Day of Preparation

Day of Preparation...

The Hurricanes will attempt to solidify their fate in terms of the "second season" with a back-to-back set this weekend. Both games are probably the most difficult to prepare for as the two opponents bring nothing to the table as far as postseason aspirations. The Atlanta Thrashers, who play Thursday in Florida will be Friday's foe, and the Tampa Bay Lightning, who could help the Canes out with a win tonight, will be cordial hosts on Saturday. The Canes will need to be as mentally sharp as they can be for this back-to-back set. For them, they will need to adapt that "close it out" mentality that teams employ when they get down finishing a playoff series.

Here are some notes  for the weekend.

Bombs Away...

The Hurricanes spent a little time before their structured  practice on Thursday tweaking the power play. Peter Laviolette was giving the first unit of Eric Staal, Erik Cole, Sergei Samsonov, Jeff Hamilton and Joe Corvo a bit of a refresher. The idea of it all was to play to their strengths, which is to isolate a point man for the big shot. With this line-up the Canes really have three guys who can "bomb it" with the best from the point. The focus was on isolating Corvo, Hamilton and Staal as much as possible so that they can fire at will from various positions at the top of the "umbrella." This is a slight change in their direction over the course of the season. By having Ray Whitney and Cory Stillman involved as much as they were the Canes' strength earlier this season may have been from the side boards for the down low plays. The addition of Corvo has given the Hurricanes a different look. He is a player who not only posses the cannon shot but also can walk the blue line with the puck to get himself a shooting lane and get it through. Let's count point shots over the weekend and see where it takes them.

42 has become a 1...

Hasn't it been great to watch Tim Gleason develop into a true No. 1 defensemen over the last two seasons?  I had a chance to chat with his coach today about his maturation and it's astounding how far he has come.

When the Canes made the deal for Gleason and Eric Belanger for Jack Johnson it really took some time for a Gleason to settle in with his new team. To his credit, he worked hard, battled through some injuries and came prepared for action this year. It's been a steady progression in terms of confidence for number 42. If you ask him, he will give a ton of credit to his partners over the last few months. Starting with Nic Wallin and going through Glen Wesley and now Bret Hedican he has had some mentors. This is something that is invaluable for defensemen. He'll tell you that Hedican has been key in  the the way he has been able to help him along. The rest has been up to Gleason, who has taken a level of confidence to new place. His minutes are rock solid every night, his toughness and "on the edge" play is quite evident.

But his coach is impressed with the way he has been able to play with the puck. Moving up ice, getting involved in the play and finding ways to get this shot through. Laviolette pointed out Thursday that confidence with the puck is a by-product of his overall game being a such a high level. Gleason will be a restricted free agent this summer. He will need to be a priority to solidify the back end moving forward. The Canes will need to address his situation properly, another words show him the money.

Bumps and Bruises...

Yes, you will see Chad LaRose tomorrow night. His recovery is complete and he will be in the line up versus the Thrashers. He will play on the right side on Trevor Letowski's line. Ruutu and LaRose are the book ends for Letowski that should be interesting. The void on that line is left by Patrick Eaves, who will have surgery on his left shoulder. He came from Ottawa damaged and gave it a shot.

The player and the team came to that place where they had to make a choice. It's obvious the other option of playing through it was not working. Matt Cullen (head) has had a couple of better days of late but again don't read much into that - he will remain out. Ray Whitney (ankle) continues to rehab and is coming along fine. He should play next week and be ready for the playoffs. Justin Williams (knee) continues to skate in a blue no contact sweater. He does look great. This player should be ready for post-season action. Justin will join Tripp and me in the booth during the second period of Friday night's broadcast.

Have great Thursday ... Good luck Tar Heels - oops, did I say that !