Finally a win on the all-important road trip. It leaves the Canes with a 1-4 mark on the trip and looking up in the standings, but on Tuesday the Canes played well against a good team and deservedly won a game. With the win, the Canes move to within 6 points of both 3rd and 4th place in the Metro (either of which would be a playoff spot right now). The bigger challenge could be the number of teams that they need to get past to get there. But that is for another day. Right now, I am just happy to be able to write a winning game recap.

A few quick player notes:

--John-Michael Liles. He had 1 of his best games as a Cane paired with Sekera with a high volume of good defensive plays (winning pucks in D zone, a couple blocked shots, etc.).

--Elias Lindholm. Good for him netting a goal on a nice finish on a pretty setup by EStaal.

--Anton Khudobin. For me, this game was very much like his last outing versus LA. He was very good in net in terms of making saves. His only negative was a continuation of a recent trend of trying to do too much with the puck. The 1st goal against occurred when there was a mix-up behind the net and then a disorganized scramble in front of it that ultimately cost the Canes a goal. Not sure if the puck handling thing is just him trying to do too much to find wins or if it just a return of an old habit. Regardless, he battled like mad again, made a bunch of good saves and came out allowing only 2 goals and giving his team a chance to win.

--Jordan Staal. After a few real rough outings of late, he rebounded and got back to playing solid hockey even if the scoring was not there.

With the late West Coast start, it is officially trade deadline day as I post this. Time to head to bed, so I am rested for the festivities tomorrow. I have mostly written my last Canes trade deadline preview blog and will put it up early Wednesday morning.

--Andrej Sekera. He continues to run neck and neck with Anton Khudobin for the Canes 2013-14 MVP.

Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63

Go Canes!
Matt on Google+

Join the Discussion: » 1 Comments » Post New Comment

» Maple Leafs and Hurricanes: Comparison in rebuilding strategies

» Snarly Hurricanes vs. Flyers match up set for Saturday

» Canes treading water - Will they eventually drown or swim?

» Solid first half of week tees 'make up' time at home for the weekend

» Hurricanes at Red Wings -- Canes look claw even for road trip