So harkening back to brighter days...Does anyone know the last time that Justin Williams scored an empty net goal at the RBC Center? That's right...you guessed it and I checked it --- It was June 19, 2006. Ahhhh, the good old days...

Fast forward to tonight, and we get another ugh. The Canes found a new way to lose a hockey game. Most of the recent losses have actually featured Canes leads early and then a quick implosion after giving up a goal against. On Wednesday, riding on the back of Tuomo Ruutu, the team came back admirably from a 2-0 deficit only to then implode again. It's hard to blame Scott Walker who did his best to play a physical game all night, but getting the hands up on a check at that point in the game to draw a minor penalty was horribly ill-timed. And then came the snowball we have seen regularly of late.

It is getting harder to find positives even for me:

--Aaron Ward was brutal. He let Ryan Smyth park right where he wanted on the 1st goal without tying up his stick, leaning on him or anything. The 2nd goal featured Ward losing a battle for the puck on the boards and then trailing behind Stoll on his way to the net for a goal. And the 4th goal featured Ward losing a battle for the puck on the boards with Simmonds, leaving Simmonds to chase a player already covered and then skating behind the guy scoring the goal for the 3rd time of the night when Simmonds found the puck on his stick on the way to the net.

--After looking pretty decent in his auditions last season, Bryan Rodney looked in over his head. The Kings forechecked him aggressively all night and more or less just took the puck from him or the forward who had it when he did not make himself available for a pass.

--I think most frustrating for me is the brainwashing that is occurring with just about anyone associated with the team.

Put simply: This is not a good hockey team right now. It is not just about a couple bad bounces leading to a bad week or a couple games. The team just looks sluggish, slow and a step behind about every night.

Yet, the more this team loses, the more everyone even remotely close to this team wants to talk about how it will end soon in a tone that suggests this is just some fit of bad luck. As the streak gets deeper, Jon Forslund and Tripp Tracy make a point to spend even more time talking about how the team is working hard and just needs to catch some breaks. The owner is in the paper sounding like all is going to be okay soon. GM Jim Rutherford is also on board suggesting that there are no personnel changes on the way even to the point of getting Zach Boychuk headed back to Albany as soon as he could get enough healthy bodies from the guys who have been losing for a month. Coach Maurice has mentioned the need for more fight, etc. and there is some frustration there. I bet if I walked the halls of the RBC Center tomorrow, I would have daytime workers, security guards, cleaning people and whoever else mumbling about how the team was just a break away.

And yes, I am guilty of this too being an eternal optimist too at times.

Positives on Wednesday was limited to Tuomo Ruutu and Brandon Sutter. Sutter made 2 decent shots for linemates and a couple more for himself. I continue to vote that this team needs more younger and faster - and not in March when it is over. And Ruutu did his best impression of a superhero bringing the team back to 2-2 with 2 well-placed lasers, but it just was not enough.

3 quick things in closing:

1) I am incredibly happy for Justin Williams. He just could not catch a break with a couple freakish injuries and then found himself traded to a rebuilding type team to watch his old team go 3 rounds deep in the playoffs. So seeing him play on a top line on what is suddenly a rebuilt and good hockey team is a great thing.

2) I hope Stephane Yelle and Scott Walker are okay. The Walker injury especially concerned me. It looked like he got his wrist caught funny going into the boards, and the way he was headed up the tunnel holding 1 arm up with his other makes me think broken wrist. I hope I am wrong.

I'm saying it again. Bring the kids and the young legs. It can't hurt at this point.

Go Canes!

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