The Canes' Erik Cole battles inside against Bruins goalie Tim Thomas and Dennis Seidenberg (44) during the second period. CHRIS SEWARD - cseward@newsobservercom
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RALEIGH -- Too much Tim Thomas.
The Boston Bruins' 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday was won with some timely offense and some gritty defense, but mostly it was won by Thomas in goal.
Thomas was the winner in Sunday's All -Star Game for Team Lidstrom at the RBC Center, denying the Canes' Eric Staal, Jeff Skinner and Cam Ward a victory in front of the Canes' home fans. Two days later, Thomas was the winner again in a more important game, making some sprawling, desperation saves when needed.
"You can't figure out how it gets done but it's certainly been getting done all year long," Canes coach Paul Maurice said of Thomas, who leads the NHL in goals-against average and save percentage and is the leading candidate for the Vezina Trophy.
Said Bruins coach Claude Julien: "He's having fun. You tell people when you come to work and you're having fun, you're going to have more success. He's taken upon himself to work hard and compete hard and he's having fun doing it."
With the Atlanta Thrashers losing to the New York Islanders, the Canes (25-20-6) could have moved into eighth place in the East with a victory. Instead, the Canes finished the season series with Boston 1-3 against the Bruins (29-15-7).
Defensemen Jamie McBain and Joe Corvo scored for the Canes, and Corvo extended his point streak to six games. Sergei Samsonov and Erik Cole each had two assists.
Canes forward Jussi Jokinen left the game during the first period with a lower-body injury. Maurice was not sure of the severity of the injury after the game but said Jokinen wanted to return in the third period.
With Jokinen out, Staal was used for 24:37 and played almost 11 minutes in the third. He was off the ice only 10 or more seconds in the final three minutes of regulation.
"It was a good, tight game," Maurice said.
Nathan Horton and Patrice Bergeron scored in the third period to push the Bruins ahead 3-1 -- Horton at 3:54 and Bergeron at 5:06. But Corvo made it a one-goal game for the Canes with a power-play goal at 8:05, extending his point streak to six games.
"Whenever you get scored on at the beginning of the period like that, it's rough on the team and I think it gets everybody down," Corvo said. "We battled back. We made it close."
McBain's fourth goal of the season, at 11:25 of the second period, gave the Canes a 1-1 tie with the Bruins after two.
McBain scored after Sergei Samsonov, who had two assists, carried the puck into the zone down the left wing and circled back to the middle. McBain was pinching in on the left side and was open at the doorstep as Samsonov's shot was tipped by Bergeron.
Daniel Paille's first goal of the season, at 4:13 of the second period, had given the Bruins a 1-0 lead.
Paille snuck in front of Canes goalie Cam Ward and got a piece of a Zdeno Chara shot.
The Canes came out with some jump and controlled the flow of the game the first 12 minutes, but the Bruins made a push at the end the first.
The Canes had a pair of first-period power plays and some good chances, Thomas came up with some sharp saves.
Ward made four big saves in a 95-second period late in the first. Blake Wheeler had a bang-bang tip in front of the net but Ward made the stop. Boston had three shots in the first 11 minutes of the game but finished the period with 15 (six by Zdeno Chara), and Paille hit the post on an early breakaway.
The Canes' Jay Harrison and Bruins tough guy Milan Lucic had a brief fight late in the period. No clearcut winner but Harrison got in a glancing right hand.
The Bruins are 16-6-4 on the road this season.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at
Comments
Too little power play, too many mistakes
Wed, 02/02/2011 - 10:40 — ElevenYearsInCaryThomas was great, and the Canes had their chances last night. But it could have been a much better game for the Canes. There were lots of soft passes, and confusion around the puck especially bringing it up the ice. Skinner looked lost for parts of the game, which is the first time I've seen that this year. You could seem him chirping at the ref at the end of the 1st period when he got leveled at the horn.
And the power play struggled again -- very few shots on goal for the first few PPs. When Corvo finally scored it was about the first shot on goal for that PP. The crowd was actually boo-ing for the first time in a long while based on the lack of effectiveness. The 4th line seemed flat, with Carter 0-6 on face-offs.
When the Canes found their focus, they played great -- Staal, Cole, LaRose were forces out there for parts of the game, and Tlusty was playing well.
They started strong and finished strong -- the middle was much less consistent. And I was really waiting for LaRose to jump up and start scrapping with Chara.
Saturday Shaping Up Big
Wed, 02/02/2011 - 10:30 — NetMinderAssuming we get it done Thursday in Toronto and the Thrash handle the Flames (not a sure thing as Calgary is streaking), Saturday's game vs. Atlanta could have that "playoff feel." It's time we put the Thrashers in our rear view mirror and this weekend is shaping up to be pivotal, especially as the Hurricanes have two games in hand. Just this once, it would be nice to see the Canes slip into the eighth spot and, instead of clinging to it for the rest of the regular season, continue to move up in the standings. This team is capable of doing it ... but, for that to happen, JR needs to make a deal to shore up our blue line. Non-contenders will start selling players soon and clearly the Canes are in the market for a tough, responsible d-man.
It was a good game,BUT
Wed, 02/02/2011 - 02:13 — esteban1949I feel the canes coasted at the wrong times in the second and third periods...sure the Canes had several flurries in front of Thomas but on several of the replys...if the players shoot at the net would have gotten it over a sprawling thomas in the corners & etc...the canes could have won 5-3...I had to laugh as Skinner looked ticked off at the end of period one...Could there be an "edgier" side of 53 we caniacs have yet to see ?
If It Ain't Hockey,It Ain't Nothing!! The new Checkers 3rd Jersey Rocks !!
I don't know but...!!
Wed, 02/02/2011 - 12:47 — Caniac5If I was Skinner and had people hold me down on the ice, I would grab their skates and pull their feet out from under them. What could they do? If they hold him down, he's just trying to get up. Once he dropped someone, I bet they would start leaving him alone and stop bullying him.
GO CANES and GET'EM SKINNER!