I realize that this is wayyyyyy late. Sorry. I decided against writing it with a headache after the late basketball-induced 8:30pm start yesterday. And this morning just got away from me.

So with our 4th shootout loss in 4 tries, the Canes hit the 50-game mark and the all-star break with an ominous bunch of 6s. They are 6 games above .500, 6 points behind Atlanta for the division lead and a precarious 6 points ahead of the #8 spot in the wide open Eastern Conference playoff chase. My half full view is that the Canes are positioned to get what they need with a good last 32 games even if it is not what they want. The 'need' to me would be division title and minimum #3 seed in the playoffs. No it has not been a barnburner of a 1st nearly 2/3 of the season, but the team has averted catastrophe that was within reach multiple times. And barring more nasty surprises, the team right now is 2 weeks away from being the healthiest it has been all season.

On yesterday's game:

1) Just what the NHL ordered. So I could listen to the hockey purist snob in me could question the sometimes loose and sometimes broken defense yesterday and it could point to the generally mediocre goaltending and it could speak of the merits of good defensive hockey. Or I could just ignore it and be entertained last night. This game had much of what the NHL wants. Instead of the new rules leading to a whole bunch of powerplays from obstruction minors, both teams mostly skated the best they could, avoided the obstruction type penalties and willfully engaged in a battle of offense and to some degree skating. So hockey pureness and snobbery aside, was it at all possible to leave the RBC Center last night without feeling entertained and feeling like you got your money's worth? I think not.

2) Steady. Whitney continued racking up points with another goal yesterday. Through 50 games, he has gone more than 2 games without a point only twice and not since November (3 games early Oct; 4 games late Nov). Williams is even better with only 1 3-game stretch without a point.

3) Ladd. He got 3rd line minutes for the 1st time in what seems like months. Great to see him play a simple game by parking himself around the net all night and get 2 points to show for it. I think we are at the point where Ladd either needs to get 12-14 minutes/game or go play 20 in Albany. The problem is simply the numbers game with Adams gone and a bunch of defensemen on the shelf.

4) Funny game. There was a difference in quality of effort compared to the loss Thursday to Washington, so maybe it was just the hockey gods getting it right, but it is funny how 1 game a bunch of pucks hit things and end up in the net and another day pucks roll 2-4 feet wide about a dozen times like in the Washington game.

5) Inability to finish. For once the Canes staked an early lead and also had lead in the 3rd, but the OTL loss was eerily reminiscent of the recent Atlanta loss where we also blew a 3rd period lead to give a division rival 2 points instead of 0 and ourselves 1 instead of 2 for a big 3-point swing in the standings.

6) The shootout curse. I am less worked up about the 0-4 record in shootouts this season than many. Don't get me wrong - those 4 points are as good as any other points, and we could use them. But I have really come to view the shootout as some weird coin flip that happens occasionally. It does not happen often enough that you can build a roster for it. And while you can practice for it, there still seems to be enough randomness in it that I call it a coin flip. This said, it seems time to try a couple new options. Post-lockout, arguably the biggest difference in Cole's game has been his ability to finish off the rush/breakaway and turn scoring chances into goals at a pretty good clip. And Cory Stillman has some of the craftiness that might work. There is my 2 cents for what it is worth.

If I get some time during the week while we are minus Canes games, I will take a shot thoughts on possible trade acquisitions/needs and also throw together a bunch of other random comments that I have jotted in my mind but never fit into a blog.

Go Canes!

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