Where's the Heart in Texas?

The Carolina Hurricanes lost 4-1 last night against Dallas in what was a lackluster display of hockey by the Hurricanes. They seemed to never be able to put together a cohesive offensive attack, whereas Dallas was crisp, fluid with their passes, and aggressive from the opening puck-drop. The difference in this game was intensity. Dallas had it, Carolina didn't. With at least 6 stick infractions, the Canes gave up plenty of power play minutes to Dallas. But, giving up 2 shorthanded goals really says it all. Dallas came to play, and Carolina is still trying to find something, I'm not sure what.

Hurricanes Coach Kirk Muller lamented, "...for whatever reason we didn't have enough guys ready to go..." Umm, isn't that the responsibility of the coach? The Canes are in their playoff run right now. They need every point they can get. Coach Muller needs to light the fire of urgency in this team NOW if they hope to have any chance of getting the final wild card spot.

The most excitement of the night came in the 3rd period. Antoine Roussel of Dallas plowed into Canes goalie Anton Khudobin right in front of the goal mouth. He was immediately jumped by Ron Hainsey of the Hurricanes in what turned into a bloodied nose for Roussel. One can hope that the aggressiveness Hainsey showed in defense of his goalie will somehow transfer to the rest of the team, and that Carolinia will play with the intensity they showed a few weeks ago.

The game's outcome cannot be pinned on Khudobin, who made several outstanding saves. He saved 30 of 33 shots, and worked hard to the bitter end. Muller is spot-on saying "He is an elite goalie." Speaking of elite, the loss of Alexander Semin in the 2nd period with a lower-body injury could be devastataing to the Hurricanes' playoff hopes. Canes fans are hoping for a good report as he will be evaluated today.

A collective soul-searching needs to take place in the Carolina locker room. Yes, Captain Eric Staal scored, and Nathan Gerbe continued to play with abandon. But, the team's power play production is nonexistent, and offensively they look disjointed. Their next outing is Saturday in Los Angeles versus the Kings, with Jonathan Quick in goal fresh of his outstanding Olympic performance. It is not hard to imagine Jim Rutherford with the "for sale" close by as the trade deadline approaches. Rumors are already swirling. Another outing with 0 points will likely make the Canes sellers, not buyers.