Tuomo Ruutu, back in the Canes lineup after missing 15 games, finished off a 4-1 victory over the Panthers with an empty-net goal.
Matt Cullen's goal at 3:11 of the third gave the Canes a 3-1 lead. Cullen took a pass from Tim Gleason on the left wing, cut back across the middle, pulled the puck past a fallen Bryan Allen and beat goaltender Tomas Vokoun.
Joni Pitkanen's hard blast 13 minutes into the second had pushed the Canes ahead 2-1. Pitkanen took a pass from Ray Whitney at the top of the right circle and unloaded a shot that sailed under Tomas Vokoun's glove.
Cory Stillman's goal at 9:36 of the second had given the Panthers a 1-1 tie after Jussi Jokinen's power-play goal at 5:28 handed Carolina a 1-0 lead.
Jokinen extended his point streak to seven games with his 21st goal. Matt Cullen circled the goal and passed to Eric Staal, whose shot was poked away by Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun, but directly to Jokinen.
The goal came after the Panthers' Keith Ballard was called for tripping Staal.
The Canes had a 13-7 shooting edge in the second and some good scoring chances in the period after Pitkanen's goal. With less than a minute left in the period, Staal set up Ray Whitney for an open shot but Whitney fanned with an open net. Whitney also was denied on a shot in the slot. ...
Canes defenseman Tim Gleason caught a puck in the face early in the second and was cut on the forehead. Gleason returned later in the period. ...
The only real excitement in a scoreless first period came from a pair of fights.
The first was between the Canes' Tim Gleason and the Panthers' Gregory Campbell. Gleason took exception to a late check by Campbell and that was that. Campbell was on the bottom when it ended.
In the second fight, the Canes' Steven Goertzen and Florida's Bryan Allen went at it. Little damage suffered by either player. ...
The Canes' Brandon Sutter is playing his 100th NHL game tonight and his line was the most active for Carolina in the first period. ...
Eric Staal is tied with Kevin Dineen for second place in franchise history in power-play goals (71). ...
Jussi Jokinen has points in six straight games (5 goals, 2 assists). ... Since the start of December, the Canes are 16-13-2 overall and 8-8-1 on the road. ...
The Panthers have lost their last three games and four of five. They're 2-for-23 on the power play in the five games and just 3-38 on the power play in their last 10 games. ...
Florida has scored 12 goals in the last 10 games and has been shut out twice. ...
David Booth has two assists in the four games since returning from a concussion that sidelined him 45 games. ...
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at 
Comments
Playoffs!
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 14:16 — CanenutAre we talking playoffs?
Would be nice but highly unlikely. Effort each and everynight is all we can ask for till the last game is played.
A "finnish" hat trick
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 09:36 — esteban1949I love it !! and for tim that make 42 stiches in the last what 4 -5 weeks now ?
The Canes are Good,My Grandkids are Better, and Life is Great !!
Go Canes !!
Playoffs
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 03:28 — LetsGoPittBack at Christmas time, we all agreed there was still a lot of hockey left, but I was one of those that said the Canes were too far back to make the playoffs. Well, considering the Islanders, Flyers and Rangers keep tripping over themselves and the huge slupm the Bruins have been in, the Canes could actually make the playoffs. For whatever reason, they have played well at home all year, it was the early road games that killed them.
But now, well, they aren't as hot as the Senators but close to it, and if they catch a few breaks, they could eek out the 8th seed. I relaly want all 5 Atlantic division teams in as it would make for a brutal playoff season - great for TV!! It would be like Big East basketball meets Steeler football on ice........
Chances
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 09:10 — GoShelfTo reach 88 points which gives us a 55% chance of making the playoffs we have to go 17-4-2, that's the best case scenario for the Canes and it's very unlikely we'll play that well. I think after the Olympic break we'll see a lot of slumping teams get back on the bandwagon and start playing well again. I still feel wholeheartedley that we need finish in the bottom 4, preferably last.
timing
Tue, 02/09/2010 - 23:31 — louis12580Seems like our Finnish contingent has pretty good timing. The league announces that the 'Canes are going to open the season in Finland and all three scored tonight.