Staff photo by Chris Seward
• First Look: Unedited images from the game
RALEIGH — The Columbus Blue Jackets, getting an early goal from defenseman Mike Commodore, had little trouble in beating the Carolina Hurrican 5-1 Saturday at the RBC Center.
With rookie Steve Mason strong in net, allowing only a goal by the Canes' Dennis Seidenberg, the Blue Jackets picked up their fourth straight win and stayed in contention for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Canes, after an ugly 5-0 loss Thursday to the Florida Panthers, dropped another on home ice to remain five points behind Florida and Buffalo in the Eastern Conference.
Mason, who leads the NHL in goals-against average and may be the league's rookie of the year, stopped 26 shots in improving to 21-12-2.
"We had some timely scoring and I thought our goaltender was really good when we were making mistakes with the puck up front," Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock said. "I thought our whole group of defensemen just did a great job.
"They were under a lot of pressure. Carolina works hard. They forecheck like (heck). Our defense was able to sustain a real solid game."
Seidenberg had missed the past six games with a groin injury but was back in the lineup. His goal ended a scoreless streak of 108:52 for the Canes.
"It ends up that you go five periods without scoring a goal," Canes coach Paul Maurice said. "You play from behind the entire time. We're just not doing enough offensively, spending enough time in the ... hard areas to score a goal.
"When you're playing catchup all the time, it's very difficult for your team. It's a basic formula: we've got to get some shots through. We had 29 shots blocked tonight."
Commodore scored his fifth goal of the season in the first period on a one-timer from the right circle after a pass from Michael Peca. The goal came on the first Columbus shot of the game against Canes goalie Cam Ward.
The Blue Jackets, last in the NHL on the power play, then made it 2-0 on a Kristian Huselius score at 9:14 of the second. The Blue Jackets were 3-17 in their last five games on the power play.
Huselius would close with two goals and an assist for the Jackets, in contention for the franchise's first playoff berth. Rick Nash had three assists.
Huselius got his 15th goal after Ward made a scrambling save on a shot by Kris Russell shot. But Huselius scored on the rebound and later added an empty netter as the Canes pulled Ward for an extra attacker with 3 1-2 minutes left.
Canes defenseman Tim Gleason was taken to the locker room after taking a shot off his left hand in the opening period. Gleason returned in the second period.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at 
Comments
If your talkung to me...
Mon, 02/16/2009 - 01:42 — gf101112Hey Blitheroes and Blitheras, Like I said earlier, let's see what happen's TONIGHT!!! Yeah. let's trade Stall, Brind'Amour,Williams, Wallin, and Eaves. Hmmm... Now there right on the door step of 8th place. Oh yeah, let's fire Mo!!! I'm sorry you've spent so much money buying season tickets, but maybe you should just buy groceries and gas.(Like my family!) I've only been a Caniac since Feb. 8th 2002, but I've followed hockey since the late 50's early 60's! I've been to 3 Canes games this season: At L.A. OT loss, at Anaheim. WIN, at San Jose, SO WIN, and have NO complaints about the effort shown by this team! Yes I get frustrated at the inconsitencies, but when they're"ON", nobody can stop them!!! GO CANES!!!
gf, I do not want wholesale trades....but
Mon, 02/16/2009 - 09:46 — Caniac324I think you are in denial if you are happy with the team's performance..or you are looking for a team that plays hard and focussed half the time?
I want a GM and an owner who cares more about the team's performance than having their best friend as the coach.
This team has the same issues now that it had before the coaching change...lack of consistent effort and focuss. Now we have a Coach with career losing record, who is average coach, his major requisite for being coach here is that his best friend is GM. Laviolette has a winning career record and has won championships at several levels including the Stanley Cup for this orginization. So Pardon us fans who expect something better if you are going to Fire him!!!!
I beg your pardon!!!!!
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 18:32 — RaisinCaneInNCI have been following this team since Grennsboro and have been a STH the whole time and I am TIRED of average, boring, up and down hockey!!! Pitiful. If they miss the playoffs THIS season I assure you I will not invest in this same bunch again this year and I DO NOT APOLOGIZE for it and certainly am NOT ASHAMED of it! Where do you get off telling us what fans should do?
Trades...please?
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 16:06 — vortacThe trade deadline is coming up and we all know the team won't get anywhere with the group of dwarfs they have. We need to made a huge trade. Preferably one involving one of our "top" players. Like Staal.
Staal is our so called "Franchise Player" so I doubt JR will consider getting rid of him. But he doesn't do anything. Ever. Sure, one or two games in the season he shows up, gets a few empty net goals to pad his goal total, maybe a hat trick here and there. But ask yourself this: Is he helping up win the games? Is he really qualified enough to be the future Captain? Think about who we could get in return for Staal. Honestly, I won't miss him.
Who needs to go:
Williams (injury has got to him - and we can get a good player in return)
Brind'Amour (even though he was the best center in the last game)
Walker
Bayda
Staal
Eaves
Wallin
Who NEEDS to stay:
Ruutu
Whitney
Cullen
LaRose (for his work ethic)
Sutter (will be a star soon)
Corvo
Pitkanen
Gleason
Rodney
Nice idea, but...
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 17:57 — CanarseExcept for Staal everyone you want to trade isn't worth a bag of pucks.
Williams and Brind'Amour are damaged goods. The Canes are better off holding on to them and hoping they improve. Brind'Amour looks MUCH better since the time off.
Bayda and Eaves? 4th liners? What do you actually think the Canes are going to get in return?
Wallin? No trade clause and no value.
If you want to actually get something you have to give something in return. The one veteran that might have some value to a playoff team is Whitney. His contract is up soon and he isn't getting younger. You would need to package him to get real value. Trading Staal would be rough, but I would be plenty willing to give up Ward. He just hasn't shown the stuff to be anything but an average goalie.
In closing
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 13:58 — esteban1949I do feel for all of you who are STH'ers...i understand your pain...as it is rather disgusting at times. Sure there is pleanty of blame to go around from the front office to the players on the bench...As a season ticket holder for another leauge (whl spokane chiefs & my daughter and her family goes as i live 2350 miles away) All of us a "consumers' do want more bang for the buck...and not screwed over, or jacked around. There are times when we the fans are going to have to make up our minds...are we going to be or evolve into fans like Chicago Cubs have where it's a win or lose we still love ya even you play like bums...or are we going to allow ourselves (which is our rights) to be more of "micro-wave popcorn fans ...as in we want the best and the cup and we want it now, because i paid good bucks ( which you did) for those seats...and I'm entitled to that mentality...the choice is yours there in the triangle...I don't envy nor do i wished i too could be a STH...but things are the way they are now ...so what's it going to be ?
The choice is up to you isn't it ?
Go canes !!
Stop the criticism!
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 13:11 — gf101112Stop the criticism of this team and their coaches! Nobody WANTS to lose! So you run into a couple of hot goalies, and don't get some bounces. It happens to EVERY team throughout the season. Let's see what happens tonight!
Paul Maurice is a very intelligent and knowledgeable hockey mind! Most of you "fans" don't seem to understand that! Stop criticizing and start SUPPORTING!!!
GO CANES!!!
You know what you can do!
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 14:05 — CanarseI will criticize this team and it's coaches if I damn well want to. If you don't like it then I would suggest avoiding the blog after two pathetic losses. I'm not going to tell you to "stop being foolishly positive all the time."
I have supported the Canes, but I beleive it is now time NOT to support the owner. If you want changes you need to hit the owner in the pocketbook. Season ticket holders should NOT give the Hurricanes one dime for playoff tickets. Let Karmanos know you aren't happy and will vote with your dollars.
Hot goalies?
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 13:29 — wxray1I am SICK of that phrase. SICK OF IT.
Excuses, excuses, excuses. Joe Corvo's words a few days ago are a cop out. Maybe now I know what the fans on Ottawa saw.
OK, so the goalie is hot. Fine, then lose 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 (empty netter). Then I'll accept the excuse. But not 5-0 and 5-1.
Maybe everyone watching at home can just stand back and be irked at their lost time. I've lost good money watching this unwatchable. I'm not irked, I'm mad.
And the ticket people just run over us. I'm a 26 gamer. They screwed us this year by "reserving" seats on the 2nd nite of seat selection, only to have those seats unsold (reserved for late comer full time holders who do not exist), so now they are single game seats. Junk. Plus, 18 or 24 was a nice set of games. For me, 26 is too much.
I'll tell ya, I don't expect the cup every year. Don't even expect the playoffs. But I expect entertainment and grit.
The only grit I have is from the chips of my teeth grinding.
Hot Goalies??
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 13:41 — rmmeliHot goalies may indeed be one reason but it does not explain the no-show by the forwards and in particular the superstar. According to the radio last night Brind'Amour was the best center we had. He is a mere shell of his former self so that does not say much for the rest of them. Cam Ward was average at best...easily shown up by the person at the other end.
Am I the only one who things that decision to pull the goalie at the end was insult to injury? Totally pathetic and Maurice's reasoning was even more pathetic.
it's over
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 12:45 — guppyman45at least now i don't have to watch any more hockey games. i am through. finished. done. for 50 games i have waited for the canes to recapture the magic. problem is, that was exactly what it was - magic. the stanley cup year was a one time event, a lightning in a bottle kind of year. it was similiar to the miracle mets year or the u.s. hockey team winning the olympics. mediocre talent having a peter pan season.
goodbye canes. i wish you all the best, but goodbye.
and rutherford, you can kiss my ass.
This is what happens when
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 14:37 — crazyjoedavolaThis is what happens when you hire your best friend to be coach, instead of someone more qualified.
Bring Rodney back. He's 10 times better than the pylon wearing number 7 last night.
Bring Petruzalek back.
It's sad when your better performing players are stuck in Albany.
End the experiment !
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 11:45 — ynotagainAny chance we can end the MO experiment and let Tommy Rowe take over for the rest of the season ? Mo apparently isn't motivating this team AT ALL and he's definitely not helping build a fan base. LET MO GO AGAIN !
I'll post this comment again after we add Buffalo and Boston to the 4 game "L" streak.
Amen
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 12:10 — NetMinderYou are right on. Firing Lavi was predictable. Hiring MO was ridiculous. Think of what it said to the team. We think so much of this team's chances, we're going to turn you guys over to a head coach who needs Ron Francis standing next to him behind the bench to give him credibility. MO's system isn't working. We're coughing it up in our own end and gagging on the doorstep. Fans (the few that are left) are sick to their stomachs. This isn't bad anymore, it's pathetic. We should have gone with Rowe in the first place.
esteban1949 - the first step in addressing a problem
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 11:21 — gparodyis admitting you have a problem. We are now heading into are 3rd straight year of not making the playoffs. Eventually you have to admit to yourself that the team you have is not good enough to compete. Even more dangerous, is that this Team now knows and accepts how to lose. The players I listed in my previous post all have value and our good players and most have won a cup. Other teams would find value in them and whether it be for good prospects, draft picks or even a team looking to dump a superstars salary (Vinny L). No one is going to give anything for Frankie Khaberle no matter how often he is waived. If these past 2 games were an isolated incident of underachieving, I would just grumble and keep it to myself but I have seen consistently bad hockey for 3 years now and If this isn't addressed it will be 4 straight next year. I remember not too long ago regularly going to the RBC and being one of 3000 people watching the game. The Canes are on a burning ship, the results of inaction will be catastrophic!
Yes The Canes- to Gparody
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 13:47 — esteban1949yes the canes are having a problem...and as others have said on several occassions...the fans are seeing the canes flounder their way to mediocraty for all but the 3rd year in row now...so and I guess is the question is and remains..with the trade wire deadline coming soon like in what 2 weeks from this coming wed (the 18th) who do we get rid of and for who ? Because we must not forget that there are some that we both listed are RFA's and will not be so easily dumped...and if the canes do that now..what message does that send to rest of the bench ? or even to Albany ? All i do know is that
A: I'm glad i don't have JR's job
B: Players like LaRose may never be HOF'ers...but personally I'd rather have several player's like LaRose, Rodney, and Petruzalek ( the last 2 from Albany) on my bench who do and are not afraid to give 120 % game in, game out.
Again i am not sure what deals and for who can be made
but seeing how one of the guys who used be with us showed up last night as well as the night before ( stilman & commadore) assisted in sticking it to us...and trust me i do believe you and i as sports fans have seen what players who were traded or dropped like bad habits and are ticked off about do come back at times with a vengence...but that too is part of the "business" side of pro sports huh ?
Go canes !!
No Mo' MO
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 10:45 — NetMinderMOmentum ... we had it coming out of our Western Conference road swing. MOtivation ... it should have been a no-brainer going into the FL game and an absolute certainty against a Blue Jacket team that had played the night before. Instead all we have is 2 straight losses, 4 less points and MO ... a gum-chewing-deer-caught-in-the-headlights coach who is already losing this team. Two great marketing opportunities (crucial games in front of a full house) and what we get is a 10-1, 6-period debacle ... just the kind of performance that wins fans and ensures that STHs will renew ... yeah, right. And who told the Canes to stop hitting? Up until the FL game, we were throwing our weight (such as it is) around, doing some serious banging and ... remember the word? ... winning. Physical play was virtually non-existent vs. FL and Columbus. Why? It's time to admit that MO is not the coach to lead this team and substitute Rowe for MO now. We can have a fire sale, but our best bet short-term is to put Rowe in charge, make some tough decisions as to who plays (Wallin, for example, can't hold a candle to Rodney and Bayda would do us all a favor by spending some time in the press box), call up the Rat Pack to fill in the blanks, and see if we can make a run.
Getting Schooled
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 09:08 — Canes73Why can't the Canes learn from being schooled by these teams? I know scoring is a big issue as well, but my biggest problems with this team is their lack of ability to block shots and not being able to pick up the trailer. It seems like all the goals against are on second chances with someone missing their defensive assignment picking up their man. You can't blame Cam on most of these goals. His job is to make the initial save. The d-men and the backchecking forwards cannot keep leaving a man all alone to pick up an easy goal. For the most part last night, the Canes played a good game. They forechecked really well and played hard. The problem is that they give up these grade "A" chances by not picking up the open man and the puck ends up in our net.
On offense, I thought Ruutu did a fantastic job of screening Mason on the PP. Now if they can just do a better job of getting their shots through. More forwards need to make the committment to pay the price by parking themselves in front of the net instead of hanging out on the parrimeter.
I hope the Canes can pull it together soon. If not, hopefully they can drop like a rock and put themselves in contention for the Tavares sweepstakes...they could sure us a pure goal scorer like that...something this team as lacked for sometime.
Hmm
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 07:34 — esteban1949I noticed that Tracy made a bigger deal of Forslund's & Sutter's birthday as Forslund's daughters showed up with a cake and all...but to the heart of the matter..GParody has suggested that the canes get rid of the likes of Ward,Corvo,Cullen,Gleason,LaRose,Williams & Whitney...On paper that may look like a good idea, but who are you going to replace them with ? And don't forget there trade dead line is what March the 4th ? So GParody...who and what would you trade for ? As like many of you, i didn't like the last 2 games either...heck even Rats lost as well...and they had Rodney back dressed and on the bench just after the national Anthem was sung...sigh...well ok lets shake this off...lets get ready for buffalo..
Go Canes !!
I wonder if Karmonos and JR wish they had Lavi back yet?
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 02:00 — Caniac324Looks Like Firing a Stanley Cup Champion Coach was not such a good idea after all....hmm could not expect either of them to have known that. Karmonos owes Laviolette, the fans and the STH's an apology. As for JR he should be judged by the decisions he has made...and that is not looking too good!
suggestion for Prickly Pete, free of charge
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 01:13 — Nico37Instead of stocking the Hurricanes with 3 good players & scrap heap leftovers, spend your precious $$$ on better talent - and that includes the coaching staff. If you’re looking for places to cut costs, I suggest eliminating disgraced ex-mayors from the payroll would be an excellent start. Gawd, and I thought Golisano was an embarrassing owner!
Oh and PS I blame Lavi for tonight’s loss.
This the third year of this nonsense
Sun, 02/15/2009 - 00:35 — gparodyI really hope we hear how JR believes in this team. What a total Joke no goal scorers outside of 4 players , a mediocre goalie , a lousy power play , no D and no physical play.
This team knows how to lose from top too bottom!
Trade em now JR
Cammy, Cuorvo, Gleason, Whitney, Williams, Larose, Cullen
All decent players but we are going no where with them and they may still have value.
Before I hear the critque, preface your comment as to why players that we have are so good we can't trade them . Call up the River rats, we could miss the palyoffs just as easily!
Our season on the line and we get beat at home 5-0 and 5-1 by 8th place teams. WE are going no where!!!!!!!!!! Fast!!!!!!!
Given the Maurice track
Sat, 02/14/2009 - 23:45 — ctillGiven the Maurice track record, I'm not surprised that the Canes have scored 1 goal in two games. But I am surprised that they're giving up so many.
Great timing. I assume STH are about to get dunned for playoffs.
I will enjoy watching Wesley's number be retired on Tuesday, even if the team stinks it up again.
What a Joke
Sat, 02/14/2009 - 22:57 — WAStoutThis team is an absolute joke. Mo, chew your gum a little harder pal. A loser leading losers.
Playing like that in front of two sell-out crowds. Hope you're happy J.R. Can we get some more waiver players? Or have some more gimps? Or midgets? I know...you're holding out for that midget with 10 knee surgeries, 5 concussions, and got waived.
Funny seeing our guys go in for hits and bounce right off of them onto their butts. My kid's pee-wee team can hit the puck up and down the boards.
And Mo's post game comments....what a joke..."our defense needs to do a better job clearing out..." NO S, Mo. How about scoring too? Never mentioned that after going 10-1 the last two games. Guess he would have been happy with 3-1 the past two.
Two effortless games in a
Sat, 02/14/2009 - 22:27 — dustinlammersTwo effortless games in a row at home, I've tried to stay positive all season but I really doubt the ability of this team and if they are a playoff team. Columbus and Florida both school us. What next??