Thursday Musings...

Good Day...or is it ? The Carolina Hurricanes find themselves out of first place this morning thanks to Washington's win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Ron Hextall Night in South Philly. The Hurricanes now face the daunting task of getting themselves back to the top of the heap in the Southeast, which appears to be the only way to the post season for the clubs in this division. Random thoughts are running through my head today as the team preps for another trek away from Raleigh. Here we go.

Let's not kid ourselves...

The Hurricanes are falling into a dangerous "trap". They are almost trying to convince themselves that they are playing well. The last two games can easily put you in that mindset. The Hurricanes, in their losses against Pittsburgh and Nashville, have done many things well. First of all, they have been in position to win both hockey games in the late stages, which at this time of the year is a good thing.

In both games, Cam Ward's play in goal has been exceptional. In Pittsburgh he masked a poor second period which led to the team collapse in the third. In the Music City he was unbelievable throughout, especially  in the the third period when Nashville started to come on with more speed and scoring chances.

The Canes seem to be pointing to the positives in their game.  Mentally that's not a bad thing , but it should be pointed out that they should  not lose sight of why they are 2-2 after the break instead of 4-0.

In Pittsburgh, they generated 10 scoring chances for the entire game with four or five coming in the first period. In Nashville, they had more chances, but the second and third opportunities were not converted. Nashville Goaltender Chris Mason was spitting out rebounds and the Canes willingness to get to those chances was not evident. There has to be more intensity. The Canes are falling off in that regard. They have to raise it to another level - if they don't they will find themselves out of the playoff mix.

Now you have to beat the best...

The Washington Capitals have been the "best" team in the division for a while. At last their record will bear that out. For the last ten weeks they have taken their hard working, "losing" style to a new place. At Thanksgiving, the Caps were in last place in the division and in the conference. Under new coach Bruce Boudreau they have rattled off a 20-10-4 record and now are in that position of controlling their own destiny.

The Hurricanes have four games remaining with Washington. The Caps have never been easy to beat. Even during the record setting regular season of 05-06 the Canes had their troubles with their work ethic. Now the scenario has changed. Washington is improved, their leader, Mr. Ovechkin, may be the best player in hockey, and their coach is making them believe. During this miraculous run The Caps have proven they can win the hard, close games. The Hurricanes will be forced to match them in every facet of the game. As the saying goes in you want to " if you want to be the best ...you have to beat the best". It's unfortunate that the Canes are ones in pursuit.

Cullen ???

Matt Cullen skated on his own yesterday. An eye specialist was at the practice facility to work on his vision problems. He is feeling a little better but nowhere near the point that you could consider him an option for the lineup. This could be awhile.

Trades???

Will the Hurricanes make a trade? It's likly that they will. But recently they have gone from one need to maybe three. A puck moving defender has been a need for two seasons, but now with the Cullen situation and the injury to Chad Larose, three spots are aching for help. 

Larose, who broke his leg in Nashville, could be out six weeks - that puts him right up against the February 26th deadline. The Canes may have to reach out and fill this void. In the short term they may consider Brandon Nolan, who could fill this slot quite nicely. As time marches on the Canes are dealing more from a position of weakness rather than strength. This could be important because the Hurricanes might be forced into giving up more than they want to acquire the right fit.

At this stage maybe it's too much, and the Canes might be better off standing pat and making a push with minor moves without that one blockbuster that would shake the current roster too dramatically. The clock is ticking.