Hurricanes 7, Panthers 2
NHLI photo by Gregg Forwerck via Getty Images
The Hurricanes rolled to a 7-2 victory over the Panthers at the RBC Center.
Matt Cullen's goal early in the third period pushed the Canes ahead 5-1. But Carolina wasn't through, adding goals by Rod Brind'Amour and Jay Harrison — the first career goal for Harrison.
Ray Whitney got his first goal of the season as the Canes led 4-1 after the second. Tom Kostopoulos' first goal as a Cane gave Carolina a 1-0 lead and Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi Jokinen have scored for a 3-0 cushion after the first period.
With the Canes on the penalty kill after an interference call against Tim Gleason, Kostopoulos swiped the puck from defenseman Bryan McCabe in the slot in the Florida zone and quickly popped the puck past Tomas Vokoun.
The short-handed goal came seven minutes into the first. It was his sixth career "shortie" — Kostopoulos had three for Montreal in the 2007-08 season.
Ruutu scored his first of the season on a breakaway at 10:20. Taking a perfect pass from Sergei Samsonov, Ruutu streaked down the ice and ripped a shot past Vokoun's stickside.
Later in the first, the Canes had 1:07 of a two-man advantage but couldn't add to the lead on the extended power play. But Jokinen soon made it 3-0 with a theft of his own.
When Vokoun and rookie defenseman Dmitry Kulikov misplayed the puck behind the net, Jokinen grabbed the loose puck, spun around and wrapped it in.
The Panthers had an early chance to grab the lead on a shorthanded breakaway by Rostislav Olesz. But Joe Corvo hustled back to get a piece of the puck.
Florida had 40 seconds of a two-man advantage early in the second, but the Canes killed off both penalties with aggressive play.
Whitney scored after a well-executed lead pass from Nic Wallin to make it 4-0, but the Panthers' Shawn Matthias scored with 3:19 left in the second. Canes goalie Cam Ward kept the three-goal lead with some acrobatic saves in the final minutes of the period.
On Hockey Fights Cancer night, Julie Walker was the "Siren Sounder" before the game. The wife of Canes' forward Scott Walker, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer this year but has responded well to surgery and her treatments. ...
The Canes are wearing their black alternate sweaters for the first time. ...
About the blogger
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is in his second season as the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at chip.alexander@newsobserver.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @ice_chip.
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Ward, Alberts, and the D...
Sat, 10/10/2009 - 08:04 — hockeyhickI'm lovin' our revamped back end! This was the type of game that JR was envisioning when he signed Alberts and traded for Ward. Hitting, hitting, and more hitting! I am really impressed with Alberts. His speed is deceiving, and he is very solid positionally.
The entire team seemed to play with an edge, everyone taking the lead from the bruising backliners. Good to see a balanced scoring attack.
I still maintain that it will take a few more games for the team to come together, what with the new faces and abbreviated preseason schedule. But I also believe that if players play up to expectations this will be a very dangerous team. 7 goals without Staal on the score sheet!?! Just wait 'til he catches fire! last night's game was a great building block, and a glimpse into a very promising future!
Revised Defense
Sat, 10/10/2009 - 09:33 — abramsdougI agree completely with hockeyhick's comments. Ward and Alberts provide a combination of physicality and sound positional defense. Alberts also picks his spots, but every game will make at least two thundering hits. I think Staal will hit his stride soon.
was a
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 21:59 — esteban1949great game !! John & tripp pointed out several things during the 2 & 3rd periods and out of the 2 goals Florida got, one could have been advoided. But hey, I am NOT complaining. It looks or looked like the defence and players like Kostopolis are stepping up as it was a sweet move when he picked the pocket of the panthers captain...and slammed it home past Volkoun. And the canes do need to petiontion the NHL to be allowed to wear the 3rd Jerseys for more than 18 games. Was a good game over all, the bench as a whole contributed to the win, despite the fact that Staal wasn't even on the score sheet tonight...but as we all know what the signs at the locker room door reads don't we ?? It was great seeing Julie Walker crank up the siren too !!
Now to see if we can try and do the same thing to TB.
Go Canes !! And take No Prisoners !!