The Hurricanes knew they had to take advantage of the injury to
Pavel Bure. They were given a golden opportunity to pull away
from the Florida Panthers in the standings and, to some extent,
have responded. The Canes went 4-2-1 in their past seven games,
increasing their lead in the Southeast Division to seven points
over the Bure-less Panthers. Hopefully seven points will be
enough. Pavel is slated to return to action on Wednesday night,
February 24.
EVERYBODY LOVES BATES: One of the pleasant surprises of
the past couple weeks has been the play of Bates Battaglia.
Since being placed on the top line with Keith Primeau and Ray
Sheppard, the 23-year-old left winger has been a standout for the
Canes, recording three goals and an assist in his past five
games.
Primeau is perhaps Battaglia's biggest supporter. It was
actually his idea to move the youngster to the top line. And
when Big Keith gets an idea, it's usually wise to try and make it
happen. It took some pestering, but Paul Maurice eventually
complied.
At 6-2, 195 pounds, Battaglia is strong along the boards and in
the corners while also possessing good hands around the cage.
He's really fit in well with his new linemates.
"I think Bates is an awesome player," said Primeau in the
Greensboro News and Record. "The sky's the limit for this kid.
He's got all the ability in the world."
You know, that statement from Primeau reminds me of something my
eighth grade English teacher once said about me. All you really
have to do is replace "Bates" with "Michael" and "awesome player"
with "ignorant jackass" and it's almost word for word.
TRADE RUMORS: The Hurricanes are said to be in the market
for another offensive defenseman that can move the puck.
Naturally, this brings Edmonton into the picture, since the
Oilers have a glut of talented defensemen, including Boris
Mironov, Roman Hamrlik, and Janne Niinimaa. But in order to pry
one of those prized blueliners loose, the Canes might have to
part with either Arturs Irbe or Trevor Kidd.
MILESTONES: With two assists in the win over Tampa Bay,
Ron Francis moved past Stan Mikita into eighth place on the all-
time scoring list with 1,467 points.
Paul Coffey recently appeared in his 1,300th career game and
recorded his 1,100th career assist. That assist total is a might
impressive, but it's still two shy of the total number of NHL
teams for which Coffey has played.
Ray Sheppard scored two goals in the win over the Isles, giving
him 21 on the season. Sheppard has now scored at least 20 goals
for an NHL record six different teams. Those clubs are, in
order, Buffalo, NY Rangers, Detroit, San Jose, Florida, and
Carolina.
BRIEF GAME RECAPS
Feb. 10, won at Toronto, 6-5: The Canes got two goals in
each period. Francis was the boy, notching a pair of goals and
three assists. Irbe stopped 24 shots. The Leafs got a late goal
from Fredrik Modin at 19:56 of the third to make the score a bit
misleading.
Feb. 12, won at NY Rangers, 3-1: More balance from the
Canes. Curtis Leschyshyn scored in the first, Sami Kapanen in
the second, and Battaglia in the third. Irbe turned aside 30 of
31 shots.
Feb. 13, lost at New Jersey, 6-4: Carolina trailed 4-3
late in the third when Jay Pandolfo gave the Devils a two-goal
cushion at 17:56. Randy McKay connected 14 seconds later to put
the game out of reach. A goal by Paul Ranheim with 1:10 left in
regulation made the final 6-4. Kidd took the loss, giving up the
six goals on 30 shots. Primeau sat out the game with an injured
hand.
Feb. 15, lost at Buffalo, 3-2: Michael Peca broke a 2-2
tie at 4:04 of the third. Dominik Hasek then shut the door,
stopping 36 shots on the night to lead the Sabres to victory.
Irbe took the loss with 33 saves of his own. Martin Gelinas had
both goals for Carolina.
Feb. 18, tied Washington, 2-2: The Hurricanes trailed 2-0
but managed to salvage a tie when Battaglia deflected a Nolan
Pratt shot at 17:19 of the third to knot the game at 2-2.
Primeau had the other goal. Irbe stopped 20 of 22.
Feb. 20, won at Tampa Bay, 3-2: The boys in red fell
behind 2-0 for the second straight game, except this time they
were able to squeak out a win. Jeff O'Neill, playing in his
first game since returning from a neck injury, got the comeback
started at 10:50 of the second. Francis then set up a pair of
third-period goals from Kapanen, at 1:32, and Gary Roberts, at
15:34, to steal the win. Roberts' goal was sweet. He freaked
half the Bolt team down the slot before jamming a shot off Tampa
goaltender Corey Schwab that hopped high into the air and
eventually dropped over the goal line. Roberts is cool like
that. Irbe stopped 28 to get the win.
Feb. 21, beat the Islanders, 4-1: The Canes finally
started a game properly, taking a 3-0 lead behind first-period
goals from Primeau, O'Neill, and Sheppard, who would later add an
empty-netter. Irbe was back in net and stopped 28 more shots.
Irbe like wall. Chomp, chomp, chomp. Irbe like wall.
