If you did not see the game, I could easily lead in with any number of stats that would point toward eventually saying that the Canes won. The Canes managed 100 shots, 51 on net and gave up about half that. Any more advanced stats show an easy Canes win. But instead the Canes lost 5-3 and even stranger never really were all the way back in the game despite a decent push to try to get there.

I think more than anything it comes down to these two things:

1-- The advanced stat I created awhile back "big oopses." Especially early when this game was being decided the Canes were making mistakes regularly that led to 8/9 on a scale of 10 chances against while they mostly piled up 3/4/5 quality chances. In a blast from bizarro land, the usually reliable Sekera/Faulk pairing was right in the middle of every one of them.

2-- Goaltending and the decision-making around it. Tampa coach John Cooper decided to play starter Ben Bishop for the second consecutive night. The Canes did ultimately get to him with a barrage of shots, but he was generally good especially early when the game was decided. On the other side, Carolina coach Kirk Muller decided to get Justin Peters into the mix after a three week plus layoff. He looked rusty in allowing three goals on seven shots before going quietly back to the bench before the first period was even over.

Ideally in a game like this where a possibly rusty backup goalie gets a start, the hope is to ease him into the game with a modest volume of routine chances. Instead, the Sekera/Faulk train wreck in the first period saw Peters facing some high-quality chances and thus, unable to stop them.

A few other notes:

-- Alexander Semin: He had another strong game netting a goal. The bigger thing is what he is doing as much as the results (which are good too obviously). He is playing much more aggressively and looking to shoot whenever possible.

-- The first line: Also encouraging is the brand of hockey that line is playing. Jiri Tlusty is playing spending more time near the crease which is where a large percentage of his 2012-13 scoring happened. And the line is getting chances off the rush. Both Semin and Eric Staal's goals Sunday night were off the rush.

-- The power play: The power play goal came on an individual effort by Semin, but the power play looked better again. The amount of time they are spending with control of the puck in the offensive zone is a great starting point. If they can continue to do this, I think the goals will come.

-- Harrison/Komisarek: They were quiet again in a good way. It is not pretty when they try to move the puck, but they were generally safe in their own end and Komisarek continues to bring a high level of physical which makes the Canes a bit tougher to play against.

With the rest of the division finally playing decent hockey, the margin for error is shrinking quickly. Teams that are unable to do more than alternate between wins and losses are finally starting to get left behind.

Next up is a four-point game in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63

Go Canes!

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