DENVER -- Defenseman Tim Gleason likely will miss the Canes' game Friday against the Colorado Avalanche, coach Paul Maurice said today.
Gleason suffered an upper-body injury in the second period of the Canes' 4-3 shootout loss to the New York Islanders on Wednesday night. He was the only player not to practice today at the Pepsi Center.
"It's day to day but I'm not optimistic for tomorrow," Maurice said. "We'll see how he feels tomorrow (but) it's probably better than we originally thought after the game. He came in better today."
Maurice said Jay Harrison would take Gleason's spot in the lineup.
While Maurice had said he would like to give backup goaltender Michael Leighton his first start of the season on this trip, he said Cam Ward would start against the Avs. A decision then will be made for Saturday's game at the Minnesota Wild.
The Canes fell to 2-4-2 and 0-3-1 on the road this season with the shootout loss to the Isles at Nassau Coliseum. Carolina trailed late in the third period, but Eric Staal and Jussi Jokinen scored in barely a minute to tie the score and force overtime.
Still, the Hurricanes did not come away with their first road win as the Islanders won their first game of the season. Would that be the glass being half-full or half-empty?
"Both," Maurice said. "The first period was a lot like our problems -- we're not moving, we're not driving to the net.
"I thought after the first we did start to skate, start to forecheck, start to get in the offensive zone time we've become accustomed to. ... There were things we'd like to keep, things we think we can replicate: driving the puck down low, doing things like that we just didn't do in the first period.
"Right now we're looking for any positive we can to build off of. We made some plays around the net, a couple of nifty passes. We want to shoot every puck and drive the net. We've been concerned about the tightness with the sticks, so it was good to see we tried to make some plays."
The Canes outshot the Isles 27-13 in the last two periods. Both teams had three shots in the overtime.
"I think after the second period, we all felt we were going to get opportunities, that we could push that team," Maurice said. "So we came out with a positive. We've come back from two (goals) before and we can do it again."
The Canes had a spirited practice Thursday at the Pepsi Center. Now it's a matter of seeing if that translates to a strong game against the Avs, 6-1-2 after a shootout loss Wednesday on the road against the Minnesota Wild.
"Last night wasn't the result we were hoping for, but I think there were a lot of positives we can feed off of," Ward said. "We showed a lot of character by being able to bounce back and come from behind in the third period.
"There's still room for improvement. But our practice today, I thought, was a very sharp, very intense practice and just what we needed heading into tomorrow."
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at 
Comments
Gleason
Fri, 10/23/2009 - 10:49 — GoShelfHe'll be missed, hopefully Harrison steps up and plays well. There's no reason we can't get 2 W's this weekend. I don't think the Av's are as good as their record, they seem to be over-achieving and it should only be a matter of time until reality sets in - they're young & inexperienced, defensively they lack quality, and they don't have a lot of veteran leadership (after Adam Foote it gets pretty thin). Minnesota on the other hand seems to be playing worse than most expected, they made a lot of changes over the summer and haven't been able to adjust just yet, so who know's what team we'll see on Saturday. One things for certain, the Canes need to play 60 minutes tonight like they played the third period on Wednesday.
Thanks Chip
Fri, 10/23/2009 - 07:45 — esteban1949it is good to see and read that the Coach (MO) sees what we the fans see & know.
But what many of us don't understand, is that if he see & knows that, why can't he "motivate" the players in such a way that reminds them that they are professional players and not a bunch of mistake prone pond hockey players ?
I know I as a fan do expect alot of all the teams & players I support. But in the case of the Canes, what JR did was fill in the missing pieces that the Canes have needed so the Canes could & can repeat last seasons play off run. have the other teams the canes faced so far this year really imporved and play better than the Canes ?
In fairness, we the fans do know that the Canes are NOT robotic machines who can be programed to be flawless. But aren't we the fans intitled to better than what we have been given ? Or are we victims of our own ignorance in actually beliving all the pre-season hype and promotions ? But several of the games the Canes lost could have been won. At times the Canes were out played,out hustled and frankly run over. So seeing they and we know that, what are or have they been doing about it ? Like the Chicago Cubs, we die hard fans will always sing maybe next year. But can't this year(season) be the one ? With what 73 games yet to go ( after tonights)
The canes can't afford to allow this "slump" or what ever you want to call it to go on much longer. Heck, the River Rats have a better record than the Canes do. So the question to the Bench and Players of the Carolina Hurricanes is or ought to be
So what's your reason or excuses now ? many of us who work for a living...if we don't preform we get replaced or fired...are you any the players any better ? As Cam Ward can't play all the posistions on the ice you know...That is how is see what is shown..
Go Canes !! Please !!!