Running on Empty!

You know what it's like when your gas tank empty light comes on and there is no gas station anywhere to be seen? It’s a terrible feeling, isn’t it. Well, that's where the Hurricanes are right about now after getting trounced 7-4 in the Igloo on Thursday and 6-2 at home on Saturday.

When they hung in there with Pittsburgh in game one of the series, I felt that the chances were good that they would make this a close series and had a better-than-average chance of winning it. I clearly underestimated the Pens, how good their two superstars are, and did not take into account that the Canes were starting to run out of gas. I should have picked it up earlier because the signs were there.

Eric Staal has been pushing hard for the last half-dozen games but didn't have the jump he had earlier. He was an ugly minus 5 in the last two games. Ray Whitney has been a shadow of his former self and has been totally ineffective. Pitkanen, Corvo, (minus 4 in those two games) and Siedenberg, all big minute men on the blue, have started making mental errors, leaving Cam Ward exposed on numerous occasions. Even Ward had started to show the effects of a long tough season, failing to make saves at key points in the games, as he had in the previous two series. In all fairness, if it wasn’t for the valiant effort of Ward in the last two games, the scores would have been much higher!

It's simple. If your top players aren't playing at their best in critical times like these, the outcome will not be a good one. That’s where the Canes are right now. Contrast that to the Penguins.

How do you stop Evgeni Malkin? As Versus broadcaster, Joe Beninati said the other night, "Malkin is a man possessed."  He has been virtually unstoppable. And If I see his mother, Natalia, smiling one more time after a Malkin goal, I'll scream! Sydney Crosby has been equally as effective, but not so dramatic. Funny, watching the games as a Canes fan, I initially felt relief when Crosby's line was on the ice instead of Malkin's. But that was short-lived. In the end, Crosby's line did as much damage, so it didn't matter. Players like Sergie Gonchar, Chris Letang, Chris Kunitz, Bill Guerin, and Ruslan Fedotenko all feasted on the Canes. And whenever the Canes tried to mount any offence, Rob Scuderi, Brooks Orpik, and Hal Gill got in their way.

There's no doubt, the Canes were trying.  Matt Cullen played two of his better play-off games in the last two. Sergei Samsonov and Jussi Jokinen showed spirts of life. Patrick Eaves made a couple of noteworthy offensive moves.  Chad Larose was working as hard as ever, but with limited success. Tim Gleason was generally effective with his hitting. Erik Cole, perhaps the most effective of the Canes, and Tuomo Ruutu, are toughing it out through injury. But that's about it.

Unfortunately, the Canes have never really got it going in this series. They have played Penguins style hockey all three games, wide-open, fire-wagon hockey. Not a good place to be considering the firepower of the Pens. The Canes have seldom dictated the style of play and just have not been able to slow the action down to a manageable tempo. With arguably the two best players in the game given time-and-space to do what they do best, it’s not surprising to see the end result.

As we entered this series, it was clear that in order for the Canes to have any chance of winning, they would have to stop Malkin and Crosby. Well, that hasn't happened and, unfortunately, they are about to be eliminated. This goal by Evgeni Malkin pretty much sums up the series so far, hard to believe. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLLHFRoVoKo

I know, I know. It's not over yet. For sure, the Canes will be on a mission in game four to try to steal one at home for the Caniac faithful and I hope they do. I guess all we can do now is take it one game at a time. Let's start by winning Thursday's game four and go from there.

You can only hope that even though the warning light has come on, there is still a bit more gas in the tank.