AP photo
PITTSBURGH — The Canes didn't take the easy way, but they still pulled off a 2-1 victory over the Penguins.
Tim Gleason got called for a double minor high sticking, leaving the Canes to spend nearly all the last four minutes a man down.
But the defense and Cam Ward held to send Carolina into the All-Star break with its second straight win. Ward finished with 32 saves.
Ray Whitney had a power-play goal in the first period and Eric Staal has scored in the second to give the Canes a 2-1 lead after two.
Staal redirected a pass from Justin Williams past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury at 8:01 for his 20th goal of the season. For Williams, it was his 200th career point as a Hurricane.
Whitney scored his 15th goal at 14:30 of the first after an interference penalty against Matt Cooke, who collided with Scott Walker. Whitney's shot from the top of the left circle appeared to glance off defenseman Ryan Whitney and past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who was screened by defenseman Ron Scuderi and the Canes' Tuomo Ruutu.
And early Canes penalty quickly led to a Penguins goal and 1-0 lead. Rod Brind'Amour was called for hooking at 2:03 and the Pens struck on the power play, with Evgeni Malkin lurking on the backside and knocking in the rebound of a Philippe Boucher shot at 2:33.
Walker, shaken up on the Cooke hit, did not return for the second period. There has been no update on his injury.
Defenseman Niclas Wallin injured a leg and had to be helped from the ice with 11:38 left in the second, so the Canes are down two players.
Carolina, trailing 1-0, failed to convert on 1:31 of a two-man advantage, as Fleury turned back shots by Sergei Samsonov, Brind'Amour and Whitney. ...
Canes defenseman Tim Gleason is playing in his 300th career game. ...
The Canes' scratches: Frantisek Kaberle and Wade Brookbank.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at 
Comments
Hard work, finishing your
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 14:49 — mokimanoHard work, finishing your checks, decent goaltending...amazing how those ingredients equal a win and outworking your opponent almost every night in the NHL. Consistency is the key with this bunch, when they have it they are just fine, when they dont, expect losses and expect us fans to moan about it...the secret is simple...with the talent the Canes have, they must put in a 60 minute hard working effort and get decent goaltending to stand a chance...the talent on this team is not deep enough to get by any other way...that's a fact!
Don't get carried away
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 13:02 — Canes73Yes, its great that they put together back to back solid efforts and came away with 4 points but remember neither of the teams they beat are currently in a playoff spot. They've got a great opportunity to move up over the rest of January/February...12 of their next 16 games are against teams either out of the playoff picture or barely in. They need to keep beating those teams but also show they can compete with the power houses.
Wardo
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 11:55 — wylde4caneslooked real good the past couple of nights. Hopefully we can find our stride coming out the All Star break and roll!
Good back to back effort
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 10:49 — HockeydogTwo in a row after a 5 game skid is good news. In a way it's too bad the All-Star break is coming, but the boys ( - Staal) will enjoy the rest. Simple and hard is the ticket.
this is very simple, when
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 10:01 — whallethis is very simple, when you skate hard, finish checks and play with determination, you win games.
During the 5 game loosing streak, this was all absent and it showed as the end result
Interesting...
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 09:40 — jgrant641Funny how when we win there are far less comments on the games, than when we lose everyone tries to top each other with how the sky is falling ;)
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Winning silences all critics...
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 13:21 — Rearranging_Dec......in every sport, regardless of the team. The sky isn't falling, however, this is not a team that can afford to take a night off, let alone a period off. And it isn't like the core of this team was just thrown together, quite a few players remain from the championship team and the fans here will always remember them for that, but the bar has been set pretty high as a result of that success. Fans are going to vent when they lose and hold their collective breath when they eek out even a solid, well-deserved win.
Agree
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 10:36 — Canes101I agree with you on that JGrant. I too think it is funny that when we are losing everyone throws the team under the bus but when we are winning there isnt much praise. Also, when we are losing everyone says how mediocre Ward is and how we need another goalie. Well all I have to say is when you give the kid some help, even a little help, he will win you hockey games and that was proven over the last two games. He made some huge saves last night and his rebound control was spectacular!
Over All
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 08:34 — esteban1949The canes did a good job over all. The new line tweakings seemed to do the job needed. The captain and his line, gave as good as they got. And the line had more shots at the goal too.
Not on the kill
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 09:44 — CanenutDid you hear Tripp's comment about Rod not being on the PK? He just brushed over it but it shows that everyone is starting to see that even his high face off percentage does not help kill penalties.
face offs don't win the game
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 12:32 — asbrooksI'm getting tired of Tripp and John Forsland saying to give Roddy the benefit. I know he's the best at face-offs, but when you then either take a penalty or turn it over, that negates the advantage of winning the FO. I love Rod as much as anyone and am grateful for his contribution to our winning the cup, but it's time to move on. As the captain and leader of the team, he needs to BE a leader and step aside for the higher energy players - Ruutu, Bayda, Eaves.....
abnormal or the new normal?
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 17:54 — Biff_BeersRod Brind'Amour's defensive game has been dreadful this season, but his offensive game is still pretty good. He's tied with Ruutu for 3rd on the team in scoring with 27 points. The immediate challenge for the team is to exploit the offensive strength without exposing the defensive weakness. Limiting Brind'Amour's PK time seems like a logical step as long as another center can pick up the slack. Staal played 4:27 on the PK and 22:38 overall which is fine going into the All-Star break, but I wouldn't want to use him that much every night. Sutter played 2:24 on the PK and can probably do a bit more.
The larger question is what to do with Brind'Amour for next year. He has two years left on his contract for $3M/year. Is his defensive play this year abnormal, or is it the new normal? In hindsight the answer will be obvious, but the only person with any meaningful insight right now is Brind'Amour himself. He has earned the privilege to make the call. If he says he needs to play out of his slump, I'd make damn sure he gets all the TOI he needs.
The Canes will look pretty stupid if they hold on to Brind'Amour and he never returns to form. They will look monumentally stupid if he does return to form and does it for another team. Some people may find the Canes' loyalty to their veteran players like Brind'Amour, Wesley, and Hedican quaint, but, unless you have piles of money, it's the only way to get veteran players in the first place.
Normal or Abnormal
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 21:16 — abramsdougAll very valid and well-made points. In terms of Brind'Amour's offense, since November 18th, he has scored one goal and 13 asists (according to the stats at www.carolinahurricanes.com and if I counted correctly). I doubt Brind'Amour would be viewed as a player who could be traded even if the decision were made to try. With the economy as weak as it is and with the salary cap, I would be very surprised if Brind'Amour were viewed by the rest of the NHL as a widely sought after player. I admire the Hurricanes management for its loyalty; but loyalty is a two way street. A long-time veteran has to be willing to put the team first and to willingly cut minutes or move down lines if his play warrants it. Also, loyalty to one veteran can't outweigh loyalty to the other members of the team and the coaches -- whose careers are directly tied to the success of team. The fans of the team also deserve loyalty. I hope Brind'Amour's current level of play is the result of injuries that can heal rather than reflecting his current and long-term best.
Good point
Thu, 01/22/2009 - 07:26 — esteban1949None of us here know for sure if Brind'Amour HASN't sat down with Mo and said...hey look, I'm a burden at the moment, please adjust the lines accordingly. But I think most of us here would agree, that Rod is classy enough of a guy, to do that. But only The Almighty, Rod & Mo know for sure huh ?
The Rats lost 4-2 but in a bloody "slobberknocker" the jr. Hurricanes won 7-5 with the longest last 2 mins on record for them too. Oh baby!!
Changing Lines and the Elephant in the Room
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 15:48 — abramsdougAgreed. It's as if the coaches and management think nobody on the opposing teams will notice the problems Brind'Amour is having and that by changing lines they can disguise the elephant in the room. In Toronto the Canadien announcers made a point of saying Toronto wanted to take advantage of the Brind'Amour line due to his problems (although they apparently thought the line was Whitney/Brind'Amour/Williams). Putting LaRose and Ruutu with Brind'Amour did give more assistance, it seemed, to Brind'Amour; but it is pretty naive to think opposing teams will let up on the Brind'Amour line out of sympathy for his past contributions to the NHL. Although I still prefer to see Brind'Amour healthy scratched or at least moved to the fourth line (and Sutter given a chance), other than the breakdown in the first two minutes of play which led to a hooking penalty, Brind'Amour's play seemed neither outstandingly great nor outstandingly terrible last night. LaRose and Ruutu were both skating hard and banging bodies every chance they got. Maybe Brind'Amour will also start adopting that approach for the remainder of the season.
Total Team Effort
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 07:56 — CanenutFrom watching on TV it looked like a total 60 mintue game. From the goaltender out everone played the way they are capable of playing. It was great to see everyone back helping Cam. He made the saves when he had too which created a little luck as well.
Hopefully Walker and Wallin will be able to use this week to heal and be ready for the rest of the season.
Go Canes Go!