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Carolina Hurricanes End November With Plenty of Ups and Downs

By Charles Taylor

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Every week, Cardiac Cane will make a complete wrap-up of the Carolina Hurricane’s week for the 2015-2016 season.

Regular Season 11/23-11/29

Summary:

This past week, believe it or not, the Carolina Hurricanes were sniffing the playoffs. A series of overtime loses were dampening morale, but the steady stream of points were giving Carolina some much needed life in the playoff chase. A couple wins this week could have put the team into the thick of it. Sadly, the roller coaster Thanksgiving week Carolina had leaves them a few wins back of the cut line. Here’s how it went.

The week started with an away game in Philadelphia. In the previous meeting, the ‘Canes jumped out to a lead and the Flyers came back and won in overtime. The roles were almost reversed in this one, but the ‘Canes couldn’t push through. Brayden Schenn scored on the powerplay and Claude Giroux shorthanded in the 2nd period. Carolina battled back courtesy of a Victor Rask rebound goal off a nice placed shot from John-Michael Liles. Then, late in the 3rd, Hurricanes rookie defenseman Brett Pesce jumped in the attack and scored on what looked like a set play from the faceoff. However, the comeback was halted when Rask was called for holding the stick in overtime, even though both his hands were on his own twig. The Flyers, to their credit, capitalized and won in overtime.

Feeling hard done by, the bad news continued when Nathan Gerbe was placed on Injury Reserve. He is likely out 4-6 weeks, so he probably won’t suit up until calendar year 2016. Also, Ryan Murphy progressed with his concussion recovery. He is now in Charlotte to get back up to speed.

At the mid-week, a Connor McDavid-less Edmonton Oiler team came to Raleigh for a pre-Thanksgiving game. The game started tough for Carolina when Benoit Pouliot scored a deflection on a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins attempt early in the 1st.

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NY Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello shares update on Zach Parise before training camp /

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    • From that point on, the Carolina Hurricanes dominated the game. Jordan Staal scored at the tail end of the period to equalize. The 2nd period saw Elias Lindholm score on an odd man rush and Jeff Skinner tap in a Justin Faulk shot/pass. Most importantly, the entire team outplayed the opposition and got rewarded, something that has been a rarity this season so far. The game ended 4-1 when Andrej Nestrasil scored an empty netter.

    Finally, Carolina travelled to Buffalo to take on the Sabres. It marked the first time Noah Hanifin played Jack Eichel in the NHL after their long history together in Boston. Both were their team’s best player, however Eichel completely took over the game. Early dominance from the ‘Canes ended in disappointment as Buffalo scored on less than 5 shots in the first. Carolina got back into it when Rask scored his 7th of the year. However it was Eichel soon after who beat Cam Ward with an absolute sniper blast on a rush. From there on the Sabres were the better team. Brian Gionta and David Legwand added tallys to sink the ‘Canes. The ‘Canes would be wise to note that Eichel is a beast in their next game against Buffalo.

    So, in the end, it was a very inconsistent week for Carolina. There were moments of real quality and real disappointment. As December comes around, each game will be more telling of where this season is headed. Some more loses could see the roster finally shaken up and some wins could see the team in the hunt for the second half of the year. Only time will tell.

    Cane of the Week:

    Elias Lindholm – 3GP, 1G, 2A, +2

    The only Hurricane to register a point in each game, Elias Lindholm is the Cane of the Week. After an absurdly slow start to the season, Lindy seems to be back to playing like he did last year. With Rask and Eric Staal, he is playing with more energy than before. He just looks faster on pucks than he did in October.

    His goal against the Oilers was proof that his previous form has returned. On the two on one, Lindholm held the puck and used his quick release to fool the goaltender who surely thought he was passing. That type of shot has been missing this year from Elias, but thankfully it seems to be returning. In a week of highs and lows, Lindholm was certainly the best Hurricane over the week’s entirety.

    The Forecast:

    Monday 7:00 pm @ Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers

    Thursday 7:00 pm @ PNC Arena against the New Jersey Devils

    Saturday 7:00 pm @ PNC Arena against the Montreal Canadiens

    Sunday 5:00 pm @ PNC Arena against the Arizona Coyotes

    This will be both a busy and telling week for the ‘Canes season. After playing up and down the last couple weeks, stringing some wins together is absolutely necessary before they venture on a road trip the week after. First it’s the Rangers, who are arguably the best team in the East.

    Next: Is Brett Pesce a Future Star for the Canes?

    The boys return home for three games at the week’s end. On Thursday, the Devils meet up with Carolina for the first time this year. The Devils have been a surprise team in the Metropolitan Division. Next is the Canadiens, the leading team in the East, on Saturday. Finally, Sunday brings the Coyotes, a team led by their electric rookie scorer Max Domi.

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