Sports Editor
With the lockout finally over, the Carolina Hurricanes are back in action, but the first games outcomes haven’t necessarily been in their favor. In the Hurricanes’ first two games they were blown out by a wide margin of 5-1 against the Florida Panthers and 4-1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Although with the new additions to the roster and a short training camp, they still have a lot of season left with room for improvement. Sloppy play and a lack of good chemistry were a big factor in the first few games.
After getting blown out in their first
game and their home opener, the odds were in the Canes’ favor to win and they
did just that. The Hurricanes faced the
Buffalo Sabres in back-to-back nights and received two points out of both
games. At the PNC arena on Thursday
night the Canes emerged victorious as Captain Eric Staal tallied his 13th
career hat trick, which is the league best since the 05-06 season. Jeff Skinner also recorded two goals on the
night.
The following night, January 25, in
Buffalo, new addition from the Washington Capitals, Alexander Semin scored his
first goal as a Hurricane with an incredible wrist shot. With the score knotted up with five minutes
left in the third, defenseman Jay Harrison finesses the puck past Ryan Miller
with a simple wrist shot with bodies screening the net.
However, their streak would end at two
as they faced the Boston Bruins this past Monday on January 28. The game was tied 3-3 up until two minutes
left. David Krejci slipped the puck past
a very tired and sluggish Cam Ward and Canes defense. Then with only 30 seconds left, Tyler Seguin
scored the put away goal in an empty net.
Although the improvements are evident
after the first two games, there’s still a long way to go to get to the
playoffs.
