The Carolina Hurricanes were able to come away with a victory against the defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils last night, 3-1. The Hurricanes jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Jordan Staal (his 3rd of the season) in the opening minutes of the first period. Adam Henrique tied it up on a rebound with 5 minutes remaining in the third. In the waining seconds of regulation, Chad LaRose was able to put home the game-winner on a wrist shot past Martin Brodeur with 11 seconds left on the clock. Tuomu Ruutu added an empty-net goal as Carolina moved to 5-5-0 on the year.
The Pittsburgh Penguins came out on top against the New York Rangers, 4-1. After a goal by James Neal in the games opening minutes, there was little doubt in the Penguins minds as they scored the next three goals as well to get out to a comfortable lead. Taylor Pyatt scored in the waining seconds of the second period but at that point, the game was pretty much out of reach. Tomas Vokoun earned his first victory of the year, starting in place of Marc-Andre Fleury, stopping 12 of the 13 shots that he faced. James Neal scored two goals to bring his team-leading total to 7 goals this year.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were able to hold off the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago last night, 3-2. James Neal scored the first goal midway through the first period followed by goals coming from Evgeni Malkin and Deryk Engelland. The Penguins were able to hold onto that lead until the beginning of the third period when Patrick Sharp finally got Chicago on the scoreboard. Michael Frolik scored with 4 minutes remaining to trim the lead down to one but that was as close as they would get as Marc-Andre Fleury shut them down for the remainder of the game and gave the Penguins their third victory in a row.
Pittsburgh's offense stayed hot last night as they came out on top against the Washington Capitals, 5-3. Sidney Crosby recorded a hat trick in the game (his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of the season) as the Penguins moved to 5-2-0 on the year. Mike Ribeiro scored twice in the first period to get the Capitals into the locker room with a 2-1 lead after the first. Crosby and Craig Adams scored in the 2nd to put Pittsburgh in the lead going into the third but Joey Crabb tied it up with just over 5 minutes remaining. Matt Niskanen scored on a slap shot from the point with just over 30 seconds left in regulation to take the lead and Crosby sealed the deal with an empty net goal.
The Carolina Hurricanes couldn't hold off the high powered New York Rangers offense last night as they came up just short, 4-3. Marian Gaborik opened the scoring just over a minute into the game with his 3rd goal of the season. Carolina answered with two of their own coming from Jeff Skinner (1) and Joe Corvo (1). After trading goals in the second period, the Hurricanes went into the third with a 3-2 lead. Gaborik scored his second goal of the game to tie it, and Chris Kreider scored his first goal of the year to give the Rangers the lead with 6 minutes left in regulation.
The Carolina Hurricanes got a big welcome home from their fans last night after opening the season on a 7 game road trip and did not disappoint their fans. Carolina came out on top against the Florida Panthers, 4-1. Troy Brouwer scored a goal in just his second game as a Hurricane and Tuomu Ruutu added a goal and 2 assists as the Hurricanes moved to 4-4-0 on this young campaign.
The Carolina Hurricanes came up just a little short last night in Buffalo. It was a well played game on both sides with both teams trading goals in the first and the Sabres taking a 2-1 lead into the third. Buffalo pulled out to a 3-1 lead before Jussi Jokinen brought the lead back to just one with under a minute remaining but the Sabres sealed the victory with an empty-net goal to send the Hurricanes home with a loss.
The Carolina Hurricanes are beginning to make a habit of getting themselves into tight games. After losing to the Winnipeg Jets on a last second goal just one night ago, They rebounded back and got one of their own with Tim Gleason scoring in the final two minutes to lift them past the San Jose Sharks. Cam Ward stopped 24 of the 25 shots against him to claim his second win this year. Jussi Jokinen added an empty net goal to seal the victory as the 'Canes moved to 3-3-0 on the young campaign.
The Carolina Hurricanes dominated nearly every aspect of the game last night against the Winnipeg Jets, but when the dust had settled, all they had to show for it was a well played loss. After dominating the time on attack and outshooting the Winnipeg Jets 25-14, it all came down to a goal by Alexei Ponikarovsky with 4.3 seconds remaining in regulation. "It's always hard to stomach a loss like that," said goalie Cam Ward after the game. "Losing a game after dominating in so many ways is very frustrating, but on the bright side, we did do a lot of things right and I am confident that 9 times out of 10, we're going to win games like that."
The Hurricanes will be out in San Jose tomorrow night for a matchup with the Sharks before a couple of needed days off.
The Carolina Hurricanes were able to put an end to their brief 2 game losing streak last night with a 5-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. There was no shortage of offense with the Hurricanes jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead at the end of the first period. After trading goals over the final two periods, Carolina was able to hang on the the victory. Alexander Semin scored twice (his 2nd and 3rd goals of the season) as the Hurricanes seem to have found their offensive stride after starting out with 3 goals in the first 3 games combined this season. Carolina will be in Winnipeg next for a meeting with the Jets before taking on the Sharks out in San Jose.
The Boston Bruins held off the Carolina Hurricanes last night in a defensive battle between Eastern Conference foes at TD Bank Garden. David Krejci opened up the scoring with a goal, his first of the season, early in the first period. The remainder of the first period and and second period were filled with stellar defense and outstanding goaltending on both ends of the ice. Alexander Semin scored his first goal as a Hurricane to knot the game up early in the third on a rebound off of a Bruins defender. Danielle Paille put home what would turn out to be the game-winning goal with just over 4 minutes left as the Bruins earned their first win of the year. "It's definitely a relief to get that first goal out of the way, but unfortunately, we weren't able to come away with a win tonight," said Semin after the game. Next up, the Hurricanes have a meeting with the Anaheim Ducks before heading up to Winnipeg for a game against the Jets.
The Carolina Hurricanes were unable to slow down the defending Presidents Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks last night as lost 3-1. While Vancouver controlled the time on attack and had a huge advantage in shots, the story of the night was the Hurricanes inability to put the puck on net when they had scoring chances. Jordan Staal scored the first of what Carolina fans hope will be many goals as a member of the team while Cam Ward stopped 32 of 35 shots against him in the losing effort. The Hurricanes hope to turn things around against the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks before heading east for games at the Winnipeg Jets and Boston Bruins.
The Carolina Hurricanes opened up their season on a high note last night, beating the Los Angeles Kings on the road 1-0 in a defensive battle. Midway through the first period, Tim Gleason put home what turned out to be the games only goal on a slap shot that deflected off of a Kings defender and past Jonathan Quick. Cam Ward stopped all 16 shots that he faced as the Hurricanes moved to 1-0-0 on the young season.
With the offseason coming to an end, the Carolina Hurricanes go into the 2012-13 season with high expectations following several offseason moves that have some experts calling them a legitimate Cup Contender and the months ahead will tell if this is an accurate statement.
Here is the projected starting lineup as the Hurricanes head out to the west coast to get the season started against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Los Angeles Kings.
Carolina Hurricanes Opening Night Lineup Depth Chart - 2012