Weekend of Pro Sports Action: Part Two

The Carolina Hurricanes are no longer in last place in the NHL standings. By handing the Bruins a 5-1 Boston massacre, the Canes moved one point ahead of the Edmonton Oilers, into 29th place in the league. And I was there to see it!

Okay, so being 29th instead of 30th doesn't change the fact that Carolina has still had a very disappointing season and would need a miracle to reach the playoffs. But in a season this bleak - especially after reaching the Conference Finals last season - small victories must be cherished. And there were other reasons to be excited about the win.

It was Cam Ward's 131st career victory, placing him first on the franchise's all-time list, ahead of Artus Irbe. Ward was brilliant, stopping 27 of Boston's 28 shots on goal. He unfortunately missed recording his first shutout of the season when David Krejci scored a power play goal at 8:56 of the 3rd period. The Warden made some beautiful saves to protect the Carolina lead and allow his team to put the hammer down on offense.

The Carolina power play continued its recent success, converting on an Eric Staal goal 4:26 into the 2nd. The goal was Staal's 5th as team captain, as he has scored in each of his first three games wearing the 'C.' The Canes' power play is now 8-for-21 - a 38% clip - over the last 5 games. They've moved up to 18th in the league with a 17.6% success rate. It's really great to see after some really ugly man advantages earlier this season. Carolina has reportedly been working on the power play a lot recently during practice, and it has definitely showed.

Another bright spot of the win is that it pulled the Hurricanes to within one game of .500 at home this season. They've won 3 of their last 5 at the RBC Center and will have a chance to pull even on Thursday against the Islanders. Carolina has also started finding ways to win on the road of late, winning in New York, Toronto and Atlanta this month after going just 2-13-4 previously. With their 6 wins in January against 5 losses, the Canes have posted a winning record in 2010 thus far and have a chance to post their first winning month of the season.

For me, the experience of finally getting up to Raleigh to see the Hurricanes play was amazing. I got there about an hour early and explored the arena in jubilant awe. All of my friends ended up having prior commitments (that's what I get for deciding to go to the game three days beforehand), so I ended up going by myself. However, it's probably for the best. Anyone who had come along would probably have thought I was an idiot for being like a little kid on Christmas and trying on about 37 hats before finally picking out this beauty. My seat was up in the 3rd level on the Carolina offensive end, and I had a pretty great view. Although, being on the Carolina end sort of backfired considering they scored 3 of their 5 goals during the 2nd. But even from the other end of the rink, it was still thrilling to see Ray Whitney show why they call him The Wizard by completely schooling Zdeno Chara to set up Brandon Sutter's goal.

All in all, great weekend!

Speaking of the Canes, I'm going to see them Sunday!

Living in Charlotte, working five days a week and being a full-time college student (until I graduated this past December) have made it hard for me to make it to the RBC Center. It's a 5-hour round trip, and I don't have many friends who are into hockey enough to make it. I wanted badly to go to one of the Eastern Conference Semifinals games last season, but I couldn't afford it. However, I am going to see a rematch of that series this Sunday when the Canes take on the Bruins!

I'm extremely excited. I admit to never actually having been to a Hurricanes game. The previously mentioned factors have made it difficult, and I have unforgivably not just gone anyway. (Don't judge me too harshly; I do watch almost every game on TV!) But I went to a Stars game over my Christmas vacation and had the time of my life. It made me determined to see a Canes game, because if I loved watching a Dallas team I had no feelings about, I knew I would be in heaven watching my favorite team.

So, I'm off to Raleigh this Sunday to watch the Canes in action. I'll be writing about the experience, so stay tuned for that. Hopefully, it'll turn out the way games 2, 3, 4 and 7 of those Conference Semifinals did.

Staal shows he deserves the 'C' with a hat trick.

The Carolina Hurricanes' new captain, Eric Staal, made a statement in his debut wearing the 'C.' He did exactly what has been preached by previous captain Rod Brind'Amour: he led by example.

Staal recorded his 10th career hat trick in the 5-2 win over Atlanta. He scored the game's first goal, knocked in an overpowering shot from the circle on a power play in the 2nd period, and put the icing on the win with an empty-netter in the final minute. The 25-year-old Forward, dubbed a franchise player, led his team to an impressive road win, of which there haven't been many this season for the Canes. The game also saw the Carolina power play, ranked 23rd in the NHL, show some life, converting its first three opportunities. The other cornerstone of the franchise, goalie Cam Ward, also performed brilliantly, stopping 32 shots. Many of his saves were highlight-reel worthy.

It's very fitting that the two best young players on the Hurricanes stepped up in big ways on a night of transition. They not only showed their team that this new era with Staal as captain can be great, but also honored Rod the Bod with their stellar play. It would have been sad to see Brind'Amour's transition to being an alternate captain begin with a whimper. Staal and Ward did him proud.

I've always been a Brind'Amour fan. How could you not be after the way he led his team to a Stanley Cup Championship in '06, scoring 12 goals in 25 games along the way? That was the most goals for any Carolina player in those playoffs, and second only to Edmonton's Fernando Pisani. I've got a t-shirt with No. 17 on the back, and I'll still wear it with pride even though the Bod's playing time has dwindled.

And while I'm not terribly keen on the mid-season timing of the switch, obviously Eric Staal is the right man to lead this team. It was ultimately very telling that although he didn't score as many goals as Brind'Amour in '06, he had the most points of any player in the playoffs with 9 goals and 19 assists. Even then, in only his 2nd NHL season, he was showing what a leader he could be. And who could forget his series-winning goal last year against the Devils? I'm sure Marty Brodeur hasn't. Although, he obviously hasn't let it phase him or his team this season.

You've got to respect Rod Brind'Amour for being so classy about this switch, saying he's the one who is honored to pass the torch to Staal. And you also have to admire how well Staal performed under the pressure of carrying that torch for the first time.