This is bad!

I woke up this morning with a sore tummy.  Sure, it might have been caused by the waffle and ice cream I had last night for dessert, but I don’t think so. For me, it is usually a sign that something bad is about to happen. 

Hopefully, that doesn't mean the Canes are going down tonight in game seven against the Bruins.  But, no matter how you slice it, based on the last couple of games, it is starting to look more-and-more like that is exactly what is going to happen. 

After all, the last two games, the Bruins have completed dominated the Canes except for a brief flurry in the second period of Tuesday night's game. What changed from the previous three games in which the Canes completely outplayed the Bruins and were well-deserving of each of those victories? 

I guess you would have to say the Bruins are commanding the play now and the Canes are trying to play Bruins' hockey instead of the other way around. There was not much to cheer about in the last two losses if you are a Hurricanes fan.  Except for some excellent saves by Cam Ward, the goals by Cullen and Samsonov, and some heady play by Joe Corvo, nothing much comes to mind.  Key players like Ray Whitney and Rod Brind'Amour have been virtually invisible in this series. The power-play has been abysmal for the most part, not helping matters. 

From the Bruins' side of things, Zdeno Chara is back on track and has been successful in shutting-down Eric Staal. It appears that if Eric doesn't score, the Canes don't win. Just not enough secondary scoring.  Milan Lucic was a beast on Tuesday and more-or-less had his way with the out-manned Canes.  And snipers Kessell and Savard are getting time-and-space to do what they do best. Yeah, and let's not forget Tim Thomas.  He is, without a doubt, the most unorthodox goalie you will ever see, but somehow he gets it done, making a number of circus saves to prevent the Canes from scoring. 

Razor's Edge 

So what do the Canes have to do to pull this out, if in fact they can? 

1. Goaltending. Cam Ward will have to stand on his head in goal, with his best performance of the series. He has done it before and he can do it in Boston tomorrow night.  Remember, he has never lost a play-off series.  No need to start now.

2. Team effort. Players like Brind'Amour and Whitney will have to contribute, to take some of the pressure of Eric Staal.

3. Hitting. The Canes will have to be aggressive from the get-go, with players like Cole, Eaves, Walker, Ruutu, and Gleason leading the way.

4. Power-play. If the Canes get it going, they will draw penalties. Then, they have to cash in.

5. Defense. The Canes D-men have to prevent the screens and close-in shots that have eluded Cam.  Seidenberg and Gleason will need to be huge.

6. Eric Staal. Well, he has to be Eric Staal. Need I say more? 

Paul Maurice has suggested some changes will be made heading into this game. You can bet Frank Kaberle will replace Anton Babchuk for this one. I, for one, like that move. Franky has proven he can play in tough situations and is well-rested. Plus, he has something to prove.  Also, look for a change on Staal's line. Maybe Eaves will slip up there and Cole will move down or maybe it will be Ruutu on the big line. I'm sure whatever "Mo" has up his sleeve will be interesting. He has done a masterful job of tweaking the line-up for maximum results. 

Now is the tough part, hanging around waiting for the opening whistle. I only hope this isn't one of those games that is painful to watch from the outset. You know, the ones where the outcome is decided early on and you live through it, with diminishing hope, right to the final buzzer. I felt for the poor Capitals’ fans last night. They were out of the game virtually from the start.  Hard to explain that one really. 

Oh, I just remembered that we won’t be watching from the opening face-off. The game will be picked up while in progress. Let’s just hope that by the time Versus picks up the broadcast midway through the game, (what gives with that?) that the Canes are still in it. Better still, leading by a goal or two.  Now, that would be sweet!