Of late, there have been plenty of Hurricanes game where even if I tried to do otherwise, it seemed impossible to do anything but be down on the defense, the goaltending, the effort and/or the team in general. So though I would not consider yesterday's win an effort that you want to copy and reproduce over and over, I am still happy to use this game as a chance to be happy and proud of my team.

First and foremost, how can you not be excited about Borer's debut. He was guilty of a few 'oopses' around the midpoint of yesterday's game but overall he has slotted into a regular defenseman spot with regular minutes and no effort to hide him and looked like he belonged there. Most encouraging to me are the 2 simplest things that I look for in a defenseman: 1) Decision-making under pressure. This comes in 2 varieties. The 1st is what you do with the puck on your stick in your own end. Borer has actually been better than what we have seen from most of the regulars this year in this regard. He has consistently made quick, simple and safe plays to get the puck on and off his stick and farther up the ice. The 2nd is the pressure of making the right decision sorting out a rush and taking away the most dangerous opportunities. I do not think his test has been as thorough in this area, but he has not all been a posterboy for a rookie defenseman being victimized by heady and skilled veterans who know the number on his back is a new 1 in the lineup. I realize 2 games is not the full course, but he has looked especially good in the 1st respect and good enough with more testing needed in the 2nd. The 2nd basic thing that I look for in a defenseman is skating ability. Pure speed is obviously helpful but is not required. What is needed to have a chance at the NHL is the ability to change directions, adjust angles quickly, stop and start, etc. without your legs looking like they just do not do that naturally. Mike Commodore is a decent example of that. He will never be confused with Bret Hedican for speed, but he is able to be a decent NHL defenseman at his size because his skating/lateral mobility abilities are much better than what you get from 99.9% of players his size. So back to Borer, I have been very impressed with his skating ability. To me, he has looked pretty smooth and effortless on his skates. So as a rational hockey analyst type, I would say that comments and judgements that fans and other people will make on Borer based on his promising NHL start are premature guessing after only 2 games. But as a fan of the team who could care less about rational and is desperately looking for positives right now, I have to say that I am extremely excited to watch how Borer's 07-08 season and hopefully much longer future in a Canes uniform plays out. And as an aside, if he wants to pick up a goal and an assist now and again that is welcome too.

As for the broader game:

1) Staal continues. He and his line were again difference-makers. Here is an interesting thought on Staal. Would he look even better with his scoring and play of late with his point or 2 or 3 per game lately if we were better defensively and his 3 points were actually enough for a win most nights like they should be? Regardless, he has now strung together about 3 weeks of franchise leader type of play.

2) Loading it up for the big guns. The Canes got decent contributions in limited minutes from players either slotted for the 4th line or Albany. Aucoin drew a penalty and assisted on Borer's goal. Had he finished 1 of the 2 decent passes that Stillman fed him on the late powerplay, he would have been among the 3 stars. Larose also drew a penalty. Aucoin, Brookbank and Nolan logged a decent 25 minutes and stayed out of trouble defensively leaving the game to be decided by the Canes players that we want to decide games.

3) Stillman on the powerplay. It was fitting that Stillman was the ultimate scorer on the 4-minute powerplay. He made 2-3 almost passes, generally directed things throughout and took charge of the effort. Good for him that he was ultimately the beneficiary of a beautiful cross ice pass and bang in goal.

4) Turning off the power. After regularly being victimized by the elite of the league, the Canes did a good job of shutting down the elite last night. Kovalchuk managed only 1 shot and a lone assist in a pretty quiet night after singlehandedly putting up the offense for a win in Raleigh on Wednesday. Hossa managed 3 shots and nothing on the scoresheet.

5) Running from the dogs. Despite their struggles, the Canes continue to win enough to hold their lead in the Southeast Division. Regardless of final record and where that measures up in the Eastern Conference, that division title is worth a spot in the playoffs and home ice for at least 1 round. So far it seems that winning the Southeast is not going to be a thing of beauty, but I will gladly take it.

It is a requirement that I comment on Leighton's Canes debut. I think the better time to make an early judgement will be after his next start. A couple of the goals he let in (especially the double deflection out of the gate) were not his fault. But at the same time, early on he looked overanxious and like he was trying to defend a net that was 2 feet wider on each side. He was out of position 3-4 times in the 1st half of the game and was fortunate that the puck ended up on the stick of a backchecking Canes forward or somewhere other than on a Thrasher stick looking at an open net. Overall, I would not call this a great effort in net. But on the positive side, he looked better as the game went on. Most of the heavier work was at the other end when the game was on the line, but Leighton did dodge any kind of 'oops' that could have been catastrophic when the Canes were battling back from 3-2 down or tied at 3-3. And he also managed a few high-quality saves early in the 3rd period when the team needed it. And finally, the Canes did manage a win without needing to score 5 goals.

So trying to summarize: I did not think Leighton was great especially early. But he managed to fight through it, gave his team a chance the 2nd half of the game and ultimately gave up only 3 which is an improvement unfortunately. But I think we need at least a couple more games after the adrenaline rush wears off to see how he looks once he gets comfortable in the big league sweater.

The Canes see another tough back-to-back tonight against a team likely to throw up more defense than offense. Much like the Columbus game last week, patience and the ability to make big mistakes for goals against is key. This has not been a Canes strength of late, but the previous ones do not count when they step on the ice tonight in St. Louis.

Go Canes!

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