BOSTON -- Forgive Eric Staal if he's a little tired today. The Canes center did have 26:39 of ice time Friday in the opener against the Flyers.
The breakdown: 13:35 at even strength, 10:27 on the power play, 2:37 short-handed. Staal logged more ice than in any regular-season game last year -- his high was 26:16 against Detroit in the third game.
"It's the first one of the year, so I had to have a lot of jump," a smiling Staal said today. "We had a lot of power plays and sometimes you get out there a couple of double-shifts in a row.
"But I felt pretty good the whole game. I need to make sure I prepare myself today to make sure my legs are back for tonight."
As for the Canes' 0-for-8 showing on the power play in the 2-0 loss to the Flyers, Staal said not a lot needed to be changed.
"I don't think it was real bad as to be a cause for concern," he said. "I think we can do a little bit better job of crashing the net a little harder and making it a little more difficult. Shooting pucks from everywhere, bearing down in front of the net and getting aggressive.
"We had our chances. It just didn't fall. A couple of posts, a couple of backdoor plays. Hopefully through the course of the year those even out. They usually do."
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at 
