Staal celebrates after earning his second goal against the Buffalo Sabres.

Through the first two games of their season, the Carolina Hurricanes showed how much the extended offseason and lack of training camp had effected their team.

They held the bizarre (though auspicious) statistical trait of being first in the NHL in shots taken… and dead last in goals scored.

Individually, the Canes didn’t look particularly bad in the first two games. Players were finding good shots, taking them, but coming up empty.

Defense was shaky, and Cam Ward was given no help as Florida’s two teams—the Florida Panthers, and the Tampa Bay Lightning—romped the Hurricanes 5-1 and 4-1 respectively.

The offseason additions of Jordan Staal and Alexander Semin were virtually nowhere to be seen on a statistical level, and it was easy to be depressed by the start of the season.

But after two games against a very good Buffalo Sabres team, the Hurricanes are giving fans a reason to be excited again. Jordan Staal hasn’t scored as a Hurricane yet, but he’s dishing out plenty of assists… four so far this season.

Semin is a notoriously streaky player, but he has managed a couple of good games in a row with the Hurricanes against the Sabres, netting his first goal in the second of back-to-back games against Buffalo.

Adding those two weapons to the returning offensive stalwarts of Eric Staal, who had a hat trick in the first game (January 24th) against Buffalo, and Jeff Skinner, who has now scored four goals in his last three games, is proving to be effective.

The Canes even got a hugely impressive start out of back-up goalie Dan Ellis in the second game against Buffalo. The 30 year old journeyman collected 40 saves in 41 shot attempts, keeping the hard-hitting Sabres without a goal until the third period.

Don’t rush to throw out your Cam Ward jerseys… he’s not going anywhere, and is still a top-shelf goalie. His first three starts were shaky, but he’ll find his groove before long. That doesn’t mean having an extremely competent back-up goalie in Ellis won’t be useful.

Long story short, things looked scary for Canes fans in the first two games… but the additions of J. Staal, Semin, and Ellis are all proving to be fruitful.

Once they’ve played together more as a team, this will be one of the best offenses in the NHL. The January 24th and 25th games against the Buffalo Sabres were an exciting peak at how good they can be.

The big takeaway of the first week of play is that there are going to be games when the Canes get blown out, and there are going to be games where this prolific offense just doesn’t click. Carolina didn’t have the luxury of having a team built through years of chemistry, and they didn’t have a training camp to build any semblance of unity.

But those games aren’t going to define this team. Things are just fine in Raleigh, and it’s going to be an exciting season.

Vezina winner Henrik Lundqvist. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE

I tried for hours to construct this article in a logical, organized fashion, but hockey news is droppin’ faster than my brain can pick it up today. And then Twitter broke. It’s all just too much, so here are my thoughts as they happened today. Kudos if you can keep up…

Tracy Morgan was hysterical and provided the only source of comedy in last night’s NHL Awards. Tracy dealing with Torts was so entertaining; I watched it three times before going to bed.

Where was the host? Who the heck hired those show writers? Why did it seem so awkward? I think they should save money on crappy writers next year and just send a spy to the NHL locker rooms for material. I volunteer myself.

Oh, Justin Faulk was named to the 2011-12 All-Rookie Team! Stick tap and well deserved Mr.Faulk. I wonder how his hair is growing out.

Speaking of hair, Gabriel Landeskog had a terrific Calder Memorial Trophy acceptance speech. It was a very nice follow up to Mr. Skinner. Skinner, Skinner, Skinner. I think I will practice nothing but spin-o-ramas and wrap-around goals at the rink this weekend.

I need to wash my skate socks. Where was I?

I wish all three men could share the Vezina Trophy. Don’t get me wrong, I loved seeing Henrik win and give a crowd pleasing speech. He absolutely deserved the honor. I shouldn’t feel bad for Quick… he does have the Cup. I would have loved for Rinne to be on the cover of NHL 13.

Kevin Weekes trying on suits in the pre-show had nothing to do with hockey, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fine, fine creature that Kevin Weekes.

Evgeni Malkin speaks English wonderfully. I don’t know why people were getting all worked up about not understanding him. I understood him just fine. If you missed it, he said, “It is an honor to win this award. I want to thank to team and coaches, but mostly KP Kelly. She is a groovy cat and I hope give her the sweater off my back someday.” Aw Geno, you’re the best.

Did you follow Landeskog’s tweets yesterday? I thought they were cute.

Yes! Oh my! The Canes’ schedule has been released! I can’t look. I’m suddenly nervous. Oh goodness…

Season opens with a six game road trip. That’s always fun (blows raspberry). Home opener will be on October 26^th against…LUNDQVIST! That is totally worth the six game wait. I should start planning for tailgating now. I need to step up my game this season. Perhaps I will carve a statue of Stormy from a block of tofu as a centerpiece.

Merry Christmas to me! The Red Wings come to town on December 26^th. What a jolly treat indeed.

Wow, we play Buffalo on November 3rd?! I could have gone a few more weeks without that. Maybe a lockout will have some advantages after all. I can’t believe I just thought that. I retract that statement.

The draft is just a day away. I can’t wait to see what JR has up his sleeve.

Well there you have Caniacs. I hope you have an appreciation for my more logical articles. My brain runs like Gary Busey with a dash of Paula Abdul.

Jaro Spacek celebrates his goal with his comrades Jeff Skinner and Jamie McBain (Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig-US PRESSWIRE)

Here are the words I selected. Feel free to try your own. See the results after the jump!

• Adjective: fluffy
• Number: 72.3
• Famous Person: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• Family Member: your mom
• Noun: lawnmower
• TV Character: Cliff Huxtable
• Noun: toothbrush
• Person: the Pope
• Occupation: bus driver
• Author: Danielle Steele
• Sports team: Green Bay Packers
• Singer: Bette Middler
• Adjective: soapy
• Noun: chicken coop

(more…)