Thrashers 5, Hurricanes 3

I can maybe see a reason the Canes melted in the Philly and Bruins games, they were good teams. But this team at this time of the year? Don't get me wrong, there are no gimmes in the NHL and the Thrashers have some offensive prowess, but there was enough on the line. This one stinks, and bad.
I am starting to think Gleason is not the player a defense should be built around either. Babchuk has become a very pleasant surprise. Sidenberg is another keeper. Corvo and Pitkinen will make their mistakes, but all offensive D men will.
Don't blame Mo either. He doesn't control players minds while on the ice, and if the team followed his "boring" game plan and executed it well they would have won Saturday night. This one is on the players and the GM who is supposed to bring in good players. Time to throw out all the "sacred" players and put a team on the ice that wants to win.
Babchuk, Ruutu, Cullen,LaRose, Jokinen, Whitney, Pitkinen,
Ryan, Bayda. Those are the players getting it done ( when it gets done) right now.

In a Horrible economy where everyone is hurting this seems incredible lack of concern for STHs Maybe JR wants payment before he gives MO an extension? As much of a Caniac as I am, I am having a REALLY hard time with this Reguest for Payment of next years tickets before this season is over. Also before any anoucement about the coaching situation is made!!!! Maurice has won 273 games in 10 seasons with Canes. Even considering a couple of partial seasons that is averaging less than 30 wins per season...not what I would consider a glowing record and a career win % of ~46% not very promising is it?

Canes country summed up one of the main problems with this team:

"We have said this before on the blog but we will repeat again, there seems to be no leadership on this team. At times they seem like 20 individuals, all on different tangents. And when the going gets tough, no one attempts to grab the bull by the horns and tries to right the ship."

I knew the Canes were going to blow it. You just watch how many chances the team was giving up. If it weren't for Ward and some lucky bounces on the bad ice, we would have been down 10-0 after the first period. Someone needs to step up and take the reins. Someone needs to say, "This game is getting out of hand, and we need to win it, let's start playing harder" or something like that.

But no one did anything. They all continue to sit back and do idiotic things. No one (with the exception of Ruutu) were hitting. They all decided to let the Atlanta players keeping poking away at Ward while they stood there saying "What a pretty red light over our goal!" Carolina got 9 (nine) <--- 9!!! <- hits in the game. Why? Because half our team is too small and nice. They are feminine, as one of the callers on the 99.9 post game report said.

And now look at the situation the Canes are in. They are looking from the outside again. As I type this, Florida is up 4-1 over Washington and Pittsburgh is up 2-0 over Dallas. Good job Canes!

What coaches always told teams I played on was "winners win; losers whine." The point was that in close games, the team that has the most fierce desire to win, almost always prevails. We were told a great player finds a way to win close games and a great team should always find a way to win close games. I believe in the truth of that concept. As applied to the Hurricanes, they need to abandon the excuse making and commit themselves to outworking every team they play. Gleason's penalty was simply a boneheaded play by an otherwise great player. Corvo never should have slapped at the puck in the corner rather than playing position. Both were purely and simply outworked and out hustled at a critical juncture in the game. In general, the team did not rise to the challenge. It speaks poorly of the Hurricanes as a team that they let Florida knock them out of a playoff spot last year in the last game; and now they have been unable to rededicate themselves and to motivate themselves to prove last year's collapse was a fluke. We all hope last night's meltdown and the meltdown against Boston are not indicative of the level of commitment of the Hurricanes team to win.

Same old story, same old song and dance my friends... Last season we had two or three games down the stretch where if we had won then we would have clinched the SE division. We ended up choking under all of the pressure and perfecting our golf game over the summer. Don't toy with our emotions again Canes. We had our hearts ripped out and trampled on last season and I don't know if I can take something like that again. Start playing like champions, I don't want the season to come down to one game again, let's get things done NOW!

That game should have been a victory for Ward, Babchuk and Ruutu, etc. I can't stop thinking about what a great victory it could have been. The problem is, no matter how much faith we have in this team, we're reminded that they've been wildly inconsistent for most of the season. As much as it pains me to admit it, we can't count on any one thing consistently happening, night after night. Not scoring, not defense and not goaltending. I am so proud of Babchuk and how far he's come, and I'm proud of Cullen finally coming back full force. So many things to be hopeful for and they kick sand in our faces in a big, fat miserable 3rd period.

A complete abject apology for a hockey team.

This one hurts just as much as the 6-5 debacle in Philly or the shortie we gave up to lose in the final minutes to the Canucks ... maybe even more ... and, in all three cases, it wasn't heart or desire or talent or skill that was missing. It was coaching. It was Mo. All three game situations called for responsible defense ... piece o' cake for a defensive master like Mo, right? Wrong. Mo is wrong for this team and wrong for this league. The Canes are still in the chase and can make the playoffs. If Mo remains behind the bench, however, the only thing the Canes will be making is tee times.

My remark about foolish comments wasn't referring to anyone who posted before my comment! You all had good stuff to say. I was referring to *others*

Looks like the team would rather be golfing than playing hockey this Spring. Every time they get a chance to get into the playoff picture, they just bend over.

I think the fans want it more than the players do. You watch Boston and Washington play and a few other teams, there is hard hitting all over the ice. Tonight there was nothing. No heart. No leadership. No hitting. Just stand around and watch as Thrashers skate all around you.

Hey Mr. Karmanos, you still think Laviolette was the problem here?

Do you hear the fat lady singing that the canes season is OVER ? I hope to see BIG SALE trades from the canes over the next few days. SELL THEM ALL especially mr MO. MO HOCKEY MUST GO !!! MO HOCKEY MUST GO !!! If you can't energize a team to protect a 3-1 lead with 10 minutes left in the 3rd VS the worst team in the conference then we don't need ya ! Big shake up is needed since we'll be the first team EVER to win the cup and then miss the playoffs for the next 3 years !

This bunch is heartless, a gutless effort, no hunger, no determination, no urgency...this team is broken, and JR needs to stop selling this bunch of misfits as a playoff team...this group needs to be traded away and bought out for younger players that are willing to put in an honest effort night in and night out. Quit trying to fool anybody into believing this team cares, they dont and the effort shows that!

I have had it with these fools! When I say that , I mean the management and team they have put together. I am sick and tired of the lip service when the team just barely misses the playoffs. Year after year since the cup it's been like a broken record - same old story. Geez it's getting reeeeally old. I can only take so much. We got a taste of glory in '06 and the mediocrity since then will not do. As much as it pains me to say, this year looks like it may play out like the last two. - Ugh, that hurt.

i just don't get it. the canes knew flordia lost this afternoon yet they let atlanta push them around. you would think they would come out playing with an attitude. i love the canes but i wonder if they really want to make the playoffs. go canes please.