Panthers 3, Hurricanes 2

At some point, the powers that be will actually take the time to read these comments. However, without Luke on the beat and competition with the N&O, there will be no public outcry because college bb has started and college fb is winding up.

You have a beat writer who never breaks anything controversial even though he is spoon fed everything and his backup who covered the Florida name can't get the opposing players' names spelled correctly.

2006 really seems like a figment of all of our imaginations. Please, we need media that will hold this team accountable.

I think it's time that this team starts playing like something is on the line. When we won the Cup, we had to start the season off well to regain trust and support in the fan base after a long lockout. Our team was rumored to be in the market of relocation. Our players seemed to be playing, no fighting, for the team to stay in Raleigh, for the fan base to come out to the game, and to prove themselves to the rest of the NHL. The season after we won Stanley, we had massive amounts of injuries and some of the blame can be placed on that, but we had nothing to fight for. The team had experienced the ecstasy of winning the ultimate prize for the first time and had nothing to "prove" to the NHL and the fan base. The season after that was considerably better (towards the end that is). While our team had it's fair share of injuries (understatement) players learned how to fight trough them and some guys took more of the load without question. One fluky game stood between us and the playoffs and it seemed as if the team was again trying to prove that the previous year was a fluke and that they were indeed a powerful and feared team, a force to be reckoned with in this league.

Please Canes, get over yourselves. Most of the Cup team is gone now. This team was projected to finish third in the Southeast this year, eleventh in the conference. You guys are slowly becoming the laughingstock of the NHL again. Remember a few seasons ago when this team finished last in the league in goals and points. I for one don't ever want to see that happen again to my favorite team. Someone needs to step up and turn this program around and it needs to be soon! It's time to start pointing fingers. Patrick Eaves was brought in here to be a potent 20-25 goal scorer. He has 1 goal while wearing the Hurricanes crest and that was a tip-in last season. Rod Brind'amour is a two-time Selke winner not a minus 14 forward. Ray Whitney is a terrific forward and great point producer, but he should not be leading this team in points. Eric Staal (injury or not) should have twice the amount of points as he does. Sergei Samsonov is just now starting to play better so he is off the hot seat for now. Cam Ward is still not playing like Martian Gerber did in the first half of that Cup season. He has the potential but refuses to take that next step. Joe Corvo and Joni Pitkanen and Matt Cullen for that matter should be firing the puck at will on the powerplay.

Thumbs up to Brandon Sutter, Tuomo Ruutu, Ray Whitney, and Scott Walker up front; and Dennis Seidenberg, Niclas Wallin, and Tim Gleason for being acceptable defensemen for a team that hasn't seen one since the Aaron Ward days.

He knocked Brindy on his back not long before the Pitkanen hit. Again, legal or not, nothing is going to be done when something like that happens to our team (by the league). Islanders players were whining over the weekend about one of their players getting hit and the other guy only getting a 1 game or whatever suspension. I saw the replay-it looked like the guy barely made contact-their player was not knocked unconscious. Ballard was aiming directly for Pitkanen and he (Ballard) was obviously not trying to get to the puck. Someone should have gone after him when he flattened the captain-but we don't need Walker breaking his hand and LaRose/Bayda are already the only ones finishing their checks (and they are among the smallest on the team). Gleason was already out of the game, Corvo is the butter on the team (and the absolute laziest player ever), and Wallin gets griped at by our "fans" during home games when he goes in the box for roughing or whatever. Maybe they're afraid of the instigator rule-it would definitely get thrown at this team. Maybe we don't need 2 coaches behind the bench. I can't see that the team is playing any differently than the last 2 seasons with the guy brought up from Albany taking up space behind the players. Or, someone has an offer from another team and is trying to get fired.

While the team did put out a better effort than Sunday's game, there are still multiple issues with this team.
Brind'Amour is a shell of his former self. If he's still hurting he needs to go to IR. Other than face-offs he's not helping, or even noticeable out there right now.
Team play is awful. Lack of chemistry is one thing but you should be able to throw 5 random pro hockey players on the ice and get something after a couple of shifts. There are game plans but the game itself doesn't have so many variations that 5 complete strangers should look as bad as this team does sometimes.
This team doesn't accept it's lack of size/strength and plays a game along the boards that they can't win. But due to comment above they have no other option.
Goaltending has been spotty. Players have to play in front of the goalie but at the NHL level a goalie has to make the timely stop.
Coaching has to find a style of play this team can succeed at. When players are running into each other something is wrong. Players are either so tight they don't know what to do anymore or there is no trust /teamwork.
Jim Rutherford brought in players like Cullen and Whitney post lockout anticipating the way the new NHL would be officiated. And it worked in grand style as the Canes won the Cup!
But size/strength is back in the NHL. Teams have players who are stronger and just as fast as the Hurricanes. This team needs some size.

Remember the last loss to Florida? We should have fired Lavi after that one. I'm sorry Lavi...thanks for the Cup, but just like my job...what have you done for me lately? My wife calls me a sore loser...my response: I don't mind losing as long as there was some effort there. To play for 10 minutes a game is unacceptable and falls on the shoulder of the coach. And it's not rocket science...ride the horses that are actually giving everything they have...i.e. Rutuu, LaRose, Walker, etc.

Was not a totally pretty game. we had chances, yet we failed. From the highlights I got to see on the news...I saw 2 things that ripped me.
1: the Hit although from a reverse angle turns out to be a "legal" hit, should have fired somebody up. maybe insread of Dywer JR should have called Up Gillies, or Acoin, both know how to defend a teamate.
2. We had too many around the goal causing Leighton to miss a gaol as we didn't clear it out and the panthers played pick up the garbage...and stuffed it in for a goal. Plus we were flat and slow during period one...Maybe it is time to go back to the morning skate and NOT pass it off anylonger...they are sitting around too much..Heck i'd be sluggish too!

Sutter is coming into his own....In time he will be a force to recon with. He and Rosie did a good job, not a great job, but a good job.

Go canes ??

November is slipping away, just like it did last year. Hey JR ... are you going to just watch it like you did last year OR are you going to do something this year ? Something BIG has to be changed NOW. A coach, a big player in or out, a BIG SHAKE UP NOW ! SEND A MESSAGE ! Or, we just keep doing the same mediocre thing and miss the playoffs AGAIN, for a 3 year streak. And if that happens, my 8 year season ticket streak will end too. The last 2 games were wins given away, since the Canes didn't show up for either game, except for a few minutes. Embarrasing !

Another two points presented to the opposition. Presumably they have decided they don't need the points while Washington are losing as well. An average team playing average hockey. No sense of desire to win whatsoever.

Legal or not, it's embarrassing that Pitkanen is hit like that & there's absolutely no response. Nothing. Nothing at all. How telling that is. You don't need Brookbank out there; another guy - any other guy! - should have responded to that.

I'm even more embarrassed that Brent Sutter is witnessing this display. I can only imagine what he thinks of this soft as butter team...*shudder*.

I've held my tongue for a long while now, but I'm disgusted. Mr. Karmanos allegedly reads everything on the web related to the Canes so I hope he sees this: your GM has built the softest, smallest, most apathetic team in the league. Congrats.

Oh, and b/c it just can't be said enough: Tripp Tracy is a fool. "Babchuk has had a good couple shifts." Well, bless his heart, I know we're all proud of him! I mean, honestly, that kind of remark is NOT helping.

Perhaps I'll be calmer in a little while...but I have to say, I'm beginning to emotionally disengage from this team. I'm a season ticket holder that never once before considered giving them up - but I feel myself starting not to care anymore...