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Staal to play; Leighton to start
Submitted by chipalexander on 10/19/2008 - 12:56
ANAHEIM -- Center Eric Staal, who injured a shoulder Friday against the Los Angeles Kings, should play today against the Anaheim Ducks, Canes coach Peter Laviolette said.
Michael Leighton will get the start in goal, Laviolette said. Cam Ward was in goal against the Kings in the 4-3 overtime loss and has started the last two games. In his only start, Leighton was the winner in the Canes' 4-3 overtime win at Tampa Bay.
Rookie forward Zach Boychuk made his NHL debut Friday against the Kings but was held out of the third period. He opened the game on the line with Rod Brind'Amour and Sergei Samsonov, but Laviolette bumped up Chad LaRose or Dan LaCouture during the third.
"A 3-2 game, the kid hasn't played in a while, I just didn't want to put him in a situation he was uncomfortable with," Laviolette said today. "I think it depends on the game and circumstances.
"Not knowing him, either. I've never seen him play in a game before. I just didn't want to have a bad situation."
Laviolette said he would move Boychuk to the left wing "where he's a little more natural" today against the Kings and put him on Brandon Sutter's line.
Staal injured the shoulder in the first period and was briefly taken to the locker room for treatment. He returned and played the remainder of the game, but was sore Saturday and did not participate in the Canes' practice.
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Chip Alexander
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and was part of the coverage team for the Canes' Stanley Cup run in 2006. He can be reached at chip.alexander@newsobserver.com.
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Comments
Sounds like
Sun, 10/19/2008 - 20:33 — esteban1949what alot of kids get...when trying to find a job...Sorry Kid you need the experience...but in this case..could the reverse be true ?? As in not wanting to give the kid a shot ?
i mean after all...why paint him into a corner before he was ready...right ? Gee being an arm chair or back seat coach is alot of fun !!!! hehehe...
Go Canes !!
What about Ruutu?
Sun, 10/19/2008 - 17:22 — James_What about Ruutu?
I hate that Boychuk did not
Sun, 10/19/2008 - 16:11 — Lou (not verified)I hate that Boychuk did not get a chance at all in the 3rd. It seems that the baseball attitude has pervaded the NHL now too. The idea that you cant let a rookie or young player make a mistake and feel bad in a pressure situation - like it will ruin him. I always take the opposite stance, how can we know what he has or how he'll react if we don't put him out there, plus you are taking away a learning opportunity. Finally, I'm sure you cant make the argument that you would rather have Lacouture out there instead of Boychuk on the game tying goal the other night which is what wound up happening.
I'm surprised Boychuck
Sun, 10/19/2008 - 18:59 — Anonymous (not verified)I'm surprised Boychuck played as much as he did considering how little Laviolette has seen of him.
Why not prefer someone with
Sun, 10/19/2008 - 18:03 — Anonymous (not verified)Why not prefer someone with experience to a player in his first game? Is experience worth so little? Lacouture has two goals, let Boychuck work his way into things.