After a bad week away from the PNC Arena in which the Canes only garnered three out of a possible eight points, Coach Rod Brind’Amour was all smiles as the Canes had all cyclinders going for them in a solid 4-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
It was the first time in years in which the Canes had an afternoon game when the State Fair was in town across the street. Give credit to the parking attendants as all in all, parking and exiting the game was fine.
You couldn’t ask for a worse weekend, playing two of the top teams in the NHL in back-to-back games with the strongest team on paper, the opponent less than 24 hours after the previous game. But these are the Carolina Hurricanes, who continue to impress hockey-smart people every game with their Rod Brind’Amour style of hockey: fast, continuous forechecking, continuous coverage and playing a full 200-foot game by every skater, every shift.
The Canes scored two greasy goals in their season opener against the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3 in a very unpredictable shootout with the tall guy, Dougie Hamilton, scoring the only goal in the shootout.
The ice is heating up with the NHL season starting in a few days, but Carolina Hurricanes fans had a rough weekend, including a narrow loss during the Caniac Carnival.
It may be just preseason, but having shutouts in both preseason games so far has to be good for the confidence of all four goalies used, head coach Rod Brind’Amour and new goalie coach, the former college teammate of Roddy as well as former Hartford Whaler, Jason Muzzatti, as well as the defensive corps.
The long awaited decision of Justin Williams came over the Labor Day weekend when he announced he would “take a break” from hockey. It was not a retirement announcement, but the precision of any professional sport is such that any time away is that much harder to get in the groove if he decides the break is over.
General Manager Don Waddell and Coach Rod Brind’Amour had a season summary press conference at the PNC Arena on Tuesday, May 21, 2019. Waddell started with a few opening words on how pleased he was with the team and direction then immediately opened it up to questions. Unlike talks after so many previous seasons, both questions and answers were generally positive as this season had so many good things to discuss.
The Carolina Hurricanes’ season ended with a 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins as the Bruins swept the Canes in the Eastern Conference Championship. At the end of December the Canes were the 15th out of 16 teams in the east with everyone outside of the greater Raleigh area saying this would be their 10th consecutive season missing the playoffs.
Coach Rod Brind’Amour changed every line and also changed the goalie, and while the first period was their best of this series against the Boston Bruins, they couldn’t keep that level of play throughout the game and dropped its first home game of the playoffs with a 2-1 loss.
As we reviewed last month, your school board does not have taxing authority and must rely on state and county funding for the operating budget. The Superintendent’s budget request will be followed by the County Manager’s proposed budget. Meanwhile the Governor proposed his budget and the House released theirs.