AP photo
ST. LOUIS — Something had to give.
For two periods, neither team could find net.
The Canes even had a 6-2 power play advantage.
Finally, Tuomo Ruutu touched just enough of Eric Staal’s slapshot from the left wing to slip under the goalie midway through the third period, and it was enough for a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues at the Scottrade Center.
The goal came at the 10:20 mark, after wing Paul Kariya went to the box for two minutes on a hooking penalty.
The Canes had to hold their breath moments later, when Staal was sent to the box for roughing.
The third period broke from the pace of the game not just because a goal finally scored.
While the Canes did score, it was the Blues that brought offensive firepower in the final period. The Canes escaped, thanks to good defense, some good work in the crease by Cam Ward and a few missed opportunities by the Blues, which brought a quick flurry for the first half of the period.
The Blues were held to nine shots on goal in the first two periods, while the Canes got off 17.
And the Blues got another power play at the 17:09 mark when Chad LaRose was called for delay of game for putting the puck over the glass.
The Canes killed the penalty, and closed out the game with 50 seconds left.
While the Canes didn’t take advantage of the early power plays, they also didn’t commit many penalties, the first one coming when Tim Gleason fought Cam Janssen.
The win ends their six-game road trip with a 3-1-2 mark. They also moved ahead of the Washington Capitals by a point to take first place in the Eastern Conference’s Southeast Division.
Javier Serna has covered sports for The News & Observer since 2007. He previously covered growth for the North Raleigh News, and sports at The Truth in Elkhart, Ind. E-mail 
Comments
Sutter
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 10:36 — mdavidhallWas good to hear Tripp and John comment during the game that Sutter was doing "extremely" well back in Raleigh. Still, I hope they are cautious with bringing him back, making sure he is 100%.
Scott Walker reportedly looks to be "about a week" away as well.
More good news.
Go Canes!
-m
Sutter
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 10:36 — mdavidhallWas good to hear Tripp and John comment during the game that Sutter was doing "extremely" well back in Raleigh. Still, I hope they are cautious with bringing him back, making sure he is 100%.
Scott Walker reportedly looks to be "about a week" away as well.
More good news.
Go Canes!
-m
tripp and john
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 10:30 — mdavidhallGenerally speaking I'm a fan of Tripp and John, but have to admit that last night they were especially loopy.
-m
"Pointless"
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 11:31 — JRs_FaultI agree that Forsland was a bit off his game (he did work the Vs game Tues w/his night off from FSN).... My favorite was in the opening 'teaser' he said Ray Whitney was "Pointless" in the last 3 games.... I had to laugh out loud in agreement, Ray's been invisible lately.
I've met Forslund off-air.
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 12:36 — ctillI've met Forslund off-air. He seemed to be thoughtful, sincere, articulate, and intelligent guy.
No disagreement
Sat, 11/01/2008 - 08:24 — JRs_FaultI've met both of them, too... I didn't question his thoughtfulness, sincerity, articulation or intelligence... just throwing out one of the things he said that struck me as funny the other night. We're lucky to have them.
I totally agree...
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 12:50 — beanie1234I've had the opportunity to spend time with both Tripp Tracy and John
Forslund, and they both blew me away with how pleasant they are. Both
of them spent time answering questions, "talking shop," and Tripp
showed me how to hold a hockey stick and shoot the puck. After that
interaction, it's hard for me to say anything bad about either one.
That doesn't change the
Sun, 11/02/2008 - 00:24 — Anonymous (not verified)That doesn't change the fact that he sucks as a commentator.
There are lots of "nice guys" who are idiots. And there are many jerks who are great broadcasters. I really couldn't care less how "nice" John & Tripp are, I want this team to have guys who know what they're talking about covering the games.
John F. is fantastic. I'll stop there.
solid
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 10:25 — mdavidhallGreat game by the defense last night. And Cam was great when he had to be. We controlled the play 5 on 5. PP looked better at times - at least they were able to set up and get some shots at the net, with the exception of that dismal 4 minute major, where they seemed to spend 2 minutes just trying to get the puck out of the Blues zone. I thought Mason played really well for the Blues, and stole a couple of goals. PP still is not up to par, but at least they seem to be making progress. But the bottom line is you have to put the biscuit in the basket. PK looks to be coming around. And overall they seemed to be a bit more disciplined with their sticks - not taking silly penalties (hooking, slashing). Staal was in the box twice, and he has been one of their more effective penalty killers at times. I thought Roddy looked as good on the PK as he has all year. Overall I thought Eaves and Bayda had great all around nights, and Seidenberg was rock solid. Babchuk looked as good in the defensive zone as I've seen him so far.
Overall, very happy with this win. St Louis was a hot team early season, and to get a shut out on their ice is solid.
Very happy to get 8 points out of this road trip, especially considering all the adversity.
Going in, I was hoping we could get 6.
Admittedly, the Canes overall play has been spotty at times, and there are still things to work on, but I'm happy with where they are at after the first month. Now it's time to turn the page, put October behind us, and get down to business in November. It's a busy month, with a ton of home games. Hopefully we can get a bit more healthy and develope that "consistency" of strong work ethic and chemistry that we have struggled a bit with early on.
Solid start under adverse conditions. Let's keep it going.
Go Canes!
-martin
Tripp Tracy is the man. And
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 08:38 — James_Tripp Tracy is the man. And despite his sometimes stupid phrases and atrocious hairstyle, Forslund is one of, if not the best, play by play announcers in the NHL.
FS Midwest Feed?
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 08:20 — Fred (not verified)I have Center Ice on Time Warner and tried to find the away broadcast but could not. What channel was that on BiffBeers?
Also no mention here about injury updates on Sutter and Walker like they gave on the broadcast last night - Sutter is doing great and is day to day. Walker is about 10 days away and Pitkanen is still around 2-3 weeks.
Defense picking it up...
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 07:52 — Dump and Chase (not verified)Solid defensive effort for the second straight game, holding their opponants way down in shots on goal. I hate to say it, but I am seeing a direct correlation in the Hurricanes improved defensive play and Joni Pitkanen not being on the ice. A little food for thought there.
GG!
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 07:19 — FuquayCaniacAlthough the Canes PP still failed to convert at a descent clip, they at least got some quality looks and one PP goal. Plus, the team was more disciplined, taking less penalties than I expected, and killed them all off against the leagues best PP. Add that the Canes seemed to compete for the complete game, skated away with a shutout win (GO CAM!), and ended their longest road trip of the season with a winning record (which btw is tied for second best road trip in team history by earned points in the standangs) with 5 key team members in the injury list, I'd say it was a game full of positives.
Big props to the defense, PK, and Wardo!
IS it me...
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 07:19 — aprince27Or do a lot of you seem underwhelmed from this trip. They went 3-1-2...but it's like "Eh, so what."
Is it the fact they've been gone for three weeks this early in the season, the injuries, the inconsistent play, or something else, or a combination of things.
They got 8 of 12 points but it wasn't anything spectacular.
Yo Prince27
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 08:03 — esteban1949It's early in the season...but let's get into november and see what shakes out...enjoy life...but you do have a right to your opinion...have a good week end...
Go Canes !!
A W is a
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 06:29 — esteban1949A "W" is still a "W" even if it is an ugly one...hehehe...we won ! esteban stops calms down...and then realizes, hey that was yesterday...Ok team...time to get ready for the next
game !! Now if the Rats can beat the Bears tonight...;-}
Go Canes !
Please explain "ugly".
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 09:10 — Anonymous (not verified)Please explain "ugly". Out shot, Out defended, Out PK'd
Nuff said
Ugly is
Sat, 11/01/2008 - 06:29 — esteban1949when a win is not a good enough. Ugly is what is inside 99.9999% of us human beings over the age of 2.
Ugly is when you make grandma mad at you trying to be " cute" and screwed up bigtime after she warned you not to...That's being Ugly !! Sorta not understanding what NO means when you are in jail for sexual assault...
anything else Mr. Anonymous ? or should we break out the white board and draw a picture ??
esteban skates off to the locker room...needs a shower after after getting covered with negitive vibes...
Hardest working team
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 22:48 — Biff_BeersI watched the FS Midwest feed on NHL Center Ice. The St. Louis announcers called the Canes "the hardest working team" that the Blues had faced all season. That was a nice tip o' the hat. In addition, they didn't say anything about Brind'Amour's nose.
What in the.....
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 22:25 — Ivan (not verified)Did anybody see the three stars? The St. Louis media picked Chris Mason as 1, Ruutu as 2, and some idiot named oshie as 3. I know this means nothing, but how in their right mind would keep Wrd off that list? Totally biased reporting there. Half-way decent win by the Canes, although I still think that they are relying to much on their goaltending to win games.
PK is looking better while the PP still continues to regress (1 of 6 is bad no matter what anyone says; they had a 5-4 for 4 min and did nothing with it).
Lets hope they are rested for Colesy to come back.
3 stars
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 11:26 — JRs_FaultWhat? Homer-ism in 3 Stars?? I'm shocked.... take a look at Atlanta's home games sometime if you really want to see it in action.
Granted, it's tough to keep a goalie w/SO off the list, but Oshie played a heck of a game. I commented to Mrs_Fault that he had his number called consistently during the game. He was all over the puck all night.
I would have had something like Ward, Mason (hey, he played well too, coming off surgery much less) and give one to Ruutu for the GWG.
No more homer than making an
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 07:31 — Anonymous (not verified)No more homer than making an unworked Cam Ward the #1 star. Oshie was the best forward on the ice all night long. Mason made several really nice saves. I guess it comes down to who played the best or who looks the best on the scoresheet. The two aren't always the same.
Oh ?
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 22:04 — esteban1949If you think Tripp's voice is bad...Chuck K's voice at too hot either...we won !! 1-0...hehehe...so much for tv huh ?? esteban skates off to the official's locker room...wonder why they missed a few calls...Now if the rats can win tomorrow night ...:-0
Hey mental midget!
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 10:25 — AD (not verified)AKA...Esteban. It's not the voice, it's what he says. If you are going to reply to someone's comment, at least understand the comment before posting.
Yo AD
Sat, 11/01/2008 - 06:37 — esteban1949I maybe a " mental midget" but at least i did not get a Phd in effective verbal communications...in explaining your self better...you sound like a kid in my old neighborhood in Chicago in the 1950's he used to walk around with a baseball bat in his hands claiming everyone loved and respected him...he kept thinking that until he got to "nam...when someone in his unit fragged his booty...you any realtion to a the watson family that used to be in river grove,ill. ? you sure do sound like them...loved and appreciated everybody !
Go Canes !
please
Sun, 11/02/2008 - 00:34 — Anonymous (not verified)before you comment again... it's fine to have a different opinion from everyone else, but don't post just to hear the click of your fingers on the keyboard.
enough
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 20:56 — Anonymous (not verified)I am so sick of hearing of hearing how many goals Sammi COULD have scored. ENOUGH...
and the PP is AWFUL!! WHO coaches the PP??? Not Lavi...this deserves a boo-ing!
Unprofessional
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 20:09 — Anonymous (not verified)Here's hoping Tripp Tracy loses his voice sometime tonight. He is always annoying, but tonight he has reached new levels of idiocy.
And he's taking John with him!
And esteban, I don't want to hear ONE WORD from you. Believe it or not, not everything associated with the Canes is good.