretty much had a handle on the rest of the game.

Very strong showing by Cam Ward - he looked calm and in control the entire game and made even the hardest saves look effortless. Casey Borer was very strong on both ends of the ice and started the scoring off, adding an assist later for the second goal. I also liked Sutter's play and Seidenberg. It was nice seeing early chemistry between Matt Cullen and Scott Walker.

The power play (well, all one chance) in the first didn't look impressive. In the latter half of the game, it was a different story. It looked dangerous and the Preds did a good job killing the penalties off.

Some side notes: Jordin Tootoo is a punk. Also, I had no idea that Shane Willis was out on the ice tonight, despite his late penalty. That pretty much sums up what kind of night he had. The only Preds I noticed consistantly were Tootoo, Erat, and Radulov. Radulov was everywhere it seemed. I remember Yonkman because his name is funny and he took a stupid penalty. He was charged with interference technically, but what he really did was swipe Aucoin (I think) across the face with the butt end of his stick as Keith tried to get past him deep into the zone.

Thoughts on the game

I was able to pay attention to most of the game today. I got my boss's seats at center ice, but found that my kids thought it would be hilarious to try and dog pile as early and often as possible. Taking into account that my son apparently doesn't care for the crowd screaming after a goal, it was an interesting afternoon (and I haven't even discussed the game yet).

The simple breakdown? The first two periods we played OK, but not good enough to really make an impact. Grahame was a bit shaky and the guys mimicked his play with their own. Leighton, on the other hand, was solid and had some energy. Sometime in the middle of the third, the guys responded and started scoring in quick succession. A 2-0 game turned into a 3-3 game, including the late third period "back breaker" by the Caps followed by the tying goal with a minute left.

I can't say I really noticed Sutter out there. In fact, the only prospect that really stood out to me at all was Noah Babin. He pinched in naturally on the cycle and pushed the puck forward with purpose. He even scored a goal.

Considering we three of our four goals (if I recall correctly) were on the power play, I don't really think the power play units did all that well. I know it's strange to hear in that context, but it could have been a lot crisper. Our goals were primarily effort-driven (not that it's a bad thing) and that will go along way to helping the team stay in games even when they're slumping. It gives me hope.

As a side note, there was a fight - Nicholas Blanchard vs. Ben Clymer. I say "fight" because nominally that is what they were given penalties for. When my three and a half year old daughter can look at the fight then tells me "They're hugging. That's silly!", you know it's not really that much of a slugfest.

Boxscore. Funny, they list Babin's goal at even strength, but you can track the penalties and see it should have been a power play marker. Odd.

Problem solved

My boss Chip has four season tickets at center ice and he gave his tickets to me so I can fit the whole family in. That means I have two tickets available to give away.

I'm going to complain...

OK, the Caniac carnival is this Sunday, followed by a preseason game against the Washington Capitals. Hurrah! I have season tickets (two), but I would like to take my daughter with me in addition to my wife. That means I need a third ticket, which means standing in line, which means that even if I decide to go out to the RBC Center and wait in line to get tickets, said ticket will be nowhere near my current ones.

I called to see if they can help me out and the succinct answer was "No". So I'm faced with standing in line, which is something I have a deep-seated aversion to, or not taking the whole family to the game. I guess I'll talk it over with my wife and we'll figure out what we're going to do.

On location

I will be attending the Group C practice tomorrow with some co-workers. I'll try to compile a report of what I see. If anyone else is going to be there, drop me a line.

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

Getting your hate on

There is nothing that can really get your blood boiling than a bad loss. For me that was my game last night (a 4-3 loss in a game that should have been no worse than 3-1 us). I'm still stewing about it, and it makes me think of last season's Hurricanes. A bad loss, a bad season. Everything I've read recently about the team gives the impression that they're mad and they feel that they need to prove to everyone that winning the Cup was no fluke.

Good. It's that kind of drive that got them to the point of winning it in the first place. Anger, a chip on the shoulders, a desire to prove others wrong. I'm really looking forward to these pre-season games just so hockey can officially be on again. Several other Canes bloggers and I are planning on getting together in some form or fashion this weekend for it.