Injuries Hurt, But Don't Stop Hurricanes

Many Carolina Hurricanes fans feel 2008-2009 is the year their team returns to the playoffs. In several respects, they have reason to remain hopeful. The inspired play of several Hurricanes rookies and newcomers, as well as the veterans that have remained healthy, has been a welcome sign for a team that missed the playoffs the past two seasons.

The Carolina Hurricanes came out of the gate this season looking a lot like they did for much of their Stanley Cup-winning campaign in 2005-2006, coming from behind and winning games they probably should have lost.

In their season opener at home against the Florida Panthers, they fell behind 2-0 early in the first before responding with three unanswered goals of their own on the way to a 6-4 victory. In their second game visiting the Tampa Bay Lightning, the situation was even worse for the Hurricanes, who faced a 3-0 deficit late in the second period. Yet they stormed back and rolled off three consecutive goals in the third, and one more in OT, for the 4-3 win.

Since then they’ve gone 4-3-2—not spectacular, but nothing to be ashamed of, either. While they at times display shades of the inconsistency and propensity for injury that has plagued them the past few years, Peter Laviolette has dug deeper into the system and the younger players have responded. Early-season injuries to Scott Walker (hand surgery), Frantisek Kaberle (broken leg), and Justin Williams (torn Achilles tendon) opened opportunities for rookie center Brandon Sutter (the Hurricanes’ first-round pick in 2007) and wing Ryan Bayda. Both have already proven their desire to remain in the NHL with exciting playmaking ability, speed, and willingness to dig in the corners.

Unfortunately, Sutter is currently out indefinitely while he recovers from a concussion suffered October 25 in a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders. Adding to the injury woes are the recent losses of defenseman Joni Pitkanen (torn meniscus) and center Matt Cullen (leg). In Kaberle and Pitkanen’s absence, defensemen Tim Gleason and Joe Corvo have elevated their already outstanding game and have had a lot of success in shutting down opposing forwards.

Meanwhile, at the top of the Hurricanes’ stat sheet, one finds familiar names in Ray Whitney (3-6-9), Eric Staal (5-4-9) and Rod Brind’Amour (4-4-8). They will need to stay healthy for Carolina to have a shot at ending their playoff drought. Also worth noting is that veteran Tuomo Ruutu, a late-season acquisition last year, also has three goals and six points in eight games played.

In net, backup goaltender Michael Leighton has shown a lot of confidence and technical skill in relief for starter Cam Ward. This bodes well for a team that didn’t play well in front of former backup John Grahame, most likely due to the fact that Grahame himself could not be relied on to come up with the big save when it was needed. The result last year was that Cam Ward played for long stretches without rest and his play suffered accordingly. Early on it appears that Leighton will be a reliable backup able to win games while Ward gets the rest he needs.

In the weeks ahead, the Hurricanes hope to get Scott Walker back in the lineup just in time for a stretch of games that has the team playing division foes in six of their next 11 games.  Of the other five games, three are against the Northeast division, and two are against Western Conference teams. The next few weeks will be a very good indicator of what kind of team this Hurricanes squad really is.