RALEIGH, NC - NOVEMBER 01: Jason Demers #60 of the San Jose Sharks defends the puck against Erik Cole #26 of the Carolina Hurricanes on November 1, 2009 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The San Jose Sharks defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 5 to 1. (Photo by Scott Pilling/NHLI via Getty Images)

In the beginning of the season the Sharks were having a bit of a problem racking up the wins and not being able to put together consecutive victories at all, but fast forward to 11 games in the season and the Sharks are a different team having won their fifth consecutive game against the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 Sunday night in Carolina.

The struggling Hurricanes, who havent won in nine games and are off to their worst start (2-8-3) in franchise history were not much competition for the Sharks as Carolina has been outscored 16-4 in their last three games.  The Sharks scoring drive was an impressive one as San Jose got three goals from defensemen in the teams first win in Carolina since Oct. 24, 2000.   Brandon Sutter started the scoring early in the second period and the Hurricanes lone goal when he broke in on the left-wing and wristed a shot past Nabokov’s blocker.  The puck rang off the tight post before ricocheting into the net.  Sutter also scored Carolina’s lone goal in its 6-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyer’s on Saturday.

The rest of the game was all Sharks as they scored five unanswered goals, the first started by Kent Huskins, whose goal early in the second period tied things up 1-1.  Jody Shelly would set up Brad Staubitz exactly 1:55 minutes later for his off-balance wrist shot from the slot.  Douglas Murray added his own goal late in the second period, converting a beautiful pass from behind the net from Joe Thornton.

It was Murray’s second career goal and the first in 109 games.  Marc-Edouard Vlasic added another goal in the third period which came on an odd-man rush and lifted the Sharks to a 4-1 lead by the third period.  All was needed was the finishing touch which was provided by none other than Patrick “Patty” Marleau, who blasted a slap shot past Hurricanes goalie, Cam Ward on the power play and making the final score 5-1.

The Sharks look and play like a new team and this change is not lost on the players who say the team is just playing better hockey.  As a fan and sports writer I could not agree more and finally think the San Jose Sharks are on the right track.

Till next time, SharkGirl

Covered the Sens game tonight.

Had to leave home about three hours before the game, between an incoming storm, a transit strike, and regular rush-hour traffic, it made for a long drive out to Scotiabank Place.

Not much action all game . . . despite downing the Canes 5-1, but a win is a win, and they desperately needed it.

Here’s two from tonight.

Ottawa Senators’ Nick Foligno (71) collides with Carolina Hurricanes’ Brandon Sutter (16) during the third period of their NHL regular season hockey game in Ottawa, January 13, 2009. REUTERS/Christopher Pike (CANADA)

Ottawa Senators’ Dany Heatley (15) and Chris Neil celebrate Antoine Vermette’s (not pictured) goal against the Carolina Hurricanes’ during the second period of their NHL regular season hockey game in Ottawa, January 13, 2009. REUTERS/Christopher Pike (CANADA)

Cheers

As seen on this blog under free autograph signings.  Brandon Sutter is a rookie this year for the Canes’.  He suffered a brutal hit earlier this year that had him out for nearly a month, his play has been tepid through his first 22 games.  It’s not all his fault though.  His first pro head coach was fired so he is still trying to understand his role on the team.  Here are a few pictures of the event:

This is the Carolina Hurricane’s team store in the Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, NC.

Brandon arriving at the event 8 minutes early I might add, kind of refreshing for a free signing.

Brandon getting ready to sit for his signing.

Brandon signing autographs.

Items I got signed by Brandon.

This signing was tied into the Hurricane’s sponsored Toys for Tots event.  They are currently offering buy one get one free tickets to anyone who brings a toy to the RBC center on Tuesday December 16th against the Montreal Canadiens.  It’s a premier game, very surprising that they need a promotion for that game.  Should be a fun game to go to.

]]> http://yankeehockey.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/hockey-apply-directly-to-the-forehead/ Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:45:39 +0000 yankhockey http://yankeehockey.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/hockey-apply-directly-to-the-forehead/

Before you read this post, watch this video of Doug Weight hitting Brandon Sutter:

This hit has caused a lot of discussion about the role of checking in the game of hockey. This hit was a frightening moment for everyone, both on the ice and watching the game. However scary it was, though, it was still a clean hit. It’s hard to call any blow to the head clean, and I don’t mean to support high hits. It’s clean because according to the rules of hockey, no illegal action occurred during that hit. The puck was within reach of Sutter, and he was reaching for it, and Weight neither left his feet nor lifted his elbows. The reason this hit occurred the way it did was because Sutter was reaching forward for the puck and had his head down, and if there is one thing that every hockey player must learn, it’s keep your head up or this will happen.

Hockey is played by large men standing on thin blades on ice. Anyone who has had the misfortune of driving on a cold morning after a snow fall can tell you that if you’re going one direction on ice, you’re going to keep going in that direction. That these kinds of hits don’t happen more often is a testament the skill on skates that these players have. But all the skill in the world can’t change the fact that skating with speed on ice is far from a controllable act. That’s part of the reason hockey is so exciting. Hockey is taking something chaotic, ice, and tries to make something controlled out of it. When you are watching a player fly down the rink at full speed the entire time you’re thinking to yourself “Can he stop in time? Can he turn away from the boards?” And when you see that two men are about to collide you feel a rush of adrenalin because you know just how frightening and exciting it can be.

This is why many people complain that hockey is too violent (well, that and the fighting). I consider that very hypocritical since the most watched game in the States is football, a game no one calls too violent even when necks are broken, because they understand that the violence is inherit in the game. Hockey is the same way, and like football you cannot take unfortunate events like these as standard.

Every time there is an incident like this, people begin to call for penalties on hits to the head, regardless of whether the hit is clean or not. This just can’t happen, you can’t penalize people for accidents. Look at Doug Weight during the clip above; he’s not happy with what he did, he didn’t intend to hurt anyone. It sucks blaming the victim for the hit, but Sutter should never have had his head down like that, and there is no way for Weight to change his direction… he’s on ice! Would you call a 15 yard penalty because a safety breaks a receiver’s ankle on a hit? Of course not, it was unintentional and more importantly it’s a part of the game that all the players are fully aware of. Every time a hockey player steps on the ice they know that all kinds of things could happen to them. They could take a puck to the eye, a skate to the throat, a stick to the jaw… the list of things that could go wrong is very long. A hit like Weight’s on Sutter is not like Todd Bertuzzi’s on Steve Moore which was certainly meant to injure. Weight’s hit was an unhappy accident where someone got hurt.

No one likes to see anyone get hurt on the ice, and most players would never think of trying to knock someone unconscious. You can’t call a penalty on a hit just because it’s to the head. If the player leaves his feet yes, or uses his stick sure, but not for what is obviously unintentional contact. The excitement of hockey is also the cause of plays like this, the uncertainty of playing a fast game on ice. If players are afraid to play hard just in case they will be penalized then hockey will lose it’s edge.

SURPRISE OF THE WEEK:

How about the Rangers letting  Brendan Shannahan walk away? They just couldn’t make room for him on their staff. That’s good news for a lot of teams looking for some veterans and some scoring. Shannahan is still an excellent player, and absolutely one of the better leaders that a team can ice. I think he’s definitely got one more good year in him, one more year the Rangers probably could have used. This may be something that comes back to bite them. Looking to the future I see Vancouver being the most likely destination. They have a ton of cap space available and can beat any other offers, and they are in desperate need of both veterans leadership and a top six forward. There may be some issue where he doesn’t want to come out West, so if not in Vancouver I could see him in the Southeast, or if the Flyers could make enough room Philadelphia.

Carolina GM Jim Rutherford was incensed that the NHL declined to hand out a suspension to Doug Weight for his open-ice check on Brandon Sutter. He should be. A bright young rookie with a terrific pedigree sustained an injury with career-ending potential. Combine that with the Hurricanes’ struggles since their Stanley Cup victory three seasons ago and the knee problems of stars like Rod Brind’amour and Justin Williams, and you can understand exactly where Rutherford is coming from.

On the other side of the equation, you have Doug Weight. He’s a veteran NHLer who has contributed his saucer pass to some great hockey teams, including the 2002 American Olympic team that won the silver medal and the 2006 Stanley Cup squad in Carolina. Everyone writing about this incident – and even Rutherford – speaks to Weight’s class and upstanding character. No one believes the devastating results of this hit were intentional.

In the middle, wedged between Brandon Sutter and Doug Weight, is the issue of the hit itself. Was it clean? We all seem to agree that it was. From Matt Karash to the CasonBlog to Red & Black Hockey over at Kukla’s Korner, the Carolina Hurricanes faithful acknowledge that the hit was good according to NHL standards.

Should it be a legal hit? I’ll let the debate over at Puck Daddy decide that.

I will say this. There is a double standard among the National Hockey League, its journalists, and its fans. We see a situation like this one involving Sutter and Weight, and we spend countless hours debating the rules, player safety, personal integrity, etc.

And it certainly has all the components of a great Greek tragedy – stalwart veteran inadvertently takes down young rookie of excellent bloodlines just on the cusp of a career. Both go down in flames as the rabid Toronto media salivates. The rest of the hockey world shakes its fists and blames Gary Bettman, the KHL, and goons everywhere.

If Brandon Sutter didn’t end up in the hospital, would we still be talking about this hit? If he wasn’t sired by a one of the six Sutter brothers, now a coach for the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, would we care so much? If the violator weren’t the well-respected Doug Weight, would we be so quick to judge this hit a clean one?

For the answers, let’s rewind to that 2006 playoff season. To be specific, to the first round at a game in Buffalo between the Sabres and the Flyers. A defenseman known more for his spin-o-rama than his hitting finds a young rookie forward wandering into neutral ice with his head down. He goes for the big strike, knocking the forward onto his back. Clearly dazed, that forward would sustain a concussion and drop off his production drammatically during the next season.

In Buffalo, they called it “the hit,” and it ran as a clip to pump up the crowd at HSBC Arena. It circulated wildly this spring as bloggers tried to excite San Jose about the piece they acquired at the deadline.

What if RJ Umberger never skates again after that hit? What if the star Campbell had received that hit instead of delivering it? What if it happens in the major markets of Toronto or Montreal?

It’s time to stop basing our opinions about the cleanliness of a hit on the players involved and the physical injury sustained. Doug Weight’s good intentions don’t lessen the impact of his actions on Brandon Sutter. RJ Umberger’s relative health in the aftermath doesn’t make Brian Campbell’s hit any less dangerous.

And looking at that play purely, I suggest the NHL take a long, hard look at whether the rewards outweight the risks. I say no.

Not to become all Canadian or something, and of course, the absolute LAST thing I want to do is make this a hockey blog, BUT, here’s another awesome hit from a game over the weekend. In this clip, New York Islander Doug Weight knocks the snot out of Brandon Sutter of the Hartford Whalers Carolina Hurricanes. Wow.

Forwards Joe Jensen and Trevor Gilles and defenseman Tim Conboy were sent down to Albany today from training camp, meaning that there are 25 players still left on the roster. There are 15 forwards, 8 defensemen and 2 goalies. Coach Peter Laviolette has had a roster with 8 defensemen on it, and none of the 8 defensemen still up are worth sending down. Also, Justin Williams and Scott Walker are going to be placed on injured reserve, meaning that the Hurricanes have 13 forwards. There are many different possibilites to be considered here.

Laviolette likes to play with 7 defensemen, meaning having 11 forwards on the bench instead of 12. As of now, Zach Boychuk looks a lot like the odd man out. Brandon Sutter seems to have impressed because he was passed over for assignment, instead forcing the ‘Canes to send down more experienced guys like Gilles and Conboy. What I would expect the Hurricanes to do is this: Boychuk has not been cleared for contact because of his recent surgery, yet he has signed a two-way deal. So has Sutter. If I was GM Jim Rutherford, I would let Boychuk hang around until he is healthy and then send him down to Albany to get some seasoning. Eric Staal played immediately after he was drafted but did not become a force until he had a stellar year in the AHL. Sutter has apparently shown a great deal of upside and skill to stick around this long. He also played in the AHL briefly last year.

But I am not Jim Rutherford. So I can’t decide what the ‘Canes do. But I am glad that we signed Dan LaCouture. That was a big thing.

We’ll see what happens.

Received this one before the Easter weekend, just getting the chance to post the results now.    He signed 3/3 through Red Deer (WHL) in 16 days.