Thoughts From My Couch

I don't quite know how to express the way I'm feeling about tonight's game in Dallas against the Stars. Yesterday, it was announced that Brett Pesce and Tony DeAngelo would be joining Ethan Bear in COVID protocol, giving the Canes no right-shot defensemen on the active roster. This, as you might be able to figure out, is less than ideal. It's even worse when you consider the team lost its last game against Washington on Sunday afternoon, has lost three of their last four games, and both Pesce and DeAngelo are integral parts of the power play. In their place, the Canes have called up Maxime Lajoie and Jalen Chatfield from AHL Chicago. Lajoie got some time with the team last season during the postseason, playing in games 3 and 4 of the Nashville series, so this will be his regular-season debut with the club. He has 62 games of experience with Ottawa from 2018-20 and has 15 points (7-8-15), and he's played in 17 games in the AHL this season with eight points (1-7-8). C...

Five Headlines of Week 13 Haskins Runs Over Ohio State- #6 Michigan finally gets the elusive win under Harbaugh, torches #2 Ohio State on the ground, 42-27.  No Miracles This Time- #3 Alabama erases a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter to force overtime, wins in 4 OT, 24-22 to escape the upset bid from Auburn. Pokes Win Bedlam- #7 Oklahoma State completes the comeback and ensures a matchup with Baylor in the Big 12 Championship game with a 37-33 win over #10 Oklahoma. One Last Win for Coach O- LSU upsets #14 Texas A&M in "The Jungle" to become bowl eligible in Coach O's last game with the Tigers.  Madness in the Big Ten West- After #17 Iowa completes the comeback over Nebraska, Minnesota upsets #18 Wisconsin to send the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten Championship.  College Gameday's Game of the Week- #6 Michigan 42, #2 Ohio State 27 (THE Game, Ann Arbor, MI) All of the storylines from years prior made their way back this season. Jim Harbaugh has never beaten Ohi...

It's "Home, Sweet Home" for the Canes as they play their first home game in over two weeks when they hit the ice against Metropolitan Division rivals, the Washington Capitals, for Hockey Fights Cancer in Raleigh. It's crazy to think these two haven't played since January 13, 2020, given how close they are geographically, but they weren't in the same division last season. Washington won that last meeting 2-0 with Ilya Samsonov, today's starter for Washington, shutting out the Canes and Alex Ovechkin scored both goals. The Capitals come into this game scorching hot, having gone 8-1-1 in their last ten games and tied atop the division with 31 points with the Canes. They beat Florida 4-3 Friday afternoon, the same day the Canes beat Philadelphia 6-3. Alex Ovechkin has managed to find a new gear to start the season. He's second in the league in goals (18), tied for fifth in assists (18), and tied for second in points (36 with Connor McDavid) and all without...

The west coast swing is over, so the Canes are heading back to the east coast to conclude their six-game road trip on Black Friday in the City of Brotherly Love. The Canes earned seven of a possible ten points out west, but have lost their last two games in San Jose and Seattle, both by a score of 2-1. The ending of the Seattle game was a bit out of nowhere. It didn't seem like the right time for the game-winner to go in, but it did and the Canes lost in regulation for just the third time this season. Another of the three teams to beat the Canes in regulation is Philadelphia, who beat them two weeks ago in Raleigh. Carter Hart stole the game for the Flyers, standing on his head in the third period of a 2-1 win for the Flyers. Since beating the Canes back on November 12, things haven't been going well for Philly. They're just 1-3-2 since then and have lost their last four games, albeit to some strong teams in Boston, Florida, and Tampa Bay twice. They've struggled to put...

For the first time ever, the Hurricanes will make their way into Seattle to play the NHL's youngest franchise. Coming off a disappointing 2-1 loss in San Jose on Monday night, the Canes will look to rebound against a team going through its fair share of bumps as a new franchise. Frederik Andersen gets the start in the net tonight after sitting for Monday's game and for the first time since the circus game against Los Angeles on Saturday. The only reported change to the lineup will be Steven Lorentz getting back into the fold with Derek Stepan getting the night off again. Despite being a new team, there are still obviously plenty of familiar faces on this Kraken team. Morgan Geekie was Seattle's selection from the Canes, much to the surprise of many in each fanbase. Geekie has been a constant on the fourth line this season and on the second power play unit. Haydn Fleury, who Seattle selected from Anaheim after he was traded to the Ducks at the trade deadline last season, has...

The Canes are perfect on their road trip so far with wins over Vegas, Anaheim, and Los Angeles, all in very different fashions. The win over Los Angeles was a nightmare if you're a goalie or a head coach that likes defense, as the Canes and Kings traded goals for two periods before the Canes shut it down defensively and held on for a 5-4 win on Saturday afternoon. The first big piece of news for the Canes today was the announcement that Ethan Bear had tested positive for COVID. He was originally listed as a game-time decision before the news of the positive test broke. This means we'll be seeing Brendan Smith for the first time since Brett Pesce returned. The happier news is that Seth Jarvis is slated to be in the lineup tonight for his tenth game. This is significant because it means he'll officially trigger the first year of his rookie deal, which will now end at the end of the 2023-24 season. He can still be sent to juniors but as long as he steps on the ice tonight, it ...

Five Headlines of Week 12 Sparty Shredded- CJ Stroud throws for 432 yards, six touchdowns to lead #5 Ohio State to a huge 56-7 win over #7 Michigan State and take control of the Big Ten East. Ducks Shot Down in Utah-  #4 Oregon is dismantled by #24 Utah’s rushing attack and its playoff hopes are dashed in a 38-7 loss. Statement Made in Cincy?- #3 Cincinnati clinches a date with #17 Houston in the AAC Championship game with a convincing 48-14 win over SMU.   Death Valley Destruction - Clemson keeps their ACC Atlantic hopes alive, beating #13 Wake Forest convincingly 48-27 to end the Demon Deacons' perfect ACC season.  Auburn's Offense Lost Without Nix- Without Bo Nix under center, Auburn falls to South Carolina, 20-10, before next week's clash in the Iron Bowl with Alabama. College Gameday's Game of the Week- #5 Ohio State 56,  #7 Michigan State 7  (Columbus, OH) Before they took the field, this week's premier matchup between the top two teams in the Big Ten...

This game against Los Angeles seems like just another game on the schedule but for the Canes organization, today is Decision Day. Seth Jarvis will be playing in his ninth game today, which isn't a major milestone in his career, but this is the last game he can play without a year being used in his rookie deal. The Canes can opt to send him back to juniors in Portland before they're game on Monday, but he can't be called back up until Portland's season is finished. Or they could decide to keep him on the team. Jarvis has played very well and seen some time on the first line with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov in the last few games. He's been huge on this road trip, scoring the game-winning goals in each of the last two games. This afternoon's opponent is the Los Angeles Kings, a team that has played a little bit better than some expected. They last played on Wednesday night against the Washington Capitals, losing 2-0. I would expect Frederik Andersen to get ...

Two of the hottest teams in the league are going at it tonight, but the current eight-game winning streak of the Anaheim Ducks is far from what most people expected. A lot of the Ducks' success can be pointed towards Troy Terry. He's on a 15-game point streak and he's top five in the league in goals (11) and points (21). Ryan Getzlaf has been enjoying a hot start as well, starting the season with 18 points, 17 of which are assists which is the third-most in the league. Starting goalie John Gibson is tied for the league-lead in wins with nine wins, the same number as Carolina's starter tonight, Frederik Andersen. Speaking of Andersen, this will be his fifth game against his former team, holding a 2-1-0 record with a .927 SV% and a 2.28 GAA. Anaheim's most recent win was a 3-2 overtime win against Washington on Tuesday night, the same night the Canes beat Vegas 4-2 to open their road trip. This will mark the first game of the California portion of the road trip for th...

For the first time in 647 days, the Hurricanes are heading to Vegas to play the league's second-youngest franchise. The last meeting between these two teams, on February 8, 2020, was wild. The Canes trailed 3-1 heading into the third period and then 4-2 with just under 18 minutes left before scoring three unanswered goals to take a 5-4 lead. They were unable to hold the lead, but would eventually win in a shootout during the Justin Williams Comeback Tour with Williams scoring in the shootout to give the Canes a 6-5 win. Of the 19 players that dressed for that game, only eight are currently under contract with the team. This includes Jake Gardiner, who tallied three assists in that third period during the 2020 meeting and is currently on LTIR.  Brett Pesce is the only player that will be out of the lineup tonight, with both Martin Necas and Nino Niederreiter set to return from injury up front and Antti Raanta set to get the start in the net. This leaves an interesting decision ...

Five Headlines of Week 11 Boom Goes the Sooners- #4 Oklahoma's perfect season ends at the hands of #18 Baylor, 27-14, with neither Sooners QB playing particularly well and opening up the competition in the Big 12. Ole Miss Earns it in Primetime- Matt Corral leads #12 Ole Miss to a big conference win over #11 Texas A&M to keep their SEC West hopes alive for now. Michigan Survives Happy Valley- #9 Michigan scores late and holds on to beat #23 Penn State after a huge game from Michigan QB Cade McNamara.  Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood- Mississippi State QB Will Rogers throws for six touchdowns as the Bulldogs complete the comeback to shock #16 Auburn, 43-34. Wake Forest Holds Steady- #13 Wake Forest beats #21 NC State in a shootout, 45-42, to stay perfect in the ACC and set up a showdown with Clemson next week.  College Gameday's Game of the Week- # 12 Ole Miss 29,  #11 Texas A&M  (Oxford, MS) This week's marquee matchup was between two teams still theoretically in th...