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Hurricanes 2, Predators 0
Submitted by chipalexander on 10/05/2008 - 15:29
RALEIGH — Ray Whitney scored off a rebound of a Patrick Eaves shot at 7:19 of the third period, and Eric Staal added an empty-netter in the final seconds to give the Hurricanes a 2-0 victory Sunday over Nashville.
Cam Ward notched a shutout in goal as the Canes finished their preseason schedule 3-3 after losing the first three exhibition games.
''It's a nice way to end the exhibition season, obviously,'' Ward said. ''It was nice to get in a full game and have things go well."
Whitney's goal came after Niclas Wallin blasted a shot from the left circle and then Eaves missed on a backhand at the post. Moments later, Preds goalie Dan Ellis couldn't corral Eaves' shot and Whitney, who has missed preseason games and time in training camp, whipped a shot from the slot on the long rebound. ...
The Canes' Sergei Samsonov missed an open net on a rebound of an Eric Staal shot in the first minute of the second period. The horn sounded and the light came on to signal a goal, but there was one problem: Samsonov's shot sailed high and over the bar.
Ward had 23 saves in the first two periods and 31 for the game.
"t's a token to the guys in front of me," he said. "They played extremely well. The PK (penalty kill) was really strong. The guys worked hard.''Â Â
Rod Brind'Amour took the ice on the second shift, with Samsonov and Chad LaRose on his line. The Canes' captain missed the first five preseason games after knee surgery on Sept. 16.Â
Brind'Amour had 10:34 of ice time in the first two periods, all at even strength or on the power play. Late in the second, he blasted a shot from the slot but Ellis made the save.
''Lavi told me I wasn't going to play much,'' Brind'Amour said of Canes coach Peter Laviolette. ''When he told me (Sunday) morning I was OK with it, but as the game goes on
it was 'Come on ...'
''Because you do need to get in and involved. I am used to playing a lot of minutes, so it was an adjustment.''
Brind'Amour was impressed by his own play.
''I knew it was going to be horrible,'' Brind'Amour said. "That's OK. That's all I wanted to get out of it.
''Hopefully it will get better and better as we move on. It was important to me to get some of the cobwebs out.''
Whitney said he felt comfortable, even though he missed part of training camp and preseason
games.
''I felt fine, timing wise. I got a little tired about halfway through the games -- my legs felt a little heavy -- but they came in the third again," he said.
Whitney didn't show much rust. He quickly set up Staal for a shot with a crisp pass in the first and later got off a good shot. Eaves also played on Staal's line. ...
Matt Cullen had Scott Walker and Ryan Bayda on his line. The fourth line had Brandon Sutter, Dan LaCouture and Wade Brookbank. ...
Defensive combos for the Canes: Tim Gleason and Josef Melichar, Anton Babchuk and Niclas Wallin, Frantisek Kaberle and Joe Corvo. ... Joni Pitkanen sat out the game but was a healthy scratch. ...
No Trevor Gillies for the Canes or Josh Gratton for the Preds. No Rocky II. ...
Apparently there are a lot of fans of fair weather. The crowd at the RBC Center is on the slim side, although announced at 11,313. And the Carolina Panthers are on TV, too.Â
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Chip Alexander
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and was part of the coverage team for the Canes' Stanley Cup run in 2006. He can be reached at chip.alexander@newsobserver.com.
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Comments
Sellouts
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 16:59 — Hockey Grampa (not verified)The Blackhawks sold out pre-season last week with all the options ('cept NASCAR) that Chicago has. But I agree that pre-season is the time to grow the fan base.
But this blog was not the best place to bring up the attendance. Why not give us more in depth coverage of the players and how the team is coming together. Any 10 year old could type in the line configurations
Funny...I would have thought
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 09:29 — Anonymous (not verified)Funny...I would have thought that most important things to report were the fact that we had a solid performance in goal and had two key veterans return to the lineup and play well. Pre-season games for ANY sport are never as well attended as regular season games.
Can we at least have someone who pretends to care about the team they are reporting about and doesn't use every opportunity to take a backhanded swipe at the team?
stop with the attendance mumbo jumbo
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 09:08 — vdotuthe canes had more fans in their seats for the whole game, than did the carolina panthers in the 4Q. Why folks pay $50 and up for pro-sports seats, then leave a game early is still beyond me to comprehend.. And as noted this is a "pre-season game".
I've been a supporter of your work Chip, but you are trying real hard to alienate me with this junk reporting.
Concentrate on the team, the on-ice action, and the post game team reactions. Everything else is noise..
I always think it funny when
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 08:48 — Anonymous (not verified)I always think it funny when columnists act the Troll i n their own blog just to get comments. It is the hits and comments that get the ratings.
Some seem to forget the previous owner of the blog was no different.
Way to fire them up Chip.
Report on the Players and Games, not the Fans
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 01:14 — Anonymous (not verified)This is the type of reporting that I expected when I heard Luke was replaced by an old N&O reporter with limited hockey knowledge. I had hoped for better. Please just produce an interesting blog about the game and the players. Other acceptable side comments should be related to anything except fan attendance. Readers of this blog are Hurricane Faithful (true 'Caniacs', if you will) and not interested in hearing about "fair weather fans" from a "fair weather hockey reporter."
I'll pretty much put on the
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 20:15 — chipalexander (author)I'll pretty much put on the blog anything I want to about the team.
hockey
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 00:56 — Anonymous (not verified)cant watch hockey round here, gotta watch rednecks turn left all day, stupid a$$ not even a sport, i run a bar and i can barely even play a panthers game(america's most popular sport btw so bite me) without ten drunk butt rednecks wanting me to put it on a non sport nascar or even the speed channel replays on sunday, and then to top it all off they dont even really watch it! people around here are fake and wouldnt know a sport if it tackled them in the arse!, yeah i aint from here but i am a caniac and panther man, nascar can be seen at the library or the olympics, oh wait the olympic athletes actually have to run/swim/ or jump...sorry nascar fans gotta be able to turn left, you people suck as fans, and are fair weather, too... hockey takes real skill and was the 1st ever actual professional championship ever in the carolinas(sorry app state doesnt count ,severe minor league btw) but i contantly hear hey i didnt know we had a hockey team! i am ashamed for my state! sad
ticket prices
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 00:43 — Anonymous (not verified)if you werent cheap a## carolinians youd be happy you even have a tem, sucky fans.. i was waiting tables one day and said go canes, in the stanley cup year and my table thought i was a miami fan, disgracefull.. you don t support the panthers in genereal or the canes, you are all braves and nascar(rednecks turning left) boring as all hell, ... no wonder we cant get real baseball here,... as fans nc/nc suck!!! and this is coming from a bartender, one who knows!!!.. i watch people put on the "freakin almighty race" every sunday and never even watch it... you suck!!!
Pre-season should be cheaper!
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 00:34 — WalkerBabe (not verified)A Buffalo acquaintance always goes to their pre-season games as they are much cheaper than regular games. I don't think pre-season should be as expensive as it is!
Pretty sad
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 23:22 — Itrain (not verified)Pretty sad that after a solid win and the Canes finally showing some health and good momentum heading into Friday, the only garbage thats commented on is the attendance? I cant really understand why it needed pointing out to begin with but the comments added sound like a bunch of bitter Slug fans. The team is coming together, there's much more interesting angles to discuss.
pre-season games
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 22:25 — dropthepuck (not verified)Pre-season games are a great way to see the young prospects and future Hurricanes. It's a chance to see for yourself who the team has in the system and who might be brought up in times of injury and illness. Never would have seen the toughness of Brian Rodney (back w/Albany now) or the valiant comeback attempt of Jeff O'Neill. LaCouture may or may not stay w/us but he's been great during the pre-season and a pleasure to watch. Drayson Bowman is back w/ his jr team now, but it was good to see his skills in action. I attended all 3 home games and listened to the away games on the radio. Was worth it to me, but then I regularly attend hockey games in lieu of taking vacations every year.
fair skies not fair weather fans
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 21:06 — Anonymous (not verified)It might be a sellout in Montreal, but if the temperature was 26 C and there was not a cloud in the sky my guess is that there would have been less than 11,000 fans in the seats. I heard the game on the way back from the beach--in which case the Habs are the Habs not.
The Caniacs will be at the RBC in force on Friday--not to worry...
attendance
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 20:15 — Anonymous (not verified)Please.......The Canes priced me out long ago. Why would I pay the same amount to see a meaningless pre-season game when I could wait for a meaningful matchup later? I don't understand why they don't lower the price and use this to introduce the game to potential fans who have never seen a hockey game.
I agree. Tickets are too
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 18:22 — Jonathan (not verified)I agree. Tickets are too much for preseason. No other sport has full price preseason tickets.
Really?
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 20:39 — LP (not verified)Do the Panthers offer cheaper seats for Pre-Season?  I just went to a Stars game in Texas last weekend - same price there too.  I'm pretty sure the NFL has the same price.  This is the first year the Canes didn't offer a "Free" game during the pre-season.  Take it easy.
Actually I have heard that
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 21:45 — Anonymous (not verified)Actually I have heard that the NFL sells full preseason tickets packages for maybe a hundred bucks. I'm not positive, but still any reduction would be welcome. I also understand that it's the first year without a FREE game. I'm just saying that it's a little hard for two 22yr olds to make a 50mi trip and pay full price for tickets to a preseason game with the way things are in the world today. I also understand that, that may also contribute to the need for them to charge full price.
Well ... Maybe
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 11:22 — The Original Caniac (not verified)Maybe some NFL teams do drop it and I do agree - that pre-season games should be somewhat cheaper.  Yes, it's hard for 22 year old to make a 50mile trip - but that's hard for anyone.  With gas so expensive - throw in ticket prices - food - beverage, etc., it can be expensive.  If you don't come to that many games - why come to a pre-season game anyway.  Most of the time it's rookies and long shots that get the ice time.  Save it for opening night or Vs. Detroit.  Make the trip worth the money.
Crowd
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 18:12 — Anonymous (not verified)I am surprised that many people attended. Pre-season games should be half price. Better yet....FREE. If you are trying to expand the fan base, what better way to get them to see a live game. It's a well known fact, once you go to a game, it's hard not to come back.
Crowd
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 16:46 — Sparky (not verified)It is a meaningless preseason game with tickets sold at full price. Are you expecting a sell out for it?
yet your very comment shows
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 18:36 — Anonymous (not verified)yet your very comment shows how much popular hockey is here
 it would be a sell out if we were Canadiens.
 just sayin'
....now, go watch your Nascar.
True ignorance
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 23:52 — Sparky (not verified)So hockey isn't popular here because some people don't want to spend money for preseason games? It's not my fault that people in Montreal have so few options to spend money on that they choose to spend it on overpriced PRESEASON games. I could give a rat's butt if it is preseason in any sport, if the tickets are full price and the game still counts for squat then I'd rather use my money elsewhere. Maybe it's been a while since you've been in college, but for me money doesn't exactly grow on trees. I've got a 26 game pack and will end up going to about 35 regular season games, so I'm spending plenty on this team.
And sweet attempt at an insult by mentioning a "sport" that even fewer people care about. Shows real maturity.
Just sayin'.