Last night the Caniac faithful were treated to what they have been clamoring for, the first win of the season as they beat the Boston Bruins 3-2. The Canes are now 1-2-1 while the Stanley Cup champs fall to 1-3. The win did not come easy as the boys in black battled hard for 60 straight minutes, leaving everything they had out on the ice. The team came out a bit disorganized in the first but quickly got into a rhythm that would carry them through the match.
The first period was scoreless, but the tie was broken during a power play by none other than Joni Pitkanen getting the puck in with some help with a screen on Tim Thomas by Eric Staal in the first 42 seconds of the second period.
Anthony Stewart scored his first goal as a Hurricane with a wrister in the 3rd. He was assisted by another new face, Tim Brent, and a familiar face that played a solid game, Tim Gleason. Gleason logged more minutes than defensive workhorse Pitkanen, which is not an easy feat, and racked up three hits. He was selected as one of the three stars of the game.
The B’s did not rest on their laurels and turned around and answered quickly with a goal by young gun Tyler Seguin, which Cam Ward could not stop. The goal was potted before Brian Hoyle even had a chance to remind us in the arena that Stewart was to be credited for our goal.
Brad Marchand would go on to score one more goal for the B’s, but they would still trail thanks to a goal by Jiri Tlusty netted three minutes prior. Tlusty was assisted by Brandon Sutter and Patrick Dwyer.
The Canes were saddled with 5 penalties for the evening including 2 bench penalties for too many men on the ice. Special teams performed well and Boston was 0-5 on the power play.
My Observations from Inside the RBC Center:
- Bryan Allen was a shot blocking machine blocking 7 with Jay Harrison right behind him with 5. Allen is willing to sacrifice his entire body to make a play.
- It was great seeing blueliner Jamie McBain back on the ice tonight. He made a couple of mistakes, which has to be expected with him playing only his first game of the season, but quickly got back in the groove.
- I hope Joni Pitkanen’s post-goal smile made the highlight reel last night.
- Patrick Dwyer never takes a shift off. The winger showed lots of hustle and never gave up on any battles in the corners. He walked away with a helper for the evening.
- The mere sight of Chad LaRose pitted against big man Zdeno Chara is one that makes me laugh and scares me half to death at the same time.
- 71% must be the magic number for Brandon Sutter as that was once again his percentage in the faceoff circle leading Staal, Tim Brent and Jussi Jokinen.
- The crowd rose to their feet to cheer on the Canes through the final couple of minutes of the contest. I hope the energy of the crowd translated to those watching us in the national tv market.
For a Bruin’s-centric view of last night’s contest go see our friends at Causeway Crowd. Next up the Canes face the Buffalo Sabres in First Niagara Center Friday evening. Wander on over to Sabre Noise to learn more about the opponents (if you dare!).
* All game stats come from http://www.nhl.com/
We appreciate you stopping by Cardiac Cane. What were your impressions of the game? Big Husky’s hustle? McBain’s return to the ice? Tell us in the comments! Keep up with everything Cardiac Cane on Facebook and Twitter: @CardiacCaneFS, @Esbee92, and @Caniac176.