BOSTON -- Joni Pitkanen went through the morning skate at TD Banknorth Garden but will be held out of tonight's game with the Bruins, Canes coach Paul Maurice said today.
Maurice said Pitkanen, who had knee surgery Sept. 10, could be ready for Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the RBC Center.
Pitkanen had arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage damage.
Looking back at the 2-0 loss Friday to the Flyers in the opener, Maurice said: "We were just OK last night. There wasn't a lot of our game that we were excited about.
"At the same time, there wasn't a whole of problems in the game, either. It was an unusual game with so many power plays and penalty kills."
Maurice said the biggest improvement he's looking for tonight is "just all over, pace and sharpness," better power-play performance and more aggressiveness on the penalty kill.
"Our forecheck wasn't as evident as we like to see it," he said. "That's an area we'd like to see improve. And when you're 0-for-8, you have to say your power play has to get better. It's a matter of inches at that point. Philadelphia did a great job of getting in the shooting lanes and blocking shots (17 for the game)."
Flyers goalie Ray Emery, who had 28 saves, didn't give the Canes anything, Maurice said.
"He was sucking up those rebounds," he said.
The Canes' last visit to the TD Garden created a wealth of memories. Scott Walker's overtime goal lifted Carolina to a Game 7 playoff victory over the Bruins, the No. 1 seed in the East. It was also the Canes' last victory as they were swept by Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference finals.
"We didn't have a lot of oppportunity to jump up and down after Game 7 in here," Maurice said. "That was a pretty good moment for our team but there was a cost to it -- that series and the New Jersey series, no question. The Bruins took what we had left to beat them."
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at