Eighteen Hurricanes didn't answer the bell Saturday night. One did, and fortunately for Carolina, he was in goal and stole a point.

For 57 minutes on Saturday night, Cam Ward looked like he might steal two points for the Carolina Hurricanes with a masterful performance. A late equalizer got the New York Rangers back to level terms, and the shootout saw the Canes fall 3-2 in front of 13,329 at PNC Arena.

"I don't think we got going at all, period," said Canes coach Bill Peters. "For the first three periods, they outskated us. I didn't think we were very dangerous. We didn't hang onto it very much, so you're just hanging on. For some reason tonight we never got started."

Ward, though, came to play from the opening faceoff. A bang-bang sequence less than two minutes in saw him deny Mats Zuccarello with a kick save on an unchecked wrister from about eight feet. Later, the Rangers' seventh shot of the period was a Kevin Hayes shot that beat Ward but was cleared off the line by Brett Bellemore. The Canes broke out with a two-on-one, and Nathan Gerbe found Chris Terry for his second goal in as many games to give the Canes a 1-0 lead against the run of play.

Ward kept up his strong play later in the period, stopping Chris Kreider with a toe save late and powering the Canes to the locker room with a 1-0 lead despite spending what seemed like endless shifts in their own zone.

To start the second, the story was again Ward, who stoned Rick Nash as the Rangers were killing a penalty five minutes in. At one point, the Canes' power play, now mired in a 2-for-28 slump since the beginning of December, were being outshot 3-0 when up a man.

"We got outworked" on the power play, Peters said simply.

Meanwhile, Ward's heroics continued. A poke check on an attempted Nash centering pass. A kick save on Zuccarello. A glove snare of a Kreider wrister. At one point in the second period, the Canes went ten minutes without a shot on goal, and it didn't matter because Ward was saving the team's bacon at the other end.

"I just [tried] to do my own job," said Ward. "When the team's not at their best, you have to give them a chance and come up with some timely saves. After the first period, to be up 1-0 was a bonus, and we got better as the game went along, but we weren't good enough."

The luck ran out for Ward at 4:03 of the third period. On a power play, J.T. Miller split the Canes' defense between Justin Faulk and Andrej Sekera and stretched around Ward to put the Rangers on the board. Less than thirty seconds later, though, Jeff Skinner put the Canes back on top with a harmless-looking backhand that somehow became a softer than soft goal through Henrik Lundqvist's five-hole.

Dan Boyle looked to tie the game with seven minutes left, but Ward had lost his helmet in the crease - or, rather, he lost his own helmet. As Boyle was winding up a slap shot, Ward knocked his own helmet off, unnoticed by the officials. It risked a delay-of-game penalty, but referee Rob Martell only saw Ward helmetless, which killed the play and Boyle's goal was immediately waved off.

Ward said after the game that the strap on his helmet came loose after a crease collision and the mask came off as a result, a fortuitous turn of events that denied the Rangers the tying goal.

However, just as it looked like the Canes were going to steal two points, Kevin Klein gave the Rangers life with 2:23 left. Through a screen, Klein knuckled a shot through traffic and past Ward, tying the game and eventually recovering a point for the Rangers as regulation ended with the score tied at 2.

A wide-open overtime solved nothing, and the Rangers earned the bonus point after Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored in the skills competition to give them the win.

Despite the loss, Peters said that Ward was the reason the Canes were anywhere near a result tonight. "I've come to expect it," he said. "I think he's been playing well since early November. He's been excellent, and he stole us a point here tonight. Would have been nice to get the other one, but it didn't happen."

With the Canes now on the road until a day-after-Christmas showdown with the Pittsburgh Penguins, they'll need to get up off the ground level, Peters said. "They don't want to change much, if anything. We've got to come up to the speed of the game. We've got to get our level picked up."

"When you have a lead late in the third period and they score with two minutes to go, you can't help but feel that you let a win slip away," said Ward. "We seemed to be a step behind tonight, and it's unfortunate to once again lose in the shootout."

Game Notes

• Both games the Rangers and Hurricanes have played this year have gone to a shootout won by New York. The Canes have yet to win in three shootouts this season, while the Rangers are 2-4 with both wins against the Canes.
• Terry's two-game goal streak comes after an eleven-game NHL scoreless streak that surrounded a conditioning assignment to the Charlotte Checkers. "We're a team looking for offense, and he's a guy who provides offense," said Peters of Terry. "He deserves to play with good players and valuable minutes."
• Justin Faulk extended his team-high points tally with his 20th tonight, assisting on Skinner's goal for his 14th assist of the year, also a team high.
• Don't look now, but Elias Lindholm quietly has a three-game point streak. His December has been disappointing, especially held up next to his red-hot November, but his play has started to come around and his points totals reflect it.
• After the game, the Canes activated Alexander Semin from injured reserve and reassigned Justin Shugg to the Checkers (press release below). Peters hinted at roster changes for tomorrow's game with a sly grin at the postgame press conference, and it looks like that will come to pass.
• Click for postgame audio from Cam Ward , Jeff Skinner and Bill Peters .

Canes Country Three Stars

3. Jeff Skinner: The most dangerous player on offense for the Canes tonight. Skinner was all over the place, and while the goal he scored was thanks to a Charmin-soft effort by Lundqvist, it was just rewards for a dominant game. He had Lundqvist beat in the shootout but just missed to the right of the post.

2. Mats Zuccarello: Every time you looked up tonight, Zuccarello was making something happen. He set up Miller at the blue line for the Rangers' first goal and scored the opening goal in the shootout that proved to be the winner. It seemed like he had a scoring chance on almost every shift he played.

1. Cam Ward: What, you expected Brad Malone? Ward was the reason the Canes got even a point, and his play deserved two points even though the rest of the team's play didn't come anywhere near that level.

Next up: The Canes head to Manhattan tomorrow for a rematch with the Rangers, and will stay in town until Tuesday when they face the Devils.

HURRICANES ACTIVATE SEMIN FROM INJURED RESERVE

Justin Shugg reassigned to AHL’s Charlotte Checkers

Ron Francis, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the Hurricanes have activated forward Alexander Semin from injured reserve. The team also reassigned forward Justin Shugg to the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Semin, 30, has missed the Hurricanes’ last five games with a lower-body injury. The Krasnoyarsk, Russia, native has scored one goal and earned five assists (6 points) in 21 games this season. Semin (6’2", 209 lbs.) is in his third season with Carolina since signing with the team as a free agent in July 2012.

The Blackhawks have won their last seven contests at the United Center.

The six-game NHL Sunday schedule is highlighted by a showdown of potential playoff teams in Chicago with the Toronto Maple Leafs visiting the Chicago Blackhawks.

The two teams drop the puck at 7 p.m. ET in a game that will be televised nationally by the NHL Network.

The Central Division-leading Blackhawks (22-9-2) lost 3-2 in a shootout on the road to the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday night, just the second setback for Chicago in the last four weeks. The Blackhawks are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, and have won seven straight games at the United Center, with the last home loss coming Nov. 7.

Patrick Kane had an assist Saturday night, and leads Chicago in both goals (16) and assists (18) on the season, and takes a five-game point streak into Sunday afternoon.

The Leafs (19-11-3) had a six-game win streak of their own, but have dropped their last two contests, including getting lit up 7-4 by the Philadelphia Flyers at home Saturday night. Toronto, sitting in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, is 5-3-3 on the road this season.

In other action, the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in a shootout Saturday in Raleigh, giving New York five straight wins. The two teams meet again Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.

Here is the full Sunday schedule:

On a night where they were outplayed (except in net), the Canes were able to hang on for one point against the Rangers. They'll try to take two when play resumes tonight at MSG.

Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers
December 21, 2014 - 7:00 pm ET
Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
Radio - 99.9 FM The Fan
SB Nation Rival Blog - Blueshirt Banter

Fancy Stats

Stats via NHL.com and War on Ice

Game Notes

• Though the Rangers carried the play last night, the Canes were able to maintain a lead for much of the game, before giving up the game-tying goal with just over two minutes left on the clock. They went on to lose in the shootout, the second time that's happened this season against the Rangers.
• The Canes will wrap up their 8th set of back-to-back games tonight. They are now 3-4-1 on the front half and 1-5-1 on the back half.
• Justin Shugg's cup of coffee with the big club lasted three games (for now). He registered three shots on goal and two minutes in the penalty box in just over seventeen minutes in ice time in a fourth-line role. Shugg was reassigned to Charlotte after last night's game, and Alexander Semin has been activated from injured reserve after missing six games with a lower body injury. Sasha participated in line rushes at yesterday's morning skate but was held out of last night's game. He'll likely start on the fourth line tonight in his 600th career NHL game.
• John-Michael Liles also practiced yesterday but there has been no word as to his availability for tonight.
• Special teams were a deciding factor in last night's game. The Canes were unable to convert on their power play opportunities (Rangers went four-for-four and have killed off 14 of their last 15), and J.T. Miller converted on the power play, earning the Broadway Hat from his teammates.
• Mats Zuccarello continued his Canes-killing ways with an assist on Miller's goal as well as the shootout winner. Rick Nash's career high 11-game point streak was snapped last night as the Canes kept him off the score sheet.
• Henrik Lundqvist admitted after the game that he misplayed Skinner's goal, but he atoned for his earlier error by going a perfect three-for-three in the shootout.
• With the late departure from Raleigh and quick turnaround between games, neither team will practice this morning and any additional line-up changes will be divulged prior to game time. Anton Khudobin and Cam Talbot will probably get the starts in net, but neither has been confirmed.

Possible line-ups

Hurricanes (updated from Saturday's game)

Injuries and Scratches: Jordan Staal (IR broken fibula), Andrej Nestrasil (IR upper body), Jiri Tlusty (upper body), John-Michael Liles (upper body)

Rangers (updated from Saturday's game)

Injuries and Scratches: Lee Stepniak (isolation/mumps), John Moore (healthy)

Swing with your right leg, Anton! Don't make it so hard.

With his Carolina Hurricanes down a goal late in New York on Sunday, goalie Anton Khudobin had to skate to the bench to get the extra skater on the ice.

Getting to the bench was easy. Getting on the bench? Not so much.

You may laugh now, but you should try putting on heavy goalie pads and try to swing over hockey boards. It's not as easy as it looks! Although Cam Ward was laughing hysterically at his teammate while he flailed about, so maybe it is easy.

Carolina shutout for fourth time this season

The New York Rangers took early control of the game and held on the rest of the way to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes, 1-0 Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.

Ryan McDonagh scored the only goal just 4:10 into the game and that was all that Cam Talbot and the Rangers needed.

It was Talbot's third shutout of the season on seven starts but he was not exactly overworked as the Canes had just four shots and zero scoring chances in the first period.  Carolina ended up with 18 shots on goal for the game and they were outshot in every period.

The Rangers now have eight shutouts so far this season.

Anton Khudobin was the hard luck loser as he made 30 saves on 31 shots in the losing effort.  Khudobin still is looking for his first win of the season.  He is 0-8-2 in 10 starts.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes dropped to 9-20-4 and their 22 points keeps them in last place in the East as the next closest team, Buffalo, has 29.  The Oilers are last in the West with 21 points.

Next up for the Canes will be the Devils on Tuesday night.

Game Notes:

• The Canes were outshot 31-18 for the game.  Elias Lindholm led the team with three.
• The Carolina penalty kill continues to do well and killed off three New York powerplays.  The Hurricanes went 0-1 with the man advantage.
• Andrej Sekera led the way with 23:08 of ice time.

Bantering Points for Monday, December 22, 2014.

The New York Rangers thoroughly dominated possession en route to winning back-to-back home-and-home games against the Carolina Hurricanes this past weekend. The Rangers have won 6 straight and are rolling.  [Blueshirt Banter]

Ryan McDonagh scored the lone goal in a 1-0 Rangers win last night. After signing a one-year, $1.45M extension, Cam Talbot made 18 saves to earn his third shutout on the season. Blueshirt Banter]  [Newsday]  [NY Post]  [NY Daily News]  [NY Times]  [TSN]

Talbot has been nothing short of superb during his time as a backup with the club over the past two seasons. He has 6 shutouts in just 25 career starts and sports an impressive .938 SV%. Is he that good? No, probably not. But Talbot is comfortable in his role, and clearly so was Rangers' management. They made a wise decision extending him a year. It gives them an asset to both cover playing time while farmhands like Mackenzie Skapski continue to develop, but also a high-upside trade chip that other teams looking for a starter may eventually covet.  [Blueshirt Banter]  [Newsday]  [NY Post]  [Blue Seat Blogs]

Boy, Kevin Klein has been something else, eh? He has 7 goals on the season, including an OT gamewinner on Saturday night, his second such goal on the season. Meanwhile, Dan Boyle, who has 0 assists through his first 15 games, seems to still be recovering his timing and touch from the broken-hand he suffered at the start of the season. Production from one is great. Hopefully production from both is on its way.  [NY Post]  [NY Post]

Derick Brassard played in both games after his bout with the mumps, looking mostly fine. His TOI was monitored by AV but, even considering the lack of conditioning leading up to the games, there wasn't any appreciable loss of speed or timing in his play. Here's how Brassard kept busy during his time off the ice.  [NY Post]

The Rangers honored two slain police officers on Sunday with a moment of silence before the start of the game. A classy gesture from the club and its fans, as a city tries to heal from several weeks of social turmoil regarding law enforcement overreaching. The apparent retaliation against two New York City officers by a seriously misguided individual was horrific. [NY Daily News]  [CBS NY]

NYR D prospect Ryan Graves has had a sudden outburst of offensive production this season. Our Adam Herman takes a closer look.  [Blueshirt Banter]

Lawsuits targeting Canadian Major Junior Hockey seek to protect the rights of players to earn fair wages for their play. It's an interesting issue, and one that follows a similar thread to NCAA players unionizing, and various lawsuits against minor pro sports leagues in the United States. [NY Times]

If Woods makes his NHL debut, he'll be the 19th former Wisconsin Badger to skate in the NHL this season.

Former Wisconsin center Brendan Woods is headed to the NHL.

Ron Francis, executive vice president and general manager of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, announced on Monday that the Hurricanes have recalled Woods from the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL). Woods will join the Hurricanes in New Jersey for Tuesday's game at the Prudential Center against the Devils.

In his second professional season, Woods is tied for fourth on the Checkers in scoring with 13 points (six goals, seven assists), already surpassing his career high in goals and points in just 29 games. The 22-year-old has yet to make his NHL debut and this marks his first NHL call up.

The Hurricanes drafted Woods in the fifth round, 129th overall, in the 2012 NHL Draft.

Woods, who would be a senior at Wisconsin this season, spent two years playing for the Badgers from 2011-13, registering 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 75 career games.

If Woods makes his NHL debut with the Hurricanes, he will be the 19th former Wisconsin Badger to skate in the NHL this season.

For more hockey coverage, follow Andy on Twitter -- Follow @AndyJohnsonB5Q
You can also reach Andy via e-mail (AndyJohnsonB5Q@gmail.com)

It is the night before the night before Christmas and the New Jersey Devils will play the Carolina Hurricanes. It's unknown whether tonight's game is a gift or whether the gift will be when it's over. This is a game preview.

Will those at The Rock get a lump of coal tonight? Let's hope not.

The Time: 7:00 PM EST

The Broadcast: TV - MSG+; Radio - 660 AM & 101.9 FM WFAN

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (12-17-6) vs. the Carolina Hurricanes (9-20-4; SBN Blog: Canes Country)

The Last Devils Game: The Devils took on Washington and it was a lot like the last Saturday night game against Washington.  One team was effective at doing what they wanted, scored a bunch of goals, and cruised to victory. The other team was the New Jersey Devils.  After an even first period, Mike Green fired a shot far post past a screen for the game's first goal.  The Devils responded with not much.  Later in the second period, Nicklas Backstrom fired one against the grain that beat Cory Schneider to the left post to make it 0-2.  The Devils responded with not much.  In the third period, Alex Ovechkin posterized Jon Merrill and then Cory Schneider to make it 0-3.  The Devils responded with not much.  In the final minutes, Backstrom put in an empty netter to boost the score to 0-4.  What did I think of the Devils' performance? Not much.

The Last Hurricanes Game: On Sunday, the Hurricanes faced the New York Rangers for the second straight night.  On Saturday, the Canes were disposed by a shootout thanks largely to the play by Cam Ward.  Anton Khudobin was in net and got a real work out as he faced 31 shots by the home team.  Ryan McDonagh got one into the net early in the game to make it 0-1.    The Canes' response: 18 shots on net and no goals.  So the Canes lost 0-1.  Here's Bob Wage's recap at Canes Country.

The Last Devils-Hurricanes: Let's go back a few weeks when the Devils visited Carolina on December 8.  The Devils played a game where they struggled to move the puck or even get the puck out of their own end of the rink with it on their sticks. The Canes took all that and threw it right back at Cory Schneider with 94 shooting attempts.  Justin Faulk scored first as he put a shot through traffic in the second period.  The Devils did muster a response: Jaromir Jagr slamming in a one-timer off a lovely feed by Scott Gomez and Adam Henrique putting in a loose puck to convert a late period power play.  The Canes did fling everything plus the kitchen sink at Schneider and waves of five Devils players that did nothing in response in the third period.  Schneider stopped them all, which was why the Devils stole a 2-1 win in their building.  Here's my recap of the undeserved points taken by the Devils. For the opposition's perspective, here's the recap by Bob Wage at Canes Country.

The Goal: Well, scoring one would be welcomed by either team as they just got shut out in their previous games.  More seriously, if the Devils want to give the home fans the gift of a victory or even a good performance tonight, then they need to just throw pucks on net.  It's been a challenge for the Devils to get forward.  So it's incredibly frustrating to see one extra pass or one extra move made when a good shooting opportunity presents itself.  A good performance doesn't mean just flinging 30+ shots right at a goalie; but it's far preferable to the sub-20 shot nights of the past two games.   At a minimum, they'll represent an actual fight to the opposition and force them to play defense. Given that Carolina's goaltending hasn't been all that hot outside of the last two games, it's not a bad tactic to take.  Of course, whether the Devils will do so remains to be seen.

Their Last Win: The Devils' win over the Canes was their last regulation win.  They have won one game since then via a shootout.  The Canes' last win was also recent, as they beat Toronto 4-1 last Thursday.  Before that, their previous win was on December 1.  Needless to say, both teams have been rather bad.

Similar Situation: In the previous Canes-Devils preview, I noted that much of their struggles are relevant to the percentages.  Their PDO, the summation of their even strength shooting and save percentages, was rather low.  The story has remained the same. Their percentages are still in the cellar - 6% at shooting, 90.8% on saves - in spite of a better-than-average Corsi For% (51.3).  Their most dangerous players - Eric Staal, Jeff Skinner, their top pairing of Faulk and Andrej Sekera -  remain.  Their penalty kill has been good in terms of success rate and their power play conversion rate is just below league median. If you want a closer look as to what to expect from the Canes, the previous preview will suffice for the most part.  The only twists are that Ward and Khudobin are coming off impressive performances, but who's to say that will continue; Jiri Tlusty has been out recently with the dreaded upper body injury; and that Alexander Semin will be active.

More Illness: The Devils practiced on Monday but two Devils were missing.  According to Tom Gulitti's report at Fire & Ice, Patrik Elias and Martin Havlat were out sick and are being tested for mumps.  They may not have it and may be sick from something else, but either way, it doesn't appear that either will be available tonight.

Regardless of what you may think of what you may think of Elias (smacked down by Father Time) and Havlat (just bad) this season, two more forwards being out of the lineup hurts.  The Devils may have replacements already.  In that same report, Mike Cammalleri revealed his injury - a groin pull - and felt good in practice.  If he feels good today, then I would think he'll play.   Michael Ryder was a healthy scratch, so he should be available if only out of necessity. That said, the team called Tim Sestito back up after sending him down on Sunday just in case.  (And he was a spare with Jordin Tootoo in practice. Huh.)

So A Guy Whose Play Is Helpful as Bobby Bittman on a Game Show These Days Wants More Ice Time: As I continue to cram references about as well as stuffing a puffy coat into a duffel bag, Michael Ryder isn't happy with his usage according to this post by Rich Chere. There's this actual quote from Mr. Ryder himself:

"You look at the guys around the league who score goals and their average ice time is about 16 minutes. I just find it tough to produce when you play 12 minutes, 14, 10. It’s hard," Ryder said. "You get one chance a game, two chances, instead of five chances a game.

"I think I’ve played over 16 minutes only nine times this year. The games I do, I think I play better. I’ve been like that my whole career. As the game goes on you feel better, you get in a better flow, you’re not as cold and those plays come a lot easier for you."

I know Michael Ryder doesn't read ILWT and probably won't since I'm comparing him to SCTV characters since they're about just as good on the ice these days.  However, if Ryder wants more ice time, then he should consider giving a semblance of a care about defense, hustling forward, not taking entirely avoidable penalties (my guess as to what led to his recent scratching), and actually firing pucks on net.  It's true his shooting percentage is in the basement at 5.5%, but for a guy who's only useful when he's firing shots on net, it's telling he's only had more than one shot on net since the last Devils-Canes game. So if he's not shooting - because he certainly hasn't been scoring - then why should any one give him 16 minutes when he's about as useless in 12?  And if he understands that playing better equals more minutes, then where is his effort?  Ryder'll likely get a chance tonight to justify further inclusion in the lineup.  But based on this season, it's not a guarantee he'll make that case.  At least he's not a bad comic, though he's not far from the level Tim Sestito in terms of current play.

Returning Adam: Adam Larsson practiced today and I would like to see him play tonight.  Curiously, based on Gulitti's report, Seth Helgeson practiced with Marek Zidlicky while Larsson and Eric Gelinas rotated with Peter Harrold.  I don't think Peter DeBoer will keep that combination for tonight.  Helgeson has been appropriately limited in his use; I don't see him playing with Zidlicky, who's good for around 20 minutes per game.  Gelinas hasn't been awful in his last few games, so I don't see him coming out.  Personally, I would roll with Zidlicky-Gelinas again and keep Larsson with Harrold, with Helgeson sitting.  If Larsson does well and/or others do not - Jon Merrill up top with Andy Greene isn't set in stone in my eyes - then don't be surprised if #5 is on the ice more often.   I think the pre-game warm-ups will provide the sign as far as who is in and who they will be with on defense.

One More Goal for the Devils: Please get out of the zone with the puck.  Do this and the Canes aren't going to put Cory Schneider and the defense under siege for 60 minutes.

Your Take: Will tonight provide at least a good, competitive performance by the Devils? (Notice I didn't say win.)  Or will this be another lump of coal dumped on the fans as the Canes look like all stars with the puck like so many teams in the last two months?  Please leave your answers and other thoughts on tonight's game in the comments.

It is the night before the night before Christmas and the New Jersey Devils will play the Carolina Hurricanes. This is a game stream consisting of all relevant posts to tonight's game.

Will those at The Rock get a lump of coal tonight? Let's hope not.

The Time: 7:00 PM EST

The Broadcast: TV - MSG+; Radio - 660 AM & 101.9 FM WFAN

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (12-17-6) vs. the Carolina Hurricanes (9-20-4; SBN Blog: Canes Country)

The Last Devils Game: The Devils took on Washington and it was a lot like the last Saturday night game against Washington.  One team was effective at doing what they wanted, scored a bunch of goals, and cruised to victory. The other team was the New Jersey Devils.  After an even first period, Mike Green fired a shot far post past a screen for the game's first goal.  The Devils responded with not much.  Later in the second period, Nicklas Backstrom fired one against the grain that beat Cory Schneider to the left post to make it 0-2.  The Devils responded with not much.  In the third period, Alex Ovechkin posterized Jon Merrill and then Cory Schneider to make it 0-3.  The Devils responded with not much.  In the final minutes, Backstrom put in an empty netter to boost the score to 0-4.  What did I think of the Devils' performance? Not much.

The Last Hurricanes Game: On Sunday, the Hurricanes faced the New York Rangers for the second straight night.  On Saturday, the Canes were disposed by a shootout thanks largely to the play by Cam Ward.  Anton Khudobin was in net and got a real work out as he faced 31 shots by the home team.  Ryan McDonagh got one into the net early in the game to make it 0-1.    The Canes' response: 18 shots on net and no goals.  So the Canes lost 0-1.  Here's Bob Wage's recap at Canes Country.

The Last Devils-Hurricanes: Let's go back a few weeks when the Devils visited Carolina on December 8.  The Devils played a game where they struggled to move the puck or even get the puck out of their own end of the rink with it on their sticks. The Canes took all that and threw it right back at Cory Schneider with 94 shooting attempts.  Justin Faulk scored first as he put a shot through traffic in the second period.  The Devils did muster a response: Jaromir Jagr slamming in a one-timer off a lovely feed by Scott Gomez and Adam Henrique putting in a loose puck to convert a late period power play.  The Canes did fling everything plus the kitchen sink at Schneider and waves of five Devils players that did nothing in response in the third period.  Schneider stopped them all, which was why the Devils stole a 2-1 win in their building.  Here's my recap of the undeserved points taken by the Devils. For the opposition's perspective, here's the recap by Bob Wage at Canes Country.

The Goal: Well, scoring one would be welcomed by either team as they just got shut out in their previous games.  More seriously, if the Devils want to give the home fans the gift of a victory or even a good performance tonight, then they need to just throw pucks on net.  It's been a challenge for the Devils to get forward.  So it's incredibly frustrating to see one extra pass or one extra move made when a good shooting opportunity presents itself.  A good performance doesn't mean just flinging 30+ shots right at a goalie; but it's far preferable to the sub-20 shot nights of the past two games.   At a minimum, they'll represent an actual fight to the opposition and force them to play defense. Given that Carolina's goaltending hasn't been all that hot outside of the last two games, it's not a bad tactic to take.  Of course, whether the Devils will do so remains to be seen.

Their Last Win: The Devils' win over the Canes was their last regulation win.  They have won one game since then via a shootout.  The Canes' last win was also recent, as they beat Toronto 4-1 last Thursday.  Before that, their previous win was on December 1.  Needless to say, both teams have been rather bad.

Similar Situation: In the previous Canes-Devils preview, I noted that much of their struggles are relevant to the percentages.  Their PDO, the summation of their even strength shooting and save percentages, was rather low.  The story has remained the same. Their percentages are still in the cellar - 6% at shooting, 90.8% on saves - in spite of a better-than-average Corsi For% (51.3).  Their most dangerous players - Eric Staal, Jeff Skinner, their top pairing of Faulk and Andrej Sekera -  remain.  Their penalty kill has been good in terms of success rate and their power play conversion rate is just below league median. If you want a closer look as to what to expect from the Canes, the previous preview will suffice for the most part.  The only twists are that Ward and Khudobin are coming off impressive performances, but who's to say that will continue; Jiri Tlusty has been out recently with the dreaded upper body injury; and that Alexander Semin will be active.

More Illness: The Devils practiced on Monday but two Devils were missing.  According to Tom Gulitti's report at Fire & Ice, Patrik Elias and Martin Havlat were out sick and are being tested for mumps.  They may not have it and may be sick from something else, but either way, it doesn't appear that either will be available tonight.

Regardless of what you may think of what you may think of Elias (smacked down by Father Time) and Havlat (just bad) this season, two more forwards being out of the lineup hurts.  The Devils may have replacements already.  In that same report, Mike Cammalleri revealed his injury - a groin pull - and felt good in practice.  If he feels good today, then I would think he'll play.   Michael Ryder was a healthy scratch, so he should be available if only out of necessity. That said, the team called Tim Sestito back up after sending him down on Sunday just in case.  (And he was a spare with Jordin Tootoo in practice. Huh.)

So A Guy Whose Play Is Helpful as Bobby Bittman on a Game Show These Days Wants More Ice Time: As I continue to cram references about as well as stuffing a puffy coat into a duffel bag, Michael Ryder isn't happy with his usage according to this post by Rich Chere. There's this actual quote from Mr. Ryder himself:

"You look at the guys around the league who score goals and their average ice time is about 16 minutes. I just find it tough to produce when you play 12 minutes, 14, 10. It’s hard," Ryder said. "You get one chance a game, two chances, instead of five chances a game.

"I think I’ve played over 16 minutes only nine times this year. The games I do, I think I play better. I’ve been like that my whole career. As the game goes on you feel better, you get in a better flow, you’re not as cold and those plays come a lot easier for you."

I know Michael Ryder doesn't read ILWT and probably won't since I'm comparing him to SCTV characters since they're about just as good on the ice these days.  However, if Ryder wants more ice time, then he should consider giving a semblance of a care about defense, hustling forward, not taking entirely avoidable penalties (my guess as to what led to his recent scratching), and actually firing pucks on net.  It's true his shooting percentage is in the basement at 5.5%, but for a guy who's only useful when he's firing shots on net, it's telling he's only had more than one shot on net since the last Devils-Canes game. So if he's not shooting - because he certainly hasn't been scoring - then why should any one give him 16 minutes when he's about as useless in 12?  And if he understands that playing better equals more minutes, then where is his effort?  Ryder'll likely get a chance tonight to justify further inclusion in the lineup.  But based on this season, it's not a guarantee he'll make that case.  At least he's not a bad comic, though he's not far from the level Tim Sestito in terms of current play.

Returning Adam: Adam Larsson practiced today and I would like to see him play tonight.  Curiously, based on Gulitti's report, Seth Helgeson practiced with Marek Zidlicky while Larsson and Eric Gelinas rotated with Peter Harrold.  I don't think Peter DeBoer will keep that combination for tonight.  Helgeson has been appropriately limited in his use; I don't see him playing with Zidlicky, who's good for around 20 minutes per game.  Gelinas hasn't been awful in his last few games, so I don't see him coming out.  Personally, I would roll with Zidlicky-Gelinas again and keep Larsson with Harrold, with Helgeson sitting.  If Larsson does well and/or others do not - Jon Merrill up top with Andy Greene isn't set in stone in my eyes - then don't be surprised if #5 is on the ice more often.   I think the pre-game warm-ups will provide the sign as far as who is in and who they will be with on defense.

One More Goal for the Devils: Please get out of the zone with the puck.  Do this and the Canes aren't going to put Cory Schneider and the defense under siege for 60 minutes.

Your Take: Will tonight provide at least a good, competitive performance by the Devils? (Notice I didn't say win.)  Or will this be another lump of coal dumped on the fans as the Canes look like all stars with the puck like so many teams in the last two months?  Please leave your answers and other thoughts on tonight's game in the comments.

Brendan Woods gets his first NHL call-up as the Hurricanes close out a pre-holiday road trip against the New Jersey Devils tonight.

Carolina Hurricanes at New Jersey Devils
December 23, 2014 - 7:00 pm ET
Prudential Center - Newark, NJ
Radio - 99.9 FM The Fan
SB Nation Rival Blog - In Lou We Trust

Fancy Stats

Stats via NHL.com and War on Ice

Game Notes

• Standing between the Hurricanes and the NHL holiday break are the New Jersey Devils. This is the second match-up of the season between the two teams; the Devils were victorious in a 2-1 win on December 8th in Raleigh.
• This is the third game in a row where the Hurricanes have faced off against a Metro opponent. They come into tonight's game with back-to-back losses to the New York Rangers, Sunday's ending in a 1-0 shutout with Ryan McDonough scoring the lone goal. Anton Khudobin made 31 saves in the loss. The Devils also come into tonight's game off a shutout loss, 4-0 to the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.
• Today's big story for the Hurricanes is that forward Brendan Woods has received his first NHL call-up and is expected to be in Newark in time for the morning skate. Woods, 22, was drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 draft and has played in 73 games for the Charlotte Checkers over the last two seasons. He has 13 points (6g, 7a) and is a big fellow who plays a physical game at wing or center. The team press release is included below.
• As for whom he replaces, that might be a bit of a guess until later this morning. The Canes practiced yesterday in New Jersey without Eric Staal and Alexander Semin, although coach Bill Peters said that both players just had maintenance days. There was also a report from practice that Victor Rask left the ice briefly, and that Patrick Dwyer and Andrej Sekera had an on-ice collision but both appeared to be fine. So stay tuned for the definitive answer as to who is out (keep in mind that the NHL is in the middle of a holiday roster freeze, so it's an injury substitution and not a waiver/trade).
• The Devils have a few roster questions to answer as well. Only eleven forwards were well enough to skate yesterday, including Mike Cammalleri, who has been out with a groin pull and is hopeful but not confirmed for tonight. Patrik Elias and Martin Havlat are reported to be ill and being tested for mumps. Even if Cammalleri is well enough to play, the team will either need to call up a forward or dress seven defensemen, and option made available with the return of Adam Larsson from an AHL conditioning stint after himself recovering from the mumps.
• The Devils are barely above the Canes in the standings these days, and like the Canes are having trouble putting points on the scoresheet. They rank 27th in goals per game and 29th in shots per game. Cammalleri is their best goal-scorer with 11 goals (and 15 points), and Jaromir Jagr and Adam Henrique are tied at the top of the leader board with 20 points, tying them with Justin Faulk.
• Cory Schneider has been the Devils' go-to in net, with an NHL high 31 starts to date. Schneider reported that he expects to start tonight though coach Peter DeBoer has not declared a starter yet. Backup Keith Kincaid won his first career NHL game last Friday night in a 3-2 shootout against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Possible line-ups

Hurricanes depth chart (from Sunday's game)

Injuries and Scratches: Jordan Staal (IR broken fibula), Andrej Nestrasil (IR upper body), Jiri Tlusty (upper body)

Devils depth chart (from Monday's practice)

Injuries and Scratches: Damon Severson (ankle fracture), Jacob Josefson (groin), Dainius Zubrus (leg laceration), Patrik Elias (illness), Martin Havlat (illness)

Hurricanes team press release on Brendan Woods:

Canes Recall Brendan Woods from Charlotte
Second-year forward to join team in New Jersey
Monday, 12.22.2014 / 8:30 PM / News
By Ken Preston

RALEIGH, NC - Ron Francis, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the Hurricanes have recalled forward Brendan Woods from the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL). Woods will join the Hurricanes in New Jersey for Tuesday's game at Prudential Center against the Devils.

This marks the first NHL recall for the 22-year-old Woods, who is in his second full professional season. The Humboldt, Sask., native has played in all 29 Checkers games this season, and ranks tied for fourth among Charlotte skaters with 13 points (6g, 7a). In 73 career AHL games with the Checkers, Woods (6'4", 210 lbs.) has scored 11 goals and earned 10 assists (21 points), while accumulating 104 penalty minutes.

Prior to turning professional, Woods spent two seasons at the University of Wisconsin. In 75 collegiate games with the Badgers, he notched 10 goals, earned 12 assists (22 points) and totaled 114 penalty minutes, including a team-high 67 penalty minutes in 2011-12. The Hurricanes drafted Woods in the fifth round, 129th overall, in the 2012 NHL Draft.

Anton Khudobin picks up first win of the season and Chris Terry owns the shootout as Canes top Devils

The Carolina Hurricanes finally got a break with a third period goal and Chris Terry had the only score in the shootout as the Canes defeated the New Jersey Devils, 2-1 on Tuesday night in Jersey.

The Hurricanes were dominating the shots on goal stat but could not dent the scoreboard until 12 minutes into the third period when a Patrick Dwyer chip attempt bounced in the net off Ron Hainsey.  The blueliner had crashed the net, something the Carolina coaching staff has been preaching game in and game out, and it paid off for the visitors this night.

The goal broke up a scoreless streak of about 132 minutes for the Hurricanes.

The Devils opened the scoring in the first period when a Stephen Gionta shot got past Khudobin as it glanced off of Michal Jordan.  Neither team set the world on fire with shots though as Carolina totaled six and Jersey five for the period.

The Canes got going in the second period and outshot the home team 15-3, but could not solve Cory Schneider.

Their luck finally turned in the third when Hainsey was credited with his first goal of the season.

The Devils cranked up the intensity later in the third but Khudobin was equal to the task and the game went to overtime with the Canes needing to kill off a Jersey powerplay.

Both teams had a few good chances but could not score in the extra period so the skills competition came up next.

Khudobin stopped all three Devils in the shootout, including an outstanding save on Mike Cammalleri as he stacked the pads after the Devil made a sweet move.   Jeff Skinner and Nathan Gerbe could not connect but Terry, who was the very last shooter, made a fake of his patented backhand move and put the puck in with the forehand for the only shootout goal and game winner.

Terry now has 4 goals in 6 attempts in the shootout.

After the game, Khudobin was wearing the fireman's helmet as the team's most valuable player.  He could have worn it in the last game as well, but the Canes were shutout in New York.   The goalie has only allowed two goals in over 50 shots in the past two games.

The Canes get three days off now for the holiday break then will return to action in Tampa Bay on Saturday night.

Game Notes:

• The Canes outshot the Devils 33-19.  Sekera, Lindholm, and Liles had five shots each.
• Tim Gleason dropped the gloves with Jordin Tootoo in the second period, then left the game later on and did not return.  There was no update on his status.
• (edit) Ron Hainsey had a team high 28:00 of ice time.  Justin Faulk was next with 26:42.
• Brendan Woods had a good NHL debut and almost scored.  The team announced he was being reassigned back to Charlotte after the game.
• event summary

The Tampa Bay Lightning came out strong against an illness-ravaged Pittsburgh Penguins squad, building a 4-0 lead fueled by Tyler Johnson's hat trick, and then hung on at the end to snap a two-game losing streak in their return to the Amalie Arena Tuesday night.

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in front of a sellout crowd of 19,204 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Tuesday night.

The odds were stacked pretty heavily against the Pittsburgh Penguins before they even dropped the puck tonight. With 13 players out due to illness, specifically the mumps, and coming off an extended shootout loss to the Panthers last night in Sunrise, it appeared the patchwork Penguins had little chance against a Lightning squad eager to erase memories from a disappointing (1-3-1) road trip and send a festive holiday crowd home happy before the holiday break. However, it's not like the Penguins were without key contributors like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz, or that the Lightning fared that well when they faced Columbus under similar circumstances earlier this month. So hopefully you'll understand why the Lightning were less than hospitable hosts to their ailing guests, at least early on.

"It sure makes Christmas that much better. That was an early Christmas present from the guys." - Lightning head coach Jon Cooper

Tyler Johnson scored his first goal of the night at 6:54 of the opening period, getting assists from Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat.

He stretched the lead to 2-0 just three seconds before the period expired with his second goal. Palat and Victor Hedman helped out this time.

Just 52 seconds into the second, Kucherov scored on a long lead pass from Matthew Carle that allowed him to slip past the defense and put the puck past Pittsburgh starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who had played the whole game the night before. Valtteri Filppula chipped in with the secondary assist.

After that, Fleury was relieved by Jeff Zatkoff, seeing his first action this season.

As is often the case in games like this where one teams builds a big early lead, things got heated. Brendan Morrow and Pittsburgh's Bobby Farnham dropped the gloves as soon as the puck was dropped on the ensuing face-off.

The increased level of hostility didn't seem to have much of an impact on the Lightning immediately, as they continued to dominate play pretty much as they had from the start. Johnson cinched the hat trick at the 2:37 mark, getting assistance from Kucherov and Palat on the play.

"That line (Palat-Johnson-Kucherov) hasn't really been together for a couple of weeks now, but they are finally back healthy. They showed what they can do and it was pretty impressive." - Cooper

The Penguins were able to get their first marker of the night past Andrei Vasilevskiy at 10:15 on a goal by Patric Hornqvist with an assist from Rob Klinkhammer.

The score at the end of two was Tampa Bay 4, Pittsburgh 1.

At  9:55 of the third, a Lightning giveaway at the end of a power play allowed Malkin to feed Kunitz as he exited the penalty box, skated in alone and beat Vasilevskiy.

With the lead cut in half, the Penguins sensed new life, began pressing hard and started to dictate matters. They pulled Zatkoff for the extra skater with just over two minutes remaining in regulation, a move that paid off when Kris Letang scored at 18:29, thanks to helpers from Hornqvist and Malkin.

That would be as close as they would get however, as the Lightning held on for the win

This win stopped a two-game losing streak for the Bolts and was their third win in their last five home games. They'll be in action again on Saturday when they host the Carolina Hurricanes.

Game notes:

• This was the only regular season matchup between the Lightning and Penguins in Tampa this season. The two teams will meet again in Pittsburgh on January 2nd.
• The Lightning have struggled against Pittsburgh recently, coming into tonight's game with a record of 1-9-1 against the Penguins since the beginning of the 2011-12 season. Their last win against Pittsburgh came on November 17, 2011 in Tampa.
• The Lightning haven't won consecutive games since November 29 and December 1st (Ottawa at home and the Rangers in New York respectively), the last two games of an overall four-game winning streak.
• Johnson's three goals came on shots taken within inches from each other, roughly the same spot right between the two face-off circles.
• Johnson has points in each of his last five games (five goals, three assists).
• The Lightning honored Olga Joanow as the 18th Lightning Community Hero of the year during the first period of tonight's game. Joanow, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to Champions for Children. In 2001, Joanow fell victim to a tragic domestic dispute. She was shot twice and left for dead on the side of the road. Fortunately, Joanow survived. After persevering through four surgeries, a year of outpatient rehab, and permanent leg damage, Joanow shares her story to inspire others to take action against abuse and leads advocacy against a particular form of violence, child abuse. She serves as a volunteer Board Member and is the incoming Chairwoman for Champions for Children (formerly the Child Abuse Council), a non-profit organization leading child abuse prevention. In addition to serving on the Board of Champions for Children, Joanow volunteered on the Hillsborough County Civil Service Board from 1997 to 2004. Being a lawyer by trade, during the 1990's, she volunteered on Teen Court, a juvenile diversionary program, and volunteered as a coach for the Bloomingdale High School Mock Trial Team.
• It should go without saying but we'll say it anyway: Happy Holidays of each and every kind to you and yours from us here at Raw Charge!

Inferior passing and puck control led to the Carolina Hurricanes steamrolling the New Jersey Devils for most of the game. This time, they got an equalizer off a bounce and won it in a shootout. This is a recap that opens with the definition of insanity.

Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?

Insanity is doing the exact same thing over and over again, expecting things to change.   That is crazy.

The first time someone told me that...I don't know, I thought they were messing with me so boom - I just dumped the puck away any chance I got and let the other team dictate the play.

The thing is, OK, that someone was right.  And then I started seeing: everywhere I looked, every game I played, all of my teammates, everywhere, I looked doing the exact same thing over and over and over and over again thinking: "This time, it's going to be different.  No, no, no, no, no, please - this time it's going to be different."

...I am sorry.  I don't like the way you are looking at us on the ice.  OK, do you have a problem in your head? Do you think I am messing with you?  Do you think I am lying? HUH? OK!?

...

It's OK, man.  I'm going to chill, hermano.  I'm going to chill.  The thing is, alright, the thing is: I played this way once already against Carolina in December.  And it's not like I am crazy.  It's OK.  It's like...water under the bridge.

Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?

***

And just like Jason Brody (literally) undercut Vaas' belief that Vaas would "kill" him over and over again, the Carolina Hurricanes did not get the same result as what happened on December 8. They would tie up the game with a shot re-directed off Ron Hainsey's shinpad after straight-up dominating the New Jersey Devils throughout the game and forcing Cory Schneider to bail out his team repeatedly.  There would be no second goal until the shootout where Chris Terry prevailed.  The Devils lost 1-2 via a shootout, earning themselves another undeserved point against the last-place team in the Metropolitan Division.

Schneider did whatever he could to make it a game but the skaters decided that chipping and chasing the puck away would somehow lead to anything different despite the majority of the 2014-15 season.  The definition of insanity was on full display in the Prudential Center.

The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The NHL.com Devils Time on Ice Log | The Natural Stat Trick Corsi Charts

The Opposition Opinion: Bob Wage has a recap up from Canes Country. Did you know Hainsey's shinpad ended a shutout streak of 132 minutes? Well, you do now!

The Game Highlights: It was the Cory Schneider show with a brief guest appearance by Stephen Gionta. Here's the highlight video from NHL.com:

Deflected: Hainsey's goal was essentially a deflection as the shot by Patrick Dwyer hit off his leg and angled past Schneider.  The lone Devils goal was also the result of a favorable and surprising deflection.  Steve Bernier got the puck in the left corner and flung it back to Stephen Gionta, just having gained the zone.  Gionta's shot hits right off Michal Jordan, possibly off Jay McClement, and the change in direction fooled Anton Khudobin.

Wasted: The Devils' power play was a source of frustration as they put up one shot over six minutes, including a little under of a minute of a 4-on-3 situation in overtime.  The fans were screaming to shoot; but when the Devils did shoot, it was blocked or missed the target.  This is to say nothing of their issues keeping the puck in play, especially in OT when they conceded a shorthanded shot (!).  They forced passes instead of taking what they had. They were static when setting up, allowing the Canes to sit in their formation for the eventual turnover.  This was a waste, made more agonizing considering it could have provided the difference in this game.

Also Wasted: Speaking of wasted, Cory Schneider puts on a fantastic performance in net.  From denying Elias Lindholm waltzing around the crease for a close shot and his own rebound to Ron Hainsey getting a breakaway coming out of the box and robbing Andrej Sekera afterwards, #35 was superb.  Again, the only goal he conceded in the run of play was a bounce off a leg.  Hardly a soft one unless, you know, you didn't pay attention to the game. Even if you didn't see the game, consider that the Devils were heavily out-shot 19-33 and out-attempted 41-53 tonight.  That wasn't as bad as the 12/8 game, but for the Devils to get to a shootout given those counts, then the goaltending must have shown up to play.  Unfortunately, not enough skaters showed up to help #35.

Benched: Eric Gelinas only played 6:36 tonight.  On his second shift, he coughed up a puck to a Hurricane forechecker, which led to the Canes hitting Schneider with a flurry, ending only shortly after Gelinas hooked Riley Nash.  His last shift in the first period and his only two shifts in the second, he was stuck on the ice for a minute, pinned in his own end and not doing much good about it.  He used a bit more in overtime, where he also contributed nothing good.  Spare me the statement of "play the kids."  If that's what's going to happen within the first few shifts and there other defensemen - some who are also young - available, then he shouldn't just receive further ice time because he's under 25.

Returned: Michael Ryder was scratched against Washington and wanted more ice time.  He got 18:41 in total.  His total contribution: one shot on net, one attempt blocked, two misses including a close one off a toe drag (I thought that's his move), and a drawn penalty.  The last piece was impressive in that he actually tried to power through the defense for a puck and the defender impeded him too much.  I don't think he sold it all that much, but it was a big call.  Not that Ryder or the team did anything with the power play, but at least I can point out that Ryder had a positive. Other than that, he was energetic as Gerry Todd.

Mike Cammalleri returned and, well, it wasn't all that eventful either. He was often on the ice as he played a whopping 25:30.  He didn't register a shot on net as all four of his attempts were blocked.  He was often seen in his own end of the rink as his initial unit with Jaromir Jagr and Scott Gomez were owned for the most part.  Travis Zajac was switched with Gomez in the third period for a bit, but that didn't fare much better.  Whereas Ryder has been not useful for weeks now, Cammalleri has had enough productive games to give him a small benefit of the doubt for the future. That said, he did not do well tonight.

Adam Larsson returned and rotated on defense as the Devils had seven active for tonight.   Not that lasted given Gelinas' deserved benching.  He played 14:58, which is a bit less than I would've liked.  Then again, he didn't really stand out in his own end.  I do know it's his first game back after a long illness, so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for the future.

Bored: Good on Anton Khudobin to keep awake during a second period where he faced three shots on net out of six attempts.  He wouldn't see any rubber on target until a little past five minutes into the third.  He had to be more active later in the third - as if the Devils realized they blew a 1-0 lead and so should try to salvage it - and in overtime.  Good thing they didn't really challenge him until late.  I'm sure the few odd man rushes not realized to their full potential or a shot on net in the first period gave him some concern.  But he was able to just put those small concerns behind him in the middle period.

Tried: Jaromir Jagr really did put in the effort trying to corral pucks, maintain control, and pass them off. It was the latter that betrayed him more often than not.   And the effort on defense was his usual.  I'll take Jagr trying to pivot and post up defenders to a fault since not many other Devils can do that.  He's trying to maintain control on a team that acts like it doesn't matter.  Unfortunately, I think he did it to a fault tonight.

Andy Greene and Peter Harrold also had their struggles.  On some shifts, they looked as solid as solid could get. On others, they just weren't on the same page in just trying to move the puck out from behind their own dots.  Greene fared better with Marek Zidlicky, who had a mostly fine game except for a Gelinas-like shift in the second that yielded shots against and his own minor penalty.   I was surprised that Jon Merrill didn't ride with Greene again.  Maybe the past few games were enough of a reason to end that experiment?

Admitted: OK, Schneider wasn't the only one to show up.  I liked Stephen Gionta's performance.  His goal was fortunate, but three shots on net from a bottom-six player is perfectly fine and he helped Tuomo Ruutu get his three as well.   For about 14 minutes of work, he was OK.  There, I admitted that it wasn't #35 and a bunch of guys playing well below their level.

Plenty of praise for the opposition, who took most of the pucks the Devils gave away dumped and cleared and turned it into offense.  Andrej Sekera and Justin Faulk were in full control. Eric Staal was good.  Elias Lindholm is looking more like the player some hoped when he was drafted high in 2013, he had a strong game.  As did Lindholm's linemate Victor Rask.  Riley Nash and Nathan Gerbe were thorns in the Devils' sides tonight.  The Canes played a good game and should have won this one decisively based on everything that happened from the second period onward (the first was just an ugly but even period).  But Schneider dragged the Devils to a point.

Lumped: 1-2-1 in a four-game homestand, only three wins this month, and another ugly as sin performance by the Devils.  The Rock had a sizeable crowd, an energetic crowd, a crowd that showed up to watch their favorite team try to get a win.   And they were disappointed yet again.   This was very much a lump of coal given to the fans.  The exception are those who are all about tanking; tonight was a gift for them - hope they enjoy it.

Your Take: Simply, this game stunk and I'm resorting myself to paraphrasing profane monologues from modern video games (Far Cry 3, in this case) to comment on them.  That's where I'm at.  What did you think of this mess? Are you one of those people who think Cory Schneider isn't all that and if so, does this game change your mind?  What in the world will Saturday bring?

Thanks to Alex, CJ, and Gerard as I met them during this game; easily the highlight of my night. Thanks to everyone who commented in the Gamethread and followed along @InLouWeTrust on Twitter. Thank you for reading and merry Christmas.  May your holiday be better than the umpteenth crummy performance by the Devils this season.

I hadn't written an article yet at 1pm of Christmas Day so I just found things that are true about this team and let you guys know about them. Honestly, some of these things aren't about this team. Some aren't even true. There are no rules for this article.

Hey guys, Merry Christmas from the past. This article is being written on Christmas Day and I have to get back to celebrating with my family so I'm just gonna tell you guys some things that are true and you can use them as you choose. Some are interesting, some are funny, some are just true statements. Enjoy

List of 26 True Things for December 26th

1. #Cornerstones: Andy Greene, Marek Zidlicky and Stephen Gionta are the only players to have played all 36 games for us
   
   
2. #Bully: Tuomo Ruutu leads the Devils in hits by 30 with 76 hits (51st in the NHL). Jordin Tootoo has 15 hits per 60 minutes, however which beats Ruutu's 11.
   
   
3. #Pincushion Andy Greene has gotten beaten up, leading the Devils with 65 hits taken. He has also blocked 86 shots which is almost 50 more than the 2nd highest Devil and is 3rd in the NHL behind only Kris Russel and Brooks Orpik
   
   
4. #ILWTStaff I finally met some of the ILWT writers in person at the Hurricanes game and this is what I can tell you about them: John's hatred for Michael Ryder is real. Alex Potts never stops moving. And I thought Gerard was Josh Gad.
   
   
5. #IDKY I don't like Mike Sislo. He's just painfully boring.
   
   
6. #TrooLove I've always loved Stephen Gionta. He's living proof that you don't need to have innate talent in order to be a professional athlete. Hard work, smart play, and scrappy effort will get you all you need.
   
   
7. #LouisCK People from Phoenix are Phoenicians. Hockey fans from Arizona are just depressed though. 
   
   
8. #SoNotFair Patrick Elias has the 3rd lowest PDO in the NHL at 92.8 through Christmas. Last year's PDO floor was about 92 so it stands to reason we should expect a 100 PDO from here out for Patty.
   
   
9. #SameThingAdam Henrique has the same Shooting Percentage as Tyler Seguin
   
   
10. #ROY At 23:01 minutes per game, Damon Severson leads all rookies and with 2.4 point shares, Severson is 3rd among rookies behind only Ekblad and Lehtera. Although they don't include Filip Forsberg since he registered stats last year. He'd be the best otherwise pretty much for sure.
    
    
11. #HungOut Cory Schneider is ranked 51st of 58 qualified goalies in Even Strength Goal Support per 60 minutes.
    
    
12. #Solid Keith Kinkaid has saved 55 of 55 "Low-Danger" shots.
    
    
13. #WishList At the 'Canes game, the Devils were asked what they would give teammates as a gift for Christmas. My personal favorite was Gomez saying he would get Jordin Tootoo a personality. The whole thing was pretty good though.
    
    
14. #FathersTime There are only two players 40 or older that have registered a point share this year. Jaromir Jagr and Sergei Gonchar have the same amount (1.3). 
    
    
15. #JustAThought I always thought Fenwick sounded more like a NASCAR driver than a hockey statistic
    
    
16. #WellTheresYourProblem The wikipedia image of the Jersey Devil looks like a goathead on the body of an anemic T-Rex with batwings and horseshoes. He DOES have a forked tail though #intimidating.
    
    
17. #Followup I just got a really great secondary mascot idea. 
    
    
18. #LeagueLeaders The Devils lead the NHL in number of guys named "Mike" on the team with 3. Montreal, Nashville, Washington, and Philly are in a 4-way tie for 2nd. 
    
    
19. #Irony It's turned out that researching this random facts has actually taken longer than just writing a normal article would have. 
    
    
20. #TimeTravel The NHL standings this time last year vs the NHL standings now. Devils were 15-16-7 this time last year and resting 1 point out of a playoff spot. We are now 9 points out. Andy Greene also had a nice article on NHL.com at that time.
    
    
21. #NotSoFunFact The C in CJ stands for Christopher...You now know slightly more about me than one other ILWT writer.
    
    
22. #InAllFairness The Devils suck but we've had a lot of injuries. Shout out to @LW3H for the following tweet showing the Devils are 3rd in CHIP (cap hit of injured players) excluding retirees:
    
    

    Update to NHL man-games lost and CHIP (Cap Hit of Injured Players) figures through 21 December pic.twitter.com/3WrMsQPMEO

    — LW3H (@LW3H) December 22, 2014

    
    
23. #GoodNewsThe Devils are only 4th from the bottom of the NHL in faceoff percentage #win.
    
    
24. #BetterNews I got a magic wand for Xmas.
    
    
25. #BadNews My first try at the expelliarmus spell fell a bit flat.
    
    
    
26. #OutofIdeas Sorry

Your Thoughts

Say what you want. If it's about the article then great. If not, I understand. Happy Belated guys, I'll see ya on January 2nd because I am only given the days immediately after important ones to write on.

Number one netminder Ben Bishop returned to the lineup and fended off 25 of 26 shots to pace the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Saturday night.

Hey, remember when these two teams met here in Tampa just over two weeks ago, also a 2-1 Lightning win? This one was kind of like that only different. For one thing, Ben Bishop started in goal for the Lightning, making his return to the lineup after missing four games with a lower body injury (last time, it was Evgeni Nabokov getting the start and win). For another, this one was more of a workmanlike effort than a spectacular one, at least on the part of Bishop. For whatever reason, Carolina's Cam Ward has come up with some pretty remarkable saves against the Lightning, although he's 0-2 for his efforts.  At any rate, the margin of victory could have been higher (the ongoing inefficiency of a power play that was 0 for 6 tonight should be considered a legitimately serious concern now) but the Lightning emerge with the squeaker win and the resultant two points.

"I don't know if it will go down as one of the most exciting games of the year. The puck was bouncing all over the place, so I guess the guys were rusty on both teams a little bit." - Lightning head coach Jon Cooper

With both teams returning to work after the Christmas break, Tampa Bay opened the scoring at 8:50 of the first. Just 17 seconds after killing a holding penalty on Ryan Callahan. Nikita Kucherov scored on an assist from Ondrej Palat.

The 1-0 Lightning lead would hold up through the first and second intermissions.

At 4:53 of the third, Alex Killorn jumped on the ice to start a shift and found himself with the puck just inside the blue line. From there, he snapped off a wrister that caught Ward off guard and the lead was 2-0. Callahan and Valtteri Filppula were credited with assists.

Easy breathing time for the Lightning and their fans last about nine minutes, until Andrej Sekera scored at the 14:04 mark to halve the lead and make things interesting. Eric Staal and Nathan Gerbe chipped in with helpers on the play.

What followed was the customary frantic, late game pressure, including about a minute of empty Carolina net, but Tampa Bay was able to hang on. They were aided somewhat by a high-sticking call whistled against Staal with 3:19 remaining. The Lightning were unable to convert but being shorthanded for two of the last three-plus minutes took some bite out of the Hurricanes attack.

"We scored first, had the lead going into the third and won the game in regulation, and that's what we want to see." - Cooper

On the night, Bishop was solid and dependable in every way that the Lightning have come to count on, stopping 25 of 26 shots. He was aided by a Lightning defense that did a good job throughout of limiting Carolina's scoring opportunities. On the other end, Ward had to come up with a handful of circus saves to keep his team in the game. He fended off 36 of the 38 shots that came his way.

The Lightning will complete this three-game homestand on Monday when they host division rivals Toronto.

Game notes:

• The Lightning have now won back-to-back games for the first time since winning four straight between November 22 and December 1.
• It is their second consecutive home win and, for the moment, returns them to sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.
• This was the second of three regular season meetings between the Hurricanes and Lightning and the last at Amalie Arena. They will meet for the third and final time at Carolina on January 27.
• Bishop is now 5-0-0 in career starts against the Hurricanes.
• Over his past eight games, Kucherov has scored six goals with five assists.
• The Lightning honored Dr. Roy Kaplan as the 19th Lightning Community Hero of the year during the first period of tonight's game. Kaplan, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to Community Tampa Bay. Since 1989, Kaplan has been serving as an agent of change to break down the social barriers triggered by racial, religious and cultural differences. Until 2004, he directed the National Conference for Christians and Jews, which is now known as Community Tampa Bay, an organization devoted to ending all forms of discrimination. While serving in this role, in 1991, he developed and founded ANYTOWN, a youth leadership and diversity education program meant to dissolve discrimination in the community. This program has since been lauded as a Best Practice by the US Department of Education and has been recommended as a top program for preventing juvenile delinquency by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Kaplan is also the founder of the annual MLK interfaith worship service, which has been a catalyst for bringing diverse backgrounds together to honor Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy principled on peace and understanding, and to act out these principles. In addition to being named tonight's Lightning Community Hero, Kaplan has also been awarded the WMNF's Peace and Justice Award (2011), Hillsborough County Bar Association's Liberty Bell Award (2006), US Department of Education "Hero of Education Award" (1998), Tampa Urban League's Blance Armwood Baity Community Service Award (1995), Tampa/Hillsborough Human Rights Council's Humanitarian Service Award (1994), and St. Petersburg Chapter of the NAACP's Community Service Award (1994).

Sekera with lone goal as Carolina drops another one

The Carolina Hurricanes fell behind in the first period once again and could not overcome the deficit as they dropped another contest to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 on Saturday night.

The loss gives the Canes a 2-7-1 record in their last 10 games.

At 8:50 into the opening period, Ondrej Palat stole the puck from Tim Gleason behind the net and fed it to Nikita Kucherov who beat Cam Ward with a shot, high glove side.  The Canes were outshot that period 12-9 and got off to their traditional slow start.

After a scoreless second period, the Bolts made the score 2-0, 4:53 into the third on a shot by Alex Killorn and that would be the eventual game winner.

Andrej Sekera made a game out of it with his second goal of the season later in the third, but that would be the end of the scoring for Carolina.

The Hurricanes were called for an atypical seven minor penalties, including a high sticking infraction on Eric Staal with just three minutes and change left in the game, but they were able to kill off all of the Tampa powerplays.

For their part, the Canes went 0-3 on the powerplay themselves.

The team will hold a practice on Sunday and will next face the Montreal Canadiens at the PNC on Monday night.

Game Notes:

• The Canes were outshot 38-26 for the game and they were outshot in each individual period.  Victor Rask and Staal each had four to lead their team.
• Carolina had 17 blocked shots led by Justin Faulk who had eight.
• Tampa Bay also missed the net 19 times for a total of 74 attempts.  The Canes had eight misses and six shots blocked for a total of 40 attempts, so the Bolts dominated much of this game.
• Bill Peters audio
• event summary

There were just a pair of games on Day 3 of the tournament, and both were blowouts.

Switzerland vs. Russia

Just three days in, this tournament is already full of surprises. After almost falling to Denmark in their opening game, the Russians righted the ship in a big way, booting the boots to the Swiss 7-0. Rangers draft pick Pavel Buchnevich, who is playing in the KHL this season, led the way with three points. Also scoring for Russia was Sergei Tolchinsky, who after putting up a terrific season two years ago for the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL was somehow passed over by all 30 teams in the draft. The Carolina Hurricanes snatched the sniper up as a free agent. The Swiss were down three goals after the first period, a hole that was too deep to climb out of. Group B remains wide open thanks to the interesting results we've been seeing thus far.

USA vs. Germany

You have to feel for the Germans, having to face first the Canadians, then the US in their opening two games of the tournament. The Germans scratched and clawed their way through this game, but still gave up six goals in what could have been a far more lopsided affair. Columbus prospect Sonny Milano scored his first goal of the tournament, while Dylan Larkin (2), Auston Matthews, Hudson Fasching and Jack Eichel also scored for the Americans. Matthews is a player you'll hear a lot about over the next 18 months, as he's already projected to be the top pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. Eichel's goal was a beauty wraparound, a total skill play where he used his edges a la Sidney Crosby to work himself around the back of the net.

Easing back after their holiday break, can the Habs take two points from their conference's worst team?

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action.

After an holiday break of almost a week, and displaced by the World Junior Hockey Championships, the Habs are on the road in Raleigh this evening. The schedule allows the team to ease back in against one of the East's worst teams, a squad they took down just 12 days ago.

All of time off clearly gave the Montreal braintrust some time to think, as they seem to have devised some further improvements to their line combinations. At Sunday's practice, Nathan Beaulieu was promoted to the second pair alongside Sergei Gonchar, reinforcing his encouraging deployment against the Islanders, when he played the fourth most minutes of all Canadiens rearguards.

Up front, Tomas Plekanec has been given some talent to work with, as he was slotted between David Desharnais and P.A. Parenteau. While their styles are not the same at face value, Desharnais showed a willingness to back-check at times during last year's playoffs, and his presence alongside the Czech veteran is unquestionably an improvement over Dale Weise and Brandon Prust, who Pleky was recently saddled with.

With Lars Eller no longer absent, as he was when Montreal last played Carolina, this configuration would seem to make the best use of Montreal's considerable talent. Considering that the Hurricanes are also improving their lineup by returning a big, two-way centre from injury, the timing is excellent.

How to Watch

Start time: 7:00 PM ET
In Quebec and Atlantic Canada (French): RDS
In Quebec and Atlantic Canada (English): Sportsnet East
In the Carolinas: FS-CR
Elsewhere: NHL GameCenter, NHL Center Ice

Tale of the Tape

Know Your Enemy

Since the Canadiens last encountered the 'canes, Carolina has continued their up-and-down adventure of a season. They avenged their loss to the Habs by beating Toronto, but have since lost three of their last four games.

But there is some good news on the horizon. Jordan Staal, a season-long member of Carolina's parade of injured players, will make his season debut against the Habs tonight, adding a much needed reliable veteran to Bill Peters' crew.

The Hurricanes actually have a pair of impressive young players, in Victor Rask and Elias Lindholm, and each played well against Montreal a couple of weeks back. Eric Staal and Alex Semin (still injured) give the team the requisite top of the line-up forward talent. It has been their lack of depth up front, amongst other problems, that has undermined their efforts so far. Staal is far from solving the problem, but his versatile game will make Montreal's task more difficult this evening.

Last Time Out

When the Habs and Hurricanes last met, the game came on the heels of a long-awaited line-up shake-up by Michel Therrien. Therrien's decision paid off in spades, as Alex Galchenyuk, Max Pacioretty, and Brendan Gallagher collaborated to earn #27 a hat-trick.

The game also marked a fine performance from David Desharnais, who had been struggling previously. A patient and skillful play by the Canadiens centreman led to a tap-in goal for Brandon Prust, and was the first Habs strike in what would be a 4-1 win.

The uptick in productivity has continued in the games that have followed. The Habs' first line of 67-27-11 has combined for eight points in their last three games, and has often looked dominant. After going 52 games without an even strength goal, David Desharnais has three in his last five games.

MT still has a ways to go, especially with regards to tactics, but recent lineup decisions have been nothing but positive. With a week off to prepare to close their year off, and playing one of the league's poorest teams, the Habs should be positioned for a win. Tonight, we'll find out if the coaching staff has them ready to go.

Here are your daily links surrounding the Habs and the rest of the hockey world, including Nathan Beaulieu jumping into the top four, Zachary Fucale getting the nod for Canada and everyone's favourite Jack Edwards freaking out.

Montreal Canadiens Links

• Is it finally Nathan Beaulieu's time? The youngest Habs blue-liner has earned a promotion into the top four, forming a pairing with the oldest player on the team, Sergei Gonchar. [Canadiens]
• After three days off, the Habs were back on the ice in Carolina over the weekend. We often hear about Carey Price's superb puck-handing and underrated passing ability, but what about his shot? He joined P.K. Subban to work on it, shooting pucks on net after practice. [Canadiens]
• The boys are finally back in action against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight. The last place Canes will get a much needed boost as centre Jordan Staal is expected to return to the lineup. [Hurricanes]
• Canadiens prospect Zachary Fucale will get the start in goal for Canada against Finland at the World Juniors tomorrow night at the Bell Centre. The job appears to be his to lose. [TSN]
• Don't blame all of Canada's struggles over the past five years at the tournament on goaltending. Canada's lack of scoring should be the prime focus. [Arctic Ice Hockey]

Around the League and Elsewhere

• Despite all the financial issues surrounding the Arizona Coyotes franchise, hockey in the desert appears to be on the rise. 17-year-old Arizona native Auston Matthews, who is currently playing for the United States at the World Juniors, is primed to be a top pick in the NHL Draft. [New York Times]
• Puck Daddy continues their 2014 year in review. Check out the top 10 jersey fouls of the year. [Puck Daddy]
• Attention stat geeks! Here is a totally awesome site that shows Canada's advanced stats from each game at the World Juniors. [Defining Hockey]
• Lastly, please enjoy this video of everyone's favourite Boston Bruins commentator Jack Edwards freaking out after the puck hits the netting before the Columbus Blue Jackets goal. Never change, Jack! [YouTube]

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