Hawks vs. Canes

The East is a wide-open battle right now, with the divisions pretty well in hand and almost nothing else settled. The Flyers have 3-point lead for the #4 seed and 2 to 3 games in hand on everyone, but there's still plenty of time and plenty of teams to catch them, as they sit only 6 total points above 9th place. Yep, it's that tight.

Tonight the Hawks face a team right in the middle of it, the Carolina Hurricanes, sitting in 8th, a mere point above the Rangers and an extra game played. Heat is on, but the Canes have been responding of late, going 8-2-0 in their last 10, thanks to their current 4-game win streak. They're also a tough guest, with their 17 road wins good for 6th in the NHL.

The Canes, the relocated version of sports' coolest franchise - the Hartford Whalers - have failed to qualify for the playoffs in 4 of the last 5 seasons (going back to two seasons prior to the lock-out). But in that one season, immediately after the lock-out, they won the Cup. That makes a lot of bad years disappear in a hurry.

However, when you follow that up with back-to-back post-season-less years and threaten to make it a hat trick, the good will of that Cup can disappear just as quickly. Especially when the team has a lot of veterans who aren't getting any younger.

Offensively, Carolina is middle of the pack, with a Power Play that figures into the bottom third of the league. #13 Whitney (21 G, 37 A) is still making plays at the age of 36, especially with a man advantage. #12 Staal (32 G, 26 A) has a deceptive stat line - while a 40-goal pace is always impressive, the guy has done the great majority of his damage in a few games against some really bad teams. Newcomer #26 Cole (17 G, 16 A) has made an instant impact with 6 points in his first three games with the Canes. #8 Cullen (20 G, 18 A) and #17 Brind'Amour (10 G, 25 A) are productive vets, while youngster #59 LaRose (14 G, 11 A) has shown a knack for finding the net.

Two more names to note - former Hawks #15 Ruutu (20 G, 25 A) and #14 Samsonov (14 G, 27 A) are continuing the hot play they showed in going to Carolina midway through last season. Ruutu netted the Hawks Ladd, a guy who has fit in Chicago in a way that Ruutu never did, but Samsonov was merely waived after 20 disappointing games in the Indian Head sweater. Neither seemed to show the heart the Hawks have evidenced, so despite their solid numbers, I say good riddance.

Defensively Carolina is also middle of the pack, with a penalty kill that's just a bit below the league average. #25 Pitkanen (6 G, 22 A, 25:06 ATOI) and Oak Park's own #77 Corvo (13 G, 17 A, 24:19 ATOI) anchor the blue line, while #4 Seidenberg (4 G, 19 A, 23:13 ATOI), auf Deutschland!, also logs a good amount of productive ice time. #6 Gleason (0 G, 11 A, 20:52 ATOI) rounds out the Top 4, while #33 Babchuk (9 G, 13 A, 17:30 ATOI) joins Ruutu in giving the Canes the Hawks first round pick in both 2001 and 2002.

• Side note to one of my loyal readers - the Hawks 2003 First Round Pick? Seabrook. Don't ever doubt me again. And for the rest of you who may be curious - Barker was 04, Skille was 05 (which explains why he continues to be hyped, despite not being able to break thru), Toews in 06, Kane in 07, and Kyle Beach, a physical and mildly controversial player who's lighting up Juniors again this year, was the pick this past year.

In net, #30 Ward (.912 Sv %, 2.50 GAA, 55 GS) is a horse who's started the 5th most games in the NHL and who factors in the top 1/3 to 1/2 of the league in the key goalie stats - not bad for a guy on an average defensive team. Former Hawk #49 Leighton (.900 Sv %, 2.94 GAA, 13 GS) has been decidely mediocre as a back-up.

And in the Odds-and-Ends Dept., Brind'Amour (who wears the C) is a wizard in the face-off circle, winning 61% of his draws, while Cullen is serviceable and Staal (who wears an A) is pretty weak. We won't be seeing Brandon Sutter, who was recently sent-down after an unimpactful 50 games with the big club - he's the son of Brent Sutter, of the Clan Sutter. Also, Whitney wears the other A and don't expect a fight tonight - Ruutu leads the team with a meager 63 PIM.