"This Should Be Easy"

The post-Olympics part of the NHL season kicked off last night, with all eyes on the Carolina Hurricanes visiting the Buffalo Sabres for the makeup of a game that was previously scheduled but snowed out.  I received a text from a friend shortly after the puck dropped which read, “The Canes need this game.  It should be easy.”  On paper, this sentiment was accurate – the Canes did need that game, and it did appear to be “easy.”  Of course, things are not often as they appear.

“Easy” did not take into account Ryan Miller, who although in the midst of likely being traded any minute, played like Ryan Miller.  He stopped 36 of 38 shots and once again showed why he is still one of the premier goal tenders in the NHL.  He also notched 2 assists on his way to an all-around 1^st star performance.

“Easy” did not take into account Cam Ward being in the pipes for the Hurricanes.  In his first game back since New Year’s Eve, Ward was the Ward of late - not great, not terrible, but not looking like the Ward of years past.  Yes he was screened by Matt Moulson on the Sabres’ first goal by Christian Ehroff.  But the shot hit his glove on the way into the net.  Would the Ward of old have caught or deflected that shot away?  The 2^nd and 3^rd goals for the Sabres are anyone’s guess.  Tyler Ennis tapped in a puck that was lying in the crease after Ward made what looked to be a great save on a shot by Moulson to make it 2-1.  The winning goal was a freak tip-in off the stick of Justin Faulk, after Ehroff had skated around and sent it to the net.  The tip-in gave him his 2^nd goal of the night and won the game for Buffalo.  With rumors circling about Jim Rutherford weighing his options on whether to keep Cam Ward or trade him, Ward did not help himself last night.  Again, he was not great and not terrible.  But stopping 15 of 18 shots is not noteworthy.

And “Easy” did not factor in the Hurricanes continued lack of production on the power play.  This is possibly going to be the biggest factor in whether or not the Canes make the playoffs.  It’s really that simple.  If they cannot score with the man advantage, it will not bode well for them playing after the regular season.  Not to say that they are not shooting and trying.  They just need to figure out a line combination that will produce in a more consistent fashion. 

It’s on to Dallas tomorrow night for the Hurricanes, to face a Dallas team that looks somewhat evenly matched – the Canes are now 26-23-9 and the Stars are 27-21-10.  I hope my friend doesn’t call this game as “easy.”  We saw last night that nothing is truly easy in the NHL.  Leaving Buffalo with 0 points does however mean that the road to the living room post-season will be “easy” if the Canes don’t win the games that they should (on paper) and figure out how to get the all-important power play goals.