Canes need to resuscitate offense

After their 2-0 loss at New Jersey on Saturday, the Hurricanes now are 28th in the NHL in goals per game and 29th on the power play.

How does a coach handle an offensively challenged team?

"There are specific things you work on, and then you have to get to an understanding that you better be comfortable winning some 2-1 games until you get to the point that you're firing," Canes coach Paul Maurice said after practice today. "We won the 1-1 game (against Tampa Bay) in a shootout, and other than that we've scored seven (against Florida) but haven't scored more than two in any other night.

"If we sit and wait for our offense to get going, it's going to be a painful experience."

The Canes had 26 shots against the Devils but Martin Brodeur finished with a shutout. Maurice said the game was "there for the taking" but the Hurricanes couldn't generate enough good scoring chances offensively.

Could it be too many guys are gripping their sticks too tightly?

"Because we have so many players up front feeling offensively challenged, I think that's first and foremost in their minds," Maurice said.

Chad LaRose and Sergei Samsonov have yet to score goals and LaRose is without a point after seven games. Eric Staal has two goals and no assists in the Canes' 2-4-1 start.

"It all works together," Maurice said. "When you feel good about it, you don't think about scoring. You play the game and the next thing you know you're scoring three or four a night.

"When it's the thought you bring to the rink, that 'I've got to start scoring to help our team to win,' you've got to win regardless of how it happens and then the scoring comes.

"I think we've got a number of guys who came into this season excited, and every year there's always guys who come in excited about their offense, then they get seven games in and their numbers aren't anywhere near where I hoped they would be. And that takes a lot of energy and emotion to deal with it."

As for the power-play deficiencies, Maurice said, "Our power play and our five-on-five game is suffering from exactly the same issues -- we're slow in what we do. And a puck to the net is not the first mind set, and that's what we have to get to."

The Canes did score a pair of power plays goals a week ago in a loss in Tampa Bay. But they're 4-for-36 (11.1 percent) for the season.

"The plays that we're trying to set up come after," Maurice said. "They come after you've driven the net and pounded the puck and you find the seams. And that's the same with our five-on-five game: we're trying to make the plays before we just do the simple, ugly things."

The winning goal by the Devils, which came at even strength 26 seconds into the third, was hardly a thing of beauty. New Jersey's Rob Niedermayer won a battle behind the Carolina net and centered a pass to Jamie Langenbrunner. The puck hit Langenbrunner in the chest and ricocheted past Cam Ward.

"That's a perfect example of it," Maurice said. "They're not scoring an awful lot of goals (but ) it goes off body or head or whatever and it's in the net. That's the way you score."

Several players were held out of practice Sunday -- Staal, Samsonov, Matt Cullen, Joni Pitkanen, Rod Brind'Amour, Aaron Ward. Maurice said all should play Wednesday in the Canes' next game, at the New York Islanders.

Pitkanen had 28:15 in ice time in only his second game but got through it well, Maurice said.